Europe Books

This is an excellent book. A fast and detailed narrative, an exhilarating read till the last page. I have to agree with one reviewer, I was also willing the Inca rebellion on to victory while knowing the grim fate that awaited them. The description of the battle scenes is like something out of Braveheart. The Conquistadors treatment of the native people was nothing short of appalling. They desecrated their sacred relics, stole their ornate gold and silver artifacts only to melt then down into blocks, they claimed their land and even their women and then to top it all off killed them in the name of their Christian God. Things were so different in the fifteenth century, Pizzarro needed a mandate from the queen of Spain to conquer Peru, once secured this was a license to rob, plunder and pillage. It's strange how men seemingly without scruples wouldn't advance an inch in a foreign country thousands of miles from Spain without the royal approval. The European invaders in my opinion were in a close second behind the Nazis as far as human brutality is concerned. The author delivers the story with passion and zeal that leaves you hoping throughout the story that the Incas will unite under one ruler, regroup and prevail. The author does an excellent job explaining how the Incas were defeated despite their overwhelming numbers (Incas in their millions against 169 Spaniards). Mr. MacQuarrie takes the reader back to a time when peoples of the world were cut off from each other for thousands of years each developing independently of one another then suddenly thrust into battle in 1531. It would be like bringing rifles, tanks, machine guns and bombs to bear upon cavalry units. The Incas had never seen a horse let alone a man commanding such a large animal. The Spanish horses could also fight in battle by charging, biting and head butting. It's very difficult to dispatch an armored man wielding a sword on horseback with a wooden club. The Incas had no iron tools or weapons. The Incas had no armor for protection. They thought the Spaniards were gods who could unleash a terrible calamity upon them at any time. Their moral was at an all time low. The Incas had no monetary system but they did pay tax to the emperor in the form of their labor, (surprisingly around 30% about what is deducted from today's salaries) making weapons, growing food and maintaining storage facilities. The Incas were a well organized and a very sophisticated civilization but no match for superior technology and foreign diseases the Europeans brought with them. The great thing about this book is that it's so easy to read and get absorbed in the story. It's like a good work of fiction only that its not fiction. You will learn so much from this book. The author covers all aspects of Inca and Spanish culture and how they played out in Peru some 477 years ago. But there is so much more in this book a sufficient review would have to be several pages to do it justice...hope this helped.

My subject title says it all. This book explores the full range of human emotions in an account so spectacular and gut wrenching that it defies belief.

The story is dutifully told and well narrated by Mr. MacQuarrie without being overly dramatic. He has researched the facts with the most accurate material and evidence available to recreate what exactly happened over the course of the 90 year decline of the Inca Empire at the hands of what could be most accurately described as blood thirsty, illiterate, murdering hooligans. The facts themselves are the most amazing aspects of the book and Mr. MacQuarrie serves as our guide through the events that explore a cardinally sinful range of human emotions; Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy and Pride. Throw in complete improbability, which Jared Diamond could only explain, with a smattering of betrayal and you have the gist.

I enjoyed this book thoroughly and recommend it whole heartedly.

This is, with no exaggeration, the most unbelievable story I have ever read. Seriously, a hundred and something Spaniards enslave an entire country only to become some of the richest people on the planet. The tragedy and scale of this is really unmatched. Not to take anything away from the author, but it would be hard to screw this up. And he doesn't. It is meticulously researched, and engrossing. I had small issue with the dramatic voice he used to try and bring the events to life, but this was minor.

This is an apparently well researched history that is enjoyable to read. The concern I have is relative to the author's habit of citing conflicting and/or inconsistent ages of the characters. For example, on pages 172 and 174, Gonzalo Pizarro is the "twenty-three-year old", yet on page 175 he is twenty-one. Another: on page 217, Juan Pizarro is the"twenty-five-year-old Juan" while in the very next paragraph Juan is "the twenty-three-year-old."

No doubt the author is dealing with various source data, but if he felt it so important to state the ages of his characters in multiple places, why didn't he get it right? Sadly, this sloppiness throws some doubt on the scholarship behind the entire book. I am not an expert on the Inca's and merely read this book for enjoyment and personal education. If a mere layman can find such obvious conflicts and errors, one wonders what else might be wrong relative to more important items presents as facts in this book.

This book had me immersed in it for 5 days. Luckily I was off work. In the first part, it recounts in great details the conquest of Peru by the conquistadores, making us outraged at the treatment the Incas received over the almost 40 years the fight for their rich land continued. What we seldom hear is that the Incas and their allies raged a counter-attack against the Spaniards before they disappeared as a ruling civilization in Peru. The book recounts this rebellion. The second part deals with the rediscovery by explorers of such ancient ruins of the Incas as Macchu Picchu and Vilcabamba.

The whole story is absolutely halting and cinematic in quality. I ate up the whole 500 and something pages as if it were not enough. I feel I have learned tremendously about the Incas and what happened to them and I now dream of traveling to that part of the world. All in all, a tragic story told in an extraordinary way by the author.

I like this book; The Rommel Papers.
Finally I understand the concept of "Blitzkrieg" and how the German Army could penetrate the western front in 1940 so quickly.
The person Erwin Rommel also stands out in an impressive way.
The book is also very exciting to read.
I recommend the book.
Bjørn Braathen, Norway.

I have purchased and read lmost all one person can on Erwin Rommel and really feel ashamed that I never purchesed this book, it is excellent .
I encourage any one going into the armed forces ,espeicially a combined arms branch to read this book.

This is a fantastic book. The number of pages at first daunted me, but (after the first few which are kind of so-so), the book just takes off! He not only talks about the campaigns that he fought in, but he also breaks down what he learned and what should and should not have been in each one. What should have been done from those up above and how his enemy either defeated him (I agree fully on his conclusions about Montgomery's victories over him) or lost to him.

He goes on (around the end of certain chapters) to go on about what a commander should and SHOULD NOT be to his men and to himself--EXCELLENT stuff!.

What I found most interesting though, was that (unlike many other works I have read) Rommel really was ONE HELL OF A WRITER. His words are enticing and chapter after chapter I'm just compelled to go on.

