Europe Books

Rosenstock's classic black and white images evoke the spirit and power of the Irish landscape. The photographs are exquisitely reproduced, elegantly presented and then, wisely, left to speak for themselves. Rosenstock's artistic vision and his love of Ireland are clearly reflected in this beautifully designed volume. A must have for connoisseurs of landscape photography and lovers of Eire.

A beautiful art book containing 25 black and white photographs of Ireland. Anyone who loves landscapes, photography, or the rugged beauty of Ireland will appreciate the images and artistry shown in this volume. The photographic reproductions are of the highest quality and reveal the subtle details and tonal gradations present in the photographs. Mr. Rosenstock's statement at the beginning of the book is a wonderful introduction to the power and mystery of the light of Ireland. In short, it is illuminating. The Light of Ireland is a lovely book that invites the viewer to look at it again and again.

Iam thrilled to own this fabulous book; it is a work of art. I feel such a connection to these spectacular images. The reproductions of the photographs are wonderful. The simplicity of the silvery gray book jacket enhances the volume. I just love having this book. The Light of Ireland is a complete treasure!

This book is a MUST for the serious collector of photography. The 25 finely crafted images on the highest quality paper focus on Mr. Rosenstock's unique perspective of Ireland's mysterious landscape. Each page is a calming meditation. The people of Ireland ,among them notables, are already singing the praises of this book.

The Light of Ireland is a portfolio of twenty-five black and white photographs made in the west of Ireland over a period of nearly thirty years. Rosenstock's stunning images, rich in detail and range of tones, are exquisitely reproduced in a handsome volume in which the binding and typography contribute to its overall artistry. The few words of introduction are also carefully chosen; permitting the eloquent voice of the visual to command the attention of the reader.

On the one hand, this oversized-but-not-quite-coffee-table book isn't really a guidebook, certainly not in the mold of Fodor's or Frommer's. There is no list of hotels and restaurants, no star-ratings, no chapter on "where to take the kids," no advice on where to get your money changed. On the other hand, this is the best all-round travel book about London I have ever had the pleasure of losing myself in. Reading this book, especially if you have at least a superficial familiarity with London, is like strolling through the city with an urbane, witty, and very knowledgeable uncle, someone who knows everybody and every place in it. For example: On a rainy day, you can go to the Sloane Square station of the Underground and listen to the remnants of the River Westbourne sloshing through a conduit overhead. You can visit Leadenhall Market and know who designed the roof. You can read the "Cockney Alphabet," or discover what happened to the Crystal Palace, or learn the ins and outs of the Chelsea Flower Show. You can find out why Brixton smells different than other neighborhoods, where the psychological division between north and south London originated, and how the Thames Barrier works. Or what happened at the first-ever FA Cup Final at Wembly in 1923. Or where Princess Diana bought her shoes. Or why you mustn't miss the engine room at Tower Bridge. Or why Old Billingsgate was more glamourous -- and much more fun -- than New Billingsgate. Because it was published six years ago now, some things have changed; Jack Straw's Castle, an inn and pub Yapp recommends for a visit, has now been sold and carved up into condos. But Hampstead Heath hasn't changed, and neither has Portobello Road. The eclectic topics covered are gathered into eight sections, either geographical (The Thames, The City, Westminster) or by subject, and each topic neatly fills a two-page spread, so you can really open the volume anywhere and just read. And every one of the 350 pages has at least one photo and often more -- most of them shot specifically for this book by Rupert Tenison. Yapp, a Londoner-born, also is obviously an afficionado of pubs. No matter what corner of the metropolis he's escorting you through, you can bet he'll point out the best watering-holes along the way, with something of their histories and unique personalities and notable regulars of the past -- nor does he hesitate to note those chains and themed houses that aren't worth spending your coin in. This is a truly marvelous book, nicely conceived, beautifully written, gorgeously illustrated. My attention actually was brought to it by an American friend, an historian, who has lived and worked in London for more than twenty years -- and who had discovered in it a great many things he didn't know and places he wasn't familiar with. It's out of print, unfortunately, but buy it used or get it through Inter-Library Loan -- but read it.

London: The Secrets and the Splendor is a wonderful book. It is the book for anyone who has ever loved the city of London. This book is a must, and anyone can read it.

London: The Secrets and the Splendor is a wonderful book. It is the book for anyone who has ever loved the city of London. This book is a must, and anyone can read it.

I wanted to buy a really good book about London after returning from a recent visit there. I was a little wary buying a book such as this over the 'net, but I have to say I was not disappointed with this gem.

It is a classy, beautiful book, packed with slighlty off-beat information that is more than just a summary of what you read in your travel guides. The pictures are just gorgeous, not only capturing what I discovered of London during my all-too-brief trip, but also uncovering so much more.

If you want a great book about London, then this is the one for you.

