5 comments about Warlords: An Extraordinary Re-creation of World War II through the Eyes and Minds of Hitler, Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin.

1. This is supossed to be "through the eyes and minds of Htler", among others.
   Yet the authors do not even mention HITLER'S WAR , by David Irving , or THE STRUGGLE FOR EUROPE, by Chester Wilmot in their Bibliography, which are considered by John Keegan to be the two books in English that "stand out from the vast literature of the Second World War".
   Don't waiste your time.
   Read the above two books instead of waisting your time with this one,
   as I regretfully did.
   The fact that you can now get them on Marketplace for $1.74 less than a year after publication speakes volumes about what actual readers think.
   Very very few of us care to retain this shoddy scholarship in our libraries.



2. I often judge a book by where it takes me next. This book started me down a path to 'The Dark Valley (Brendon), 'Stalingrad' (Beevor), 'Rites of Spring' (Eksteins) and 'Nazi Games' (Large). So, maybe it wasn't great scholarship as a reviewer said. It was an enjoyable read.



3. It is a book that is very interesting to read and I would give a higher rate if it was not for something big missing. They concentrated the story on Europe, they forgot Japan and Asia. That was a World War, and not an European War.
   
   I guess the way Japan functioned during the war is not so well known so there is something important missing, who was the Japanese leader that influenced the major decisions, how he thought? What was happening inside Japan during this period of time? What kind of leadership they had? What was the role of the emperor? of General Tojo or Admiral Yamamoto? Any of them was the major war brain?
   
   In continental Asia, there was a major drama happening in China at the time, two importante leaders in world history,Mr. Chiang and Mr. Mao would unite forces to fight a foreign enemy... what roles they played, what was the interaction with the USA at the time, how this influences the USA attitudes toward China until today?
   
   If we look at the Allied powers there was two real superpowers, USA and USSR, Britain had not the resources to fight the war, but Churchill was put in the book because of his personality, without the USA he would have played a very different role in WWII. The italian leader, Mussolini was also someone to be analyzed, he was in a position similar to Churchill, with fewer resources and a weeker player, but it would complete the picture.
   
   I would add a few other questions regarding Mr. Roosevelt and his style of management...How advanced he was in concepts of Management? what concepts he applied? how good he was in identifying talented people to do the required tasks? how he motivated the whole free world to work together in the future? the depth of his vision for the future and what mission he established for the Allied powers and his mistakes... The Roosevelt administration used how many concepts of modern management theory?
   
   All my questioning above is due to the fact that I liked very much to read this book. It may not be very precise in its research, but makes you feel closer to the minds and the thinking that the major players did... I would add a companion book to this one:Why the Allies Won by Richard Overy.



4. This is a solid book with an extensive investigation behind it. The personalities of the "warlords" are nicely portrayed and one does get the felling of being in the middle of the discussions and the negotiations of the leaders. I recommend this book if you are interested in knowing what each of the leaders were after, what their objectives were, and how the planned their actions in order to achieve them.



5. This is an excellent treatment of the interaction and the motivations of the four leaders of the WWII in Europe. The time-sequenced approach works well to show the drama of the time. Roosevelt comes off particularly bad in my opinion because of his Chamberlanish approach to Stalin.

5 comments about Fly Fast...Sin Boldly.

1. A great book from one of the coolest guys I know!!
   It is a "must" for anybody, who has something to do with aviation.
   I would appreciate it, when this book will be continues published.



2. A book that once you pick up you can't put down. A wonderful insight into Aviation and the adventures of a truly remarkable man.



3. Owning and flying a WW II P-38 Lightning at age 17 is just one of the many episodes of his life that Bill Lear vividly brings back to life in this autobiography of his life. His knowledge of all aspects of aviation, his insight into life and relationships, combined with his great sense of humor, make this a book that is hard to put down once you start reading it. The only thing better than reading about his experiences is to hear him tell about some of them in person and I feel fortunate to have been able to experience that.

   Non aviation enthusiasts will enjoy this book as well as aviation enthusiasts. It is a great gift idea and everyone of our friends who have read it have enjoyed it.




4. A friend loaned me the book. Having been in the aviation field all my life I found the book to be very entertaining. If you are merely an aviation Buff or involved, like I am, you will relate to much of the story. It's a fast read with hilarious anecdotes.



