Ireland Books

This was a gift for a friend and he loves it. He will use it in Dublin starting this Thursday.

This book you create from you own experiences or the ones you want to have. It has maps and areas to keep notes. So you can have your personal guide to whatever city you want to visit.

Fast shipping. I was given the wrong product due to the original packing from Moleskine was labled Dublin but really London. Contacted seller who not only overnighted the correct copy but let me keep the London version for the trouble. I look forward to doing buisness with Mind and Body in the future.

This is a very unusual product and I would strongly encourage anyone considering getting one to be completely aware of what it is before they purchase it. First, if you are looking for a single travel guide to prepare you for your trip to New York (or anywhere else there is a guide for), this is very close to worthless, if not entirely worthless. I would call one's attention to the title of the product. It is a "Notebook." That means that most of the pages are blank. This literally is a book for taking notes in.

So what do you get when you buy this? Every book in the series follows the same format. First there is a personal information page with address, phone, allergies, family doctor, passport number, then map information with public transportation maps. Then follows information on the various forms of transportation with phone numbers and websites, including cabs, buses, other forms of public transportation, and airports. There are some blank itinerary pages, measurement and speed conversion charts, size conversion charts (for shoppers), then a long series of neighborhood maps, including an index. And that's it. The final two-thirds of the notebook are blank. The next 20 or so pages are completely blank and unlined for whatever use you want to put them to. Next come several pages intended for writing down names of restaurants, bars, museums, historical sites, hotels, or whatever. The book also comes with unlabeled tabs with stickers to use as desired (for theaters, concert halls, or whatever you desire) as well as tracing paper for, as the label says, "Itineraries or Whatever." Finally, there is the usual pocket at the back that is found in all Moleskine products.

For some people this is going to be an absolutely useless product. But for many this will be remarkably useful. In fact, I can envision two uses for this notebook. First, those who are planning a trip to one of the places for which Moleskine has produced a book. Let's say one has consulted the Blue guide, the Eyewitness Guide (by DK), a Rough Guide, the Michelin guide, and the Let's Go guide. Maybe you've bought all of these, making for five guides. No way do you want to drag all of these on your trip or more than one on your flight. So what might you do? You might take the Moleskin Notebook, record into it all the places you want to see, restaurants you want to dine at, museums you want to stroll through, and anything else you want to do while in your destination of choice, and record it there. So the Moleskine City Notebook can serve as a distillation of all the various travel guides, web sites, and other resources you have consulted. And instead of hauling about a large Fodor's guide, you can carry about this small Notebook that can easily fit into a backpack, purse, should bag, or even pocket.

The only downside is that the Moleskine City Notebook is only as good as you make it. If you do a good job of planning your trip, it will be filled to the brim with useful and helpful information. If not, it will be as unhelpful as you have made it.

There is a second use to which the City Notebook can be put to use, though it is not one for which it was primarily designed. You could use it for the city in which you live, should you live in one of the cities for which one is made. I live, for instance, in Chicago. I have bought one of these so that I can over time use it to record every bit of helpful information that I might find useful or helpful. I can record what hours the Seminary Co-Op Bookstore (the real one, not the trade version on 57th Street) is open. The hours for the Chicago Public Library and the Newberry Library. Phone numbers of restaurants and addresses of bars. And so on and so forth. Granted, these books will only benefit those who live in one of those cities, but for the U.S. New York, Chicago, Boston, Washington D.C., Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles are pretty populated areas.

So this is a very well conceived product though it absolutely has to be stressed that it is a specialized one. Please note: THIS ISN'T FOR EVERYONE. If you don't want to use the Notebook to plan your trip it is going to be very close to worthless. I'll emphasize again: this is only as good a product as you make it. But if you use it to help you plan your trip, it could be the single item you would most loathe to be without after your notebook.

When I opened the package from the mail and pulled out "Mysterious World: Ireland," my jaw literally dropped open! Wait, I could not have ordered a book such as this in paperback form. Then I remembered I had because it is a travel guide. What is the publisher thinking in making a lush coffee table book into a travel guide? You would have to see it to believe its incredible content and beauty. But I blather on.

