Denmark Books

"Boot Camp" is a fabulous book that will certainly help any child in their preparation for the SAT. It is worth the time and effort to insure the best scores possible!

My son took the class with Ms. Manning and his score went up by 180 points from his PSAT. "Boot Camp" was helpful in achieving this score. I highly recommend this book.

My daughter's SAT scores went up over 380 points - This was due to purchasing this book; learning the vocab in the book; following the Math Hints; and doing practice problems. After taking the SAT, my daughter came home and said "The vocab that I studied from Bootcamp was on the SAT"! She scored 750 on the Math Section which is a direct result of doing the Math practice problems. There is also great information on what to do on test day. The author also offers a SAT Prep class in the DC area, which I also highly recommend.

Because of the course and the book, my daughter will now be considered by a broader range of colleges!

This book was a key factor in helping our daughter increase her SAT scores by 160 points! I strongly suggest any high school junior making the investment of time and money!

Anyone preparing for the PSAT or SATs should read "Boot Camp". My daughter studied the book and her SAT jumped "300" points to a near perfect score. After studying the book and taking Marcy's course, my son's PSAT score went up 350 points. The book is concise, easy to read, and fun. It tells you what you need to know. You won't regret buying this book.

To pick up Isak Dinesen's Seven Gothic Tales is to pick up one of the world's greatest literary masterpieces. Here in these seven stories we are presented with a universe that's compelling, beautiful and strange in a way that no other author has (in my opinion) ever equalled. If I was ever on a desert island and had one book I would hope it was this one.

If you enjoy stories by J. Sheridan Lefanu, Ray Bradbury, Hans Christian Anderson or Susanna Clarke, here you'll find similar ethereal qualities, but brought to a level of artistic beauty that surpasses everything that has been written before or since.

It is a mystery to me why this author is as little-known as she is - these tales represent, for me, the quintessential short fiction of the 20th Century.

dinesen/blixen was a true, living Scheherazade. this is an astounding collection of stories within stories within stories within stories. beautifully, elegantly written and set in various european locales, starring wonderfully alive characters straight out of fairytales, dreams and myth. these are strange, magical narratives (novellas, to be a stickler) with a modern sensibility. brimming with metaphors that will make you pause. kind of a cross between e.t.a. hoffman and a.s. byatt. definitely going to read more of her stuff.

This is a demanding work of seven multilayered and esoteric stories in this, Dinesen's first book.

We know of Dinesen more commonly by way of Meryl Streep, who played Dinesen, or the Baroness Karen Blixen, in "Out of Africa." But the woman we find here as the author of these stories is no easily-understood, Hollywood character. Her stories within stories are rich in symbolism, imagination, and a "long ago and far away" feeling that is carefully, carefully, controlled by the author. Dinesen wrote some of these tales in Africa, and finished others along with ordering the book back home in Denmark, after her farm had failed. She wrote, interestingly, in English (and did her own translations back into Danish later on). Many books follow this one, including LAST TALES and, of course, OUT OF AFRICA. Dinesen, while the heroic, strong, individualist of Streep's portrayal, is also kind of strange, introspective, and fabulously bizarre. She uses her stories' plot lines as a means, one feels, to work out her life philosophies, reshape and recast ideas and symbolic imagery, and impart creative insights. After getting to about the fourth or fifth story, one can see that she uses the same imagery repeatedly and even the same turns of phrase.

I have read this volume at least once before, and wanted to go through it again knowing just that much more literature and biblical references. (It helps to be well read in the classics when reading Dinesen.) Anything is up for her use, and if you don't see it, something will be lost to you as you interpret the stories and what they meant, or even, what happened. She loves Shakespeare (OUT OF AFRICA was written in five sections, after the five-act structure of Shakespearian drama), and Don Giovanni, she has interesting ideas about femininity and independent women, and symbolizes these issues with women who are doll-like, women who seem as if they can fly, women who are witches in some way or another, etc. She likes to toy with the mind of God, as well, having characters pronounce his proclivities, likes and dislikes, etc., quite often. I found these to be some of the most interesting passages, after some of the gender-defining ones, that is. (She chose her pseudonym, "Isak," as it is Hebrew for "He who laughs" and she definitely plays with many ideas here, many humorously.)

