Europe Books

This is a well-written memoir which covers a great deal of World War Two combat flying and ranks among the best books on that theatre of war that I've read -- and believe me, I've read an awful lot of them. The writing style is simple yet evocative and we quickly move from the author's training days to the moment when he first meets an enemy plane in combat. What I particularly appreciated about the book was the focus on Anderson's family and the stresses they suffered and the continual reference to the brutality of war and the number of the author's flying colleagues who died. The World War Two reminiscences end about two-thirds of the way through the book and then we have to wade through perhaps too much about his post-war experiences as a test pilot, a desk-bound bureaucrat and then a commander in the Vietnam war. But do buy the book for the World Wat Two material alone, which is excellent.

When I first bought "To Fly and Fight", I expected a book mainly about World War II aviation. Instead, there was much more. Colonel Anderson has a great amount of experience in many aircraft since World War II, as well flying F-105s as the 355 TFW commander at Takhli RTAFB in Thailand in 1970. If you are a military aviation buff, this book is a must

Although this book has a different feel to it than the book to which it will invariably be compared, namely Chuck Yeager's "YEAGER" autobiography, I must say it stands on its own feet without any apologies. In this book, Anderson details a life full of accomplishments and adventure.

The chapters that focus on his World War II exploits are clearly the most interesting, although his post-war adventures (including missions in Vietnam) were entertaining in their own right. My only complaint is that he did not write more about this period of his life. It seemed that Yeager's book was a bit more balanced in that he covered his career from beginning to end with an even hand. Anderson (or his publisher) chose not to do so, and that is unfortunate, for I am sure there is much to be learned from this period of his remarkable life.

Despite these minor shortcomings, this one is definitely worth a look. The beginning may be slow to some, but keep going. It is well worth it.

As an avid reader of World War Two History. And being a Viet Nam Veteran; I found this book to be a most fascinating history; Of "Not Only the Man"; But his recollections of his life growing up oin Rural California in the 1930's & 1940's. His enlistment in the Army Air Corp; And his experiences in England during the war. This is "No dry" mundane slow reading military text book. Colonol Anderson, tells of his love for flying and his vivid discriptions of Europe during World War Two; Help the reader to picture what it was like for an average guy; Who has a love for flying and trying his best to stay alive in a extremly hostile environment. He does not dwell on the sadder aspects of war. But trys to explain how he learned to cope with these stressors; And still fullfill his dream of flying. He also go's to great lengths to discuss the other aircraft he had flown. His adventures in P-39's and T-6 Texans. I found his book to be non-judgemental; But very fair to all the persons good and bad that he had come to know in his life. He only briefly discusses his flying career during the Viet Nam Conflict. But then this book was not written with Viet Nam in mind solely. This book is about the man; His love of flying.

I found this book to enlightning; refreshing; funny; sad; extrordinary; And written with a smooth tempo and hums along like the engine of a P-51 Mustang. The Book and the Man are unseperable. He takes you up in his Mustang with him through his rememberences. And brings you home to the runway just as a good pilot would do today. I would recommend this book to anyone who has not only an intrest in World War Two. But an intrest in a "Great Man" who lived an extrordinary life. Fighting for all of us; Flying for all of us. This man is a "TRUE"; American Hero.

I found "To Fly and Fight" to be an excellent biography of man who grew up with an intense love of flying, and who fulfilled his dreams. The book chronicles his growing up in the rural foothills of Northern California, and his growing love of flying. It gives a very personal accounts of his early days days with the Army Air Corps from training to activation in England. I enjoyed the accounts of his early friendships and escapades.

The descriptions and events as a P-51 pilot flying in the ETO are first rate. The first chapter grabs hold of you and doesn't let go with his account of a high altitude duel with an ME-109. It is a classic. He describes many of his combat missions and describes his growing friendship with Chuck Yeager. The story of his final mission with Yeager is priceless.

The book also includes some revealing sections about his tedious days as a recruiter and several stints with the Pentagon to heady days as a Test Pilot at Wright Field and later at Edwards. He also gives us some excellent insights into his days as a Squadron Leader flying F-86's in Korea and a Wing Commander flying F-105's from Okinawa and Thailand during the Vietnam Conflict.

I had the opportunity recently to meet Col. Anderson and his lovely wife Ellie. We spent several hours together discussing his flying days. It was a real priviledge. He is truly a humble man but has that touch of steel of man who has lived through a lot. He is still a hearty and it's great to think of him still tearing up the skies at Air Shows flying the Old Crow along side Chuck Yeager.

I highly recommend "To Fly and Fight" to all WWII aviation enthusiasts.

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I read this book the first time when I checked it out of the public library. I loved it so much that I had to have my own copy. It is a fascinating account of how the nouvo riche in the U.S. basically bought acceptance to high society for their daughters. You can just pick it up and read sections - it's not necessary to start at the beginning and work through. Not a summer goes by that I don't pick it up!

As the other reviewers have noted, this is a great romp through a part of American history you don't learn about in school. I read it through once and then re-read it just to savor all the little bits and pieces the authors have so generously loaded it with. If you ever wondered about all those Vanderbilts and all those Whitneys, here is your chance (from an American point of view!)to find out just how and why these ladies ended up in the postions they did- all for the love of Edward VII. I wish there were more reader-friendly books like this that make history so entertaining.

