Europe Books

This is a beautiful black & white collection of photographs of Greece, mostly taken in the mid to late 1960's. These are 'true life' photographs; some deeply emotional, some merely depicting day-to-day activities, but all are wonderful. The whole collection gives the reader a flavor of the 'real' Greece. The photographer is a true artist and I would happily purchase any other collections of his work, sight unseen, if this collection is representative of his artistic vision (and I feel confident it is).

The black and white images show what every day life was like in Greece when Manos made these pictures. The pictures speak to the heart and show the darkness and light in life, which is what black and film does best. Manos obviously had to have been in Greece long enough to understand the people and their lives and his pictures show it. This is a book to treasure.

If it is true that a picture is worth a thousand words, then Manos' "A Greek Portfolio" speaks volumes! Mr. Manos has captured (thankfully!) a Greece that is now more or less gone. Luckily for us, he was photographing at a time before McDonalds became an everyday sight, before "Rooms to Let" signs dotted the landscape, before everyone owned a cellular phone. Even in remote and rural parts of Greece today, it is rare to find images, activities, and people similar to those seen in this book. As an anthropologist, I think this is a great ethnographic work; as a Greek-American I think this is wonderful "window" to the homeland of yore!

will love this book. It captures a time in our existence as human beings and particularly for those who trace their heritage to Greece that is unparalleled in art. These photographs, in your quiet moments of reflection, will warm your heart and soul, and for Greeks and those who love Greece, will remind you of the importance of history and the story told through art.

Consta is one of the best photographer/printers of the day. His willingness to not only capture the moment to convey feeling, but to take great strides in the darkroom to further his view is a rarity nowadays. This additional emphasis is evident in all of this Magnum photographer's work, but most so in "A Greek Portfolio". He uses a minimum of equipment, yet achieves a height of awareness in this monograph not present elsewhere. If one has the chance to see the original prints on display, do so!

I've got it and you don't! Too bad. It's outta print. I called the publisher and they are not reissuing. Go find it used. It is worth every penny ($85 I paid) if you need or desire to ID gulls.

This book is a must have for every birdwatcher! If you have problems with indentifying gulls, this is the book to have! It anwers all my questions I have about gull distribution and indentification. Now I know how to Indentify those Ring-billed Gulls that I see in the parking lot. Also I have a better outlook on where they came from as Well!

The size and massive detail in this new book on identifying the gulls of the Northern Hemisphere is likely to deter most readers from more than a cursory leafing through its lovely paintings and photographs. But if you're curious to learn more about these common but highly varied, many-shades-of-gray birds around us, and you happen to live in a coastal area as I do, with more than a few gulls that are hard to identify during the winter, this might be a book to look into more thoroughly.

A caution though: gulls can be notoriously difficult to identify accurately, since they have so much finely detailed, age-related plumage variation. But an effort to simply knuckle-down and learn more about all this, such as this book amply provides, can pay off greatly in much greater detective-fun trying to figure out all these heretofore anonymously gray gulls sailing and prowling around us here each year. It's already helped me develop better skills in figuring out nearly all the varied groups of gulls around us here more quickly than I would have heretofore thought possible. And to more quickly decide which birds you can or cannot more accurately identify...and why.

The detailed accounts and maps of the distribution and relative abundance of various gull species have also helped me better understand where the gulls that migrate through or winter in our area are likely to have come from. And, finally, as you delve more deeply into what's known about all these gull species, and their European and Asian counterparts, it becomes obvious that the series of beautiful, comparative paintings and color photographs provided in such detail for each species in its various age-plumages, subspecies, and hybrid-forms is worth the price of the book alone.

Well....maybe not easy....but, not through any fault of this book! The book starts with a lesson on the various body parts, as you will need to know many of these in order to ascertain what gull you have sitting in front of you. A comparison of the wings comes next. Then, it goes through each gull species and all of its plumages, including the months you might expect to see them in that plumage. It ends by discussing the various hybrids. If you ever hope to get beyond referring to gulls as "gull sp.," this book will do it. When you hear other birders refer to "the gull bible," this is it!!! However, don't think that this is a field guide you might want to carry in a fanny pack...it's a heavyweight!

growing up with the knowledge that there are just a few "kinds" of gulls and realising after a while that all the gulls you knew are now called somthing compleatly different (the whole herring,yellow legged,caspian,armenian,lesser black backed,sibirian etc. complex). this is the book we were all looking for, easy to use and extremly proffesional.
another good birding book to have around.

This is an excellent chronicle of the Italo-Ethiopian conflict and then of the battles in Africa during WWII between Italy and Britain. It is narrated very well and I rarely felt lost or confused. This is a great book and would be a welcome edition to any library.

This is probably the only generally available book on both of the wars involving Ethiopia during the 30s and 40s. Haile Selassie was the Emporer or Ethiopia from 1930 until the 60s, and this book recounts first the conquest of the country by Italy in 1936, then the colonialization of the country during its occupation, and finally the liberation of the nation in 1941 by the British. Besides the Emporer himself, the book involves many interesting characters, from Archibald Wavell, Winston Churchill, Orde Wingate, and William Slim, around to Rodolfo Graziani, the Duke of Aosta, and Benito Mussolini. The setting is Ethiopia itself, a vast, mostly trackless country, full of warring tribes, warlords vying for power, and foreigners trying to stay out of danger.