I've read 'Panzer Leader', 'Lost Victories', 'Panzer Commander' and a host of other books from former Wehrmacht officers and none of them really NAIL it all like this one does (though, I HIGHLY recommend Erhard Raus' 'Panzer Operations' as it does for the Ostfront as this does for Africa and French theaters--'41 and '44).

If you want a great book on the tachtical methods of the German army in World War II--this is for you.
If you're a military man or buff who's looking for (what I believe) is a blueprint fror any 'commander' to follow--this is for you.
If you're just a regulatr Joe--or Jane--who's just looking for a great read about what it's like behind the lines, in the front with your men and all places in-between--then this is for you, too.

Like my review title says, I HIGHLY recommend this book. Get it! You won't be disappointed.

A well written book about Rommels experiences in WW2 taken from his notes made during his campaigns and from letters written to his wife with additional narration or corrections by the author. If you have read ATTACKS by Rommel you will like this book.

great book written from the surviving papers after his death there would have been more but a lot of his stuff was taken by the Nazis, and much more was lost to the US Army but his wife and son saved some and from this B.H. LIDDELL-HART was with the help of the wife and son to put his great skill as a battlefield commander in a new light A must read for any student of WWII also checkout ATTACKS by Rommel this book is about his time as a young lieutenant in WW I

Comprised of a set of chapters in three or so rotations on such splendid characters as Hitler, Mussolini, Petain, Franco, Stalin, and even Hirohito and his generals. I could not stop reading this hefty volume and regret that it ended where it should have logically ended. The book bears comparison to the more breathless writings of Anthony Beevor and I heartily recommend it to specialists and to the general reader. Bravo!

Apparently I'm the only one disappointed by this book. I found it a mish-mash of political, social, diplomatic & economic history that flitted around the world without going into much depth in any country. Brendon is a bit like a gossip columist, writing brief tidbits & then moving on to the next item. Also, he mentions the major diplomatic events, Rhineland, Austria & Munich, only in passing. I had hoped there would be more emphasis on diplomacy & politics, as in "Munich" by Telford Taylor. I found the chapters on Spain & Italy most interesting, perhaps because I've read very little on the Spanish Civil War or Mussolini's dealings with the Vatican & the war in Ethiopia. The chapters on France are also good, but " Collapse of the Third Republic" by William Shirer is much better. The chapters on Britain are the worst. Brendon is biased against Churchill & doesn't do the man justice. I skipped the chapters on the U.S., Japan & Russia (except for the last chapter), so I can't comment on those.
Maybe this is good popular history, but I found it rather superficial. On the plus side, Brendon is a good writer.

I just completed this book and found it to be very well done portrayal of the 1930s. Brendon vividly captured both the individuals at the heart of the decade -- Roosevelt, Chamberlain, Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini and a cast of others (including the shifting political leaders in France and Japan) -- but also brings to life the trends and experiences of the millions of anonymous "masses." Particularly compelling were the chapters on Stalin's 1937-38 purges and the chapters on Japan. While lengthy (692 pages) the book reads at a good pace and keeps one interested.

This is one of the best books I have ever read about that period or any other period of modern history. Brendon knows how to connect countries, people, events and even fleeting vignettes with the utmost mastery. You really get a global vision about those years and the spirit that animated them. Last but not least it must be mentioned the elegance of Brendon's pen. His ability to depict leaders or secondary characters with one stroke, one line, one adjective or two is amazing and always with a drop of sly humor.
In his best moments he remembers that other great history writer and wit, E. Gibbons.

Ah, the 1930s: "Japan annexed Manchuria and tried to conquer China, challenging Britain's position in the Far East. Italy seized Ethiopia & flexed its muscles in the Mediterranean, which, when Franco subjugated Spain, seemed in danger of becoming a fascist lake. Germany occupied fringe territitories, tearing up the Treaty of Locarno as well as the Peace of Versailles & upsetting the balance of power in Europe." "Statolatry," the worship of the state, lay at the heart of the matter. It wasn't the stock market crash of 1929 that doomed the decade, but (argues this author) governments' responses to it that engendered 'The Dark Valley' of the 1930s, particularly by the middle of the decade. The perceived panacea of state planning, instead of surmounting the turmoil engendered by 1920s stock market irrational exuberance, actually was akin to pouring salt on the wound. As "governments abandoned laissez-faire in favor of protectionism" "this encouraged 'have-not' states to create 'co-prosperity spheres' of their own, in defiance of the feeble League of Nations." In other words, "economic nationalism easily developed into political agression." Concomitant to this, propaganda was elevated to an art form. Said one participant: "And why do I insist on proclaiming that October was historically a revolution? because words have their own tremendous power." The words could easily be Lenin's, but are another coup leader's actually, uttered by Mussolini after his October 1922 seizure of power. The communists were no slouch herein, either, of course. The USSR had its show trials (after a 1934 state funeral for Stalin's potential rival, after Stalin had the later killed). And Hitler, all the while, was gearing up for war while denying it . But why did not "the truth will out" across Europe and across the sea? In Britain, blame the "moral paralysis" of the decade on Fleet Street's "habit of suppressing or 'playing down' unpalatable news." Witness how they hid the truth about Mrs Simpson's relationship with their king. "It helped to justify the newspapers' deceit about appeasement and the imminence of war," the author concludes. Meanwhile, the French were afflicted with a "Maginot mentality;" wallowing passively behind their wall, praying that it would protect them from Hitler; an affliction not at all helped by Neville Chamberlain's pacifism. (Neville was, after all, but one fine example of Theophile Gautier's maxim that one can pass through one's own age without seeing it.) And "America further destabilized the situation by refusing to pull its weight internationally." But it was Italy that takes center stage in this book. Or, rather, it was the West's failure to confront Italy that emboldened the forces rising round the world to push their luck. In particular, "The most fateful turning point in the period between the wars," (in historian B Liddell Hart's view, the author offers) was Britain (through the League of Nations) not calling Mussolini's bluff in 1935. "Damaged by its impotence over Manchuria, the League of Nations, as many had anticipated, was destroyed by its failure over Ethiopia." To boot, in 1937, not taking a stand against Mussolini because such could be "dangerous" (as Chamberlain argued) was akin to telling Hitler to sabre rattle to his evil heart's content. In Hitler's own view: "The brown shirt would probably not have existed without the black shirt" (Mussolini's original fascistic stormtroopers). PS: This book has 76 pages of notes which is indicative of the thoroughness of Piers Brendon in this weighty tome. (06Jul) Cheers!

