Ireland Books

This book has made the rounds of all our friends, crisscrossing the globe in the process -and for good reason, it's hilarious! A friend was given an early copy on a plane somewhere between Japan and Ireland during the last World Cup. Back in the US, my Irish husband (a once-bartender at McDaid's), laughed so hard tears rolled down his cheeks. Not wanting to miss out, I grabbed the book as soon as he put it down, then promptly ordered 5 copies for friends.

There is definitley some Dublin slang in this book, and being American, I had to ask translations for a few of the words - but that's part of the fun. The characters are vivid, and anyone who's worked in IT or for a big consulting firm can relate to the main character. It's a quick, funny read.

A great read. Related well to the characters - very funny - had to know what was going to happen next.

One of the funniest books on the planet.
Read it in a single sitting and laughed out loud for the duration. I'll never look at my bath in the same way again.
Very resilient indeed!

A truly excellent read. It has been some time since I enjoyed a book so much. Having lived in Japan for a few years I can certainly relate to many of the scenes and characters depicted in it. Brilliantly funny with a story line that keeps you guessing right up till the end. I couldn't put the book down and like many others who have reviewed the book here, I am eagerly awaiting Superchick 2.

Comparisons with Nick Hornby are apt, with a bit of Roddy Doyle on the side! The conversational back and forth is the highlight for me, it reminds of some of the great pub conversations you get into in Ireland. The reality of it all is what makes it so funny, you can just picture it - seems destined for a film adaptation...?

This is an ok effort by Ms. Goldstein but unfortunately the recipes don't quite result in the amazing flavors that Georgian cuisine is known for. Perhaps it is Ms. Goldstein's substitutions of less authentic ingredients as some ingredients in the "real" dish are hard to find. Perhaps it is something else. (Her "adjika" is REALLY bad/wrong for instance....)

OK book if you want an idea of what Georgian cuisine is like. Not good if you REALLY want the real thing...

This is a marvelous, utterly authentic encyclopedia of Georgian cooking. I tried some of the recipes before leaving for Georgia in summer 2006, and they were great, and gave me a good idea of what to expect. Once in Georgia, the book was an invaluable reference that I constantly turned to whenever I tried something new. Just about *everything* I had is in here, along with many things I didn't get around to sampling.

This book also helped me learn the correct Georgian names for the dishes and many of the ingredients. A significant portion of the book is devoted to providing cultural background on Georgia and Georgian food, such the elaborate rules for a _tamada_, or Georgian toastmaster. With its charming photos of representative paintings scattered generously throughout its pages, it also made me a Pirosmani fan, and better able to appreciate the originals when I saw them for myself.

Most importantly, as the other reviewers say, the recipes *work*. We just made the potato salad with walnut paste (p. 172), and it was delectable. Other dishes we have tried and like include tomato soup with walnuts and vermicelli (p. 73) and green beans with egg (p. 130). Pkhali was one of my favorite dishes in Georgia, and I'm glad to have the recipe for when I get around to making it myself. There is a recipe for beets with cherry sauce, a dish a travel companion had tried but that even some of our Georgian hosts weren't familiar with. For the few recipes that seem to be missing from this book, like eggplant with walnut paste, try Please to the Table: The Russian Cookbook, another excellent collection of delicious recipes from all the former Soviet republics.

_The Georgian Feast_ is well worth having even if you don't eat meat - many of the recipes are completely vegetarian. This book is a real treasure.

I've already written a review of this great book. I have only one suggestion: the basic khmeli suneli recipe can be augmented further to reach the authentic smell and taste. The wikipedia article on khmeli suneli has additional ingredients that can be added to the recipe. I tried that, about 2 teaspoons of each ingredient that's not already in Darra's recipe (less for black and chili pepper), and it came closer to the authentic smell and taste. I think the author of the wikipedia article might have meant safflower (marigold) instead of saffron though, so I didn't add that.

I gave this book to a Georgian and she loved it. It had all the dishes she had eatten as a child. If your looking for a book to fill in any missing recipes this is the book for you.

As someone who was born and grew up in Tbilisi, I was very happy to find this book -- it captures all of my favorite recipes, and when I prepare them according to this book, they taste just like my grandma's cooking.