Even the website (www.mysteriousworld.com) is dedicated to a lush presentation of things mysterious and beautiful about a country. I have never seen anything like this book or website. Publisher Doug Elwell explains in the book's introductory section that MW does not plan to add a print version of their website articles, as print sources end up in old files, old books, and in out-of-sight places. As a librarian, I can attest to the veracity of his statement. Then why do I hold a big, thick, heavy paperback travel guide in my hand? Take a logical guess: travel. Not everyone wants to carry a laptop on vacation. On trips before, I have known friends to leave their guides at the last stop before heading home. Nope, not so for this book. This guide is a souvenir, a memory book of places visited. "Mysterious Places: Ireland" then becomes a new kind a coffee table book. At home leave it out, dog-eared, worn and torn, and guess how many visitors will pick it up? I dare say virtually every one!

Travel writer Ian Middleton begins his tome with the history of the first people of Ireland, Scythians, who descended from Noah's son Japheth through his son Magog. But it was through the oldest son of Magog that the first Gaedelic Celts descended. It is these Gaels who followed the balance of life: between the light and the dark, the natural and the divine--to become the Irish.

The first 300 pages of this 776 page book are dedicated to the Mystery and History of Ireland: invasions, deities and demigods, sea serpents, monsters, beasts, druids, poets, fairies, fairy tales, folk tales, mythical tales, then the History: the coming of the Christians, ancient cultures, and Ireland today. For full enjoyment of the book and your trip, you might consider reading this half before you go.

The travel section kind of unfolds from the history. There is, however, a clear demarcation between the two. Pick up the book and look at the bottom. The mostly white section is the Mystery; the second half with the dark area is the travel section.

Middleton provides the necessary travel information (clothing, monetary exchanges, etc), but much much more. Remember that archway over the two pages? Alongside each each from top to bottom of the page in a dark green rectangle is listed pertinent local information: where to eat, where to stay, costs, pubs, ferry crossings, and more. Then the pages provide information about out-of-the-way places, mysterious sites, and touristy areas. Also, on each two-page spread is at least one photo, map, and/or illustration. The book really is quite astonishing.

"Mysterious World: Ireland" is unlike other travel guides: it is a mini encyclopedia of a country with a focus on its mysterious past. Publisher Elwell says this is the first of a series he and writer Middleton and staff will put together. There is no dearth of people interested in the mysteries of a place, its world and culture.

For more information and updates to the travel guide, please visit http://ireland.mysteriousworld.com and www.mysteriousworld.com.

This gives the reader an excellent overview as to why Ireland is often described as mystical!

If you've ever wanted to know almost everything about the oddities of Ireland - its people, its places, its myths, its legends, look no further. "Mysterious World: Ireland" is nearly 800 full color pages filled with photos and information on almost every myth and legend about the small nation. Killer dwarfs and devious leprechauns fill an epic journey to uncover anything and everything enigmatic about the small island. Enthusiastically recommended for armchair travelers and anyone who's planning on going to Ireland and wants to see something a bit weird, "Mysterious World: Ireland" is for you, and should more than earn its spot on any travel shelf in community libraries.

we used this book all over ireland - looking for sacred sites --
you do need a car - as public transportation does not go all placres - and taxis are expensive

the book worked wonderful

Michael Adam's new book; "Napoleon and Russia" is an excellent account about the uneasy relationship between Napoleon and Russia from the 1790's through to 1815. It's a great historical account covering the many battles and people involved during this period of time. We not only get to read about Napoleon and Alexander I, but also of the many Napoleonic Marshals and Russian commanders like Ney, Murat, Davout, Suvorov, Kutuzov and Barclay de Tolly who fought some of the greatest battles of the Napoleonic period.

The book is refreshing in it's accounts of the many battles fought between France and Russia, offering gripping descriptions of the fighting at Austerlitz, Eylau, Friedland, Borodino, Lutzen, Bautzen, Dresden and Leipzig. For once we have an author who places greater emphasis on these battles rather than Trafalgar, the Peninsular campaign and Waterloo.

I found the book very easy to read, thrilling almost in its style. I was gripped by the story till the very end. As the previous review has mentioned (Amazon.co.uk), Adam's appears to sometimes go a little easy on Napoleon but in doing so he offers valid reasons for accepting a particular version of events. It's a nice change to read an account of Napoleon without him being blamed for every disaster or being described as an insatiable glory hunting ogre.

