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I can not say if this is the best book on the subject, because I have not read the other books. I can say that this book is absolutely magnificient scholarship. Its subject is the Irish in America, and it gives a masterful presentation of the history of these people, both in Ireland and in America. This book is not a light read. It is very dense, and rather long. For readers with a serious interest in the subject, however, it is very rewarding to read.

I'm not Irish and I didn't have to read this book as part of a course. I read the book because I'm interesed in U.S. immigration, and find it necessary to understand refugee movements past and present. I'm also concerned about the 'problems'in Northern Ireland.

This book is a hard slog but a fairly good read. I read 10-15 pages at lunch every day and finally got through it. It's a very informative book, and quite illuminating.

The British undoubtedly caused many of the problems the Irish experienced in the past and continue to experience today. However, the Irish have had a hard time letting go of the past. What is to be done? One cannot make the past different, only the present. Although one might sympathize with the Catholic Irish, and even the IRA, the future must be different. Protestants are not going back to England or Scotland. In fact, they can no more return than those of British or Scotish descent living in North Carolina can go back to the U.K.

Read this book to better understand the dilemmna in Northern Ireland, and the possible ways peace may be found.

Emigrants and Exiles: Ireland and the Irish Exodus to North America is a well documented history of the emigration of more than seven million Irish people who left Eire for North America in five time periods from pre-Revolutionary days to 1921. Author Kerby Miller's research included more than 750 sources in both public and privately held collections in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, England, Canada, 20 U.S. states and the District of Columbia as well as more than 5,000 emigrants' letters, memoirs, poems, songs and folklore.

Miller begins and ends the book with recollections of Irish oral tradition to help understand the essence of the Irish emigration experience. He refers to Irish poems, songs and ballads from as early as the 11th century to explain an almost original sin-like belief that all Irish are exiles whether they emigrated or not. He explains how the Irish wake became a metaphor for the departure of the emigrants. In the last moments before Maura O'Sullivan left her mother's cottage to begin her journey to America, the old women of the village gathered `round to sing a mournful goodbye that just as easily could have been a funeral dirge: "Oh, musha, Maura, how shall I live after you when the long winter's night will be here and you not coming to the door nor your laughter to be heard!"

By the 1830s, less than 10,000 families literally owned Ireland, with several hundred of the wealthiest proprietors and large tenants monopolizing the bulk of the land. The Irish Diaspora flowed from an extreme concentration of property and power in an agrarian, export-based economy where too many people competed for too few jobs. In 1841, 80 percent of the more than 8.1 million Irish lived in communities of less than 20 houses. Most people were forced to lead lives of impoverished subsistence agriculture, poorly paid urban common labor or to emigrate.

Miller says Irish country people were "preliterate;" that is, they were illiterate while preserving a rich oral tradition and robust cultural heritage through their Gaelic language. Gaelic tradition had been sustained in Ireland by hereditary storytellers and poets who met in "courts of poetry" at farmhouses where established bards judged the compositions of their successors. Hundreds of thousands of Gaelic speakers emigrated to North America.

Music and dancing also played a prominent role in rural Irish culture from whence most emigrants came. Miller says visitors were often astonished that people so poor could exhibit such skill and spontaneous pleasure in song and dance. He quotes a traveling Englishman who observed, "We frog-blooded English dance as if the practice were not congenial to us, but here they moved as if dancing had been the business of their lives."

Prior to 1815, most Irish emigrants either were able to pay their passages or "emigrated for nothing" as indentured servants. After that, overseas demand for indentured servants practically disappeared while opportunities to earn livable wages in Ireland continued to deteriorate. A pattern of family chain migration developed that financed over half of all Irish migration after 1840.

In 1845, Ireland's population was about 8.5 million. Ten years later, after the worst of the Famine, it stood at 6 million. Many had died from starvation and disease, but most had emigrated to North America. Those who arrived in North America were temperamentally as well as economically less prepared for assimilation into their new lives abroad because of their strong peasant heritage. One Irish emigrant wrote, "Had I fallen from the clouds amongst this people, I could not feel more isolated, more bewildered." Another wrote, "We are a primitive people wandering wildly in a strange land ..."

Miller tells us at least 200,000 Irishmen served in the U.S. Civil War, the vast majority for the Union, which paid lucrative bounties to many recruits. He shares a letter from emigrant Thomas McManus to his family in Ireland in which Thomas assured them he wasn't forced to enlist, but "by `Gor' the bounty was very tempting and I enlisted the first day I came here." Thomas sent $350 of the $700 he received for joining up to help his family in Ireland. $700 was more than ten years' wages for an Irish laborer at the time.

