No comments about Napoleon Against Himself: A Psychobiography.

No comments about Andrew Jackson and the Course of American Freedom 1822-1832.

2 comments about Light-Horse Harry Lee and the Legacy of the American Revolution.

1. Charles Royster is one of the premier historians on the period of the American Revolution. He has done excellent work on the Continental Army and he knows his business.

   This volume is no different. Lee is one of the celebrated personalities of the Revolution, especially for his excellent service in the southern theater under Nathaniel Greene. Commanding a green-uniformed legion of infantry and cavalry, he performed superbly with the main army and working happily with Francis Marion and his partisans harrying the British and Tories in the South Carolina back country.

   The first part of the book covers this portion of Lee's life. To me it was the most interesting, the Revolution in general and the Continental Army in particular being two of my favorite subjects. however, the rest of the book covers Lee's later life, which steadily went downhill after the Revolution's ending, with bouts of debt, sickness, failure, and an early death. Lee, the father of Robert E., is an interesting, sad figure, egotistical, patriotic, more than competent, and somewhat politically naive.

   Royster presents Lee as a whole person, and deftly intertwines his tale with Revolutionary exploits, first hand accounts, family and financial problems, and brings the legend into line with the man's humanity, frailties, and strengths.

   This book is a must for all interested in the Revolution and one of the most fascinating personalities to grace the American stage in the 18th century.




2. I was hoping for basically a biography of Lee's war time exploits but this book goes a lot further. The author does devote a good portion of the book to Lee's Revolutionary War time but also to his life after the war. Much research and commentary goes into this period of Lee's life to include his flawed business practices, which ultimately lead to his imprisonment for not being able to pay his debts. Overall a good biography of the father of Robert E. Lee but it is slow in some areas. RECOMMENDED.

5 comments about Horses Don't Fly: A Memoir of World War I.

1. This story is not about horses, or flying. It's about one thing: character. In Frederick Libby's autobiography the reader sees the story of a young man born in Colorado before the turn of the last century. He grows up learning the family business, mainly horse breaking and cattle ranching. The early chapters are a bit juvenile in their telling but this is only a reflection of his retelling of childhood events. The narration becomes more sophisticated as he recounts later years, but always maintains a simple frontier charm.

   While a young man traveling through Canada in 1914 he volunteers for the Canadian army when war breaks out in Europe. He joins as a truck driver even though he has never driven a car before. He ships out to france and spends a cold wet year ferrying supplies to the frontlines. But through it all he maintains a positive outlook and high admiration of the boys in the trenches. After a year of driving he volunteers for the Royal Flying Corps as a observer (gunner). So this American who volunteered with the Canadians ends up with British flying as an observer/gunner/photographer against the deadly German flyers. He later earns his pilot rating and ends up as a squad leader. The desciptions of battles, some of the only first person accounts of the flying war, are intense but not sensationalized. He never glorifies war and tries to give some account of the hardship experienced by the men in the trenches.

   The entire narrative shows Captain Libby as a man devoted to those he works with. Whether it is cattle hands in the American west or the officers of the RFC he shows that once he is committed to something he stays with it. The fact that he was barely twenty years old when this started shows how the youth of the time rose to the challenge of the day. Several time during the book He says that he does not know what they are fighting for. However, a man who gives his word to a group of men and sees it through to the end knows exactly what he is fighting for.




2. The other reviewers have it right--a very good book. There is a slow start when we learn about his youth, and he masters the family business of horses. The story really picks up when he joins the Canadian military and then the Royal Flying Corps in France. Frederick Libby is not a deep thinker--he believes in friendship and loyality--he doesn't spend much time worrying about the why of war. He is spontaneous in his response to situations rather than thinking things through. His clear writing gives us a sense of what life was like, but I do not understand why he survived and most of the aviators did not. If I liked this book, then why did I give it only 3-stars? The book has been over-edited and has a feel as though a lot of the life has been rewritten out of it. I want to know more about Libby's experiences, and I feel a bit cheated. Another reason for 3-stars is that the story starts slow, peaks in the middle, and goes back to a slow and finally a disjointed end when he returns to the United States and health problems end his military career. Libby lives for another 50 years, and we are given a very simplified version by his granddaughter which grabs my interest but doesn't deliver more than generalities. A search of the internet does not find any more information about Libby's life. This book whets your appetite for more knowledge about this time when aviators believed they were knights, and the internet has a huge amount of information on this subject.