Mockler's interest, for the most part, is recounting the basics of the conflict. He pays special attention to the effect of the changing face of Ethiopian politics on the various personalities in the nation, and of course those outside it but involved in the narrative. Mockler starts the account by telling the story of the Battle of Adowa in the 1890s, where the Italians tried to conquer the country in order to turn it into a colony. Ethiopia was one of two countries who were still not colonies at that time, and Italy coveted it as a colony. The Ethiopians were stronger than other tribes that resisted colonialization, and of course the Italians weren't as well organized as the British or as ruthless as the Belgians. The defeat at Adowa left the Italians jealous and angry, thinking that the Ethiopians had rejected colony status, and of course all Europeans at the time imagined that subject people wanted, or at least should want, to be subjects of a European nation.

One difficulty that I had with the book is pretty much outside the parameters of what the writer can control. The country of Ethiopia and the people have very strange, foreign-sounding names. Of course they don't sound foreign to them, but to an American, they're hard to take in. One city discussed repeatedly in the text is called Debra Markos (sounds like a waitress at a diner in New Jersey to me) and one of the warlords is named Endalketchew. I always wanted to say Gesundheit when I saw his name.

Outside of that, I enjoyed the book a great deal. The author deals with the issues presented by the events intelligently, and the result is a very good book.

Haile Selassie's War is a historical account that should satisfy the professional and amateur historian alike. On the whole the author handles a set of material that is highly complex and potentially confusing (such as the intrigues of the Ethiopian nobles) and does a great job in keeping up with them without losing the reader along the way.

Due to the vast subject matter, we get to know everyone and everything a little, but largely superficially. Even in regard to the Emperor himself, we follow his rise to power and intrigues with his often-rebellious nobles and rivals, but we get to know little of this man apart from his political actions. What were the influences of his boyhood and early manhood? What was the impact of his diminutive size in terms of his prestige among other, more warlike nobles. Perhaps these things can no longer be determined. But others might have been answerable, such as who was the Empress and what was her influence? What of his sons, his daughters? We get little back-story and meet most of them whilst he is already an exile in England.

On the whole, though, I can have nothing but admiration for Mockler's treatment of the subject. I found the book immensely readable, despite the odd grammatical "gremlin". Although I am a historian by profession I often find large historical monographs of this ilk very hit and miss; I usually find myself skimming through pages and chapters to pick up the story at a more interesting place. With this one, however, I didn't skip a single paragraph and found it all completely fascinating. I also enjoyed the small doses of dry humour injected by Mockler in places, especially where he allows the personalities of some of the characters involved to shine through a little, like the Italian pilot "Gina's brother", "Lawrence of Ethiopia" Ord Wingate, and of course the indefatigable Wilf Thesiger.

And finally, while there are no blushes spared from either Italian (for its harsh regime), British (for their distinct lack of enthusiasm for the Emperor's cause) or Ethiopian (for their serial treachery and indeed the Emperor's own brand of harsh justice) perspectives, insufficient attention, I believe, is focused on the war crimes of the fascists, in particular the use of mustard gas and large-scale execution of civilians (these are examined only cursorily).

The maps, family trees, chronologies and biographical index were all very useful tools - but what about a few photographs? Certainly a picture or two can assist the reader with fixing images in their minds of the personalities and the landscapes being discussed in the text. It would have enhanced my reading of this book quite a bit. My only other irk with this book was the large number of quotations in French and Italian that the author had not bothered to translate for us. I can get by on my high-school French but it is perhaps a little unreasonable of the author to expect readers to be fluent in several languages, when a simple translation in the footnotes would suffice.

Nonetheless I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the history of Ethiopia, East Africa, World War II, Fascist Italy or Haile Selassie (Ras Tafari) himself.

Ras Tafari, last Emperor of Ethiopia, otherwise known as Haile Selassie, lived the last of his days during the 1970s as a weird diplomatic footnote, but in his prime, he was equal to his title "Lion of Judah." Upon ascending to the Ethiopian throne in the mid 1930s - an ancient and fascinating institution, due to the unique Christian heritage of Ethiopia - he was forced to defend his homeland against the Italian invader. Though his troops fought bravely, Selassie was forced temporarily to seek exile in Bath (England), where he languished for about four years. Then, in 1940, the British Army was able to deliver vengeance to the Italians, as they extinguished the entire Italian presence in East Africa, rolling up Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia and returning Selassie to Addis Abbaba. Mockler's account of Haile Selassie's two wars is meticulous and well-written, and includes interesting stories about a number of highly significant players such as Orde Wingate (the T.E. Lawrence of WW2), the Duke of Aosta (and Italian prince who got tangled up in the Abyssinian adventure) and Mussolini.

This is probably one of the best war histories ever written. Mockler's superb book outlines the causes, actions and consequences of the Italo-Ethiopian conflict from Italy's first (foiled) attempt at conquest in 1896 at Adowa to Haile Selassie's final overthrow in the early 1970s by a military junta.
Mockler was exceedingly fortunate to have interviewed some of the people who appear in his book. Many were old men and several were later reported murdered by the Marxist Dengue that set up shop after throwing Selassie out.
Most of the story focuses on the 1936 war between the two countries when Fascist Italy conquered feudal Ethiopia, the last independent nation in Africa at the time. So often portrayed as barefoot and spear-carrying warriors, Mockler shows us that parts of the Ethiopian Army were fairly well-armed and trained. But it was still underdeveloped and relied heavily on massed attacks that guaranteed being massacred by the mechanized, well-equipped Italians. The book continues through the Italian occupation, the Ethiopian resistance, the declaration of war between Italy and Britain in World War Two, the Emperor's return and Ethiopia's eventual independence. It is rife with intrigue, plots and treachery, as Ethiopian nobles plotted with and against each other to see who would eventually wear the crown. It is an exquisitely crafted piece of work and it is a great great shame that it is no longer in print.

