Europe Books

The Bulletins of the Napoleon's Grande Armee was in essence, nothing more then newsletters written for French army personals and their opponents. The author did the Napoleonic community a great service by making this book available in English, the complete set of Napoleon's Bulletins. The book also included other pages of history as Napoleons' decrees, treaties that was signed and even military reports.

The Bulletins shows exactly what it supposed to be, a newsletter written for military consumption, and it was geared not only for the French army but also for their enemies. Thus, you will have not only the truth in those bulletins but also misinformation. It does boggled the mind to realized such effort was made to both informed and misinformed both sides of the battle line. As one previous reviewer wrote, a propaganda sheet. But it seems to work. If I was a French soldier reading these bulletins, it would be informative and if I was a their enemy, I would be misinformed. The bulletins also serves to give recognition to troops for their services or valor, both as an unit or as indivduals. These bulletins and its accompanying documents gives a clear inside view of how war looks to the men fighting it.

However, unlike the other reviewers, I would say this much. I don't think this book is for everyone. Readers with limited background in Napoleonic military history will undoubtfully be totally confused or be misinformed themselves. Most of the bulletins were written with the understanding that people reading them knows who "Duke of Auerstadt" and what corps he commanded. It was written for people who already know what went on previously. I don't believed this is a book for beginners into this subject but someone who already have a good understanding of the Napoleonic wars and its terrains, leaders and troop types.

A valuable book, a "must have" in any Napoleonic library and almost a mandatory reading material for any experienced Napoleonic reader.

Thanks to David Markham, Executive Vice-President of the International Napoleonic Society, we now possess the great treasure from the Napoleonic times - the Bulletins of the Grande Armée, 1805-1815. This is the first time that all of them have been translated into English, assembled in chronological order and put together in one source, and thus presents an important source of information of the epoch. Now, when one is about to read any book on Napoleon's campaigns, Imperial Glory will present an indespensable source of understanding the epoch, including operations and movement of the troops. By all means it should serve as desktop reference book for any serious scholar and student!
True, Napoleon's bulletins were written and published for propaganda purposes, although admitting certain facts, loses and misfortunes. For example, during the First Polish Campaign, 1806-1807, in the first day of battle at Eylau, 7 February 1807, the 2nd bataillon of the 18th Line Regiment lost its Eagle and color to the St.-Petersburg's Dragoons; this loss was admited in the Bulletin!
Generally, this book could serve as a good starting point for anyone who is interested in Napoleonic history. Comparing what's written in this or that document with an actual event of the campaign, one could find very interesting facts which might move to conduct another, more thorough research on this or that event. It is also very useful for re-enactors (the author of this review is one) because it presents important information on all aspects of various troop movements, operations and achievements; it will help them to understand epoch they recreate in more colorful aspects and on various levels.
Overall, we need more books like this! Highly recommended!

Greenhill books and David Markham have hit a home run with this magnificent collection of the Bulletins of Napoleon's Grande Armee. This is the first time they have been collected together and published in English. This book is a wonderful reference work, and if definitely fills in a very large blank in the history of the period.

There are some who would doubt the usefulness of the Bulletins as historical reference. It is true that they were used as propaganda, but it is also true that they were full of accurate information as well as some misinformation, deliberately put in them by the Emperor. There are two things that must be remembered when talking of Napoleon's Bulletins. First, they were never intended as history; second, Napoleon was the first European ruler to speak directly to his people, and the Bulletins was one of the ways in which he did it.

An interesting facet of this volume is that it contains more than just the published Bulletins. There is other relevant correspondence of the period, one of the most interesting is the death warrant issued against Austrian General Chasteler by Napoleon for his conduct regarding French and Bavarian prisoners during the Tyrol uprising in 1809. Apparently, he allowed prisoners taken by troops under his command to be murdered, and did nothing about it. There was a price on his head, but unfortunately he got away. This is but one of the valuable gems that you will find in the pages of this most excellent of volumes.

This book is highly recommended and it should be on the bookshelf of every enthusiast of the period. Much useful information and knowledge can be gleaned from these pages, and the author has definitely made his mark with this volume.

J. David Markham has compiled the first English language translation of all of the bulletins of the Grande Armée from 1805 to 1814. In addition, he has included reports from marshals and the major general of the army, Marshal Alexander Berthier. Markham has written an excellent introduction that he calls "A modern view of Napoleon's bulletins" in which he points out the strengths and weaknesses in the use of these documents. The book also contains the bulletins of Marshal Masséna's Army of Italy in 1805; a selected guide to men and their titles; a partial list of other important individuals mentioned in the bulletins; and a very good index, all of which make it very user-friendly for scholars doing research on Napoleon, his generals, and/or the Napoleonic wars.

These bulletins also provide a real insight into Napoleonic propaganda. They were written for publication in the Monitor, the official government newspaper, to bolster moral and support on the home front and to raise the moral of the troops on campaigns. Thus, when he deemed it wise or necessary, the Emperor was given to exaggerate his successes and accomplishments and those of his armies while playing down his reversals and setbacks.

Nevertheless, the bulletins provide a wealth of information on Napoleon, his armies, and men who fought those wars. Markham has provided a major contribution to Napoleonic studies by making the bulletins available in the English language in one concise volume. It will be a welcomed addition to individual libraries and a must for colleges and universities where French history is taught.

John G. Gallaher
Professor Emeritus of History
Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville
Author, The Iron Marshal: A Biography of Louis N. Davout; Napoleon's Irish Legion; General Alexandre Dumas: Soldier of the French Revolution.

