3 comments about Cupid and the King: Five Royal Paramours.

1. Finally! A book for all of us who love those trashy historical romances! At least, those of us who love the historical parts. I found this book extremely well-researched as well as an easy read. Powerful men and the women who love them are always fascinating and Princess Micheal of Kent does a fantastic job in giving us those juicy details to keep your attention focused and your eyebrows raised, as well as enlightening you on significant historical events in Europe in the 17th through the 19th centuries. I highly recommend this book for those of you who don't like to admit being a trashy historical novel reader....this is one book you can proudly display on your bookshelves!



2. There have been royal mistresses for as long as there have been royals, but only a few have become legendary. And so a real-life royal, Princess Michael of Kent, has chronicled the lives of five of the most famous (or infamous) maitresses en titre in history. Not brilliant, but "Cupid and the King : Five Royal Paramours" is a good starting point.
   
   Nell Gwyn grew up in the gutter, the daughter of an alcoholic prostitute. But through bawdy charm and talent, she became a comedic actress on the London stages, and caught the eye of Charles Stuart. Though she wasn't as high-born as his other ladies, "Nellie" retained a place in Charles' heart until his death, and was faithful to him for the rest of her short life.
   
   Madame de Pompadour was an exceptional beauty who caught the eye of Louis XV, and was soon placed as his official mistress. Since she didn't like sex, she made herself invaluable to the king as a comforting friend, and created a salon where the cultured and artistic people of the time could gather. Unfortunately, her devotion to her king cost her her life.
   
   Marie Walewska was groomed from childhood to marry well, and help her family. But after being married off to a disgusting old aristocrat, the beautiful Marie met her girlhood hero -- Napoleon. For the sake of her country, Marie became Napoleon's mistress, and soon fell in love with him. But his ambition to create a dynasty ended their affair.
   
   Lola Montez was never what she seemed to be. After a nasty divorce, the Irish girl renamed herself, became a "Spanish" dancer, and lied constantly. She also snagged the heart of Ludwig I, king of Bavaria and terrible poet. As she bled the country dry, the angry inhabitants of Bavaria rebelled against their king, and sent Lola packing for the USA...
   
   Lily Langtry was a tomboy, a prankster, and her first taste of polite society was a disaster. But after marrying, she captivated London (and Oscar Wilde) with her beauty and charm. And then she captivated playboy Edward VII, his naive young cousin, and eventually reinvented herself as a respected actress.
   
   Yeah, it doesn't really say much that hasn't been said before. Many books have handled the history of courtesans and royal mistresses, and Princess Michael doesn't add much that is new to the mix. It's basically five short biographies, going over the entire lives of the subjects with plenty of interesting facts, but only a few new insights.
   
   Her writing style is solid enough, exploring the different personal and political facets of the mistresses, the kings, and their families. It's worth noting that even though the author is royalty, only the last of the bios reveals anything about royalty, upper-class society, and the effects of a royal mistress. The rest of the time it's typical "religion disapproved, pious queen suffered, money was spent" and so on.
   
   And four of the five have some great quality that sets them apart -- patriotism, intelligence, charm, or just loyal fun. But Lola Montez doesn't fit in. Despite Princess Michael's gushing, she seems like a callous, ditsy gold-digger compared to Madame de Pompadour or Lily Langtry.
   
   Though it doesn't add any new information, "Cupid and the King : Five Royal Paramours" is a pleasant read for people who are looking for juicy pre-tabloid gossip.



3. I thouroughly enjoyed this book. Princess Michael's writing style is chatty and open, and she chose five interesting women to study. It's a great "beach read" for lovers of biographies, history or even royal gossip.

3 comments about Nothing Too Good for a Cowboy.

1. AS exciting as the other two books.Humerous,yet portrays the adventure and hardship of that era.



2. I've read all three of Hobson's excellent books about his adventures in the Canadian wilderness. My son, who is a real cowboy in Montana, told me about the books, saying, "These books tell the real story, mom--this is what it's like out here, particularly during the long, lonely, winter days and nights." Hobson's writing style, simple yet eloquent imagery, is perfect. I actually got chills when reading about grizzly attacks and those 70-degree below nights when both man and beast had to work to stay alive. Great stories, great writing!



