Europe Books

This personal narrative set in the midst of global history is a tremendous story. A touching and humorous account of an unforgettable era, told with skill. Couldn't put it down until it was finished. One reads it thinking, "This would make a wonderful movie."

This book is a compelling story about a young man who grows up on the outskirts of Birmingham, Alabama on his family farm and goes on to serve his country in World War II. Sacco made the unique decision of telling the story in his father's voice, which adds to the authenticity of the account.

This tactic also makes the writing come across as glib in places. While the elder Sacco tells anecdotes about bad food, and seemingly endless hours of drills in all types of weather, he glosses over some of these hardships as the story moves on. The book would have been strengthened a bit if the author had filled in some of those gaps for the reader. The liberation of Dachau gets surprisingly few pages, as one would expect this event to be the pinnacle of the young soldier's life.

However, there are a number of places where Sacco's first hand account proves very effective: The story is full of wiseacre remarks about the shape of a woman, and while these types of comments aren't acceptable in our time, in most circles, they add to the realistic feel of a group of young GIs serving half a world away usually without female companionship.

Sacco's account of the group dynamics in his unit is fascinating. There are a number of anecdotes about race relations in the Army. The elder Sacco seems to pride himself on having been more enlightened than some in his time, in part because he himself experienced prejudice. Finally, his account of falling in love with a young woman named Monique during a stint in a small French village on the border with Germany is truly riveting.

In sum, the book seems to serve as a realistic account of military service and of the horror of war. And while I was disappointed by the casual telling of the story in some places, one has the sense that the elder Sacco's sense of humor, combined with his ability to minimize certain aspects of his tough experience, helped to keep him going during some of the most harrowing experiences of his life. Indeed, the author's style provided plenty of comic relief. This book is more for those who like biographies rather than those who want a straightforward account of the facts and dates associated with these historic events.

I concur with the excellent reviews preceeding mine. This is a beautifully written account of the guys from the 192nd Signal Battalion from basic training to the end of World War II. I'd like to identify three significant elements undergirding this excellent account of the incredible fortitude of teenagers turned warriers in a brutal environment. First, Joe Sacco and his buddies had the immense good fortune of being under the capable direction of First Sargeant Ernest Thomas. His presence in the background is a constant element in keeping these young men the best that they could be. Next, Joe Sacco and his buddies were among those who forever identify themselves as members of "Patton's Army". Through Joe's eyes we can appreciate the inspirational leadership he offered in the worst of times. Last, these guys were such good guys--in their treatment of little children, a child German soldier, and others, it makes one so proud of all those very young American soldiers who could see the worst, and yet keep their faith in the importance of each human being.

Superbly written! At once epic in scope and intimate in detail, WHERE THE BIRDS NEVER SING effortlessly transports even a casual reader on an emotional and unforgettable journey. Author Jack Sacco masterfully recounts the true story of his father, Joe Sacco, an American GI in World War II. Instead of using the tired genre of third-person documentary-style writing to tell the tale, the author speaks in the first person, through the eyes of his father. The result is one of the most powerful and honestly moving accounts of the human drama in World War II in recent memory.

The story begins in 1943 on a farm in Alabama, when the young Joe Sacco receives a letter informing him that he has been drafted into the service. From there, it seamlessly moves through his training with the 92nd Signal Battalion, shipping out to England (where the soldiers witnessed the stirring and famous speech by General Patton), landing at Omaha Beach in Normandy, surviving the Battle of the Bulge and fighting their way across Nazi Germany to eventually arrive at the notorious concentration camp at Dachau by war's end.

The book, already powerful and moving up until that point, then takes the reader to a new level of realism as horrifying details of the camp are revealed. Considering all he had seen and experienced since landing at Normandy, the emotional response of the young Joe Sacco to the carnage inside Dachau may leave the reader near tears. Rarely, if ever, has there been a written account of the reality of the concentration camps so graphic, gripping or compelling. As if that wasn't enough, Jack Sacco has included actual historic photographs his father took during the dramatic liberation.

All along the way, the author crafts memorable and beautifully written scenes, from the terrors of battle to the tranquility of a snowfall in the forests of Alsace-Lorraine, from the sorrows of the death of a buddy to the simple joy of decorating a makeshift Christmas tree with gum wrappers. In describing the emotions of the men before leaving Dachau, Sacco writes, "Now, after a year of combat, each of us finally and forever understood why destiny had called us to travel so far away from the land of our birth and fight for people we did not know. And so it was here, in this place abandoned by God and accursed by men, that we came to discover the meaning of our mission."

This is not another book about World War II. It's an intimate journey into the heart of an American soldier, and as such, it is as triumphant as the men it depicts. Readers will not only delight in WHERE THE BIRDS NEVER SING, they will gain a new appreciation for the accomplishments of their own fathers, uncles and grandfathers who may have served in World War II as part of the Greatest Generation.

Where The Birds Never Sing is the story of Joe Sacco's years in the army during WWII as written by his son Jack. From the time he was drafted until the time that he returns home we live with Joe as he experiences everything from basic training to the liberation of Dachau, which left Joe and the men of his company, soldiers who had witnessed everything that war has to offer, speachless and sickened. It also, as Joe so eloquently tells us, brought home, all too clearly, to these soldiers just why they had left their homes to "fight for a people we did not know."

A remarkable story about a remarkable man. This book must be read by all who are interested in "The Greatest Generation."

I had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Bernstein over the weekend at a book fair, and what a classy and kind woman she seems to be.

Since I am a librarian, I've read all manner of holocaust stories, and this remains the most moving I have experienced. This is the story of one family, in hiding. OK, that's the case for many holocaust stories, so what makes this great?

It's personal, no generalities; it is the simple yet piercing account of only this group of people. It doesn't pretend to speak for the masses, and yet it speaks _to_ me, far away from the sad, horrible experience.