The author offers valid reasons for accepting one account or reason for Napoleon's actions over another and he is convincing in most cases. Having said that, the author doesn't let Napoleon off the hook for his mistakes and Adam's ensures that he brings those to the reader's attention. The book appears to be a fair and balanced account of the period of relationship between France and Russia during the time of Napoleon's reign.

Overall the book is a great historical account, well researched, refreshing in its approach and easy to read. The book has 560 pages of narrative with a number of maps, which are reasonable and allow the reader to follow the course of the battle described. What I found to be a bonus in this book was the bibliographical essay at the end, which gave me a few good ideas on books that I should also consider buying for my library. I would have no hesitation in recommending this book to any Napoleonic buff or anyone interested in military or general European history, it's a damn good book.

With many fine works available on Napoleon and his campaigns available (second only to World War II), one must ask what does another one have to offer? The answer in this instance is very fine writing, good organization, helpful maps, and a scholarly and even-handed presentation of history.

The errors are negligible, and when author Adams inserts his opinions or conclusions, they are so consistent with the evidence that the reader readily accepts them as almost a restatement of what the reader was thinking. A writer can hardly do better than that.

The cast of characters is immense but the deftly handled by the author in the text. A newcomer to the Napoleonic Era might enjoy an appendix giving brief profiles of the marshals, heads of state, generals and other important personages, and the author might consider putting that in a second edition.

And all too often writers limit themselves to the campaign of 1812 rather than looking at the events leading to that campaign and the campaigns of 1813 and 1814 that followed. Not Adams, and his story is good to the last drop. The campaign of 1813 brought the Russians with their allies to the gates of Paris and Napoleon finally ran out of miracles and the French out of options.

I particularly enjoyed reading a British author who did not stress British participation and influence during this time as is so common. And it must be stressed that all of the armies of the time acted more or less the same in foreign or occupied territory -- this was not a battle between good and evil but a conflict by competing parties for European hegemony. In this respect it was not the first of such conflicts, and not nearly the last. Adams is even-handed, discussing the bad with the good for all sides.

The author treats Napoleon with some sympathy rather depicting him as a power-mad orge. His portrait in undoubtedly more accurate and certainly more compelling than had he taken a non-scholarly position. Napoleon was hands down the greatest military general in the 18th and 19th centuries, but no military genius can go forever. His mistakes began to mount as he became older, and by 1814 was only able to summon up flashes of his former brillance. Fortunately for us, Adams maintains his brillance throughout.

In conclusion, if you are new to the Napoleonic Era, you can hardly do better than this book. If you are an old hand you will be pleasantly surprised and pick up nuggets and perspectives within the author's splendid prose that you might have overlooked or forgotten. It's like visiting an old friend with a fine bottle of wine and finding both the friend and wine are better than you remembered. Unfortunately I can't go higher than five stars.

The author does a wonderful job reconstructing the relationship between Napoleon and Russia. It is interesting to see the re-evaluation of the role of Alexander I in both this work and Rites of Peace, by Adam Zamoyski. Since the fall of Napoleon there has been this myth that has arisen concerning the role played by England and Russia in achieving Napoleon's fall. It is also interesting to see the mythos that surrounds Alexander I being finally corrected. The one criticism is the author states that Sweden's King Gustav IV was assassinated, rather he fell in a Coup d'etat and then abdicated.

Great Read

Beautifully written, precisely edited and thoroughly researched. Mr. Adams has achieved what no other British writer has done to date - rendered a completely neutral and fair assessment of the wars precipitated by the French Revolution and the reaction to it by the old monarchies of Europe. As one of the other reviewers mentions, it is an absolutely refreshing experience to read the history and see all sides given a fair and frank analysis of motivations and actions. Adams repeatedly provides intriguing and useful insights to the thought processes of Napoleon and Alexander I.

My only disappointment is that I've yet to find an English author willing to censure the British attacks on Denmark (a completely neutral and largely powerless nation). The naval action of Copenhagen in 1801 and the bombardment of that city and confiscation of the Danish fleet in 1807 were nothing less than heinous acts of bald-faced aggression which resulted in the deaths of many innocents. I was pleased, however, that Adams correctly points out that Napoleon had long abandoned his plans to invade England by the time the battle of Trafalgar was fought and that battle was in no wise pivotal to modern history as many claim.

I highly recommend this book as one of the best written histories of the period - period!