This book is excellent - the perfect gift for anyone who has visited or ever wanted to visit London. It covers all of the usual tourist attractions in the city, but it also covers the areas and sights that make London unique. The photographs are high-quality and Yapp offers bits of interesting history and stories that the average visitor would not know. It covers all aspects of the city...pubs, museums, literary and military history, shopping markets like Covent Garden and sites found just outside the city, such as Hampstead, Kew Gardens, and Greenwhich.

It is not a travel guide by any means, as the author notes in the preface, but it allows you to check out areas and historical notes about London that even a frequent visitor may not know.

A wonderful way to relax over a rainy weekend. If you've been to London, it will take you back. If you haven't, the tape will prepare you for when you do go. Powell livens up the tour with interesting, amusing, and startling facts and anecdotes. The contemporary and historical information, the accents, the readers, the mood - all make for a quick trip to the U.K. in one little box. Very much enjoyed it.

Great book. Tours are easy to follow and take you into some really great parts of London that even locals don't know. I got to school our host on Aldephi.

Having read London by Rutherfurd made the tours even better.

The huge and bustling metropolis of London does not reveal itself to the casual visitor. To discover its hidden wonders, you must investigate streets and alleyways on foot. Now with the LONDONWALKS auido guide, visitors to London can put on earphones and slip a LONDONWALKS tape into their portable cassette recorder and start walking, while they listen to the history, scandal, and intrigue of one of the most magnificent cities of Europe. Each of the four audio walking tours in this two-cassette package takes about two hours, or as long as a morning or aternoon. They are narrated by the English actress Jean Marsh.

Self-directed (and very explicit in terms of getting you around) this book is a wonderful find. If I want to re-think all the great times my friend and I had trekking through districts/neighborhoods, I don't go look at my photos... I grab this book. The gentleman who wrote it (at the time we visited) also led guided tours of the areas described in the book ..20 pounds! Do it yourself for the price of the book. Funny, informative, and definitely worth the bucks.

We also bought the New York Walks (Manhattan) and found it equally informative, although written by a bunch of people from the NY "Y". Hester Street, Lower East Side, Upper East Side, etc., etc. GREAT.

LONDONWALKS Audio tours was the high point of our quick trip to London last month. We did two of the four walks and now we must return to do the rest. We will be looking for more Sound Travel Audio Guides. What a great idea!

My husband and I have just recently returned from a two week trip to Mauritius. Although we booked our trip through a well known travel agent and stayed in a hotel, the Lonely Planet Guide was invaluable. If you are considering a trip to Mauritius and are toying with the idea of a self catering option (which I actually would recommend), you need this book. If you are going for the hotel option but are interested in seeing the island and sampling the local cuisine outside the hotel, you need this book. Don't go without it. Everything that there is to see and do on the island of Mauritius, is in the book.

Two summers ago we went into Seychelles, and Mauritius,Reunion& Seychelles LP travel guide was essential for us. Thanks to it, we could discover Seychelles was not just a diving and incredible beaches paradise, but its interiors landscapes were the best of our journey. We recomend it,because its fantastic information about Mahe,Praslin and La Digue islands, their national parks (such as Sainte Anne or Vallee de Mai). Prices were as high as the author wrote! and all information about public buses, rent-a-car and restaurants was right. Just one thing, we couldn't find where La Gogue Reservoir was! If anybody can strength the lake exists, please let us know!!

I spent 4 weeks living with a family on Mauritius this past summer, and this book was invaluable. I had many days to myself, and this book made it very easy to get around, with tips on restaurants that were up to date, good info about getting places on the bus and what things to see. The maps were probably the most helpful, especially in places like Port Louis and Grand Baie. I would recommend this book to anyone traveling to Mauritius, whether on a package tour, or on their own.

I used an earlier edition of this book on a trip in 1996, in which I visited the Seychelles, Mauritius, and Reunion. I was travelling independently (not as part of a package tour) and the book helped in many ways to make my trip a great one. It provides a wealth of information about hotels and restaurants, island culture, and places and things to see on the islands. If you can only visit one of these three islands, I would recommend the Seychelles, which offer some of the finest tropical scenery I have ever seen. One advantage of Mauritius for the budget-minded traveler is that it is considerably less expensive than the Seychelles.

This guide was my Bible while I traveled through Mahe and Praslin islands in 1999. The Seychelles are full of kind, open-hearted locals who are generous and more than willing to show Westerners around. My trusty LP guide helped me find several reasonable b&b's, Michael Adams' studio (wonderful local artist) and the most perfect beaches in the Indian Ocean. What I love about LP guides, and this one in particular, is the extensive history of the area the book is covering, as well as the locals' interests. Those intending to visit this incredible area should take this guide book - the photography alone will tempt anyone.

Lived in Berlin for 2 years. Travelled all around Europe and before any of my trips the first thing I packed, even before my underwear, was my Lonely Planet western Europe. It was such a great help. I got to see sooooooooooo much.