It makes real people out of all the characters. If there's a hero, it's Jozef, who hides them. But he has his flaws, even comical ones. He can do no better than to hide people under his floor. He pretends to be a simpleton to avoid suspician from the Nazis. But his wife knows he is NOT a simpleton and suspects, correctly, that he is hiding something from her. Of course she thinks it's a lover and makes her husband's life miserable and endangers the family with her right-minded mistrust. When her husband comes clean to her, she is unexpectedly kind to the family.

Most telling at all, (hinted at in the title) is that they didn't live happily ever after. The symptoms of post-traumatic stress (not diagnosed at the time)led to life-long health and nerve problems even for the survivors. Yet you know, reading the book, that survival is worth the harrowing things that were experienced to get it.

A beautiful, simple, touching book that makes me appreciate my life.

A very powerful story about the Holocaust that is well-written and gives intimate detail. It's marvelous that the mother wrote down her entire story in 1959 and then was able to live to see it published. I also enjoyed the Afterward, written by the daughter, giving her impressions and what she remembered from this utterly tragic period from which almost no Jew escaped. The fact that each town was carefully named, each incident described in detail, made the story come to life for the reader who could well imagine himself/herself there at the time. The copy-editing done on this book was excellent; I only found two tiny errors.

I just finished reading Bitter Memories, and this is a definite for everyone to share with their family. What this family saw and lived through is awe inspiring and will leave you looking at your own lives. It will make you appreciate where we live and gives a new look at what the Holocaust victims went through. There are so many who will deny that the Holocaust ever took place, but Mrs Wallach and her daughter will help you see through their memories just how horrible it truly was.

This is an incredible story which while simply written,
encompasses all of the best and worst of what humans are capable of. The unbelievable love between and mother and her child is the overwhelming power that pervades the narrative. A gift to anyone who needs to understand what that period of history was all about.
Patti Sacher

Bitter Freedom
Jafa Wallach
Paperback: 209 pages
Publisher: Hermitage Publishers; First edition (April 25, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1557791570
ISBN-13: 978-1557791573

Although I have read many first-hand account books written by holocaust survivors, I found Bitter Freedom to be the most compelling story of it's kind since The Diaries of Anne Frank. The book moved me like no other.
Bitter Freedom is written in straight-forward prose by a mother survivor (Jafa Wallach) who shortly after the WWll ended, sat down and wrote the personal history of her family's lucky and often miraculous survival of the Holocaust. In letter form to her daughter- (Rena Wallach Bernstein) too young at the time to know the adult horrors of in which they survived, Mrs. Wallach pens an incredibly honest and poignant memoir.
"The years have gone by and yet the memory of how it all began remains vivid, fearfully close, as though it all happened yesterday. We were at home, apartment #3 Jagielonska Street in the town of Sanok Poland, listening to radio bulletins of Hitler's attack. You, my daughter, were just one year old. You looked up at our anxious faces, your father's and mine, but you could not have understood how deeply frightened we were. You repeated after us, in your baby lisp, "war, war"-the ugliest word in human speech. It wasn't long after that German planes began to pay their deadly visits to our little town of Sanok."

The book transports you back in history allowing you a glimpse of what everyday families were seeing, feeling and experiencing during this horrific time of war. The Jews of conquered Europe were taken by surprise never dreaming that civilized man could do to their fellow human beings what was now being done to them. Terror and mayhem swept Europe, and so swiftly had Hitler come east and so complete was his control of the lands he occupied- there was literally no where to run-no where to hide. Those hunted were now trapped in their own villages.

Escaping the terror was made especially difficult because many people of the Nazi controlled villages were deeply and historically ingrained with hate for certain groups of their fellow countrymen. The Nazis used this hate to their advantage by turning neighbor against neighbor, friend against friend. Christian against Jew. Those of the hated lucky enough to survive, did so only with the help of others who chose to put their own lives, and those of their families at risk to save their friends and neighbors. Very few were willing to take that risk.

Fortunately for the Wallach family One Christian man- a mechanic named Jozef "Jozio" Zwonarz did choose to put his own life and family at risk to save five fellow human beings. As he concealed four adults under the very noses of the Gestapo, he desperately schemed to save the life of the fifth family member, a four year old child. (Rena Wallach)
With parents and daughter now separated, the nightmare for this family was complete. There was nothing left for them to do. Their very lives were now in the hands of God and an auto mechanic named Jozio.

Bitter Freedom is a touching memoir, a suspenseful thriller, and an accurate historical novel all in one. Although the story took place more than 60 years ago, Jafa Wallach's messages to the reader are timeless and wonderfully relevant in today's world where war is in the news every day.

I predict that Bitter Freedom will eventually be on the top of every school's reading list. There are lessons here for all of us.
A must read.

This book sets out what Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies does, but in a less original way. It basicaly sets up a straw man by claiming that most people think Europeans conquered the New World and Oceania through weapons but in fact they were 'biologically' programmed to win. This thesis begins in the 10th century A.D. But here the author misses something. The Vikings that landed in Labrador and in Greenland were unsuccessful. They dwindled and died out. SO if they were biologically programmed to suceed then why didn't they. Inferior weaponry?

Then we jump ahead to the 16th century. Now the book misses another important point. Only in North America and Australia were the natives completely decimated by disease. In Mexico and New Zealand many of the native Aztecs and Maoris and Mayas survived. In Mexico today most people are descended from them. It was the sparsely populated natives that succombed to disease and this 'biological' issue. The conquest of Mexico and the mixing of peoples has a parellel in the Arab conquest of North Africa or the Turkish conquest of Anatolia. It is not simply a matter of disease and biology.

Thus this book falls short on several points. It is not an original thesis. It also suffers from severe problems of history, in trying to curve the data to fit the idea.

