Europe Books

Amazing book! Proves that not all Germans were rabid Nazis. A personal journey through a unique perspective on how and why the Nazis were able to assume power, as well as why the Germans were unable to stop them. Highly recommended!

Excellent book on the rise of the Nazis by an author with a very humane and sensible view of life who lived through the events. Haffner gives voice to the average Germans who witnessed the rise of Hitler and did not approve - the majority, as it turns out - but who could simply not make sense of the madness around them nor could they find a way to realistically oppose the Nazis.

Haffner's narrative is often touching as he discusses personal events of his own, friends' and family's, illustrating how the sphere of their private lives was affected by politics. The result is that it reads like a 'non-fiction novel', and one extremely relevant for contemporary world events.

It is a pity that Haffner never actually concluded the book. In the last section, his son briefly explains what happened after the abrupt ending of the narrative, thus we miss the detail and richness that Hafner's own perspective would have undoubtedly provided. Still, it is an unmissable book, packed with lessons for present and future generations.

Sebastian Haffner's "Defying Hitler" has an ambitious initial scope - to chronicle the rise of Hitler from 1918-1939. The memoir is "unfinished" in that the narrative leaves off in 1933 as Haffner put down writing the manuscript with the advent of World War II and never came back to it. Haffner's son, Oliver Pretzel ultimately had the work published after Haffner's death.

Even in its "unfinished" condition, the work is a masterpiece. Haffner's purpose is not to excuse the average German in germany to succumbing to Nazism and to Hitler but rather to EXPLAIN the phenomenon. Excusing it would simply be post hoc. Explaining it serves the additional function of future application.

Defying Hitler was a difficult thing to do in practice. One could certainly not do so in public. The repression of Nazism in Germany was all the more pervasive by its reach into the private sphere and by doing so, obliterating the prior German distinction between public and private. The only safe way to defy Hitler was, ultimately emigration.

Haffner's narrative is frank, honest and ironic. It was a joy to read.

Finally, a word about Robert Whitfield, the reader of the Audio edition of "Defying Hitler." I believe there are instances in which the audio edition of a work is equal to or superior to the printed version. These instances of "audio excellence" are directly related to the quality of the reader. Robert Whitfield repeatedly accomplishes "aduio excellence." Whitfield's diction is spot on, his tone fluctuates to match the text. If the text is ironic, so then is Whitfield's tone. If the text is frank, so then is Whitfield's tone. If the text contains italics for emphasis, that emphasis is contained within Whitfield's voice. In short, his contributions always enhance a book and never detract from it. For other texts read by Robert Whitfield, I would recommend Bleak House by Charles Dickens, and The Abolition of Man & the Great Divorce: Library Edition by C.S. Lewis.

This is the story of Sebastian Haffner, a man who lived in Germany during Hitler's rise to power. I loved hearing the story from the perspective of the average German. I can't imagine living in such tumultuous times, but reading this book gives me a glimpse. The best part about it is the fact that it tries to answer two very important questions: how on earth a regime like the Nazis could rise to power, and how almost the entire nation where corrupted by them. It's a wonderful story that I would recommend to anyone that is the bit interested in that period. Remember, it's by understanding the past that we can best keep from repeating it.

This is a powerful story of the rise of the Nazi movement with scary parallels to modern day events. The question has often been asked how the Germans could allow this to happen and Haffner does an amazing job at describing how. Along with a controlled media, one method was to turn the volume of fear and intimidation one little almost imperceptible increment at the time. Most people just laughed at the antics of Hitler and his crowd in the beginning, but by the time that people caught on to the seriousness of the issue it was too late. By this time many secretly just hoped that it would go away like a bad dream, but history tells a different story.

The difference with this book is that it is told from a very human perspective from an ordinary German who was living through those times and who saw the transformation of German society and social interaction.

Along with this book I would recommend the movie V for Vendetta (Two-Disc Special Edition), and the book Political Ponerology (A Science on the Nature of Evil Adjusted for Political Purposes), which describes the process by which a society is taken over, and by what kind of people.

Those who do not learn from history are bound to repeat it. This book is an important book to read so as to be better able to read the warning signs before it is too late.

I bought this book in the 60's in the Time/Life edtion, but didn't get around to reading it until 1995, when I was in Jalalabad, Afghanistan for a few weeks. Of course, that was the perfect setting, but from any viewpoint in the world "Eastern Approaches" is quite close to the perfect travel book. I left my copy in the library of the American Club in Peshawar, trying to save luggage room for Afghan textiles, and I was very sorry to learn when I got home that it was out of print. Now it's back, and I look forward to reading it again while sitting in my armchair. "Eastern Approaches" is a great read, and never more relevant than today.

