Europe Books

This is an excellent and entertaining book but upon re-reading after a space of several months, I am puzzled by the introduction that states "More importantly, the Empress should be remembered for having a higher fatality of passengers (840) in one calamity than either Titanic (832) or Lusitania (791)". At least one other source (Wikipedia) indicates that the Empress of Ireland claimed 1,012 lives, the Titanic 1,517 and the Lusitania 1,198. Perhaps someone else can explain whether I am missing something here. Do the words "in one calamity" have a special meaning that I am overlooking?

This book covers the subject well. The ship and the accident are covered in detail and it has some great photos as well as some blueprints.

It doesn't matter how you view history...this is one of the greatest books written on a little known disaster. I read it and was completely overwhelmed by the well-written text. The depth of the story came alive to me. I could picture myself being among those trying to survive the wreck. I would recommend this to anyone who has an interest in great liners and survivor stories.

THE LOSS OF THE EMPRESS OF IRELAND HAS ALWAYS BEEN OVERLOOKED. IT WAS NEVER THE MOST FASHIONABLE SHIP, BUT IT WAS A FASHIONABLE SHIP. IT DID NOT CARRY " THE " ELITE, BUT IT CARRIED SOME ELITE. THE HORROR OF THE SINKING CAN ONCE AGAIN BE SEEN THROUGH THE PASSENGERS EYES. AN ABSOLUTE MUST FOR SHIPWRECK LOVERS.

Mr. Zeni has somehow reached into the murky depths of the St. Lawrence River and retrieved the details of the sinking of the Empress of Ireland. Bringing out many small details that were never mentioned in earlier works, David Zeni does so with a style that keeps one reading on page after page. A truly delightful book to read, on a subject seldom written about. If you collect works on shipwrecks or great ocean liners, this is a must for your collection.

I really enjoyed this book, although more illustrations and the addition of photos would have greatly enhanced it. It is an excellent English companion to Y. Mary's four volume series in French. There is a great deal of information cramed into 200 pages covering everything from the military mobilization plans to the fortification on the Northeast and Southeast Front known as the Maginot Line and the coastal defenses of France in World War II with additional information on the Mareth Line in Tunisia and the coastal defenses there.

This 200 page book is a useful introduction to the history and technical details of the Maginot Line. The Maginot Line is not only described, but it is placed into context within the overall French strategy of defense in the 1920's and 1930's. French strategic plans that the French had developed before the outbreak of WWII, and at the attempt to modernize and rearm the French Army, Navy and Air Force during this time period are covered. The chapters include: Marching to the Wrong Tune that describe post World War I policy, strategy, and more; The Maginot Line covering its development, construction and components; Closing the Gaps showing how the French extended their defenses along the frontier, modernized and economized on the fortifications; Sea and Air Defense examines another aspect of the French defensive system; March to Defeat shows what the Germans knew and public expectations as war approached; and the French at War covers the campaign and the role and use of the fortified systems.
The book also includes many amazing drawings, maps and numerous useful tables of data excellent drawings of the Maginot Line, tanks, ships, aircraft etc. Why there are no photos in this remarkable book seems strange, despite the excuses given in some of the other Amazon reviews. This is a book I strongly recommend especially because of the useful drawings and charts that, with the text, help the reader understand French strategy and the role of French fortifications in World War II.

A fine introduction to French defensive systems of World War II. In six chapters this book covers the inter-war period through World War II. The challenge of the French military after the Great War in deciding on doctrine and dealing with a basic demobilization of their forces is the theme of the first chapter. The next chapter covers the creation of the Maginot Line and how it was built and organized. The third chapter describes how the gaps in the French front between the Maginot Line and sea were covered including the Maginot Extension of the New Fronts and also the little known Mareth Line in Tunisia. Chapter 4 describes the naval and air defenses of the French nation. Chapter 5 and 6 deal with the events leading to the 1940 campaign, German intelligence on the French fortifications, and a summary of the events of the campaign showing the relationship of the fortifications to French strategy and some of the positive aspects the high command failed to take advantage of. There are many drawings in the book of more than just the Maginot Line. They include maps of the defenses, drawings of aircraft, ships and tanks and even perspectives of not just the Maginot line positions, but even a 340-mm gun turret block of the coastal defenses at Toulon! The book is a little pricey at almost $50, but the $10 CD supplement that I ordered from Merriam Press has many more illustrations including photos (there are no photos in the book)and copies of pre-war German plans although I do not know why this CD was not included with the book. This is about the best general work covering all aspects of the French defenses that I have seen in English.

