Europe Books

The last few weeks, I have been enjoying my commute in the company of Ayaan Hirsi Ali, as I've listened to her fascinating book Infidel. I love books that transport me to a foreign place or time, and immerse me in a culture that I didn't know about before. And I love books that provoke thought about important ideas. Infidel does both of things exceedingly well. It is the autobiographical account of an independent-minded woman who was raised in a traditional Somali Muslim family and grew up to be a Member of Dutch Parliament advocating for women's rights. The first half of the book is a vivid account of her childhood in Somalia, and later in Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, and Kenya as her family escaped the turbulence of their war-torn homeland. Her description of life in places like Mogadishu, Mecca, and Nairobi is rich in detail about their houses and neighborhoods, their food, their culture and traditions. Her portraits of her parents, her siblings, her grandmother, and other family members are richly complex, infused with the emotional perspective of her childhood at the same time balanced by an unflinching retrospective assessment of their good qualities and their weaknesses. The genealogist in me was fascinated learning about the Somali tribal culture that puts such a premium on one's ancestry that children at an early age can recite their ancestry for nine generations, and when two Somalis meet, they can readily ascertain their kinship even to tenth cousins. And her description of the variations of Muslim practice between countries, and the rise of Muslim fundamentalism, was illuminating and especially relevant today. She does a remarkable job of making comprehensible such alien traditions as polygamy, arranged marriages, and female genital mutilation. What is especially remarkable is how, even though she would later come to condemn some parts of the traditions she was raised with as being completely barbaric, she describes them in the context of her early life subjectively and dispassionately, neither concealing the barbarity nor revealing anger, judgment, and condemnation. The account is all the more powerful for that, allowing the reader to understand how such barbarity could be accepted and tolerated because of how it is embedded in traditional ways of life and in how sons and daughters are raised. And it allows us to understand this amazing woman on all the parts of her journey, from childhood, to adolescence when she was drawn to fundamentalism, to adulthood when she escaped to discover liberal ideas. The latter half of the book describes her life in the Netherlands, where she becomes not only a parliamentarian but a political lightning rod after making a controversial film with Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh which lead to his murder and death threats for her. The book then becomes more about politics, ideology, and her intellectual autobiography, though embedded in personal experiences of immigration, learning Dutch culture, and ultimately life as a figure in hiding from death threats. She raises significant questions about whether a liberal society can survive being tolerant of a growing immigrant community within its midst that remains insular and perpetuates an illiberal way of life. (These questions have reverberations here in America, not only regarding Islamism, but in issues like the recent Texas FLDS raids, and in the fault lines of conflict between religious liberty and civil rights protections -- issues I hope to explore in future blog posts.) And she makes a compelling argument that Islam needs to undergo its own Reformation if it is to be reconciled to modernity. Her ideas and the amazing life experience that formed them make for vital and fascinating reading.

An incredible story by a gifted writer. One of the best books I have read in many years.

What a thoughtful and inspiring book this was! Ms. Ali writes in a very engaging and direct style that makes for a hard-to-put-down biography/self-discovery book. After finishing this great book, one can only admire this woman for her courage to think for herself, change her whole way of life, and watch as her family disowned and alienated her. She was able to see Islam for what it is--a disastrously out-of-touch system set in place to suppress women, full of ridiculous mythology. Ms. Ali rightfullly shows that Islam countries are far behind Western countries in economic well being, human rights, and learning.

One, I think, must also consider X-ianity during the reading of Infidel. Could there be verses telling women to be quiet in the X-tian Quran? Could there be verses in the X-tian "holy" book where god commands men to r@pe women? Could x-tianity be a silly bunch of myths, hundreds of years old (just like Islam!), that shackle its adherents from growing intellectually and morally?

Infidel is a fantastic book by a true, modern-day hero. I'm so glad I read Ms. Ali's memoir, and I can't wait to see what she'll say next. Highly recommended!

Until it was finished, this book became a part of me--- I could not put it down. Ayaan's culture was an incomprehensible combination of love, support, backwardness, cruelty, and control. To watch her grow and develop into an independent and autonomous young lady, was to see a flower beginning to bloom. It made me thankful for having been born in the USA and for the parents I had.

Submission and degradation of women in the Muslim faith is certainly not a new or unrevealed topic, but this personal account by Hirsi Ali brings insight and understanding that one can not achieve through news articles and other written factual documentation. I applaud Ms. Ali for her courage to come forth and expose the errors of her former religion (which is no easy task) with the hope that the atrocities against Muslim women will eventually come to an end. Women of all faiths and nationalities should read this book and more like it to remind us that we still have a long way to go to accomplish true equality with men.