Excellent reading. Wondered if I went to the same school with the author.

anthony.greicius@jpl.nasa.gov

We're getting ready to go on a trip through Europe and picked up this book to help in our planning. Its 2" thick so it's a pretty big book but also covers all the main cities. One-page maps are provided which is nice to have before arriving in a new place. It has attractions, museums, walks, places to stay that range from the hostels to pensions and smaller hotels. Having traveled through Europe as a teen using the Let's Go series, I figured this is the next step - good adventures off the beat path but nt roughing it quite as much as I did 25 years ago. Excellent resource!

Arm with this book and maps you got from the tourist infomration is pretty much what you would need on a trip. In fact, there are times that you would only need this book to get around the city to find a specific sight or even a restaurant in the heart of a city. Me and my buddies were using this book on our 7 weeks tour and had no problem at all. The description of the accomodations is very close to reality. The language section helps a lot to get around the city. The only drawback is that the transportation information is not detail enough for you to find the place you want, that's why you should always use this book with the maps you got from the tourist information.

I've been to Europe >50 times, nearly all countries. Here are my reviews of the best guides to meet you r exact needs.....I hope these are helpful and that you have a great visit! I always gauge the quality of my visit by how much I remember a year later......this review is designed to help you get the guide that will be sure YOU remember your trip many years into the future. Travel Safe and enjoy yourself to the max!

Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet has City and Out To Eat Guides. They are all about the experience so they focus on doing, being, getting there, and this means they have the best detailed information, including both inexpensive and really spectacular restaurants and hotels, out-of-the-way places, weird things to see and do, the list is endless.

Rick Steves' books are not recommended. They may be an interesting read but their helpfulness is very poor. They don't do well on updates, transportation details, or anything but the first-time-tourist routine and even that is somewhat superficial on anything but the mega-major sites.

Frommer's
These are time tested guides that pride themselves on being updated annually. Although I think the guides below provide information that is in more depth or more concise (depending on what the guide is known for), if your main concern is that the guide has very little old or outdated information, then this would be a good guide for you.

Blue Guides
Without doubt, the best of the walks guides.... the Blue Guide has been around since 1918 and has extremely well designed walks with lots of unique little side stops to hit on just about any interest you have. If you want to pick up the feel of the city, this is the best book to do that for you. This is one that you end up packing on your 10th trip, by which time it is well worn.

MapGuide
MapGuide is very easy to use and has the best location information for hotels, tourist attractions, museums, churches etc. that they manage to keep fairly up to date. It's great for teaching you how to use the public transportation system. The text sections are quick overviews, not reviews, but the strong suite here is brevity, not depth. I strongly recommend this for your first few times learning your way around the classic tourist sites and experiences. MapGuide is excellent as long as you are staying pretty much in the center of the city.

Time Out
The Time Out guides are very good. Easy reading, short reviews of restaurants, hotels, and other sites, with good public transport maps that go beyond the city centre. Many people who buy more than one guidebook end up liking this one best!

Let's Go
Let's Go is a great guide series that specializes in the niche interest details that turn a trip into a great and memorable experience. Started by and for college students, these guides are famous for the details provided by people who used the book the previous year. They continue to focus on providing a great experience inexpensively. If you want to know about the top restaurants, this is not for you (use Fodor's or Michelin). Let's Go does have a bewildering array of different guides though. Here's which is what:
Budget Guide is the main guide with incredibly detailed information and reviews on everything you can think of.
City Guide is just as intense but restricted to the single city.
PocketGuide is even smaller and features condensed information
MapGuide's are very good maps with public transportation and some other information (like museum hours, etc.)

Michelin
Famous for their quality reviews, the Red Michelin Guides are for hotels & Restaurants, the Green Michelin Guides are for main tourist destinations. However, the English language Green guide is the one most people use and it has now been supplemented with hotel and restaurant information. These are the serious review guides as the famous Michelin ratings are issued via these books.

Fodor's
Fodor's is the best selling guide among Americans. They have a bewildering array of different guides. Here's which is what:
The Gold Guide is the main book with good reviews of everything and lots of tours, walks, and just about everything else you could think of. It's not called the Gold guide for nothing though....it assumes you have money and are willing to spend it.
SeeIt! is a concise guide that extracts the most popular items from the Gold Guide
PocketGuide is designed for a quick first visit
UpCLOSE for independent travel that is cheap and well thought out
CityPack is a plastic pocket map with some guide information
Exploring is for cultural interests, lots of photos and designed to supplement the Gold guide

Fine text & phenomenal photographs.

Wonderful photographs and narrative; this book captures the life and spirit of Berlin during its heyday. The final few pages address the emergence of the Nazi influence; other books thus are left to relate the ensuing horror that befell Berlin. One of my favourite Berlin books. Also worth a read are "Before the Deluge" and "Faust's Metropolis", two excellent books which cover Berlin in the 20's and 30's.

