Reviews (17)

Balanced presentation of the issues
This was a very interesting book describing a very tumultous time in Israel's history.I'd recommend it to anyone wanting to understand more about "Munich" and the history of Palestinian and/or Islamic terrorism
A more scholarly study than Vengeance
This is the second book I bought for my son, and one for myself because my son said that MUNICH was 90% fiction.
Excellent
I purchased and read this book after having seen Steven Spielberg's movie "Munich" and I am glad I did it in that order.While reading the book I could picture many of the scenes from the movie which helped keep all the names and characters straight.A sad, enthralling story - I could not put it down. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Athletes    2. Europe - General    3. Germany    4. History    5. History - General History    6. History: World    7. Israelis    8. Middle East - Israel    9. Munich    10. Olympic Games    11. Olympics    12. Political Freedom & Security - Terrorism    13. Political Terrorism    14. Terrorism    15. Violence against    16. History / Europe / General   

Reviews (3)

Fantastic book
Vituperative, scathing truths about the world they don't teach you in high school make this an excellent book for anyone who likes to uncover the scandal beneath social, economic, and political realities formed in history.Pratt's poignant and stinging language drives home every point in a very sophistocated and flowing discourse.If you haven't taken a college course in Sociology, Africana, or Latin American Studies or similar, this language may be new to you but Pratt makes it as easy as watching an on-the-edge-of-your-seat sports match.

Seminal book in the field
While I understand this book presents a challenge to the reader, it is a seminal book in several fields:Mary Louise Pratt's prose is clear for a literary theorist and her vocabulary/jargon is appropriate to the subject._Imperial Eyes_ takes the reader through several stages of European travel writing, and the effects these works have upon European representations and constructions of the "other."Pratt's strongest arguments deal with Mary Kingsley and Africa, in my personal opinion, but her work on Linneaus is important and relevant to history and to identity studies as well. As a professor, I would assign this book to an upper-division undergraduate course, and would expect students to have the ability to grapple with her argument and her prose.I recommend this book to anyone who wants to have a better understanding of the formation of modern European identity, the ideological underpinnings of colonialism, and the construction of the "other."

Refreshing perspective, but obscurity overpowers message
Mary Louise Pratt has a lot of fresh and important things to say, but her writing style makes this book tough to read.I consider myself a good reader, I can usually pick out main ideas and meanings quite easily, but Ifound this book really frustratingly hard to read! Pratt flip-flops betweena readable, clear style and one in which she employs almost indeciperablesentences.I think her message is really important and structurally,"Imperial Eyes" is smartly organized, but it takes a lot ofpatience and re-reading to understand it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Africa    2. Description and travel    3. Europe    4. Europe - General    5. European prose literature    6. History    7. History - General History    8. History and criticism    9. Imperialism    10. Latin America    11. Literary Criticism    12. Relations    13. Travel writing    14. Cultural studies    15. Literary Criticism & Collections / General    16. Literary studies: 19th century    17. c 1700 to c 1800    18. c 1800 to c 1900   

Reviews (20)

Further Confirmationof Alperovitz' Thesis and Facts
Another very fine book that makes the same point is James Carroll's recent "House of War."James Carroll's father was the first director of the Defense Intelligence Agency as an Air Force LTG, giving James himself special insights into the very political decision to drop the A-bomb on the Japanese.In the words of Curtis LeMay who was very much involved in influencing and executing this action, "kill 'em, just kill 'em all," and "bomb them back to the stone age."Although these words were spoken by LeMay concerning WWII and Vietnam, respectively, they reveal a state of mind extant in the "House of War" (the Pentagon) and the president and his war-mongering advisors such as James Byrnes. As a resident of South Carolina, it is an embarassment to acknowledge Byrnes as a SC native. In fact, his statue stands in front of the courthouse in our small town.