Irish-Catholic immigrants brought their own factions, secret societies, sports and boisterous wakes to their neighborhoods and work sites in North America. Vicious battles over employment opportunities and territory were common among rival bands of workers from different parts of Ireland, as well as between the Irish and workers of other nationalities. The Irish were always sensitive to anti-Irish prejudice, symbolized by the "No Irish Need Apply" slogan, the source of which apparently was a song from England. Irish clannishness was often expressed in allegiance to strong-willed, often stridently Irish priests, to Irish street gangs, volunteer fire companies, political clubs and frequent mob actions against non-Irish competitors. The St. Patrick's Day observance was celebrated to extol Irish Catholic solidarity and build political strength.

This is not to say Irish Catholic immigrants were unified. On the contrary, Miller shows how they were deeply divided in several ways. Significant differences existed between Irish- and American-born generations, between different waves of emigrants in different stages of adaptation and affluence and between those who earned formal educational credentials and those who pursued trades and manual labor. Other factions arose between the English-speaking majority and the approximately half-million who still spoke Irish. Gender equality was also a prevalent issue between Irish men and women. In fact, Miller reports Irish-American women enjoyed significantly greater upward mobility and more successful adjustment to American society than did their male peers.

Kerby Miller's work is unquestionably a rich treasure of outstanding historical scholarship. It should occupy prime space on the shelf of anyone interested in emigration generally or the histories of the United States, Canada, Australia, England and any other country in which Irish emigrants have settled.

Many of us tracing our Irish ancestry will never really know our forebears - we may learn their names and the dates and places of their births and deaths - but we will never know who they really were. It is to sources such as this book that we must turn to flesh out the picture of the Irish emigrant and the forces that drove them from their homes - economic, social, cultural, and psychological, as well as their reactions to and rationalizations of those forces. We must then apply this information on the Irish emigrant milieu to the framework of knowledge of our specific forebears. The book has given me a plausible explanation as to why my County Mayo ancestors did not emigrate until the 1880's while so many from other parts of Ireland came over much sooner. Dr. Miller is quite detailed in his discussion of the differences in the adherence to traditional Irish culture and the Irish language that existed between the inhabitants of western Ireland and the remainder of the island. A must-read for any geneaologist seeking their Irish roots!

An excellent book covering the migration out of Ireland. Miller looks at the different time periods and at the different kinds of immigration, and traces the idea of emigration as "exile." Great background materials are included, as well as good statistical appendices and notes.

This is comparative history at its very best. Elliott superbly describes and chronicles the history of the British and Spanish exploration and colonization of the Americas, as well as the process whereby both the British American and Spanish American colonial societies brought about their independence from the imperial governments. It is a comprehensive, detailed, and yet highly readable overview of the political, economic, social, military, and religious forces at play in the Americas during the time period. Elliott goes beyond the telling of historical events and facts, to provide analysis and interpretation of why history unfolded as it did. The writing is excellent and clearly reflects a highly learned historian who has the ability to tell history in a an engaging manner. His juxtaposition and comparison of British and Spanish America in a single volume results in a very interesting and stimulating way to learn about the two empires. The book contains very attractive end papers, a number of excellent maps and numerous color plates. Very highly recommended.

Elliott delivers the masterpiece that those who study the Atlantic World have been waiting for. The idea of studying history from the perspective of the Atlantic has been growing in popularity and worth taking a further look at. Britain and Spain established mammoth empires and Elliot looks at their rise and fall. He also considers other powers including the French and Dutch but focuses mainly on the first two mentioned. The age of exploration is put in context and in true Atlantic fashion the slave trade and development in Latin America are very important. The revolutions of the Atlantic world are very clearly explained in this book and Elliott leaves you wondering where else this field can go. Elliott writes very well and this book is a must read for those who want to consider how the Atlantic world impacted Europe and the United States.

In Empires of the Atlantic World, Professor Elliot compares and contrasts Spanish colonial America with British colonial America. I am not aware of any other books that take this is their subject, and I think that it is worthy of attention. Elliot presents 2 very different experiences in terms of government, economy, and culture. For instance, the Spanish conquistadors came upon a very highly centralized political structure, which they were able to penetrate (and co-opt for their own rule) with relative ease. This enabled them to retain the tributary labor system of the Aztecs and Incas, which they labeled the encomienda system. The British in North America did not have the same experience, as the Indians there tended to be far more decentralized. This forced the British to pursue a far different strategy in their efforts at conquest. Also, the scarcity of gold and silver in North America forced the British to diversify the colonial economy, leading to a more developed economic scene.