This is definetly one of my favorite books! I've read it countless times and I also love the sequel 'Far Traveler'. The characters are all lovable and the plot is excellent. Another great thing about this book is it is partially a historical fiction novel. The author Rebecca Tingle wrote this book wrote this looking at historical notes. AEthelflaed was a real person and did many great things. Enough great things to be known as Lady of the Mercians.

Flaed is a girl that's only lived fifteen winters but her father King Alfred is making her marry a man named Ethelred of Mercia...a man that she's never met... He's also many years older than her. But Flaed must agree and her father tells her that she cannot be left alone any longer. She must have a bodyguard...a man named Red.

While Flaed and Red are together Red teachers her many things on how to defend herself. She learns how to ride faster and better (which will let her show off to her future husband soon), she uses the sword and many other things. But little does Flaed know that when she leaves for her new home trouble will follow.

First of all this is a teen book and I'm 28. That being said, I loved the book. For advanced readers it's a fast read, but thouroughly enjoyable. I could picture the places the author was describing and picture Æthelflæd easily. With so few historical fiction novels being directed toward great women, this was a welcome read, and the author stayed true to the history of the time.

"Surprise, stealth, unbalancing her enemy, these were the ways her guardian had taught her to save herself, and to win," are the words that are featured on the back of the book, The Edge on the Sword, because the things her guardian taught her is a crucial point. Making history come alive, Rebecca Tingle mixed magnificent facts and fiction together to make an unforgettable story, where any girl can escape. In 2001, it was published by Penguin Putnam Books. Beautifully, remarkably, and magnificently done, the front cover illustration of The Edge on the Sword was drawn by Karen Savary, a memorable artist.

At the end of the ninth century, Flæd was now on her fifteenth year of living. Living in the burgh, staying with family, and learning her languages were all she knew, since she had done that for all her life. Her father was King Alfred of Wessex. He had a passive kingdom. As Flæd grew up, her main companion was her brother, Edward. They enjoyed their ambitious adventures among the forests around the burgh. Eventually, these trips got slim because Flæd began her education in writing, Latin, and Greek under her instructor, (w) Bishop Asser. Little did she know that soon her life would dramatically alter.

As instructed, Flæd headed toward her father's private chamber. Inside the small room she entered, sat King Alfred, who had been waiting. He gestured for her to sit. Alfred looked at her for a second then said gently, "Æthelflæd, as women grow they obtain more responsibilities. Now, that you are almost sixteen, it is time for you to be married. At the end of the summer you will travel to Lundon, Mercia, to be married to my friend and partner, Æthelred." Being the daughter of a very powerful man, Flæd had known this was coming, but it still shocked her. Soon, she would leave everything. She would lose her family. Permanently, she would leave home. Immediately the next morning, a warrior and envoy from Lundon came to be her guardian and warder. His name was Red. Flæd had always had a strong, enduring friendship with her brother, but as that last summer came and went, that friendship was almost lost, but that friendship lasted. No longer could they go on their private adventures in the woods, because of Red, Flæd guardian, who followed her everywhere.

At the end of the summer, Flæd equipped herself, packed up, and prepared her gifts for Æthelred in preparation for her departure to Mercia, because it would be several days before they would arrive in Lundon. As her protection, she had been trained in the arts of the sword and had a minute band of warriors with her. Leading them, Red rode at the front, followed by two wagons and a small amount men on horse back. They followed the river. Surprisingly, they were attacked and many of the men fell in battle, leaving Flæd with a few desperate men and little hope. Could they arrive safely after this tragedy?

This book has a fantastic twist of history and adventure, as if the excitement is literally bounding off the pages. As a great source of entertainment and much more, every pre-teen and early teen girl should read this book. Over all, The Edge on the Sword is an astounding masterpiece, because of the unforgettable story and amazing use of words, which is a charismatic combination.

A teenager named Aethelflaed, is the daughter of the king. That means he picks the husband for her! Her dad picks a man that's about his age (which is about in his fourties!), which she's never met. She sadly can't refuse her dad on this, and is now tortured by the thought of what he looks likeand who he is.

Her dad hire's a protecter for her, since there is a big deal of raiding in the area. Aethelfaed is annoyed by the man who watches her because he follows her everywhere(she is very independant!) She eventually befriends the man, and he teaches her to defend herself, and she teaches him a few tricks as well.

There is a lot of stuff that occurs that I don't want to give away, so you'll have to read it! I'll warn you that there is a sad part, but a happy one fills it in! This book has a slow begining, but gets you hooked!

This was a awesome book, and if you read it you'll enjoy it as much as I did, and I enjoyed it a lot!

I absolutly loved this book. I think Aethelflaed is an amazing heroine. It was sad in some parts, happy in others, with a great plot. Aethelflaed seems so real, and sort of like me. I hope other people can relate to this book as well as I can.

This book was assigned to my Historical Research and Analysis class and I ABSOLUTELY loved it! The only downside was that it was only the first part out of a 2-part series.

This particular part accounts for Ginzburg's first 3-4 years in the Russian Gulag from 1937-1941. It is a a great read, though a few things should be taken into consideration.

-Ginzburg spent 18 years in the Russian Gulag. One must remember that this is a memoir and that she is writing things as she remembers them (about 20 years after the fact) which means it is not all true. Also, she writes that she was taken before her husband, when in all actuality she was taken after him. Whether it be that she forgot, or that she chose to do this, is not necessarily important, what is important is that it gave her character one of more importance than it really had. (Her husband at the time was an important communist official in Kazan and she was a university professor/journalist. There really are alot of factors that question the legitimacy but I'll let you take a source analysis class for that!

Also, it is a bit fluffy, if you really want to know about what happened at the Gulags. The second part of this memoir is much more detailed and not so pg-13 if you can call it that. If you want to read something horrific I would suggest Elena Glinka's 'Kolyma Streetcar'

Overall it is a great book, I am in the middle of reading the second part and it is just as good as the first. If you can, get them both, you won't regret it!