More than just a recipe book, this is also an exploration into the rich history and culture of Georgia, and how the history shaped the cuisine. I suggest this book to everyone who would like to add some interesting preparations to their cooking. For vegetarians, Georgians have plenty of healthful and filling ways to prepare veggies and beans, and also some mouth watering sauces that will enliven any dish (veg or not).

I enjoy this book both as a cook book, and as a historical book!

I just cannot praise this book enough. Ellman's biography of Joyce is amazing, bewildering, daunting (at least in its length) and wonderful -- not coincidently, just like James Joyce. One caveat: I imagine a reader might be quite confused if s/he read this before reading any of Joyce's major works (Ulysses or Finnegans Wake). I am kicking myself that I didn't read this biography years ago! Truly a marvelous work -- and a must for readers of Joyce.

For those of you interested in a biography of James Joyce that's as erudite as his works themselves, then Ellmann's "James Joyce" is most definitely for you. This is a product of years of interviews and correspondence with many of Joyce's friends and family members; and Ellmann's love for both the writer and the man radiate through every page. His sections on the key themes and events that inspired both "Ulysses" and "Finnegans Wake" are invaluable. Moreover, you'll find yourself chuckling a great deal of time, and even shedding a few tears, as I did. My only critique of the book, albeit fairly minor, is not so much directed at the author as it is at the publisher: there is little room in the margins for notes, as well as very sparse flyleaves; hence for those of you who like to engage a book with gushing pen in hand, then you'll find the layout of this book quite restraining, as I did. One might counter this critique, however, with the perhaps granted point that it leaves all the more canvas space on which to overlay layers and layers of brush strokes much needed when attempting to paint the life of this very complex, gifted, and charming man.

In all things about James Joyce, no one has exhibited more of an acute understanding of the man and his works than Richard Ellmann. He is the bridge by which readers who have not read Joyce or do not understand what they have read by him to the inner workings of the artist and his life.

This biography, "James Joyce" has been around for decades, virtually unchallenged. He presents to the reader all the facets of Joyce's life and personality. This is no mere star-gazing. Along with all the great things about Joyce, he also examines his weakness: his superstitions, his drinking, his occasional selfishnes, his sexual complexities, and his failure to really take care of his family. We get to see Joyce in all his dimensions and from several perspectives. That makes this book not only the best biography of James Joyce but one of the classic biographies of all time.

Richard Ellmann's biography of James Joyce is hands down among the three best or the best biography written in the 20th century. For anyone with a serious interest in Joyce or his writings, will truly enjoy getting to know Joyce and his writings through this book.

I've read maybe a few thousand reviews of other titles on this website but this is the first book I've felt I needed to comment on. I comment mainly because I noted that two reviewers gave this book "4 stars". What unmitigated gall!

Richard Ellmann's biography is the most definitive and complete examination of James Joyce that has been written. This extensive work examines Joyce's life from his birth to his death. Ellmann's narrative derives from Joyce's letters as well as accounts from Joyce's brother, Stanislaus. The book is most revealing in offering an understanding of the process it took for Joyce to come up with his most monumental works, ULYSSES AND FINNEGANS WAKE. Ellmann states that Joyce intentionally made it difficult for anyone to understand what he wrote. He wanted to keep his critics, academics and scholars, guessing of what significance his nonsensical gibberish creation represented. In addition, Ellmann intertwines events that occurred in Joyce's life that show how they closely resemble the characters in the works he produced, such as his early work, A PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN.

James Joyce most likely can be considered a "starving artist." He would go without a new pair of shoes until they wore down to the soles, but looked debonair and sophisticated with non-matching suits. In the beginning, he aspired to be a work within the realms of Jesuit studies, but later opted for a writing career that would take him from Trieste, Paris, and Zurich. Joyce struggled with poverty through out his life even as his most famous works were published. Monetary problems and health conditions that affected his eyesight never hindered his creative process. If he lost his eyesight, he probably would have continued to write blind. Joyce appeared to be an eccentric and stubborn man. However, Ellmann shows a caring and supporting man who loved his wife and children, and most of all, his father, John Stanislaus Joyce.

In terms to history and literature, Ellmann constantly references Joyce's fascination with Shakespeare, ancient civilization and history. This is best displayed in ULYSSES, but one significant footnote is that he did not appear to care for American history. He makes a minute reference to Ulysses S. Grant in ULYSSES, but he did not even know who the man was; Joyce loathed the United States. Also, Ellmann offers a birds-eye view of what his cohorts thought of his work. Gertrude Stein as well as Ernest Hemingway praised and envied Joyce's contributions to Modernism.