I heard about this book and was able to find it easily online and at a great price.

I enjoyed reading this book so much I finished it in less then a week. Parts of it are featured on a PBS documentry called "The War" (Or somthing like that), anyhow, the book gives all the reader could ask for; loss, comraderie, and the absolute brutality of war. It is my favorite first person account I have read so far, although William Foley's "Visions From A Foxhole" is exceptional as well. If you were ever curious about a Marine's combat life, read this book, and if you have already read this book, go out and thank a veteran, or current soldier for what they have done for you so that you should never have to experience the horrors of war with your own eyes. Thanks Vets and current men of all wars.To those Marines: SEMPER FI

This book gives us an idea of how the shocking horror of the Pacific conflict turned normal guys and to-be college professors into focused killers that simply didn't have the option of seeing the other side as human. When the author describes why no prisoners were taken by either side, you've already read so much that it makes sense.

Anyone who believes combat is a visceral experience similar to that seen in the movie 300 needs to read this book. Mr Sledge's book is recommended reading for every enlisted Marine at the beginning of his career. I argue that it should be required reading for every elected representative before they vote to send Americans into combat.

This book is a personal memoir of a US Marine who was a member of a front line company (Company K, 3 battalion, 5th Marine Regiment) in two World War II Pacific theater campaigns. It is not about tactics, operations, or strategy, but about what life was like for for men in front line units in the Pacific, the dangers and the depravations they faced. This book is important because of the perspective it can give the reader.

Though its focus is almost entirely on one small band of men (the men of Company K), it provides the reader with important context for understanding the world. Most obviously it gives one a window into what it means to be solider and the "face of battle", how war brings out the best and the worst in human kind, how disease and stress can be as deadly as bullets and shell fragments, and how dehumanizing the whole experience can be. Reading this first hand account makes these statements more than cliches, it makes the personal cost of war tangible in a way third person accounts can not.

Although I suspect this wasn't the authors goal, the book also provides those of us in the post baby boom generations an important perspective that can help us make sense of the arc of history from World War I to 80's. During the World Wars hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people had similar experiences, it must have had a profound impact on how they approached the world, which in turn must of have shaped the inter War and post War periods. Before reading this account I wasn't able to really appreciate how World War I lead to an increase in nihilism or the pain Vietnam War protests must have caused some veterans. Without reading this (or a similar account) one can't have a full grasp on modern history.

I think this book was read to me in school many many years ago. I remembered it as an adult and purchased it for sentimental reasons. I think it reminded me of The Secret Garden in a way. The seashell cottage was the perfect hideaway that every little girl could dream of making her own. I loved the story of Mandy and found myself wistfully wishing that I had a place like that as a child. What a wonderful story that Julie Andrews has created. I will cherish it always and keep it to pass down to the young girls in my family.

I read and reread this book about 5 or so times as a child. I simply loved the adventure of it all about the protagonist discovering a home away from home that she could call her very own. This is a fascinating tale for children who love to live in their adventurous daydreams and who love secret hiding places of their own where they can just "be". Although this is a book I would reccomend to children, I wouldn't reccomend it to adults as the plot and drama is very minimal. Adults would be bored of this whereas most children, especially little girls, would be fascinated by the simplicity and beauty described within its pages.

Mandy is obviously the protagonist of this story. She is an orphaned child living in an orphanage with other children of the state. She has a friend that she bonds with over time and gets along farily well with eveyone else, as well as the staff, until the day that mandy climbs over the wall of the orpganage and discovers an abandon cottage! She decides from that moment thatthe cottage is hers and her secret hideaway. She begins to do things that are uncharacteristic of her such as lying about where she has been, stealing from the orphanage supplies to take and supply her new home with, and is suddenly secretive with everyone, even her best friend. Read on to find out about Mandy and what she goes through as a child trying to make a cottage into a home and keep her secret place just that... secret.

Although this book is aimed to appeal to girls approximately between the ages of 7-13, I was in college when Mandy was first released. Being a hugh fan of Julie Andrews, I of course bought the book and was amazed that I could not put it down! To me, a great book has the ability to transport the reader from their day-to-day life into another time and place. I was mesmerized by this charming story from beginning to end as I am sure every child who reads it will be. Mandy is not only a sweet, likeable orphan, but she is very positive role model for children, showing that if you try hard enough, you can make your dreams come true. I admire Mandy's spirit and courage to go after her dream of someday having a real family.
I had read that because Julie Andrews lost a bet to her teenage step-daughter Jenny, that her forfeit was to write her a story, which turned into this wonderful book! Lucky for us readers, the result of that bet gave us our first glimpse at yet another one of Julie Andrews' many talents.
It's been 30 years now since I first read Mandy and I still have my original version of this book in a prominant place on my bookshelf, along with a hardback copy of Mandy and each updated version that has been printed. All the young girls in my family have read this classic book and loved it as much as I do. I only hope someday a movie version of this beautiful story is produced.