Of the seven tales (The Old Chevalier, The Roads Round Pisa, The Monkey, The Supper at Elsinore, The Dreamers, The Poet, and The Deluge at Norderney), The Roads Round Pisa is my favorite, and I have studied it for a graduate class. In the book, a mistake is the central event, and we learn of it only at the end. Our main character, Count Augustus Von Schimmelmann, is writing a letter to a friend, when a carriage accident occurs in front of him. An old woman, who seemed at first to him to be a man, is injured and asks that he go and seek out her granddaughter so that she may forgive her for an estrangement before she dies, as she believes she will do shortly. Augustus sets out for Pisa and in an inn meets a young man, with whom he engages in an interesting conversation. Soon, however, he finds out that this man is a woman, and whereas before he had been asking "him" for help in finding his way into the city, now he offers her his assistance as a gentleman. Their subsequent conversation holds a particularly compelling passage I have never forgotten. In it, Dinesen explicates a concept of women's differences, physically, psychologically and societally, from men through the artful use of the host and guest metaphor.

This passage is a key to the story's mood when toward the end the mistake around which the characters swirl is revealed. But the passage is also an interesting philosophical and societal analogy that provokes thought and discussion. This is, then, quintessential Dinesen.

The other stories deal with identity and loss (The Dreamers), a ghost who is allowed to rise up from hell whenever the sound between Denmark and Sweden freezes over (Supper at Elsinore), the mirage of lost love (The Old Chevalier), poetry and power (The Poet), the societal roles of women (The Monkey), and identity (The Deluge at Norderney), but these are very brief and basic categorizations. One could safely say that all the stories deal with many of the others' main themes. The book as a whole is an excellent study of the power of fiction to suggest and manipulate, with beautiful, evocative writing and deep and stirring underlying meanings. I recommend it.

These are strangely compelling stories, all of which evoke a sense of mystery and poetry. Floods and monkeys, skulls and puppet shows, vie with each other and figure here in short works that are too realistic for fables but too bizarre to be mistaken for reality.

Gothic surrealism might be the best way to describe the tone achieved by the author, whose real name was Karen Blixen (made familiar to modern audiences by the film "Out of Africa"). This is a reissue of a volume that first appeared in 1934.

Borrowing the author's phrase, each story is "like an echo in the engulfing darkness." Atmospheric and brooding, these tales are part Poe and part Brothers Grimm. Exotic in characterization as well as setting, we are introduced to a polyglot collection of virgin nuns and wandering n'er do wells, who cling to rooftops and journey on rhino-horn laden dhows.

Escape from the ordinary world is promised and delivered, but somehow, the people in these stories also remind us of people we know and situations that might not be as straightforward as we have assumed. A scarf may not be a scarf. The wind may be more than the wind. A scarf blown in the wind recalls to one character the memory of a little white snake -- madness is hinted at, at every turn.

They are seven distinctive tales. Yet, the evocation of place, the depiction of eccentricity, the precariousness of life, suffuse them all. They are magnetic and memorable. Even so, some readers may find the tales a bit too weird for their tastes.

If you find this review helpful you might want to read some of my other reviews, including those on subjects ranging from biography to architecture, as well as religion and fiction.

Why isn't I. Dinesen's work more widely known and accepted in the modernist pantheon? Her reputation seems to have settled into that of oddball literary personality and vehicle for Meryl Streep, however the work itself would have eluded me, despite a decent education in high school and university (for example, I was given Hesse and Camus to read in 10th grade, why not Isak?)had I not been attracted to this title in a dusty library. The work is about as anti-Hollywood as I could possibly imagine. Perhaps the answer is, she is not really a modernist but some sort of high baroque romanticist belonging more in the 19th century world of German prose; the "layering of stories" effect, especially in "Roads to Pisa", reads like she is channeling the world of Jan Potocki, enigmatic author of "The Saragossa Manuscript," who like Casanova moved in that incredible world of the international bohemian intellectual elite that Rexroth describes so well somewhere in one of his essays; that world of post-chaises and midnight rendezvous and military officers with seemingly endless resources of money, brains, education and cunning ... in fact "Saragossa" and Casanova's "Memoirs" were the books that came to my mind as I read her...reading this stuff is like eating a chocolate eclair with a brain more powerful than yours will ever be...why aren't there writers like this anymore? Was it all only a dream?