I actually read this book and its follow up, Within the Whirlwind 10 years ago from the library. It has haunted me so much ever since I simply had to get it. It annoys me so much that there are so many commie - lefties in the west when there are grotesquely awful parables of what totalitarian societies do to their own people.

This is a book I probably wouldn't have read at all, but it was a book club selection at our local university, Ferris State. Considering the awful and primitive conditions of Ginzburg's 20-year ordeal, the writing is very genteel, and even peppered with quotations from various Soviet poets and writers, and even some original verse from the author herself, which she composed to break the monotony and dreariness of her two years of solitary. The 18 yrs she spent subsequently in the Siberian labor camps of the Stalinist era is given less attention, but the horrors and the dangers - of starvation, rape and all manner of brutalizations - are made clear enough. I found it odd, and surprisingly refreshing, that, in spite of its subject, the language of the book remains G-rated, perhaps because of when the book was written (first published in 1967), but more probably because it is, as Ginzburg states at the close of her narrative, "the story of an ordinary Communist woman during the period of the 'personality cult'." There is nothing ordinary about Eugenia Ginzburg though; to pampered westerners like us, her story is nothing short of extraordinary. She survived several brushes with death and remained a loyal Communist, living into her 80s. - Tim Bazzett, author of Love, War & Polio

Reading this book you can vicariously experience what it was like to spend time in the Stalin prison camps. For me this book rounded out the picture I had from reading the Gulag Archipelago. The book is educational, easy to read, and enjoyable reading.

I think Solzhenitsyn wrote about the following also. I quote from the Ginzburg book: "When a human being is isolated ... he achieves a kind of spiritual serenity" and "...especially solitary confinement, ennobled and purified human beings, bringing to the surface their finest qualities, however deeply hidden". For some time now I have thought that violent criminals should be put into solitary confinement and not permitted to communicate with others. Instead of mollycoddling these perpetrators of evil, they need to be forced to ponder at length about what they have done. I think if anything could do so, solitary confinement might ~rehabilitate~ them. I know Ginzburg and Solzhenitsyn were not violent criminals but I think it worthwhile to try to extrapolate from their experience.

The mindset and belief system of the early Soviet Union, as defined by the Bolsheviks' neurotic obsession with the ideals of perpetual revolution and the existence of nigh-infinite capitalist and ideological foes that constantly threatened the continued subsistence of the Soviet entity, cannot realistically be classed as rational or conducive to internal stability; with nervous eyes turned forever to the capitalist West, it was only a matter of time before terror of internal enemies gripped the Soviet hierarchy. When, in 1934, Sergey Kirov, a top Party official in Leningrad, was assassinated under dubious and mysterious circumstances, Josef Stalin, then leader of the Soviet Union, took advantage of the killing in order to brew an intense horror in the hearts of the Russian people; no longer simply assailed by their external Capitalist foes, Stalin led the people to believe that they were also threatened by more dangerous enemies with the Communist Party itself. Using the killing of Kirov and the ideal of internal foes, Stalin was able to launch a brutal and hideous campaign to eliminate dissenters with the Party, while numerous innocent Party members found their lives obliterated as they were caught in what has become known as the "Great Purge." First thrown out of the Party on charges most often both false and ludicrous, these unfortunate souls then found themselves jailed under horrific circumstances, many being sent to perish in labor camps in remote Siberia; by the time of Stalin's death, roughly 5 million Party members had been detained in such a way. Eugenia Ginzburg, an editor for a newspaper in Kazan, was one such victim of Stalin's senseless purges; arrested in 1937 following years of police harassment, Ginzburg was sent to numerous prisons where she endured abysmal treatment before finally being detained in Siberia until 1953. In documenting her horrific ordeal, Ginzburg amply addressed not only the confusion of the purges and the inhumanity of the prisons, but also explored the sheer motivating power of fear in the actions of all classes and ranks; irrational fear, it is shown, was what ultimately fueled the escalating madness and accusations, and destroyed forever the lives of so many.
At the time of Kirov's assassination, Eugenia Ginzburg was leading a successful life as a member of the Communist Party, even marrying a top Communist official of Kazan. As she so eloquently and persistently notes throughout the account of her struggles, Ginzburg was nothing save a loyal and dedicated Communist, adhering to and accepting the Party's line of policy. Such an upstanding member of society surely could not have been dragged into the insanity of the purges, yet she was; although she amply demonstrates her loyalty to the Party and complies fully with her early accusers, vying to convince them of her ideological orthodoxy, she is nonetheless made the recipient of increasingly outlandish charges. This is pivotal, as the reader begins to understand all along that the purges were not, as popular rhetoric espoused, an attack upon dissenting and criminal elements within the party, but a monstrous, all-consuming, bloodletting of the entire Party in which any and all could become victims; even the officials that prosecuted the accused and the guards who abused them often found themselves becoming victims themselves and sharing prisons with those they had wrongly imprisoned. Even the wife who, out of blind loyalty to the Party, denounces her husband when he is arrested as a traitor is herself later accused and jailed. Similarly disturbing is the fact that mere association, however indirect, with anyone suspected of being a traitor was enough to end one's life and lead to one's arrest; Ginzburg's brief association with Elvov, who was himself wrongly accused of treachery, was the key factor in her expulsion from the Party and subsequent sufferings. As such accusations by association continued, the purges assumed the heir and hysteria of a witch hunt, with friend turning against friend in desperate self-preservation; Ginzburg is herself forced to endure the treachery of one of her greatest friends, who under pressure and in looking after her own interests validates the charges leveled against Ginzburg. It is perhaps one of Ginzburg's most admirable qualities to never herself accuse any innocents in the way she was denounced. Gripped by such extreme levels of terror and paranoia, the Communist Party simply turned its aggressions upon itself, fueling a terrible madness that only grew in intensity and senselessness the longer it continued. Indeed, these purges served only to weaken the Communist party, greatly harm the economy and agriculture, and, more vitally, to drive away potential members who were horrified at the thought of being caught in the killings. Far from strengthening the Party by eliminating its enemies, Stalins purges only weakened it and left it with a cloying odor of death and suspicion. The pervasive influence of fear is evident throughout the account, and it is quite apparent the even the most vile interrogators or guards likely act as they do out of fear for their own lives, often to no avail. So it was that Stalin's terrorism against his own people drove those within his own government to new heights of irrationality, cruelty, and falseness.
In detailing her early troubles before her arrest, Ginzburg, despite her continued assertions of loyalty and railings against the absurdity of the suspicion laid upon her, is accused of increasingly severe charges ranging from "lack of vigilance" to a later accusation of being the ringleader of a terrorist network; yet all the while Ginzburg remains devoted to the Party, refusing the advice of her mother and friends to flee, desperately believing that she could clear her name through the legal practice. This naivety, or refusal to recognize the reality of the situation or to see fault with the Party, led ultimately to Ginzburg's travails; most commonly, those wrongly accused believed their case merely to be a correctable mistake, while the innumerable others locked away must surely have been truly guilty. In her continued astonishment at the absurdity and irrationality of the process of the purges, Gunzburg vividly illustrates the clash of a ration mind with an inherently irrational and violent system. The level of ignorance toward the intent of the purges is perhaps best illustrated when Ginzburg learns that the vans she sees throughout city do not carry milk as he had believed, but instead contained prisoners; the unwillingness to see or believe in impending doom led many to their demise in this period. Even Ginzburg's disdain for Stalin, the worship of whom by the persons around him genuinely disturbing her, was not enough to overcome her deadly faith in the Party.
Of particular note throughout Ginzburg's account is the juxtaposition of the illegal and immoral force, coercion, and violence of the purges with the absurd pursuit of legality by the interrogators. Although the interrogators and other accusers know the charges leveled again those such as Ginzburg are false, or that their "confessions" are similarly falsified, they nonetheless insist upon obtaining real signatures for said false documents. When the prisoners refuse, they are subjected to various forms of physical and mental abuse, ranging from extended periods of intense interrogation with food or rest to more wrenching mentions of the prisoners' families. Many interrogators work themselves into murderous rages in pursuit of signatures for their false confessions, perhaps out of fear of not obtaining them or out of sheer contradictory nature. One cannot but be amazed at the level of bureaucratization of the purges, an essentially illogical and illegal proceeding; like the Holocaust, it is disturbingly evident that the central government held no reservations for their actions, nor any desire to bury them away. It is the ability to carry on such an open and grand persecution that perhaps best illustrates Stalin's immense dominion at the time, a dominion he gained through overt terror such as that which Ginzburg encounters.
Although Ginzburg wrote her account of her imprisonment and travails, during which she learned that relationships formed in such horrific circumstances often proved closer than any others and that when reduced to such a state all people must be accepted, her memory of complex events and names astounds the reader; names of those that Ginzburg only ephemerally interacted with decades ago are still fresh in her mind, as are conversations and poems. One may deduce that such extreme and trying events as those experienced by Ginzburg indelibly imprint themselves upon the mind forever, as evidenced the Ginzburg's ability to produce entire sections of books from her mind at command; one could simply never forget such vivid suffering or trial. That, then, is the most important aspect of Ginzburg's account. The Soviet purges, a terrible period of internal destruction and death on a massive scale, is here presented in all its horror and grittiness from the perspective of one who endured them personally; in this way, such a monstrous and massive event becomes personal, thus far more moving and instructional.