I received this book with the Osprey Maginot Line book this week. After reading both, I find that it would have been nice to have similar colorful illustrations like those in the Osprey book included here. Unlike, the reviewer "Jackie", I do not think the book is seriously lacking in text, but maybe in illustrations. I have also noticed a number of typos and what appear to be editing errors. Still the work provides a good detailed description of the Maginot Line and also information on the Mareth Line of Tunisa and other French defenses. There is an amazing amount of information packed in this 200 page book. I am not aware of the CD mentioned by the other reviewers (maybe someone will add details), but this is a great book for those interested in what was going on on the "other side of the hill." I would give it a solid "4 Stars" but have made it "5 Stars" to compensate for "Jackies" distortions.

This small book is a wonderful introduction to the history and technical details of the Maginot Line. The author, not only describes the Maginot Line, but he also places the Maginot Line into context within the overall French strategy of defense in the 1920's and 1930's. He looks at the strategic plans that the French had developed before the outbreak of WWII, and at the attempt to modernize and rearm the French Army, Navy and Air Force during this time period. The author has included many wonderful drawings, maps and numerous useful tables of data about the Maginot Line, tanks, ships, aircraft etc.
One unfortunate choice that the publisher made about the book was the decision not to use the many photos that the author had gathered, many from his own photo collection. The publisher wanted to limit the overall size and cost of the book. Therefore the author has compiled a CD-ROM to accompany the book that contains many photos and additional maps and interesting material taken from German Pre-1940 intelligence documents. The CD adds to the overall strength of this book. (...)
I highly recommend this title to anyone interested in the Maginot Line and French Defense in 1940.

This book has been an excellent source for information concerning Drake's life and the violent political era in which he lived. The combination of several authentic and contemporary 16th Century sources give validity to the generous amounts of information contained therein. Sir Francis Drake became a man of destiny, with the flaws and foibles all such heroic men have; the book shows many examples of his brave humanity in a very brutal age, as well as the hard decisions he had to make in the name of fulfilling his pledge to Queen Elizabeth I to complete the grand and dangerous voyage. The details of his actions during the attack on the Spanish Armada showed a clear picture of his part in the battles; likewise the events after his being knighted were noted (often such progressive accomplishments of his life as a man and official of Plymouth have been beglected in other books). As a writer currently working on an illustrated chronicle of Drake's Circumnavigation, I feel most grateful for the excellent period portraits, pictures and maps which have helped me to gain more visual insight into the complexities of Elizabethan Maritime History. The work has been well-researched; it breathes life into a bygone age, the effects of which still reverberates over 400 years later.

I started this book expecting to read of the charismatic sea dog and protestant zealot of school history lessons. Instead a far more complicated and contradictory picture of a man who to modern eyes is both admirable and despicable - much like the Queen he served.

Here Drake is a man of paradoxes. He started his career on slave ships but grew to despise the trade and became the first European to interact with the Cimarrons - escaped slaves - as equals. Drake was capable of fiery nationalism, and a passionate hatred of Spanish Catholicism but yet consistently treated his Spanish prisoners with the utmost courtesy. Perhaps the greatest duality of Drake was one that was apparent during his own lifetime - his dual service of personal fortune and national, English protestant, interest. To Drake these were not as distinct as they seem today, but perhaps it is the only fault of this book that they are not better resolved.

John Cummins' excellent book practically reads itself, a highly recommended look at an amazing and complicated man.

Reading about Drake's many seagoing professions, I can't help relating his exploits to those of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs. While your average corporate adventurer doesn't risk life and limb on long maritime voyages, the desire for fame and fortune is the same.

Francis Drake, as Cummins presents him, was a man of common birth who sought to make a name and a great deal of wealth for himself. Early in his career he was a slave trader along with John Hawkins, but if we are to believe what Cummins says, he found it distasteful.

He later took to a highly successful career as a corsair and explorer, raiding Spanish shipping for gold and becoming one of the first men to circumnavigate the Earth. Cummins' portrayal of Drake as an egalitarian holds up under scrutiny. He employed men of many backgrounds in his crews including African Cimarrons who had escaped from slavery under the Spanish and fled into the jungles of Latin America.