This book is a picture book. Most of the pictures are of a Berlin that disappeared under allied bombing. Other pictures are of the picture takers, artists, and movies of that Ziet. The time period covered is the 1920's and 1930's. There are several pictures of the Freicorps, and images from films such as "The cabinet of Dr. Caligari.
The table of contents reads:
1. BERLINERLUFT 6
2. BAUHAUSSTADT 34
3. CABARET AND FILMSTADT 66
4. MUSIKSTADT 108
5. STADT MAHAGONNY 140
INDEX 204

ACKNOLEDGMENTS 208

This book of Pre-World War II Berlin is eloquently told in a series of photographs the have an undeniable melancholy effect on the reader for days of tranquility and simplicity long gone. If you can get your hands on a copy it is well worth it.

This book is a picture book. Most of the pictures are of a Berlin that disappeared under allied bombing. Other pictures are of the picture takers, artists, and movies of that Ziet. The time period covered is the 1920's and 1930's. There are several pictures of the Freicorps, and images from films such as "The cabinet of Dr. Caligari.

The table of contents reads:

1. BERLINERLUFT 6

2. BAUHAUSSTADT 34

3. CABARET AND FILMSTADT 66

4. MUSIKSTADT 108

5. STADT MAHAGONNY 140

INDEX 204

ACKNOLEDGMENTS 208

These are comments from my students...

"Lucha Libre: The Man in the Silver Mask is a book about fighting or wrestling. 'Lucha Libre...'is a good book for Spanish people that don't know how to read or speak in English. It's also good for people who don't know how to speak or read in Spanish because on each page it has an English part and a Spanish part, too. My opinion about the book is that it is a good book and it has good pictures. Also, on each page there are pictures that are colorful." --Duaa



"I like this book because it's a good book and it's interesting, especially the part about El Vampiro. I like when he stretches and his stomach pops out and his muscles get stronger. You should read this book because is has Spanish and English. It's fun. You should read it!" --Feras



"My opinion about 'Lucha Libre: The Man in the Silver Mask' is that it is good because it's bilingual and people who speak Spanish can understand the two different languages, Spanish and English, and learn them a little better. The good thing about this book is that it has two boxes, one in English and one in Spanish. It is a good book, and you should read it. The books was interesting through the whole thing. As I read it, it was getting more and more interesting. You should read this book because it will be a nice book for you!" --Kiara



"I like this book, 'Lucha Libre: The Man in the Silver Mask', because it has English and Spanish. However, it has too many pictures. My favorite part is when the Man in the Silver Mask jumps on El Vampiro, and he lands on the ground. That's when the Tecnicos won. " --Daniel

"My opinion of the book 'Lucha Libre: The Man in the Silver Mask' is tha this book is a good book to read because this book helps people that speak no Spanish learn to speak some Spanish. Also for people that speak no English, they can learn to speak some English. This is also a good book for little kids because it has a lot of pictures. Another thing I liked about this book is that most of it is understandable, but it does have some hard words to read. This is why I think this is a good book to read." --Victor

"My opinion of the book 'Lucha Libre: The Man in the Silver Mask' is that it is a great book to read. I liked reading this book because it is interesting. You read one page, and you want to keep on going. One thing that I don't like about this book is it looks hard to read. I love the pictures because they have action, and they are so creative, the colors and all. One thing I really like is that it is in Spanish and English. I liked the end of the book; it is wonderfully interesting. This book is awesome, very great. You need to read this book. " --Diana

"My opinion about 'Lucha Libre: The Man in the Silver Mask' is that it was a really good book. I liked this book because it was really interesting. I was interested to know what would happen at the end of the book. I liked this book because in the beginning it started in an exciting way and ended in an exciting way, too. So, I would like to tell youi to check out this book; it is really interesting. It really has great illustrations and a great story." --Gisela

My opinion of 'Lucha Libre: The Man in the Silver Mask' is that I like it because it has pictures and it has Spanish and English words. It is about a man in a silver mask (that's the book title), and they have fun. They have other luchadores, like El Cucuy, El Vampiro, El Carvenicola and more, but the best one is the Man in the Silver Mask. He's the best luchadore, and that's what the boy (Carlitos) said, but he doesn't know if the Man in the Silver Mask is his uncle." --Alondra

The young narrator has the opportunity of a lifetime; not only does attend the Lucha Libre matches with his grandfather, but a chance to purchase a mask of his favorite luchadore, the Man in the Silver Mask, and the opportunity to meet the legend before he does battle inside the squard-circle.

Though the book is written for ages 9-12, the wonderful artwork - in a classic, graphic-novel style - and endnote on the history of Lucha Libre makes this a collectible for any fan of professional wrestling.

The mask may be silver, but this luchadore is pure gold to the young fan; with the story evoking memories - for those sharing it with children - on real past heroes in the ring.

"The Man in the Silver Mask" is an overt tribute to "El Santo, El Enmascarada de Plata" but its also a beautiful story of familial love...