3. This enjoyable and well-written cowboy memoir takes readers to the hinterlands of central British Columbia during the war years of 1939-1942. The author and his partner Panhandle Phillips take over the two-million-acre Frontier Cattle Company, located in grassland valleys among the mountain ranges, several days' ride from the nearest town and over 200 miles from the nearest rail line. It is a land where winters are severe, and the first challenge facing them is a December cattle drive that ends in near-disaster as the men are overtaken by a fierce blizzard and sub-zero temperatures.
   
   The son of an admiral in the U.S. Navy, Hobson is an educated Easterner living a life of pioneering adventure on one of the last western frontiers on the continent. His story is peopled with a large cast of memorable characters, including cowhands, ranchers, storekeepers, and Indians. His gifts as a writer are many, as he intensifies the suspense and drama of several high-risk enterprises and fully relishes the humor in others. The attempt to transport a herd of wild horses by night from an offshore island to the Vancouver stockyards is told with a masterful grasp of knee-slapping farce. There's even a little romance, as our cowboy hero goes in breathless search of the girl of his dreams, armed only with a snapshot of her standing beside a prize Jersey bull. Readers will also enjoy Paul St. Pierre's short stories and novels set a decade later in the same remote ranch country.

5 comments about Fellowship, The: The Untold Story of Frank Lloyd Wright and the Taliesin Fellowship.

1. What fun this book is! I could hardly put it down. A fascinating, almost embarrassingly readable entree into a group of brilliant, talented and contradictory people who literally changed the face of America. Frank Lloyd Wright comes across as a conflicted and rather scary genius who attracted star-struck acolytes prepared to put up with his mercurial humors; his family and entourage are equally vividly brought to life, as is the fascinating intellectual and artistic spirit of the times in which Wright's unique vision was born and developed. Some critics claim that sources are not cited - not true, they are, dozens of pages of them, but you don't realize they're there until you've finished the book (no callouts in the main text). Treat yourself to this one, you're almost certain to love it, and learn from it too.



2. Like many former apprentices I learned much more about Olgivanna
   than I knew from my own contact during the time I was apprenticed at
   Taliesin. It never occurred to me that she was indeed cruel--I just thought she was
   FLLW's means to keep himself free of the logistics of housekeeping.
   He never expressed much liking for the mystic Gurjieff, and Olgivanna set up the school
   following Wright's death which spelled the demise of Wright's ideas in favor of the mystic.
   
   I am sorry that the existing remnants of the Fellowship at Taliesin
   seem to have prevailed in denying this exposition. The idolization of
   Olgivanna persists!
   
   The book reveals it all and is a great read!
   
   Bill Patrick



3. The 20th Century was to have been the era of transformation in which the human race, and indeed human nature itself was to be wholly revised and repaired. There were as many different formulas as there were thinkers and doers. From Lenin to the Ayatollahs, everyone had a plan to bring paradise back from the lost and found. It hardly needs to be said that all of the various visions found themselves at war with each other. More than 100 million people died in the ensuing competition.
   
   Frank Lloyd Wright thought that transformation would be a natural result of living in a dwelling that conformed with his ideas of "organic architecture". The dwelling would be properly sited in a non-urban, highly programmed, planned community. He hated cities.
   
   In the Taliesin Fellowship, Wright had the opportunity to operate his vision the way a model railroad enthusiast operates a miniature transportation network. The results are instructive. The story is a most entertaining read and well told by the authors, Roger Friedland and Harold Zellman. The writing is excellent. The narrative has everything: sex, power, ego, mysticism, a grand vision, vivid characters, tragedy and madness.
   
   Frank Lloyd Wright has been called the greatest architect of the 20th Century. He may be. It will remain an article of debate for as long as people care about 20th Century building. There is no debate that he lived in interesting times. The Taliesin Fellowship is an excellent mirror in which to glimpse both some of the glory and some of the horror of that time.



4. I have always been fascinated by FLW's architecture, my favorite styles being the Prairie and Usonian styles. When you read which and how many buildings he had built per year, it hits you as being odd that he built very little during the roaring 20's? How did he survive during the depression? How could he afford to build such elaborate estates on architecture fees?
   
   The Fellowship was the answer. I was amazed to discover from this book that he created a school and named it the FLW Fellowship. Applicants paid yearly tuitions to work there! In the beginning the education was gained by learning how to build Taliesin and doing such things as kitchen details and farming. It was gratifying to know that only rich kids could afford to attend the FLW Fellowship since no one except the rich during the depression had and money left. Rich kids paying to farm and do manual labor for FLW. Ya gotta love that.
   