Every time I read this book it becomes more and more interesting. Meticulously researched, with great little anecdotes and etiquette tips.
This book is a lot of fun! I especially liked the many photographs of the designer gowns (most by Worth, if you please!) that are liberally scattered throughout.
If you're ananglophile you'll want to get this one!

Those few of us who have wondered why in the world a comfortable, cosseted American girl would want to marry an Englishman and live in a cold climate in an even colder stone castle will find answers here, even if the answers aren't satisfactory to the modern ear.

Think of it: wealthy American society girls, products of generations of men and women who gave lives and fortunes to escape a Royalist society, thought it a worthy investment of their lives, loves and wealth to buy an English title in the form of a husband. It's understandable that men who have no money and are saddled with huge estates and titles with no way to support themselves "in the manner to which they have become accustomed" would search out these women. It's another matter to understand the women, especially if they were bright and energetic (like the fabled Jenny Jerome).

Of course the first women to get involved in this weird method of social climbing didn't realize what was involved. (Though why American society decided that an English title was important in the United States, especially if it could be bought with money, still escapes me.) The problems included loveless husbands who paid little attention to their wives and carried on affairs; cold and drafty castles into which Papa sank tons of money to no avail as far as comfort was concerned; families who refused to accept them in spite (or because) of the fact that they provided the money to keep the lifestyle intact; servants who often were sulky and rebellious ("but we've ALWAYS done it that way"); children they handed over to nannies. The first brides must have kept the hardships and loneliness from the succeeding generation, for the rage for English titles prevailed from the mid-19th century almost through the mid-20th century.

TO MARRY AN ENGLISH LORD is a fascinating and complete look at these women and the lives they led. Illustrations showing the homes and households of the times and how they operated, fashions, maps, photographs of the women and their friends, families and husbands all combine to present the core of that particular section of society in that particular age.

The book is meticulously researched and includes a bibliography, a register of American heiresses, a suggested walking tour of the women's London and a very handy index. It's built around the stories of these women and the men who wooed and won them. Who they were, what they did and what the consequences were -- all adds up to an intriguing and fascinating read.

Who says that history is boring and stuffy? This well-researched book is chock full of anecdotes, pictures, and facts to make the period and the subject come to life.

This book discusses the phenomenon of the "dollar princesses": American hieresses who married into titles abroad, particularly England. Amongst them were Winston Churchill's mother; a woman who was the second-highest ranking woman in the British empire (after only the queen); and maybe the most famous of all: Consuelo Vanderbuilt, who begrudgingly became the Duchess of Marlborough in a marriage aranged by her social-climbing mother.

Written informally, with lots of pictures, this might be a great book to buy a teenager who is just transitioning into "grown-up" non-fiction, but finds most of it dry and uninteresting. It is also a must-read for anyone who plans on traveling to country-houses in England, as it gives a more accurate view of what it was like to actually have to live in one of those monstrosities! Anyone who is interested in the history of class in America, or of the British Aristocracy, would also be interested.

A marvelous book. The author is to be commended for his ability to recall these events from the vantage of so young an age at the time of occurrence. This story is little known, sometimes actively forgotten, almost always disregarded in the record of 20th century crimes against humanity. I had the privilege recently of speaking, literally for only a few minutes, at the funeral of an older man (born 1922) from Rowne--only a few miles from Adamczyk's hometown, Luck. A decade older, he tried to get to Hungary in October, 1939, failed, and was therefore a criminal for having made the attempt. His story, then, was of direct prisons rather than of being dumped by the side of the tracks. Each situation had its advantages and disadvantages. The man from Rowne was "amnestied" from Norilsk, above the Arctic Circle, in late 1941, and his story paralleled that of Adamczyk until arrival in Persia, emaciated--at 86 pounds at age 20 and suffering recurring malaria. There are a million of these stories; more should be published.

I am sitting here struggling to find the words to begin to express my love for this book. I have just spent the past twenty-six hours not putting this book down. Now, I don't know if it is the fact that my family had delt with these similar circumstances and moved to the same area of Chicago, but i have never felt so connected/transported to individuals in a book as I did with this one.

The ugliness of reality balanced with hope, faith, and love render this reader, at least, speechless. I can only thank Mr. Adamczyk for a glimpse of what my family had found to difficult, with good reason, to talk about. This book has left me with a greater understanding of World War II, the atrocities of a Communist rule, and a deeper appreciation of my Polish faith and heritage.

This book reflects the resilience of the human spirit even in the most devistating of circumstances and stands as an inspiration to reflect on the freedom we too often take for granted.

...Wow!

Simply stated, this book reiterates everything my grandpa told me about the Russians' way of life and their mentality brought on by the deceitful communist system full of oppression and anti-western propaganda. Read and you will begin to fathom the injustice inflicted upon the peoples, both Polish and Russian. It will take generations to undo the damage.

Anyone with half a brain might wonder why the Nazis are still minced to pieces in all media 60 years after the war's end, while the Soviets, with 70 years of blood on their hands, have passed quietly out of their Communist terrorism without any great international trials or severe criticisms by the Western media. Is it because the leftists still believe that "true Communism" has yet to be attempted? Well, perhaps, there are such fringe lunatics still around (in the Frisco and NYC areas).