Ellmann examines a tremendous amount of information within his narrative. When one completes JAMES JOYCE, what else do you need to know about this genuine writer who used his craft as a means of getting back home, but never quite made it there? But he preferred Zurich and its snow-capped mountains as home rather than the complexities of his former Dublin. JAMES JOYCE is the springboard one needs when beginning a study of Joyce the man and his works, which should begin with PORTRAIT and ending with WAKE.

...in preparation for my long overdue personal visit to Ireland a number of books including `Last of the Donkey Pilgrims' by Kevin O'Hara (www.kevin-ohara.com) were purchased online through Amazon.com for shipment to the parched distant locale of Doha...another Qatar `Transient', he being a native of Ireland, last 31 August had kindly written an Itinerary of Travel setting off westward from Dublin to Galway, proposing then a sweep about the coastal extremes of Eire on a circuitous route in return to Dublin a fortnight later...

New Zealand born with Great Grandfather Irish ancestry (Co. Tyrone), some years since I had the privilege of living on a long established property in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand, created by it's owner `in the manner of England', and on which co-resided an elderly Donkey of much spirited antic, mannerism and personality - an endearing memory remains of that acquaintance in those bygone days, and influenced the choice that the Donkey odyssey would be my final read...my reward was to discover an absorbing chronicle of Kevin's 1979 1800 mile trek around the peripheral coast of Ireland, walking alongside his donkey Missie `Long-Ears' Mickdermott yoked to her cart, and written in 2004, 25 years after the doing...

...an inspired achievement to be applauded, and for me a delight to share the journey by way of an intimately personable published recall of such a grand meander through a land and people of a then traditional lifestyle which soon would substantially fade away into history...Ireland 2008 surpassed my any and every expectation - time and change may have advanced apace since the Nation in attaining EU membership emerged from being a `third world' Country, bringing financial advantage in some quarters and also significantly transforming the landscape and makeup of the populace, but the welcome and essence of the Irish people as acutely portrayed by the innumerable encounters and acquaintances along Kevin O'Hara's wandering way, we found to be very much the same...

...the book and infectious spirit of Missie accompanied us throughout as by car we drove, blessed I must add with only fine weather, our brief excursion along some of the highways and byways that shared partial commonality with the much earlier passage the Donkeyman and his travelling companion together had traipsed many years prior...there were particular moments which brought upon me a quiet smile with vivid memory of what I had read; hearing the call of the Cuckoo at Inishmore and Doolin - boarding the Killimer to Tarbert ferry, then later that same day driving through Abhainn an Ghleanna (running at but a shallow flow) on the road to Slea Head, Missie's obstinant reluctance to go on in chancing upon those two same `obstacles' came to mind...we sought out and had the pleasure of meeting Robert Shannon, mentioned in the book who happily recounted the long ago arrival of Missie in lovely Doolin - affection for Kevin and his roving partner lingers...

...having partaken of the ready welcome, spirit, beauty and abundant joys of Ireland, a return is inevitable - likely to be sooner rather than later I would venture...similarly I am driven to pick up and once more read `Last of the Donkey Pilgrims' - my immense pleasure and appreciation of the Tale at first take will assuredly be all the greater at a second reading, enhanced further by familiarity and insight gained from our recent visit...

Lindsay McLean
Doha, State of Qatar
16 June, 2008

I bought this book on my way out the door on a trip to Ireland, as a friend had recommended it. I read it on the airplane and during quiet moments, and finished it on the way home.
Not only is this book entertaining and well-written, I was amazed by how much I learned about Irish culture and history as I was reading.
It is especially recommended to those traveling to Ireland, but has wide appeal for its insight into human nature, and warm humor.

I enjoy reading about Ireland, and thought this book would be like Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods. The donkey book was much more serious. I liked reading about the different people he encountered, but at times, felt that it was a glossary of names of potential buyers. I did enjoy his time with the travelers. He exemplified the attitudes of the 70's, and I think the book would have been more effective if he had written it 25 years ago. Still, it was a good story.

This is a fun story of a Yank's trip around Ireland with a donkey cart. His trip fulfills his longing to know the land of his forebears, and he wonderfully captures the language and attitudes of the people just before modernity finally arrived full force. Highly recommended!