The story reminded me of the fascination lucha libre and pro-wrestling held for me in my youth. The story can be compared to the youthful feelings a child experiences during Christmas and the stories of "Santa Claus".

I took great pleasure and pride reading this story to my two year old daughter, who I believe really experienced the feelings of joy the artist provided within the pages. The pictures were bold, the emotions were strong.

A beautiful story for all ages.

This is a charming story, beautifully illustrated (for the record, I am a collector of Xavier's artworks, including some wonderful "portraits" of Lucha Libre masked men and women). The historical background at the back of the book is like dessert....Xavier's telling of the real story of Lucha Libre makes this book a real treasure. We have a copy in our library, and have bought copies for the "older" grandsons (10 & 12) and the younger grandson (6). We are all going to enjoy the book for a very long time.

Just like the little boy in the book I now too love Lucha Libre and its masked heroes and villains! This book was great, kids will just love it.

Some people embroider their family trees on samplers, others create momentos and books for the family. Fortunately Di Robilant went further than this, making his great-great-great-great grandmother a research subject and having Knopf publish it for the general market. This ancestor was witness to and active in a critical time in the life of Venice and through her story we get an idea as to how the nobility coped during the Napoleonic years.

We are introduced to Lucia when she is 15 and her father is involved in extended and stressful marriage negotiations. At this time the Venetian elite are leading la dolce vita. Soon, Venetians and their republic will be jolted into new and uncharted territory.

Through the Mommo and Mocenigo families we see how the nobility adapted. Many fled. Others chose to work with the French, the Austrians, the French again and again the Austrians. Marriage and family scenes are just as striking as those of the famous events.

Lucia is resiliant. From an entralled young bride, she becomes realistic about her marriage that will only end when death due them part. There is infidelity, child birth and death, long separations, primitive medicine, fine entertaining, perilous travel and fiscal constraint.

Lucia learns to set up and manage households and farmsteads and to "wait" on a Princess who is half her age. Despite the many problems of her son and his education, she is a successful parent. She gets herself recognized in the Austrian court, educates herself in Paris, becomes a friend of Napoleon's Josephine, manages the family assets and has famous tenents in Venice. This woman is amazing for any age, but for her time, totally impressive.

There are two problems with the book, neither serious enough to take away stars. There are two maps but others are needed, one showing the various estates and others showing the travel routes to Vienna and Paris. The other problem may not be addressable. Lucia, while running what seems to be a large farmstead, refurbishes the main house. Then she raises, for sale, a small number of animals (are there not a lot of other animals on this farm?). Similarly, as a lady in waiting she raised two head of cattle. The economics/practicality of this husbandry doesn't compute for me.

What is wonderful about this book is that it makes history alive. It shows how larger events effect people's lives. The writer draws portraits of people whom we tend to care about and of the turmoil of Europe at the time.

Let's start with the lovely cover image: thanks to the research behind Lucia, this previously unknown work by the widely acclaimed Swiss painter, Angelica Kauffmann, came to light. And thanks to the owner's permission, its appearance on the cover allows us all to enjoy it. This is our first meeting with the blossoming young Lucia. Her glowing complexion, full bosom and that chestnut tendril that curls downward along her neck bespeak an innocent yet eager anticipation of life's sweetnesses. But this is not a love story. Lucia's life is much larger than her courtship and marriage with Alvise Mocenigo, and emphatically disproves what we think of as the bounds for a woman then.
From the start, Lucia's story shows her caught in the middle of things, from local power struggles in Venice to empires rising and falling and the devastating wars they brought about. Political events determine one challenge after another for her, as daughter, fiancée, wife, mother, woman on her own.
Accounts of political moves, diplomatic dealings, warfare strategy might not seem the stuff of a woman's life story, and yet they make perfect sense here, are fundamental, illuminating and intriguing. As these combine with finely wrought details of the everyday, the past truly comes to life. Di Robilant's style, as in A Venetian Affair, draws the reader in. When you read Lucia, you feel welcome and respected. And at once you are involved.
Di Robilant works with some very special material, unearthed not only among family papers but also in archives around Europe. In the end, he did not write the story exactly as he had set out to, for his research uncovered unexpected turns in what he knew as his family's history. He never makes an issue of this, but leaves it tacitly to his readers to imagine what it must be like to see a family legacy twisted into a different shape and to discover fundamental family ties you never knew existed. Di Robilant set out to bond with his past, which in the end he did, but not with the past as he knew it when he set out.
I highly recommend this book to readers with a passion for Venice, the Napoleonic years and memoirs about women who rise to unexpected challenges; to readers curious to have an insider view of life at court (Paris, Vienna, Milan) in the nineteenth century or a landlady's perspective on the scandalously libertine Lord Byron; to readers simply fond of books where biography and history elegantly merge with great merit to both genres.