This is an exciting autobiography, which I have read and reread over the years. Of particular interest is the author's introduction into the SAS.

This book will become a permanent fixture in your library.

Pre WWII, Maclean finagled trips through parts of the USSR where no westerner had previously been, even crossing into Afghanistan from the north at one point. He spent much of WWI aiding Marshal Tito's effort to drive the Germans out of the Balkans. Fascinating stuff, this, eloquently written and he's a damn good storyteller.

This book is of great historical value. The narration is witty and elegant. I would recomant it to everybody interested in European history.

This is a truly unique book and comparable only with Churchill's 'My Early Life' as an adventure history. Some people write adventure books, some people have adventures but Fitzroy McLean, like Churchill, or TE Lawrence, is able to do both. A rare treat and very easy to read.

the illustrations and delightful story of Eloise in Paris with Nanny and all of their pets. Almost as delightful as the original, if you and/or your children liked the first book, you will like this one too. I promise, i promise, i promise....

I love Kay Thompson and ordered this for my great-niece without ever having read an Eloise book. It certainly has the feel of a different era (one moment of Eloise swatting the doctor and him ordering a Johnny Walker Black) but the flair, exhuberance and open personality of Eloise makes it "tres drole". Just remember to read it fast and without taking a breath. Pure fun.

Eloise's First trip to Paris, is unforgetable.
With her Nanny (Nanny), Turtle (Skiperdee), and her Dog (Weenie)...It's a Treasure. It's a keeper. It's great. A+

Eloise gets a telegram one day from her mum inviting her and Nanny to come over to Paris. Eloise can't wait. She falls onto the French capital like an American storm and goes just about everywhere. She dines, sightsees, meets locals, gets a dress made just for her by none other than M. Dior, and she eats so much she gains "rawther" a lot of weight. In the end, Eloise misses the Plaza and is happy about her return home to New York. In a nice touch, in the doorway above the famous old hotel Eloise and Nanny call home, a big banner hangs, and it reads, "Welcome Back Eloise!" Eloise has gone full circle and we feel we've taken every galloping step along the way with her. Yet another fun and charming volume in the Eloise series from Kay Thompson and Hillary Knight!

I'm 32 years old and I LOVE Eloise - she is an absolutely delightful character! I have bought several of the Eloise books for my 5 year old daughter and she just loves Eloise as well. How fun and inspiring is it for a little girl to read about a character as whimsical and independent as Eloise?

The illustrations in this book are fantastic and really bring Paris to life for children. I have read this book at least 100 times to my daughter, and each time I enjoy it more. My daughter now wants a champagne cork necklace just like Eloise...thanks Kay Thompson for laughs you have allowed my daughter and me to share!

I enjoyed this book a lot. It makes you think a lot even after you've finished it. There are many lessons to be learned from this book. For example: choosing between your ideals and the loved ones (when of course they are in conflict), God vs atheism, love and hate (how one can possess both of them towards the same person), ideals and the will and determination to fight for them.

Read this book for the first time in Russian when I was 12 and it had been my favorite book ever since. Was able to read it in the original language just some years later, realizing that:
1. The Russian translation is wonderful:)
2. The book is still my favorite one.

It's amazing how Voynish manages to write a book which countains a love story, yet not boring nor sexual, a fight story, yet not overpatriotic/stupid. The continuation book feets perfectly ("An Interrupited Friendship" and may be should be read between the 1st and the 2nd parts of "The Gadfly" (I read the "Interrupted Friendship" some years after "The Gadfly" and it was still perfect).


BTW, Ethel Lilian is a daughter of mr. Bool - for those of us who know what boolean algebra is - that's her father's doing! I know it's a piece of useless information:)

It's rather a mystery to me that this book has never gained the kind of popularity in the US that it's always had in Russia. And yes, one can put it down to its political background and revolutionary theme, especially in what is a "lesser" known milieu of Italy in the 1840's, but really this is entirely the outer shell that could easily have been set elsewhere more "popular." I think the problem after all is that this book has been judged by its cover, as it were. But setting aside, it is the most profoundly human and tragic book you may ever read. Much was said of the themes of the book in the other reviews, and it is all true, so I will only say that the ending of the book caught me riding home on the subway, and I wept like I have never ever wept in my life. People stared at me as if I were insane, but of course I didn't care - I was being affected by something most people would never imagine feeling for anything, and certainly for no "thing" like a book. I wept for two hours afterward. And then I couldn't touch another written word for months. If ever words produced raw, overwhelming feelings, surely it is between the pages of The Gadfly.