Cummins explores Drake's exploits in great detail without apparent bias. He doesn't shy away from showing the man's less appealing traits in his portrait. One of the things that stood out was Drake's behavior during the battle with the Spanish Armada. Drake had a hard time suppressing his piratical urges when he often was needed for more military endeavors. Nevertheless, Drake stands out primarily as a man of honor in a tumultuous time.

If you enjoy biographies, history or just a good pirate tale (that's real!) I highly recommend this book. It's a fascinating story of a man whose inner passion and desire for glory drove him to great things.

I started this book expecting to read of the charismatic sea dog and protestant zealot of school history lessons. Instead a far more complicated picture emerges, a man who to modern eyes is both admirable and despicable - much like the Queen he served.

Here Drake is a man of paradoxes. He started his career on slave ships but grew to despise the trade and became the first European to interact with the Cimarrons - escaped slaves - as equals. Drake was capable of fiery nationalism, and a passionate hatred of Spanish Catholicism but yet consistently treated his Spanish prisoners with the utmost courtesy. Perhaps the greatest duality of Drake was one that was apparent during his own lifetime - his dual service of personal fortune and national, English protestant, interest. To Drake these were not as distinct as they seem today, but perhaps it is the only fault of this book that they are not better resolved.

John Cummins' excellent book practically reads itself, a highly recommended look at an amazing and contradictory man.

The Key to Sir Francis Drake was that he was in the essence a shallow water boatman.The technique of long distance navigation had been discovered and exploited by the time Drake hit the water. Drakes first edge in his line of work was that he sailed to the West Indies with shallow water boats on board his transatlantic ships, in partially assembled form or complete 'ready for action' towed behind. His second edge was that he had the sponsorship of the Queen of the Realm, E1. With The Royal Patronage, like 007 he could do whatever, no problem. Let Sir Fancis test his new maritime tactics in the shallow lagoons and bays of the Caribbean against the hated Espanish, if he succeeds everybody's rich, if he fails he's dead. In the early years Sr. Francis exploited every advantage; particularly the huge differences in time and distance between the government of Spain and its Western claims. In Francis' time those regions barely qualified as any governmental area, so far from authority and management they were. Happening upon a likely victim, our pirate simply cut a deal with the site governors, the treasure caravan leaders, and the treasure ship captains in transit. Francis took most but left enough to make the employees rich. He cast off with fair regards for all people, and everybody involved looked forward to the "Good Pirates" return next season. Philip of Spain was more circumspect. Over a period of years he established his authority via clear management lines of responsibility and procedures for the transportation of loot and filthy lugar. After the Spanish King consolidated his realm, Sr. Francis days were done. The Spanish had yet another use for our pirate hero. It was Spanish Literature that was first to elevate Sr. Francis to the place of folk hero, epic warrior, and national poltergeist. For a generation whisper of "El Dragon" was sufficient to warn every child to bed and more importantly every shipping manager, captain and dock clerk to do his best for King and kind.

It's best monography of French WW I aviation in Englisch language. Marvelous plans (in modeler's scales!), hundreds high-quality bw photos, lot of useful information in text. In minus - there are small number of colour plates. If you interested in WW I aviation, you must have it!

This is a massive book that tells everything there is to know about every aircraft developed by the French during WW1. I had no idea there were so many. Very detailed and very well done. Hundreds of pictures and three view drawings. Full color illustrations in the back. It is a bit pricey. Is it worth it? If you are a hardcore fan of French WW1 aircraft...yes.

This is truly an honest and inspiring testimony of amother's experience with prenatal diagnosis and termination. Itchallenges the notion that God would never guide a woman to choosetermination when a genetic anomaly is prenatally diagnosed. Mrs. Lyon is open about how she struggled with guilt and depression, but has now found a healthy way to cope with her pain. It should be read by any Christian person put in this position who is struggling with a life-changing decision.

This is XXL book not only in its size and weight, but mostly for the contents. I wish I had similar on other air services of Great War. No doubt is worth the money paid...because it accumulates huge amount of systematic information which helps in orientation among sometimes confusing mess of names and abbreviations of French air service. All planes (even prototypes and concepts) have at last one photograph. For example Nieuports are covered on 70 large pages, SPADs on 50 - monographs of its own. Taking in account the difficulties caused by destroying many of original sources it must take years for the team to produce it.