Seth J. Frantzman

"Ecological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion Of Europe, 900-1900"
by Alfred W. Crosby. Cambridge University Press, 1986.
The implication of this book's theory is that the Europeans succeeded in the "New" World due to the imperialistic strength of European flora and fauna. European cattle and European horses conquered the plains of both North America and Argentina, making them "neo-Europes". When Columbus introduced the pig, (either inadvertently or consciously), he knew that that the porcine animal species would "conquer" their local environment. The author's excellent writing follows this theme throughout his book, but, in my opinion, he spends too much time on New Zealand ... pages 217 to 268.

Yet, if the author's thesis is correct, the book becomes a disparaging comment on human efforts. For example, compare the Pilgrims' landing in 1620 with the landing of Hernando De Cortez (1485-1547) at Vera Cruz in 1519. The Pilgrims snuck ashore, onto that Rock in Plymouth, on a cold winter's day. There was no one to meet them, as the locals (or "indigenes" as Crosby likes to call them) had all been killed off by strange and new diseases. The diseases were probably brought over by Englishmen; otherwise where did Squanto, the Indian chief, learn his rudimentary English? (Just as my aside, if the Scots, who first settled in Ulster, Ireland and then came to North America, are known as Scots-Irish, why weren't the Pilgrims known as "Anglo-Dutch"?)

In February 1519, more than a century before the Pilgrims, Hernando De Cortez landed at the Rich Villa of the Holy Cross, Vera Cruz, with some 500-600 men, to face not thousands, but hundreds of thousands. To instill courage in his men, Cortez burnt his boats. The Spanish had to go forward and they conquered an empire. On the other hand the Pilgrims occupied a dead village. In both cases, European diseases were the deciding factor, but the achievement of either group was entirely different. Crosby's book treats them as if they were equal.

I believe that Alfred W. Crosby has hit on something that bears further investigation. In the late summer of 2004, I attended a wedding in Slovenia. As we drove through Germany, I noticed goldenrod by the sides of the corn fields. I asked and I was told that goldenrod was introduced as a flowering plant but was not doing so well in Europe. I wonder if Crosby's thesis was borne out by the lack of success of goldenrod ...and other American plants? Don't get me wrong: since I am allergic to goldenrod, I am happy it was NOT successful in German farm fields, but why?

The most impressive and pleasant aspect of this new approach to world history is the non-anthropocentric perspective Crosby adopts. He tells the story of the expansion of a tightly connected group of European organisms, which includes humans alongside with other domesticated animals, crops, weeds, viruses and bacteria.

The book shows that humans were the leading elements in this great expansion beyond Europe and across the oceans - but they would not have managed to successfully invade, occupy and dominate vast areas of the planet such as America, Australia and New Zealand if they had not been supported by a powerful combination of fauna, flora and germs. In fact, often enough these supporting organisms even took the lead in making the "new-found" territories hospitable for Europeans. Once they had arrived to faraway lands with similar climatic conditions as Europe - but with much less people, germs, domesticated animals and plants - the horses, pigs, cows, sheep, bees, rats, weeds and endemic diseases carried by European vessels began spreading quickly in these totally unexposed areas, and thrived mainly by destroying the native organisms.

Another important point developed by Crosby is that this apparently aggressive invasion and occupation of other continents was actually the consequence of a long process started many thousands of generations before, and of which Europeans were totally unaware. They were simply the ones most prepared and willing to cross unknown oceans (in fact, for centuries they had to painfully learn all about winds and currents - for which many a vessel with all its human and non-human crew had to be sacrificed) and settle down many 1000 of kilometres away from their original home, because the "old continent" had become overpopulated, deforested and overgrazed. Their "ecological imperialism" was in the end part of their struggle to survive and reproduce (to the disadvantage of other human and non-human organisms).

Thus, Crosby urges his readers to think of this propagation of certain humans and their accompanying flora, fauna and germs in detriment of others as a natural phenomenon. In fact, he often compares the European ecological expansion with an "avalanche" or a "bursting dam", i.e., something that had to inevitably happen given the circumstances. In this scenario, it becomes clear that these organisms were vehicles for a great "biological revolution" (in the words of the author), where humans were the spearhead of the movement - but hardly the all-knowing, dominant, free agents they mostly imagine(d) themselves to be.