3. Libby's story does not compare to the biography of Eddie Richenbacher, "Fighting the Flying Circus." You really get a sense of what the fight was like from Richenbacer, while so many of the details are glossed over by Libby. Libby's story starts out very slowly, picks up when he becomes an observer and pilot, and just peters out when he rejoins the United States military. We are left with lots of unanswered questions--why did he survive so long when most died in a couple of weeks, what did he think when his squadren was literally completely replaced every few weeks, etc. There is no introspection--no emotional side to this book. We do know that he likes to drink, but he is not a deep thinker--loyality and friendship are important driving components of how he makes his decisions. There is a feel to the book like it has been rewritten and the juicy (emotional) parts removed. The book was interesting but very limited if you are looking for information about that time. Read Richenbacher's book for a much better understanding of that time.



4. Frederick Libby's HORSES DON'T FLY is the author's autobiographical account of his life from his birth in 1892 to 1918. His mother having died shortly before his fourth birthday, Libby was raised on his father's Colorado ranch with an older brother. Fred became a "cowboy" in the most authentic sense of the word, working on his family's ranch as well as others in the Southwest. Training wild horses to become cow ponies was his much sought after specialty. Then, tiring of hard life on the range at age twenty, he has the vague notion of settling in a warm and more lazy environment, such as Tahiti. However, he gets sidetracked to Canada where, at the outbreak of World War I, he's seduced into enlisting into a motor transport unit of the Canadian Army with the promise of travel and regular pay. By the end of 1917, Libby is a commissioned officer in Britain's Royal Flying Corps, having logged more than 350 hours of combat flight time over the trenches of the Western Front, and with 24 confirmed downed enemy planes to his credit.

   The book contains no indication when Libby penned his memoirs. The style indicates somewhat of a detached perspective, which is perhaps evidence that the author wrote many years after the fact when memory had smoothed over the emotional highs and lows of his early years. But, no matter. Libby comes across as that sort of young hero that most Americans, I trust, would like to see representing their country overseas, or anywhere. He's conscientious, unflappable, brave, modest, hard working, honest, honorable and loyal. Indeed, his only vices seem to have been, as a cowboy, foolish gambling, and, while as an RFC pilot, a weakness for the British Army's regular rum ration. Girls are only mentioned as reserving their best for the lads in uniform. I suspect that Libby's wilder youthful indiscretions became lost in the retelling. In any case, the chief attraction of HORSES DON'T FLY, besides the personality of Libby himself, are the insights the reader gains into the hard life of a cowboy, and the early years of military aviation when warplanes could be either "pushers" (rear-mounted propeller) or "tractors" (front-mounted propeller), and both pilots and observer-gunners were exposed to the elements and the enemy in open cockpits with neither seatbelts nor those little packages of salted peanuts. Libby himself was personally awarded the Military Cross by King George V at Buckingham Palace for gallantry in action.

   To Captain Frederick Libby, long dead since 1970, honor is due.




5. One of the wittiest memoirs of any era I have ever read. An often bust your gut funny read from a true turn of the century Forrest Gump who grows up to be a war hero. My most common thoughts as I read this wonderful prose was "I wish I had been born back then." Family, courage, honesty, loyalty, and right from wrong all mattered; and all issues were black and white. Libby goes from cowboy private to fighter ace, endures the utter stupidity that is WWI, yet keeps a sense of humor and fast becomes someone you wish you had personally known and called a friend. Do you think Uncle Sam would let you "trial run" an aerial combat mission today to see if you have the "right stuff" to be a pilot or aerial observer?

4 comments about Wellington: The Iron Duke.

1. The book aims to be realistic - the fog of
   war is foggy indeed, and Wellington sometimes makes mistakes. The
   casualties at Waterloo are appalling, and the battle almost lost.
   Lt.-Col. Trant of "Sharpe's Rangers" fame actually appears, an excellent soldier but "the most drunken dog there ever was" in Wellington's words.

   Unusual is the emphasis on Wellington's Indian campaign and on the
   Peninsular War - the period of Sharpe's Rangers is the most important in
   the book. The Battle of Waterloo is treated as somewhat of an
   afterthought, as I suppose it was (if Nap had won it would have been a
   very different matter, of course). There are a number of good plates,
   including a daguerrotype of the Iron Duke himself in his mid-70s, looking
   buth shrewd and oddly sympathetic.