I just finished reading this sequel to A Venetian Affair. Lucia is quite different from Giustiniana (the main character in the previous book) but this true story leaves you with the same mixture of fascination and melancholy. Unlike Giustiniana, Lucia immediately marries her first love, Alvise, and despite also being the protagonist of a scandal, her life is not as thrilling as Giustiniana's. Like Giustiniana, Lucia lives first hand through the European aristocracy, from Venice to Vienna and to Paris. But while in A Venetian Affair the source of dismay is the missed happy ending for Giustiniana and Memmo (her lover), in Lucia it's another demise that characterizes the book: the fall of her beloved Venice.
Through her detailed correspondence to her sister we learn of Alvise and Lucia's efforts to keep their status once orphans of the Most Serene Republic. This is what I believe defines this book. It's the story of a power couple who in their prime loses their motherland, and that helplessly witness a millennium of history being crushed between the French and Austrian power struggle. Alvise and Lucia, they really try. When Napoleon has the upper hand they get back on their feet and are actively involved in being part of the new world order. But as soon as the Austrians take control they have to start from square one, and we find Lucia mingling with the Viennese aristocracy while living in the Hasburgic capital. But then Napoleon is back, and off to Paris they go. These are not merely social ladder moves. There are estates to save, and the underlying theme is the slow but inevitable decadence due to unfortunate geopolitical circumstances that this otherwise very capable and visionary couple is subject to. Of course the book is packed with affairs and loaded with illegitimate children, but the force of this book is its historical value. It's the first hand account of how a historical European nation was phagocytized and of why its resurgence has been suffocated in the following decades.

Lucia: A Venetian Life in the Age of Napoleon begins where Andrea Di Robilant's A Venetian Affair left off. Lucia Mocenigo was the eldest daughter of Andrea Memmo, and she married at seventeen into one of the best-known patrician families in Venice. When the Republic fell in 1797 to Napoleon, Lucia went to Vienna, where she became friends with Josephine Bonaparte. Later, Lucia moved back to Venice, where she became Byron's landlord. She died in the 1850s, when she was in her 80s.

Lucia is a compelling look into the life of an intriguing woman. She was at the heart of European political change, as her letters to her husband and sister show. What Di Robilant does successfully in this book, as he did in A Venetian Affair, is bring the event s and people to life. Everything Lucia, her husband Alvise, and her son Alvisetto, do is documented here with precision. Sometimes with too much precision: when her son was a teenager, Lucia obsessively worried over his progress in school. But in all, Lucia was an impressive woman who rose to the challenges she faced with courage.

In this book Venice at the end of the eighteenth century comes to life. Lucia was only a young girl when she returned to her native city from Rome, where her father was Venetian Ambassador, to be married to a much older man. She lived in many of the great courts of Europe, travelled extensively, witnessed the fall of the Venetian Republic to Napoleon, and as an impecunious widow was the landlady who rented out her fabulous family palazzo to no other than Lord Byron. It was in the attic of Palazzo Mocenigo on the Grand Canal that her correspondence, recounting every minute detail of her long and fascinating life, was preserved and handed down through the generations until it came into the hands of the author, who is her descendant. A wonderful book. Highly recommended.

This is the best book I have read about what the average young man entering the war in the air force experienced in WWII. It takes you from college years to combat to missions and being shot down, then a prisoner of war for almost two years. You experience the real feel of the effect the loss of comrades had on these young men taken from homes, and colleges etc. to fight in a war. They had no fighters to protect them as they went over German targets in occupied and German countries. Day by day they saw more and more fellow airmen go down in flames. It is real and gripping to read and the emotions you experience stay with you long after the last page is turned. What heros they were.
Many details, many photos, a book we all need to read.

Many books have been written on the air war in the ETO but none have captured the detail of the early raids of the 8th Air Force as does Frank Murphy's book, "Luck of the Draw". The early portion describes his younger years up until joining the USAAC. His descriptive powers and keen observations of events and missions leading to his final one on the Munster raid, have a clarity and insight on what it was like in those early days of combat, without the benefit of fighter escort. His time in Stalag Luft III is graphically recalled with an almost detached view of what was going on around him as he and his comrades struggled to survive. His observations and detailing of events for one so young, is truly remarkable. To be able to relive them in his writings marks this as one of the finest historical accounts of WW II combat from a man who saw it all. He was fortunate enough to be blessed with the ability to write it for the benefit of those who have followed WW II air combat history. If this book is kept along side the "Munster Raid" by Ian Hawkins, you don't need to have any other books to cover what it was like in the horror that was the air war in its early days over Europe. The sacrfices of those "teenagers" who made up the majority of the aircrews and those in their early twenties, makes one realize why they are looked upon as a remarkable generation.