Occasionally a new book is released that is so important to the study of the Napoleonic era that it immediately falls into the "must have" category for both Napoleonic scholars and enthusiasts. Imperial Glory is such a book. David Markham has assembled for the first time, all of the bulletins written by Napoleon between 1805 and 1812. Many of them have never been translated into English before, while others were only available to the serious scholar. Additionally, Mr. Markham also checked the translations of those bulletins that had been translated in the 19th Century and found many errors in them.

Napoleon used his bulletins for a variety of reasons: to inform the public and his soldiers of the progress of his campaigns, to praise his soldiers and their officers for the actions, and to ensure his enemies heard of his triumphs. They were published in the government's official newspaper, Le Moniteur, and often hung on doors and posted in public squares throughout the Empire. The veracity of the bulletins has always been open to question, with one of the most frequently used expressions from the Napoleonic era being, "To lie like a bulletin."

Although many of these bulletins were published for propaganda purposes, Mr. Markham does point out most are "reasonably accurate." Furthermore, he writes "[Napoleon's] losses were sometimes described as 'considerable', and he would list specific officers that were lost, along with the numbers of men killed, wounded or taken prisoners."

In addition to all 183 bulletins written from 1805 and 1812, Imperial Glory contains 170 other documents, many of which have never been published in English before. Broken down by year, the book includes:

1805

37 Bulletins of the Grande Armée (complete)
9 Bulletins of Masséna's Army of Italy (complete)
9 Proclamations
3 Decrees
2 Orders of the Day
3 Letters
1 Armistice
1 Treaty of Peace

1806-1807

87 Bulletins (complete)
4 Proclamations
1 Letter
1 Armistice between France and Prussia
1 Armistice between France and Russia
1 Treaty between France and Prussia
1 Treaty between France and Russia

1809

30 Bulletins (complete)
4 Proclamations
2 Proclamations of the King of Saxony
2 Orders of the Day
2 Reports by the Viceroy (Eugène)
3 Letters
1 Treaty between France and Austria

1812

29 Bulletins (Complete)
1 Final dispatch from Paris
1 Order of the Day
1 Letter
21 Field Reports, including:
5 Reports from Marshal Ney
4 Reports from Marshal Murat
2 Reports from Marshal Davout
2 Reports from Eugène
2 Reports from Marshal St Cyr
1 Report of Marshal Macdonald
1 Report from Marshal Oudinot
1 Report from Prince Poniatowski
1 Report from Prince Schwarzenberg
1 Report of Russian General Wittgenstein to Tsar Alexander
1 Report from General Wrede

1813

51 Reports from Le Moniteur, which often include reports from multiple days
2 Proclamations
2 Reports from Marshal Berthier
1 Report from General Vandamme
1 Report from Marshal Ney
1 Report from General Milhaud
6 Letters
1 Armistice

1814

23 Reports from Le Moniteur, including two "bulletins" at the end of the campaign
2 Proclamations
1 Decree
1 Order of the Day
2 Speeches
1 Act of Abdication

The collection of material is by campaign, with a separate chapter covering the different campaigns fought in that year or years. Within each chapter, the material is also arranged chronologically. This is an ideal arrangement, for not only does it permit the reader to follow the campaigns as seen through the official press releases, but it also provides great insight into how Napoleon managed his propaganda campaign.

The supplementary material is fascinating. I found particularly interesting the after-action reports on various battles written by the unit commander to the Imperial Headquarters. These reports were not written for public consumption and often were the first communication between a subordinate commander and the army headquarters. These reports contain information that would not necessarily be placed in the bulletins. Mr. Markham also included all the bulletins written by Marshal Masséna in 1805. He was in command of the Army of Italy and operating as an independent commander. Masséna's bulletins are in chronological order and interspersed with Napoleon's. Reading them together will give the reader a good feel for the two individuals' writing styles.

Mr. Markham and Greenhill Books are to be commended for making available to the public, material that has long been inaccessible to all but those with extensive libraries. Imperial Glory is an impressive collection of documents that every Napoleonic library should own. Do not delay buying Imperial Glory. It will be snatched up quickly and soon will be out of print.

This is one of the most authentic and grim accounts of fighting on the Western Front during the Great War. After three years of constant artillery bombardment, the no man's land between the lines had been reduced to an impassable quagmire. Time and time again, British soldiers were ordered to march through this waist deep treacle as German machine guns raked the men crawling through the mud. Advances of a few hundred yards were hailed in propagandistic despatches as great victories. Thousands of lives were squandered in the process of trying to advance through mires. Ninety years after the guns were silenced, farmers continue to find corpses and skeletons of soldiers who were lost in action. The locals refer to this as occurrence as "the harvest of the bones."

Given the gross ineptitude of command leadership of the British Army, it is nothing short of a miracle that the Central Powers did not prevail in the First World War. The American entry into the conflict on behalf of the Allies served to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. In retirement, Field Marshal Alexander Haig was subject to a tacit blackballing by the British military and political establishment.

A personal aside: my late father was a friend of a gentleman who was related to John McCrae, the poet who wrote "In Flanders Fields." McCrae died on the Western Front.

Mr Wolff has captured the complex details and produced a compelling and interesting account of the bitter fighting in Flanders. This book is one of the very best and ranks beside Middlebrook's classic 'First Day on the Somme'. A must read for any World War One buff.

In these times of compassionate battlefield practices and high tech, the loss of several hundred men would be a great disaster and bring the general under closest scrutiny. It is hard for us to imagine a time when men lived in a sea of mud beneath fortified heights, drowned in shell holes, never saw a tank, and had negligible air support, while the enemy artillery turned over every square inch of ground. The loss of several hundred thousand in one battle was deemed tolerable and was to be encouraged if the general could gain several hundred yards of ground, nor was there any hope of it ever ending. If you read this book, you will understand the ideology, art and literature of the entire 20th century much better.