2. This is one of those books that once you take it up, you can't put it down!

   Its balanced treatment of Wellington the man, the military man and the politican, has meant that this is not just a book about Waterloo.

   One is left with the impression that Wellington was a great man, with equal weight given to his 'greatness' and his 'humanness'.

   Very readable and highly recommended.




3. Richard Holmes's "Wellington - The Iron Duke" is a well-written survey of the active life of the First Duke of Wellington. In just 300 pages, Holmes presents a balanced, even nuanced view of a man who was both the quintessential military professional and a complex human being. Through Holmes' efficient prose, we see Wellington as an extradinarily dedicated soldier who mastered his profession in ways few of his contemporaries did, yet who sometimes paid a price on campaign for his insistence on micromanaging his armies. Wellington comes across as a remarkably honest and duty-bound public servant; as a young man, he was also relentlessly ambitious, and as an older man, sensitive about his military reputation.
   
   Holmes provides some useful insights. He suggests that exhaustion and strain were responsible for Wellington's uncharacteristically poor performance at the Siege of Burgos in 1812. Holmes examines the academic dispute over Wellington's relationship with the Prussians during the Waterloo Campaign; he tellingly notes Wellington's responsibilities to his alliance partners and to the British Government and finds that he served both. Holmes acknowledges Wellington's extramaritial activities but resists the urge to obsess over them or to indulge in psycological speculation.
   
   Serious students of the Duke and of the Napoleonic Wars will find no new scholarship here; indeed, Holmes readily acknowledges his debt to earlier works such as Elizabeth Longford's exceptional biography and Jac Weller's battlefield narrative trilogy. Holmes has provided an accessible biography for the general reader, supported by well-chosen quotes from the Duke' contemporaries and by a nice selection of illustrations.
   
   This book is highly recommended to the general reader with an interest in the man and the era.



4. Richard Holmes is an eminent historian and a splendid TV presenter but, though I found his study of the great Duke of Wellington an enjoyable biography that I couldn't put down until it was finished, I also found myself being irritated on too many of the 303 pages (hardback edition) by mis-spellings and stylistic and punctuation inconsistencies. An example of the latter was the mixed and varying use of inverted commas (quote marks). My own preference is for the end of a phrase or a sentence to appear thus: '................... end,' or '..................... end.' Too often the style was thus '........................ end', or '........................... end'. Mr Holmes ought to have made up his mind which way his work was to appear or his editor ought to have been sacked!
   
   Another niggle was that the Duke's Hampshire home was named only once as 'Strathfieldsaye,' with '[sic]' to follow. Mr Holmes should have been aware that that was the original spelling and that 'Stratfield Saye' is the more modern name of the house and estate.
   
   I mustn't criticise too much, however, because I learned a lot from a very good book and I recommend it to other lovers of our British history and other admirers of one of the greatest and most courageous Britons ever to have been born.

5 comments about The Life Of Belisarius.

1. When the West was threatened only one man could save it. This is not today, but its symbolism is important, this is the story of the Byzantine Roman empire and the threat from easern hordes whose immigrant populations moving into anatolia and accompanied by a rampaging, terrible, hateful, intolerant Persian army were confronted with one man, a simple general whose aspirations were for nation and country, a man of honor named Belisarius. This is the story of courage, of victory over great odds, of barbarism versus fairness, of honesty in the face of terror, of resolution and perseverence, of genious against the masses.
   
   A very well written tale. A prescient tale that mirrors todays problems with societies in Europe being overun so that the native peoples and indigenous Europeans are becoming minorities in their own lands. Belisarius is a model, a worthwhile tale that many in the West have forgotten about a simple man setting out to defend a dying, sinful, gluttunous, licientous, selfish culture, against a much worse intolerant slave owning culture. Belisarius didnt go to war to defend the rich court of Byzantium, he went to war to protect the simple Roman farmers and Greek peasants who were not living the urban bon vivant culture.
   
   Seth J. Frantzman



2. Mahon is a classical writer of his times: quite stilted. His prose takes getting used to for a modern reader, but after a chapter or so this difficulty fades. (Anyone studying the style for parody can profit...)
   