Additionally, I found Elliot's side-by-side discussion (between the British and the Spanish) of various other colonial themes to be well-developed. In particular, he goes into considerable detail in contrasting Spain's Catholic-only policy in the Americas with the religious diversity that existed in the British colonies. At the same time, he also explores the very different attitudes that the British and the Spanish had toward the Indians, and how those differing attitudes shaped political and social orders in the 2 regions (look at the large "Mestizo" population that exists in many parts of Latin America today, in contrast to the relatively small population within the United States). For instance, the Spanish sought to bring the Indians into the Catholic Church (witness the significant presence of the Catholic Church in the colonies), and even (theoretically) included a measure of legal protection for Indians within the encomienda system. On the other hand, the British did not make christianizing the Indians a high priority, nor did they concern themselves wth any legal protections for the Indians (a notable exception to this was William Penn).

Elliot gives a great deal of space to discussing how the political and religious regimes that existed in Great Britain and Spain were transferred to these nation's respective American colonies. For example, the British colonists were nurtured, to some degree, by the growing "liberal" ideas that were coming out of Great Britain at the start of the 1700s, while Spanish colonists had no such ideas to turn to (at least none in Spanish). Moreover, British control over its colonies was relatively decentralized (many of the colonies were private or corporate, and all enjoyed a measure of self-government), though Spanish colonies were under the tight grip of the Spanish monarchy. Finally, Elliot demonstrates how both Great Britain and Spain began to "reform" their administrative policies vis-a-vis the colonies, and how those reforms triggered colonial resentment (though the 2 nations had different results in quashing this resentment).

This well written and well organized book is a careful synthesis of the enormous secondary literatures on colonial British America and colonial Spanish America. Elliott provides a pair of parallel narrative overviews of British and Spanish America from their foundings to the revolutions that severed ties to their home nations. The narratives provide the basis for some comparative analysis that recurs throughout the book.

Knowledgeable readers will probably be familiar with much of the narrative about British North America. Much of the information about Spanish North American will probably be new to many readers (like me). For example, the small British settlements of the 17th century were dwarfed by the scope of the Spanish colonial enterprise. When Boston and Philadelphia were modest seaports, Spanish America boasted several large cities. At the time of Harvard's foundation, Spanish America already possessed several universities.

Elliott divides this book into three sections; Occupation, Consolidation, and Emancipation. Occupation is devoted to the initial experience of exploration, colonization, and encounters with the native peoples of the Americas. The chapters in Consolidation describe the development of mature colonial economies and imperial government, the challenge of developing European style societies in radically different circumstances, and the sense of identities developed in these new societies. Emancipation describes the 18th century conflicts between the metropolitan centers and the colonies, particularly as London and Madrid attempted to develop closer control and upset traditional arrangements. All chapters are particularly good combinations of political, economic, and social history.

Elliott points out the common problems faced by both British and Spanish colonial efforts but also how the different features of the home nations and different circumstances in the Americas produced different outcomes. The Spanish, for example, were confronted with very large native populations that they attempted to incorporate into their empire. This fact, plus traditions inherited from the Reconquista, would contribute to the generation of the very racially differentiated society in much of Spanish America. The existence of enormous silver deposits in Mexico and Peru drove the Spanish Crown to exercise considerably closer control of its colonies than the British monarchy would exercise over its colonies.

In his comparative analysis, Elliott deals with the major differences in British and Spanish America, and implicitly how they led to such differing outcomes after the revolutions at the end of the 18th century. Elliott's answers are surprisingly traditional. He stresses the centralized bureaucratic nature of the Spanish empire, the more 'commercial' nature of British settlements, the religious pluralism of the British colonies, and the more liberal/representative political traditions that the British brought with them. Elliott is careful to point out that many of these ultimately beneficial features were essentially inadvertant. If the English crown had been stronger or if rich gold mines had been found in the Blue Ridge mountains, the path of British colonization might well have been closer to the Spanish model.

This was an eye-opener for me as I knew very little on Spain's American territories, besides brief descriptions of some of the conquistadors such as Cortes and Pizzarro. What Elliott has done in this book is to show the comparisons and contrasts between England's New World Colonies and Spain's. There are many fascinating facets underlaying the reasons for acquiring these territories, how both sides viewed their mission and goals, and how they governed them. This is without a doubt a remarkable book that revealed a lot for me.