   During the early phase of the Fellowship, Wes Peters (apprentice) and Svetlana Wright (FLW's adopted daughter) left Taliesin. "Svetlana wrote Wes" about Olgivanna (FLW's 3rd wife, Svet's mother), "When I read her words I feel that a witch sits behind them! And I feel all sort of creepy and unclean!" That is exactly how I felt as I experienced this book............UNCLEAN.
   
   FLW was a person of extreme contrast or shall I say a person that lived a bi-polar existence. He attracted the like into his Fellowship. I always wondered why his "organic architecture" never spread thru America. His ego would not allow it. He simply could not allow the possibility that someone else could progress his work to an even higher level of genius than his ego. His ego would not allow his genius to be "shared". This is the real FLW tragedy. For a genius to live to be 92 years old and not be able to "grow" apprentices to practice organic architecture. Pitiful. What a perfect ego lesson!
   
   FLW's architecture is nothing more than the celebration of the ego. It breaks my heart.
   
   It apparently took the authors ten years to write this book. The source material is amazing. While I doubt all the authors' conclusions are correct, they with their extensive research in my opinion used their best judgments in drawing conclusions. Most judgments are slanted towards being harsh.
   
   I often thought that FLW was cruel to leave his first family consisting of a wife and six children. Now I am convinced that by abandoning his first family, he saved them from even greater cruelty. If you decide to read this book and experience this very dark journey, I am sure you will agree with me that staying away from FLW was one of the best decisions one could make.



5. Absoulutley amazing research the author has put into this book! I have never read a book on Frank Lloyd Wright so well entailed and so complete as this one. The book is very entertaining and could not put it down!

5 comments about Two Wheels North: Bicycling the West Coast in 1909.

1. This book is an amazingly well-written story of the adventures of two young men bicycling from Santa Rosa, California to the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition in Seattle in 1909. You are drawn into the narrative until, before you know it, you find yourself riding along with them on their trip, tasting the dust, feeling their occasional pain, and even enjoying a piece of pie with them... and then you realize that, like an Ansel Adams photograph, you have been drawn into an illusion of a reality long past. And, smiling, you dive back into the book and continue pedaling.



2. I first bought the book because of its Vashon Island connection, being a lifelong islander myself. But I quickly decided it's one of the best bicycle touring stories in my library -- the boys come alive in the writing, no dreary list of statistics and mileposts, just two boys becoming men on their ride north to Seattle. Puts a whole new perspective on that ride for anyone who has cycled the Pacific Coast route in modern times.



3. If you enjoy reading about cycling and living this is a great book. I've read every touring and cycling book you can imagine, but this is the best! It really gives you a new perspective on how we ride today when you look at what these two boys had to endure at the turn of the century when roads did not exists as we know today. A truly well written adventure, great venacular dialogue, credible and yet an incredible story.



4. I bought this book thinking it would be an interesting adventure tale. It is that but so much more. The writing is poetic and heart warming. An absolutely wonderful little book!!



5. For anybody going on bike tours this is a humbling book to read, and hard to put down. You can't help but root for two 18 year old boys who don't know enough not to make the trip. It also has special meaning for anyone who has ever driven all or parts of I-5 from San Francisco to Seattle. In 1909 it was possible to stay on the best road between California and Washington, and still get lost. Finally you get a feel for what life was like when my grandfather was alive. The postcards the two boys sent to their parents show buildings still standing today, but life was so much different. A good read.

5 comments about Patriarch: George Washington and the New American Nation.

1. I found Smith's biography of Washington educational, but at times dry. I certainly learned a lot in reference to Washington and the various trials he faced in holding together a fledgling government. However, I also found less enjoyment in this book than in others about Washington's contemporaries. Students of history and particularly government and diplomacy will find this book very informative. It is not however, for the average reader merely looking to become more familar with our first president.



2. I was fascinated with this book about Washington's Presidency, but I would be remiss in not mentioning that is not much concerned with anything outside his presidency. It is not dry or lacking in details, but I found myself becoming more interested in the fleeting, anectdotal passages, or some of the more personal interactions Washington had. For instance, I found it gripping to follow Washington's decision making process when he is presented with evidence that a close acquaintance may be a traitor. This story only goes on for about two pages and similar examinations are found only few and far between the long stretches on global situations and policies. However, I would guess this proves that one of the important things to note about Washington was that he was not as outwardly notable as some of the more flamboyant and boisterous of those founding fellows surrounding him.