I had never heard of Hannah Senesh until I planned to go to Israel and was looking at possible places to visit. After I heard about her I wanted to know more. This book tells the story, in her own words of how a young Jewish woman came to be an Israeli hero. It makes me wonder if I too would have the courtage of conviction to stand up for something even to death. A very remarkable story indeed.

Hannah Senesh is known as the Joan of Arc of Israel, and is a national heroine in that little country of heroes and heroines.
Her poems are learned by heart in Israel, and her acts of courage, self-sacrifice and love for her people, has led to forests, parks, streets and settlements throughout the country being named after her.

Her diary, which begins when she was 13, shows her remarkable spirit, intelligence and love for the Jewish people and the Land of Israel.
At the age of 23 she returned to Hungary as part of an Allied to mission to save Jews from the Nazi death machine. She was captured by the Nazis and tortured to reveal more about the mission and her comrades, but never broke under these circumstances. Her heroic and cruel death at the hands of the Nazis is recounted.

The book is divided into several sections:
Memories of Hannah's Childhood by Catherine Senesh, the Diary, the Letters, and the acounts by friends and comrades of her courageous mission into Hungary, and her cruel death at the hands of the Nazis.
The final section consists of a reproduction of some of Hannah's finest poems.

Hannah Senesh was born in 1921 to an assimilated Jewish family. Her father, a sucesful journalist and playwright died when Hannah was 6 years old. She was enrolled in a Protestant school. The deteriorating situation of the Jews in Hungary led Hannah to embrace Judaism and Zionism-the national liberation movement of the Jewish people, which she was passionate about and dedicated to.
She became involved in Maccabea, a Hungarian Zionist students organization.
But she also loved beautiful clothes and ice-skating and was enthusiastic about life and living. She was interested in astrology, spiritualism and development of the soul.
The sensitivity of her gem of a soul and her intelligence is shown in this excerpt from her diary. It could serve as a testament to Hannah Senesh herself:
"There are stars whose radiance is visible on earth though they have long been extinct. There are people whose brilliance continues to light the world though they are no longer among the living. These lights are particularly bright when the night is dark. They light the way for mankind",-
Indeed in these dark days of the resurgance of anti-Semnitism and the Satanic international campaign to destroy Israel, it is comforting and inspiring to read her words.
Also interesting are Hannah's words about Jewish nationhood and Zionism:
'If we had to define Zionism briefly perhaps we could best do so in the words of Nahum Sokolow: "Zionism is the movement of the Jewish people for it's revival.'
In these days when Jews around the world are being pressured by evil forces to renounce Zionism we would do well to remember Hannah's words.
"We canot renounce a single on of our rights, not even if the ridiculous acusation were true- that Zionism breeds anti-Semitism. Anti-Semitism is not the result of Zionism but of Dispersion. But even if were no so, woe to the individual who attempts to ingratiate himself with the enemy instead of following his own route. We can't renounce Zionism even if it does strengthen anti-Semitism...For only Zionism and the establishment of a Jewish State could ever bring about the possibility of the Jews in the Diaspora being able to make manifest their love for their Homeland. Because then they could choose to be part of the Homeland- not be necesity but by free will and free choice".
In these days it is so important to remember her words and her story.

Hannah Senesh is the story every Jew should know, a heroic woman who fought the Nazis, parachutting into Europe in the worlds darkest hour, but beyond that her wonderful diaries tell the story of a young Jeiwsh girl finding herself, and her Jewishness amid the tumult of Europe and the Kibbutzes of Aretz Israel. This is a wonderful new volume on a true Jeiwsh Heroin, a message to all generations that evil must be confronted, ironically sometimes it is the most unlikely people that rise to the occasion. A heartrending book.

Seth J. Frantzman

For such a small stature as Hannah was, she is one of WWII's, strongest women. It is a must read for any philosophical or history buff. In addition, would make a great movie if someone would be wllling to do so.

Once you pick up this book you will devour it. Her life and who she was will remain forever in your memory. I envy her.

For 20 years Hannah's diary still remains so dear to my heart.

The story of Hannah Senesh is the story of a heroine of the Jewish people. This volume contains her diary including a record of her early years in Hungry and her time in Eretz Yisrael, two chapters about her by her mother, and chapters by fellow soldiers in the British Army from the Yishuv who served with her when they were dropped behind enemy lines during the War. Hannah Senesh was the daughter of a well- known Hungarian playwright who died when she was six. She and her older brother were raised by a very caring and devoted mother . In her school where she was outstanding she suffered from Anti- Semitism. And as Nazi power grew in Europe she moved toward a deeper connection to her own Jewishness, at one point announcing that she had become a Zionist. Her diary records her decision to go to Eretz Yisrael, and her years of education there at Nahalal. It is the diary of a spirited, intelligent and idealistic person. She volunteered to serve in the British Army Unit which was to be dropped behind enemy lines in the hope of helping rescue Jews. She and her fellow soldiers from the Yishuv were connected with the Partisans' struggle against the Nazis in Yugoslavia. The day before she was about to enter her native Hungry where she most hoped to help the Nazis entered and took control of Hungry. Upon hearing this news she cried. A friend asked her if this was because she was thinker of her mother. She said ' That the entrance of the Germans to Hungry doomed one - million Hungarian Jews to death. She was not wrong. The greatest share of Hungarian Jews were eventually murdered by the Nazis. She entered Hungry was captured, and was placed in prison. The Nazis brought her mother to the prison , and told Senesh that if she did not give them the information that they wanted the secret radio codes she had they would torture her mother before her eyes. She begged her mother's forgiveness, and she herself was tortured. But she did not give away the information. Eventually she was taken out and shot to death . All those associated with her admired her tremendous courage and integrity .
Her ambition was to be like her father a writer, but not a playwright but a novelist. Her love and dedication to the Jewish people in the land of Israel that she came to love so much are strongly apparent in the work.
Perhaps the best tribute to her is her own words,
"There are stars whose radiance is visible on earth though they have long been extinct.There are people whose brilliance continues to light the world though they are no longer among the living. These lights are particularly bright when the night is dark. They light the way for Mankind.'