The first colonization was begun by the Spanish in the early 16th Century. The English made their first successful attempt in the early 17th Century. Both South and North America posed different challenges for both governments, i.e. the size of the indigenous populations, the geography and climate, natural resources and so forth. For me, the real fascination was learning more about the Spanish colonies and the establishment of the viceroyalties of New Spain (based in Mexico City) and Peru (based in Lima) with additional ones developing over time. The interaction with the natives, the attempts at Christianization, trade, and many other aspects of Spain's colonization were quite enlightening.

Being more familiar with United States history, I felt more familiar with the material covered on England's planting of settlers in Jamestown and later in New England. However, the real education was in Elliott's efforts to show how each of these two powers (Spain and England) confronted the realities and challenges of establishing their presence in these very different regions. The differences were often quite stark. Some of the points of contrast that most differentiated the two powers included each nation's attitude towards the Indians (including the attempts or lack of evangelization) and the extent of imperial bureaucracy brought over from the mother countries.

Elliott also describes how world events had helped to shape and or guide the developments that occurred in both country's territories. The Reformation, the British Commonwealth under Cromwell, the Restoration, the Glorious Revolution, the French and Indian War, the French Revolution and so forth, all served as factors in shaping the events that transpired in North and South America. The role of various monarchs, religious, military and political leaders, as well as indigenous leaders, are also discussed.

Elliott does try to take an even-handed approach in acknowledging the strengths and weaknesses of both government's endeavors. Of course it goes without saying that the notion of empire, with the connotations of exploitation of natives and their cultures, is unpopular in most peoples minds nowadays. Yes, it was and remains a blot on the records of all nations that engaged in replacing the livelihoods and cultures (sometimes more like extermination) of indigenous peoples, or those who engaged in the slave trade, but we must keep in mind that we have to try to keep modern standards in check for historical purposes.

This is such a broad subject that I find it hard to even begin to touch on more specific details found in this book; I'm just trying to outline the broader contours of Elliott's book. Having some introduction to this time period will help you, but you need not be an expert on this particular topic. An illuminating read.

The book is engaging and unique. Tells about a personal story and also explains the historical background of this period which is invaluable part to understanding the chain of events, events which are often overlooked.

This book expertly combines historical revelations and insights with an against-all-odds survival story!

This is a extremely engaging and informative book about a long overlooked aspect of the Holocaust. And it's a real page-turner. Whiteman's background as a Holocaust survivor and psychologist shines through her astute observations. Whiteman also gives wonderful presentations on Holocaust-related issues.

Through the eyes of a boy battling history, Escape Via Siberia tells the long overlooked story of Eastern Europe during WW II. This willful and wile boy somehow manages to always give the slip to the Nazis and Stalin's forces, which both hunt him throughout Eastern Europe. This true story packs so much suspense and history that it should be made into a movie! It is a must-read for historians and lay audiences alike.

I bought this book after talking to Dorit Whiteman at her book signing at the Holocaust Museum and seeing her engrossing presentation at a library. She is an utterly charming and thoroughly knowledgeable individual! Her book expertly weaves together history with the true story of a how a resourceful, clever boy repeatedly gave the slip to German and Russian forces. I stayed up all night reading this book even though I already knew the end!

This is truly a most enjoyable book! Written with honesty and clarity of thought, it is an excellent window into the mind of an exceptional man in extraordinary circumstances.

It is a far cry from the all too common "hooray for me" war memoirs... the authors recount the exhilaration of victory, but along side it is the fear, the frustration, the loss.

It flows easily and logically and reads very well. It might not be the best WWII flying memoir I've ever read, but it isn't far below the mark. If you are interested in the era and its participants you WILL enjoy this book!

Professional writer Jay Stout and WWII air ace extraordinaire, CDR Hamilton McWhorter III (USN Ret) have captured a great piece of personal history in their non-fictional book, "The First Hellcat Ace." This is truly one of the all time greatest stories of U.S. Naval aviation history. The authors take us along as we follow a young Hamilton go through his training (During the time of Pearl Harbor) and off on his battles over North Africa against the Vichy French and in the Pacific against the Japanese.

This is not just a story of how one man becomes the first air ace in a Hellcat Fighter but it deals with accounts of other men from "Fighting Squadron 9." These were America's best young men who fought in the skies above the likes of Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and Tarawa Atoll among other places. They risked their lives daily in air to air combat and from hostile ground and ship fire.

There is much depth to the story telling as we get to look at McWhorter's experiences as he reflects back on those days during the war. It is told as if it had just recently happened. The writing style is easy to read and follow and creates great excitement. It also gives us a more personal view of the men and what their lives were like. This book is suitable for most all readers.