Kevin's writing draws you into his journey - a remarkable romp around Ireland with a donkey that seems human. I loved it. You could nearly smell the air and see the characters. A magical look at an island that has changed so much in the 25 years since his journey took place. I wanted to be there by his side as he runs into character after character. His book is the next best thing to being there.

I didn't want his journey to end. Alas, time moves on and progress can't be stopped. If only there could be a sequel.

Anyway, it is written in very short, easy to read chapters. Perfect nighttime reading. If you like adventures, humor, self reflection, and interesting characters - read this book. If you have ever been to Ireland and fallen in love with it, this book is a must read. If you live in Ireland now and want a look back at the country as it existed 25 years ago, this book is required reading.

Ireland has a strange relationship with England. For generations we were part of the British Empire and we still have the echoes of this in the designation "British Isles". Many of our countrymen answered the call to arms in World War I and fought on the side of the British Army, something that is often glossed over in history books. Another thing glossed over is the treatment of the Irish soldier after the 1916 rising.

That's really what this book is about. Willie Dunne is the son of a British Police officer, living in Dublin Castle, born in Ireland to Irish parents but for all intents and purposes a Briton. Too short to become a police man he answers the call to fight for England. This story follows him through the trenches, to return to Ireland and experience some of the 1916 rising and back to the trenches. The 1916 Rising is only a short part of the book but with a big impact to Willie's life when the leaders of the British Army start asking questions about the loyalties of their soldiers.

It's an interesting read, I am glad I picked it up because of Dublin City's One City One Book project.

This is a superbly written and moving novel about the thousands of Irish men who fought in the British Army's Irish Divisions in the Great War and were later largely written out of the histories of both countries. It tells with wonderful pose the story of their sacrifice, immense bravery, and eventual disillusionment through the eyes of a young Dublin Fusilier Willie Dunne. It is a novel that says a lot about Ireland in those years and the Great War in general from the view point of some of those caught up in the tragic events. Its central themes have echoes that can be seen in many of the later the conflicts of the 20th century and those of today.

A truly outstanding novel of the Great War that tells the poignant story of the thousands of ordinary Irish soldiers that fought in that conflict and the over 35,000 that died.

This is an incredible touching book. Millions should read this. It is a cry against the violence of war. President Bush should take notice of this message!

He writes like a poet (which he is) and moves his reader as very few other writers ever have. War is brutal and senseless, and it destroys the hearts of the young men (and women now) who go to strange places to fight it. No one can bring home the sense of the innocent soldier who is loosing his soul more than Sebastian Barry, except perhaps Hemingway. Barry writes about Ireland's heart and the hearts of its young as no other.

Sebastian Barry's Booker shortlisted "A Long Long Way (LLW)" isn't just about the First World War. If it were, there wouldn't have been much of a point to it, since landmark works by Robert Graves, Siegfried Sassoon, Wilfred Own, etc already define the canon of war literature. The accolades that have greeted the publication of LLW have much to do with the fact that Barry offers a fresh perspective of the war experience and the poetic sensibilities he brings to the telling of it.

LLW is about the heartrending confusion and torn loyalities one Willie Dunne of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers fighting for king and country against the Germans experienced when the 1916 Easter uprising erupted that would destroy trust among compatriots, strain family relationships to breaking point and precipitate personal identity crises. It is Willie's ordinariness that generalizes his simple hopes and dreams, making them the symbol of Irish consciousness.

Ironically, despite the many battle scenes of war, terror and destruction common to war stories, restraint and understatement typify Barry's richly poetic prose which spawn fully drawn and utterly memorable characters like the sergeant Christy Moran, Father Buckley, little sister Dolly, and the tragic Jesse Kirwan. Scenes that show little Dolly's unconditional love for her big brother, Willie's father's rejection of his son for siding with the nationalists and committing - in his mind - treason are poignant, though more often heartbreaking. The brutality of Jesse Kirwan's execution and the discovery of a buddy's betrayal that would lead to Willie losing his sweetheart Gretta only heighten the pain that's felt when the knife is driven deeper into the wound.

"A Long Long Way" is a wonderful piece of work, an exceptional book. The subject may seem a little well worn, but Barry doesn't just give it a special spin, he offers a perspective rarely encountered in war literature. Highly recommended.