No, the real answer lies in the deadly dealings of the Allies in WWII, in cooperating with Stalin in the Lend-lease supply of materiel, and in not condemning the murders, exile, and starvation of the Poles before Germany attacked Russia. In our all-out effort to defeat the Nazis, the USA and England cooperated in suppressing the knowledge of the 5,000 Polish officers and Polish civilians shot and buried by the Soviets in 1939, when they invaded and took over Eastern Poland. This famous massacre in the Katyn Forest was for years blamed on Hitler, when the Germans had not yet been in that side of Poland. Only when Gorbachev came to power was the murder order signed by Stalin made public - but Roosevelt knew, as did Churchill.

This remarkable book takes us into the frightening world Wiesiu Adamczck, a seven-year-old boy when his father, then 47, was taken away and killed in Katyn Forest, unbeknownst to his family - Wiesiu's mother, older sister and brother. They are all packed up on trains and sent to Kazakistan, as members of a bourgeois oppresser class, they must be punished according to Soviet logic.

The writer, now a man in his 70's, is an excellent wordsmith, who doesn't stint in telling what Russian and Polish expressions mean. He dwells on his own family, his own people and the terrible consequences of the Communist regime for the people of the USSR, for the Poles, and for all nations which fell to its avarice and terror after WWII. His incredible adventures, if you want to call them that, in surviving such a deportation through the Eastern republics of the chaotic war years, into Persia and finally to England, then the USA, is a ten-year journey of incredible hardship, hunger, cold and homelessness. His mother dies, and the truth about the father is known at the end of years of hoping against hope.

What Hollywood or the BBC could do with this material! The story of the Soviet empire and all its disgusting inhumanity should be aired out thoroughly, even more so than the Nazis' philosophy. If it should take root again, woe betide the planet and the millions to be starved in the future.

This book should be mandatory reading in the US high schools, as many students will never know that non-Jewish-descended EUropeans also suffered dreadful consequences during the war.

A skewered history is often a false one, and that is slowly happening throughout the US media, in omitting the Communist side of the horrendous torture and killing from 1917-onwards.

Well, this book will make it clear: FDR knew it, as he knew that Pearl Harbor was to be bombed.

The teaching of history is often distorted by selective presentation of past events. Virtually everyone has heard of the 5-6 million Jews killed by the Germans. Few outside Polish circles have a clue about the fact that 2-3 million gentile Poles were also murdered by the Germans, and a few hundred thousand by the Soviets--first as Poland's sworn enemy and then as an "ally". While Churchill and Roosevelt were dilly-dallying with "Uncle Joe" Stalin, he was still murdering Poles and executing his plans to deprive "liberated" Poland from her rightful independence, freedom, and sovereignity. The western powers shamelessly disregarded the Atlantic Charter and betrayed the Poles--who all along had been fighting on their side on just about every front, and who had played a significant, if not decisive, role in preventing the Luftwaffe from achieving air supremacy over the English skies as a prelude to the planned German invasion (Operation Sea Lion).

This work provides an absorbing personal account of the deportation of hundreds of thousands of Poles by the Soviet Union following the German-Soviet conquest of Poland in 1939. Wes Adamczyk, then a boy of 7, was to lose his father in the infamous Katyn Massacre, and his entire family was uprooted and sent to a living death in Kazakhstan. He was one of the lucky few to be released and to eventually find his way to a new life in the United States. Decades later, he fulfilled his wish to visit the site of his father's murder near Smolensk, Russia.

The reader is exposed to the brutality of the Soviet police as they ransack the Adamczyk home, destroy objects related to Polish patriotism, and herd the family ("enemies of the people") into overcrowded trains for the fateful trip east. Every day becomes a battle for survival. They are near starvation. However, individual Kazakhs and Russians show friendship towards the Poles. The young Adamczyk befriends Mr. Petrovitch on a fishing boat. The moving account tells how the elderly Russian teaches the boy the truth about Communism. It is lies on top of lies on top of lies. In fact, the continued spying by the Soviet police on the captive Poles does not stem from the fact that they suspect that the Poles may escape or revolt. The spying comes from the fear that the locals may learn the truth about the outside world from the Poles--that the non-
Communist world is not rotten, and that the Soviet Union is no workers' paradise.

Nazi Germany turns against its erstwhile Soviet ally, creating a chance for the Poles, consigned to eventual death from starvation, overwork, and disease, to escape the Gulag. Negotiations "succeed" in securing the release of captive Poles. But the Soviets drag their feet, and only a fraction of still-living captive Poles end up being released. The Adamczyk family has to stage a near-escape adventure to reach Iran. The squalor of the just-freed Poles is indescribable. Thousands die right there, including Wes Adamczyk's mother--ironically just a short time after having finally left the clutches of the Soviet hell.

Tens of thousands of previously-captured Polish officers are found to be conspicuously and unexpectedly missing, and the Soviets say, "They all escaped to Manchuria". As time drags on, the Adamczyks realize the fate of their father and the remainder of the POWs. The Soviets don't admit responsibility for the Katyn Massacre until 1990. The long cover-up by western governments is little better than the decades-long Soviet one. The west needed a second coverup to cover its first coverup of the conspiracy of silence about this heinous Soviet crime.

The Adamczyks, like all surviving Poles, get a cruel blow when they learn that Roosevelt and Churchill have betrayed their faithful ally Poland by giving away eastern Poland to the Russians, and allowed a Communist puppet state to be forced on the rest of "liberated" Poland. In a sense, all of the Polish sufferings and sacrifices turn out to have been in vain. The Adamczyks, and millions of other Poles, have no home to return to. The only "happy ending" is a new life in America.