I took this book along on a recent vacation and was thoroughly absorbed in it. I love Cornelius Ryan's writing style. He keeps it moving and made me feel as if I was there. I can give no bigger compliment than that. I have read almost all of Stephen Ambrose's books and numerous other WWII books, I rate this book up there with them all. It is a must read for the serious WWII reader.

Not for the experienced WWII reader but a nice overview to put in your library. This book is still light reading in comparison to books like "Hells Gate"about the Cherkassy Pocket, Not the definitive book on the topic as I say but still good reference material. In the light of new material available and better divisional and unit accounts keep reading what is coming out now and build your knowledge one book at a time.

Ryan does such a superb job in knitting together the state of so many things happening in the city prior to being abandoned by its leaders and being taken by the Soviets. Mayhem, confusion, lies, and destruction abound, whilst life somehow continues for so many. This is very well researched, supported by many first hand accounts, and recounted in mesmerizing fashion. I've read Beevor's book too, "The Fall of Berlin 1945," which is also a fine account, but this one tops it.

When I first read this book 25 years ago I could barely put it down, and I've read it several more times since then. This is simply the best single title on the battle for Berlin.

Cornelius Ryan is a wonderful writer and throughout this and all of his books you can picture the events that unfold. I could not put this book down and spent several late nights because of this. I would highly recomment this book to anyone interested in history, military or otherwise. I have to say I was amazed at the service I received from Amazon.com. I ordered this book on a Sunday and received it on Tues. all the way to Cave Junction, OR. Thank you! Rudy

Excellent how so manay different events were put in such a good sequence.

This is one of the most unbelievable stories I've ever read. It's written with superb simplicity, making it a rapid and engrossing page turner. What a great gift Bardach has given us in writing this book about his horrific and heroic experiences. This is the best account of any world war 2 camp survivor, period. He clearly illustrates that the Soviet Union was about as horrible a place to be as Europe at the time. The book is as well written as the story is interesting. Fantastic. Thank you, Janusz!

I read this after reading The Unquiet Ghost: Russians Remember Stalin. This book may be bleak and shocking, but remember, the author survived! It is an amazing, gripping, shocking story about humanity. I loved it.

The most important thing that I gained by reading Janusz Bardach's book is that the will to survive is as important as food when it come to survival. More times that he imagined, he survived because he felt that he would, like he had a special angel or just more "good luck" than other people. It doesn't matter if it's true, it only matters that you believe it.

Luck is also helped by brashness and the will to succeed. His story about becoming a medical assistant, though he had absolutely no formal training, reminds me of Solsenitsyn's tale of how he survived the Gulag by lying about having training as a nuclear engineer. It's the ability to adapt that keeps you alive. Goebbels said that if you told a big enough lie enough times, people would begin to believe it. The only way to survive in the Gulag was to lie to yourself and everyone else.

Since so many of the NKVD were corrupt and brutal, the only way to survive in there world was to also appear to be corrupt. Stalin sent so many of the NKVD and those who worked for them to prison, that they were well cared for by their ex-comrades, because they knew they had a good chance of joining them. Who could survive better in a criminal state within a state then a criminal?