   Mahon is also decidedly judgemental. He occasionally takes Belisarius to task for some failing, almost like a snippy schoolmarm. Seeing that 1 1/2 millenia had elapsed between Belisarius and Mahon, you'd think that Mahon might realize that not all the story would be available to him, or that the prevailing ethos of the time might not fit Georgian England. I dismissed Mahon's crabby asides, and to tell the truth it wasn't present to a degree to ruin my reading experience.
   
   I was mostly interested in a condensed version of Belisarius'long and complex story, rather than reading through english translations of classical histories. Mahon waded through all the Latin stuff (the list of citations is impressive) and then condensed it. He tells it pretty well, including enough adventure, action and detail to give a tangy flavor.
   
   Russell Crowe could take part of the Bel story and easily have a movie to top "Gladiator. "
   
   I was particularly fascinated that Belisarus did not reject Emporer Justinian and make himself King, especially during the first Italian campaign. He easily could have done this, as he had the place under control and Justinian was tapped out in terms of troops and resources. Justinian had been a weak reed of support in the campaign, enough to cast a cloud on what might lay in store for the Romans of Italy. Mahon makes it clear that the Italian territories were not well served by those both before and after Bel.
   
   Belisarius' sense of fairness might well have captured the allegiance of the conquered territories just as it did to his troops.
   
   But Belisarius stayed true to his soldier's oath to Justinian. Stiff-necked or honorable?
   
   The Roman Empire is full of stories of fabulous accomplishment followed by astounding stupidity. Belisarius is a great example of this trope.



3. The Life of Belisarius is an excellent period history. This book provides an interesting picture of the time between the disintegration of the Roman Empire and the emergence of both Islam in North Africa and the medieval principalities in Europe. The first modern reprint (2005) is the Westholme edition that includes an important introduction and further reading section by St Andrews historian Jon Coulston. I recommend that edition and not those that are simply a facsimile.



4. This book is the only scholarly biography I'm aware of that deals with the life of the great Roman general Belisarius. As the author points out, Belisarius was one of the few great men in history who deserved to wear a crown but never did. He has been called the greatest Roman general of them all, having defeated the Persians, the Vandals, and the Ostrogoths in turn with forces that would have been considered paltry by Caesar. He achieved what might have been his most glorious victory of all near the end of his life when he turned away an invading army of Huns from the very walls of Constantinople with a scant 300 veterans and some ill-equipped city-dwellers.
   
   The depth of scholarly research needed to produce this volume is impressive. Lord Mahon cast a wide net to include a wealth of citations from historians both ancient and more contemporary to himself. Let the reader beware, however--Lord Mahon includes a number of references written in the original Latin and Greek so a working knowledge of those two languages is helpful but not necessary. My only minor criticism of Lord Mahon's scholarship is that he falls prey to one of the bugbears of his times--antipathy toward Roman Catholicism in general and the Papacy in particular. While his animus toward Catholics was not nearly as pronounced as some of his contemporaries, I still found it irksome in the few instances where it reared its ugly head.
   
   I recommend the edition of The Life of Belisarius (Christian Roman Empire Series) by Evolution Publishing. It is a completely unabridged version of the 1848 edition of the work and is not a facsimile. The clumsy footnotes of the original have been helpfully reset as chapter endnotes. It includes a reference list of modern sources in English and additional notes and citations which help bring the text up-to-date. If, like me, you find Belisarius to be a fascinating historical figure, you might also like Belisarius: The First Shall Be Last by Paolo Belzoni which is a novel about the young general's early years.



5. I became intrigued with this little known historical figure after reading the massive Gibbons book. Although Lord Mahon wrote long ago i found his style easy to follow and, as this work is a straight historical piece, I believe he was impartial in his reporting and research. The Life of Belisarius itself would make a great movie. It has all the elements needed; a heroic and loyal figure, a decadent royalty, palace intrigue, adultrous relationships and warfare. All of this under crumbling empire and religion distorted by evil men. For history buffs I highly recommend it.

5 comments about Self-Portrait of a Hero: From the Letters of Jonathan Netanyahu, 1963-1976.