One of the greatest stories ever told - this book can change your life if you take its ideals to heart. It's not hard to understand why it was so popular among those in the revolutionary movement. I have to say though that when I lent it to two young friends who are Catholic too, they did not seem to be as profoundly moved as I was. The closing scene between the Cardinal and the Gadfly is one of the most heart-wrenching ever written. This book is a classic of its time and of all time. In my top 10 list of the best books I have ever read. Grab it - BTW if anyone is looking for a copy I do have one to spare which is in fairly good condition.

This work is pure treasure and a great place for someone who wishes to begin reading fine literature to start. I cannot believe that I never heard of this book until I was 50! It ended up on my large "reading list" and I had to order it online to find a copy -- then (I kick myself) it laid around here for a year before I opened it. When I finally did, I discovered that I could not put this one down -- a quintessential page-turner. It's a very personal saga of a very good man, and, a Priest who betrays him during an Italian rebel uprising period. I savored "War and Peace" and "The Brothers Karamazov", and while "The Gadfly" is that sort of book (much shorter), it's not such a tough go as the former titles. Voynich was brilliant. I read an average of three books a week, and have done so for many years, and this one is one of my top 3 reads ever. Don't miss this one and if you wish to double your pleasure, get a copy of Dmitri Shostakovich's sountrack to "The Gadfly" movie and allow it to play as wallpaper as you read. Incredible stuff!

I must say that the author did an excellent job if he intended this book to be a record of the day to day action on all theaters of engagement between the French and the Viet Minh.

Because of the excessive level of detail, the book is very diffcult to read and appreciate. It is a mind numbing experience.

Read this only if you wish to know in detail the horrible sufferings that that combatants on either side faced in a senseless war. Otherwise you will be better off with just a summary.

The Last Valley: Dien Bien Phu And the French Defeat in Vietnam

Apparently the best account ever written on Dien Bien Phu. Just two brief remarks:
1. History is shaped by strong personalities, and there was an abundance of them in Dien Bien Phu. Despite the book's large volume, there would be welcome a chapter sketching portraits of key protagonists (Bigeard, Langlais, de Castries etc), at the expense of details on arms specifications.
2.The author is favorably predisposed to French military leaders, and I tend to sustain his argument about injustices inflicted to the French army by politicians. Nevertheless, he is inclined to offer unnecessary excuses to the former, as well as to soothe down quarrels. Why not state bluntly that Cogny and Langlais could not tolerate Navarre and de Castries respectively? Even though the outcome might not be different, leadership exercised by de Castries was apparently inadequate. During this epic battle, besides heroism, mistakes had been made also on the French part, which the author appears quite eager to justify, out of respect to this unique effort.

T. E. Lawrence wrote that amateurs do something because they love to, and professionals because they must. We can thank the muses that Martin Windrow is a self-described amateur, because this work bears all the hallmarks of serious and loving craftsmanship. He places both the war, and the battle in context, he casts a glaring light upon some of its myths, and he gives serious attention to the technical aspects of the battle that the great majority of military professionals would otherwise miss, such as the state of Viet Minh artillery tactics and doctrine. Were Fall still alive and writing, Windrow would still have outclassed him. Anything and everything you want or need to know about the battle for Dien Bien Phu is here. The very best military history I've read in English in a very long time. Bravo!

the book just kind of grabbed me, twice.
first when i saw it on the library shelf, i read "hell in a very small place" many years ago and have a continuing interest in vietnam and america's involvement there.
the second time is when i started reading it, it reads like an excellent detective story, i sat and sat and finished it at one sitting, not a small feat considering it is over 700 pages long. This style is the first very notable characteristic.

not only is the writing excellent, but the author is one of those people who you can imagine talking to. he appears to a military historian from his amazon authors page. writing since the 1970's with an accent on french and the foreign legion. But this book looks like a long term research project and literally a work of love. the detail and interest he displays puts it in a class almost by itself. the only other military history that i've been this impressed by is the boer war by pakenham. The research and simply put love that went into this book is evident thoughout and is a second notable item.

there is something else that makes it outstanding, several places he shows some very unique and well thought out ideas. they are just snatches of his worldview: some pages about the wounds caused by military bullets, a couple of places where he talks about the relationships between politicians and military leaders, and his discussion about how men fight for their buddies next to them, not geopolitical big things. There are just a few of these rather tantilizing glimpses, enough to make me look for more of his books. This disclosure of the man behind the work and his ideas developed from a lifetime of study in history is remarkable and the 3rd item i wish to point out.