I've read "Appointment in Jerusalem" at least a dozen times. And each time I find more that applies to my life. My copy of the book is so highlighted and I take it out of the bookcase to re-read and look at the highlighted phrases and passages often. Lydia was a brave woman and truly followed what she felt God was saying and showing her. Out of my whole library this a my "must" book, and if I had to save any books from destruction, say a fire, I'd grab my Bible and "Appointment in Jerusalem." Derek Prince is one of my favorite teaching authors and he and Lydia did wonderfully in this book. It truly captivated my heart, and after going to Israel two years ago, I knew more of her heart. My desire is to return to the land that captivated my heart...a place I know I belong.

I love this book. The book had been around in my house for years and probably belonged to my late sister. I just bypassed it until the day I picked it up to gloss over and couldn't put it down until I had finished reading it. It is a powerful testimony of how God can interact face to face and in detail with a human even in these present times.
It re-iterates that God sees the heart and all you have to do is seek him, seek to know the true God and he will reveal himself to you. This is a book I read every year and I am sorry to say, never lend out because I just cannot afford to lose it. I think the Derek Prince ministry has decided to reprint it though.
This book makes one feel so close to God. It's an effect of both the events in the book as well as the simplicity with which it was written. It is a definite must-have for every Christian .............

An amazing true story. I'm so glad they printed this again. I had to search and search trying to buy affordable copies before.

I was first introduced to this book a few years ago by my grandfather. It had been read by many members of the family and finally passed down to me. I have been searching for a copy of this amazing book in English (mine is in Russian, so it takes more effort to read through!) and I finally found it! I have read this book 5 or 6 times and I am always inspired and amazed at Lydia's faith in God, but even more so- by God's faith in people! The simple way that the book is written (and it comes across in any language, I think!) is easy to read and hard to put down. One of the greatest books of all time, and should be a classic!

This is a most excellent read. You will cry and laugh and be in suspense.
It will make you think about things and the important things in life.
Once you start this book you will not lay it down until you have finished.
I highly reccommend not only reading it but giving this out as a gift to all you know.

Many people dismiss Hans Christian Anderson as a mere author of now outdated children's stories. Anderson, as this volume of his annotated stories makes clear, was a poet, folklorist, historian, and commentator as well as a children's writer. In fact, many of his stories were written for adults, not children, and even those aimed at the young have side passages and comments which were meant for grown up men and women to hear and ponder. This volume contains a good sampling of both of these types of Anderson's stories. Each story is copiously annotated, a real pleasure for the modern reader who may not recognize references to customs and people now far in the past. There are many beautiful illustrations from the multiple published versions of the stories. Most importantly, the stories have been newly translated from the original Danish, so that as much of the original emphasis and focus is present as possible.

This annotated volume not only allows the reader a fresh view of some famous stories, it also makes the enormously complex original author much more comprehensible and even more likeable.

Ever since taking some literature courses to complete my degree, I've been fascinated by fairy tales. These stories can be enjoyed on a very basic level, but in order to understand the context, one often needs to know more about the author, the time of the writing, and what the characters and story line connote for the writer and his or her readers - at the time it was written. Using a very simple format of narrow text with wide margins to contain the annotations, this book allows the reader to read the story only, or read the notes only, or read a combination thereof, or, just look at the fascinating pictures and engravings as copied from the original editions. The dust jacket is colorful and ornate, and the paper is crisp, easy on the eye, with error free print. In short, this book will appeal to old and young, scholars and casual readers, and even those just looking for a pretty book to put on the shelf.

I ordered this as a Christmas gift for a friend with young children. The quality of the book exceeded my expectations. The wonderful stories and illustrations are perfect for kids, whilst the scholarship and annotations are excellent for adults.

This beautifully produced book contains 12 tales for children and 12 short stories for adults. There are almost 150 illustrations, many in color, from classic editions of Andersen's works. At first blush, the illustrations are the stars of the show. The colored images by Clarke, Dulas, Nielsen and Lorenz Frolich are splendid, as are the many ink drawings by W. Heath Robinson. The illustrations speak for themselves (and for this collection), although there are ten short biographies at the back of the book.