I purchased this book with my own money when it first came out thirty-six years ago. I was eight years old. I still have it on my bookshelf and shared it with my own children. This is truly a classic and I hope that someday it will be adapted for the screen!

This book reminds me a lot of "The Secret Garden" without being quite as preachy and overly descriptive. My two daughters absolutely love this book and consider it one of their favorites.

Henry VIII is a fascinating man of history. He took six wives, arranged to exchange one wife for another, murdered two, lost one to childbirth, rejected another and died before he could find a way to get rid of wife six. A man of wit, intelligence, excess and greed. He had an enormous appetite for pleasure, riches and love. You'll feel as if you're reading exceptional fiction but it really happened.

This is an excellent account of Henry and his many wives. Well researched, very well written - there's hardly a boring passage.

Watching the Tudors on Showtime got me interested in Henry VIII. I purchased this book because of the depth of its research and historical accuracy. It was excellent. I could not put it down. I tend to be more of a fiction reader, when I read for enjoyment. This was as engrossing as any novel.

If you want to read about Henry VIII's six wives, there are more titles out there that you can ever read. A lot of the material is a combination of guesses and conjecture, with a slant toward the prurient. This book, however, is very different. Alison Weir spent a lot of time looking at primary sources from the Tudor period. She obviously did her homework, and her fictionalized historical accounts are likely the closest to the truth that we will ever find.

Unlike most accounts that paint Henry as a man driven by lust, Ms. Weir paints him as a deeply religious man driven by a combination of duty and fear. He truly believes that the fate of the Tudor dynasty depends entirely on the appearance of a legitimate son. Henry had at least one illegitimate son, Henry FitzRoy, whose last name is a sly poke at his bastard status. (FitzRoy = Son of the King, get it?) As time passed, Henry's sense of duty became magnified and overwhelmed by fear that he would die before a legitimate Tudor prince was born. His son Edward was sick and weak from the beginning, and it was apparent to Henry that he needed a healthy, strong son to take on the mantle of leadership should Edward die. He himself only became king because of the untimely death of his sickly brother, Arthur. His treatment of his wives was based on these twin factors.

Alison Weir takes the dry facts and weaves them into a compelling and interesting narrative, and the tragedy of Henry's relationships with all of the women he encountered becomes stunningly clear. I found the book impossible to put down, and although I knew the bare bones of what happened from history books, I had to keep reading to see what might happen next. This is a wonderful introduction to Ms. Weir's books, and if you read this one, be sure to have the others in your shopping cart. You won't want to waste any time getting your hands on them.

I recieved this book in perfect condition and it came a day before the estimated time of arrival. Thank you.

Rebel Angels is the wonderful sequel to A Great and Terrible Beauty. A gulped up AGATB in two gulps, and RA in the same way. I enjoy this book series emensely, yet at the same time find them annyoing. I always seem to find qualms with ther hundreds of books I read each year, and this one is no exception. But don't totally forsake this book if you read this review: Rebel Angels is beautifully written, and Libba Bray is a great writer. But no work is ever perfect....

Qualm Number 1: I am a true romantic. Although I would never read downright romance novels, I love that little bit of love and denial in each book I read; I come to expect it. But I was so mad that Kartik and Gemma didn't get together in this book. WHAT IS WRONG WITH THEM? Kartik is so obviously crazy about Gemma, and she chooses to ignore him, sit in her little realm world, la la la I can't her you. And what she said to him was unintentionally mean, but he should have gotten over it, since love is endless. Personally, I would already have them together in the first book...but that's just me. But Kartik sounds like such a nice guy, you know? I have the absurd tendency to fall in love with characters, and Kartik joins Percy Jackson and Edward Cullen in this department. Why can't Gemma realize that? WHY? Ok, ranting over on that subject. I am not crazt haha :)

Moving on....
Qualm Number 2: Is it just me, or does it seem like Felicity and Ann are using Gemma? I think that they are, just to get to the realms. Felicity wants the power and to see Pippa, and Ann just wants to be beautiful. They really don't have those experiences friends have. When Gemma finds out about Felicity's past abuses Felicity doesn't cry on her shoulder; she just gets all amd. And Ann...although I liked how she lied about her family, I thought that was too out of character for her. Felicity is so pushing her to be what she is not. And what about Pippa? In the last book she seemed like she had multiple-personalities, and in RA too. One minute she is nice, the next whiny, althoug that might be the realms I don't know. Felicity also treats her weird, one minute Gemma's best friend and the next Pippa's. The whole friendship aspect is a little crazy.