I'd not a fan of military histories, nor an i particularly interested in the genre. But i do like his writing. I find the careful analysis of what happened, what lead up to it, how people responded fascinating and as yesterday proved, somewhat addictive. There is an overwhelming number of names, who went where and fought whom, etc, those datum that make up military history, but it is not so bad that it bores or obscures the ideas. He is a very careful documenter of the facts, desirous of completeness and setting the historical record straight. All elements which appear strongly in the book.

There is another thing remarkable about the book and it's author, a desire to look at the facts and the events and truly learn from them. To see this part of our world, a somewhat dark one, filled with the dead and lost, and remember them not just for their sacrifices but what these things have to teach us about ourselves and the societies we find ourselves in. and the first place to find the meaning of events is to get them right, to be factual and see what happened and propose why. something that this book does in a uniquely interesting and useful way.

i sure wish the militaries of the world had more thoughtful people like this author, either in their general staffs or in their officer universities. perhaps a significant dose of reality and history is what more of our military leaders need before embarking on disastrous campaigns.

This is a superb and well constructed book and is by far one of the best accounts of the Battle of Dien Bien Phu that has been written. The author gives the reader a great insight to the formation of the Viet Minh and their rise to become a formidable fighting force whose journey to power led to the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu.

The book is well balanced and very readable. It gives a well presented account of the battle and how it unfolded and also shows how, although the French were defeated, at some stages of the fighting, victory could have gone either way with the staggering battle casualties suffered by the Viet Minh.

He also deals with the communist purges in the north after the French had been defeated and the division of the country into North and South Vietnam.

This fine book would not be out of place on the bookshelf of anyone interested in the military campaigns of Vietnam.

Being a fan of Walter Lord's impeccably researched book "A Night to Remember," I was instantly intrigued upon learning of "The Night Lives On." I had had several lingering questions for years: why was an order given to turn the ship starboard when the iceberg eventually hit starboard? How, specifically, was the matter of the Californian's involvement dealt with? Which theories about "the gash" don't pan out? All of my questions and more were painstakingly answered as if I had asked Mr. Lord for an explanation myself. His ingenius weaving of history, statistics, personal testimonies, and logic, blended into an easily understandable format, made my love of the Titanic's story grow even more. Anyone can buy one book and know the generalities of the ship. But this book goes above and beyond to educate those already acquainted with the story and wanting a much more in-depth look.

WALTER LORD DOES IT AGAIN. HE BRINGS IT ALL TO LIFE. A MUST HAVE FOR ALL "TITANIC" FANS!

I picked up this audiocasette due to curiosity. The information packed tape was interesting, and even made me angry because this tragedy did not have to happen. Like people say, most tragedies are a string of unfortunate events coming together at the same time. I don't think the sinking of this liner is anything different. It gives a glimpse into the technological limitations of the day, the caste system of the gilded age, and the prevailing seaman's attitude of the time. After listening to this (and reading The Perfect Storm), my interest was certainly piqued. I ordered some books on the Titanic and the SS Edmund Fitzgerald, and can't wait until they get here.

Walter Lord follows up his best seller of the fifties-A Night to Remember--with this eighties version on some mysteries about the sunken liner. One learns about the musicians (two groups actually) and what they played that night while the life boats were being loaded. Another story details the negligence of the freighter Californian for not answering the eight rockets of distress from the Titanic. Another story details the shootings and suicide near the end of the launch of the last life boats. Still another story details why there were not enough life boats on the Titanic and most other ocean liners of the day. Walter Lord clears the air about these mysteries with his well informed writing.
If you want to know more about the Titanic, read both Lord's books on the subject (A Night to Remember, The Night Lives On). They will help the reader understand this tragedy. I have seen the movie and I know the producers consulted these books when they made the movie.

Calling this 'the sequel to _A Night to Remember_' is slightly misleading. Rather than the storytelling style employed to relate the story of the sinking of the Titanic, this is almost a collection of 17 1-chapter essays about various points of the disaster. Excellent stuff, but if you were expecting, say, the story of the Congressional and Parliamentary investigations of the disaster, you need to look elsewhere, e.g. Wyn Craig Wade's _The Titanic: End of a Dream_.