Ken Wright

Luck of the Draw is the best personal account of the strategic air war over Europe that I have ever read...and I have read a lot of them. It is much better than Ambrose's Wild Blue and it is a shame that Wild Blue get's all of the attention. In addition to the usual personal account, Mr. Murphy provides a lot of very interesting technical information unique in books of this type; such as layout of the box formations, records on the fate of the Bombers and crews, descriptions of German attack strategies. Highly recommended

The true, courageous story of a young Atlantan, thrust into the climactic event of the 20th century. You must read the amazing adventure of the young Emory University student as he responds to his country's call to arms. From full-filled college weekends to the dark, cold and dangerous Stalag Luft III. Walk, fly, fight and parachute with Frank as he travels from his home in Atlanta, Georgia to Hitler's Nazi Germany as a POW of the Third Reich. Read of Frank's amazing journey back home again to his beloved Atlanta. If...you've read Tom Brokaw's "The Greatest Generation", If...you've read Andy Rooney's "My War", If... you've read Stephen E. Ambrose's "D-Day", If...you've seen Steven Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan, If...you plan to see the new "Pearl Harbor" movie opening in May - Then, "Luck of the Draw" is the book for you!!! Frank D. Murphy was an eyewitness to history. He writes in vivid detail of the emotions of Pearl Harbor. He flew the missions that Andy Rooney wrote about. On D-Day, Frank was a POW in Stalag Luft III. Frank IS one of the Greatest Generation that Brokaw wrote of. Please read this book, it is truly the journey of a lifetime. To Frank D. Murphy, to all who served in the "Mighty 8th AAF" and to all U.S. veterans, THANK YOU for my freedom......

Generally, Military History literature can be assigned to one of two categories -military leaders with their grand strategy and tactics or the fighting man and his weapons. For the Second World War there is still some room for the literature that addresses the first category, especially with the recent opening of former Soviet Union archives. Yet as important as it is to analyze the success and failures of the Hannibals, Napoleons, Pattons, Montgomerys, and Zhukovs, it is the common man, not the brilliant military leader, who determines success in battle. Whether on land, sea, or in the air, Generals and Admirals can only inspire and motivate the soldier, sailor, and airman to make the ultimate sacrifice for his country. As we have seen in Enemy at the Gates, it is the Vasily Zaitzevs of this world who turned the tide at countless Stalingrad-like situations throughout the history of warfare.

Frank Murphy, a B-17 navigator, would be the very first to challenge the notion that he or any other member of Crew 31 assigned to the 418th Bombardment Squadron, 100th Bombardment Group, Eighth Bomber Command in the summer and fall of 1943, did anything extraordinary. Murphy and Crew 31 would rather "define themselves as ordinary Americans" (page 263). Having finished Luck of the Draw I would disagree with Mr. Murphy. He, Crew 31, and the rest of the Eighth Bomber Command (Eighth Air Force) who flew during those desperate times throughout the summer and fall of 1943, were the American Zaitzevs in the European Theater of Operations. With ever increasing strength, they carried the war to Hitler's Germany, attacking his means to conduct war. This effort came at a price - the Eighth Bomber Command paid dearly in blood and machines.

Luck of the Draw is extremely well written and well researched. Frank Murphy uses his recollection of events, research of the subject, archival sources and even letters written to home while in England and while a POW. The words simply flow off of the page, giving the reader no excuse to put the monograph down. As the back cover correctly states, this is "more than a war story." It is in fact, a very revealing slice of Americana. You learn about Murphy, his ancestral roots, and what motivated him to join the Army Air Corps. You also learn about the formation of Crew 31, those who died in combat and those who became prisoners of war. The "power and honesty" of Murphy's prose captures the essence of what it takes to be an American. Interspersed with the insightful prose are photographs capturing the essence of Murphy and Crew 31. Nor does Murphy disappoint those who cannot get enough of tables, charts, and graphics, Luck of the Draw contains over 70 pages of historical data detailing the men and aircraft assigned to the 100th Bomb Group between June - October 1943.

This reviewer chimes in with the remarks on the back cover of the book by saying that I too am "glad that Frank Murphy elected to fly one more mission for The Mighty Eighth." It is a must read book for anyone with an interest in the Eighth Air Force.

The authors have done an excellent job on this overview of the aerial defense of the Reich during daylight. The night defense is touched on as it impacts the daylight defense, but the focus is the daylight defense. In addition to the air combat reports of aviators, which you can also find in other books, this book has the big picture of the overall strategy and organization and the overall military outlook and how they worked together with the technology to drive tactics as the war progressed. I've read a lot of other books on this area and still learned a lot from this book. Good selection of photos too. Highly recommended!

This book fills a gap in the usual study of the history of World War II. We have had many books about the part played by the RAF and the USAAC, but what was happening on the other side? This helps fill in the gaps in the total picture.

An exceptionally well written book that reads very easily even while taking on what can often be a very dry subject... organization. In that role the book fills in many gaps that have been missing in previous works. If you're looking for a re-hash of which was better the mustang or the focke-wulf, or which side over-claimed victories more, this isn't it. It deals purely with the air defense of the Reich and is a marvelous telling of what decisions (and who made them) resulted in the German's loss of air superiority over their own country and the struggle by the men in the cockpits to prevail even after the outcome was unavoidable. Highly recommended!