Qualm Number 3: SPOILER!!!! I knew Miss Moore was Circe since AGATB, so that was very predicatble. I was a little sad though. She seemed really nice. :(

Ok, so I loved this book with a passion, and it is now on the sacred bookshelf in my room. I'm getting the sequel, The Sweet Far Thing, so soon as I can. So if you need a book to read, read this one. It's scary at times, but I was enraputured 24/7. Go get it now!!!

Second in the Gemma Doyle trilogy.

When she held Circe at bay and destroyed the runes at the end of A Great and Terrible Beauty, Gemma loosed the power of the realms and made the magic available to anyone in the realms.

Now she has been given the task to find the Temple and bind the magic. Kartik and the Order have their own plans for the magic of the realm and Gemma finds herself caught between them.

Meanwhile, Circe is still on the loose and Pippa refuses to pass as she should. Dark things are awakening within the realms and fighting to control the magic. As Gemma struggles to set things right, she has only the ravings of a mad girl to guide her.

Set against the backdrop of Victorian society, this gothic tale combines historical fiction with fantasy. Readers will be riveted by this well-paced mystery filled with authentic details of Victorian life.

(daughter of user)
Well, I found Rebel Angels to be a slightly better book than A Great and Terrible Beauty. It added to the characters and explained them more, which was very good. Personally, I liked Simon much more than Kartik. I don't know why, but I haven't been able to like his character quite yet. Simon was a gentleman and very sweet. Maybe I just liked him because I want to be adored by a sweet gentleman the way Gemma was adored by him, I don't really know. I was a bit sad that Gemma(SPOILER ALERT) didn't pick him in the end. I understand why she couldn't though. Over all, Rebel Angels was a great book and I'll be rushing to buy the next in the series.

Rebel Angels is the beautiful sequel to A Great And Terrible Beauty. It is just as captivating and page-turning as it's predecessor, if not more so.

In this novel, much is revealed about the characters introduced in A Great And Terrible Beauty, with many shocking twists and turns. This book contains puzzles that the reader is dying to uncover, and Gemma is developed into an even more likeable protagonist.

Libba Bray has improved her plot line in this one, but her writing is as beautiful as ever. Rebel Angels is a fast read, as the reader will want to finish the vivid novel in a single sitting.

Gemma Doyle has had to face much since she discovered her magic. But her journey is not over. She still has to defeat Circe and find the temple to bind the magic which is now free since the runes were smashed. Circe and the Rakshana are still after her and she does not know who to trust and who to blame. She does not even know if she can trust her dead friend Pippa. Along with all that she still has to figure out her feelings for the hansome Kartik. Again with the help of Felicity, Ann, and Kartik she must bind the magic to save the relms and defeat one of the most powerful enemies even if it is one of her friends. This book was better than the first and delivers more magic, excitement, and romance.

nicholas and alexandra should never had become czar and crazina of russia.nicholas was just to weak spirit and alexandra to strong without know the real russia people.she saw russian as childern who needed to be told how to run their lives by the papa czar.she hide her son illness and brought in a sexual twisted man of god into her family,ruin the romanov's relationship with it's people.stopping changes that would give citzen russian say in their country.in the end the people turn on the romanov's every thing end tragical.

I read this book many years ago and have never forgotten it, and I just recently purchased a copy of my own. Robert Massie is an excellent writer who makes this book memorable for the fun and loving family that the Romanovs were and their terrible, tragic end. I'm now collecting more books on the Romanov dynasty and the individual people who made up this fascinating family. For anyone with an interest, this is the place to start.

Far and away one of the best biographies I have ever read. Massie masterfully gives life to the doomed, tragic last Russian Tsar, Nicholas II, and his family. I was absolutely rivetted from page one by this outstanding work. The book gives a sympathetic portrait of Tsar Nicholas, his wife Empress Alexandra, and their ongoing struggle to cope with their haemophiliac son, Alexei, heir to the Russian throne. Alexei's illness indirectly leads to the downfall of the Romanov dynasty and the family's murder. An astonishingly good read, and one I highly recommend to all who are interested in this era of history.

Robert Massie's "Nicholas and Alexandra" is a biographical study centered on the lives of the last Tsar and Tsarina of Russia. Massie's portrayal of the last ruling Romanavs is like many other works on the subject in that it is poignant, dramatic, and vibrant; but never dull. However, Massie's work stands out above other works on the subject for its thorough account of the lives of the imperial couple and most of all, its sympathetic portrayal of them.