Definitive account of what led to Hiroshima
I deem Alperovitz's book best written on the nuclear bombing of Japan.History of World War II-serious reader knows -is riddled in myths,controversies.For a long time events building up to nuclear bombing of Hiroshima,Nagasaki were shrouded in mystery.However this book has shed lot of light on the subject thanks to author's access to some confidential documents,files, memos now declassified under FOIA .Based on this author has argued that nuclear bombing wholly unwarranted in effecting in Japan's surrender.
I buy much of it, because my father was there
My Father was drafted out of Harvard Graduate school. He scored very highly on IQ tests and was given a very sensitive job in the Ultra Code breaking project. He reported to a Lt General in the US army and was classified as an Army Intelligence officer. The story he told me before this book was ever published is identical to the general outlines of the story as related here by Alperovitz. He has always said that the Japanese were clearly looking to end the war a couple of months before the bomb was dropped. He also said that the general US military command was of the opinion that the Invasion of Japan was not going to be necessary Regardless of the presence of the Atom bomb or not. He cannot speak to what might or might not have been going on in Washington DC but he himself read the decrypts of Japanese messages being sent to intermediaries whom were charged with approaching the Americans with the intent to discontinue the war. He has said that the general consensus of the upper echelons of the military was that the bomb was used to intimidate the Russians who were behaving quite menacingly rather than to save American lives which might be lost in an invasion. He also said that he was always surprised that "nobody wrote a book about it". He was unaware of Alperovitz's work until I found it while in college. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Campaigns    2. History - General History    3. History: American    4. Japan    5. Military - World War II    6. Strategy    7. United States    8. United States - 20th Century/WWII    9. World War II    10. World War, 1939-1945    11. History / Military / World War II   

Editorial Review

Although most libraries now contain many shelves of books describing various aspects of the Holocaust, comprehensive one-volume histories or reference books on the subject are rare. Thus, Read more

Reviews (3)

Loaded with useful and educational information
This book is a must for World War II aficionados and scholars alike. It certainly is worthy of the title "encyclopedia," as it contains just about every known figure on both sides of the Holocaust. I highly recommend getting the book, no matter your expertise level. It's a great teaching tool for beginners who want to learn the ABCs of what happend and why, and it's a great reference book for scholars who want to learn intimate, small and minute details about one of the worst tragedies mankind has ever known. Well worth the money.

Not sure how helpful this is but its packed full o' info.
Its about time a Holocaust Encyclopedia appeared on the shelves.This wonderful volume includes refferences to everything you could ever possibly want to know about the holocaust.This 800 page volume contains many useful maps and pictures which will be helpful.Coverage is well done.Their is some question as to the accuracy of the entry detailing the rvolt at Auschwitz as various sources("Anatomy of a death Camp') have put the number of Germans killed at 4 or 5 while 'Doctors Eyewitness account' put the numbers at as many as 100.Clearly something is missing.THe SS kept such extensive records of the numbers of Jews they killed one would think that someone could unearth the number of SS killed/hospitalized after the crematorium revolt. Comprehensive & Authoritative Study On Genocide.
This is an invaluable source of reference for those interested in studying the Holocaust. It is superbly presented and extremely well written, consisting of over 800 pages & containing some 276 photographs (some previously unpublished) together with19 maps plus a full index and reference section.Read more

Subjects:  1. Encyclopedias    2. History    3. History - General History    4. History: World    5. Holocaust    6. Holocaust, 1933-1945    7. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    8. Jewish Holocaust    9. Reference    10. 20th century    11. Europe    12. History / Holocaust    13. Jewish studies    14. Reference works    15. The Holocaust   

Reviews (5)

Backfire
John Sweet
Too bad it didn't get read by our leaders
I can't add to the description of the book, except to say that it's too bad more people haven't read it.Especially our leadership.It's horrendously important to recognize the failures that we're repeating in Iraq.

Hard book to put down
This is a remarkable book that I found very hard to put down. If you are interested in discovering why we went to war, and how we lost it, Backfire if for you.The author avoids the usual mantra of both the left and the right and gives us what may be the most comprehensive analysis of this war written to date. Although I will take issue with some of the authors assumptions, this book should be must reading for the politicians and military who wage war, and for parents who send their children to fight wars.Read more

Subjects:  1. 1945-    2. Asia - Southeast Asia    3. Civilization    4. History    5. History & Theory - General    6. History - General History    7. History: American    8. Military - Vietnam War    9. U.S. History - Vietnam Conflict (1965-1973)    10. United States    11. United States - 20th Century    12. Vietnam War, 1961-1975    13. Vietnamese Conflict, 1961-1975    14. American history: Second World War    15. Asian / Middle Eastern history: Second World War    16. Cultural studies    17. History / Europe / General    18. USA    19. Vietnam    20. War & defence operations   