5. Normally Bill Lear Jr. is described in books about his famous father THE Bill Lear (Learjet) as somewhat a playboy who crashed a lot of planes. Perhaps this is the curse of having a famous father? Bill Lear Jr. has his own say here and comes across a bit of an a@#hole but he did fly a lot of high-performance aircraft, starting from an early age. His experiences doing the early air shows and air races are worth reading about. It was a different time when business deals were a bit loose and so I will give Bill Jr. the benefit of the doubt. Even his military experience is notable. Later in his career he seems to have become a successful aircraft and avionics salesman. Like his father, he had problems/opportunities with women and I lost count after wife #3. I find it a bit strange that he writes very little of his relationships with his children. All in all, a good read about a pilot with opportunity and balls.

1 comments about Terrible Swift Sword: The Legacy of John Brown.

1. John Brown the abolitionist (1800-59) defied the ruling assumptions of the anti-slavery movement by taking up arms against proslavery forces, blending his own brand of militancy with a devout Calvinist piety that many historians still find difficult to comprehend. In the nearly 150 years since his failed raid on the federal armory at Harper's Ferry, [West] Virginia, and his subsequent execution in December 1859, the nation has been divided over the real meaning of John Brown to the United States, and often the line that has been drawn between his critics and supporters has been nearly identical to the color line.
   
   Sensitive to the renaissance of interest in Brown that became apparent in the 1990s, Peggy Russo, assistant professor of English at Pennsylvania State University at Mont Alto, developed and hosted a wonderful multidisciplinary symposium entitled "John Brown: The Man, the Legend, the Legacy," held on her campus in July 1996. A guiding presence at the conference was Paul Finkelman, now the President William McKinley Distinguished Professor of Law at Albany Law School. Among other works, Finkelman had already edited a collection of scholarly writings on Brown entitled HIS SOUL GOES MARCHING ON, published in 1995 (University Press of Virginia). A decade later these two scholars have published TERRIBLE SWIFT SWORD: THE LEGACY OF JOHN BROWN (Ohio University Press, 2005), a collection of twelve essays gathered from the contributions of conference participants.
   
   The book is prepared in an attractive paperback format and includes some classic illustrations and a basic chronology of Brown's life--the latter being somewhat helpful although marked by a number of errors in dating. The editors have divided the essays into five sections: contemporaries and supporters of Brown, Brown defined, behavioral analyses of Brown, literary representations of Brown, and Brown and cultural iconography.
   
   By far the best section is the first, which features excellent historical research by Dean Grodzins, who provides insight into the social and political background of one of Brown's most notable supporters, the Rev. Theodore Parker. Likewise, Hannah Geffert, an expert on the theme of black participation in the Harper's Ferry raid, shatters conventional assumptions about the interest and support shown by local enslaved people in Brown's efforts. Jean Libby, perhaps the foremost documentary scholar on Brown since the late Boyd Stutler and Clarence Gee, provides insight into the life of Thomas Henry, a leading black clergyman that Brown tried--and failed--to contact and enlist in his efforts.
   
   Other notable contributions are made by Israeli scholar, Eyal Naveh, who explains how and why Brown's image as a martyr was undermined in the post-Reconstruction era, and by Charles J. Holden, who shows how Southern writers in the post-Civil War used their hostile portrayal of Brown to justify the defeated South and its lost cause. On the other hand, William Keeney provides an equally fascinating discussion about the use of poetry by Brown's admirers just prior to the Civil War, and how their literary efforts were designed to circumvent what they found to be difficult questions concerning Brown and his methods.
   
   Editor Russo likewise makes a most enlightening and entertaining contribution in discussing Raymond Massey's cinematic portrayal of Brown in two Hollywood classics, "Santa Fe Trail" (1940) and "Seven Angry Men" (1955). As Russo shows, the former portrayed Brown quite negatively, raising some scholarly criticism. However Russo does not mention that one of Brown's direct descendants actually tried to bring a lawsuit against Warner Brothers for maligning her forebear, and it was undoubtedly "Santa Fe Trail" that Malcolm X later criticized for having made Brown look like a "nut." Russo shows how the social and political context had changed between 1940 and 1955 when "Seven Angry Men" was released, and although Massey reprised his role as Brown in the latter, it was a very different film for reasons both positive and negative.
   