Maria Tatar edited THE ANNOTATED BROTHERS GRIMM and THE ANNOTATED CLASSIC FAIRY TALES. She and Julie K. Allen translated the stories, and Tatar provides many annotations. Example: "The Ugly Duckling" is "the most deeply personal of Anderson's stories, a narrative that traces his trajectory from humble origins to a literary aristocracy."

Tatar is eloquent on the importance of Andersen: "We need to engage our critical faculties in order to understand what makes these stories so emotionally addictive. Why have these Danish cultural stories taken hold in the United States to become instruments for navigating childhood? How do the stories enable the reader to get lost in the book, to drink the heady elixir of fantasy? And how do they arouse the intellectual curiosity of children?"

Tatar argues that Andersen's descriptive techniques create moments with "ignition power" that kindle the imagination. "Andersen's descriptions of beauty can weave spells. They create an adrenaline rush so that you begin to read with the spine rather than the brain. These luminous moments energize the mind, leading the reader to read on to explore perils and possibilities, but also to dig deeper."

According to Tatar, "The Emperor's New Clothes" exemplifies Andersen's narrative powers. "When I reread the tale I remembered how as a child I had started to imagine what the cloth looked like. Even though it is invisible, the swindlers and the adults describe the cloth as silky and beautiful, with gossamer designs ... and Andersen invests so much narrative energy in describing the invisible cloth that, ironically, it begins to dazzle in the mind's eye. That is what Andersen can do -- he lights up the imagination."

The short stories were new to me and have some interest seen through Tatar's eyes. But these new translations of the old favorites like "The Snow Queen" or "The Little Mermaid" are just as magical as ever.

An excellent example of Norton's annotated series, this edition contains what we have come to expect from this publisher, Anderson's goblins and mermaids hopping through the pages, the margins offering historical context, the influence of culture and an interpretation of the selections that hint of the darker nature of fairy tales. Translated by Maria Tatar and Julie K Allen, these tales are lushly illustrated, ink sketches, black and white drawings and full-color renderings that pique the curiosity of young and old alike, "Tales for Children", "Tales for Adults", "Biographies", "Anderson's Readers" and "Bibliography". Children's selections include "The Emperor's New Clothes", "The Princess and the Pea", "The Little Mermaid" and "The Wild Swan", segueing into the more sophisticated stories for adults, "The Red Shoes", "The Girl Who Trod on the Loaf", "The Goblin and the Grocer" and "The Bell".

Putting the collection in context, the Introduction, "Denmark's Perfect Wizard", speaks to Anderson's genius, a Dane born over 200 years ago. Anderson tackles provocative subjects: compassion ("The Little Match Girl"); hypocrisy ("The Emperor's New Clothes"); and the necessity of hope ("The Ugly Duckling"). Sparking imagination through the texture and color of language, darker issues are dressed in sparkling prose and brilliant hue ("a purple flower with light streaming from its calyx"). It is such language that draws young and old into the world of the fairy tale, subtle lessons on the vagaries of human behavior and the undiluted power of storytelling as a means of universal communication.

Evocative illustrations and fascinating annotations offer a depth of perspective that is common to this series, an exploration of social consciousness and tales couched in the visual and the arcane, a juxtaposition of morality and fantasy that allows the reader to challenge preconceptions and enter the world of expanded imagination, because some stories never grow old. Luan Gaines/ 2007.

It is a pity that most people only know Hans Christian Andersen for a few of his "easiest" fairy tales. What springs to mind for almost everyone is stories like "The Emperor's New Clothes", "The Ugly Duckling" and perhaps "The Snowqueen". But Hans Christian Andersen has written a vast array of profoundly touching tales. In Odense, Denmark the Danish actor Troels Møller said (two years ago in a lecture on "H.C.A. & God"),

"We are all going to die. H.C.Andersen knew this, he worked with it and he used it to show us all the beauty of life - the beauty of all life."