1. This book gives the reader a great insight into life in the Israeli army from the inside. Johnathon Netanyahu is a real hero, not a plastic hollywood screen actor. A man of great intelligence (top 1% at Harvard), Johnathon faces not only life and death through his exploits in the Israeli army, but also life's day to day problems we all face.

   A man cut down in his prime doing what he kows best, saving others was his mission in life. He questioned what he was doing, what Israel was doing, and what the future would bring.

   Johnathon unwittingly wrote this book - not knowing that his personal letters would become the basis for this book.

   I read this book over 5 years ago, and it is testament to the power Johnathon held that I can still recall these things from memory.

   Top notch. Get it and you won't be able to put it down.




2. having read this book many times over and will continue to read it again and again and discovering more & more about a national hero



3. One plausible reason for the serious level of Jew-hatred in anti-
   Israel Arab countries(see for example,Palestinianmediawatch.com),is because if some of their
   troops were aware of who they were messing with,they would think at least twice about fighting the Jewish army and there can be no more powerful document of the Israeli army they are fighting-rather than the Israeli army,they've demonized than 'Self-Portrait'. Yoni's letters to his family-from 1963-1976-he wrote his last one in the book to his girlfriend on June 29,five days before the July Fourth Entebbe raid which he led -and for which he died at 30- the only Israeli military victim.General Shlomo Gazit had this to say following the Entebbe operation(p.297-298)"...The IDF operation at Entebbe was a brilliant military victory,reflecting imagination,daring,courage and professional skill of the highest quality anywhere in the world.The success of the main objective-storming the terminal building,wiping out the captors and guards and speedily liberating the hostages so that nearly all of them remained unharmed-this success must be credited in decisive measure to the commander of the force who planned,prepared and rehearsed the breakthrough-that is ,to the credit of Yoni.Perhaps it may be said paradoxically that precisely the success of the operation after Yoni was hit and did not live to see its extraordinary conclusion testifies,more than anything else,to the extent to which he prepared the force for its mission,to its precise and meticulous execution,so that it could be completed flawlessly even without its commander..It is of course, difficult to know how Yoni would have continued and what height he would have reached in whatever course he would have followed-military or academic.But whatever that course might have been,we have all lost one of the most wonderful,promising and outstanding young men of Israel."



4. "...I don't think he wore his rank insignia...word spread our commanding officer had arrived...I don't remember what he said, but I remember the spirit...He was not merely a commanding officer but an educator-a great educator I believe".
   
   My favorite accounts of his bravery under fire are the ones listed in the last chapter "From the Yom Kippur War to operation Jonathan (1973-1976)".
   
   Another soldier recalled the first contact with the enemy on the Golan Heights in October 1973 on Yom Kippur:
   
   "We were standing on the road looking for the enemy when suddenly heavy fire was opened on us, killing one of our officers...I was very frightened. What I saw then was a picture I'll remember all my life: suddenly I saw Yoni stand up quite calmly, as if nothing had happened...he signaled to the men to get up...he began to go forward as if it were a firing exercise...he walked upright giving orders...I remember my thoughts then as his soldier: Hell, if he can do it, so can I!"
   
   I love this account given by his second-in-command in 1973 and his deputy at Entebbe airport in Uganda:
   
   "Yoni conducted a battle the likes of which I've not come across even in the books...the Syrians were firing at us...I shouted to Yoni to cover us...but before I could move, Yoni had taken his men and in a matter of seconds stormed the place...And the picture I always remember is that of Yoni running ahead of 8 men and destroying the enemy force...This was a classic example of leadership under fire with relatively small losses."
   
   Reading this for me was a real treat, stumbled upon this reading an Amazon friend's review. Would like for my nephews to read this. His life and attitude are truly inspirational, a great role model for youth. Hard to imagine in America the kinds of hardships and true tests of courage that daily meet these young men in Israel.
   
   Not all of his letters are about fighting. The letters reveal the life and thoughts of an outstanding Israeli boy from his teen years up to the last few days of his life 30 years ago (+7 days to be exact).
   
   I was laughing out loud in the car with family when I read what he wrote to his fiancee before the outbreak of the 6 day war in 1967. Israeli soldiers it seems like to tell jokes before the campfire to calm nerves. The joke goes like this:
   
   "An Englishman, an American and an Israeli were caught by a tribe of cannibals in Africa. When they were already in the pot, each of them was allowed a last wish. The Englishman asked for a whiskey and pipe and got it. The American, for a steak, and got it. The Israeli asked the chief for a good kick in the backside. At first the chief refused, but...finally did it. At once the Israeli pulled out a gun and shot all the cannibals...(they) asked him..."why didn't you kill them sooner?" "Are you crazy," answered the Israeli, "and have the U.N. call me an aggressor?"!
   