This is an excellent description of a family, noted for their involvement with the steel industry and especially the manufacturer of arms. They struggle with Germany's economy and influence Germany's foreign policy covering about 400 years between 1587 and 1968.

It looks like a lengthy volume however it is over just as you are getting started. A side benefit is the technical information added helps you imagine what is like to design and sell the arms.

In some cases arms were almost given away for a cause. At other times they mercenarily sold arms to may conflicting countries on both sides. This story parallels other books on history and makes the world seem that it is made up of people not just historical facts. Speaking of historical facts, one of the things I like to do is to read books that become movies and movies that are novelized. This would have to be a mini-series.

Notice that in the book; interestingly enough William Manchester mentions that George Bernard Shaw actually based a play on the Krupp family, "Major Barbara" which consequently was made into a movie with windy Hiller in 1941.

This is quite a book. Since it is over 900 pages you must put it down but I read it straight through. There are some very keen insights into the armament industry and its power over nations and governments - even over Adolf Hitler. If you think Hitler answered to no one, you might want to read this book. My tendency is to tell you many of the shocking facts contained in this work. But Mr. Manchester spent a lot of time building his shocking facts into a reasonable and established context. This is a very important book and I am very, very surprised that I am the first to review it. This is another one of those books that should be a college text. Buy it! This book is a bargain, believe me. No price could repay Mr. Manchester for this type of research.

"The Arms Of Krupp" is the incredible biography of a powerful and incredibly rich and powerful family that was central in the advent and progress of European history for the more than four hundred years they presided as an almost imperial force within the boundaries of what is present-ay Germany. Certainly no other non-royal dynasty engenders such controversy and hotly expressed differences in opinion than does the multiple generations of this critically based family so critical to the development and technological capabilities of the German war machine. Of course, no one could do a better job at providing a definitive historical biography of the Krupp family than William Manchester. This is truly a magnificent book, a spellbinding story splendidly told by a master of English prose, rendered in a flawless, comprehensive, and objective treatment of this fascinating, often outrageous, and sometime imperious string of Krupp family member who ignited the wars raging in Europe in terms of their ability to provide the motherland with such complex, ingenious, and technically superior weapons of war.

This is, in fact, considered a masterwork of history, an eminently readable and elegantly stylish work by Manchester, a master of the trade. Manchester, a retired history professor at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, is widely regarded as one of this country's preeminent biographers and historian. The Krupp dynasty was extinguished in 1967, when the last surviving family member passed away. With his death the legacy of a four hundred year span of contribution to the European armaments industry came to an end, and so brought to a conclusion a tradition spanning wars and quite profoundly influencing outcomes of European history for centuries. The Krupp Arms conglomerate was technologically innovative, devising new weapons such as a superior cannon to an anti-air vehicle weapon designed to counter the reconnaissance capabilities of aerial observation balloons to exotic and much more capable submarines, which they then built for over four decades.

In so doing, they became fabulously rich, and rose to become extremely influential and exceedingly conservative voices within the realm of German political circles. No German leader could hope to marshal the resources or the weapons of war necessary to mount a military campaign without first gaining the trust, confidence and support of the Krupp family, which then cleverly and cynically manipulated this influence to vastly enrich themselves. During World War One, their cannons helped to flatten the French city of Verdun, and at one point succeeded in lobbing projectiles into Paris from as distant a location as some eighty miles away, an unheard-of innovation at the time. Aiding the Third Reich in its secret rearmament effort after the end of the First Word War, they provided a much advanced tank design that eventuated in the Panzer tank, used subsequently so successfully in Hitler's blitzkrieg through France in the summer of 1940.

They were quite influential within the German society as well, having armed the forces of Kaiser Wilhelm for battle before World War One, and then surreptitiously backed Hitler financially in the so-called terror-campaign" of 1933. Incredibly, the Krupps participated in the war crimes of the Third Reich, even controlling and operating more than 130 concentration camps during the war. Afterwards, they help to rebuild Europe in the eventual development of the European Common Market. This is a truly fascinating book written with all of the usual style and substance one come s to expect of William Manchester, and it is certainly a book I can highly recommend to anyone with an interest in European history. Enjoy!

Seeing what this book was about, I thought it had no chance of holding my interest. However, once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down. Manchester really makes this history read like a first class novel.

As business histories go, "Arms of Krupp," an 800 page indictment of the Krupp steelworks dynasty (and the regimes that supported it), is a bizarre saga. After a brisk prologue that takes us from 1587 through to the beginning of the nineteenth century, we first meet Alfried Krupp, "Cannon King" and warmonger, a man who believed fresh horse manure was good for the lungs and whose radical cannon designs laid the basis for Prussia's victories in the Austrian and French wars. Next we meet Gustav Krupp, suspected pederast, whose likely suicide only barely saved him from tabloid disgrace. Then to Gustav von Bohlen und Halbach, an "adoptive" Krupp, chosen by the Kaiser to marry the surviving female heir, Bertha (who gave her name to the "Big Bertha" 410 mm cannon of World War One).

Finally -- and this is the book's real focus -- we turn to Alfried Krupp, the last Krupp to run the Essen steelworks. Manchester gives over about 1/3 of the book to detailing Alfried's involvement in the Nazi slavery racket and his subsequent conviction for war crimes. As Manchester shows, the Krupp crimes were at least as serious, if not worse, than those of I.G. Farben, and it is nothing short of extraordinary that Alfried von Krupp was pardoned by the American military governor. Krupp went on to refloat the Krupp works, only to see it collapse under a mountain of debt in 1968.