Nearly all works of the period agree that Tsar Nicholas II was not the blood-drenched despot the Bolshevik revolutionaries claimed him to be, and although he may not have been as benevolent as his contemporary Franz Josef of Austria-Hungary, he at least lacked the bellicose nature of his German counterpart (and early advisor), Wilhelm II. Massie's account demonstrates how Nicholas II was ill-prepared to ascend the throne in after Alexander III, but unlike the contention of other historians, Massie makes a reasonable case in defending the intelligence of the fallen autocrat.

Massie's account of Nicholas and Alexandra does not absolve the couple from their failure to prevent the collapse of the reign and ultimately their country, but it does partially excuse their inflexibility and fatalism on the serious of misfortunes that continued to plague Nicholas from the very day of his coronation; when hundred of Russian peasants were stampeded to death in a overzealous crowd on Khodynka Meadow. Yet, no Romanov apologist can ignore the detrimental influences on Nicholas's reign, including his wife Alexandra, a German Kaiser, and especially a corrupt starets. That such an array of persons from various strata of society could at times impose their will on a man raised to be an autocrat was a tarnish on Nicholas' character.

Despite his habit of being easily swayed at times, Nicholas is not one-dimensional in Massie's account. It is noted how Nicholas ignored the advice of able ministers and most of all; remained unyielding to grant the masses of his subjects the representation and constitution they desired--until it was too late. Even Massie can be counted among the historians who muse whether the Romanov dynasty might have survived had the Tsar been more accommadating to the popular demands of his people--or if war had not erupted in the manner it did in 1914.

Although Massie's work is very thorough, it only briefly touches the clandestine operations of the Tsarist police state in rooting out revolutionaries and assassins from its masses prior to 1917. Indeed, other works (e.g. Edmond Taylor's "The Fall of the Dynasties") are careful to point out that Tsarist police included a host of known double agents whose loyalties were perpetually in doubt. While Massie makes note of that insecurity in his account of Prime Minister Peter Stolypin's assassination in 1911 by a Tsarist agent, he fails to explain how widespread the problem actually was. Indeed, Taylor describes as monarchy's slide to collapse as a "suicide", not because they were unable to stop that slide, but rather because they were unwilling.

Just as it is difficult to excuse the corrupt system of Tsarist counter-revolutionary activity, historians are also unable to justify the Russia's policy in WWI of placing the needs of France above that of her own. The disaster at Tannenburg early in the war is described in detail by Massie, and is correctly portrayed as a premature offensive launched by Russia (with the support of Nicholas) to rescue its beleagured ally from the German onslaught through northern France. Indeed, even after his abdication and arrest, Massie notes how Nicholas pleaded with Kerensky to continue to support the Russia's allies in the war effort--a mission with which the Provisional Government leader would complete in the summer of 1917 with disastrous consequences. Although Massie's "Nicholas and Alexandra" does not outright label the monarchy as a principle agent of its own destruction, his book nevertheless provides a strong case to the conclusion that the last rulers (and their ministers) of the Romanov dynasty practiced an inexplicable policy of self-immolation.

It is perhaps this mystery--or lunacy--of the Romanovs that continues to fascinate so many readers 90 years after their unglorious deaths in their Siberian imprisonment. Undoubtedly, the story of the last Romanovs will continue to perplex students of history for decades to come, and Robert Massie's work will will remain the foremost account of the twilight of Imperial Russia.

Massie has written a masterpiece.
Graceful, informative ,never boring.
One of the best introductions into the insanity
of the Red Revolution and the rise of communism.

This was an amazing book. Marie Antonette was a beautiful young maiden who showed her worth to King Louis. This was a great historical story. She was the great queen of England. She was, sadly, forced into an arranged marriage. She then transformed Louis into a kind man. I like this novel because it had real life situations in it and how to get out of them. I would look up to M. A. if she was alive today. She is my historical hero. She is a great role model to all special people.

Marie Antoinette: Princess of Versaille, Austria-France, 1769 takes young readers and adults into the world of the Franch history through the eyes of a young Queen. All the cruelties and hypocricies are exposed in sharp contrast to the extreme devotion to fashion and petty perfections.

What a wonderful way to enjoy history -- and an excellent lesson in human nature, as well!

Recommended!