This book is very informative, citing now out-of-print primary sources and containing many colour and black and white photos of paintings and artifacts. It is alphabetically organized, also, and in a durable hardcover format. The author is obvoiusly well qualified. Highly recommended book.

Many years ago, I became a Nelson fan after reading an historical account of the Battle of Aboukir Bay. I was simply impressed by such an overwhelming victory by this master tactician of naval warfare. Now, as we approach the 200th anniversary of Trafalgar, it is only natural to suppose we shall be inundated with anything and everything "Nelsonian." If, however, they are all of the standard set by Colin White - we are in for a real treat.

Colin White is widely acknowledged as a leading expert on Nelson. He is the former Deputy Director of the Royal Naval Museum and is now Director of "Trafalgar 200" at the National Maritime Museum. In short, his credentials are impressive by any standards.

The Nelson Encyclopaedia is a hardback book measuring just over 10in x 8in containing 288 pages packed with solid information in an easy-to-follow format and all written by a man who knows his subject. As the words below the title on the front cover suggest, this is an encyclopaedia of all those facts and figures relating to the People, Places, Battles, Ships, Myths, Mistresses, Memorials & Memorabilia that were Nelson. This is, therefore, an ultimate reference source and probably the best possible place to start for those with little or no knowledge of the greatest naval genius of all time. At the same time, this is the also the book to answer those niggling little questions which trouble always the experts.

This is a work of reference will which stand the test of time. It is a scholarly work, an excellent read, well illustrated throughout and contains plenty of new material. It is very fitting that the Publisher's should be called "Chatham" and I congratulate them on a job well done.

NM

This is the best book I've read about Nelson in a long time (and I've read quite a few!). Colin White has unearthed a load of new material and has put it together in an accessible and readable form.

There is a first-rate introductory essay sketching out Nelson's life and career and showing how all the new material changes our view of the little admiral. Then there is a series of brilliant short essays on all aspects of his life - his battles, his ships, his women, and so on and so on.

Its one of those books its hard to put down. Each short essay has a "See also" section at the end of it and so you find yourself flipping happily through the book following a fascinating "trail".

Some great illustrations, many of which I'd never seen before and some excellent battle plans, again based on all the latest research. The book looks good too and feels good in your hands

This is not a traditional biography, but don't let that put you off. I guarantee you'll get a huge amount of enjoyment out of it and come away feeling that you have been listening to a man who really understands Nelson.

Colin White works hard so we don't have to. He has saved us having to dig through countless book to find information on persons, events and places that feature prominently, or even incidentally, in Lord Nelson's colourful life. This book will be an invaluable aid to everyone interested in Nelson, the Royal Navy, and the Napoleonic Wars.
Also highly recommended:

Joel Hayward's "For God and Glory: Lord Nelson and His Way of War"

Evan Thomas's "John Paul Jones : Sailor, Hero, Father of the American Navy"

Tom Pocock's "Horatio Nelson"

This document, soon to be published as an independent book by Pathfinder, is a summation of the lessons of history of revolution. In its way it is in line with the Communist Manifesto, with the fundamental documents of the Comintern, knitting together the history of world revolution, and of its Marxist vanguard in particular. This is not just about Trotsky and his contributions, but about how the Cuban communists fit into the continuation of Leninism, of what lessons we can learn from the crushed revolutions in Grenada and Nicaragua and by extension Burkina Faso.
There is so much, how Lenin's understanding of the importance of reaching out to farmers is true today, how new currents of workers searching for communist answers will keep emerging as they did in Cuba, how Trotsky learned Leninism, and how Trotskyists have learned like Trotsky did, not to be Trotskyists, but to be communists.
For many, this pamphlet will take them back to the founding documents of the Communists International. For others this will take the to the continuing revolutionary politics of Fidel and the other Cuban communists.
If you are serious about changing the world, you need to read this, study this, and follow the links this important book takes you to revolutionists throughout history and around the world.

In an age when revolutionaries come from different family trees, how do you look at the legendary Leon Trotsky, and his theory of ?permanent revolution,? that colonial countries can move directly from capitalist governments to workers governments? Jack Barnes, Socialist Workers Party national secretary, examines this issue in an article based on a 1982 speech. The volume also contains a piece by Cuban Communist Carlos Rafael Rodriguez on Lenin?s contributions to the strategy of colonial liberation and a pair of articles, by Lenin and Trotsky, on the 1916 Easter rebellion in Ireland.