Don Caldwell is well known for his excellent JG 26 unit history and if you enjoyed that I should think this would be an automatic purchase...
However an overview of the air battles that raged over Germany during the strategic bombing offensive in only 320 pages was always going to be a hard task- as it is this book only covers the day battles - no mention at all of the RAF's campaign. The book is relatively large format and the narrative scope is wide. The main events are related chronologically but while the material is nonetheless well organised the book reads a little breathlessly at times. It is not a scholarly work - nor is it an Osprey. Chapters 1 & 2 cover the period 1914-1941, while other chapters deal with the 'Oil campaign', 'The big 'blow' that never fell' and 'The final desperate expedients'. The text is detailed, very readable and well written, with most 'big' dates (7 July 44, 27 Sept, 2 November, 14 January 45, 24 March 45) given reasonable treatment within the space allowed - however the style of treatment probably makes it a little difficult to pick out certain themes that might be of interest, eg the bomber destroyer activities of the Bf 110G-2 and Me 410 ZG Gruppen, or the Sturmgruppen. That said there is an index..

Photographic content is OK, but you wouldn't buy this for the pictures.. There are of course a number of portraits of JG 26 personalities (perhaps too many portraits, but I guess they were easier to lay out) .. Otherwise the text has a good number of pilot accounts - although some of these are severely curtailed no doubt for reasons of space, eg Ernst Schroeder's long account from 17 December 1944, which in the JG 300 history published by Eagle Editions runs to over five pages of text... Elsewhere Caldwell's map and diagrams are good as is the lengthy discussion of fighter command and control techniques and organisation, fighter doctrine, morale and motivation and the summing up. A little irritatingly perhaps the authors use their own term 'RLV' throughout - standing for Reichsluftverteidigung or Reichs Air Defence - but I've never seen that abbreviation in any German language text...but probably a useful shorthand I guess..

One criticism; when dealing with my favorite unit JG 300 - leading Reich's Defence Geschwader - the authors have used some old and unreliable sources such as Jung, Hennig & Bethke & Dahl. ..While III./JG 300 had specifically been charged with the defence of Berlin there is no sense here of JG 300 as the leading German air defence unit of 1944/45. Bretschneider downed by flak on 24 December 44 ? .. from Hennig & Bethke's fanciful account ..the Kommandeur of the 'newly-formed' IV./JG 300 lost on 17 December..? ...Maj. Heino Offterdinger survived the war - pictures of his 'Green 45' taken in March 1945 feature in the JG 300 book. Elsewhere the account of Walfeld's (II./JG 300) ramming on 11 September 44 is taken from Walther Dahl's largely discredited memoir - unfortunately Wahlfeld (spelling) was a Sturmstaffel pilot and this incident occured in January 1944 and featured on the cover of an edition of the Berlin Illustrierte Zeitung. Similarly the G-6 photo taken from Jung on P234 is not 'Yellow 2' in the fall of 1944 but 'Red 12' in the summer of 43 at Hangelar.. and so on...
That said these are nit picks and this is probably the best we could have hoped for between one set of covers...so recommended without hesitation...

The product of a 10 year-collaborative effort by noted Luftwaffe authors Donald Caldwell and Richard Muller, LUFTWAFFE OVER GERMANY is a well-researched, well-written, fast-paced account of Luftwaffe air defense operations. Equal parts critical analysis and popular history, the book is must reading for air war enthusiasts.

Caldwell, who wrote the marvelous JG 26 trilogy, and Muller pack a great deal of information in the book's 290-odd pages of text. (If anything, the subject cries out for more pages). After tracing the development of German air defense from 1914 to 1939 in their first chapter, the authors discuss the initial air assaults by RAF units from 1939 to 1941, America's 1942 entry into the European air war, the American build-up from January-June 1943, the air defense's great victories in the last six months of 1943, the turning of the tide in January-April 1944, the oil campaign that lasted from May to August 1944, Adolf Galland's attempts to rebuild the fighter force (September-December 1944) and the final desperate struggles in 1945.

Throughout the book Caldwell and Muller do a first-rate job of weaving together myriad combat reports, technical reports, meeting minutes and other materials into a cogent and fascinating narrative. Their discussion, analysis and conclusions regarding the German - and Allied - developments in the air war make for fascinating reading. Among the most startling - to me- was their assertion that the Germans lost the air war in l943, long before they suffered crippling losses, by not diverting sufficient aircraft to air defense operations. A number of commanders on both sides likewise come in for well-deserved criticism.

The text is illustrated with over 190 photographs of commanders, aircrew, aircraft and combat scenes. Had space allowed, the book would have benefitted from the inclusion of diagrams of Luftwaffe and USAAF combat formations and attack tactics.

Make no mistake about it: Caldwell and Muller's book is a major addition to the literature on Luftwaffe air operations. It may, in fact, be THE definitive book on the subject. Highly recommended.