Book Review: "Ecological Imperialism"
In his book, Ecological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion of Europe, 900-1900, Alfred W. Crosby investigates the roots of European domination over the western world. He calls the places where early Europeans settled "Neo-Europes" with special emphasis on North and South America , Australia , and New Zealand . In his prologue he ponders whether Europeans dominated their environment and other cultures because of their technology, or whether the consistent "success of European imperialism has a biological, [and] an ecological, component.". Crosby 's thesis is that Europeans were successful imperialists because wherever they went their agriculture and animals thrived; and the indigenous populations and local ecosystems collapsed under their biological advance.
Crosby begins at the beginning, discussing the one big continent, Pangaea, supposed to have existed in pre-history and the slow development of life forms other than reptilian, in particular Homo sapiens. The break up of Pangaea (this hypothetical super-continent) caused the "the decentralization of the process of evolution," that is, when the land cracked apart flora and fauna were spilt between the newly created continents. That continental split is the reason similar species are found in Europe and North America.
Eventually Crosby brings the reader up to the end of the Ice Age. Ten thousand years ago humans were exploring the islands of the Eastern Atlantic including Australia . Once on these islands humans domesticated plants, piled up mounds of garbage, spread disease, and hunted animals into extinction. Normally the despoilment of indigenous flora and fauna occurs over tens of thousands of years. In locations where humans arrived with mature hunting skills a sudden extinction of local plant and animal life occurred. These sudden prehistoric, or Pleistocene, overkills were the first concentrated impact humans had on virgin ecosystems.
The virgin ecosystem of Porto Santo Island was the destination of Portuguese settlers during the 1400s. Porto Santo Island was completely uninhabited and filled with untouched flora and fauna. One Portuguese ship captain brought a mother rabbit and her babies to the island. The rabbits loved Porto Santo and thrived in the island environment. So much so that soon the settlers were blasting away at the rabbits in an attempt to exterminate the entire local rabbit population. It seems the rabbits could not determine the difference between the crops meant for human consumption and the crops meant for bunny consumption. The rabbits won in this instance and for a time the settlers moved elsewhere, "defeated by their own ecological ignorance."
The experience of Spanish invaders in the Canaries showed them that no matter where they went, even if they could not out-fight their opponents, Europeans could dominate their enemies anyway. "In all these [new] places, the newcomers would conquer the human populations and Europeanize entire ecosystems." The Spanish learned from their experiences in the Canaries that their livestock and crops would succeed in these new environments; they also learned they could easily defeat the local natives without traditional warfare. The various "plagues" and "sleeping sicknesses," which the Spanish called peste and modorra, killed off and weakened natives who had no natural immunity to ailments common to the Spanish. In essence, sore throats and colds were the winning weapons of the conquerors; it was the flu that subjugated the Canaries.
The unfortunate natives of the Canary Islands , the Guanches, did not survive their meeting with the Spanish sailors. These previously isolated people died rapidly from dysentery, pneumonia, and venereal disease. According to Crosby "few experiences are as dangerous to a people's survival as the passage from isolation to membership in the worldwide community that included European sailors, soldiers, and settlers." When the Spanish conquered the Canaries the Guanches lost their land and therefore their livelihood. Some Guanches joined the Spanish army and went to fight in the Americas ; the Spanish sold others into slavery. The majority of Guanches however died of disease and the entire population became extinct.
Unlike the Guanches of the Canaries, the Maoris of New Zealand did survive despite great odds. When invaded by Europeans the Maoris assumed they would become extinct. European rats annihilated the Maori rat, an animal that was a food staple for the natives. The Maori fly might have help ward off the incursion of sheep that quickly destroyed the local flora, but invading European houseflies wiped out the local flies. Clover took over where ferns had been, and the Maori waited for their own extinction. The Maori population hit bottom in 1890 but then began a mysterious recovery and 280,000 people claim to be Maori by 1981.
In the 1500s Europeans arrived in the Americas with horses, technology (weapons), domesticated plants (crops), farm animals, germs, insects, diseases, weeds, and varmints. The garbage piled up by farmers encouraged varmint populations (mainly mice and rats) which spread disease and attacked human food supplies. Crosby devoted an entire chapter to the spread of weeds around the world. Weeds are not specific plants. "Weed" is a general term applied to a plant that spreads rapidly and encroaches on other plants. The study of where specific weeds appeared and when, aids in tracking population movements. The weeds brought by Europeans were actually another unintentional imperial victory. Weeds repaired damaged top soils and provided feed for livestock. " Rye and oats were once weeds." "Weeds are the Red Cross of the plant world; they deal with ecological emergencies." "Weeds thrive on radical change, not stability. That, in the abstract, is the reason for the triumph of European weeds in the Neo-Europes..." Weeds were resilient and thrived in soils laid bare by European plows, and damaged by drastically altered ecosystems.
European populations exploded in the Americas and Australia . What distinguished these Neo-Europes were the large food surpluses they generated. Neo-Europes led the world in food production "relative to the amount locally consumed." Other cultures actually produced more food per capita and per hectare, but the Neo-Europes exported more food than any other society. Especially successful exports from Neo-Europes were wheat, soybeans, pig products, and beef. Europeans consistently chose to settle in temperate climates where their animals and crops thrived. This was prudent and logical, it would have made no sense for Europeans to settle in torrid climates where their livestock would have suffered, and their favorite crops could not be grown.
The wind also aided European imperialists. When faced with strong winds the Portuguese marinheiros, true sailors, did not turn around and go home or sit sail-less in the water until the winds changed. Marinheiros would "sail around the wind." Sailors would tack close enough to the contrary wind to keep moving and then find a wind that they could use to continue their course. The Portuguese who perfected this "crabwise slide" called it the volta do mar, literally "going back to the sea." This understanding of winds allowed marinheiros to sail out on trade winds and back home on the westerlies.
Smallpox was the big killer of the Aztecs and the Incas in Peru ; the Huron and Iroquois in Mexico ; and the Amerindians of the United States . Crosby claims the victories of the Conquistadors over the Amerindians were "in large part the triumphs of the virus of smallpox." Besides smallpox Europeans brought dysentery and influenza; those epidemics killed almost the whole indigenous population of North America . In effect, the domination over ecology and culture by European invaders was more of a biological accident, than a well-executed military takeover.
Virgin soil epidemics spread through populations who had no prior contact with European diseases. These populations had no immunity to protect them. Virgin soil epidemics had many dramatic consequences. First, the epidemics effectively committed genocide, killing entire populations of native people around the world. Second, certain diseases (measles, influenza, tuberculosis) effected people fifteen to forty years of age more than others. These young adults were responsible for most of the labor involved in supplying food, procreation, raising children, and defending the society. The third and fourth effects of virgin soil epidemics were cultural optimism on the part of the conquerors, and cultural fatalism on the part of the conquered. When Europeans arrived and slew their rivals without raising a sword they believed that God must be on their side and this belief affirmed the rightness of their imperialistic actions. When the indigenous people died by the hoard from mysterious ailments they developed a fatalistic view of their own destiny and supposed the white man's Gods were the more powerful.
Ecological Imperialism is interesting, occasionally humorous, and easy to read. Crosby accomplishes his goal of writing a big book. This author presents a convincing and encompassing explanation for the incredible success of European imperialists. The book leaves the reader with more questions. How aggressively imperialistic were the original conquerors if all they had to do was show up and their opponents fell to the wayside? Crosby argues convincingly that Europeans were triumphant because the places they chose to conquer had ecosystems and indigenous populations that surrendered to the biology of the invaders.