"Unsinkable Subject" - Overview of the popular fascination with Titanic.

"What's in a Name?" - The actual launching of Titanic from Harland & Wolff's shipyards.

"Legendary from the Start" - Titanic was indeed popularly supposed to be unsinkable, but the trend of sacrificing safety features for competitiveness had actually taken hold during her design.

"Had Ships Gotten Too Big for Captain Smith?" - Explores Smith's record, including a near-collision in harbor with Titanic's sister ship, the Olympic.

"Our Coterie" - The group of first class passengers, including Col. Gracie, mentioned in _A Night to Remember_.

"Everything Was Against Us" - Contrasts the ice warnings, lack of coordination between radio room & bridge, and lookouts, with the notion that the accident was a one-in-a-million chance.

"The Gash" - The collision itself.

"I Was Very Soft the Day I Signed That" - How and why ships the size of Titanic could legally sail while carrying so few lifeboats.

"What Happened to the Goodwins?" - Facts and figures about 1st class vs. 3rd, contrasting White Star's implication that those people down there couldn't understand English, with the Goodwin family (an electrical engineer and his family, emigrating from London to New York, all of whom were lost, including the 6-year-old).

"Shots in the Dark" - Explores the stories about Murdoch, one of the officers loading the lifeboats, and whether shots were fired.

"The Sound of Music" - An in-depth look at the "Nearer My God to Thee" myth, and the 2 bands on the Titanic. (I was aggravated to learn that that entire, touching sequence with the cornet in _Raise the Titanic!_, which I loved as a kid, was made up from whole cloth - the musicians were just as courageous as the movie made them out to be, but no cornet players.) And if you're a professional musician who thinks *your* agent is heartless, wait till you read this.

"She's Gone" - Compares the eyewitness accounts of Titanic's last moments with what we now know.

"The Electric Spark" Captain Rostron of the Carpathia, who picked up the survivors at great personal risk.

"A Certain Amount of Slackness" Discussion of Captain Lord (no relation to the author) of the Californian, in sharp contrast to the preceding chapter.

"Second-guessing" - The inquiries and subsequent litigation (Lord's treatment of Senator Smith should be contrasted with Wade's more detailed treatment, but then Wade has a whole book to play with).

"Why Was Craganour Disqualified?" What happened to some of the survivors. (Craganour, owned by a member of the Ismay family, was disqualified from winning a major British horse race.)

"Unlocking the Ocean's Secret" - The search for the Titanic, leading up to Robert Ballard's successful attempt in 1985 (written before others began plundering the ship for relics).

Ted Lawson's first-person tale of America's first blow back at the Empire of Japan is a "must read" for anyone interested in military history. The first book published on the Doolittle Raid, Lawson's narrative describes the genesis, preparation, and execution of the raid, and should be followed with a reading of Doolittle's autobiography, in which Doolittle describes his mission as well as his despair after bailing out of his B-25. Little did either of them suspect that a raid intended to boost American morale would have strategic consequences, and that Japan would divert badly needed resources to home defense that otherwise would have gone to the front lines.

Well told story of the Doolittle raid told by one of the pilots on the raid. The story is about the pre-raid, the raid itself, and the aftermath, which tells about the injuries sustained by Capt. Lawson and his crew and the help they received from missionaires and the Chinese in escaping capture by the Japanese. He also relates the stories of some of the other crews on the raid.

This is a tense account of the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo in the spring of 1942. World War II pilot Ted Lawson describes the pre-raid preparation, taking off from the aircraft carrier Hornet, attacking Tokyo, and crash landing his B-25 bomber in Japanese-occupied China. As many know, the B-25's took off farther out to sea than planned after the Hornet was spotted while approaching Japan. With too little fuel to reach the safety of Chinese lines, the crews bailed out or crash land in Japanese-occupied China. The surviving airmen then tried to avoid Japanese army patrols and find help from friendly Chinese. Most flyers did so despite the language barrier and survived. But Lawson was injured in the crash-landing, and when infection set in his leg was amputated in a field hospital. Lawson survived, returned to the USA, and wrote this book in a matter of days in 1943. The story is often gripping but loses a bit of steam later on - thus just four stars.

I read this book as a youngster for its thrill value without fully realizing that war is mostly tragedy rather than adventure. The book became a 1944 film starring Van Johnson, Robert Walker and Robert Mitchum. As for Lawson, he returned with his wife to California where he eventually ran a machine shop and he lived until 1992.