Editorial Review

Stephen E. Ambrose combines history and journalism to describe how American GIs battled their way to the Rhineland. He focuses on the combat experiences of ordinary soldiers, as opposed to the generals who led them, and offers a series of compelling vignettes that read like an enterprising reporter's dispatches from the front lines. The book presents just enough contextual material to help readers understand the big picture, and includes memorable accounts of the Battle of the Bulge and other events as seen through the weary eyes of the men who fought in the foxholes. Highly recommended for fans of Ambrose, as well as all readers interested in understanding the life of a 1940s army grunt. A sort of sequel to Ambrose's bestselling 1994 book Read more

Reviews (257)

A great survey of the Army that defeated Fascism...
The point of this book is that the United States, after watching the first few years of the war, became, itself, a massive war-power of nearly unparalleled strength.
Comprehensive and Captivating
I thoroughly enjoyed Ambrose collection of stories from GIs who learned soldiering the hard way and returned to civilian life. Ambrose levels a severe criticism, well-deserved, on the US high command: their use of replacements. In this book you will see summary tables of how many men served in each division. This table reflects the quality, or lack of quality, of division commanders and the difficulty of the missions they accomplished. But, most of all, it shows how lack of experience increased casualties. Time and again veterans recount how, as raw replacements, they were sent to divisions in the line --- to watch other replacements quickly become casualties. Not only did the soldiers have to learn their craft --- the officers also learned some hard lessons. I remember a story of a battlelion commander in Normandy warning the green colonel replacing his to have his battlelion dig in before bivoacing. The officer ignored the advice, the Germans figured out where he was and his command became casualties. In this book, Ambrose recounts the experiences, in glory and sometimes humorous detail, of these GIs who fought on the western front.

Ambrose struck a perfect balance
As the title advertised, this book follows the battles right after the allies left the beaches of Normandy, all the way through France into German territory.
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Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Campaigns    3. History    4. History - Military / War    5. Military    6. Military - United States    7. Military - World War II    8. Soldiers    9. United States    10. Western Front    11. World War, 1939-1945    12. European history: Second World War    13. Germany    14. History / Military / World War II    15. Land forces & warfare    16. Second World War, 1939-1945    17. War & defence operations   

Subjects:  1. 1268-1559    2. Civilization    3. General    4. History    5. History - General History    6. History: World    7. Italy    8. Renaissance    9. Sources    10. European history: c 500 to c 1500   

Subjects:  1. 16th century    2. 17th century    3. Catholic Church    4. Christianity - Catholicism    5. Church history    6. Europe - General    7. Europe - Germany    8. Germany - History    9. Germany, Southern    10. History    11. Religion    12. Religion - Classic Works    13. Roman Catholic Church    14. Catholic Church--Germany, Southern--History--16th century    15. European history: c 1500 to c 1750    16. Germany    17. History / Europe / General    18. History of religion    19. Roman Catholicism, Roman Catholic Church    20. Social & cultural anthropology    21. Social history    22. c 1500 to c 1600    23. c 1600 to c 1700    24. c 1700 to c 1800   

Editorial Review

This translation of Giacomo Casanova's epic memoir was first published in a multi-volume set more than 25 years ago, but this new paperback edition makes Casanova's story accessible to the general reader. Thankfully, the great Venetian adventurer's memoirs can finally be read as they were written, without the bowdlerizing that plagued them for two centuries. While Casanova is most notorious for his womanizing, his memoirs are also remarkable as they give a top-to-bottom view of European life in the 18th century. Johns Hopkins University Press has done a handsome job, packaging the entire story in six double volumes. And, in keeping with the spirit of the author, it's worth mentioning that a 17th-century painting of lounging nude woman spans across the spines of the set when they're arranged on the shelf. ... Read more

Reviews (18)

Incredible, Insightful, Captivating...there is NO excuse for not giving this a try
I started the abridged version in French, and kept thinking..."this *can't* be Casanova's writing; it's clunky, far from eloquent, and lacks style."Thankfully I was right.Though I downloaded the free version from project gutenberg (just do a google search), I was *so* impressed by this translation that I bought the hardcopy anyway.
Giacomo Casanova as a Product
(...)
There is no better guide to 18th C. Europe
Things to know about "Histoire de Ma Vie"
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Subjects:  1. 1725-1798    2. Biography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Casanova, Giacomo,    5. Europe    6. European - General    7. European - Italian    8. History: World    9. Italian Prose    10. Literary    11. Literary Criticism    12. Biography: general    13. Casanova, Giacomo    14. French   