   I feel very informed about Washington the president, but I would now like to learn a little bit more about the man.




3. I bought Richard N. Smith's "Patriarch" at an airport gift shop because I was looking at two long boring flights and there wasn't any book that looked better. The situation was grim because I am no learned scholar or erudite student with 200 other books about Washington on the shelves.
   But once I started "Patriarch" I simply could barely put it down. Somehow, Richard Smith was coaxing that cheerless Washington out of that stodgy old painting we've all seen and bringing GW to life. The "Founding Father" was - surprise - a real life person and, truth is, as a person and a statesman, he was positively jam up!
   Before "Patriarch", it never occured to me what a real-time, online chore he had launchinig this country during his first Presidency. He, and mostly he alone, was the cool forge water that quenched Hamilton's fire and tempered Jefferson's steel to save the new country from a virtual "crib death". Washington's shepherding of the Constitution from damp and dangerous footing to solid ground was a feat nothing short of Incredible. And as the pages of "Patriarch" flew by for this jaded 60s-era non-Historian Washington's stature rose again like a Phoenix, and for the first time I understood why that glum old guy in that drab old picture was, and is, so venerated even 200 years after his death.
   This book, "Patriarch", is George Washinton - The Man - at his Best, and thanks to Richard Norton Smith, you will actually enjoy meeting him this time around.



4. If you are looking to add to an existing collection of books on Washington, this would really help complement it. This book was not what I was looking for, however.
   
   What I was looking for was a book that (1) shed light on Washington as the man who presided over the creation of a new nation and (2) did not go over the head of someone who didn't take any American History class at the college level. It sorta met these criteria, but I think it would be more appreciated by someone who were familiar with the historical context and wanted to add to it. I felt like I read a lot of snippets which shed some light during this period in his life, but I didn't get a good feel of the significance or the context of his achievements.
   
   Biographies (which this really isn't, because it only covered his life in the 1790's) are difficult to write because you have to present the facts but make it appealing as a fictional story (narrative trajectory, character development, etc...). I felt that the author has an elegant style of writing, but I kept saying "So what?" to myself at the end of the chapters. The book describes many instances where Washington maintained the delicate balance between the "Hamilton" style vs. the "Jefferson" philosophies of the federal government, along with many other political maneuverings and actions which occurred, but my impressions are that this book is better suited for complementing someone's existing knowledge of his achievements than a layperson like me who is several years removed from AP History.



5. This book concentrates on Washington's administration. It gave me a new appreciation for how instrumental he was in building the nation--not just freeing a collection of thirteen states from Britain.
   
   Except for what I felt was the author's ponderous style, this is a great book.

5 comments about Napoleon.

1. Concise look at Napoleon and his exploits. This essay is best used as an introduction to be followed up by Schom, Asprey and Horne.



2. If you're looking for a complete account of post revolutionary Europe or of Napoleon's life, this is not the right book.
   
   If what you're looking for is a summary of major events in the life of Napoleon, then this is the right book. It does not go into detail and leaves out particularly interesting passages of Bonaparte's carreer, such as some of the battles and in particular Auterlitz.
   
   As can be expected, if you have read about Napoleon before, you will be left with a sense of emptiness, as some critical and crucial events are covered in a single paragraph.
   
   The only major shortcomming of the book is that it practically ignores Napoleon's relationship with women (Josephine, Marie-Louise)which as we all know is key to understanding Napoleonic history.
   
   The book is very well documented and overall presents a very nice introduction to Napoleon. Also, it is easy to read....



3. Markham's book on Napolean is incredibly fast paced. Napolean's life could (and often does) fill volumes, but Markham fits it all in a surprisingly small book. I bought this book on a recommendation from a history professor with the intention of quickly filling in a gap of history that I was less informed about. Essentially, it did just that. You could almost compare the book to a large encyclopedia entry. Not that it's bland or dry, but it is informative and sans literary fluff.
   
   Overall, however, I enjoyed the book and would definitely would recommend it to anyone seeking to quickly grasp who Napolean was and how his life shaped Europe. A great introduction to this overwritten topic.