It a first person account of the Doolittle raid over Tokyo in 1942, written by one of the B-25 pilots from the raid. It covers his story from flight school all the way through his eventual return to the United States. Its an amazing story, especially the crews crash in China and the 5 month ordeal of evading the Japanese. It is a great book for younger readers with its fast pace and informaly written style.

I first read this book so many years ago that I can't remember, but I think it was about when I was in the eighth grade, say about 1955. I remember the book, and I remember the Van Johnson movie. The scene where the Chinese peasant brings Van Johnson the pair of slippers only to see that he has lost one leg stays with me even now. ==This is a classic book. It was written by one of the pilots on the Doolittle raid over Japan. In fact it was the character played by Van Johnson, Lt. Ted W. Lawson, that wrote this book.

This book, these men as much as any other that I can think of illustrates exactly what Tom Brokaw had in mind when he referred to them as the 'greatest generation.' Especially so when you talk to one of them and they invariably tell you they were not a hero. Heros were the ones who didn't come back. Heros were the other guys. I was just doing my job. Heros they were all.

Read this book. Read it again if you read it years ago. Give a copy to that youngster in your family or church that you think will appreciate it.

A comprehensive story of a less well known battlefield of World War II. Some confusion over the repetition of numerical regiments, but all-in-all good reading.

Field Marshall Slim was ordered from Iraq to Burma to take command of the front in the upcoming Burma debacle. Under Wavell first, and Auchinlek later, he retreated with the Commonwealth armies into India, and later on led the allied armies into victory against the Japanese forces.
His writing is clear, concise, and he does not spare himself from criticism, Often after describing an order he gave, or wished he had given, he will go on to explain how his plan was a mistake, and how he should have done it instead. This is precious insight on the mind of the commander. In many first person war stories, we are told what happened, but not why, and when errors are committed, there is always a lot of blame sharing. Here it is different. Slim tells you what he did wrong, when, and why. This is refreshing.
He shows great respect for his enemy, and describes the enemy's gallant attacks and heroic defenses with respect and appreciation for the heroism of the Japanese soldier. He does not fail to condemm the Japanese war crimes.
He exhibits great wit in describing the different attitudes of the Indian, Sikh and Gurkha soldiers. In one instance, after a Japanese attack in Inphal, some Gurkhas had been ordered to bury the enemy bodies. One of these wasn't dead yet, so the Gurkha trooper gets ready to cut the enemy's head off with his Kukri knife; a British officer tells him "Don't kill him!", and the Gurkha answers "But sir, we can't bury him alive!" Episodes like this give a great sense of realism and "being there" to the whole story.
The best book I've read to date on the Burma front.

I have always heard that Defeat into Victory - Battling Japan in Burma and India, 1942-1945 by William Slim was an excellent book for military leaders and planners. Despite this, I was resistant to reading this book for several years. Field-Marshal Slim, after all, was a failure. He failed to stop the Japanese advance in Burma and took a shockingly long time to retake Burma.

After finally reading this book, I must admit I was wrong. This book is useful on at least four levels. First, it is a good read on a little known part of World War II. Even if one is knowledgeable about General Stilwell's experience in the China Burma India (CBI) Theater, this highly focused work will provides new and interesting insights on that theater of war. Second, Field-Marshal Slim was forced by circumstances to be very creative is his tactics, techniques, and procedures. It is useful to see how many of these ideas were adopted in modern militaries and how many still might have value. Third, Field-Marshal Slim has some very specific and interesting "lessons learned" spelled out in the last section of his book. Fourth, leadership as applied in combat, in a bizarre multi-cultural environment, and in the disease ridden tropics might be useful for both current military folks and those in business.

It was a surprise to learn about the relatively large number of troops involved in the Burma campaign. Like most Americans, my image is of a few aviation and engineering units and that the bulk of the fighting, to the extent there was any, was done by Chinese units and a handful of "special forces/commando" units. It was insightful to read about the difficulties in mixing the militaries of different nations. The British attempt, largely successful, at outsourcing the fighting to Indian and West African units was meaningful as well.

The use of helicopters and air mobile brigades was one of the many innovations that Field Marshal Slim implemented. The development of riverine forces was also interesting and potentially worth study since the U S Navy has decided to reintroduce such forces based on lessons learned from Iraq.