This book is wonderful... I couldn't put it down, it was such a compelling read. Anyone who has any interest in the Emerald Isle must read this detailed, comprehensive account of the most important moment in Irish history. It is well-written, entertaining, enlightening, and will deepen the outsider's understanding of the Irish struggle throughout its history with Britain. It is told in an informative tone, yet brings history to life with all the fine details that surround the lives of the Irish heroes. It is by far the best book I have ever read, and I will read it again and again! I also agree that it is a screenplay waiting to be made!

The Easter Rebellion is the subject of this engrossing book. What makes the tale more interesting than so much of the patriotic gloss that has been so often repeated is the fact that the rising was so poorly planned that it was nothing short of a miracle that it proved to be ultimately successful in many of its long term aims.

Apart from the seizure of the General Post Office in Dublin, the rebels were unable to secure most of their objectives. British forces were able to suppress the revolt within a week. Due to disputes and internal squabbles between competing factions, many Irish militias simply refused to take any active role in the rising and the rebels in the GPO were hopelessly outnumbered from the start.

The revolt may have proven to have been unnecessary had Britain not chosen to suspend Irish Home Rule for the duration of World War One. John Redmond's long awaited legislation was enacted and then immediately placed on indefinite hold. Had Home Rule been permitted, it is quite possible that Ireland might be a member of the British Commonwealth of Nations today. Britain's refusal to implement Home Rule, despite its Parliamentary approval, gave rebel leaders the opportunity to plot a course for independence.

With British Army fully engaged on the Western Front, it was thought that assistance could be readily obtained from the Central Powers to arm the rebels. Roger Casement spent months in Berlin where he took part in a series of unproductive meetings with skeptical representatives of the Kaiser. An open revolt in Dublin would be a useful diversion, but the Germans were wary about committing significant resources to such a plan and to a motley crew of disorganized and impoverished revolutionaries.

Casement's efforts to raise a revolutionary brigade composed of captured Irish colonials who were being held as British prisoners of war in German camps proved to be futile as these soldiers overwhelmingly refused to defect. The promised weapons offered by Imperial Germany turned out to be a cargo of antiquated army surplus, including some obsolete cannons and mortars that probably dated back to the Franco-Prussian War. A single ship was provided to deliver the arms to the Irish coast.

After the disguised ship skillfully evaded the British naval blockade, the entire shipment was captured on the beach within mere minutes of its unloading. Casement, himself, was placed under arrest almost as soon as he arrived on shore. His betrayal was the work of a paid informer, a homosexual renter, who had been communicating with the English about Casement's activities and the shipment of arms for weeks.

Initially, many Dubliners had been enraged at the rebels both for the disruption of their daily lives and the destruction that had been visited upon their city. When the British imposed a brutal state of martial law, which included the summary execution of most of the captured rebels, Irish public sentiment changed abruptly. The rebels were no longer reviled as damned fools, but considered as martyrs to the cause of Irish freedom. Padraic Pearse had been vindicated. Out of the blood sacrifice of the rising on Easter Monday came heavy handed British reprisals which reignited the spirit of revolt on the part of the Irish people.

While not a historical novel, the book does contain some fictionalized dialogue mixed with actual quotations. This does not detract from fascinating and sometimes hilarious account of cowardice, heroism, idealism and stupidity that attended the birth of the Republic of Ireland.

We all realize the book is a bit fictionalized, but it's a better read that way, I think, and I've been studying the Easter Rising for 2 years now. All the information is accurate, and it gives you a good sense of the times. We can never truly know what these men were thinking, but this gives you a fairly good idea. I have a question though, there were two things I could not verify and since I'm researching this, it's quite important: does anyone know about the authenticity of Moira and Agna Connolly's existance? Most places say Connolly only had 6 children, but then they never give names, and the names of all his other children are accurate.

Rebels is wonderful book, encompassing the years leading up to the Rising, the events of the Rising, and the executions after the failed Rising. The book is rich in the characters of the major figures involved in the events of the Easter Rising. Pearse, the fatal idealistic, to the hard-nosed general Maxwell are beautifully protrayed. Rosa encompasses the whole view of what the rebellion meant the leaders, the British, and the people of Ireland. Also, Rosa shows the changing attitudes of the Irish people after the Rising. If you love Irish history, this book is a must read.

This is one of the most emotional, powerful books I have ever read. I felt I was I there and that I knew these people personally. The author did some incredible research or else is the ghostly embodiment of all the men of high spirit involved.