In Flanders Fields is the most readable World War One book I have yet come across; infinitely more so than Ian Ousby's Road to Verdun which, although starting promisingly soon gets bogged down in academic pontificating. The Road to Flanders, as the title suggests deals with the conflagration that took place there in the autumn of 1917 - also known as he Third Battle of Ypres - when the British Army tried once again to break the stalemate on the western front and push the Germans out of Belgium and away from strategic ports.
In Flanders Fields focuses on three key players - British Army Commander-in-Chief, Douglas Haig; his nemesis British Prime Minister David Lloyd George and mud.
The October offensive against the German lines was an unmitigated disaster and many historians have attempted to put the blame squarely on the shoulders of the Field Marshal Haig. This is understandable - Haig pressed ahead with his scheme despite the warnings from generals both French and British and the disapproval of the British government. Bur as you read this book you will see that there were other factors that played their part: internal bickering, vanity, bad weather, indecision, false promises, lax security (the British plans were published in advance the newspapers), and No Man's Land where the mud was so deep soldiers and mules drowned by the dozens.
In Flanders Fields is really well written - as well as depicting the whole event clearly, Wolff actually manages to bring the whole event to life and takes us into the meeting rooms and the pages of secret diaries. Entertaining but not for the easily depressed. I recommend this as a first-class introduction to anyone interested in finding out more about World War 1

I've read this book twice the last time being over ten years ago and its haunting images of slaughter on the battle are still vivid in my mind. Although I had read All Is Quiet On The Western Front previously, I was not prepared for what I read here- the senselessness of the killing was unimaginable. How in the world could General Haig (the British commander) and Field Marshall Foch (the French commander) send hundreds of thousands of men to their death? If my memory serves me correctly, up to 20,000 allied soldiers died in one month alone.

This is a highly readable history of the battle, one that will captivate your interest and keep you reading until the end. Simply put, this book is hard to put down. Time after time, you ask yourself, how could they keep up this senseless slaughter, asking yourself what compelled these men to obey orders that meant certain death for no gain whatsoever? Certainly the First World War was one of the most senseless and unless wars ever fought, laying the groundwork for even the more destructive Second World War.

When the United States entered the war, it was to General Pershing's credit that he refused to dole out American troops under the command of Haig and Foch. Pershing knew that they too would be used for cannon fodder under European command. Since the Civil War, Americans have been reluctant to give their sons over to such slaughter.

This is a gripping book. Well written and hard to put down, it will take you back to a time and a war now almost forgotten.