From page 535 - 551, Field Marshal Slim offers some specific lessons learned based on the Burma campaign. The only area where I think he is less than intellectually honest is his discussion on "Special Forces". Field Marshal Slim rejects the usefulness of special forces, but if one reviews his actual campaign, he seems to be inclined to argue the usefulness of small groups of elite forces that act as enablers of larger amounts of indigenous troops. Likewise, he is adamantly against commando and amphibious troops as "special". His argument is that all troops should be trained to do these types of things though perhaps not to the level that so called special forces are trained to.

Finally, Field Marshal Slim managed to survive in a complex and bizarre multinational environment. It seems as if the United States might be in such situations in the future. Indeed, NATO forces in Afghanistan and Multi-National Forces in Iraq are - while different in detail - much the same in terms of the diplomatic and relationship building that is required of senior military officers.

This is a solid book for a variety of reasons. I highly recommend it.

Field Marshall Slim, Viscount of Burma, never lets us forget that it is the soldiers in the field that win battles: not politicians in their ivory towers, or generals in their bunkers far behind the action. Slim's theory is that politicians give guidelines for the campaign, and generals provide the training and backup so that the soldiers can get on with their business. He should, when possible, not get in the soldiers way.
This is a marvellous account of how the Commonwealth managed to stem the Japanese tide in South-East Asia. The main part of the book describes how he managed to restore morale and discipline in the army that was so humiliatingly defeated in 1943. That part should be compulsory reading at any management school. His solution was simple: he accepted that the defeat was due to faulty planning of the general staff. He then set out to provide training and equipment to the front-line troops. Since he commanded a multi-ethnic international army, he saw that every unit was supplied according to its own special needs. He even put his own staff on half-rations if any field unit lacked provisions - which usually quickly solved the problem!
As few generals and politicians he understood that war is about individuals and small units - they just add up to something bigger.
Slim could really write, the book is full of small anecdotes and self-ironic humour. When he writes about the actions it is af we were really there in the midst of it.
Finally, and most importantly: the book is totally devoid of any racism or demeaning of the enemy, it is incredibly respectful of his own native soldiers and of the Japanese enemy.

Field Marshal Slim's excellent memoire of the fighting against the Japanese in Burma and India during 1942-1945 is remarkable on at least two counts. First, the Allied armies were badly beaten and hustled unceremoniously out of Burma in 1942, yet reorganized in time to defend India and went on to liberate Burma in 1945. This feat was all the more remarkable for being fought over some of the most rugged jungle and mountain terrain in the world, under often horrendous weather conditions, at the distant end of the Allied supply lines. Second, Slim's account is exceptionally candid with respect to his leadership, to include mistakes made (his and others), to his opinions of his allies and opponents, and to the political wrangling that goes on in any coalition military effort.

The China-Burma-India Theater of World War II did not include large numbers of American ground forces, and has therefore been left largely in the shadows of the fighting in Europe and the Pacific theater. However, the Allied forces inflicted a massive military defeat on the Japanese Army under extraordinarily difficult conditions; there is much to learn from the common sense, improvisational approach employed by Slim in planning and organizing his campaigns.

Slim arrived in the theater as a brand new corps commander just at the start of the Japanese invasion. His efforts to cobble together a defense were repeatedly overturned by the relentless Japanese attack and by the scarcity of resources. Slim managed to extract his forces and in successive positions as corps and army commander, rebuilt them into the force that went back into Burma. Slim's account is comprehensive, even exhaustive, describing both the operational-level planning and administrative support and much of the tactical level fighting in the jungles. His high regard for his multi-national army, composed of British, Gurkha, Indian, Chinese, and American forces, and his care for their morale is evident throughout his account.

"Defeat Into Victory" is a long read at over 550 pages; the casual reader may be overwhelmed by the length and level of detail. The student of military art without prior background in the China-Burma-India theater may have some challenge putting Slim's account into proper context. The limited selection of maps are a bit difficult to read but enable the reader to follow the course of the campaigns.

This book is very highly recommended to the student of the military art looking for a very readable account of the Allied campaigns in Burma. Those who persist to the end will be rewarded by Slim's retrospective on the fighting in Burma and the surprisingly modern conclusions he draws from the experience.

I adore this book. It makes me wish I lived on the plains of Hungary on a ranch like this family. The Good Master is the story of two twelve year old cousins growing up and learning what it is to be a good, respectful and hardworking person. Jansci, the son of the "Good Master", is excited for his cousin Kate to come from Budapest to live with them. That is until she gets there. She is not used to living in the country and gets into many different "adventures". The time setting is about 1900 because the next book The Singing Tree is about WWI. The Good Master is just a wonderful book that everyone will love.