This is a book that takes us from the giddy heights of nineteenth century robber baron-ism to the full unmitigated horrors of the Nazi war complex, and manages to mix humour (for much of the early Krupp saga is frankly hilarious) with deep compassion and sensitivity to the victims of the war. A tour de force.

I purchased this book for a history class. Great price and a good read. Good source of first-hand experiences at concentration camps. Differs a bit from the usual horrid details in other books, but explains some of the lighter sides, if I may, concerning the relationships between captives and captors.

I couldn't put this book down. Benjamin's story needs to be made into a movie: are you listening S. Spielberg? This is a remarkable book of unbelievable odds of survival. Ben escaped death so many times, but, the ending of this book is the most tragic episode of his story. I highly recommend this book to anyone who needs a perspective and gratitude adjustment; when you read about the suffering of Jews and the fortitude of the survivors, you come to realize how petty and spoiled people can be in their own minds. Each time I read about a survivor, I feel a renewed sense of the gratitude I have for my life. My mother is also a survivor of Auschwitz, but each survivor's story is unique. Read and realize gratitude.

I started reading this book and could not hardly put it down. I think I read it in 3 days. Benjamin Jacobs was sent to a concentration camp along with the rest of his family. Benjamin and his father ended up at Auschwitz. Had it not been for Benjamin's dental training and given a little bit of preference over the other inmates, the pure hell he was put through would have surely ended in death. The love story between him and Zosia is touching. Unbelievable how anyone could survive just a nightmare. This is truly the part of history most of us would like to rewrite. Great book.

"The Dentist of Auschwitz" is a spellbinding novel about a man that lived through the holocaust of World War II. The trials and tribulations of Benjamin Jacobs as he survives through labor and concentration camps will move you. Had it not been for the author's dental instruments that he brought with him, he would most likely not be alive today. Be thankful that he is alive and can tell accounts of his intriguing survival because this book is a very interesting and trivial tale. It is a very well written novel that I could not put down. I would recommend this novel to anyone and everyone.

I found out about this book after reading another book that the author co-wrote. It is called The 100-Year Secret and it deals with a portion of the material that is contained in The Dentist of Auschwitz. The author spent almost five years in various camps, riding in closed railroad cars in summer, open railroad cars in winter, on death marches in the dead of winter, and on "hell ships," that were mistakingly attacked by the RAF and he, along with his brother still outlived the Nazi monsters that created this world for them. How Jacobs managed to survive his voyage through "man's inhumanity to man" is at the heart of this amazing story of survival. I promise you will not be able to put this book down.

I have been a mafia buff for almost 30 years, ever since I read The Godfather in January 1979. Back then I was 14 and living with my parents, and due to lack of space elsewhere in our house, I believe, they had left several of their books on a shelf in my bedroom, and one them was The Godfather. One fine morning while I was actually quite bored (it was summertime here), I picked it up and the inevitable happened...I couldn't put the book down until I finished it, the following day.

Over these past 30 years, I have watched many movies, and have read a ton of books on the mafia as well, including some which I consider true classics, such as The Valachi Papers and The Testament of Lucky Luciano. I believe Excellent Cadavers easily ranks among the top 3 or top 5 books I have read on the subject.

In spite of being a book on the history of the antimafia prosecution in Italy over a certain timeframe, and thus being obviously filled with names, dates, etc., it really reads like a novel. In fact, for this very reason (being a "history" book) I bought it with some reluctance, anticipating that it could be a slow and "interrupted" read, so to speak. Quite the opposite; I did not finish it in two days like Puzo's TG, but I read it in less than 8 days, quite an accomplishment for me since English is not my native tongue.

In summary, I believe this book deserves each and every one of the 5 stars that the other 12 reviewers, and myself, have so far given this book.

The story of the fight against the Cosa Nostra in Siciliy. The story gravitates around two investigating magistrates, Falcone and Borsellino, who were at the forefront of this seemingly never-ending fight. It' a useful narrative device, given that most people aren't familiar with the many names involved in the story (mafiosi and politicians alike). The story gives a brief history of the mafia, but it focuses on the 1980s and early 1990s; it tells of the greatest campaigns against the Mafia, and the way in which the Mafia, with the help of its political allies (Socialists, Christian Democrats, etc.) fought back.
I had a difficult time remembering all the names but the author made sure a spectacular memory was not necessary in order to follow and get involved in the story. For anyone who wishes to read something about Italy that sort of complements it, I recommend The Dark Heart of Italy.
In the end, this book left a sense of foreboding in me. It seems that Italy, a country that I like, a beautiful place, is so corrupt, so enmeshed in organized crime, that it looks un-redeemable. That is a sad feeling, given those who, like Falcone and Borsellino, have paid the highest price.

"...is simply to apply the law and punish the guilty." Giovanni Falcone

Sicily's anti-Mafia campaign is described in such masterful detail by Alexander Stille, it's no surprise ALL of Excellent Cadavers' reviews are an unmitigated five-stars. The research (reflected in the interviews, bibliography and end-notes) is simply awe-inspiring, and Stille uses the facts to weave a story that is both sweeping and nearly unbelievable.

Where should I start? Maybe with the Mafia-affiliated priest who administered the last rites to the very people he murdered. Perhaps I should mention Palermo's official city department of "Edilizia Pericolante" (collapsing housing). By condemning buildings, it institutionalized the corruption which insured that the Mafia could feast on contracts for both demolition and construction.