Bodian is a scholar, that has weighed the options of the sellability of books vs. insight into history, in this well chronicled book. The difference between the two is that, history can tend to be on the dry side when sticking to facts and reality. Vs. the other which, capitalizes on hype, therefore, diminishing the overall thoroughness of the scholarship.
Bodian's insight into the phenomena of the Spanish and Portuguese Jewish conditions is right on. The Spanish and Portuguese Jews ( S&P Jews) are a particular substrata of Sephardim that suffered a unrelenting persecution from the Catholic Church, otherwise known as: El Santo Oficio de la Inqusicion, The Spanish Inquisition.
Many have tried to put this phenomena, The Jewishness of Crypto-Jews into perspective. Not only is it difficult, on a scholarly level,i.e., to provide a understanding to this aberration of Judaic history. But, the very phenomena of this tragedy, is stained with frustration. On behalf of the mainstream Jewish populace, when addressing the religious status of these isolated people.( I believe that their are political power issues at hand) And the Returness themselves, who want to be accounted as fully Jewish, and rightly so!
Yes, their are provisions made in Judaism for Anusim (forced ones). However, doubt always lingers when people come out from nowhere ( so it seems), and declares...I am Jewish. When, in all sincerity, they all but diapered from the radar of Rabbinical Judaism (in the eyes of some of the Rabbis). But in fact, they have in their hearts been living under religiously oppressive realities, trying to keep the flame of their Jewish souls intact, by whatever means possible. The S&P Jews, have always had to suffer with this stigma. This stigma, lends itself to have to prove one's worthiness( being Jewish) and personhood(dignity) within Jewish circles. This happened then and it happens now. This religious radar, is not the barometer, that constitutes, who is a Jew and who is not a Jew. The barometer is the halacha which lends itself useful to all Anusim irregardless of circumstances or time.
If you follow the literature of today, in regards to this very issue, there are many examples that might sway one to believe that the S&P phenomena is a tragedy of the past. This is not to so, but, in fact the contrary is true. The provisions that are given in the halacha regarding Anusim, are there not only to prove present events, but to guarantee the future ones too, irregardless of their geographical location or time.
Although, Bodian never tampers with this volatile halachic subject, she does present the Ba'alim teshuvah (returnees to G-D's commandments) as suffering internal as well as external pressures given all the difficulties presented in separation from mainstream or rabbinic Judaism. These difficulties are expressed here in Bodain's book very well. It is presented in as, a matter of fact, manner as possible. Which lends itself ultimately, as more credible, rather than the normal patronising, that most scholars tend to gravitate too.
In all, this book is without a doubt a scholarly look at a very fragmented, but integral part of Judaism that needs to be understood rather than dismissed. I recommend it wholeheartedly.