In an age when revolutionaries come from different family trees, how do you look at the legendary Leon Trotsky, and his theory of ?permanent revolution,? that colonial countries can move directly from capitalist governments to workers governments? Jack Barnes, Socialist Workers Party national secretary, examines this issue in an article based on a 1982 speech. The volume also contains a piece by Cuban Communist Carlos Rafael Rodriguez on Lenin?s contributions to the strategy of colonial liberation and a pair of articles, by Lenin and Trotsky, on the 1916 Easter rebellion in Ireland.

What does it take to make a socialist revolution? What sort of political leadership is needed? What program and strategy? How to you create it in practice?

I found this issue of New International very helpful in discussing and thinking about these questions, both to understand the world today and figure out what to do about it. Jack Barnes bases his analysis on political work done by Karl Marx and Frederick Engels and leaders of the Russian Revolution V.I. Lenin and Leon Trotsky. He discusses lessons socialists in the United States had already drawn, and then takes a fresh look in light of the 1979 worker and peasant revolutions in Nicaragua and Grenada and the debate they sparked on revolutionary strategy.

The discussion takes up issues where there have often been differences among revolutionary organizations, including the character of alliances between workers and peasants or farmers, the role of armed struggle and electoral campaigns, and the type of the government to establish after overthrowing a capitalist regime. Barnes stresses the importance of the Cuban Revolution, both for the example it sets and the conscious efforts of the Cuban leadership to advance revolutionary leadership development around the world.

The Boyne River has played a major role in Irish history. St Patrick first arrived in Ireland here, and the first Cistercian Abbey was established at Mellifont. King James and King William fought a great battle. (If you visit, you may be amused, perhaps bewildered, by the confusing road signs pointing in several directions to the "Battle of the Boyne".)

Geraldine Stout is an archaeologist with the Archaeological Survey of Ireland. She assisted on the excavations at Knowth and Newgrange and has undertaken postgraduate and doctoral research on the Boyne Valley.

This volume opens with excellent map of the area with centered on Newgrange. There are many illustrations and photographs focused on geology, emphasizing features which attracted the first settlers. (Google Books shows several of the pages in this volume.)

There are 26 ancient tribal burial chambers in the Boyne River Valley; Newgrange is the finest, and Stout describes it well. The great round tomb is about 5,000 years old -- which makes it several centuries older than the Great Pyramids of Egypt and 1,000 years older than Stonehenge. Stout also provides detailed descriptions of Knowth and Dowth. There are excellent photographs, paintings, maps and diagrams of all three tunnel tombs.

Stout describes the arrival of both the Cistercians (1142) and the Normans (1169), the establishment of a number of churches and the introduction of new methods of farming.

Another chapter deals with the historical and topographical aspects of the Battle of the Boyne. Stout describes of the great estates which arose from the growing economy of the 18th century and the construction of the Boyne Navigation. A chapter deals with more modest buildings which still stand in the Bend of the Boyne. She also describes the construction of a number of pillboxes during The Emergency as a line of defense against a possible British invasion.

Stout describes some of the current battles between farming and conservation. Finally she describes how the area, and especially the astronomical discoveries related to the tombs, have inspired artists and poets.

The book is attractive and scientific, useful for preparation for a trip to Ireland or as a reminder of one of the most interesting corners of Ireland.

Robert C. Ross 2008

This is THE BEST book I have read about the Boyne Valley. It makes the landscape come alive. You should read it, and enjoy the photos, maps and descriptions before and after a trip there.

Outstanding historical book for this area. Beautiful photos and illustrations. A great bargin to buy through
Amazon.

A very comprehensive, informative book. I had seen it in Ireland, but didn't want to carry it home. I was so happy it find it here on Amazon. The information is well presented, probably more than most people need, but it is all there. Great illustrations.

Nights at the Alexandra may be considered by some readers to be a long short story or novella. I n either base, Trevor presents us auth a wonderful story and memorable characters. In a matter of a few pages he places his readers both geographically and time wise in both the present and at the beginning of WWII. Central to the book is the question, "Who are those people we meet early on in or lives which influenced us then and continue to influence us all of our days.