His stories are not only for children they are for everyone. The likes of H.C.Andersen can be found nowhere. If you want to discover the full grandeur of his genius you MUST read more than just his popular works. I would even urge you to go to Odense to learn Danish - Much is lost in translation. But although the English translation doesn't reach the heights of the original Danish text I still give it one of my 5 star sets. And don't think that it's a case of petty nationalism - you will find no other Danish writer that I'll grant 5 great ones. It is entertainment, philosphy and religion.

Now some of these tales are out there, but all offer some amusement. Some may not make any sense (i.e. the endings seem incomplete or "off") and they may not be on par with the Grimms tales, but it's nice to have all of these in one place and to be able to read tales that I have never heard of or come across over the years. If you are making a collection of myths and fairy tales, this collection is a must.

Every child should read Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales a first introduction to fantasy and modern tales of today. The book is great for adults also. Many stories I recall from my own childhood as I devoured the fairy tales that are enduring and lasting as classics forever.
Evelyn Horan - author
Jeannie, A Texas Frontier Girl, Books One - Three

The Ugly Duckling. The Little Mermaid. The Tinderbox. The Emperor's New Clothes. The Princess and the Pea. It's all here!

C. S. Lewis, in his preface to "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," observed that as children we grow out of hearing fairy tales, but as an adult we can come back to them with fresh eyes and be enchanted in a different way. HCA stories have that amphibian quality of living above and below the supposed age limits.

I find it surprising that HCA writing in a minor language would be so popular, but he is a genius at writing fairy tales. The Grimm Boys just collected and edited the German fairy tales, but HCA was generating new and original fairy tales. I hope we don't sluff off this unique talent he had solely on the ground that he was writing to children. After all, how many naked Emperors have we seen? The comic Dilbert gets it's life blood from the fact that so many emperors can be smooth-talked by so many charlatans, and be sustained in their delusion by smarmy sycophants, and only brought to light by a child.

If children can understand this, why can't we adults?

On the printing-side of the book, I would like to see this in a hardbound, with durable paper, and not the thin and fragile newsprint. I am almost afraid to read this book since the opaper is so delicate!

I received this book as a gift for my 20th birthday. I am very pleased with it. I recomend it, and especially for its beautifully crafted and translated material. Enjoy! There are so many so many tales... I love it!

A very thorough and comprehensive look at the heroic efforts of the Danish people during the Nazi occupation of Denmark during WWII. A great resource for parents reading Lois Lowry's Number the Stars. Moving and inspiring.

This is a well-written account of the remarkable thing that happened in Denmark during WWII, when a small country refused to separate a group of its people and send them on to certain death. There are many terrific individual stories in the book (many are told first-hand), among them the description of how, during the height of the war, a man in Denmark was arrested and convicted of vandalizing a synagogue in Copenhagen - right under the noses of the Nazis.
It is not a fawning work; the book deals with the Danish Nazi collaborators. But above all it is a tale of a people who did not look at their neighbors and see Jews, but looked at their neighbors and saw Danes like themselves.

Bravery, courage, and selflessness, characteristic of the Danish resistance during WWII, are bright glimpses of hope during a dark period of world history. The history of the Danish resistance is recorded chronologically, with individual rescue stories woven throughout. This beautifully rendered acount, including photographs, is printed on thick, rich paper, underscoring the beauty of what was accomplished by the Danish people. Recommended for young adults and adults interested in the topic.

Through all my reading on the topic of the Holocaust, I was always deeply struck by the courage of the Danish people, who refused to give up their Jewish citizens to the Nazis. This book does an above average job of chronicling the Danish resistance and how they rescued the Jews from certain annihilation. The author Ellen Levine has done an admirable job of compiling exhaustive interviews with fighters, rescuers, the Jews who were rescued and those less lucky. There are pictures scattered throughout that add to the narrative, and it feels more like a story being told than of an event being chronicled. Highly recommended for students of the subject, and everyone interested in the Holocaust.

The courage of the Danes in World War II just blew me away when I read this book. I first read it because Lois Lowry's book Number The Stars struck my intrest. When I read the stories of the Resistance and the Jews, I can admit I cried. The author tells their stories perfectly. She conveys the courage these people had and how brave all those young Resistance leaders were but does not leave the hardships endured by these people. It is certainly a wonderful reference book for anyone doing a project on the Holocaust. There was only one thing that disappointed me. There wasn't a reference to the permeated handkerchief that fishing boat captains used after the Nazis started using dogs to search the boats.