THIS BOOK IS PART OF A SERIES AND YOU WILL WANT THEM ALL!! THE WRITING AND RESERCH IS EXCELENT. THE CHARACTERS ARE PEOPLE YOU WILL LOVE AND WILL REJOICE IN THEIR VICTORIES AND CRY WITH THEM WHEN THINGS GO WRONG. THE HISTORY WILL MAKE YOU FEEL AS IF YOU WERE THERE!! ENJOY!!!
EMILY SIMPSON

This is not only a short review but a request for information. I am in total agreement with the previous reviews I just read giving this series 5 stars. My question is: Is there a book four? If not, I sincerely hope it is in the author's computer awaiting completion soon! Since finishing this book it was left completely open for the sequal which I will continue to look for. Keep up the wonderful writing. and let us know when we can obtain the next in the Galway Chronicles.
Thanks

The continuing saga of the Joseph Connor Burke family continues on his wedding day to his love Kate Donovan. What ensues is tragic, as Lord Burke is arrested for treason shortly after saying his vows.
After he is tried and found guilty he is banished to Australia. He boards a hideous prison ship The Hive. Ironically he has been pardoned of all charges but the news is unable to reach him in time.
Kate steps into her new role as Lady Burke and yearns for news about her beloved Joseph.
I was unable to put this book down. The characters feel like real people and not just characters in a book. It is easy to share in their joys and hardships.
I suggest having the sequel "All Rivers to the Sea" on hand so you can continue this compelling story.

It should have been a happy day in Ballyknockanor. Joseph Burke and Kate Donovan were finally getting married. But the rejoicing turned to sorrow when the groom was arrested at the reception for his part in the recent Irish repeal movement. Unknown to Joseph and Kate, this is part of a larger scheme by neighbor Colonel Mahon in an attempt to take over their lands. As he plots and schemes, Kate finds herself in danger. Joseph becomes a further victim of the plot. Will last minute attempts to stop his punishment be successful? Will he and Kate ever be reunited? Can she survive Mahon's plans for her?

The first part of this book was so hard for me to get through, I thought about quitting. I just wasn't sure that I could deal with any more of the character's sadness. But just before I quit, the pace of the story really picked up and I got drawn into these character's lives once again. There are so many fascinating plots levied against them, I had a hard time putting the book down until I reached the satisfying ending. As always, the Thoene's back up their story with wonderful historical research that makes this time period come vividly to life.

With the way this book ended, you can bet it won't be too long before I'm back for the final chapter in these characters's saga. And I'm sure I'll enjoy it just as much as I did this chapter. Well worth reading.

Looking for adventure? In "Ashes of Remembrance", Bodie and Brock Thoene's story about the lives of Joseph Connor Burke and Kate Donovan take a turn towards adventure. The book starts out with joy, as the long awaited romance between Joseph and Kate culminates into a wedding. But shouts of joy soon turn into tears of sorrow. Immediately after the wedding, Jospeh is arrested and charged with treason. Meanwhile, Colonel Mahon has his eye on Burke's estate, and through his trickery Joseph is sentenced to transportation for life ... to Australia. And our favorite characters all return, including Mad Molly, whose prophetic babbling and busy-bodying again proves to be essential.

Unlike the earlier two novels of "The Galway Chronicles" series, "Ashes of Remembrance" is less political and less theological. But what it lacks in spiritual depth, it makes up for in adventure and excitement. At sea, Joseph faces hardship, cruelty, the elements, and shipwreck. It is somewhat of a pleasant change of pace from the first two novels, and it's an adventure story well told. At home, Kate faces murderers and kidnappers who are willing to resort to any measures to get hold of Burke's land. The brutal suffering perpetrated in the religious struggles of the Irish is not absent, but functions more of a backdrop for the evil personal ambitions of Mahon. But whether at home with Kate or at sea with Joseph, the adventure is non-stop.