The book begins as Harry, a 58 year old, cinema owner in an Irish coastal town reflects back to his life and the time during the beginning of WWII. On the brink of adolescence, Harry was quite bored with the days he spent at his boarding school and now with his days spent in his hometown where he was forced to return when the school closed down due to the war. But life is about to change for Harry when an émigré couple move to this hometown and announce plans to open a cinema theater. Mr. Messinger is a much older man from Germany while his wife is who is both elegant and beautiful is a much younger English woman. When the couple ask Harry to work for them in the ticket booth of the cinema Harry wil have one of the greatest learning experiences from his days and nights spent with this couple specifically Mrs. Messinger. For it is this woman who ultimately will have the most profound effect on Harry as he spends his nights at the Alexandra and comes under her spell. As the war rages about all of them Harry learns about life and love from this woman and even years later thinking back on this time period in his life, Harry realizes Mrs. Messinger she still holds a very special place in his heart.

As an avid reader I have long heard about William Trevor although Nights at the Alexandra was my first experience reading any of his works. In this sparse narrative, Trevor wrote volumes about the innocence of youth, unhappiness, dislocation, memories, dreams realized and regrets we may have as we look back on our youth from a different place in time. But most of all, this book depicted how random people can shape our lives. The author not only placed me in a front row seat during this novel but left me wishing I could spend more time with these people. Now I can't wait to read more from this well-known author.

NIGHTS AT THE ALEXANDRA more than makes up for its brevity in the beauty of Trevor's prose - he accomplishes more in a short book like this (99 pages) than many writers can manage in much longer works. He has an amazing ability to shine a gentle but brilliant light on his characters and their lives, giving his readers a window through which to view the story. It is as if we were present - and it is a breathtaking experience that occurs whenever I read anything by Trevor.

The story here is one of love, on multiple levels - not a traditional love story by any means, but one that illuminates the various natures of love as they appear as blessings in our lives. The story is narrated by Harry, `a fifty-eight year old provincial' as he describes himself - never married, no children. His life is nonetheless a full one - and it is not without love. His fondest memories, of a time in his adolescence, revolve around a woman named Frau Messinger - a beautiful English woman who is married to a much older German man. They have come to live in rural Ireland during the dark days of World War II. Herr Messinger's presence in the small town where Harry lives is a subject of constant speculation and no small amount of suspicion among the town's residents. Harry's father - despite evidence to the contrary - insists that Messinger is a `Jew man', come to Ireland to escape Hitler's unimaginable persecutions.

Harry gets to know Frau Messinger when she asks him to run small errands for her - and he quickly becomes a sort of sounding board for the woman, who begins telling him things about her life. One might suspect at this point in the story that the woman is looking for a lover - but as she speaks to Harry, it becomes clear that she dearly loves her husband and appreciates what he has given her. Their marriage may not be a conventional one - the age factor, for one thing - but they are devoted to each other. One page one, she tells the boy, `Harry, I have the happiest marriage in the world! Please, when you think of me, remember that.' It becomes clear as the story progresses that she means every word of this.

In the process and progress of the friendship between the boy and the beautiful English woman, Harry becomes aware of the many facets of the jewel of love. His school friends see his relationship with her as one with sexual possibilities. His mother calls the woman a strumpet and forbids him to go to the Messingers' home any more - a ban he defies, drawn by the gentle love and friendship offered him there, something that he has missed sorely in his home, where emotions are things to be constricted and never voiced.

Trevor's prose flows gently - the book is a quick read, even being so short - and it is sheer delight. I could call this one of his greatest works - but it would be in crowded company, for everything I've read by this amazing writer is of the highest quality.

At the age of fifty-eight, Harry looks back on one of the most important times of his life. When he was 15, Europe was locked in World War II, and Ireland (Eire) existed in the "Emergency," an era of uncomfortable neutrality and semi-deprivation. And then, into his quiet life came Frau Messinger, the English-born wife of a German émigré. Drawn like a moth to a flame, Harry became wrapped up in Frau Messinger, developing a love and devotion for her beyond the understanding of all of the other people in his life.

In this bittersweet novella, William Trevor tells a poignant tale of a love beyond what most authors can comprehend. I found it moving beyond words.

Beyond that, though, the book is fascinating for giving the reader a peek into a forgotten time and place, Eire during World War II. I wish I could say more about this book, but words really do escape me. Let me just say that I loved this book, and highly recommend it.