There are sections of this book that should be required reading for anyone who has seen any Scorcese film, The Godfather, or the surprisingly related Sopranos. Here is crime lord Tommaso Buscetta giving the police a definition of terms: "The word 'mafia' is a literary creation, while the real 'mafiosi' call themselves simply 'men of honor'... and the organization as a whole is called the Cosa Nostra... every man of honor belongs to a family.... at the head of each family is a 'capo' elected directly by the men of honor. He, in turn, selects a 'sotto-capo' (underboss) and one or two 'consiglieri' (counselors)..." And so on.

There are many heartbreaking moments here. For example, this is an excerpt from the testimony of Nicola Atria, one of the "mafia women":
"My life can be told in just a few words: at 14 I was engaged, at 18, a wife, at 21, a mother, at 23, a widow. I was born [early], I have been premature at everything from birth let's hope I won't be in dying."

See also its documentary DVD Excellent Cadavers and the very personal look at Naples crime scene, Gomorrah.

This is a hard book ot read if you're of Sicilian or South Italian descent as I am. Unlike in America where organized crime is something of a sideshow in Sicily, Calabria, and Naples it continues to dominate and distort the society as a whole. It is quite at home at home in modern society and of course it's not exclusively Italian. Russian, and Latin American versions are if anything even more dangerous. But if you wishe to see what happens when a cancer metastasizes throughout a society take a look at Toto Riina a minature Stalin who took is upon himself to dominate an entire region through assassination and extortion and see what happens to dedicated and heroic individuals like Falcone and Borsalino who finally bring him down at the cost of their own lives. A sobering and extremely well written acount

"Excellent Cadavers" is probably the best mob story you've never heard.

Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, two heroic Italian prosecutors, mounted an extraordinary legal campaign against the Sicilian mafia during the 1980s. They ultimately paid for their efforts with their lives. But their untimely murders shook Italy so hard they toppled its government. Theirs is a compelling story, full of unforgettable characters, and all of it is tragic and true. And chances are high that you don't know much about it.

Why? Probably because it is about prosecutors. Prosecutors are not sexy. Prosecutors are, almost by definition, uncool. And popular culture is all about cool. Pop culture loves Henry Hill in "Goodfellas," Michael Corleone in "The Godfather" and Tony Montana in "Scarface." Popular culture loves bad guys.

Bad guys may be bad, but they are also cool. They get drunk and do mountains of coke and pull guns on one another and get into situations that are crazy and compelling; they're not likable, but they're always watchable. Good guys, by contrast, seem boring--they're the ones busting up the party the bad guys invited us to. We sometimes admire the good guys from a distance, but it is easier to feel dingy in the light of their halos. Still, we don't necessarily want to be them--they work hard and go home to their wives and live boring lives.

Except for Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino.

These men were hard workers, yes, but they worked in a truly topsy-turvy world where good was bad and bad was good, where government was riddled with corruption and graft, where outlaws clung to strange codes of behavior whereby killing someone was fine but swearing in front of a woman was unacceptable. In southern Italy in the 1980s, an estimated 10,000 people died in mob-related violence, but fathers sometimes didn't report the murders of their sons to the local police, for fear of retribution.

Amidst such lawlessness, Falcone and Borsellino put together the Palermo maxi-trial, a titanic anti-mafia case that required the construction of an elaborate concrete bunker courtroom and ultimately led to an incredible 344 convictions. Stille recounts the events leading up to this trial with an eye for detail but also the ability to step back and encapsulate the detail; he never fails to see the forest for the trees. Writing about the eve of the maxi-trial, he describes how the prosecutors and their families were confined for their own safety on an island known as "the Alcatraz of Italy." It was, Stille writes, "a telling indication of the upside-down nature of life in Sicily on the eve of the maxi-trial: mafia fugitives moved freely about Palermo while government prosecutors had to live in prison for their own protection."

Fighting the good fight put both men in a bad spot with both the lawbreakers and the lawmakers. Falcone was maneuvered out of his position in Palermo and ultimately assassinated; Borsellino was killed six months later. But their death lead to their greatest triumphs, for their murders awakened a nation to the corruption of the ruling Christian Democrats and caused the downfall of Italy's First Republic.

Ultimately, Stille's book is great not because he tells this story, but because he makes us care. Falcone and Borsellino come off as principled but pragmatic, saintly but shrewd; Stille makes their goodness real and compelling. If you're anything like me, you'll read this and hope someone makes it into a miniseries; you will find yourself rooting for the good guys, and realizing that good guys still exist; you will weep at their deaths, and their ultimate victory.

The photos take me back to the French countryside where I enjoyed painting landscapes in the late afternoon light.

Beau Morgan

Exactly what I was looking for...an engagement calendar that keeps us on schedule from week to week, and has the added advantage of lovely photos from France that remind us of our trip last year. Only thing I would like to see added is a monthly calendar view at the beginning of each month.

Book arrived in excellent shape. We have purchased this calendar in previous years so the content was not in question. Excellent purchase.

I have been buying these diary/calendars for years and love them. Their layout is excellent, the photographs are charming, and they are easy to work with. Merci mille fois.