If you enjoy aviation, or naval war stories, history, or just like to read about heroes, then this is the book for you. This is an important book that needs to be discovered by young Americans looking for old fashioned heroes. Commander McWhorter is the real McCoy and it would be good to honor him and others like himself before the Greatest Generation becomes just a memory. But when they do, I hope that this book will still be there casting long shadows over future generations.

Given the MWSA's Highest Rating of Five Stars!

I found The First Hellcat Ace to be a thoroughly enjoyable chronicle of Hamilton McWhorter's experiences in World War II. The book reads well and the story is engaging, providing a balanced view of his personal and professional life as a Naval aviator. The deprivations of shipboard life, the risks of combat, and the pain of separation from loved ones provide a solid foundation for "One-Slug" McWhorter's story.

Well written, honest and easy to read - this is the kind of book that gets dusted off every year or so and re-read.

I found The First Hellcat Ace to be a thoroughly enjoyable chronicle of Hamilton McWhorter's experiences in World War II. The book reads well and the story is engaging, providing a balanced view of his personal and professional life as a Naval aviator. The deprivations of shipboard life, the risks of combat, and the pain of separation from loved ones provide a solid foundation for "One-Slug" McWhorter's story.

Wow. Possibly the most amazing book I've read. Elkins is furious and angry and this oozes from his writing. How then does it not come across as an emotional diatribe??? This was simply great writing and story telling. The events are interesting. The people are interesting. That the book is fact shocked and depressed me. How much have I already heard about the holocaust? I've seen Schindler's List. I've seen footage of the bodies on the History Channel. I'm reasonably well informed. But this book......this book not only seemed to make the known more real and vivid, it told an incredible and dramatic story I never heard before. I loaned my only copy to a friend and he is just as blown away. I think I'll buy another.

Though horrible and shocking, this book shows how the human spirit cannot be surpressed. In spite of an absolute impossibility of success, a small handfull of men kept the spirit of survival and revenge alive during the darkest period in history. While revenge may seem inappropriate in our concept of ideal society, at that time, no other emotion is conceivable! This book very clearly shows how revenge was a natural outgrowth of the horrors of the holocost.

Elkins keeps his work to the point. He does not hide the facts, but tells them as they really were. For a real close look at the holocaust, this book is a perfect read

A comprehensive chronology of Jewish resistence to the Nazis and their collaborators from the late 30's through the war. It also details complicity of the Central and Eastern Europeans with the Nazis, the apathy of the "Allies" during the war, and the shameful behavior of the world after the war with respect to refugees, Nazi criminals and Israel. This book will make you proud if your Jewish and angry if your human (Jewish or otherwise).

A very good book that makes you feel the pain that the Jews have felt. To try a turn this around and say look how horrible the Jews are is totally insane. The Jews should be commended on being able to keep a cool head after so long. Any other ethnic group of people who would have experienced this would have carried out equal horrible attrocities upon their oppressors. To whine and say what was mentioned in the book was cowardly is pothetic.

This book recounts the role of Polish pilots in the Allied war effort. It discusses how the Poles accounted for a disproportionate share of German planes downed over England. It also discusses the personal lives of the pilots, including the homesickness felt every Christmas. The all-but-forgotten sufferings of the Poles under both German Nazis and Soviet Communists is recounted in some detail. There is discussion of the heartbreak and outrage experienced by the pilots once they learned that the western Allies betrayed Poland to Soviet control after the war, ruling out a return home for most of the pilots. The postwar lives of some of the pilots are also recounted. The ingratitude of the British shown in politics was duplicated by much of the civilian population soon after the war. The short memory of the British, who forgot that Poles were fighting for the very survival of Britain a few short years earlier, were now clamoring for the Poles to go home. Other details are also provided. There is even mention of a Polish pilot, decades after the war, locating, in Bavaria, the German pilot he had shot down back in September 1939.

This is an excellent book about an ignored group of heroes from the Battle of Briton. It is well written and documented. It gives a gripping and true account of the gallant Polish airmen who helped save England from Nazism. It also sadly shows how they were mistreated after the war. I would highly recommend this book for anybody studying World War II history and / or Polish history. It is rich with details but not boring. I could not put this book down and began reading large segments to my wife. She previously had minimal interest in history and found the book very facinating!

When I was growing up, I never was able to read much about Poland's role in WW2, except that it was conquered in less than a month by the German army. The only documentary I saw on the subject was Frank Capra's "The Nazis Strike", part 2 of his famous "Why We Fight" series on the war. Unfortunately, the documentary gets the facts completely wrong concerning the Polish Air Force. Believing the German propaganda version of the invasion of Poland, it claimed the Polish Air Force was caught on the ground and quickly wiped out by the German Luftwaffe.