Drumlish author strikes a chord with his memories of a Longford childhood
By Fergal Quinn - Reporter for the Longford Leader, Ireland.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
A life becomes a great deal less ordinary when it is written down. Happily for the readers and fans of the new book by Arnold J Meagher he is well equipped to do just that.
Sound effects and extravagant hand movements accompany the words as he outlines some of the vivid memories contained in 'Ireland, my Ireland', his debut book of memoirs which skilfully weaves a colourful tapestry of Longford in times past.
The long since emigrated Drumlish native, was back home to do readings of 'Ireland, my Ireland' around the county last week. The book is about growing up in County Longford in the 40s and 50s and has been winning a growing band of admirers and fans.
"Readers make it worth while and it's very gratifying to get such positive feedback", he told the Longford Leader at the home of his cousin Sean Donnelly in Longford Town, where he is staying with his wife Jackie for the duration of his stay.
"It does seem to have brought back memories for people. One woman, who went to the same school as me and also emigrated said 'finishing the book was like leaving home again'".
His wife Jackie, with whom he now lives in Eufaula, Alabama was the principal driving force behind "Ireland, my Ireland, memories from the heartland" being written, says Arnold.
"It was a way of life that didn't exist anymore and he remembered it", Jackie explains, "I wanted our son to have a feeling for the life his father had in Ireland".
"Ireland my Ireland" took five years to finish, and after having been turned down by over 60 publishers, was finally published in 2003.
"The ones who turned me away would say `There's no controversy. There's no scandal. It won't sell'," says Arnold.
"Then Publish America, got back to me with similar concerns, and asked me to write and tell them why my book is different.
"I told them the Irish memoirs I had read were all about dysfunctional families. All about city life. My book is about life in the country, in the heartland."
He felt the time was right to tell a different Irish story.
"There was a scatter of books after 'Angela's Ashes' did so well. Frank McCourt's a great writer and I'd never put him down but I wanted to tell another side of Irish family life that wasn't so dysfunctional. I think Irish people abroad are ready to hear a story they can be proud of, that they can feel good about."
Drumlish is in many ways, 'everytown', says Arnold, now 71 years old, and people who had grown up in rural Alabama got in touch and said they related to it.
Arnold's favourite moments , and the ones which kept the children to whom he was reading to last week enraptured is the account of the football match, the banshee and making hay.
"Tea in the meadow was better than anything from Harrods in London! You'd be picking out the grass hoppers, but the older men, who were not so patient, would simply blow them to one side and gulp it down," he says.
Ireland, my Ireland', reads deceptively simply off the page. But to achieve such a flow was no accident. For Arnold, the writing process was slow and rather painstaking, involving lots of rewriting, sessions of recalling memories and jotting them down, before trying to connect them all together. Ann Donnelly, Sean's wife, was also a help in getting the details Arnold wanted.
"Reading it aloud is an essential part of the distilling process.
To Jackie, or even to myself. You never knew how a sentence was until you heard it aloud," he explains.
"The Banshee concept was hard. I wondered how I'd get across the idea on the page. Feeling dictates how the words flow. "
It's many years since 1957 when Arnold left Longford for America, after having been ordained as a priest. He was stationed in Sacramento for 15 years.
The story of his leaving the priesthood is one which he is admirably frank about. Arnold had his doubts about the issue of celibacy, even having written a celebrated article, anonymously, in the National Catholic Reporter.
"My attitude was that celibacy is a gift that not all priests have, so it should not be expected of every priest," he says.
"I did not doubt my vocation so much but I looked around me and more and more came to realize that I did not want to grow old alone."
When he met Jackie he knew that the celibate life was not for him.
"I met Jackie and fell in love with her and got the reluctant permission from the church to leave the priesthood." Arnold has no regrets on the route his life took. "They were fifteen great years. I was a good priest, in good standing until I left of course. "
The Longford man came late to writing creatively but he's certainly used to writing on other levels. He is exceptionally well educated having done a PHD on 'Chinese Emigration to Latin America', a formidable work which is recognised as one of the best on the subject.
On leaving the priesthood, he set up a company 'Best Writing' which write and phrase things for companies for everything from brochures to proposals for Government Contracts. Words have been his trade for a long time.
Arnold has been a fairly regular visitor to these shores since going abroad especially when his parents Arnold and May, the former a policeman, and the latter a school teacher were alive.
His mother May taught at Gaigue school for 41 years while his father joined the Gardai when they were first being formed at the age of 18.
Arnold and his eight siblings committed after their parents died to having a reunion every four or five years rotating between Ireland, England, where three of them were and the US where another three were.
The ability to write was always latent in him, but Arnold admits that he couldn't have written the same book as he did, had he remained living here. "Distance lends enchantment to the view. The distance in time and geography coloured my writing to an extent", he explains.
"And his appreciation too," Jackie adds.
Of course it's not all fun and light. There are fears and unpleasantness, the dentist, the sometimes cruel school master, the fear of the dead and the little people. But it's all written in an engaging, light style that the reader can almost hum along to.
"The little people I believed in unquestionably as a child, as I did God I suppose. My guardian angels were not as real to me as ghosts were," he recalls.
"The children in the school where I was reading asked me about the Banshee. 'Was it real?' I said it was real in my mind, not on the outside. They understood the concept very well."
He's happy and comfortable with immense change that this little island has undergone in the years since he was a boy.
"Each time I come back I see more progress, more flowers, more nice houses. It's uplifting for me to see this happen and I'd love to have shared in that success," he says.
The book is selling steadily, mostly through word of mouth, and with Arnold essentially publishing it himself. He has been one of the best sellers in the Longford Bookshop over the last year. It's a good start, he says. "People who read it seem to like it. That's the main thing."
Will a young fellow growing up in Longford today, have as distinctive and individual a story to tell if he sits down in 60 years I ask him.
"Absolutely!" he says with conviction.
"Since I wrote the book, I have come to the conclusion that there's one book in everybody's life. A life story is unique, like a fingerprint, and no-one else can write it. It's the detail that makes it come alive and blossom."

Arnold Meagher's memoir awakened for this Longford native golden memories of her youth. A must read!

Arnold Meagher has written a charming look back at his years growing up in the middle of the Twentieth Century before the Celtic Tiger reshaped his homeland. Arnold's Ireland is a country of small villages, rural landscapes, and a priest ridden school system. As a child, Meagher found happiness in the small features of nature and society. On his grandmother's farm where he helped his uncle with farm chores, he was an inveterate birdwatcher, made pets of many farm animals, loved the smell of hay, celebrated feast days with the neighbors, and surreptitiously eavesdropped on the same neighbors who many nights appeared at his grandmothers to sit before her peat fire and tell tales of the little people.

Meagher's reminiscences relate a timeless cycle of century-old rituals and work in the Emerald Isle. While the official account of Ireland's history is poignant and sad, Meagher's corner of Ireland was full of light, playfulness, and a tightly-knit large family. A pleasure to read!

Wholly engaging and healing for even the hardest of heart. Arnold J. Meagher has provided this hard-hearted German emigrant refugee a glimpse into the heart of youth growing up anywhere in this world, a wee bit of an "Everyman's" experience. Well done, Mr. Meagher. Your pages are a balm for all souls everywhere who have the courage and wisdom to revisit their childhood experience in search of the whole person in a broken world. Your healing insights and reflective prayer has healed us all who read your book, Ireland, MY Ireland. I shall revisit your pages often. I hope you are not done sharing your beautiful soul in writing. I would love to hear the story of an Irish immigrant and Irish-American. Welcome to the hall of Literary Gems.

Dear Arnold:
I just finished reading your book and for the first time in my life, I am writing to the author of a book I had read. It took me back so deeply that I was again living those years and I hated reaching the end because I had to leave home again.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book and the fact that you had the facts exactly as I remembered them and you used the real names of people that I knew, even though some of them were just on the edge of my recollections, made it so much more interesting.