   
   Notwithstanding these notable essays, TERRIBLE SWIFT SWORD is a multidisciplinary collection and therefore bears the burden of contemporary perception and interpretation, some of it trendy more than grounded in thoroughgoing research. Most notable in this regard is the unfortunate section featuring behavioral analyses, the contributions of which are so decidedly biased, unfair, and to a degree meretricious that they have no value to those genuinely interested in studying the life of John Brown the man who lived.
   
   Of course by including such contributions, editors Russo and Finkelman have remained faithful to their intention of presenting the range of views and interests coming out of the Mont Alto conference that, in my opinion as an attendee, included a degree of creative writing and visceral John Brown bashing. Still, the book's subtitle (The Legacy of John Brown) may be misleading since TERRIBLE SWIFT SWORD is really more about the legacy of a fascinating and well-produced conference than about the abolitionist himself.
   
   Multidisciplinary collections like this have their place, but their value for serious students of Brown's life and times is quite limited. For too long John Brown has suffered--perhaps far more than most controversial figures in American history--precisely because the image of him created by novelists, journalists, and others has been too readily embraced as factual. After a century-and-a-half of politically charged diatribes and sloppy characterizations, this biographer hopes that the 21st century will finally mark an era when John Brown receives the kind of fair-minded attention by historical researchers that he deserves. Despite the valuable insights of its editors and several of its contributors, TERRIBLE SWIFT SWORD unfortunately extends the legacy of "knowlege production professionals" whose biases and unstudied presumptions have made a mess of John Brown historiography.
   
   Louis A. DeCaro Jr.

2 comments about Napoleon (Life & Times S.) (Life&Times).

1. This is a compliliation of some of the worst writing I have even seen, which seems to be leading nowhere. If there is a theme, which has yet to emerge three-quarters into the book, it is buried in sentences such as: "In one part of Northern Europe, however, little was only briefly large."

   Only if that sentence means something to you would I recommend buying it.




2. The author has an earlier book which I have entitled "Napoleon and his Artists" covering most of the same ground.
   I did not buy this book for the above reason and a quick browse confirmed that suspicion.
   Thus this book rehashes almost the same topics - Napoleon's life, his achievements especially in the artistic sphere and thru Josephine's patronage, his relations with the savants, during and after the Egyptian campaign, specific anecdotes on Vivant Denon, Jean L Gros,and of course Jacques L David. Nothing new.

1 comments about The Long Journey Home from Dak to: The Story of an Airborne Infantry Officer Fighting in the Central Highlands Republic of Vietnam 1967-1968.

1. When I received this book in the mail and saw the cover I thought...i got screwed. The cover looks like some 'Feel Good',, 'I Got Religion' Book ...Boy,,,Was I wrong. This is one of the best books about the Herd, yet. I'd say it is a tie with Stealth Patrol.
   Lt Denny arrived at Dak To in July 67. The Herd was set up around the airstrip and it looked like everything had been spray painted with mud. It was the Monsoon Season. He tells of the battle with the NVA for Hill 830. After a couple of months in Tuy Hoa, on the coast,,,the Brigade was called back to Dak To around the end of Oct or first of Nov 67. Lt Denny gives one of the few First Hand Accounts of Hill 875.
   The book tells how he went to Vietnam with patriotic feelings and returned with a Well Deserved Attitude. Standard Issue Attitude in The Herd.
   Unlike CSM Ted Arthurs' book,,,Denny dosen't Sugar Coat any of the Inept Leaders. He tells it like it is. Most oficers had only 6 months of command time to do great things and advance their careers. Like most of the guys,,,Denny wasn't planning on a career. He wanted to stay alive and keep his men alive in spite of all the incompetence at the upper levels of command. He has several little Quotes throughout the book. One of my favorites is: ''Strange as it may seem, no amount of learning will cure stupidity; and formal education positively fortifies it.''
   If you really are interested in The Herd,,,this book is a MUST READ. It isn't a long book. Denny gets right to the point,,,he gives some background on himself and gets right to the Meat. He spends some time talking about PTSD, which I mostly skipped, and gives a good glossary of Words and terms used in Vietnam.
   One last thing,,,,This is one of the few books where the Herd is Correctly Spelled. The Correct Spelling is: 173d Airborne Brigade. There is no ''R'' in 173d.