In the last decade of the 16th and first decades of the 17th centuries, Spanish and Portuguese Conversos leave their homelands and come to Amsterdam seeking what author Miriam Bodian calls rejudaization, or what we, today, call conversion as a requirement for full participation in community life and benefits derived by being part of rabbinic Judaism. Affluent, educated, and willing to learn rabbinic Judaism, these Conversos are seeking to learn and to establish Jewish rituals and worship. For example, ex-Conversos seek religious aid from Uri Halevi, an Ashkenazi rabbi from Emden who establishs what is probably the first synagogue in Amsterdam in 1595. When Halevi starts circumcising Conversos, the Dutch authorities arrest him and charge him with circumcising adults who are presumably Conversos. However, Halevi is released and allowed to continue working with the Iberian ex-Conversos and with his help they are able to establish their own rituals by 1603. One of the early Conversos who arrives in Holland is Isaac Pinto. He is overjoyed at having been given the opportunity to practice Judaism, the religion of his Iberian ancestors. Pinto not only learns Judaism, he studies Hebrew and established a synagogue, which he finances in its entirety during his lifetime. Although few of the ex-Conversos have the financial means that Pinto had, they actively participate in the Jewish community life of Amsterdam. However, as the 17th century starts passing, a new type of Converso who views Judaism as a practical necessity begin arriving in Amsterdam. Often times, this group of Conversos wanted to participate in the life of the synagogue and receive the benefits derived from being part of the Jewish community, but had no desire to undergo circumcision. There are examples of uncircumcised Conversos who died in Amsterdam and their families wanted to bury them in the Jewish cemetery of Ouderkerk. The Mahamad (see definition) ruled that the dead Conversos had to be circumcised before they could be buried in Ouderkerk. "Denial of the right of burial [in the Jewish cemetery] was used by the Mahamad in Amsterdam, if not to encourage circumcision, to pressure a few of the émigrés to undergo formal conversion to Judaism. These were persons who unquestionably belonged to the `Nation' but, because of known female old Christian ancestors on their mother's side, were not Jewish according to rabbinical law, which held that Jewishness was transmitted through the mother". The Amsterdam Jewish community was very careful not to upset Spain or Portugal by actively promoting Judaism or openly protecting crypto-Jews on Spanish or Portuguese soil. This was because Amsterdam's ex-Conversos were heavily engaged in commerce as ship owners, diamond and spice traders, and many other activities related to commerce with the Spanish and Portuguese empires. Although the Amsterdam Jewish community probably did not openly help Crypto-Jews in Iberia, there is evidence that some of the many prayer books that were printed in Spanish and Portuguese in Amsterdam were sent to Spain and Portugal or their overseas possessions (Bodian page 199). The Amsterdam ex-Conversos strongly encouraged their friends and relatives in the Iberian Peninsula to leave before the Inquisition find them. The following exerts from letters written by the ex-Converso Abraham Idaña (Gaspar Mendez del Arroyo) to Conversos in Iberia illustrate the feelings of Amsterdam Jews in 1686: "The notion of serving God in one's heart, it is not enough. The law of Moses was given in order to be observed. It is a particularly grave sin to remain uncircumcised. One must flee to lands of freedom and be circumcised without delay. Nor should one delude oneself that good deeds can compensate for failure to observe the Law". The ex-Converso community in Amsterdam was always ready to help newly arrived Conversos who needed help to return to Judaism. If the community could not help the newly arrived Conversos in Amsterdam, the community would aid the new comers to find passage to the Ottoman empire, Italy, or even to the New World where more freedom could be found than in the Iberian Peninsula. Once the ex-Converso community established rabbinic Judaism they began observing Jewish precepts and prohibitions, developed over many centuries, which regulated and restricted relations between Jews and Gentiles. Regardless of this, there is evidence that some ex-Conversos men took lower-class gentile women, often maidservants, as mistresses. From 1600-1623, notarial records reveal instances of sexual relations between Portuguese Jews and gentile women (most of them were Dutch or Scandinavian). Even though it was illegal to have sexual relations between Jews and gentiles under Jewish and Dutch law, few of the ex-Conversos or their mistresses were prosecuted. Bodian tells us that to a degree the fathers of the illegitimate children provided for their support and that a group of fifteen Amsterdam Jewish merchants established a society called Dotar for the purpose of providing a dowry to orphans and poor girls descendants of the Portuguese Nation or Castilian Conversos. It is conceivable that many of the illegitimate daughters of ex-Conversos were eligible and obtained dowry to marry Jews. Eligibility to obtain a dowry was not only for Amsterdam's girls, but it was extended to girls who lived in the Iberian Peninsula, or other parts of Europe, the Ottoman empire, and the New World. Candidates had to prove eligibility by demonstrating that they were descendants of Conversos through either their paternal or maternal line. In order to find suitable candidates for dowries, the Amsterdam ex-Converso community established an elaborated network in many countries. It is possible that the dowry network extended its activity beyond determining eligibility for dowry. The Amsterdam ex-Converso community gained knowledge of rabbinic Judaism rapidly and by the 1630s they had produced their own rabbis and scholars, such as Menasseh ben Israel and Isaac Aboab da Fonseca. The community not only produced brilliant Jewish scholars but as a whole was very active in religious activity and its knowledge of Jewish traditions was adequate, if not brilliant (Bodian page 110). The ex-Converso community learned because of its perseverance to acieve rejudaization.

A Missing Link Discovered

Certainly, any true history such as that written by Miriam Bodian is worthy of much more than five stars. . Professor Bodian chooses not the former when she describes and clearly illustrates the fact that the Ashkenazim (German “Jewry”) were not accepted by The Nation…the “Hebrew Nation”…Iberian Jewry. .... This book is highly recommended for all those of the Hebrew Nation, and for the Ashkenazim, or for anyone interested in Jewry. I also highly recommend it for Christians who would like to establish a sound base insofar as understanding what REALLY went on just before and during the periods when “Jews” started coming to the Americas. Few understand that the first synagogue in New Amsterdam (NYC) was of the Iberian peoples’, the Ashkenazim not arriving till wayyyy late in the game. Professor Bodian’s book, within my Hebrew National Community is about the best thing since apple pie…or shall I say, “empanadas de manzana.” It’s highly recommended for ALL.

Sincerely,

Daniel Enriquez David

This book received the National Jewish Book Award (ceremony was in March 1999) from the Jewish Book Council for best achievement in Jewish History, as well as the Koret Foundation's $10,000 Koret Jewish Book Award for achievement in History (awarded April 1999)

This is a highly academic work of Miriam Bodian, Associate Professor of History and Jewish Studies at Pennsylvania State University. With in-depth research, the author analyses a unique chapter in the history of Judaism: the return of Iberian "conversos" to rabbinical religion and the establishment of the Jewish community in Amsterdam. A remarkable account of the strength and perseverance of a "nation" which clings to its roots despite all adversities. This is cultural "Darwinism..."

I am the author of Eating & Drinking in Italy and Eating & Drinking in Spanish (the What Kind of Food Am I? series). I own, and have used, all of Margo Classe's guides, including Hello France! These guides are thorough and the author adds a personal touch when she describes in detail each hotel she has visited. Hello France! is a must for the independent, budget traveler.

"European hotels do not have facecloths. I always pack mine. Showers: I haven't figured out why some showers don't have shower curtains on them." ~Margo

On my last trip to France, this book would have come in handy. One of the hotels I stayed at in Paris did not even have shower curtains and when I sat on the bed, the bed literally collapsed. This was in a very nice hotel and I was shocked. While the tour guide seemed oblivious to the predicament, I never forgot the experience. The breakfast the next morning and tour was of course worth the effort of having to put the bed back together.