This is without a doubt the finest study of French military aircraft during World War One to be published, and will become a classic reference. It presents a very detailed organizational account of the units of the French Air Service, and then a complete detailed account of over 400 aircraft types hat were flown. More than 900 photos, over 180 three-view drawings in 1/72 and 1/144 scales, 25 pages of color art work by Alan Durkota of 56 different aircraft. 1997, new hard bound, color laminated cover, 9 x 12, glossy page stock, 618 pp. FLYING MACHINES PRESS series

Fantastic book. Reading it is like exploring the vanished world of polish stetels. Although I found only one chapter regarding Szczebrzeszyn I highly recomend the book. I wish there would be more translations of Yizkor Books.

This book contains selections from seventy of the more than five- hundred Memorial books of Jewish communities in Poland. As the editors make clear in their introduction 'the memorial books' aim to make certain that the destroyed world of Polish Jewry will not be forgotten.
The books provide in some sense a record of the town they are written about, and often a picture of the people themselves. They connect up with the Jewish traditional Literature of Lamentation. In the words of the authors, " The memorial books came to be seen as substitute gravestones. " The memorial books are structured on a continuum from simple acts of naming to highly elaborated acts of narrative." The authors make clear that even a list of names serves the purpose of remembering. In their introduction the authors quote Shlomo Pultusker," When I review in thought my life in Rozhan, events, splinterrs of half- forgotten memories, appear before my eyes. People , formerly flesh and blood and everyday Jews, were transformed by the tragic events into figures similar to heroes in the dramas one reads.Of all the people of that time, individuals stand out whose names stick in memory..And to these people, most of whose remains lie in no cemetary, may my humble words about them serve as an eternal monument and redeem them from merciless oblivion. With trembling and fear of God I write my modest words, which are no more than a pale reflection of what was in reality."

Three million Polish Jews were murdered in the Shoah.
These books are the fragmented, inadequate witness of what they were.

What this book does, like nothing else, is to recreate the diversity of Jewish life in Eastern Europe prior to the Holocaust. Carefully selected excerpts from hundreds of memorial books in the YIVO library, this book isn't just about some shtetl, but about Zionists and Misnagdim and town councils and about town that, well, "most towns have a town fool, our town was so small that our village idiot was only half-crazy."

Rarely is a book published that causes an entirely new genre of studies to open up. This was the result of the first edition of this book printed in 1983. Before 1983, some scholars, librarians, and genealogical researchers knew of yizkher bikher in general, but up to that time there had not been a major focus on these books as social, historical, and genealogical sources of first-hand knowledge of destroyed communities, to some extent because of language barriers. But as more lay persons began searching their roots in the late 1970s, with interest building in the 1980s and exploding in the 1990s, they started to tap into these remarkable books. The publication of From a Ruined Garden, containing over 70 translated excerpts from Polish yizkor books, illuminated for many lay persons the lost world depicted in these books from which they had been cut off because they could not read them in their original languages, primarily Yiddish and Hebrew. The first edition has long been out of print, but again, in another bit of fortunate timing, a second, expanded edition has been published.

This is a truly splendid compendium of excerpts from various memorial books written after the Holocaust to commemorate the vanished world of Eastern European Jewish life in the shtetlach of Poland. I read it in a sitting and will re-read it in the future. For anyone with the slightest interest in this vanished world, I URGE you to buy this book - give it to your friends, as well.

I am a 15 year old girl who hear about this book by word of mouth. This book was life changing in my current situation. The reality of the events and revelations spawned thoughts and realizations of my own. This book could not have come at a better time in my life. I had myself wondered about some of the things covered in this book. It was aweinspiring and life changing. I have gotten 3 other people to read it and they absolutely loved it also. I recommend this to anyone. Thank you Coach Wade!

a good tale, from the point of a storyteller, rather than a theological point of of view. a perspective of what life will likely be like when "it" happens and how those left behind will cope with things they really don't understand. wade has done a good job of telling how a common man would feel about and deal with the events presented. a "hail mary" ending - a dramatic, surprising and decisive victory (hard earned) in the face of superior force through sacrifice and commitment. good job bill.

Great Christian message from a non-religious novel. Homegrown humor, philosophical concepts and totally unexpected climax make for a short yet powerful read.