This royal diaries book starts out in Vienna, Austria January 1, 1769. The book continues while Marie Antoina (Marie Antoinette) goes from an Archduchess in Austria to a Dauphine in France. Marie Antoina becomes Marie Antoinette when she marries Louis Auguste. This book kept me entertained from the first page. When Marie Antoinette first arrives in France she is told to leave everthing Austrian behind and she feels alone. She encounters Madame du Barry, King Louis XV's mistress and ends when she makes up her mind to talk to du Barry after ignoring her for a while in the book. The Epilogue finishes up Marie Antoinette's life in a few pages and a brief description. A Historical Note explains how the world was changing and calling for revolution. A family tree that includes the Habsburg-Bourbon family tree with descriptions of Marie Antoinette's parents, husband and children. There are pictures in the last pages too of Marie Antoina, Antoina's mother, Antoina and her children, castles, and du Barry. There is also 2 and a half pages about the author.

This book was written based off of the diary of Marie Antoinette. When she is given a diary, she doesn't know at first what to write in it. She just writes her daily chores down & what she's done that day. She is born as the daughter of Empress Maria Theresa as Maria Antonia. Her mother is a very strict person who likes things done her own way. As custom, Maria Antonia is 13 & awaiting to find out who she will marry. Her mother picks out her husband just as she had done for her 3 sisters before her. She is only allowed to marry royalty because her mother needs allies for Austria. Years before, a ruler from another country had seized power of land that had belonged to her family. Ever since then, her mother had been making allies to take the land that she rightfully owned back. Unfortunately for her mother, Maria Antonia is a very headstrong young girl. She, also, knows what she wants & won't stop until she gets it. She obeys her mother but similtaneously listens to her wilder side. When she is told she is to marry the prince of France & live in Versailles, she isn't quite sure of what to think. She expects him to be a very handsome prince because his grandfather was. She spent months getting ready for the court of Versailles. The rules & manors are very different. This once independent girl has to learn how to let everyone else do everything for her. She isn't even allowed to give herself a bath. She doesn't adjust very well either. She believes that the manors are completely pointless. She doesn't understand why it is that in Versailles, belching at the table is considered polite. She also must change her name to Marie Antoinette to sound more French. The rules are almost opposite from her home. The worst part about her trip is that she cannot take anyone with her except for her dog. Her little dog will be her only companion as she leaves her home to join her awaiting new family & husband. When she gets there, Louis, the prince, is not exactly her idea of a fairytale prince. He's quite overweight, very shy, & has very bad acne on his face. For the first few weeks, he barely speaks to her. He is very sweet but she wants to get to know him better. She decides that if they are going to talk, she's going to have to start the conversations until he gets used to her better. She does, however, make friends with his aunts who aren't too much older than they are. She finds out a lot of important court information from them. Soon, she learns of a secret room in her apartments that had been used by previous princesses to get away from the constant media. When she wants time to herself, she can go in there. She talks to Louis about it & he has it decorated for her. Eventually, they warm up to each other & get to know each other better. When they don't share interests in a particular subject, they still support the other one & watch them anyways. They both teach each other a lot & do grow to like each other. Marie Antoinette knows that she will never truly love him but because they cannot divorse, they are at least good friends. They live a very good adolescent life together. The book stops a few years after their wedding. It doesn't go into her adult life at all but knowing about her childhood, I believe that she led a very independent lifestyle & probably changed some things about the Versailles manors when she became queen. This book was excellent & a good way to learn about history & a very important French ruler.

I personally thing that this was a very good book. I think it had a lot of good morals, and is apropriate for any age. I would recommend that you read it. I really like the main character i think she was an all around girl that just made a few bad choices. Anyway this is a great book and i think you should read it

i THINK PETER MASSIE's biography on Peter tue Great is a classic book. You read it more as a novel than an historical biography. I highgly recommend it for people interest in history. Peter the Great is an icon of Russian and Universal history, with a stunnig personality, with very dark and very positive sides. It is a most for people who want to understand russian history.

Massie's biography of Peter, the Czar of Russia is unquestionably author's best book.

For nearly quarter of a century Peter strode upon his nation like a colossus.Though tyrannical and cruel Peter unlike other Russian contemporaries was broad-minded and had progressive outlook toward life.Russian Czar was dynamic had unbridled curiosity and insatiable thirst for knowledge.

Old Muscovy state ,as author rightly puts it, was conservative,xenophobic rigidly adhering to antiquated ways.Interacting with foreigners in Muscovy's German suburb Peter realised how backward his nation really was.A fact which prompted him to undertake 'Great Embassy' to the West.Peter strove to modernise Russia particularly its armed forces incorporating latest in western technology.There was hardly a sphere of human endeavour in that nation which lay untouched by Peter's reforming zeal. Czar can rightly be dubbed the architect of modern Russia.