The Thoenes are sensitive to the fact that real Christians do experience real suffering. They are not afraid to depict Christians being the victims of real tragedy and betrayal. In fact, this suffering is thematic in this novel. The title "Ashes of Remembrance" originates in the simple wisdom of the nurse Miss Susan, who explains to Kate how trials and sorrows play an important part in one's life, and make you stronger. "Back home they set fire to the canefield before they cut the cane. Burn away the leaves and rubbish so's they can press the cane to make sugar ... Life ain't nuthin' but a canefield. Sorrows burn away the trash. A person finds out what matters and what don't. What's left is the sweetness. Pressed out, boiled down, and purest crystal. One day, Miss Kate, you tastes the sugar and don't remember the ashes no more." (p.87-88) It's profound wisdom. By the end of the novel, we discover that all the sorrows are not yet over, and that we need to read book four to taste the sweetness. The sorrows of "Ashes of Remembrance" may eventually turn to sweetness for Kate and be forgotten, but for the rest of us, this is definitely a tale of adventure worth remembering.

A young boy wanders from one vivid experience to another to another, just like kids do. His childhood had unique exposures to Nazi terror and horror, to be sure. But throughout those grim days, there remained that irrepressible insouciance of youth. There was even hero worship when he became involved with the French underground. He brings us right along with him as he becomes a man.

This author described what was, more than anything else, a normal, adventuresome boyhood. Although I was expecting something more like "The Diary of Anne Frank", this book was more reminiscent of "Huckleberry Finn".

Seeped into the depths of war and dispair of mankind, Dr. Burnell takes us on a journey through Nazi-occupied France during WWII. As opposed to the atrocities of holocaust victims in that same era, we are instead introduced into the lives of the common citizenry as they struggle through each day not knowing who is friend or foe. Dr. Burnell's family must decide when to run and when to stay; while knowing their decisions set them at risk to lose everything, including their lives. Balanced with historical facts, Dr. Burnell tells a tale that has us turning the pages, immersing us into the joys and sorrows of a family that in the end prevails despite their losses and succeeds in spite of the tragedy brought by war.

Dr. Burnell tells a story of fear, brutality, resourcefulness, courage, and sensitivity. These emotions are the backdrop to his autobiographical tale of growing from just-past-childhood to near-adulthood in Nazi-occupied France during WW 2. Burnell describes how he and his mother survived the relentless threat of the Nazis as they fled from city to city in France just barely ahead of the Nazi persecution. From Strasbourg in the eastern part of the country to Paris to Bordeaux and finally to Lyon in the south. Along the way his stepfather was consumed by the Holocaust and by the end Burnell was fighting back by working for the French Resistance. The writing is clear, personal, and carries the read along swiftly. I could barely put it down- thus I read it in just a few nights.

This is a well written, interesting memoir of a Holocaust survivor in France. The sections on political events are well placed and provide appropriate historic background to contents of the book.
Myself a Holocaust survivor, I learned from it a lot about life in France during those years and enjoyed reading it.

"Beating the Odds" by George Burnell is the exciting autobiography of a youngster growing up in Nazi-occupied France during WWII. In 369 action packed pages, the author traces his journey from Strasbourg, France in 1939 until the end of WWII in May, 1945. "Beating the Odds" is a real page turner that reads like a novel full of twists and turns. As an adolescent French Jew, George with his family lived in constant fear of discovery by the Nazis and moved frequently to ellude them. Despite these risks, he manages to join his Uncle David, a Dentist, and others in the French Resistance and narrowly escapes with his life. This fascinating memoir gives the reader an interesting and unique perspective on WWII in France and I highly recommend it to you.

I happened to find this paperback version on the bargain shelf at Borders for $5, and I made the decision to buy it just on looking at the first photograph alone. Impulsive? Yeah, but I don't regret it at all. I just bought this book tonight, so I haven't actually read it yet. However, just looking at the photographs was mesmerizing. There are some really incredible trees out there in the world and I think the author has done a great job of capturing some of them. If you don't come across this book on a bargain shelf somewhere don't worry, it is well worth the price that Amazon is asking.

As I recall it, I first saw this book in 1996 or 1997 at the Midnight Special Bookstore in Santa Monica before they closed. The photographs of the trees were the most breathtaking photographs of trees I had ever encountered. I didn't buy the book then, but I remembered it for a long time afterward, and then my husband gave me a copy of it for Christmas a few years ago.

What I particularly like about this book - beside the photographs - is that it contains a Gazetteer at the back which tells the reader where the trees are located, what page they are pictured on, what kind of tree they are and whether they are accessible to the public, whether they are part of the Forest Enterprise or whether they are part of the National Trust. It also gives the reader a designation for Champion trees with full measurements. This is very handy and has saved me from having to pull all this information together myself.