4. I enjoyed this quick tour through the life of Buonaparte but thought that the number of names and name places within short proximity and also that of annoying italicized nomenclature scattered on every page was suited for a fellow historian but not a lover of literature. Because this book seeks to encompass all of napoleonic history (including in part, military technology, European industry, politics, etc.)inside relatively few pages, the ride jolts quite a bit. There is not a great deal of smooth transition. I believe the author intended that those who would read his work begin at a mutual level of common knowledge about the subject matter.
   
   On a positive note, it is a good introduction at a critical assessment of Napolean. It is from at least my limited point of view on the subject, still a grand story. But despite the historical method and criticism, however erudite, there still remains a charm and mystery and one appreciates the extraordinary force of Napolean's personality and his enduring legend all the more. So in the end, it seems almost impossible to write a bad version of an incredible tale. But I suggest starting another place if you are into polished literature. If a beginner historian--a perfect place.



5. I don't know what Felix Markham was contemplating when he decided not to write more about Napoleon's relationship with Josephine. Relegating her to a mere footnote in Napoleon's life was inexcusable.
   Moreover, one has to beg to differ and ask the question as to why Markham took it upon himself not to dramatize the wars that were fought, the socio-economic situations that developed, Napoleon's personal life, or his psychological makeup?
   
   Unfortunately, there just isn't any attention to detail in this book, and a historically charismatic figure such as Napoleon, whose lead a sophisticated yet complex lifestyle needs his story to be detailed in the utmost capacity.
   So, in adhering to this argument, it becomes difficult to fathom that Markham managed to skip to one event after another with no rhyme or reason, which made his lethargic literary attempt very difficult to ascertain, nevermind follow.
   
   Markham also drops many names of so-called main players in the story, but manages not to tell you anything about them.
   I couldn't fathom how Markham had the audacity to write a 304-page book that should have been well over a thousand pages, or several volumes so people who are unfamiliar with Napoleon's exploits can envisage who these historical figures were and their part in shaping history.
   
   There wasn't any background information on the secondary players in Markham's account. And insofar as "the Battle of Waterloo." Why wasn't there any mention of Nathan Rothschild's banking/insider trading fraud, which gave him controlling interest of the Bank of England? Nathan Rothschild lied to market speculators about the outcome of the battle, promulgating that Napoleon won the war, which caused the speculators to dump their stocks and assets,leaving Rothschild to purchase their assets for pennies on the dollar, making him one of the wealthest entrepreneur in Europe. Also, Napoleon was in debt to the Rothschilds and he ran out of money and that's why he ended up losing the war. Anyone with half a brain knows you need money to win, and Markham left all of this key information out of his account.
   
   So, in conclusion, Felix Markham is indeed one of the worst chroniclers of history I've ever come across, and he had no business writing about Bonaparte. It is painfully apparent that he wrote this book for people who are already pretty savvy when it comes to the Napoleonic Wars, and no one (including Markham) can successfully write a historical account of warfare without exploring the causes, the effects, and motivative passions.
   So I reiterate that this was a lazy/sad attempt, and I strongly recommend reading something else more detailed.

5 comments about Bound for the Promised Land: Harriet Tubman: Portrait of an American Hero.

1. Who is this woman they called "Moses?" and what did she do to acquire this name?
   In this work by Kate Larson we examine the life and workings of Harriet Tubman, a remarkable woman who risked her life for others. The author takes us along the journey of Ms.Tubman's life and her battle for freedom and the freedom of others who were slaves at this time.
   The author's work shows her intense research as she carefully outlines and puts together all the pieces of this incredible woman's life. Her writing style is factual yet she draws you along in a gentle storytelling manner that keeps your attention.
   The pictures that were included added much realism to the read as pictures certainly help by putting a face on the character you are reading about. I found this work very enlightening and certainly learned a lot about an outstanding woman of history and the era in which she lived.
   Shirley Johnson



2. Bound for the Promised Land is the first book that I have actually read to the very end, in a long time. I could not put this book down! As I turned page after page, there was wonderful historic fact couched in a way that is easily understood by the reader and placed within a believeable context of time, places, and people whom Harriet Tubman encountered or assisted during her long lifetime.
   