Alfred Crosby is widely credited for popularising the ecological dimension of the history of imperial expansion. For this reason, and perhaps this reason alone, his book is worth a read.

The book, first published in 1986, revolutionised the way we think about European imperial expansion into the New World. How a few hundred disoriented Europeans armed with spears and misfiring guns managed to overwhelm entire Inca and Aztec civilisations in the early sixteenth century, for example. Crosby convincingly casts aside traditional political or military explanations by attributing the astonishing Portuguese and Spanish victories to bacteriology: how diseases such as smallpox and measles that the Europeans unwittingly carried with them wiped out thousands of New World inhabitants, severely crippling their defences.

The larger point that Crosby drives across is a profound one. Historical events - in this case, European expansion and imperialism - can be explained predominantly by ecological factors. In the clash of `biotas' between the Old and the New World, the Old World won. Convincingly. Hence the presence not just of Europeans in the Americas, but also of pigs and dandelions. According to this thesis, ecology shaped European expansion; creating `Neo-Europes' in the New World that facilitated European migration, precipitating the `Caucasian wave' from the 1820s to the 1930s. Unlike in most other histories, in Crosby's ecological history, humans form the backdrop and inexorable ecological forces take centre-stage.

Refreshing as this perspective is, the way that Crosby has rendered it is problematic in on a number of accounts. By excluding humans from the picture; or at best relegating human developments to the sidelines, Crosby emerges with a dangerously reductive picture of historical development. Deterministic ecological explanations cannot alone account for European expansion - after all, we must not forget that the first European transoceanic voyages were motivated by curiosity rather than necessity. More problematic is the book's implicit assumption that ecological influence was unidirectional. In concentrating on explicating the Old World's ecological victory over the New, Crosby neglects to examine the influence that New World ecology had on the Old.

Nonetheless, Crosby's work remains a landmark study that deserves a read. Moreover, it packs a punch as a piece of writing - its lucid narratives and provocative assertions laid out with the bold and elegant strokes of a master-artist. Yet Crosby's work is also increasingly a dated study that has been qualified over and over by new works in the field, or in the related field of environmental history. Those interested in the subject should by no means stop at Crosby's book.

First published in 1948, Winston Churchill's first of six volumes of his history of the Second World War is an historical classic. The Gathering Storm volume still stands as a monument of books in the telling the causes of World War II. Along with his access to his private papers, a research team and a band of stenographers, Mr. Churchill was not the mere writer of this book, he was indeed its Conductor.
Mr. Churchill had stated that he not only intended to make history but he also intended to write that very same history. This book is more about the true causes and effects of historical events and not some mere memoir. Although I must admit Winston does make himself look good.
His breakdown of this volume is much more chronological than his writings in "The World Crisis". From "The Follies of the Victors" through "The Fall of the Government" we see the foibles and weakness of the governments in Great Britain and France and the rest of Non-Germanic Europe for that matter. We all know of Neville Chamberlain and his appeasement. His sellout of Czechoslovakia!!
You can see from this initial book, the effort and the scholarship which ultimately earned Mr. Churchill the Nobel Prize for Literature.
Yes this is a must read. This is the penultimate story of the 20th Century History.

This is a splendid book. My suspicion has always been that a lot of people are frightened away from it by the fact that it is just the first of a six-volume series, and the sheer size of the work is intimidating. If that's your reaction, think again; first, Churchill's work, while comprehensive, is also readily consumable in bite-sizes. Second, this particular volume really stands on its own for anyone who would like to understand the "why" of World War II.

Admittedly, on that "why" question, Churchill represents a particular point of view, but it is a point of view which, with hindsight, seems to have been dead-on. Had the allies not insisted on squeezing Germany nearly to death at Versailles, or had the allies not failed miserably to enforce the military terms of treaties with Germany or to arm themselves for the emerging conflict, the whole history of the twentieth century would have been very different.

My view is that historical reading is almost always best when it comes from the hand of a participant in the events; and Churchill's role in the war and in the runup to the war was important indeed. This volume covers the span of time from the end of WWI through the invasions of Poland and Norway (and the eve of the German invasion of France), and the most interesting aspect is not the military, but the political, aspect of the story. The validity of Churchill's point of view as a military historian has been the subject of much debate, but his political understanding of the factors leading up to the war is deep and detailed. No one was more aware of the threat Germany posed, and when Norway fell, no one was a more obvious choice to replace Chamberlain as PM than Churchill.

I bought this book because I wanted to understand how and why the war began, and I had no intention of reading all six volumes of Churchill's war history. But this book was so gripping and intense that I couldn't stop, and I proceeded to read the whole darned thing. Highly recomended.

This is the first volume of Churchill's Noble Prize winning six part chronicle of World War II. The Gathering Storm depicts the rise of Hitler and the indifference of the leaders of the European democracies to the clouds of the gathering storm. Churchill incorporates contemporary documentation and his own reminiscence in this opening memoir. Churchill was a great statesman with great literary ability - a winning combination. The Gathering Storm a unique work and has a message for us in today's world.

Read and reviewed by Jimmie A. Kepler

And he did. This compulisively readable account of Europe between the wars and from 09/39 to 05/40 covers European diplomatic history, shifts in British politics, Britian's unwillingness to prepare for war, Hitler's rise to power and German re-armament. It ends with the invasion of France/the Low Countries and Chuchill's ascent to Prime Minister of a National Government. For all it's readablity and heavy use of documentation and primary sources, this is still a memior and sometimes self-serving.