It is true that many airfields were damaged and many planes were destroyed on the ground, but those planes were either training or sporting planes. The Polish Air Force were equipped with old-fashioned fighter planes and each fighter had only two machine-guns, compared with four machine-guns and two cannon on the Me-109. Even the German bombers were faster than the polish fighter planes, but many were still brought down in daring ariel attacks.

During the German invasion of Poland, the Polish pilots had to suffer many hardships. There was virtually no coordination with Polish army forces, and indeed quite a few Polish planes were mistakenly shot down by Polish troops! Also, as the Polish army retreated, the lack of gasoline as well as suitable airfields became a big problem for the brave airmen who were trying desperately to save their country.

After the surrender of Poland, much of the air force (without their planes, though) found their way to France where they continued the fight against Hitler's Third Reich. But France was quickly captured by the bold "Blitzkrieg" tactics of the German army, and so the Polish Air Force left for England. It was in England where the Polish Air Force became legendary, making a huge contribution to the British victory against the Luftwaffe. There were even movies made about Polish airmen, but their popularity in England was eventually poisoned by Stalin and the Soviet Union, who weren't about to help Poland win back its country.

Although the Polish army and air force constantly made big contributions to the Allied effort, Poland was betrayed by the Allies following the end of WW2. Many refused to return to their once beloved country that was now controlled by a communist dictator in Russia. This is a tragic, compelling, and very important story from WW2 that all history buffs should read. For the very best on the Polish Air Force, you can't do better than Jerzy B. Cynk's massive 2-volume official history of the Polish Air Force, packed with hundreds of photos. As an introduction to the subject, this awesome book is highly recommended.

This book beside being interesting and intelligently written is unique in showing the "reverse of the coin". It is the book which shows the reality of the (sometimes mundane) life endured during II world war by people described in it. It was refreshing to read it. After reading many historical books I was almost always left with feeling that something was missing. Of ourse yes, the ordinary every day life was omitted in those books, but not in this one. I am looking forward to the next book of this author !

This book is for you if you want to learn little-known facts about World War II, as well as the under-rated and often minimized contributions of Poland to the Allied war effort. This book is NOT for you if you are content to wallow in false stereotypes of Poles charging German tanks with lances.

I have used this book as a reference work as part of the research into a presentation I was giving on "The Role of the Glider in WW II". The book is well written and covers the descripotion of the Fort itself and its defences, as well as the context of the disposition of the Belgian defenders and the German airborne tactical assault, and besides being well written, provides a large amount of historical material. In addition to these values, it is an excellent read for anyone interested in the details of WW II, that is better than fiction.

This book is interesting to students of military history and does not fulfil the novel reader. It does certainly show how the once wonderful defensive building fell victim to the fresh thoughts of its attackers.

The author does a fine job covering the Eben Emael and its design and the German operation that took it. Some other books in this series, like American World War II defenses, the Maginot Line, and the Western Front in World War I do not do just as good a job because their topics cover a greater subject. The book is well illustrated and the commentary is excellent.

This book was a pleasant surprise. The German assault on Eben Emael tends to be covered very briefly in general histories of the Second World War, because it was over in a flash, and was quickly followed by even more dramatic events. On the other hand, it is not exactly forgotten, because it was very novel. Even though the wrong side won, it was still an impressive feat of cleverness. The Germans realised that the fort would be a difficult target for their tanks and infantry, so they landed gliders on the roof. It shouldn't have worked, because the fort had plenty of weapons that could beat off gliders and close-range attacks, but it did work, because it was carried out with skill and daring.

This book does a super job of describing the battle, in such a way that it would be entertaining even if you didn't care about the topic. I have flicked through Osprey books that have made major battles seem dull, and it's ironic that this book makes such a small action seem intensely epic. I imagine the German paratroopers must have felt they were participating in the most incredible Boy's Own adventure, and afterwards I bet they walked tall, and got free drinks in pubs, or bierkellers, or any place in Germany in 1939 that sold drinks.

The book starts off by covering the strategic reasons for the fort, which had been under construction since the 19th Century. The fort was was supposed to be a kind of self-sufficient underground town, a contemporary nuclear submarine, except that it was a static nuclear submarine that could not attack. The book covers the political situation leading up to the Second World War, and the German preparations for the attack. It explains why the Germans didn't simply go past the fort. The glider assault plan was complex, and might not have worked if Eben Emael had been running at peak efficiency, staffed with crack troops led by top officers, but the book makes clear that the fort was going through a bad patch. The officers in charge come across particularly poorly. The book is so finely-detailed that the individual Belgian casualties are named, and I hope the men who led them so poorly feel humble.