Dr. Denmark saved my life, literally, in 1951 and my grandson's in 2002. This book may be a lifesaver for frantic parents trying to follow too many conflicting friends and experts. Just follow her no-nonsense dictums (advice is not a strong enough word). I was never good with the strict scheduling she follows, but her other teachings have produced four VERY healthy now adults and two VERY healthy grandchildren. (and a very healthy me)

Dr. Denmark doesn't care about pop medicine. She cares about children, and taking care of them. Her approaches are tried and true (she has more experience than almost anyone else alive). Some of her ideas are considered old-fashioned, but they produce results. Yet she's not afraid of what's new, as long as it works. She deals with everything from pregnancy on - diet, health care, loving and nurturing, you name it. Dr. Denmark ought to be declared a national treasure, as should this book. We've known quite a few children (in addition to ours) raised by the "Denmark method" as we tend to call it, and every one of them is a testimonial to Dr. Denmark's approach and methods, which are in this book. Finally, Dr. Denmark has lived according to what she writes in this book, and is living proof of how well her methods work. She was still taking an annual two week backpacking and camping vacation with her husbands until he died a few years ago.

If you want to grow strong kids not strong willed kids, get and follow this book. Dr. Dennmark takes the sage old child rearing principles that generations ago used to bring up healthy well adjusted, well mannered, strong character young kids and allow them the chance to turn into great adults. If you follow her advice you may never have to be embarrassed to acknowledge your kid is your child out in public and you can be proud of them for all the right reasons. Reading this book can help the parent be as good as they can be as well. It's a win win situation one of which I think every parent in America needs to read and follow.

This is not just another book on parenting, it is a guide to a happier and healthier family inside and out.Dr.Denmark lives by what she says and is now 105 years old,what more is there to say.A friend gave me this book when my daughter was one week old,she was eating every hour,up all night and lying flat on her back scared to death.Once you read this book you realize parenting is just common sense and all these magizines and books out on parentig are all different and change by the month(not that I don't read them and find some interesting).Life as a parent has been much easier for me and my husband both.Words can't explain what this book has meant to me.

I was a patient of Dr. Denmark's in the 50's and my children are now 14 and 17 and are patients of hers. This is a down to earth book with practical suggestions about care of children of any age. You can read it again and again and find something useful that you didn't see before.

Coming from a danish family i can tell you that this seemingly simple read really gives a good feel of the times through a childs eye. Mr. Tvestov gives just enough extra information to be able to understand the times in which he grew up in addition to his personal experience.It's also an entertaining, if slightly repetitive read.

Thisis a book I just could not put down once I had started reading it. Tveskov style made easy reading but most importantly, I felt like I was there with him. I can only imagine what it was like to have been with during these times. He wove in Danish history in a way it just blended with this story. It was pointed , acurate, and relevent. The pictures he used brought the story to life adding a gereat deal to the feeling of time it took place. I suggest it would be a great gift for anyone and to me a must read.

Tveslov's "Conquered, Not Defeated" is a touching look at Denmark during WWII through the eyes of a boy but also with the perception through which the events in that country can be viewed with adult eyes years after the fact. With skill, he takes the reader into the fascinating world of Copenhagen during the war - the occupation and, more importantly, the incredible people who lived and died during that dark period of their history. Theirs is a story worth the telling - and worth the remembering. These true recollections of a middle class boy and his family make the reader realize the profound impact of a war that tore Denmark apart and then united her in ways that no one could foresee. "Conquered, Not Defeated" is a testament to the resiliency, the independence and compassion of the Danish spirit, deftly told . . . a story the reader will not soon forget.

Conquered, Not Defeated is nothing short of fantastic. Being of Danish descent on both my maternal and paternal sides, I found this book a real and all-encompassing glimpse into the lives of my Scandinavian relatives through Mr. Tveskov. It is difficult to find books on the subject of Danish history which are filled with actual historical accounts from someone who writes with ease of his very own experience. It was a pleasure to delve into this wonderful book and feel as though I were reading Mr. Tveskov's own personal journal of his experience...I am grateful for the anecdotes and historical research he provided so we Danish descendents can truly understand all that Denmark endured during the horrors of WWII. Being affiliated with the Danish Sisterhood, I highly recommend this book to all Scandinavians and anyone interested in WWII history. READ THIS BOOK!