Iwo tells the tale of the battle for Iwo Jima, as a veteran of the battle, Mr. Wheeler was in an excellent position to tell us about the battle that few historians would be able to meet. Mr. Wheeler opens his book by describing the Japanese leaders and preparations for defending Iwo Jima. This is rapidly followed by the American preparations and the initial landing. The center piece is the assault and flag raising on Suribachi; concluding with the Americans taking Iwo Jima

My Likes
Mr. Wheeler tells this in a very gritty way, that of a Marine who was on the beach and tasted the sulfur in the air and dirt. When reading this book you can almost feel the shells crashing around you and know that someone is watching each move you make up the beachhead. I particularly love how Mr. Wheeler provides nice details about each of the Marines he covers; a little more than most historians would provide you. Another love is the details on E Company, 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines, 5th Marine Division; his old unit. When describing his unit, Mr. Wheeler provides excellent background and feeling for the men. Particular attention is paid to the two flag raisings. Another great addition Mr. Wheeler provides is on the Japanese, their preparations and their leaders; something just starting when this book was originally written. The additional pieces about the Japanese help us to understand more about the battle.

My Dislikes
Maps. The few maps in the edition I have are of lower quality. I would have loved to have seen some nice maps included in the book that showed where the Marines were on at the end of the first day and other significant days. I also would have enjoyed having a nice breakdown of what the Japanese bunker networks looked like. This would have been great for showing readers how terrible the fields of fire were. I also wish the Navy would have been included a little more than they were (they're there, but more to take the Marines to Iwo, prep the area, and then support them). My other desirement for the book was focusing on the other Marine units as well as he did his own.

The Rating
A very solid 4 star book (going rapidly to 4.5 stars). The writing is nice and clean as it's told from the Marines perspective. There's also excellent photos. This made me lean to 5 stars, but with the lack of maps and the coverage of the other Marine units not being as good as the assault on Suribachi I'm rounding to 4 stars. That said, I seriously doubt that any book can describe the valor of E Company, 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines as well as this one did. A very good book!

We were searching for books that would depict the true situation on Iwo Jima during WWII. We were thrilled with this selection. We found two pictures we believe to be my husband's father. We have looked for photos where my mother-in-law could see well enough to say if it was her husband. These photos were excellent.

written so excellent, one will hardly ever forget. Dramatic, shocking and sad book about proud not afraid to die but nevertheless doomed Japanese soldiers and desperate, brave, pushed to the limits Marines, all dying for..(?!). Books about Stalingrad and Monte Casino come to my mind and "Iwo" should be on your shelf together with them. Maybe your children will read it some day and try to ponder nature of wars decided by individuals (rulers/politicians) and resulting in tragedy for many; as
Bertrand Russell noted: "war does not determine who is right, only who is left".

I am a USMC veteran who reads extensively about WW II. This is the best book about Iwo Jima I have ever read and have recommended it to my old buddies.

IWO is spellbinding. Written from the point of view of the Marines that fought, it tells their story and keeps the reader glued to the pages. Graphic discriptions of life and death hold the attention and provide a new insight to this battle. A must read for anyone intrested the military and war history.

....there is something wrong with you. But, it WILL inspire you. {I shall say at the outset that I will leave out a lot of the names I can't pronounce}. This is the story of a family of three Lithuanian Jews, and, secondarily, of ten others, saved from the Holocaust by the courage and sacrifice of one Catholic family. They survived, and made it to America....

The tale is told from the viewpoint of Etta Ipp, who became Edna Ipson here in Richmond, VA. "Izzy's Fire" was a pet name her husband's family had for her. Some of the scenes, and stories, will make you sick. {DON'T let little kids read it}. Some will make you cry. There is great evil in the world; if you doubt that, read this book. There is also great good...never doubt that, either, for you shall meet it here.

The Ipsons lost almost all of their family to the Nazis, but they survived, and even prospered. Izzy died in 1997. Edna was still alive at the publication of the book in 2005. Jay, their young son, is now in his mid 70s, and helps run the Virginia Holocaust Museum, in Richmond. He is living history. I shall do something I never do, and recommend you not buy this from your favorite bookstore...if you purchase it from the Holocaust Museum, Jay will sign and personalize your copy; that virtually makes it a sacred relic. I assure you I treasure mine.

Izzy's Fire: Finding Humanity In The Holocaust is the triumphant true story of a holocaust survivor and members of her family escaped the Kovno Ghetto in Lithuania, survived trials and successfully hid until the war's end in a hiding places granted them by a Catholic farmer. She, her husband, and other refugees dug a hole between two potato cellars, and with the unselfish aid of that selfless, risk taking Catholic family, miraculously survived the Holocaust. Afterward she and her husband emigrated to America and encountered a joyful reunion decades later. Izzy's Fire gives voice to those who survived the Holocaust in hiding, and is a welcome addition to Holocaust studies shelves.

Rebeccasreads highly recommends IZZY'S FIRE as a compelling account of how a Lithuanian Jewish couple & their son survived the Nazi occupation, & hide for 3 years in a Catholic farmer's root cellar. & then surviving the Communist "liberation" of their homeland.

Beasley draws from personal interviews, research & numerous memoirs, including those from Israel "Izzy" Ipson, who helped his family escape from Kovno Ghetto, one of the most notorious killing fields for Jews in Lithuania. The Ipps, as they were known then, relocated to Richmond following their liberation and later changed their name to Ipson. Their story has been re-created at the Virginia Holocaust Museum in Richmond, Virginia.

IZZY'S FIRE is Eta's answer to those who say the Holocaust never happened, & is a tribute to personal bravery & the unquenchable resources of compassion, quick-wittedness & sheer determination to live, with a lot of luck thrown in.

Complete with maps & photos, IZZY'S FIRE is a story for all time.

There are many people today that feel "entitled" due to race, relegion or the condition of the home in which they were born. This is a story about a family who's life was turned upside down by war; who lived in barns, potato holes and lived in fear of being murdered as was the fate of many of their family members. Through perserverance and a strong faith in God, they were able to get to America and lived the "american story" of pulling themselves up from poverty to owning a successful business. All young people need to read this story.