The assault took only a few minutes, and the book does a lot of cross-cutting, but it still makes sense. In theory the fort could have peppered the German gliders with anti-aircraft machineguns, and blasted the German paratroopers with canister rounds shot from its howitzers, but it was embroiled in administrative chaos. The Germans had their fair share of technical problems - a couple of the gliders fell short, several of the anti-bunker explosives had no effect, the troops attacked dummy bunkers - but overall the Germans made very few mistakes, and successfully improvised solutions to the problems they faced. The Belgians made lots of mistakes, big and small mistakes, institutional mistakes, and they did not deal with them, and they lost.

Overall this is a great read. The assault feels like an action film, a very short action film, one in which the Germans win. The level of detail is sufficient for picky people, and it does a good job of explaining that the victory wasn't a simple matter of flying some planes onto the fort and then jumping out, throwing grenades. By the end you'll find yourself cheering on the brave Germans, and then having to wash yourself to get rid of the nasty guity feeling.

A wrestling coach of old was said to tell his wrestlers that there was no escape-proof lock, hold, or other technique in his sport. The same is true of military operations. Eban Emael was said to be impregnable--I forgot; was it politicians or newspapermen who made that claim? Germany exploited new techniques of war to conquer this Belgian fortress, and the Belgian Army appears to have provided less than adequate means to shore up this keystone of the Belgian defenses.

Most modern armchair generals claim that fortifications are holes in the ground that armies pour men and material into for no gain. Permanent fortifications are universally condemned, and even field fortifications are said to sap the offensive strength and morale of the defending armies. It was for this reason that the World War One French Army instituted the spirit of the assault--and suffered massive losses against German barb wire and German Spandau machine guns in 1914 and 1915. Simon Dustan establishes the rational for putting this hole in the ground in the first part of his book. Attempting to understand World War Two in isolation, without considering the bloodbath of 20 years prior, is to ignore reality. The first pages of Fort Eban Emael lay this out quite well, placing the concrete-lined hole-in-the-ground in context of the political and economic climate in Belgium. Note that Dunstan doesn't explore the alternatives to Fort Eben Emael--this is a book about what was, not what could have been.

Hugh Johnson's illustrations clarify how the fort was laid out. Battle is "organized chaos," with the emphasis on "chaos;" the neat diagram of the glider assault on page 50 clarifies how the Germans took the fort, and the text hints at the confusion among the Belgian defenders. Germany developed several new weapons that were first used in this attack: shaped charge demolitions, gliders capable of carrying the heavy equipment needed for reducing gun positions, glider infantry teams task-organized for this mission, and most importantly, the operation was integrated into the campaign. Simply completing a brilliant mission is not enough when that single mission does nothing else. On pages 42 and 43, Johnson's artwork shows how the Luftwaffe circumvented the Belgian wartime blackout (an air raid precaution) to land the glider troops under cover of darkness, and Dunstan's text explains the coordination so that maximum surprise was achieved by the glider assault and the necessary follow-up actions by the ground forces.

Just because the Germans found a countermeasure didn't invalidate the defensive capabilities of Eben Emael. Could the same number of half-trained troops, WITHOUT Eben Emael's powerful fixed artillery batteries, have withstood a German combined arms assault? Resources include men and material--the aircraft and tanks and field artillery used by the allies in 1940 were inferior to the German equipment, and the leadership and common soldier was less experienced and skilled than the German counterparts. I think Belgium was doomed from the moment that Hitler decided to use that small nation as a highway because Belgium couldn't muster resources enough to fight the entire German war machine, and the nation is small! Modern manuever warfare must have manuever room. Belgium tried to remain neutral--couldn't. It takes only one side to start a war. The only chance that Belgium had to remain uninvaded would have been to invade Germany during September of 1939, while most of the German war machine was mobilized for the Polish Campaign--a political impossibility. Besides, Belgium didn't have the mobile, "offensive army" this operation would have required--even if France and Britain would have had the political will and military might to seize the western parts of Germany.

I enjoyed this book because of the details of the fort's layout and construction. The text covered the German countermeasures to the fort's defensive strengths. Eben Emael's communications failed on May 10, 1940, and so the German Luftwaffe glider troops seemed to have had a cakewalk--but Dunstan's text shows that wasn't the case. The issue was in doubt until motorized pioneers arrived to help "mop up" the defenses. It wasn't an easy victory for the Germans.