This is a story of hope without all the 'hearts and flowers'. It just the true story of what went on, warts and all (lots of warts).

I can't really say anything that hasn't been mentioned already, and I think that it would be inappropriate to give away any of the plot.

This is simply the most fascinating story of survival of any that I have ever seen. It is incredible as well as inspiring. It teaches you to value your life, and the relationships that you have with the people you care about most. There were so many instances when he could have resigned to his fate and accepted death, but instead he kept going. Millions of people died in prison camps during the war, and unfortunately all of their stories cannot be told. But to understand what they had to go through in their fight for survival, nothing beats this book. Besides telling his story, it examines the history and psychology behind what happened to him. And overall I believe that it is a valuable read for anyone interested in Russian Gulags or prison camps in general during WW2.

Janusz Bardach, who became a plastic surgeon in Iowa City, Iowa in 1972, recounts his experiences in the Gulag in this bleak tale of survival reminiscent of Solzhenitsyn's The Gulag Archipelago. A secular Jewish man and supporter of Stalin and communism living in Poland In 1939, he and his family fear their future as Germany's military forces are set up along the border. He is eventually drafted into the Red Army, but when he inadvertently gets his new tank stuck in a river, he's arrested and given a sentence of 10 years of hard labor. He, like the other prisoners, spends most of his time working to meet ridiculously high work quotas, while in a constant state of starvation. He travels from camp to camp during his six years in captivity working in various work situations including a mine, the forest felling trees, and as a medical assistant working with tuberculosis patients (which he eventually contracts). Once he recovers, he's sent to work in a psych ward, where the main focus is exposing the "fakers," those trying to get out of work. His job is to inject them with a seizure-inducing drug, which he does reluctantly. With a little help from his one surviving family member, Polish army officer brother, he is eventually released and finds out the fate of his grandparents, parents, sister and girlfriend. They were all executed.

My dad flew as a navigator (on some missions lead navigator) of B-24s in the last 5 months of WWII. But all the fellows he trained most closely with, the guys he became personally closest with, died in a mid-air explosion before my dad flew a single combat mission (my dad opted out of what was supposed to be a pleasant free day-trip from England to Ireland). This book helped me to understand my father's never-ending sense of loss and regret.

There has probably never been a more masterful account of what these young men went through, and the risks they took, in the combat mode of the massive campaign to cripple the Nazi war infrastructure from lumbering, unpressurized bomb-ships 30,000 feet in the sky. The comradeship among the crews is what comes through most clearly in Childer's remarkably poignant book. That, plus the randomness of the winnowing-out process that took so many of these brave airmen. The loss of Childer's uncle and several of his crew mates was especially pathetic, and not only because of the proximity of the end of the war.

WWII, the greatest conflict in U.S. history. The B-24 Liberator, one of the greatest bombers ever built. But those two in a book, and what comes out of the oven is Wings of Morning. Howard Goodner was drafted into the United States Air Force in 1943. He set off from his home state of Tennesee to prepare for combat in Europe. He trained as a radio operator and finished in the top of class. Howard recieved a job as an instructor, but instead of "sitting out the war" Howard instead, accepts combat duty, and is sent off to train with his new flight crew. Soon, Howard arrives in England, awaiting his first bombing mission. After many bombing runs, Howards crew is appointed leader of his flight squadron. On April 21, 1945, Howard's crew sets off on a dangerous mission over Germany which runs straight into enemy flak, and crashes.
Fifty years later Thomas Childers, author, and nephew of Howard Goodner beautifully recreates what happened during the few years Howard was in Europe using the countless number of letters Howard wrote, eyewitnesses of the crash, squadron members, government documents, and the only surviving member of Howard's crew. This book was written beautifully, but a bit too dry for my liking. This is the reason for my 4 out of 5 review of Wings of Morning: The Story of the Last American Bomber Shot Down over Germany in World War II, by Thomas Childers.

A fascinating but tragic story of a US bomber crew that almost made it home safely. The war in Europe was in its closing days and they were assigned to make one of the last bombing raids over Germany and were shot down, only two survived. The author is a wonderful and gifted writer who describes the story of his uncle, the radio opeator on the B24, his enlistment in the Air Corp, the training, the close bond that develops with the other crew members, the terror of flying through enemy flak and fighting off German Fighters. It is a heart rending story wonderfully written.