I have been getting this calendar for at least 4 years now, and the beautiful photos of life in France always put me in a dreamy mood. There is one for every week. They come up with all new photos every year, too. I am always amazed. The cover pattern reminds me of the fabric of Provence and is alway colorful and looks lovely on my desk. It comes in a similarly patterned cardbord sleeve, which I cut up and use as bookmarks, as I can't bear to throw it away.
The paper quality is also good and it even feels special when you write on it. My pen just glides. I don't know how I could start a new year without it!

Fans of this series of books will know that most are very good, a few are duds, and a fair number are amazingly good. Professor Doyle's review of one of the major events in European history is firmly in that last category.

It is both an account of the events themselves and an overview of how they have been interpreted. The subject is complex and has aroused strong opinions across the ideological spectrum. Doyle gives all sides a fair hearing, but with the occasional wry comment that hints at where his own sympathies lie. The emphasis throughout is on the broader historic context rather than being an attempt to cram details into a short introduction. Both readers new to the subject and those looking for a review of where studies in the area now stand will be well served by this book.
[PeterReeve]

This book is very helpful for a quick review of the facts. I used it to brush up on dates and figures before a midterm and a final on this topic. Its well organized for a quick read.

I found this Very Short Introduction to be accurate, informative, and written in an interesting and readable style....This book fulfills admirably the series goal of providing solid, lucid introductions to topics without being simplistic...I think readers already familiar with the history and events of the French Revolution will enjoy the author's style and modern day perspective on this historic event...

I highly recommend this volume to anyone who wants to know about the French revolution but doesn't have a lot of time to spend on it. I read it while waiting between flights. Doyle is an excellent writer and the volume is very engrossing (good enough that I have subsequently checked out his full treatment of the revolution). He does a good job of covering all of the basics of the French revolution and warning readers where the shortfalls are in the book because it is a brief treatment. But what I really liked about the volume is his discussion where he looks at the French revolution as it is treated today and the 200th anniversary that occured just under a decade ago.
I highly recommend it.

Lets face it: many people point to the French Revolution as the source of innumerable subsequent political ideological movements, but when pressed, nevertheless have difficulty describing the essential elements and personages involved in the actual event. One likely cause for this phenomena is the habit of "aping" the attributions of others without really knowing the subject matter itself -- the subject has long since passed into a popular and iconographic status -- but another reason is surely the bewildering array of people involved in the event, the need for a precursory understanding of the "Ancient Régime," and the sheer number of divergent events leading to the culminating outcome. In this sense, Doyle's book well serves the introductory reader well by helping the reader develop a foundational understanding of the French Revolution through its clear verbiage, introduction to personages, and its narrative timeline approach. The book, too, sets the stage for additional derivative studies (perhaps by using the popular works by Furet, Schama, and others) while still being able to stand on its own as a primer to the subject. Of particular interest is Doyle's presentation on how the event has been divergently interpreted by historians over the past two centuries. In summary, not only is the text a bargain, but it provides a great "very short introduction" to a critical historic event in an exceptionally interesting and accessible structure. I have to say that I immensely enjoyed it.

I just read the following about this book in the Journal of Ecumenical Studies: "Well-written and highly accessible to average readers, it is a book for sharing and giving that would make an excellent choice for book clubs, as well as synagogues and churches interested in interreligious dialogue." As someone who is waiting for it to come out in paperback for use in my book club, I heartily agree.

As those who celebrated the construction of the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. worked hard to make clear, we are reaching an important point in the history of the world - there will soon be no survivors of the World War II period left alive. The commentary on the presidential elections in France mentioned that this is the first set of candidates for the high office with no experience of the war. This same situation is true for those who experienced the Holocaust, in its various dimensions - there will soon be no one left alive to tell the story directly. In a world where Holocaust denial ebbs and flows, this becomes a problem. Projects such as Mark Klempner's `The Heart Has Reasons' are truly important, in helping to keep alive the memory of those who had direct experience.

Most people in the Western world are familiar with the Diary of Anne Frank, but fewer are aware that there were many stories of heroism among the Dutch during the war. However, the overall survival rate of Jews in Holland was among the lowest in occupied Western Europe. There were people who helped hide and shelter Jewish people, at tremendous risk to their own lives. `Those who decided to help Jews in Holland had to be willing to disobey the Nazi measures and resist the Nazi machinations to relegate Jews to subhuman status. They had to cross the line from being law-abiding citizens to enemies of the state. They had to act from the heart, come what may.' This book is about ten different people who took it upon themselves to come between the Nazi efforts and those who would be victims.

Mark Klempner is listed in the credits as a folklorist and oral historian. Given that narrative theology is a particular interest of mine, his background and method of development fits with my own ideas of how to develop history into a memorable and lasting element of culture. It was also an important development for Klempner. The final paragraph of his introductory piece speaks to this: `Spending time with the rescuers was, for me, a transforming experience. They welcomed me into their homes as though I were someone special - a characteristic inversion - and showered me with hospitality and kindness. I soon was looking at them not only as people who had made history, but also as people who could teach me a different way to live. I've come to think of them as radiant specks around the black hole of the Holocaust, and they've become a radiant presence in my own life as well.'

Klempner presents, after his personal introduction, a chapter on the background of the history, which includes both general history of the development of the Holocaust as well as specifically Dutch history - the NSB (Dutch Fascists), the piece-by-piece encroachment on Dutch rights and Jewish rights during the occupation, and overall development of a resistance to the oppression. The heart of the book, however, is in the ten stories of those who put security, family and life on the line to help those in need.