Wonderful gripping book! I couldn't put it down! So much history and so much strength in the Masin brothers and their group! I am proud to be a Masin (no close relation known). great job on the book!
DeAnn Masin

Despite her personal connection to the protagonists of the history, the author provides what seems to be a fairly unbiased accounting of events. Her closing notes regarding the impact in the politics and society of today's Czech Republic I found especially interesting. The book should be of interest to anyone looking at the particular events themselves or even more generally in the impact of the communist period on today's Republic.

Gauntlet brings to life a moment in history that seems to be forgotten, or never known, among today's youth. So few high school students know that Germany at one time was divided into East and West, that Czeckoslovakia was a unified country, and that the Cold War was an all too intrusive part of many people's lives. This book rectifies that. It is also a thriller impossible to put down.

Gauntlet is the true story of five dedicated anti-Communist young men whose epic journey and struggle in the 1950's could have altered the course of the Cold War in Europe. Though grounded heavily in historical testimony and evidence, Gauntlet reads like a novel, as it follows the group's fugitive attempt to deliver a message from a Czechoslovak general to U.S. authorities. An inspirational tale of courage, daring, and absolute commitment to ideals of freedom.

I could hardly put this book down. A loyal Czech father with a secret message throws down the gauntlet to his sons and they react with breathtaking action. This is a true story of incredibly daring young men who wre chased by the Communist Russian and East German Armies across East Germany. This book is based on five years of research by the daughter of one of the living survivors.

A "must have" for anyone interested in the German sniper development, the information present in the book is accurate and complemented by extraordinary photos. Equipments and sniping techniques from that era are described with great level of details, different kinds of ammo, scopes, rifles, and even real accounts based on fights in the eastern front can be found on it. Also, it's a great source for information about the evolution of the Mauser military rifles, truly a masterpiece.

The book had a great deal of information about the different models, production and specifics. A great reference or just general knowledge.

Outstanding book with very good detail about the history of German snipers in WWI and WWII. Covers the rifles, scopes and equipment like never before. A must for collectors or anyone with an interest in snipers.

If anyone in this world knows about Sniping, whether it be a US or german sniper, this writer does. He is highly intelligent and uses the best terminology of any one in his field. I highly recommend this book as well as his others to anyone who is interested in it!!

After owning this book for some time and only glancing through it, I took it upon myself to go through it in detail. Like all of the other books by Mr. Senich, the attention to detail and focus on the technical side of the German weapon systems (and supporting equipment) is second to none. The photography is splendid, the focus on equipment (including serial numbers) is accurate and sharp, and the archival work that must have gone into putting this together (both text and photos) is truly fantastic.

My only critique would be that in a book of this magnitude, a more precise listing of all references and sources be provided so that future historians can use it as a reference or "jump-off" point in their study of german snipers.

That being said, I have looked and found no better book on German sniping. One can only hope that Mr. Senich keeps on publishing.

This book may be a little out dated here and there (thats why only 4 star) but it still serves the purpose nonetheless. I studied abroad in Germany for 6 months and this gave me an amazing insight into the culture of Germany. Put it on as your #1 on your reading list while in Germany or before going. It will help you cope very well. My other study abroad friends also found it very insightful.

It is also a nice quick well thought out book.

As an American living in Germany, I've become accustomed to asking "why?", this book has given me many of the answers. Now I understand the German social market economy, German communication styles, the importance of formality and work/non-work divisions, the importance that Germans give to "doing something right the first time", etc.

The author achieved his purpose of providing an objective and unbiased account of the cultural differences between Germans and Americans. This is a definite must read, and a real page-turner. The only critique point I have concerns a couple of paragraphs on the European Union. The majority of the German people did not want the EU, period. They were not allowed to vote on it like France, for example. Germans still would much prefer their German Mark over the Euro. In fact, there are still vast sums of German Marks still in circulation. Many Germans are keeping them as they are not convinced the EU will hold together.

I couldn't stop reading this book. It is done in an academic style much like a college text but I was still captivated over the detailed explanations of the cultural and behavioral differences. Keep an open mind when reading how others might perceive American culture. Enjoyable and informative!

The book overall is quite good. Also, as a German, I can speak to its incredible accuracy in terms of our custums/traditions and how they differ from those in America. I enjoyed chapter 4 the most and as I was reading it only for enjoyment purposes did not really benefit from the discussion of the differing business practices. However, if you are an American unfamiliar with us and will be doing business in Germany or with Germans it is a definite must read. It is well worth the price of the book.