   Kate Clifford Larson brings Harriet Tubman to life because of the many details she includes in the book. I was in awe as to how the author would know such extensive information. Clearly, this book was thoroughly researched. The biographer goes beyond just presenting facts. She also analyzes situations and interprets them. One example concerns why Tubman 'kidnapped' her own niece and brought her to Canada. No other print source that I have read so far has presented a theory as to why that may have occurred.
   
   This book is a must-read for any serious student of history and particularly those who are interested in the Underground Railroad and those abolitionists and conductors who facilitated flights to freedom. Magnificent piece of writing and well worth reading!
   
   Patricia L. Cummings



3. This book is woefully and inadequately researched. Here, again, there are those who want to continue to make a buck off the backs of slaves some 141 years later. The good news is that some of us know the truth and reject this as merely an Internet driven collaboration of conjecture. It is nauseating to suggest that Harriet's own account of her life can't be taken as fact. It's typical of these same people to accept, without question, the life recollections of Robert E. Lee or any of the other so-called "great American heroes". Typical yet not surprising. You should stick with subject matter that won't prove you wrong at the end of the day.



4. An excellent book! You will learn so much more than you ever thought you knew about Harriet and what you did learn in school doesn't hold a candle to who she really is. This is a remarkable book and should be part of every middle school history class. Larson has done an excellent job bringing this much information to us and years of research do it. Remarkable!



5. This book was exceptionlly well researched. The author did a good job of separating fact from fiction, while acknowledging the many myths about Harriet Tubman that have been part of the oral history surrounding this remarkable woman.

2 comments about Letterbook of Eliza Lucas Pinckney, 1739-1762: Intriguing Letters by One of Colonial America's Most Accomplished Women (Women's Diaries & Letters of the Nineteenth-Century South).

1. I thought I had written a review for this book awhile back but hadn't so here it is. Wonderful journal of information on Eliza Lucas Pinchney, a South Carolina woman of history who brought Indigo into prominence. Fascinating research within about this woman and her passion for nature and plant dye.



2. Eliza Lucas Pinckney did almost everything. She was the daughter of a British Officer, making her a military brat, she helped run the plantation, developed the market for indigo that allowed Charleston, SC, to survive, wrote a cook book, educated some of her slaves, made sure her children were educated and fought cancer! Her letters are full of amazing facts, of both her daily life and the life of the colonists. Her letters cover everything from her own problems to wars, Indian attacks and taxes. It is a great addition to any library.

No comments about Churchill's Bodyguard: The Authorised Biography of Walter H. Thompson.

4 comments about From the Ashes of Sobibor: A Story of Survival (Jewish Lives).

1. Among the most common questions asked of Holocaust survivors are why the Jews didn't fight back: Why, it is wondered, did they let their families go to their death so easily? The recollections of Blatt, a survivor of the extermination camp Sobibor, in Poland, where Jews staged a successful revolt, addresses these questions in a frank and gripping narrative. Blatt's account demonstrates how the Germans kept Jews in Poland subjugated through random terror combined with promises that the status quo would be maintained if the Jews cooperated. By the time Blatt reached Sobibor with his family, it was too late for resistance. Perhaps the most frightening, and dispiriting, part of Blatt's account is how Christian Poles at times robbed, terrorized, or even murdered Jewish fugitives, such as the Sobibor escapees. A chilling narrative; highly recommended for Judaica collections and Holocaust specialists as well as general readers.



2. Mr. Thomas Toivi Blatt gives us a chilling look into what it was like to live and just survive under a barbaric system; one where one's neighbors and friends became their enemies and pursuers in the aim to please the occupation forces of Nazism. Mr. Thomas Toivi Blatt and others like him survived against incredible odds to their survival. It makes one reflect on and cherish each and every day that we live in freedom without the tremendous tyranny that Mr. Thomas Toivi Blatt, his family, and many others endured on a day to day basis for several years. Thank you Mr. Thomas Toivi Blatt for your sincere and honest reflections.



3. I thought this book was amazing. My history teacher recommended this to me after i read 'man's search for meaning'.
   It's an incredibly honest and gripping book on the life of a young man survivng sobibor and the activies around it.
   It will definately make you be thankful for what you have and not to take anything for granted. A truly inspirational book.



4. I thought this book was okay, but for some reason I was not as enthralled by it as "Escape from Sobibor". Maybe this was because I found it difficult to relate to the author of this book so much. It is definitely worth reading, though, for anybody who is interested in knowing about the resistance to the Nazis.