John Brennan

There are very few books written, and even fewer read, that will motivate or so move a reader to go to unusual lengths to want to know or try and understand who the protagonist of the story really was;who he must have been. This is just such a book, and this is no ordinary story. First, and foremost, it is a true personal account of one of thousands of American young men from a typical all American small town of the 1940's, who had everything going for him in his small southern town, with a bright future before him. Sports, a steady girl, maybe college. But the war in Europe and Pearl Harbor interrupted that future for Howard Goodner and the many like him. He stood on a train platform one morning and,like so many others, kissed his mother goodbye, assured her he'd be alright and went off to the army to become an aviator. But not everyone who trained could sit in that pilot or co-pilot's seat of the new B-24 Liberator heavy bomber. This amazing story is taken from the letters of SGT. Howard Goodner to his mother, and found, quite by accident, by Professor Thomas Childers locked in a desk, that Howard's mother, Childers' grandmother, had left for him upon her death. The letters, stuck in a drawer that must have been much too painful to open, describes in vivid detail the complete stateside training of a typical B-24 aircrew...the selection process,the daily routines, the nuances of the B-24, the incredible training accident rates and the midair accidents that Howard witnesses, that kill 10-20 men at a time, before even leaving the United States. The narrative is compelling and written so well that you feel that you are getting to know Howard Goodner as he operates the radio on board his plane and interacts with his crew. Goodner describes what a B-24 aircrew was like, personally, on the ground and in the air. The men in his crew...the quiet ones, the screwballs and the crewmember they even vote off the airplane. He describes the terror of the missions and the relief of seeing that home base runway. This is perhaps the best description of the training, deployment, combat and daily life in wartime England of an average WW2 American bomber aircrew ever written. The story is also a family one. Goodner's brother in law, also an airman, is within bike riding distance of his airfield in England and they often meet after either one returns from a mission over Germany or Holland. They write letters home telling of seeing each other and that all is okay, until the day that Howard's ship, The Black Cat, does not return from a mission. The entire crew but one is lost and the family's share an anguish for years afterward that Childer's describes in one of the few "Gold Star" families accounts you will read. Childer's writes movingly of the families of the crew as they desperately attempt to learn something from the War Department. Childer's narrative is such that you can feel the fear as though the fateful telegram is arriving at your own door. Victor Davis Hanson describes in his "Ripples of Battle" the ramifications of lives lost in wartime and the ripple effects, we almost never consider, on the surviving families. His theory is spot on in "Wings of Morning." It is a moving story of a nephew,Childers,who, decades later and against astronomical odds finds the lone survivor of the Black Cat and persuades him to return to England to a quiet deserted, unused airfield, where machines of war once roared and hundreds of men lived and worked. You will thrill as they find the cement pad where the Black Cat crew hut once stood and where Childer's uncle may have even had his bunk. You will become emotional when the surviving crewmember, now a senior citizen, while on the commercial flight into Germany to find the crash site of the Black Cat,tells Childers, "The last time I flew here was that day, with your uncle." The fatal flight was only two weeks before the war in Europe ended. This is a human history, a detailed incisive aviation history and a truly American family story. After reading this book I was so moved, unlike any book I have read of this period, that I drove to Cleveland, Tennessee with a colleague who also had read the book. We went to "Find" Howard Goodner. We saw all the surprisingly surviving places that Howard knew and that Prof. Childers describes in the book. The old hotel, the soda shop and even the old train platform where he said good-bye. Finally, we found Sgt. Howard Goodner. Or rather, he found us. Why we turned into that particular cemetery of the three that serviced the area we didn't know, and although we searched for his grave, after three hours searching in the hot sun we were ready to give up and drive the three hours home. We had ranged far from where we parked our car on the top of a hill and were heading back up to retrieve it, when just five feet from the car, we "accidentally" found the grave of SGT. Howard Goodner. Or, did we? We thanked him for his service and his sacrifice and we thanked Prof. Childers for writing such a vivid, moving and accurately engaging account of the short life of an average American hero.

Through the years, I've read a number of histories and memoirs on the Eighth Air Force in World War II. Many of those volumes, published over 6 decades, were more authoritative, complete, wide-ranging, and fact-filled than this volume.

Yet if I had to recommend a SINGLE book to give someone the flavor of all of those experiences represented by all those many books, this would be the one.

WINGS OF MORNING is an exceptional effort. The writing is wonderful; the information and tales presented colorful and telling. The author has a level of talent given only to a handful of non-fiction writers - the ability of a poet, to flash insights of feeling while describing facts. It's in the class of Bruce Catton and David McCullough.

In a plain and straight-forward manner, and without resorting to any plot gimmicks or other devices, this book wrings the reader through an emotional journey that doesn't start or stop around VE-Day. It is a *wise* book; informed by age and living.

I recommend it to everyone.

Jacky Faber, fresh off a very famous whaling ship, goes to meet her beloved Jaimy, but sees him with another woman. Jumping to conclusions, she runs off and suddenly finds herself pressed back into the King's service aboard a ship under a cruel and mad captain that threatens Jacky's honor. Jacky's wit and sea knowledge and ability to gain the respect and admiration of her fellow seamen soon causes her to become captain of the ship. Jacky's adventures take her on a dangerous journey, dealing with spies and even a price on her head for piracy. Jacky, as always, must deal with being a woman in a world that grants her very little respect, freedom, or power, but constantly threatens her. It is an older, wiser, wilder, and more hardened and lonely Jacky that we meet in this book, as she has been burned in love, swears off all men, but surrounds herself with them. But it is still the wonderfully complex, strong, fierce heroine that we all love and admire. This book is one of the strongest in a perfect series full of high adventure, complex and loveable characters, and a detailed and beautiful historical landscape. Jacky's wonderful voice and the author's daring, unabashed look at her world and her dangers makes this a fantastic read for adults as well as older teenagers. Grade: A+

The best one yet! Jacky Faber gets herself into the craziest most exciting adventures in this one. I loved it!

This novel is the best that i have read so far.

When i first read the Curse of the Blue Tatto, I thought it was going to be one of those books where you had to put it down every 5 seconds so you don't die from boredom. But it was just the oppsite and for the Jolly Roger one it was even better. It had action through out the book and was really interesting. I especially liked the part where they had the big war. It was kind of like the last part of the movie "Pirates of the Caribbean 3' but better. The English slangs were sometimes annoying but it really gave me an idea of how Jacky talked.

I have to say this on had a lot of adult content thingys then the other ones but oh well it's still good

-Andrew Yoo

Under the Jolly Roger is my favorite bloody jack book yet! It has pirate adventure, romance and everything else a good adventure needs to have. The plot is she leaves Boston and goes to find her love Jaimy. When she finds him he is with some other girl. Then she gets taken by a naval press gain. The next thing that she knows the captain of the wolverine wants her in his bed! She goes and does what she does best; get in trouble and this time with all of England!

It's a fun fast paced book that I could not get my nose out of. I have read all of the Bloody Jack books and this one by far is the best. I can't wait for the 6th book to come out in September. If you are looking for a good pirate books then I would defiantly put this on you list!

Under the Jolly Roger was the third in the series of the adventures of Jacky Faber, authored by L.A.Meyer. I'm looking forward to reading the remaining books in Mr. Meyer's series. Although these books are recommended for young adults, as a "senior citizen", I have been pleasantly pleased with the three books I have read in this series. I enjoy historical fiction, and learned much about sailing in Europe in the early 1800's. The author certainly imparts a good sense of humor in his main character, Jacky Faber. As long as Mr.Meyer continues writing new novels in this series, I will definitely continue reading these delightful adventures of Jacky Faber.