Some historical nonfiction takes such a broad view as to become pallid and meaningless. Not so in this brilliant memoir, where Tveskov captures the ambiguity, evolution and the outcome of the Danish people to the German occupation during World War II.

Because this is a description by an actual participant in the history as it took place, the reader reaps the extra benefit of true emotions the events stirred. As we follow young Peter bicycling out through Copenhagen to his grandparents' house, the soldiers manning the machine guns behind the barricades are real soldiers with real orders to kill, and yet young Peter is also a real child pedaling a real bicycle through this nightmarish scene. The reader gets to experience this scene through young Peter's eyes.

Balancing the historical with the personal, even-handed in his presentation of thorny issues (such as Danish collaborators with the Germans), exceptionally easy to read for an historical work, Tvreskov offers the reader an entertaining, informative and thorough perspective on a terrible aspect of a terrible war.

Don't miss this one!

This is a well-written work of historical fiction that will keep the reader riveted to its pages until the very end. It tells the story of Princess Caroline Mathilde of England, sister to King George III. At the age of fifteen she was wed to young King Christian VII, who eventually became known as the mad king of Denmark. Temperamental, high strung, and given to strange outbursts, his predilection for strange behavior was known early on, but despite this, the two kingdoms would still see these two wed, as the unification of England and Denmark was paramount to individual happiness.

King Christian VII developed a peculiar aversion to his wife and, consequently had conjugal relations with her only once, which propitiously resulted in the birth of a son nine months later. Alone in a foreign country, whose language she was only beginning to learn, and estranged from a King surrounded by sycophants, the young Queen gravitated to the one person who treated her as a person in her own right, the King's physician, Johann Struensee.

An advocate of the philosophy of Enlightenment that was overtaking Europe, Struensee had many ideas that were introduced as reforms in Denmark, through his influence with the King, who by now was easily led. These reforms were to make many enemies for him, as they upset the established feudal system that still existed in eighteenth century Denmark at the time. As he gained power through his influence, resentment against him grew within those circles that had formerly been close to the King. Unaware of the growing animosity against him, Struensee and the Queen became close intimates, bound by shared ideas and interests.

Struensee's relationship with the Queen, who was lonely and starved for affection, eventually transgressed the bounds set by propriety. Now lovers in fact, their relationship became grist for the rumor mill. As gossip and innuendo about their relationship swirled across royal circles in Europe, it ultimately became the focal point for a political coup that saw them both arrested and charged with treason. What ultimately happened to each of them was tragic.

This is a richly atmospheric work of historical fiction, filled with political intrigue, historical personages and events, as well as a bittersweet and poignant romance that was to have so many personal and political ramifications. It is a well told story that will hold the reader in its thrall until the very last page is turned.

This is a well-written work of historical fiction that will keep the reader riveted to its pages until the very end. It tells the story of Princess Caroline Mathilde of England, sister to King George III. At the age of fifteen she was wed to young King Christian VII, who eventually became known as the mad king of Denmark. Temperamental, high strung, and given to strange outbursts, his predilection for strange behavior was known early on, but despite this, the two kingdoms would still see these two wed, as the unification of England and Denmark was paramount to individual happiness.

King Christian VII developed a peculiar aversion to his wife and, consequently had conjugal relations with her only once, which propitiously resulted in the birth of a son nine months later. Alone in a foreign country, whose language she was only beginning to learn, and estranged from a King surrounded by sycophants, the young Queen gravitated to the one person who treated her as a person in her own right, the King's physician, Johann Struensee.

An advocate of the philosophy of Enlightenment that was overtaking Europe, Struensee had many ideas that were introduced as reforms in Denmark, through his influence with the King, who by now was easily led. These reforms were to make many enemies for him, as they upset the established feudal system that still existed in eighteenth century Denmark at the time. As he gained power through his influence, resentment against him grew within those circles that had formerly been close to the King. Unaware of the growing animosity against him, Struensee and the Queen became close intimates, bound by shared ideas and interests.