Mr. Wade has done in two hundred pages a great job of presenting an alternative to current "apocalyptic" novels. Relevant to todays ongoing Middle Eastern conflicts, interesting theory on blending creation / evolution with ancient history and by concentrating on only the first year of the tribulation, he has given a believable and entertaining look at what could happen in the near future. The use of profanity is minimal but definitly not a read for kids. Knock out ending. Two thumbs up.

the prose gets ya right there (in the heart).
Keep up the good work Mr. Wade

I was greatly impressed by this book. I now use it as a reference for any reading I do on World War II.

I was saddened not to find "Anzio Annie" (aka Leopold and Robert) referenced as such, but comparing google articles I found it to be the "28cm Kanone 5 in Eisenbahnlafette".

I was disappointed to find, as did another reviewer, that mortars and self propelled artillery were not included. Luckily, I had the "German Military Vehicles" catalog to refer to for "Karl" and "Thor".

I would have liked a more comprehensive index by popular names of various artillery. More history of the various railroad guns would have been an added attraction.

Overall, I do like the book. With other reference books and google, it adds to my library.

This book gives historical as well as technical knowledges about German artillery pieces of WWII. And there are lots of photos of them to help reader's understandings. The only regret is there is no chapters for German mortors and rockets of contemparary era. This book, however, should be the best reference to understand German artillery of WWII beyond amature levels.

This is the Best Book on German Artillery of World War II that I have read so far. It covers all artillery from small guns to the biggest Railway and coastal Guns. The technical Data is great and the pictures are very good. It also covers those that were designed but never used in World War II. This is the book for the person that wants to know all about German Artillery in World War II.

The histroy of the development, weapon specifications, ammunition and use of all forms or artillery used by the German armed forces in World War II. Catagories covered include: Field, Infantry, Mountain, Medium, Heavy, Superheavy, Railway, Anti-Tank, Costal, and Recoiless artillery. Illustrated with 250 photos and 150 drawing. Text is by one of today's outstanding writer of military history and technology, Ian Hog

I'm an italian student and I find this book the best one under the tecnical aspect. There are a lot of details, photoes and dates. This is certanly the best catologue of the german artillery of WWII that an amatour can read. N.B.: for the non-english people. Language is quite difficult in this book, it isn't very simple to read.

This well detailed highly insightful book on this formidable weapon of the Kriegsmarine is a must have for anyone interested in the naval actions of WWII. It gives insightful information on these ships, their weapons and the men who manned them, the tactics they used and as their battles.

Excellant book

The content is wide and varied, with coverage of actual actions you don't usually see in this type book. There are many vignettes scattered about telling the story of certain people or operational aspects and events. One problem that may bother some is that there is very little organization to the book. Pictures and information on the the S-boats' typical enemies are also included, but it can be distracting because it is scattered around. You can't really sit down and read it straight through, but in my view it is mainly for reference anyway. In that role it is the best book available on the Schnellboote currently available.

Jean-Philippe Dallies-Labourdette and Bruno Pautigny book S-Boote, does a very good job of telling the story of the German Navy's version of MTB's/PT-Boats (note: S-Boote were bigger, initially more heavily armed, and used more effectively than their allied equivalent). In this book, the authors tell us about the initial development of S-boote (their pre-war years) and follow it up with a very good year by year summary of how the S-boote did and what their equivalent were like at the same time period.

Overall, this book is really a 4.5 star book, but since Amazon doesn't support half stars, I had to round down this time because there aren't that many descriptions of engagements, especially given the price of the material. However, the pictures are great, there's interesting material on the types of mines the German Navy used, and some good general material that can keep wargamers, modeler, or historians interested.

This book is one of the few that deals with the German Schnell-Bootes - a small but ferocious and important corps.
The Schnell-Bootes, or in English: E-Boats, were the fastest ships on the sea, using special scientific advances. They were the scourge of British coastal convoys. This book is also recent so the author has included the Lyme Bay attack, which nearly averted D-Day, and thus could have change the war.
The text is short and to the point, all important aspects covered. The photos are just stunning!

Another great large format photo book from "Histoire & Collections". Hundreds of quality photos supplemented with many two page artist color renderings of different S/E boat types and Flotilla insignia. Included are many photos of crew members showing uniforms and personal equipment. The text covers construction, history, types, tactics and personnel. A must for the hobbiest and those interested in the Kriegsmarine.

In recent years there have been a number of books published featuring color photography of the World War II era. George Forty's GERMANY AT WAR is unique in focusing solely on the Third Reich and its rise and fall. Featuring over 280 images, Forty's book is a fascinating, compelling visual guide to that long-ago evil empire.