Churchill gathered his researchers and secretaries and wrote an account of the events of World War II. These memoirs would span a work of six volumes, and added with his other literary achievements win for him the Noble Prize in Literature. The 'Gathering Storm', Volume I, starts with the end of World War I..the war to end all wars..and concludes on May 10,1940 with Germany's invasion of the Low Countries(Holland/Belgium) and France. May 10 was also the day that Neville Chamberlain resigned as Prime Minister and Churchill was asked, by the King, to form a new Government...in effect becoming the new head of Government or Prime Minister.

This is a work that is well worth reading. The contents and wisdom are just as relevant today as then. Churchill was relentless in his opinions, good and not-so-good, and did all in his power to try and stem the coming war. He had the advantage of being in the early government as First Lord of the Admiralty from 1911 to 1915. Driven into the wilderness years by forcing the Darnanelles,..a plan he still maintained would have worked if not for the 'timid observationists'..he would still keep active in governmental affairs and had enough connections to keep up-to-date with current events. Chamberlain, in 1939, would put him back into the Admiralty as First Lord..ironically going full circle back to his old office. Now with victory and hindsight, he was in the enviable position to see and write about the events that took place, and what could have happened if certain plans had or hadn't been implemented.

Churchill states that all the trials he went through prepared him for the great task of war. Had he remained in office, the position of Prime Minister would never have come his way. He would have been swept out of office with the failed administration. Those 'invisible wings' of fate were watching out for him. He was freed from party antagonisms and with six years of warning, about the oncoming events, no one could reproach him. What he had warned about was now real and the future was not certain. Churchill felt he knew a great deal about it all and was sure he could not fail. As Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, he now had the power to direct the whole scene. That was one of the areas I felt he craved more than any. The power to move the action forward on the offensive instead of always on the defensive.

Churchill wrote of the events that were transpiring with Germany's disregard for the Treaty of Versailles, Locarno and the failure at Munich. The rise of Hilter and his ascension to Chancellor, the absorption of Austria, the neutralization of Czechoslovakia, and the fall of Poland. The timidity of England and France to respond to the treaties and strike a blow for freedom in retaliation. He doesn't hold back his opinions and what he felt should have been done. As First Lord of the Admiralty he pushed for taking the port at Narvik Norway and found this plan changed from a sea strike to a failed pincer attack. He watched with frustration the failed, yet fortunate, attempt to tangle and embed the war on the Norwegian front. It was fortunate because shortly the war was to break full upon the Western Front and all was needed there. Norway ended the twilight or false war and moved the events forward into an all out compaign of total war.

The face and technology of war has changed over these many years. I doubt we'll ever see countries signing peace documents on battleships again. Unfortunately the reality is that war is still very much alive and with us. These facts alone make these volumes important reading. Possibly the most important aspect is that we can learn from a great man's experiences and hopefully not repeat the past. Well worth adding to the library.

Friendship comes in many forms, and that relationship between Bernie and Fritz, from different sides, Jewish and Christian, of the deep divide of WW2, is a marvelous testimony to "friendship". The only bitter-sweet moment was when I realized that Bernie had given up his religious beliefs in his "americanization". His children were not raised as Jews; another generation lost to the Holocaust, as much as the six million were.

I first saw this book when a seat mate on a flight was reading it. He praised it, so I ordered it. The book was well worth the praise.

The two authors of the book just visited my school today, and told me and the other students their stories. Bernat Rosner went to my school, Thomas Jefferson School, and he even mentions and has pictures of it in the book. I've yet to read it, but I'm eagerly anticipating it. Their stories are so touching, and I feel so honored to have met these two men. Also to have had a man as interesting as Bernie Rosner go to my school in 1950, it's just so amazing. They are very interesting people, and there's just so much more I could say, but this review would unfortunately become boring. I strongly suggest that everyone should read this book, the authors have two great stories to tell.

Each memoir is important in adding to the historical record of this terrible period, and this book adds a considerable dimension with the authors shared as well as separate memories and their astute and insightful analyses of every aspect of their experiences. By the time I finished reading this book, I felt I knew both authors well and also many of the people who surrounded them over the years. I hope the book is widely read and given a place of honor in Holocaust literature. It deserves deep attention by scholars and general readers and seems eerily prescient, too, in light of September 11th, and its concern for the horrors our species can inflict on its victims. If I were still writing book reviews, this book would be a prime choice for me. It deserves all the notice in print it can get.

In a world with a lot of open wounds in need of healing, "An Uncommon Friendship" helps bridge former sins and ongoing roots of bitterness to establish a world pregnant with new beginnings--every day. This book shows that other options are possible beyond the labels of cultural bigotry. When properly understood and appropriated, understanding and forgiveness are seldom far apart in life-giving relationships.

Recently we came in contact with a person who has such a high disregard for Germans. If only they knew and understood the rich heritage German culture has also given as a gift to the New World of new beginnings.

I was very impressed with this book; for such a difficult subject it was beautifully written. I have been to the Holocaust Museum in Israel, and though the documentation there is quite graphic and disturbing, the voice of the child in Bernie, and the voice of the child on the other side in Fritz, completes a picture that is enlightening, but reveals a picture that no one wants to believe. It seems to me that is often the way people have dealt with this very terrible time, and the authors are very brave to tell this story. I think this book should be required reading for all college students.

Anastasia's Album is definitely the best children's book on the Romanovs! The main personality is Grand Duchess Anastasia Nicolaevna - the youngest daughter of Nicholas and Alexandra, and a very lively girl who enjoyed activities and taking photographs. One very charming aspect of this book is seeing Anastasia's very own photo album, which she often hand-decorated herself - drawing and painting borders around her photographs and even adding a little colour to her pictures. Anastasia's Album also informs the reader of the Romanovs' family life up until their last days in Ekaterinburg.