Izzy's Fire is by far one of the best books I've ever read. I cannot imagine the pain and suffering of this family in the ghetto in Lithuania. The book was extremely well written and was very hard to put down once I started it. Kudos to Ms. Beasley on a job well done! I can't wait until her next book. This is a must read.

This is a truly amazing story of human courage. Jack and Rochelle were not only brave enough to run away from their Germany captors, but then spent years living in the woods surviving and fighting back. Even after the Russian liberation and their departure from the woods, Jack and Rochelle fought danger constantly until they could get to an American displaced persons camp. They were such survivors. I can't imagine living through what they did, especially at their young ages.

I read this in a day because I couldn't put it down.

Jack and Rochelle is probably one of the best books I have read in the past 5 yrs. It is truly amazing what they endure during the war and how they survive. There truly isn't any words to describe how much I loved this book. Thank you Jack and Rochelle for writing your experiences! This is a well written and easy to read book. The story is very easy to follow and so important to be read! I hope that everyone has a chance to read this book. It makes you realize you need to be a kinder and more understanding person to others. Hate is an awful thing....and there is still too much of it in our world! Thank you Jack and Rochelle! God bless you both!

Ably edited by their son Lawrence, the instructive and inspiring Holocaust narrative of Jack and Rochelle Sutin provides ample proof of both the degradation implicit in the Shoah and the astounding strength and courage Jewish partisans demonstrated in their battle against the attempted Nazi genocide. "Jack and Rochelle" is a deceptively easy book to read; the chapters consist of blended chronological testimonies; Lawrence Sutin honorably avoids imposing his own voice on his parents, instead allowing his mother and father to describe, in their own words, their own cadences, the horrors they faced and the gritty resolve they mustered to fight back. Rarely does a subtitle so accurately depict the contents of a memoir as does their own: "A Holocaust Story of Love and Resistance."

Both Jack and Rochelle came from educated and enlightened eastern European Jewish families. As the two of them chronicle the onset of anti-Jewish depradations, they remind us of the rich texture of their pre-war lives. This dimension of humanity, of lives complicated by strained love relations, competitive urges and the deeply felt need for independence, makes the Nazi onslaught all the more unsettling and horrific.

Several themes predominate in the Sutins' braided lives. First is the omnipresence of Jew hatred, whether it be in pre or post war Poland, in the brutally repressive Soviet bureaucracy or the finely honed hatred of Nazi Germany. Indifferent neighbors, vicious anti-Jewish Russian partisans (who commit ghastly sexual offenses against women who want nothing more than to join them in battling a common enemy), and the active participants in human eradication, the Nazis, make the Sutins' world one of constant peril. Survival is never taken for granted, and Jack and Rochelle's descriptions of their physical torment, often undertated, is wrenching to read. Personal sacrifice exists on every level: physical, social and spiritual. Rochelle's first child dies within a day due to exposure when its survival imperils others; Jack is literally covered with pus-filled boils as a result of living outside the boundaries of human habitation.

Yet, neither Jack or Rochelle never complain, never give themselves away to self-pity. Instead, they are infused with the Judaic command to remember and Rochelle's mother's insistence on revenge, to take action to avenge the murder of their people. In this charged atmosphere of sanguine justice and physical erosion, amidst the rank and fetid habitat of primitive partisan surroundings, hope and love survive. Jack dreams that Rochelle will appear. She does. Despite sexual abuse and spiritual depletion, Rochelle gradually accepts and receives Jack's love. He has never stopped loving her.

"Jack and Rochelle" is above all a cry of victory. It is a cry that murder and eradication cannot conquer a people. It is a cry that memory and consecration to life will prevail over death. It is a cry that love can endure, even if it is formed in the absolute crucible of death.

Jack and Rochelle Sutin were Jewish and met during WWII. I have read many stories of the holocaust from the perspective of the concentration camp. But never a story like Jack and Rochelle's!! They escaped from the ghetto and hid out it the woods during the war. (Small groups of Jews banded together in the woods.) Sound idyllic? Their existence was horrific, dreadful, and desperate! They were often reduced to being like animals. If a woman arrived pregnant, no one wanted her in their group - a baby is noisy and would be too risky. (If the woman was accepted into the group despite her pregnancy, she was forced to kill her newborn or someone in the group killed it for her.) Jewish women, who were alone and did not find a group of Jews to join, often had to perform sexual favors to find someone to take them in or help them. (Cruel and heartless Russian partisans were the worst offenders!) Despite the absolute horror of this true story, the story of Jack and Rochelle is inspiring. They met in the woods, and survived - overcoming great odds. They later married and came to the USA. The book is also well-written, and is an "easy read" in regards to the writing style.

A true story well told. An uplifting story about the power of love, faith, and self reliance. The unbelievable resiliance of humans to survive and keep their sanity in a world gone crazy. The book does not dwell on the horrors or even give explicit descriptions. The two main characters had a hard enough time and were not physically tortured or held prisoner. They simply hid out and lived in terror for several years until miraculously making their escape to the West. These were two lucky people who nevertheless suffered years of fear and depradation.

This book is fabulous. I grew up watching these stories come to like on the Jim Henson Hour, and I love having these stories at my finger tips. The stories are very intersting and original. The art work in the book is also fabulous!! They match the television portrail of story exactly. I am so glad that I am able to read and share these stories with my friends and family!