Czar's love for war,soldiering ,sea,ships,navigation lends colour to this biography.Big events of his life was Great northern War and founding of the city of St. Petersburg along the banks of river neva.In the former case, Peter wanted to make Russia a maritime power .this was not possible as long as Russia had no natural access to sea.In the south ,Tartars blocked Russia's route to sea and in the north Swedes controlled the Baltic coast.Peter's determination to break the stranglehold led to war with King Charles XII of Sweden.

The book is also a brilliant sweep of late 17th and early 18th century history.Author narrates Streltsy revolt which precede peter's accession to power,the reign of King Louis XIV of Bourbon dynasty,splendid court life of French nobility. Religious strife ,dynastic quarrels leading to wars of succession,rise of Holland, growth of Ottoman power and Glorious revolution in England.Hence I deem this book an essential reading for History buffs.

My only grudge is bibliography which looks inadequate considering the scale of research undertaken by the author for its production.Research notes not very impressive .However footnotes adequately compensates for this lacuna.

Book carries good quality maps especially on Battle of Poltava. Reader is easily able to follow the ebb and flow of the battle ; different manoeuvres practised by Swedish and Russian infantry and cavalry units.

On the whole,Massie has done an excellent job.

Much like Pierre Berton's great Canadian history books, Robert Massie brings history to the "people" with Peter The Great. In this long but highly readable biography, Massie illumimates the distant past of a backward nation which grew into a major European power under the energetic Peter. We read about the palace intrigues in the Kremlin in Peter's early years, his rise to power, and his historic trip "incognito" through Holland, Austria and England. A major part of this book is devoted to the Great Northern War with Sweden, and the fascinating character of Swedish king Charles XII. I knew very little about that attempted invasion of Russia, and Massie paints a vivid picture of the Swedish campaign. The author also brings us inside the Ottoman Empire and the life of the Sultans and Grand Viziers. He puts Peter's life in context with the greater world and shifting alliances of Europe.

The brutish nature of life in Russia in this era is not glossed over. So many labourers died in the construction of Peter's centrepiece city St. Petersburg, and the cruel punishments of the time are depicted. Overall, this is the type of historical biography they don't write anymore. History can be and should be written to appeal to a broader audience, and also to tell things as they were, without resorting to revisionism. Books such as this encourage readers to explore history more.

What a treat this book was to read. Robert Massie demonstrates an ability at biography to a level I had never before experienced, though a huge portion of my reading is in fact biography. Truly amazing is the level of detail and background, which is somehow seamlessly spun into fibers, into yarns, and into a rich textile of thoughts and events sweeping through Russian and world drama by the fluid hand of Mr. Massie. He is with no exaggeration a master of his craft. I suppose this is why the book has earned a Pulitzer prize.

Not only is the worth of the author a call for every historically curious person to swim eagerly through this work, but so do the very facts of the account examined create among the richest stories available in history for any author to weave into narrative. It just so happens that here we have a wonderful and rich history handled by an unusually able story teller.

Peter The Great is such a curious character that one might consider such a collection of ability, insight, temper, and crushingly wielded power more the subject of a novel before thinking him one who walked the Earth, leaving his mark forever impressed upon Russia until the modern day.

It was Peter who pulled Russia kicking and screaming from the dark ages. It was Peter who created the Russian Navy from nothing (actually it is said from a single rotten sailboat). It was Peter who created Russia's first standing professional army. How? From the ranks of children with whom he played army as a child himself. He grew, they grew, and they became the core of the new Russian army. This by the way is a brutal and captivating tread of the story in its own right.

The book is riddled with such accounts, rendered in a degree of detail as to leave you simply awestruck and immersed in your own transported imagination. This to the point of regretting the arrival of that last of its many polished and engrossing pages.

This is truly a wonderful display of scholarship, of factual organization, and of rich story telling. This book is absolutely perfect for those with a mind, seeking to have it engaged.

I love to read history and have numerous books about many people and events that happened throughout history. But this book has to be my absolute favorite. Peter the Great was an amazing person and led a life without one dull moment. Once you start reading this book it will be difficult to put it down. Even though he did not live into old age, he lived a life full of adventure and you will never be bored while reading this book. You will find that Peter the Great is one of the best leaders of all times and I often wonder how Russian history would have evolved if Peter had lived to be eighty. It is too bad the man cannot be cloned.

This is one of the first Holocaust survival stories that I read. It is by far one that has stayed with me in the most detail.

I'm not going to give the story away I'm just going to say you will cry and rejoyce in this story. It will touch you to core of your very being.

I must read for EVERYONE!