Features

• Illustrated

Reviews (6)

Tremendous value
What a book!This book is huge and contains just about everything you would want to know about the people, the ships and the battles.I was really impressed to see the hour by hour description of the battle and the detailed descriptions of the ships appearance as well as its statistics.
A GREAT book on Nelson's Navy
The Trafalgar Companion is probably the best reference book on the Royal Navy in the time of the Napoleonic Wars.It has about 550 pages of small type and is jam packed with information.However, it is much more than its title suggests.
Fantastic coverage of Trafalgar..
The Trafalgar Companion by Mark Adkin looked very much like his Waterloo Companion that he wrote earlier. The book covers three subject matters. First is the Trafalgar campaign and battle. Second is the biographical overview of Horatio Lord Nelson and finally the third coverage deals with anatomy of navies and ships of this period although the Royal Navy get most of the coverage. Each three subjects are spread apart into sections and interlocked with the overall coverage of the topic. There are also many side bars notes that inserts interesting trivial if not important information regarding the subject matter at hand.
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Subjects:  1. Military    2. History - Military / War    3. Napoleonic Wars, 1800-1815    4. Military - Napoleonic Wars    5. Europe    6. European history: c 1750 to c 1900    7. GREAT BRITAIN_ROYAL NAVY_HISTORY    8. History / Great Britain    9. NELSON, HORATIO NELSON, VISCOUNT, 1758-1805    10. Naval forces & warfare    11. c 1800 to c 1900    12. France    13. Military - Naval    14. History    15. 19th century    16. History, Naval    17. Trafalgar, Battle of, 1805   

Reviews (149)

The Truth About War
All the barroom heroes, the bellowing "patriots," and those who are willing to fight to the last drop of someone else's blood...likely wouldn't learn anything from this book.However, for the great majority of humanity, including those who may have been seduced by the "glory" of war, this book would prove most instructive.More than any other book I have read describing personal experiences during war, this one provides a comprehensive, detailed, and compelling picture of its reality.The author spares neither himself nor anyone else, in showing the cruelty, fear, and insanity that both explain and indict battlefield conduct.He describes as "packs of wolves" the groups of starving soldiers walking for days across frozen stretches of land, who desolate whole villages in their search for food.War crimes are commonplace and as understandable as they are deplorable...and mixed in with this are the unexpected mercy, personal misery, and always the desperation of men who expect to die, but don't want to...usually.
MAJOR DISAPPOINTMENT
Before reading this controversial book, I did some research into the argument that Sajer's memoir is or is not authentic and came away from it sitting on the fence. I had to read this book and judge it for myself, having read more than a few memoirs from the German side previously. Although it has been claimed that Guy Sajer is a real person who did fight in the Wehrmacht, my sources relate that Sajer did not defend the book as a meticulous eye-witness account of the battles he was in or of the time frame in which they were fought. Essentially, Sajer says that his book is more about feelings than about facts. It is an impression of war and not a history book, so fact and accuracy take a back seat to the author's purpose of creating a mood.
Remarkable
The Forgotten Soldier is an amazing read, one that will invoke a variety of emotions within the reader.The stark and horifying landscape painted by the author places the reader right at the Eastern Front.If one wants to "feel" the experience of a soldier at battle, this is one of the best books ever written to gain that experience.
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Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Campaigns    4. Eastern Front    5. Europe - Germany    6. Germany    7. History    8. History: American    9. Military    10. Military - World War II    11. Military History - World War II    12. Personal narratives, French    13. Sajer, Guy    14. Soldiers    15. World War, 1939-1945    16. Biography & Autobiography / Military    17. Biography: historical    18. European history: Second World War   

Reviews (7)

A well written 200+ page overview
This book is a survey of the main themes in ancient history.It is not, and obviously is not meant to be, a detailed history.It provides a good overview for the casual reader, and a basic foundation for those wanting to learn more.I disagree with the reviews that state the book is inaccurate or a waste of time.