The television series was one of the best things ever to be shown on TV, but it's more than worthwhile to pick up this book just to be able to focus on Anthony Minghella's (yep, he of "The English Patient") way with words. Minghella doesn't just write good narration, he writes good, old-fashioned *story-telling* Like, say, Kipling's "Just-So Stories," Minghella's "The Storyteller" captures the language of the very best tale tellers.

Many years ago my family sat around the television, wide eyed and filled with magic; we were watching the Jim Henson Storyteller series. We waited and waited for it to reappear one day- to no avail. But FINALLY, a book! To be able to relive the "hugs and snoodles" of Hans My Hedghog, the stone soup tale of a "Story Short"- all of it beautifully, and creatively written, with illustrations to match- will take you back to your childhood. I find it hard to believe this has yet to be discovered. Don't miss the videos that are now out, at long last!

Perfection is the TV series that preceded this book. Of course, I must gloat and say that I knew all those many years ago that Anthony Minghella was the most exquisite writer I had ever heard/read. His words coupled with the genius of Jim Henson and company made for the best (no exaggeration) thing ever to be broadcast on television. To be able to read the words from these shows and have them readily available on your bookshelf is heaven. I've been recommending the TV series and this book for years. I still recommend it today.

Just so you know, all 9 episodes of The Storyteller are now out on a single DVD - something many of us have been waiting for for years. This book is, I think, the original screenplay of Jim Henson's Storyteller series because it follows *very* closely to the stories and dialogue seen on TV. The illustrations are also taken from the show and are very nice. The written word is different from television, however, and these stories take on a different light often in one versus the other, and there are some expansions here that didn't make the final editing cuts.

My kid and I love "The Storyteller" series, and this book is a pleasant addition for bedtime reading.

Diane Stanley, author of a series of high-quality biographies for children, does it again: Joan of Arc is intelligent and interesting with eye-popping illustrations. Of course the story is tragic, so this is not a good first biography for the young, tender-hearted child. The only thing missing is a real sense of the supernatural, what drove Joan to do what she did in the first place. If you're looking for the miraculous in your retelling of Joan's story, choose instead Josephine Poole's breathtaking "Joan of Arc."

Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc should be recommended for teens 13-16. I thought it was kind of hard to understand because I got 60% on this Accelerated Reader test. I didn't understand the Crowning of the Kings and Princesses very well. I would rate this a 6/10 in a rating.
It taught me about how some people can get so sick of things that you would do anything to save your country. This book is cool because of the pictures of the war.

Not only was this an accurate portrayal of Joan of Arc's story, it was wonderfully written and illustrated. I would recommend it for anyone who is starting out in learning of the saint. It is educational and enjoyable for a child.

Once again, Diane Stanley has brought intriguing facts and interesting tidbits to a book about a well known character, Joan of Arc, which makes the reader interested and excited about the subject, no matter what age he or she might be. Joan was born an illiterate, peasant daughter of a leader in a French village during the time of the Hundred Years War between France and England. She was highly disciplined in Catholicism, and was often teased about it by her friends. At the age of thirteen, Joan began having visions, while in the family garden, of various Catholic Saints giving her distressing messages and that she needed to act in order to save the French Kingdom. Joan was so convinced and moved by these visions that she took on a life long task of saving the French kingdom, although a woman doing this would have been unheard of at the time. She was eventually captured by the Burgundies that occupied Northern France and handed over to the English for a ransom. She was put on trial by the church for dressing in men's clothing and for acting on her voices and visitations which should have only been heard by members of the clergy. She was found guilty, although she gave clever testimony and was not easily disrupted by tricky questioning, and eventually burned at the stake. Charles, the ruler that Joan help restore to the crown, made it his personal mission to have Joan's trial declared a mistrial sixteen years after her death. This act fueled by his guilt for not negotiating for her release from prison helped her to be declared a saint five hundred years later.
This book helps the reader realize that although Joan my have appeared unstable with her visions in modern times, she brought hope and life to a battle that was hopeless leaving many French residents in despair. A note at the end of the book indicates that there have been three theories behind Joan's visions, depending on where one's personal beliefs lie.
Included within the book are pronunciations of French names and places and a map, so the reader can follow the path taken by Joan. This book provides interesting and understandable information for readers of all ages, including adults that want a short but informative look into Joan of Arc's life.

A beautiful book! Diane Stanley carefully traces the life of Joan from her humble beginnings to her tragic end. The book even comes with a pronunciation guide to help those of us who haven't been to France. Although the language is at 8+ year old range, my 5 year old daughter loves it anyway!

Very informative. Breaks down into an easy to understand timeline and also by the Royal Houses.

. Informative book which is easy for all ages to follow wether reading it themselves or being read to. My children used it for projects and i myself took it into school to show children the system the English have as many think the Queen is voted in. I also enjoyed this book as i enjoy my country's history.

My bible of Royal British successions for almost 20 years, I keep it at my elbow for constant reference. A wonderful thumbnail sketch of each King and Queen, as well as a snapshot of the times in which they lived and the causes of their sucesseses and failures. Great reading--beautifully illustrated.

I bought this book many years ago, and I still pick it up at least once a month. The book gives you the most important information of every king and queen who has ever ruled England or Scotland.

As I turn the pages, I can see that there is something interesting about every regent, and by the way; this book makes you realize that royal scandals are not a new invention.

I read this book cover to cover just prior to my trip to England (along with Antonia Fraser's "The Lives of the Kings & Queens of England"). This was a fun and easy read with nice pitcures. It is nice for anyone looking for a brief overview about the English Monarchy and also for anyone who just wants to have a handy reference.