A guide by Margo would have helped me select my own hotel accommodations that weekend. I also found I wanted to spend more time in various locations and a tour to Paris seemed rushed on a weekend. I wanted to spend an entire week, no a month just wandering around France. When we traveled to Provence, I had no idea where to stay and while we found nice hotels, it was purely by chance and we had no idea what to expect. When at the Louvre I wandered around not realizing I could get a portable headset to explain some of the paintings.

Throughout this guide to Budget Hotels in France, Margo selects the best hotels and explains why a double bed is cheaper than twin beds and why you might be able to ask for a "zip and lock" king-size bed (they might put two beds together), but why king-size beds are not something you will find in Budget hotels.

If you love to cook, you might want to look for the Culinary School listing. There are detailed descriptions of all the hotels, including unique creative touches like she mentions the way the rooms are decorated. Will you have to climb stairs, do you want a garden/patio, does the room have a view of the Eiffel Tower?

Margo spent ten weeks traveling around France and went to 30 of the most popular cities to explore the hotels she has written about. She spent her own money and time to produce this book and no hotel or restaurant has paid to be in this book. If where you stay is as important as the sites you will visit, then this is the book for you. A list of French Phrases for checking in is included. If you want to spend more money eating out and touring the cities, then this guide will also help you save money.

~The Rebecca Review

You don't need a roommate to share the cost of travel when you can stay in a delightful Paris hotel for just $50 per night, with a private bath. Margo Classe does our homework for us, finding the little gems that even travel agents don't know about. These are small, Mom & Pop places that are not even listed on the Internet. This book lists the charming, affordable hotels in cities throughout France. Each listing perfectly describes the place in great detail, giving contact info. Her other books do the same for Spain, Italy and Britain & Ireland. If only her books covered the world!

I am the author of Eating & Drinking in France and I have used all of Margo Classe's guides, including Hello France! This guide is thorough and the author adds a personal touch when she describes in detail each hotel she has visited. Hello France! is a must for the independent, budget traveler.

This is the best book I've ever used for finding hotels in Paris and Mont-St. Michel. The rooms were great, clean, well located, and the detailed descriptions of each hotel and best rooms were greatly appreciated and right on the money.

This very useful guide lists hotels for 22 cities. Also includes extra appendices: useful websites, maps, books; what to pack; tips on accommodations; tourist offices; tips on phoning, faxing; useful phrases; schedule of holidays, events; and a reservation form. Directions included for each hotel. Would be useful to have a plot of hotel locations within the city for trip planning. Listing of hotels by zip code is not useful. Excellent overall.

I am the author of Eating & Drinking in Spanish and Eating & Drinking in Italy (the What Kind of Food Am I? series). I own, and have used, all of Margo Classe's guides, including Hello Spain! These guides are thorough and the author adds a personal touch when she describes in detail each hotel she has visited. Hello Spain! is a must for the independent, budget traveler.

This is a great little book about mid-prized hotels in Spain. The authur has obviously visited all of in person. She describes locations,individual rooms,decors and even tells the traveler, who speaks English in the various hotels. She has many helpful tips on what to pack, how to get to the hotels, even how to get a discount. This is a book for the independent traveler and belongs in their luggage. It won't take up a lot of space either.

I enjoyed locating hotels that suited my needs. I mailed a copy of the fax (from the back of the book) to several hotels and I started getting responses within 4 days. I am really happy and can't wait to travel to Spain.

I used this guide to plan a trip for 5 women travelers, including myself. We selected 2 hotels, one in Madrid and the other in Sevilla. All information was accurate and we were more than pleased with our selections. It is a must-read for anyone on a budget and looking for a bargain. What is especially comforting is that the author has personally stayed in all of the places she highlights in the book. I am looking forward to more books by this author, especially England and France.

No writer has done more to further Paris' reputation as an artistic Mecca than Ernest Hemingway. In this wonderful photographic exploration of the mythical city, the reader gets to take a sightseeing trip through the places only previously glimpsed in fiction. The World War II photos are particularly interesting as they exposed me to something I hadn't previously seen -- Hemingway in full army garb.

The author presents an excellent collection of photographs showing France in Hemingway's time and then today. A few modern photographs are contrasted against the past incarnations of the same places. Often the locations retain their quaint picturesque quality. The accompanying text is well written and informative. It does a workable job of presenting Hemingway, Piccasso, and Fitzgerald in the era that the photographs witness.

An interesting tidbit in the text was the fact that American "starving artists" during the Lost Generation years were hardly starving. Because the dollar to franc exchange rate was so advantageous, a full 3 course meal with wine could be had for the equivalent of $.20.

From Hemingway's early romantic days in the Lost Generation Paris of the 1920's, to his swashbuckling exploits in the French countryside and his liberation of the Paris Ritz Hotel during World War II, and to his troubled final years when he returned to Europe and France in a failed search for rejuvenation, it is clear that Hemingway truly loved France.

With "Hemingway's France: Images of the Lost Generation," it is clear that Winston Conrad loves France as well. Conrad traveled extensively in France to gather the material for this book, and his passion for France and Paris (and of course Hemingway) are evident on every page as he attempts to show the reader why this country and city left such a grand impression on the biggest star of 20th century literature.