Struensee's relationship with the Queen, who was lonely and starved for affection, eventually transgressed the bounds set by propriety. Now lovers in fact, their relationship became grist for the rumor mill. As gossip and innuendo about their relationship swirled across royal circles in Europe, it ultimately became the focal point for a political coup that saw them both arrested and charged with treason. What ultimately happened to each of them was tragic.

This is a richly atmospheric work of historical fiction, filled with political intrigue, historical personages and events, as well as a bittersweet and poignant romance that was to have so many personal and political ramifications. It is a well told story that will hold the reader in its thrall until the very last page is turned.

This book is a true story about an English princess who was married to a mad king of Denmark. Like Mary of Scots she became involved in a high profile affair, producing a child. This book is well researched, emotionally moving, and written with a nearly extinct flare. A very good read!

This book is a story about an English princess who was married to a mad king of Denmark. Like Mary of Scots she became involved in a high profile affair. This book is well researched, emotionally moving, and written with a nearly extinct flare. A very good read!

An emotional telling of the story of Princess Caroline of England. Sister to King George III, she, like most royal daughters of that time, was forced to leave home and marry the King of Denmark. Unfortunately, Christian of Denmark was insane as a result of contracting syphillis. Her life with him was almost torture and before long she fell in love with the court physician who wanted to rule Denmark more along the lines of the English. Of course, it ends disasterously.

Lofts does a very good job of conveying the feelings of the main characters and the reader develops an emotional attachment to their very sad lives. Only one complaint, I wish the author would have given a brief epilogue about the characters, especially the children of Caroline. I wondered what happened to her son and daughter.

Time Out Copenhagen covers it all, and more. Having read this book before actually going to Copenhagen is the best one can do. You will know exactly what to visit, where to eat and stay, where kids can play, and more. It is refreshingly honest and contains lots of information such as fees, schedules, addresses, maps, pictures. You will read if the place is popular and if the authors think it is worth it, if you get what you paid for, etc. Best book I bought on the matter. The book is organized in a way that makes it is hard to put down too. Highly recommended.

I really appreciated the layout of this book by topic (i.e. Where to Stay, Sightseeing, Eat-Drink-Shop, Arts & Entertainment, etc.). Although this may make it a better bet for those planning ahead well in advance instead of dropping into Denmark, it is a perfect companion to Denmark (DK Eyewitness Travel Guides), which is laid out mainly by region.

I recently went to Copenhagen in mid-July 2004, and this was my first time there. I didn't know anything about the place and I needed to find good information about accommodation, restaurants, and transportation. This Time Out Copenhagen Guide book was truly informative and accurate. I stayed in a hotel mentioned in the book and it was great (lovely romantic rooms). I tried one of the restaurants recommended and that was wonderful too (great food, lovely atmosphere). Other witty and funny information about the history, famous/not-so famous Danish people, etc., in the Guide helps me to understand the city and locals more. I am really pleased with this guide book. I have ordered many guide book in the past (e.g. EyeWitness Guides) and I find Time Out Guides to be better in comparison. The information about the hotel accommodations, restaurants, etc., are spot-on, uptodate, and very useful. I will definitely buy more Time Out Guides for other cities in the future. I really recommend Time Out Guide book to anyone who are deciding on which Guides to buy.

Before going to Copenhagen, I purchased several guides...this is the one I used. Covers the usual castle, museum stuff but excels in the less usual stuff like club-life, small restaurants (try Ban-Gaw for Thai food and watch the human traffic on in the tacky old sex district of Istedgade),....prices are up-to-date, good info on train travel, good section on nearby Malmo.Lots of opinions...mostly right on. Could use a better map.

An excellent guide. I was familiar with Copenhagen as a student 10 years ago and this book helped me right back into step. The general feel is spot-on and it's written for a more adventurous traveler than one just off the cruise ship. The book is irrepressibly positive, and perhaps overstates the charm and style of some sites - just like a guide book usually does. I thought the maps to be good, and they thoroughly cross-reference the entries. The addresses and hours seem to be correct. Copenhagen is an underrated European city; virtually untouched by the past ravages of war and living very much in the present day. If you're destination shopping, the city rates an 8+, and so does the guide. Bring, rent or buy a bicycle if you really want to go local.