My husband and I are going to be in Surrey this summer and we are looking forward to paying a visit to several of the trees mentioned - in particular - the Crowhurst Yew (pp. 120-21) and the Tandridge Yew (pp. 22-23) located in the churchyard at Tandridge in Surrey. These are probably the most spectacular. There are also several others at Kew Gardens which we are hoping to visit (tulip tree p. 61, hybrid strawberry p. 67, chestnut-leaved oak p. 71, maidenhair (Ginko), p. 83, Chinese wisteria p. 151, as well as the Knap Hill weeping beech p. 155, at the Knapp Hill Nursery in Surrey).

The introduction is very poignant. Pakenham recalls his encounters with trees which prompted him to create this book. He recalls a severe storm in Ireland in January, 1991, which toppled 12 out of 19, of his 200 year old, 100 foot high beech trees which once inhabited his garden - "all had been good friends to five generations of our family." "Why had I not looked at them more carefully before?" he asks.

This is an amazing book from the stunning photographs to the detailed stories about each remarkable tree. It is also scattered with beautifull 18thC etching of illustrated trees that refer to the tree being discussed.I found this book quite beautiful. I would definately recommend this book to anyone who is passionate about trees. Or to anyone who is looking for great photograhic reference as I was.

Pakenham's Meetings with Remarkable Trees and his Remarkable Trees of the World are portraits, not just pictures, each book documenting the impressive presence of sixty venerable trees from around the world. Pakenham groups them by their histories: Natives, Travelers, Shrines, Fantasies and Survivors. Each is a testimony to the majesty of Nature's creativity, diversity and adaptability.

Pakenham shares the unique history of each of these outstanding personalities, in the context of its species and its struggles for survival - ever threatened by man's over-cutting and under-husbandry of these irreplaceable resources.

Inspirational!

If you need a gift for a nature lover or photographer that you really like, this is the book for them. And get yourself a copy while you're at it.

Briefly, the author takes wonderful photographs of trees that affect and inspire him in Great Britain. Included with each tree is a history of the tree and facts and vignettes associated with the tree. His camera-work is impeccable and if you've ever tried to photograph a whole tree you will recognize the talent and work that have gone into this book.

The writing that accompanies the pictures is compelling and interesting. The author has obviously done his homework.

You can lose yourself for an hour at a time, or you can put this on your coffee table and get compliments from your guests, but have one in your library where you can get inspired and calm at the same time.

Dazzling and intense works. Good overview of his output. Although this is not the Collected Poetry of Heaney it does contain almost all his best poems up to 1996, as well as his Nobel Prize acceptance lecture (a gem) and an excerpt from his play Cure a Troy. Essential poetry volume.

I needed the book for a class... I went in to reading it like it was going to be garbage... But it actually was a little bit interesting...

strong poems, there is a sadness and a resignation of fog that permeates these poems. this is a melancholy man, one for whom the all-pervading glue of inaction and paralysis bounds him to a bleak world, soiled and grey and drab. this is a weary poet, too nauseated with reality's bruised soldiers, slovenly rudeness, the uncouth glutton, the debauched fiend. i enjoy him, immerse myself in his dust-gloom, his inability to soar into elation and falcon-freedom.

author of Lorelei Pursued and Wrestles with God

After currently studying the quality of Seamus Heaney's poems, i am quite sure that this book will not dissapoint you. The quality of Heaney's poems are somewhat outstanding, they are a shock, as you dont normally read poems of this sort, and once you read one, you have to read the others. One of my personal favourites is Mid-Term Break.

Written by Kirk Aged 14

If you have not read Seamus Heaney, then you are not in touch with what the English language is in its heart. Heaney's simple, unstrained word usage, coupled with a deep knowledge of the rich Anglo-Saxon which is our cornerstone, evokes a strength which comes not so much from what we see and know as from something which is rooted deeply in our psyches as Anglo-Europeans (or at least those living in and a part of such cultures). Heaney also brings to light the beauty of the ordinary, primarily by weighting it with the yoke of history and the various passions of his fellow man.

I bought this collection because I enjoyed others of his works (especially The Spirit Level and Seeing Things), which I uncovered at the library, too much to go long without his poetry. And this collection turns out to have all of my favorites from those volumes, as well as the best and most skilled of the poems of his earlier volumes. Do I recommend it? I wouldn't have prominently displayed the fact that I was reading it in numerous public places if I didn't, now would I?