The photographs in GERMANY AT WAR run the gamut from 'glamour' shots of Hitler, Nazi officials, Generals, Admirals and various war heroes to frontline photos of Wehrmacht soldiers freezing on the Russian front; homefront scenes of ecstatic Germans celebrating Der Fuhrer's rise balanced by later shots of ravaged German cities; assorted German airplanes, tanks and ships; photos of Jews, Gypsies and other victims of the Third Reich; etc.

Some of the images have appeared previously but in black and white. Seeing those images in color does produce a more visceral response. Those previously black-and-white villains and assorted scenes take on life. Looking at the party rally photographs, for instance, you start to laugh at the ridiculous appearance of some of those Nazi henchmen in their comic-opera uniforms until you remember those 'super-men' helped kill illions of people.

Given its broad coverage of Third Reich personalities and events, GERMANY AT WAR is a wonderful time-capsule and a must-have selection. It really brings the Third Reich to life. Recommended.

Este livro do Geroge Forty trata essencialmente de um ensaio fotográfico da Alemanha durante a 2ª Guerra Mundial. Com mais de 300 fotos a cores, é possível ser transportado para a época examente pela cor das fotos que variam ente a vida comum do dia-a-dia do povo alemão quanto a vida no front.

Em um conflito onde a maioria das fotos são em preto e branco, uma copilação de exposições a cores dá uma sensação diferente, trazendo uma realidade que intrínsecamente se encontrava distante devido ao distanciamente provocado pela falta de cor. Com esse livro a questão se coloca diferente. Lá estão vários personagens importantes da Alemanha na época vestindo os uniformes em uma naturalidade nunca antes vista. Tal naturalidade, provocada pela cor, é um dos pontos máximos desta obra de Forty.

O texto é bem simples e pequeno, apenas apresentando ao leitor uma introdução e contextualização do período de forma que este se localize tanto geograficamente quanto temporalmente. Há também, para cada foto, um pequeno texto acompanhando.

Porém o autor, que já foi diretor e curador do famoso Museu de Tanques de Bovington em Dorset na Inglaterra, inexplicavelmente apresenta alguns erros no texto que acompanha as fotos que, para um olho treinado como o dele não deveria acontecer. Como por exemplo na página 154 na foto do Stuka. Obviamente que os mecânicos não estão em cima da asa do avião aproveitando o sol do Mediterrâneo e sim fazendo um contrapeso de modo que o avião seja puxado para fora do buraco onde está atolado. Tal foto é repetida no livro Luftwaffe Colours - Stuka Volume One de Peter Simth publicado pela Classic na página 49. Segundo Smith, o Stuka não está no Mediterrâneo e sim na França durante a primeira ofensiva alemã na Batalha da Inglaterra.

E na foto da página 170, está claro que Hitler examina junto ao Dr. Porsche um tanque alemão, no caso o protótipo do SdKfz 184 Ferdinand (ou Elefant) e não no PzKpfw VI Tiger Ausf. E.

Afora estes pequenos contratempos, o livro é muito bom e recomendado tanto para modelistas quanto para historiadores e aficcionados.

I commend the author & editor for the selection of photos & informed captioning. This book is unlike no other in that it shows the full glamour of the Nazi's in color & helps serve to explain why they had such appeal to their fellow countrymen. The pictures have been excellently reproduced here & the printing is of the highest quality (I have the hardcover). If you want forget the evil for a moment & see the Nazi's as the world saw them at both the genesis & height of their power, awe-inspiring, you should have this book as a photo companion any history you read. The devastation of the war & holocaust is included to bring you back to reality.

This book is a compilation of color photographs from Nazi Germany during the Third Reich era. The photos were from archives as well as participants' personal collections. There are photos of the military in battle, the politicians prosecuting the war (especially Hitler), and ordinary citizens on the home front. The author adds narrative background information on the war from the German perspective. While there are several books of American wartime color photography, this is the first I have seen from the enemy point of view. I recommend it to all persons interested in visual imagery from the Second World War.