The names are important, for the Holocaust gets lost in the abstraction of numbers. But all stories are personal. Heiltje Kooistra found inspiration for her actions in her own religious faith - `If you love Jesus, how can you not love the people and tradition out of which Jesus came forth?' Rut Matthijsen was a behind-the-scenes operator in the resistance, who looked past the discrimination: `Years later, when I went to Israel to receive the Yad Vashem award, I was asked, "Why did you help the Jewish people?" The emphasis being on the word Jewish. But that was Adolf Hitler's emphasis. I helped them because they were people.' Hetty Voute spent years in prison for her efforts, as did her friend Gisela Sohnlein. Clara Dijkstra ended up being the second mother to a girl she rescued, a relationship that continues to this day. Some, like Kees Veenstra, are very private about their actions, preferring to consider himself an ordinary person. Janet Kalff tapped into her Quaker background for strength, whereas Mieke Vermeer drew from a Calvinist background. Pieter Meerburg's actions came out of a humanism not borne of religious conviction, but out of respect for life. Theo Leender's relationship with God can sometimes be stormy, but his faith in doing what is right did not falter.

These are not people who looked for personal reward - in fact, just the opposite is the case for several of them. Many remained generous beyond their wartime efforts; Klempner mentions one man who had a stack of fund-raising letters from charities, who always found time to help even the smaller causes with a little bit, saying, `Even a small donation can give a lot of encouragement to people doing good work.'

This book was a gift to me, both spiritually and literally. I was offered the chance to read it months ago, and it took a long time. The stories could not be rushed through as if it were one more text to read; I found myself with tears of anger, frustration, and occasional joy throughout many of the stories (and it is hard to read through tears). Klempner has given rare insight into a side of the Holocaust little known but very important, and very powerful witnesses who give hope to the future.

The dark cloud of disaster can't hide the brilliant light of joy and altruism in the human spirit. Somedays I don't turn on the news; it's too depressing to bear. But in this book, author Mark Klempner gazes unflinchingly at one of the blackest episodes in human history . . . and finds there hope and lessons for living.

Klempner interviewed ten of the "Righteous Gentiles": people who risked all to save Jewish children from the Nazis. A folklorist and oral historian, Klempner lets his subjects take center stage and tell their stories in their own words. This is precious documentation of the experiences of a generation that is passing on.

As counterpoint, Klempner relates the autobiographical saga of his own search for an ethical compass. This journey led him from the amoral canyons of the Los Angeles music scene to explore his Jewish immigrant roots in Europe. Klempner also includes historical and political essays that place the individual stories in the context of world events. The narratives are not homogenized into a smooth package. Think of these gems as displayed in their natural state, not cut and mounted so as to preserve the authenticity of the historical record.

To sum up, this book contains:

* Fascinating true stories, very accessible to the casual reader.

* Primary source historical material, lovingly preserved.

* Troubling questions about ethics, psychology and the meaning of life; pat answers not included.

* Inspiration, and proof that in the face of the most horrifying threats imaginable, some people will step forth and risk all to do the right thing.

Mark Klempner is a masterful storyteller. Although 'storyteller' may make you think of fiction, this story is not fiction. Mark has poignantly shared interviews with Dutch resisters and rescuers in a way that won't let you stop thinking about them. He asks big questions and gives important answers about learning from the righteous and from history.

Enhanced with an informative foreword by Christopher R. Browning, The Heart Has Reasons: Holocaust Rescuers And Their Stories Of Courage by folklorist and oral historian Mark Klempner is the account of how many valiant people worked at great personal peril through the Holocaust and Hitler's Reign to save Jewish children and others from being murdered in the Nazi death camps. Guiding readers through the epic and heroic tales of these Dutch rescuers, The Heart Has Reasons vividly recounts deeply terrifying efforts of ten gallantly individual experiences. Superbly presented and an important addition to the growing library of holocaust literature, The Heart Has Reasons is very highly recommended reading, especially for all historians and students of the Dutch involvement in World War II.

This book is beautiful and thorough, and even though I had to buy it for class, I am very glad that I did and will keep it when the semester is over. The price was right and I love the book.

This is a wonderful introduction to Italian Renaissance art, completely accessible and scholarly at the same time. Not to be read in one sitting though. An hour at a time is enough. Good for use as a college text as well. Don't feel you have to read every page. If your interest flags, go on to another section where you find the art more appealing.

Gave it to my husband for Christmas. He likes it very much and he is very fussy about books.

Its a subjective opinion "Good as New" - I would not give this description to the book I received. It was in Good condition, but definitely NOT "Good as New" - The book looked well used but not abused - Oh well, its a great book and will be well used again and again and again.

I don't give 5-star ratings very often. I reserve them for only the best, and this is indeed the best book on the Italian Renaissance. I received both my BA and MA in Art History and this was the text used for my Renaissance classes. The book does not read as a textbook for those looking for leisure reading. It reads like a novel and is written in easy to understand language. Chapters are broken down by time period. There are a TON of pictures! I would say 50% of the book is pictures and 95% of those are in color. There are a few B&W pictures but they are of obscure sculptures or paintings.

The book was originally written by Frederick Harrt who was one of the 'Monument Men' in World War II who went around Italy documenting art, missing, damaged, or otherwise. He has passed away but David Wilkins has kept up on the new editions with the current scholarship being done in Renaissance Art. Whether you get this as a textbook for a class, or leisure reading, a coffee table book perhaps, or even a Christmas book for a hard-to-but-for relative, it is well worth the money.