By now I've read a good bit of Trevor, and he's become one of my favorite authors. This brief novel is a quiet, subtle one that, like all of Trevor's work, does leave an effect behind; it makes the reader think, and not just about the beauty of the prose. It made me ponder the significance of life choices and the effect of chance and encounters with certain individuals. This novel lacks the dramatic intensity of *Felicia's Journey* but it's still a good read.

One Of Ourselves by James Robert Carroll isn't your usual historical/biographical focus on John F. Kennedy's assassination, but rather a finely crafted survey recalling JFK's happier times. Any fan of Presidently Kennedy will find year-round enjoyment in this superbly presented treatise which surveys his Irish roots, his meaning to Irish-Americans, and his visit to Ireland in 1963. A revealing celebration of his world, lovingly portrayed, One Of Ourselves is a welcome addition to personal and community library American History collections.

One Of Ourselves: John Fitzgerald Kennedy In Ireland by professional journalist James Robert Carroll is an informed and informative study of American President Kennedy's three and one-half day visit to Ireland in June of 1963. 44 black-and-white photographs and prints nicely illustrate the president's "homecoming" and its meaning at the time to both Americans and Irish alike. Meticulous attention to detail enhances a superbly written text in bringing to life this particular and unique intersection of human heritage and national office. No personal, academic, or community library Kennedy Studies collection can be considered complete without the inclusion of James Robert Carroll's One Of Ourselves!

This large, excellent complete chronicle of the John Fitzgerald Kennedy return to our ancestral homelands must be read by every American and every Irishman, and everyone else in between.

This little known historic journey which took place a mere six months before his bloody and cowardly murder by still hidden hands reveals much about the stature of the man, unequalled since by any President but Carter, and the apposition of the dynastic Nero and Caligula we suffer since the departure of that second greatest modern President.

Perhaps the present reader unfamiliar with those past times of honor, dignity, morality, truth, justice, equality, openness and compassion may suffer vertigo to contemplate such a different world, to which our present times resemble Superman's Bizarro land, where hello is good-bye and war is peace. But let us bravely recall those great days, that we may strive to live them once more as a nation, now deeply impoverished and abandoned, but a nation once again.

James Robert Carroll competently, carefully, academically, completely presents the historical record of those days, from the preparation of the voyage to the burial of our slain fallen last great leader, considering fully the context and meaning of those times. Several selections from the photogrpahic record also serve to bring those times more closely to us, now a more visually learning than a literate people. This book must be read, and read again, by one and by all.

I thought I had enough JFK books - the clan, the crises, the concubines. I used to read them all; now I find myself skipping through the pages of new books, over the same familiar stories. Even a good historian like Robert Dallek can only make news by turning up more tales of girls & pills. It starts to feel like aversion therapy. Please, I don't want to read any more!
Please!
I wanted to read this book, though - maybe for the same reason JFK wanted to go to Ireland. The trip was a sidelight. His advisors thought it a waste of time - he already had all the Irish votes! And Ireland was hardly a front line in the Cold War - he'd just been to Berlin and was about to face up to 'regime change' in Vietnam. But he wanted to go & he went - it's good to be the president. And his reason for going - like the trip itself - shows a side of him that's much less familiar than what we usually see. I have assorted ideas of what Kennedy was like (I'm a few years too young to remember him - if your first presidential bonding was with Lyndon Johnson - Vietnam, not civil rights, vintage - you can understand the interest in JFK) - but emotion - the tenderer emotions - isn't the first to mind.
That's what this book so wonderfully celebrates - Kennedy's 4-day sentimental journey to Ireland. It wasn't a typical homecoming - not with helicopters, motorcades, speeches, public ceremonies. The whole country seemed to turn out to meet him - you get a very vivid sense here of the excitement - & pride - that Kennedy stirred in the Irish - & that they roused in him. The book covers all that beautifully, it makes you both part of Kennedy's travel party - & one of the Irish crowd, with fresh interviews of those who were there - family, reporters, Irish whose brush with JFK is a dearest memory. But what I liked best - & found most moving - were the little, more private moments. In the house of distant cousins, Kennedy sat down, sipped tea in front of a turf fire, looked around him & saw "Kennedy faces." And in a crowd of thousands, JFK found an old man who reminded him of his grandfather - "And his name is Fitzgerald!" Kennedy didn't like singing in public - for the same reason he didn't wear funny hats - but in Ireland he sang - offkey but with feeling.
And the feeling from 'the 3 happiest days I've ever spent in my life' lasted. Back home he couldn't stop talking about it. He watched the films over & over.
So it was reading 'One of Ourselves'. The feeling of the trip comes through & stays. This is the first Kennedy book in a long time that I've really wanted to dwell on.
(I'm not Irish but I love Irish music & poetry. The book's loaded with wonderful songs & verse -
Thus returned from travels long,
Years of exile, years of pain,
To see old Shannon's face again,
O'er the waters dancing.