This review is of the 3rd edition
...The 3rd edition is a very, very good summary of the key contributions made to Western Civilization by the various ancient civilizations, with emphasis on the Greeks and Romans, but also covers the Mesopotamian, Egyption, and Persian civilizations. Save yourself 40 bucks!!
I am an avid reader/student of history.This book is horrible!Hollister's work reads more like a book of fiction than an accurate account of hisorical facts.His arguements are not based on any documentation, citation, or anything else.His accounts of history seem to be based soley on his opinion.If I had paid [money] for this book I would have been thoroughly disappointed but at [the price], I feel ripped off!This book is a very, very, very quick gloss over of world history.If you are considering using this book for teaching purposes... DO NOT!Your students deserve more. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Ancient - General    2. Europe - General    3. History    4. History - General History    5. History, Ancient    6. History: World    7. World - General   

Reviews (3)

A powerful, highly recommended, historically factual book
Born Free And Equal: The Story Of Loyal Japanese Americans is an impressive combination of historic photographs and writings about the Japanese-Americans who were imprisoned in Manzanar, one of ten such relocation camps, as a result of wartime fears regarding possible sabotage by members of the Japanese and Nisei (American-born men and women of Japanese ancestry) living along the American west coast. During the era of World War II, virtually all the American people of Japanese descent in the states of California, Oregon and Washington (most of them citizens), were interned in relocation camps scattered through the Midwest. Born Free And Equal captures memories of this prison community and how the families in it lived in broad, sweeping, black-and-white photographs. Born Free And Equal is a powerful, highly recommended, historically factual book, accurately capturing with poetic realism a dark and controversial aspect of America's WW II effort, which, along with such horrors as the European Holocaust and the Japanese atrocities in the Far East, must never be forgotten.

A fascinating look at this historical tragedy
In the autumn of 1943, the eminently talented photographer Ansel Adams traveled to the Relocation Center at Manzanar, California. This was one of the camps where the United States government relocated (some would say "imprisoned") the many people of Japanese descent who lived in the western, Military Zone 1, so that they could not assist Imperial Japan in its war against the United States. Among the many people sent to this camp were men, women, children and the elderly; immigrants from Japan, the children (born in the U.S.) of Japanese immigrants, and the those even farther removed from Japan; not to mention a decorated veteran of the Spanish-American War (Seaman 1st Class Harry Sumida of the U.S.S. Indiana). A magnificent work!
Finally, I was able to pick up a copy of this long-awaited book.The original is extremely expensive to pick up, and with the additional introductory information, this is an improvement. A fascinating read, fantastic print quality... A must have! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions    2. Evacuation and relocation, 194    3. Evacuation and relocation, 1942-1945    4. History - Military / War    5. History: World    6. Japanese Americans    7. Manzanar War Relocation Center    8. Military - World War II    9. Photo Essays    10. Photoessays & Documentaries    11. Photography    12. United States - 20th Century/WWII   

Reviews (1)

The bible of Italian......
This book has it all - I'm currently living in Italy and whenever I need to check ANYTHING concerning language I can turn to it and know that I'll be able to find what I'm looking for - set up in an easily comprehensible, yet very elaborate way......Perfect, perfect, perfect..... ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Europe - General    2. Foreign Language - Dictionaries / Phrase Books    3. General    4. History    5. History: World    6. Europe    7. Foreign Language Study / Italian    8. Italian    9. Language teaching & learning material & coursework   

Reviews (21)

the truth is stranger than fiction
This is a truly unique book and comparable only with Churchill's 'My Early Life' as an adventure history. Some people write adventure books, some people have adventures but Fitzroy McLean, like Churchill, or TE Lawrence, is able to do both. A rare treat and very easy to read.

Make a movie!
Great entertaining read, although it is said to have inspired Ian Fleming to write James Bond, this story is worth a place on the silver screen.

Interesting, Interesting
Eastern Approaches documents the extraordinary travels and life of Fitzroy MacLean.Maclean was a British diplomat who while in Russia became one of the first westerners to explore Central Asia during the Soviet rule.He worked with the British special forces in the North African desert and worked on behalf of the allies with the partisans in Yugoslavia during the Second world war.Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography / Autobiography    2. Historical - British    3. History    4. Military    5. Military - World War II    6. Military History - World War II    7. African history: from c 1900 -    8. Biography & Autobiography / Historical    9. Biography: general    10. Egypt    11. European history: from c 1900 -    12. Russia   

Subjects:  1. Asia - General    2. Discoveries in geography    3. Ethnopsychology    4. Europe    5. Europe - General    6. Far East    7. Foreign countries    8. General    9. History    10. History - General History    11. History: World    12. Intercultural communication    13. Relations    14. East Asia, Far East    15. Europe--Relations--Foreign countries    16. History / World    17. World history: c 1500 to c 1750   

Editorial Revie