2 comments about Trafalgar's Lost Hero: Admiral Lord Collingwood and the Defeat of Napoleon.

1. Collingwood was an outstanding naval officer who contributed much to England's maritime victories during the Napoleonic wars. Unfortunately, he lived and worked along with Britain's greatest, most controversial, and most fascinating admiral, Horatio Nelson.The immense volume of literature about Nelson has overshadowed interest in the life of Collingwood. While we know an immense amount about Nelson's life and career (read Sugden's new biography of only the first part of Nelson's life), we know little about Collingwood. His childhood and early career are almost entirely undocumented, posing a challenge for a biographer. His later life shows him to be a sailor of skill, a brave and aggressive fighter, and, in all likelihood, a better diplomat than Nelson. This book is pleasantly written, a quick read, and probably tells us as much about Collingwood as can be unearthed. Collingwood was not as complex and fascinating a personality as Nelson, but he comes across as a solid officer, and a kind person. Worth reading to fill in some gaps in our knowledge of this remarkable period in naval warfare.



2. On the whole, this proves to be an pretty interesting biography on Admiral Cuthbert Lord Collingwood. Since not much is known about this man and his career, that made the book even more interesting par say.
   
   The book appears to be well written and researched. The lack of primary sources seem to hampered the author. But its pretty clear that the author covers most aspects of Collingwood's life and his naval career. What will surprised most readers appears to be Collingwood's close friendship with Horatio Lord Nelson who appears to be Collingwood's total opposite in personality. The book appears to be geared toward the novice reader although its informative for all readers. If there were any great weakness in this biography, it may be that the author appears to be over enthusiastic about his subject as if Collingwood can do no wrong.
   
   But on the whole, this biographical work does justice to Lord Collingwood and managed to bring this naval warrior from under Lord Nelson's shadow and give him a bit of little lime light of his own. While the book tries to paint Collingwood in the same likeness of one of these fictional naval heroes, the book clearly shows that Collingwood is definitely no Aubrey, Hornblower or Bolitho. I strongly recommended this book for those whose interest in Napoleonic naval history remains high.

5 comments about Next of Kin: A Brother's Journey to Wartime Vietnam.

1. I am a woman in my early 40's and don't usually read books on war or enjoy hearing about war, but I couldn't put this book down. It was written so well that I couldn't wait to find out what happened next. It begins with young Tom Reilly, losing both of his parents and how his brother, Ron, was a constant in his life. Tom, at the age of 19, goes to Vietnam to find out the truth about his brother's death and his "adventure" over there. Tom has written a wonderful, loving dedication to his brother that will touch each and every person that reads this story. It doesn't matter if you are a man or woman, young or old, this is a book you'll want to read. You'll have such a good feeling when you finish.



2. Just a great story about the caring relationship between two brothers, about love and commitment, set in the era of Vietnam.

   An adventure that covers half the world by an 18 year old from the midwest who lost his brother. He had to know what happen and it was clear, it was not war reltated.

   This was a great read, a story that was hard to put down at night and when the book was finished, I felt like I lost a
   friend.




3. What a great story. What a dedication to a brother. we all could learn from this man. This is what family is all about. I highly recomend this read to everyone.



4. The book is outstanding. I had my daughter pick me up a signed copy because the author lived in my town and I have always been interested in Vietnam as it was from my era.
   I had no idea that I would be so enthralled from the very first page. I feel like I know the whole family and recognized all the places that the author speaks of. The pain and courage of both of the brothers reached out from the pages into my heart.
   This book was so great I hated to have it end.



5. "Next of Kin" is a remarkable first-person memoir that reads like a novel. Tom Reilly's story will take your breath away, whether or not you accept all the details. This is not another war story that revisits battles and the soldiers who fought them. Instead, this is a coming-of-age story that is catalyzed (but not defined) by the Vietnam War. Thanks to clean, straighforward writing, Reilly's story is a breeze to read. Critical readers may wish to see additional corroboration or evidence of this harrowing journey. The more casual reader will take it at face value and may appreciate the brotherly bond that made this story possible. May we all be so fortunate to experience such devotion.

No comments about Adolf Hitler - Nazi Fuhrer (Biography).

No comments about Lieutenant Owen William Steele of the Newfoundland Regiment: Diary and Letters.

No comments about Turn Backward, O Time: The Civil War Diary of Amanda Shelton.