Conrad writes a clear, thorough biography of Hemingway, with France serving as a common thread throughout, but the feature that makes this book stand out is the great number of rarely seen photos of Hemingway and friends. We see Hemingway demonstrating deep sea fishing gear in the late 1950's, we see him dressed in dapper travel attire as his driver prepares their car, we see him riding on the back of a sidecar motorcycle during World War II, we see him sitting on the windowsill of his Paris apartment in the late 1920's, we see him in a rocking chair with his infant son Bumby...and for the Hemingway fan who has seen it all, these "new" pictures are like seeing an old friend after a long time apart. Not only do we see him, but we are treated to views of Hemingway's France that give a clear and confirming image of all those wonderful settings that we find in Hemingway's books. Conrad, a photographer of obvious talent, shows us Hemingway's haunts as they appear today, and often contrasts his own beautiful color photos with the vintage black and white photos of the same haunts from Hemingway's day; it makes for an effective mix of nostalgia and immediacy.

Conrad divides the book into nine chapters, each focusing on a different part of the French experience that today would be hard to discuss without mentioning Hemingway's name: The Literary Scene in Paris, Cafes, Restaurants and Nightlife, The Artists, Sports, The South of France, World War II, Bullfights, The Feast Moves On. All are well written, but the chapters on Hemingway's early years in Paris and later, his experiences as a combination soldier/journalist during the second World War stand out.

A pleasant surprise comes in Chapter 4 ("The Artists") with the reprints of some of Gerald Murphy's paintings. Murphy, in most Hemingway and Fitzgerald biographies, always serves as a footnoted rich benefactor to the talented writers and painters in 1920's France. But he was also an accomplished painter, and Conrad shows us some of Murphy's wonderful paintings (particularly Cocktail), revealing a talent that if it were more widely known would certainly elevate him above his current footnote status.

The usual cast of characters show up as well, with F. Scott Fitzgerald in a starring role before his crack-up, and his wife Zelda revealing in many pictures a nervous look that foretells her later mental disintegration. But the true star of this book is France itself. Hemingway always had a knack for selecting interesting places to live and for making those places his own, but of all the places he lived, Paris seemed to be the one that affected him most. It was the city of his earliest successes, and it was the city he chose to write about in A Moveable Feast, when at the end of his life he couldn't write about anything else. In between it was a city and country he could always return to for comfort, inspiration and excitement.

Winston Conrad, in the final chapter, says "If Hemingway could come back to life for a day, he might very well elect to spend it in France." After reading this book it would be hard to argue that Hemingway would choose otherwise.

Owning this book is like owning a great piece of art, a priceless painting.

This is a book Hemingway would wish he had written himself.

Unlike so many books that have been published about this man in France in this era, this volume is evocative. All of the emotion associated with the people, places and things of that time in that place come through clearly, connecting to reader's hearts.

This book is literature, art. The great painting Conrad has created is one where all the subtle nuances are on the canvas. EH is not allowed to dwarf the other extraordinary characters like Gerald Murphy. Everyone is portrayed evenly. There is a fullness, a deeper appreciation of these people and that time than one finds in other books. The things that are familiar to the reader appear to be new because they are drawn in the actual context in which they originally existed. Conrad has not reconstructed Hemingway's France. He has found it and brought us into it. We are with Hemingway, Gertrude, Pablo et. al.

Hemingway beautifully remembered those people and that time in "A Moveable Feast," a favorite among devotees of Hemingway's work. To say Conrad's treatment is better than Hemingway's is a strong statement to make. It is a true statement.

The photographs are extraordinary but no more extraordinary than the prose that accompanies the pictures. This slim volume is, as said, like a large oil painting accurately depicting the scene, capturing the action and mood, and evoking emotion in those who view the art.

A book that will make you want to see Paris for the first time and check out the haunts of Hemingway, Fitzgerald and Piccasso. The book's narrative, photographs and illustrations, and use of quotations by Hemingway and his contemporaries, take the reader on a remarkably vivd tour of the writer's France.

France in the 1920s was home to some of the most groundbreakingly creative artists of the 20th century and included Pablo Picasso, George Braque, James Joyce, T.S. Eliot, Gertrude Stein, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ezra Pound, Cole Porter, Sergei Diaghilev, Sinclair Lewis, and Ernest Hemingway. Indeed, it was in his major work, The Sun Also Rises, which epitomized Paris during the jazz era and became one of the most powerful forces in this expatriate art colony's vortex of talent and experimentation. In Hemingway's France: Images Of The Lost Generation, Winston Conrad augments his informative text with contemporary color photography and a large collection of vintage black/white photographs to beautifully illuminate Hemingway's life during those "lost generation" years, during World War II, and his subsequent visits to France in the 1950s. Hemingway's France is "must" reading for all Hemingway fans, and for the non-specialist general reader with an interest in the writings, paintings, and poetry created in those turbulent times by the now legendary personalities of yesteryear.

I was most pleased with the quick response in filling my order. The book came in perfect condition and I was most glad to present it to my friend who is the rabbi. He had not heard of the book and it was nice to surprise him. The size of the book seems like what should be placed upon a coffee table, however, I probably would never place it there. My friend was quite impressed with the detail and thoroughness in the treatment of the subject. He also commented on the quality of paper and presentation.

Hidden Letters is a treasure trove of letters and postcards written in 1942 by an 18 year old Dutch Jew named Philip "Flip" Slier, sent almost daily from Flip to his parents from within the forced labor camp that held Flip. Flip was eventually executed in the Nazi death camp Sobibor. Now translated and reprinted, completely unedited and enhanced with annotation from Deborah Slier and her husband Ian Shine, Hidden Letters is a first-person account of life in Nazi-occupied Holland. Black-and-white photographs and interviews with those who knew Flip, as well as with Selma Wijnberg-Engel (the sole Dutch survivor of the October, 1943 uprising in Sobibor) round out this firsthand testimony. A welcome addition to academic and community library Judaic Studies in general, and Holocaust Studies collections in particular.