Although the book's main targeted audience are children, Anastasia's Album will charm readers of absolutely all ages! Very cute book!

Since I'm writing a research paper, this was such a useful source for me to use. I loved the pictures and the information. It had so much of it! I was amazed; blown away. This is an amazing book for both kids and adults and I hope you get something out of it too!

This is an excellent book about Grand Duchess Anastasia, daughter of Russia's last tsar. As many know, Anastasia was murdered with her entire family in 1918. This book tells Anastasia's story through her own words. Her letters reflect a happy, secure young girl who came from a loving family. It shows readers a world that is gone and will never return. Though it was written for young children, all ages with enjoy "Anastasia's Album!"

The first time I found this book at the public library I just barely seen Fox's movie Anastasia for the first time. Surprised to find out that Anastasia was a real person, I checked out the book expecting it to be similar to most biographies.

Boy was I wrong. This book absolutely blew me away. Anastasia's album is a wonderful look into the life of the Grand Duchess Anastasia, daughter of Tsar Nicholas II, the last tsar of Imperial Russia. Imagine my surprise to find out that Fox's movie was nothing like Anastasia's real life, although many of the costumes and sets came from real items. Full of pictures, this book also included bits from Anastasia's real diary. A remarkable biography about a remarkable girl.

I remember this book from when I was a kid, after the 'Anastasia' movie came out my friend had this book, and I thought it was the coolest thing ever. It's full of beautiful photos and pictures the Grand Duchess drew herself. It seems really heartbreaking now that all she got to leave was her scrapbook.

The all-too-human hatred and evil that fueled the murder of millions of innocent people is often told as the tale of one man: Adolf Hitler. The fact is, Hitler was merely a figure-head; an eloquent and seductive leader he may have been, but he would have gotten nowhere if it weren't for those who devoted their lives to him. With this in mind, I have always found the story of Hitler's supporters to be more chilling than that of the man himself. What kind of person willfully throws their lives into the hands of a madman? What kind of troubled mentality does that take?

"The Devil's Disciples" tackles this question. It focuses primarily upon Hitler's three main lieutenants: Himmler, Goebbels, and Goring, though other primary figures are mentioned and detailed. It is fascinating to see the story of the Third Reich told through the eyes and accounts of the men who built it from the ground up; the book chronicles their exploits from WWI all the way to the Nuremberg trials. Anthony Read is a detailed researcher, almost to a fault; there is far more information here than you ever wanted--or needed--to know. However, we can take it with a grain of salt, as this book is an interesting and (naturally) disturbing account of national politics at its worst.

The book comes equipped (at least in the hardback version I read) with a number of photographs of its subjects. To see the faces of these key lieutenants is spine-tingling; to see them smiling with their families is downright disturbing. That is the key point to carry away from this book, and the story it has to tell: call them "monsters," call them "demons," the men and women who brought Hitler to power, and who helped him carry out his atrocities, were as human as you and I. "The Devil's Disciples: Hitler's Inner Circle" is a chilling and detailed account of human evil given free-reign. Read it knowing that there is a lesson to be learned from all of this. Read it and remember.

I was utterly fascinated by the material presented here. I was quite suprised to find material I had never written since i have written every major work done on the Nazis.

Although it concentrates on the top leadership below Hitler (Goring, Goebbels, Ribbentrop, Himmler, it also details Hitler's actions and leadership as a backdrop. From reading this, you really get a vivid depiction of his key henchmen and the complex intrigues among them.

Well-written, well-researched, and most impressive was how the plot weaves back and forth from Goring to Goebbels to other latecomers to the upper tier of leadersjip such as Speer, Borman,etc.

Brilliant historical work....

An excellent, well-written book that strays from the usual history of Nazi Germany by focusing not on Hitler but on his henchmen. Indeed, Hitler is almost a bit player for most of the first half of the book. Fascinating detail on the private lives and ambitions of Goering, Goebbels, Himmler, etc.
It is very well written and almost gripping, at times. He does have one little quirk, which is to occasionally throw in some very modern idiom, but it does not detract and is actually kind of fun.
I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to move beyond the basic histories of the Third Reich and find out about the strong-willed but self-serving and amoral men who worked out the revolting details of Hitler's regime.

This book is a MUST read for anyone truly wanting to know how it was possible for a man who had and was nothing (homeless, penniless and without friends) to become the most powerful and feared man in the world who controlled a vast empire and millions of people. The author does an EXCELLENT job of keeping the reader's attention and interest. It is difficult to put this book down. It read easily and smoothly. There are lots of details but that does not bog the reader down....it simply flows and stays interesting. The author gives equal time and details about many of Hitler's Inner Circle men, especially, Goebbels, Goring and Himmler. Without the work, talent, energy and loyalty of these men there is not doubt that Hitler would never have become who he was!

Here is an outstanding exhaustively researched account of all the key players in Hitler's Third Reich. Without the help of these men, Hitler would not have come to power, let alone been a politician worthy of mention. It is interesting to read how at least one among his entourage did not want war, and how his stubbornness and hubris changed the course of history. A must read not only for those who are interested in the tumultous events of the 20th Century, but those in leadership positions in politics and other fields, or those aspiring to be in that position.

This is the most complete Spanish/English I have ever found. It can be used for Business, School or Personal purposes. It has all idioms and phrases that you could ever need.

This is a terrific dictionary used in conjunction with the Oxford Duden Pictorial Spanish and English Dictionary for hard to locate technical words. The Cassell's Spanish Dictionary can lead to a lot of imprecise translations in your readings, but it's useful in composition as a thesaurus.