If I had to pick my favorite biography of all time, this would be it. It has of course as it's subject one of the most fasinating figures of all time. Although Winston is known primarally for his stand aganist Hitler, Manchester's book makes us realize that even if World War 2 had never occured he would still have expericenced one the most action filled and important lives of the twentith century. And Manchester has a real gift for making the past come alive. His masterful use of telling detals gives an almost tactial sense of what life must have been like in the Victorian and Edwarian ages. And there's another reason why the book is special. One of the themes is how often Churchill was mistunderstood and deried for his actions. He was widely blammed for the Gallilopi affare, for example, but the book makes clear that he had little to do with that misadventure. And there were many other episodes where he was villified and unfairly pillored. And I think that is someting we can all understand and identify with. Doesn't everyone at time feel thaat our actions,indeed our very selves are not understood by others? Winston suffered through this many times in his life, yet he remained true to him, his values, and his vision. Reading this book can give you courage.

The wonder of the Internet. I googled the New York Times Book Review of the Last Lion, Winston Spencer Churchill Visions of Glory written by William Manchester. What I read of this review dated May 25, 1983 rather stunned me. Ms. Michiko Kakutani wrote a very critical and to my way of thinking pedestrian review. I am currently a subscriber to this paper and read the New York Times Book Review faithfully every week. Good thing I was in Cleveland at this time and never read this review.
I read this book back in 2003 with only a cursory knowledge of Winston Churchill. I learned many things which included a rather hard childhood in a privileged family of aristocracy. Randolph Churchill married Jenny Jerome of America in 1874. Winston Spencer Leonard Churchill was born on November 30, 1874. God help us all!
William Manchester writes a splendid review of the life and times of Winston Churchill. His due diligence as to the historical narrative is indeed grand. The letters of Churchill to his parents when he matriculated at Harrow are priceless.
Manchester describes all from Churchill's years at Sandhurst to his excursions to the U.S.A. and Canada. From his service in the Calvary in Africa, India and onto the Boer War, Winston was indeed there on the ground.
His consistent promotion by his mother after his father's death is fully described. Also detailed is a life in upper class Victorian England. Ms. Kakutani thought that Manchester really had no concept of English life during this time frame. Oh really?!! Just what makes a 28 year old Japanese American journalist an expert on Victorian England? I found Manchester's descriptions and historical narrative of this time frame in Winston's life informative and entertaining. Martin Gilbert's narrative was informative and true but it lacked the style of Manchester's writing.
Manchester covers Winston's entry into the House of Commons and the offices he held in high government before during and after World I. This book represents Winston's first 58 years of life. Manchester has written a classic. Unfortunately he will not complete the full life of Mr. Churchill. His second book will cover his Wilderness Years through to the start of the Second World War. He never could finish the third book. I find Manchester's biography more interesting and informative than Martin Gilbert's "Churchill a Life". So Ms. Michiko Kakutani what do you think about them apples?

Manchester is one of those writers who appears unable to disappoint. This is a book to be read and savored. For years, it sat on my shelf - I saw as a large undertaking that I wanted to do right.

The book has a very interesting structure. First, it begins with a kind of interpretive introduction to the man, vividly characterizing him while also evaluating his strengths as a man of history and his glaring weaknesses. You see him, worts and all, and it is both funny and enlightening. The psychological depth is virtually unprecedented in any other bio I have read. Second, you get a view both into his milieu - as an aristocrat of talent and privilege in Victorian Britain - and a biography of both of his parents. This is crucially important, as we come to see Churchill as an anachronism, but also as a boy neglected by narcissistic parents. (Interestingly, the absence of one or both parents is a common trait in extraordinary achievers.) Third, you get his life story, more from the events he was involved in than as an intimate portrait, though much of his personal life is covered. Indeed, he used action as the most effective tonic against depression.

The man that emerges is flawed and complex, but evidently a political genius. In my view, the key to his character is that he remained a Victorian gentleman, who viewed martial valor as the greatest source of meaning and glory in life. This suited him to titanic struggles, such as the one he faced with Hitler that places him in the ranks of the greatest historical figures. As an egotist, he always wanted to place himself at the center of events and yet did so with courage and tenacity in spite of his physical weaknesses. When out of power, he exercised other gifts, such as writing, with equal talent and energy.

Nonetheless, Manchester proves that Churchill was not a politician deeply in touch with his constituency: he never developed a typical base of power and often his views did not synch with the mainstream. Without Hitler, his hour might never have arrived: this duality is a theme that runs through the entire book.

If there is any flaw here, it is that Manchester includes a plethora of detail, not only about world events but in Churchill's political maneuverings. Normally, I delight in these details, if I know there is a purpose to all of it, which I did not always sense in this book. (Here a comparison with Robert Caro is instructive: you always know where he is going and why.) Others may see it differently, of course. Also, many of the historical details I already knew, so did not need Manchester's wordy introductions, but they were useful in the many cases of which I was ignorant.

All in all, this is one of the most engrossing and fascinating bios I have ever read. Warmly recommended.

well this is the first book i read on winston churchill . bought it in 1983 . the foreword is unforgettable but historical mistakes in it makes this work not the very best on the luife of sir winston. great prose nevetheless.same can be said of book number two.

This is a truly *massive* work, equal parts scholarship and artistry. Though volume one runs close to a thousand pages (counting notes, sources, etc.), I finished reading it this afternoon after an off-and-on reading of about two weeks, and it just flew by. Manchester crafted this with such precision care that I fell into the narrative from page one.

The greatest strength of the book itself-- aside from it's subject-- is Manchester's gift of narrative. WC was the quintessential Victorian, as Manchester points out time and again throughout both volumes. It is only appropriate, then, that the author should give some feel of what it was like to live in the British Empire at the time of Queen Victoria. Some of the very best passages, in my opinion, deal with life during the last quarter-century of Victoria's reign. These are not mere digressions. These fascinating glimpses into WC's era help the reader to better understand Churchill himself, who was born a Victorian and remained one to his dying day.

Manchester provides insight into British colonial administration, life in the British Raj at the end of the 19th century, and the upper class's attitudes toward sexuality and marriage. While this is fascinating in itself, Manchester goes even further and weaves a vivid tapestry of politics, history, and culture through his use of personal correspondence. It is his exhaustive use of personal correspondence-- between WC and his parents, WC and his wife and children, WC and Members of Parliament, and between all sorts of people talking about Churchill and the events in which he was caught up--- that this gives Manchester's work the feeling, not of history or even biography, but of a life too large to have been lived by one man.