At times the stories collected in The Last Eyewitnesses just get to you -- the insanity and cruelty of it all. This book should be required reading for everyone. Those interested in Jewish history, Polish history and Holocaust accounts will find this book indispensible. Beyond that, however, this collection appeals to anyone interested in the human condition and the absolute will to survive. An amazing, amazing book.

A touching portrait of many Holocaust survivors. Expertly translated by the husband and wife team, the Bussgangs.

The 65 personal histories chronicled here represent the scope and variety of experiences Polish child survivors of the Holocaust underwent. They tell of kindness and cruelty, of good luck and bad, of the survival of a complete nuclear family and the survival of one who knows only that he is, by origin, a Jew. Because this these people originally came from all over Poland, they faced persecution by not only the Nazis and their Belarussian, Lithuanian, Polish, and Ukrainian collaborators, but also from the Ukrainian Insurgent Army and various other anti-Semitic, anti-Polish groups.

Most of these chronicles convey the sense of absolute aloneness and isolation their tellers must have felt. However, a number reveal connections among the group of contributors, connections that hint at the scope of the Jewish community that existed in Poland before the Nazis invaded.

The individual stories are compelling. Their cumulative effect is powerful. They bear witness to the spectrum of human capacity for good and for evil, and, above all, to the twists of fate that meant the difference between death and survival. Accounts of the lingering, ever-present effects of suffering resulting from the events of over 50 years ago serve as reminders that the past is, indeed, never really over.

In The Last Eyewitnesses, the editor, Wiktoria Sliwowska, has presented her own testimony of the destruction of Polish Jewry as well as those of her contemporaries. These have been assembled by the Association of the Children of the Holocaust in Poland. The special character of this anthology lies in the fact that these Jews, mostly in their sixties and seventies now, have come together to relate their childhood memories of the Holocaust, when childhood was denied to them. The reader becomes a witness to a unique cathartic experience. The translation of Julian and Fay Bussgang has given the English reader the opportunity to encounter these testimonies, full of the stark details which contradict everything expected from childhood. Primarily, these survivors learned that in their circumstances, it was dangerous to be a Jew. These children spent at least six years of their lives trying to divest themselves of their Jewish identity. They had to change their names, sometimes several times, change their language, in many cases, and learn Catholic prayers and rituals. As one sees by the names listed in the table of contents, many have never really recovered their identities as Jews. The histories provided demonstrate that there can be life after the Holocaust, but there can never be an elimination of its legacy. And this legacy will extend beyond the lives of even these and other last witnesses.

In The Last Eyewitnesses, the editor, Wiktoria Sliwowska, has presented her own testimony of the destruction of Polish Jewry as well as those of her contemporaries.These have been assembled by the Association of the Children of the Holocaust in Poland. The special character of this anthology lies in the fact that these Jews, mostly in their sixties and seventies now, have come together to relate their childhood memories of the Holocaust, when childhood was denied to them. The reader becomes a witness to a unique cathartic experience. The translation of Julian and Fay Bussgang has given the English reader the opportunity to encounter these testimonies, full of the stark details which contradict everything expected from childhood. It is chilling to hear of the young who, besides being faced with constant want and privation and witness to violence and brutalization, also have to deal with an immediate and mature realization that their own lives are tenuous and threatened day by day. One individual describes his fear and panic, as he and his sister fled from their pursuers into the woods, as well as the subsequent pain and guilt for having separated from her during their attempted escape. His path led to life, while hers led to death. It is painful to read of children who are clearly aware that in their circumstances, it is dangerous to be a Jew. A new word has entered their Jewish vocabulary, "Action", a raid by Germans and their cohorts to seize Jews for death, either to be killed on the spot or taken to the death camps. One can scarcely imagine living with the ever-present fear of being discovered - afraid of one's dark Jewish appearance, living in cellars or closets, forbidden to approach a window, hiding in the woods. The sad fate of Polish Jewry is revealed in the statement of one teenage girl upon returning home after liberation: "...In my one and only little dress, without a cent to my name, I traveled to where Mama, Dorota, and the rest of the family were sent to the ghetto. Here, after arriving at my destination, I lived through the worst moment of my life. I did not anybody, not a single blessed soul." Not only did they not find many of their loved-ones or any vibrant Jewish community after the War, but they found anti-Semitism still alive, though their families were dead. These children spent at least six years trying to divest themselves of their Jewish identity. They had to change their names, sometimes several times, change their language, in many cases, and learn Catholic prayers and rituals. Many survivors have never returned to their original, Jewish names. As one sees by the names listed in the table of contents, many have never really recovered their identities as Jews. One individual expresses his confusion about whether he is a Jewish-Pole or a Polish-Jew. The histories presented here cover the entire gamut from total alienation from Jewish contacts to strenuous effort to learn about their background and Israel. As one reads the various depositions, one is amazed that any children could have lived through such inimical circumstances. One is amazed at the efforts of courage and sacrifice, love and desperation on the part of these parents to give up their children to strangers in the hope that they might live through the horrible German regime. One is also amazed at the stories of great courage on the part of many Poles in the rescue efforts described. "Antek" Cukierman, hero of the Warsaw Ghetto, has commented that one Pole could betray a hundred hiding Jews, but it took a hundred Poles to save a single Jew. These accounts verify that reality, as does Yad Vashem's recognition of many of them to be included in the ranks of the Righteous Among the Nations. The people who have come forth in the aftermath of the Holocaust to give these accounts of their personal lives and tragedies, as they struggle to define their identities, have gone on to demonstrate that there can be life after the Holocaust, but there can never be an elimination of its legacy.And this legacy will extend beyond the lives of even these and other last witnesses. Abraham Rzepkowicz, Reviewer