The best Russian aviation book out there...it has it all.
They have added just about evry variation and every modification to every airplane the russians ever thought of.

This book is an impressive and meticulous look at Soviet Aviation.

PROS:
Extensive, exhaustive and thoroughly detailed (Gunston even covers details such as shape/size of nosewheel hubcaps etc.). Covers literally every single plane/variant/sub-type ever made.

Superb diagrams, images and spec

Ekranoplanes -- amazing information. A must have for Red aviation enthusiasts.

CONS
Too laconic
B/W images only :-(((
Historical information covers only development and engineering.Not enough information about actual performance/strenghts/weaknesses. Information/opinions about performance is sorely lacking.

SUM:
An alternative to Janes...seriously

Many books tout, "new information never before seen from the Soviet archives", but few really deliver anything substantial. Mr Gunston though, has achieved what many historians hoped would happen with former Iron Curtain material coming to light: a truly enlightening book. Many of the details of the Soviet design bureaus, let alone some of the experimental aircraft have never had their stories told before. The depth of this work exceeds anything I've seen in the West, or Russia. The listings of aircraft before 1917 are almost worth the price alone. However, the prose is terse to say the least, one would have thought an additional few pages could have been spared for descriptions/tech data. Also, some of the comments are, well if not quite from the sales brochure, they're close. Mr Gunston has a reputation for taking manufacturer data at face value. Certainly his comments on the MiG21 and 29 don't give the reader the full story of real combat limitations of these otherwise fine designs.
That said though, this an encyclopedia no aviation enthusiast, or Russian historian should be without. Well worth the money.

This book is a must-have for all people interested in aviation of our "coldwar-eastern enemy". The often different approach of russian designers to aircraft design gave us some very surprising en extotic aircraft types. Much more than in the west, soviet aircraft were being designed and built for an operational purpose. The result often was an aircraft, very rugged and suited to it's operational requirements but often lacking in economic operations. Solutions were solutions, no mather how expensive or uneconomical. Off course some of the soviet aircraft are still unrivalled in their class. The IL76 is still one off the most rugged heavy transports and if you look at the technical propulsion system of the Lockheed X-35 S/VTOL demonstrator, one can see that it is directly derived from the YAK141 prototype. The russian designers often were much more practical in approach and with limited resources they achieved very much. This book contains them all. From the early "kites" till Ekranoplans! The definitive work on this subject!

Although the uniforms of the US Army are not my primary interest, I found this book to be an excellent introduction to this subject, albeit a photographic essay. Having several of Shelby Stanton's books on US Army uniforms, I would like to see a similar book on WWI, but as a primer this book has no peer. I recommend it unreservedly.

I too purchased this book from a book club, and a facinating buy it was! Although uniforms of the US Army are not my primary interest, this book covered a subject that I knew little or nothing about; this book changed that emphatically. Although I would have liked to read more on uniform development, especially the evolution from blue to khaki, the book is an excellent source for students of WW I, and I highly recommend it.

I saw this in the military book club for $14.95! A really GOOD collection of photos of the US Army in WW1. I actually learned some new things from the captions. The BEST book of WW1 photos I have seen in many years. Would also be good for a novice

This book is part of the G. I. series of short illustrated studies covering a period or a series of campaigns. All of these books are vertical studies covering a period of years. Though sometimes the illustrations serve to identify individual items of equipment, these works are not intended for that purpose. They are not catalogs intended for materiel collectors. They are of such a length and of such a level of detail that they will serve the purposes of the general reader with a curiousity about what grandaddy did in WW II or great great great grandaddy in the Civil War and what he looked like and how he lived. This is not to say that the specialist such as myself cannot find useful nuggets herein. I can. I use these for general surveys of periods I do not study in detail, such as the Civil War, and the War With Mexico, etc. And to look up the odd facts. I have yet to be disappointed with any of them.