I have read many of the holocaust books out there but this is the one I pass on to friends to read. Especially moving is the liberation of the prisoners at the end of the book. I wish all schools made this mandatory reading. What a way to learn history! This author is quite an incredible woman.

This book was gripping and I could not put it down until I finished it. It's so hard to believe the hardships so many endured for being Jewish. A must read. Beautifully written with rich detail.

I read this book a long time ago and just got done listening to the book on tape for the second time. It is the most powerful representation of the Holocaust I have found. Please read this book if you want to learn about the Holocaust from a gifted author and survivor.

Despite the horrors around her, and fellow prisoners dying and becoming mentally unbalanced every day, young Gerda Weissman managed to survive several Nazi camps from the late 1930s through the grisly end of World War II.

Imagine being a teenager, wrenched away from your beloved parents, older brother and home -- and never seeing any of them ever again. It would be enough to make anyone unstable, not to mention bitter. Yet somehow, Gerda emerges from her horrifying ordeal stronger than she began. As her body heals in a hospital run by the Allies during the spring of 1945, Gerda begins a relationship with Kurt Klein -- a young soldier who urges her to tell her story.

Now an elderly woman living in Arizona, Gerda Weissman Klein is able to see just how far she's come from the young Jewish girl living a priviledged life in Poland. Yet at the same time, her writing style allows readers to see clearly just how that same persona has managed to live such a rich, eventful life to the fullest all of these years.

I've read many Holocaust memoirs, though I must say that Gerda's story is beautifully and distinctly told.

This book is great. After viewing the movie DAS BOOT I had to learn more about the glory and tragedy of the U-boats of WWII. This book is an edge of the seat thriller. I've bought several more books on the U-boats and if they're half as good as this one I'll consider it money well spent.

If I could give this book more than 5 stars, I would - it is absolutely excellent. Herbert Werner was born in 1920, and served active duty aboard German submarines from 1941 until the very end of the war in May 1945. He survived the war, which is no small accomplishment. Of 40,000 World War 2 German submariners, 30,000 never returned home alive. But on a personal level, he suffered tremendous losses. More than 90% of his comrades did not survive, and even worse - his parents and only sister were killed in an Allied fire-bombing raid over the German city of Darmstadt. His lovely Blonde girlfriend and her parents were killed in an earlier Allied air raid over the German capital city of Berlin. It is hard to think of real stories more tragic or more sad than this. As a naval officer, this young man (age 25 at the end of the war) was incredibly well-experienced, proficient, and even somewhat lucky. But I would give far more weight to experience and proficiency than to luck. If more young German submarine commanders had Herbert Werner's on-the-job training and experience, many more would have survived. Their senior commanders and above all their senior national leadership (under Hitler) were reckless men who ruined them, their country (Germany) and many other unfortunate people of their tragic time.

This is a very well written and organized version f the battle of the atlantic for any fans of the U-Boat Saga.... Very insightful into the U-boat way of life and what all those brave boys went through back then.

Great book,one of the signal submarine tales of the Second World War.They made a very dramatic movie out of a few episodes of the book. My wife happened to see the movie recently and I mentioned how little of the book was covered, so it was time to add a hard cover to our library.
well packaged , arrived in excellent shape.

Commander Werner has written a fascinating account of his experiences as a German U-Boat captain during WWII. A variety of books have been written about overall submarine warfare, but this author provides us with an interesting perspective based on his personal experiences.

We quickly learn that the submariner leads a harrowing life in a claustrophobic metal tube where the humidity quickly turns everything into a sodden mess, including the food which turns moldy and covered with slime, but is still eaten. For the men aboard it was a glorious time for the first full two years of the war in which only 47 boats were lost while millions of tons of allied ships were sent to the bottom. Then things changed. In 1943 alone 237 German submarines were sunk. By war's end close to 800 boats were lost at sea.

The book describes an interesting form of evolutionary warfare. Unfortunately for the Germans the Allies evolved more quickly as they developed better radar detection systems, began using more fast convoy escorts, and inaugurated the use of small aircraft carriers to provide air support. An interesting innovation that I hadn't heard of before was the planting of buoys in the areas around England that sent radar signals. A U-boat surfacing would detect these signals and, thinking they were about to be attacked, would submerge again. Werner also slowly becomes aware that the Allies had broken the submarine codes. Everywhere he went the enemy was waiting for him. If you wanted to stay alive you had to maintain radio silence.

Mr. Werner salts his account with descriptions of his life ashore during the war. Going on leave was pleasurable, but as the war progressed he details the gradual destruction of his homeland. Even close to the end he and his comrades expected Germany to win the war. The author concludes the book by discussing his unpleasant experiences as a prisoner of war.