This is a fantastic collection of color photographs from Nazi Germany. They are a combination of pictures from offical archives and personal collections, most of which I have never seen before. The photos include everything from party rallies and parades, to the Russian front and the Luftwaffe. Many are just pictures of everyday life in the Third Reich. They include both the leading henchmen of the day, as well as ordinary Germans and even Jews and other persecuted persons. As I was flipping through the book, I was really struck by how the sharp color photographs made the images that much more real and personal. The picture quality is excellent and many of the photos look like they could have been taken yesterday. This is quite the contrast to the black and white photographs that we have all seen, which just don't convey the same feeling of realism and proximity. With these, you really feel like you could be "there" and thus the era is brought to life. Highly recommended for students of Third Reich history.

I have always liked this book, with its vast international canvas and 'fin de siecle' feel. It was the only one HS Bhabra published under his own name, but fans may like to try the thrillers he wrote as A M KABAL too.

Sometimes novelists overreach. Bhabra almost certainly did, when he undertook to write a book that encompasses all the upheaval, dislocation, pain, betrayal and romance of pre-WWII Venice and post-WWII Amsterdam, as seen through the eyes of an aging aristocratic British career diplomat. Yet what is astonishing is how close this book comes to perfection. It is, after whatever criticism one might have of the plot and the development of the central character, a beautifully written book that displays a formidable knowledge of history and geography. You may not remember the twists and turns of the story, but you will never forget the sense of being completely engrossed in the world that Bhabra creates and of the array of emotions it evokes. It may not be a perfect book, if in fact there is such a thing, but it comes within a hair's breadth of being so. Don't miss it.

For those who appreciate the old-fashioned British style of novel writing, this Penguin paperback telling of life as a British consul in the 1920's-1930's Venice will be a delight. The man plays as if in his 80's, writing of his youthful work when sent out to Venice. (The author in fact seems to be an Anglo-Indian born in 1955!) He tells of interesting English ex-patriates enjoying the cheap prices of post-WWI Europe, and life in Venice amongst their charms, their parties, their endless hours of leisure. He becomes fond of one Jewish art appraiser and comes to his rescue, he finds himself in confusion over love, and he comments always as if he were now very old and considering all of it again, but in retrospect.

I thoroughly enjoyed this style, and his ability to keep one attached and interested in the motley characters who are tied together by time, place, English language and money, but who then find themselves blown apart by the rise of the Fascisti and the revolutionary forces afloat in Europe.

...It is a joy to read, and transports the reader to a world that is lost and which few of us living today ever knew existed. But that is only part 1.
It gets better! Taking up the narrative twenty years later in the shambles of post-war Amsterdam, the story, like life, gets deeper. I guessed at less than half of the intrigues and interconnections that are revealed in the denouement.
I was up half the night trying to finish this book, and the other half trying to comprehend what I had read. It is a compelling commetary on the interplay of good and evil, the limits of government, and the tension between truth and diplomacy. I was left turning over in my mind the well-worn words of Edmund Burke "In order for evil to flourish, all that is required is for good men to do nothing". But which of us is good, and which "nothing" should we not do?

I hesitate writing a review for this book because I fear I lack the words to do it justice. Still, I like to try - if only for the hope that maybe I end up saying something that might convince another reader to pick up this exceptional novel. Certain that he/she will at the end agree that the reading of this novel has been one of the richest reading experiences in his/her life; I know it has been for me.

I first read Gestures over a decade ago and the memory of that experience is still vivid in my mind. What H.S. Bhabra managed to do was draw me in in such an artful way that I wasn't even aware of what was happening. And not until I found myself surrounded by the atmosphere of the characters and places was it that I knew that I was lost in the tale that H.S. Bhabra was telling. A tale told with the virtuosity of an extremely gifted writer.

Like the other reviewer I too stayed up till deep in the night, experiencing a wide range of emotions and feelings that to this day impresses me deeply. Rarely has an author's words managed to evoke half that many emotions and feelings from me as H.S. Bhabra has.

I could, of course, talk about what befalls the characters. Tell about their fate, the places they visit, the relations they have, but I won't. I won't because I'd hate to ruin the surprise. All I will say is that to not read this novel will make you poorer by having missed out on what undoubtedly would have been one of the best reading experiences of your entire life. A big statement, yet I'm certain of its truth.

One last remark. For years I've searched for other books by H.S. Bhabra, to my surprise Amazon did not even have Gestures for sale (this made me anxiously guard my copy of Gestures as I feared losing it and never again being able to read it), and today was the first time when searching for books by Bhabra yielded results. To my surprise I found Gestures. :) It makes me very happy to see this story in print again (it was first published in Great Britain in 1986). Some stories are simply too great to ever be out of print.