This Oxford Dictionary is a true gem. It is the best general English Spanish dictionary written to date. In addition to having excellent meaning discrimination, it often includes the informal register in its explanations as well as the formal registers.

It is a tremendous resource for really understanding the nuances and shades of meaning between different synonyms and expressions.

As a translator, professor, and bilingual lexicographer, I am truly deeply impressed with this masterpiece.

This is by far the best dictionary I own. Not only does it specify a term's area of usage, but it also translates numerous idiomatic expressions. It is a bit bulky to take to class (but not impossible-I manage to), but the contents make it perfect for doing Spanish composition homework as well. Overall, the perfect bilingual dictionary

Excellent resource! I highly recommend this dictionary as it appears to have EVERYTHING in it! Even "kitchen" and "sink"... jokes aside, I find this book to be the perfect answer to all my spanish/english definition problems... What makes this dictionary unique is not only its exhaustive collection of words, but also the correspondence writings in its middle. It tells you precisely how to write a correspondence in Spanish (and English) including dates, openings, closings, how to address the envelope and more... It even has examples and instructions (with pictures) of how to create a professional job application, how to write a letter of complaint, how to write a check, how to request a catalog... This dictionary has everything! A must have for language students!! Too bulky to put in your backpack, but not too big for a bookshelf!

Col. Ernle Bradford gives an easy, though profound insight; well researched, with the knowledge of an achieved soldier and accomplished sailor.
His courage he had done proof of in Egypt more than expected; the king knows and felt it.

Great Siege: Malta 1565 (Wordsworth Military Library.)

This is a good, well written book.The siege of Malta is one of those great episodes of history where almost super-human courage and bravery triumph against overhelming odds.

If you like adventure read this book: besides reading like a fascinating adventure story it happens to describe real-life actual facts. Beats any Hollywood epic, imho.

The "Great Siege", is the Siege of Malta in 1565, as the Turkish Ottoman Empire tried to expand further into the Mediterranean and up to Italy. The Ottomans had already conquered most of Eastern Europe.

The book, by a British historian named Ernle Bradford, is great! But unfortunately extremely difficult to get. It's not stocked on Amazon and second hand copies are rare. I was lucky and got mine second hand off Amazon for 20 bucks plus shipping, back in April. It's a book I'd always had a wish to read, since seeing a review years ago.

The historical background to the siege, and an abbreviated discussion can be found here online: Siege of Malta (1565) - Wikipedia.

The book uses all the contemporary accounts and puts them into a flowing narrative, that is really quite riveting. The main characters are the Grand Master of the Order of the Knights Hospitaller of St. John, (a fighting religous order who also maintained hospitals! Go figure.), Jean de Valette, the Turkish leader , Mustafa Pasha, and his Tripoli ally Turgot Reis.

The Turkish invaders really should have won the day as they had vastly more men. They were stymied by their own infighting, some bad tactical decisions (especially opening the siege by trying to capture the Fort of St. Elmo's), and by the heroic defense of the Christian defenders who travelled to Malta, and the Maltese fighters. The violence level is appalling. It was a bad idea to be captured, by either side!

It's a great, highly readable story, if you can get the book. I hope it gets re-issued soon.

An absolute page turning account of a desperate battle. The account, though historically informative, reads like a novel. It is concisely written, expressive, and captivating. I could not put it down. I highly recommend this book if you're interested in not only learning about a fascinating struggle, but in obtaining a sense of what it must have been like to be in Malta in 1565.

This is a truly great book. Mr Bradford is so passionate about his subject, so vivid in his detail, that it's all you can do not to book a plane ticket to go and see for yourself. The detail is staggering - he recreates the past with the love and care of an artist. It is a book about the Knights of the Order of St John of Jerusalem and their struggle against the Turks of the Ottoman empire - and it's a ripping good read. Just pick it up - you'll enjoy it.

I'd first heard of Karl when I got the Ricky Gervais podcast from a friend for my birthday. His book comes across just like he does on the podcasts. It's a collection of his travels around the world from his Parents' house to Los Angeles to Ibiza. Some are written in story format, others as journal entries and sprinkled liberally throughout are poems and comic strips of "friend-of-friend" tales.

It is a mix of non-sequitur and absurdism. It's as if Karl stops thinking after the first thought that crosses his brain. Sure, I might have had the same thought, "hey, if my head were on backward, I'd be able to face the audience if I were a pianist." But then, being normal, I would follow that thought up with all the other side effects of having my head on backward.

Pilkington, however, does not move past the first thought of childlike wonderment of having his head on backward and doesn't seem to realize there is anything much past that initial thought. The end result is absolute hilarity.

I can't sum it up any better than what's in the title of this review. I wish I could be in a room with Karl, Stephen and Ricky...I think I'd die laughing.

Just like Ricky Gervais said, "I've seen him blossom from an idiot into an imbecile." Karl has such a different way of viewing the world and it's like no other. Maybe it's because he's borderline retarded, yet extremely observant and curious. This book is HILARIOUS!!!

P.S. WE'RE ALL WAITING FOR SERIES 4 OF THE PODCAST, KARL. HURRY UP AND FIX YOUR DAFT BOILER AND GET BACK IN THE STUDIO WITH RICKY AND STEVE.

Great book. Karl IS a genius, Ricky is the idiot, I know this cos im a genius and if Karl isn't one then im not, but I am, so he is, so there. Love it!

Karl is the king, but he has become a lazy king, and his subjects are getting restless. MORE PODCAST NOW YOU ORANGE HEADED MONKEY FREAK!!!!

...And there better be new monkey news included in the podcast...I'm just sayin'....

But about the book....Great book. Karl's an idiot, but strangely, his book creates a very enjoyable read. I esp. liked when he talked about the squirrles in Carmel, CA. I live by there, and I've seen those squirrles, and I want to go back and see if they've been traumatized by meeting Karl.