This was my favorite book from my childhood-- it is a classic children's novel full of great Hungarian folktales and tall tales. It is very autobiographical for the author. Kate Seredy should be an author every child reads at least sometime. I still love this book and bought it to give to my child's teacher.

This is a wonderful book forupper elementary or Jr. High girls who just love horses...which is a big section of this age group. The extra bonus is that it gives them a broader picture of girls/horses than the usual stories of girls and their horses in America....this is a great story of a culture and time much removed from their own sphere of experience.

This book and it's sequel, The Singing Tree, are the reasons that I am such an avid book reader. My mother read this book to me as a child, and when I have children, I will read this to them as well.
This story is a wonderful tale about life in a different time and a different place, and the best things in life.

My sixth grade teacher read it to me in 1961. I became a teacher and have read it to hundreds of students as well as my own two children. It should be on a required reading list. It is a simple but delightful tale that centers on family, love and hard work.

This is a great book, all of Kapuscinski`s books are great. It takes you for a journey you don`t expect. Great style and I always regret it`s over, after I finish to read his book.

As stated in most of the reviews of this book, Kapuscinski is a great writer. If you have not read him allready, read this book and understand why. If you allready have read him, you are going to read this book based on what you allready have learned to know.

Having given Kapuscinski the credit he obviously deserves for his writing, I believe there is some points that should be done.

-First Kapuscinski stands on the shoulders of giants. His writing is to a great extent the result of the local people that he meets on his journeys and agrees to open their region and their lifes to him.

-Kapuscinski is a very gifted writer endeed, that have read a lot about the places and peoples that he visits. On one hand this is what always makes his writing so alive, something to go back to and read agian, so informative. On the other hand gret litterature sometimes can serve as a way of getting away with having little or nothing to really report from the battleground when his plan fails or when he does not get what he intended out of a trip. Striking examples of this is his journey at the Trans-siberian railway where he only observes the Soviet Union through the train window or to Nagarno Karabakh where he is stuck inside an airport, a car and a flat. That his stories is as intriguing, even when he hardly experience "what the war looks like on the ground" is a clear sign that his capabilities as dramaturg and writer can make up for a rather thin story. Even when he gets the chance to write the story he intended from a place he visits, the timeframe and the difficulties he worked under limits his insights compared to the writers that have covered the area afer him.

-Some paragraphs in the book makes me a bit uncertain about how good the translation is (my review is based upon the Norwegian translation). In the first chapter - Pinsk '39 the comment of a NKVD officer visiting their house "Muzh kuda?" is traslated "where is your husband" instead of the correct "Where have your husband gone", meaning that the NKVD officer allready knows that he has recently been in the house, meaning someone has infomed the NKVD that Kapuscinski's father (a hunted partisan) has recently been in the house. Things like this is not a big deal, but it makes you start thinking about the quality of the translation in general and if it can be the case that the author underplays the role of ordinary people as informers in the terror.

-In his story about the war in Pinsk 1939, his memory of the events as a child probably is an important expalianation behind the qualities of the stories. In the memory of a child events that would probably be described as horrorful and sad by a grown up, in the eyes of a smal shild gets exciting, intriguing, colorful and down to earth.

All in all, Kapuscinski is good reading and Imperium is a great intruduciton to the former Soviet Republics. To get true insight in the contemporary former Soviet Republics, you will need further reading though.

Perhaps history will never be told better than through the eye of this travelling writer (or is it a writing traveller?). Read and be awed by the staggering proportions of recent history in the vast empire that is no more, the Sovjet Union. And be chilled to the bones by the unimaginable amounts of suffering inflicted by the sovjet leaders on their own people. And be astonished that in the midst of the most utter despair, poverty, and enslavement, Kapuscinski can find optimism, humor, and love of life.

I purchased this book after reading about the author in the Wall Street Journal. He died earlier this year. The author, a journalist, kept two notebooks while on assignments throughout the world, one for his assignment and one for himself. In this book he combined his observations from several trips he took within Russia and its states over a span of many decades. At times his writing style can be quite poetic, and the book is not unlike a travel book, although Soviet Russia was not a friendly place at the times of his visits. I intend to read his other books, and highly recommend this one.

A lyrical masterpiece by this superlative writer! Nowhere have I found a dissection of the Evil Empire done with such fluid verse. He goes from the periphery into the heart of the beast and everywhere he discovers that appearances deceive and what seems to signal change is really a re-hash of old. Kapuczinski's sharp analysis and trenchant comments will be sorely missed!