So much has been written about the Holocaust that its difficult to add anything of value, but now we actually do have something that does just that; Deborah Slier & Ian Shine's new book "Hidden Letters".
Thanks in particular to the extraordinary layout and design, we move naturally and effortlessly between the specifics of Flip's life and letters to the wider context of the Final Solution as it was implemented all over Europe and the entire Soviet Union. The usual numbing statistics come to life....the effect is at once informative and deeply emotional.

Hidden Letters is impossible to put down. Philip "Flip" Slier was interned in a Nazi labor camp in the Netherlands, but wrote loving, optimistic letters home--and took many photographs. Then he, and virtually all of his extended family, disappeared into the Holocaust.
When the letters were discovered in Amsterdam in 1997, a search was made for Flip's closest relative, who turned out to be his first cousin Deborah, whose father had moved his family to South Africa and thus enabled them all to live through the war.
Deborah and her husband, Ian Shine, spent ten years having the letters translated and researching the places and the people they described. They interviewed many survivors of the Holocaust and the war, and include information about almost all--including their photographs and ultimate fates. Over 300 photographs are included.
Flip could write and you fall in love with him as you read. When the letters stop, it is devastating.
This is a compelling, disturbing, and heartbreaking great read.
Kathleen Baxter, columnist, School Library Journal

When you read HIDDEN LETTERS, the book is going to leave a mark. It's going to hurt down deep and leave you thinking about things long after you've finished the book. After receiving the book, I admit to approaching the book warily. The subject matter is brutal, and it's devastating to anyone who's a parent.

First, a little history on the book. The letters that comprise the human narrative within the pages were discovered in Amsterdam in 1997. They were written by an eighteen year old Dutch Jew named Philip "Flip" Slier. He was sent to a Dutch labor camp in 1942. When first sent there, Slier believed he was going to be treated humanely, though restricted. He didn't know the horror that awaited him, or that he would soon be dead.

At the time Slier first went to the work camps, letters shipped regularly between the families and the restricted men. As I read the letters, I was stunned by the naïve manner that Slier exhibited. He honestly thought he was only going to be there for a short time, and that his experiences there would be nothing more than what he would endure during some summer camp.

As a father of five, I know how innocent kids can be. They think they know so much, but they're blind to so many things. They often don't know they're in over their heads until it's much too late.

And that's what happened with Slier.

I felt somewhat guilty while reading his letters, almost voyeuristic into a world of pain and innocence. The letters are inane and even cheerful. At times Slier obviously felt he was on some grand adventure. At other times I could see that he was putting on a front for his parents, acting brave while he was scared to death, or at least mightily confused by what was going on around him.

That human element, and that innocence, is what is going to haunt me about the book. Slier also took a camera with him. He took several pictures and sent them back home to his parents and friends, and those people managed to hang onto them throughout the blackest days of World War II. I saw his face, and I saw how much of a kid he still was. He aged decades in months, and he finally got killed.

That's one side of the story, but the authors added a tremendous amount of history materials to further the reader's understanding of what was going on in this area at this time. More pictures and maps fill the book. On one hand, HIDDEN LETTERS is a short journal of tumultuous times in a young man's life, but on the other hand the book is a great historical record. I love history, and I equate it with the story of people rather than names and dates. But Philip Slier's story truly brings home the fact that history is made up of people more than dates or events.

HIDDEN LETTERS is going to satisfy the armchair historian's perusal of the time period, and will give some sense of people and what was going on to genealogists that have discovered they've got family members that were in this camps at the same time. For either of those groups, I'm sure the book would be a beneficial addition.

The parents saved those letters all those years. I can't imagine what it must have been like to pull them out every so often and read the last words of their lost son.

Was actually searching Google for something and up popped sites for this previously unheard of (by me) trilogy. By amazing chance, what should come up on one site was P50, vol 1, and there I found our family and the distressing sentence, "Sadly, this family would appear to be extinct in the present generation."! I felt myself all over, breathed in and out and looked at myself in the mirror: "One with the Dodo and the Brontosaurus? Hmmm, I Don't FEEL extinct." We may not be churchmen any more, last was Rev Dugald, (d 1842)or even church-GOERS but we still consider ourselves Slioch an Easbuig (I thought Slioch took a 'd' at the end?)

Slainte, anyway...

Jas. A. C. Derham-Reid
13th of Auchinellan.

This is an incredibly thorough early history of Clan Campbell, including its possible origins. I might suggest that any reader have some broad understanding of Scottish history before diving into this book as it's not really an "introductory" level read. But for those with some prior knowledge, this will satisfy very nicely.

This book has openned up a new environment to me. My history as a campbell has always been hidden from me, this book taught me much about our histories and that we were better than any MAcDonald clan.

I recommend this book for anyone interested in researching the origins of the Campbell Clan. It is a treasure trove of information.

Alastair Campbell of Airds has made the history of the Campbell Clan a thoroughly readable mixture of fact and conjecture. A particularly interesting feature, in my opinion, is the family tree which begins with God and includes Adam, Constantine and King Arthur. Volume 1 covers the clan's origins in about 1263 through the Battle of Flodden in 1513 where many of the Campbell chiefs and their men died alongside their king, James IV. This is an outstanding reference book, a "must read" for anyone interested in Scottish history, and should be in all Campbell libraries. I look forward to Volume 2, to be published in 2002.