   He evidently wrote very little about his military activities as I've heard the wisest soldiers do. You simply don't say a word. And under such intense pressure day by day, an intense faith is surely required.
   
   For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion...He shall set me upon a rock. Psalm of David 27:5



5. I first read this collection of letters when I was 18 years old and was totally entranced by Yoni's style, the imagery he evoked, and his sense of connection with the vast memory of the Jewish people--all in translation from Hebrew to English, with little or none of the literary impact lost. He wrote of the beauty and wonder of Israel, of the day-to-day struggle to defend his country, and of his own hopes and doubts and dreams, and he did so in a way that binds you to him. He loves Israel intensely, believes passionately in the idea of Israel, yet he is also keenly aware of Israel's challenges, not only from outside but from within. Yoni befriends you and becomes part of you in these letters. In the past several years, I finally made it to Israel and volunteered with the Israel Defense Force and brought "Self-Portrait" with me, walking the same streets, climbing the same hills, even helping out at one of the bases where Yoni was stationed. From experience, I can wholeheartedly recommend this book to you, for it is real and it is moving and it will help you to comprehend the wonder of Israel.

3 comments about Combat Medic: World War II.

1. Combat Medic: World War II is a fascinating memoir by John A. Kerner, M.D. His medical school training as an OB/GYN only in one instance stood him in good stead as a doctor whose ultimate assignment took him from D-Day plus 1 at Omaha Beach, through the Battle of the Bulge, finally ending with the Army of Occupation in Germany. When he signed up for the Army, he thought he'd be assigned to a stateside hospital delivering babies for Army dependents. He never even got as far back from the front as a field hospital. He was up with the troops for the whole time, and he has two Bronze Stars to show for it.
   
   I met John and his wife, Gwen, on a tour through Northern Spain in 2000. He's a fascinating man, although older than I. At the time he was thinking of writing his memoir. For posterity's sake I'm glad he did. While he's not a Stephan Ambrose, he tells it like it was, down and dirty, being there, a true hero of the greatest generation. I really enjoyed reading his book, having known the man. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone interested in first person accounts of what it was really like trying to save lives while cold, wet, and in the mud with a lot of unfriendly German infantrymen trying keep you from doing your job by making you keep your head (and other parts) down.



2. An interesting look at WW2 from the inside by a man who unexpectedly was there. From the invasion on thru the battles, Kerner keeps your interest by relating his experiences as well as his observations. The section where he delivers the baby of a young French woman near the battle field will keep your interest right to the end. Should be on everyone's gift list.



3. I am not a WWII buff and I normally do not read medical memoirs, perhaps because I was an ER nurse for many years. I read this book more or less for background information for a novel I am writing. But it immediately became more than research material for me. Dr. John Kerner's story is both poignant and unpretentious. As I read the book I found myself wanting to know this man and now, at the end I feel perhaps I do. As a writer I was impressed by his honesty and his natural voice. As a retired RN I was impressed by the doctor's humility. And as a woman I have to say I loved all the references to the women who were a part of his life (especially his brief affair with the Red Cross volunteer!)I recommend this book to any one of any age who enjoys candid accounts of real people who have done remarkable things.

No comments about Through Our Eyes: Eyewitness Accounts of World War II.

5 comments about Joan of Arc (Penguin Lives).

1. The Penguin Lives series are not traditional biographies. They are short essays on the meanings and mysteries of a person's life, at the time they lived and in the present for us. They are for people (like me) who would not, could not read an 900 page book containing every detail of Joan's life, times and trial. There are plenty of those big biographies out there if you need them. But for people who want a little thoughtful insight on how a teenage girl in 1431 was able to accomplish the unheard of, unprecedented things she did, this book is perfect. This is a book I will always keep and reread.



2. It's a bad mistake to trust Mary Gordon to tell the objective truth about anything. This is a woman who sneers at democracy and bashes men for a living. Predictably, she reinvents Joan of Arc in her own image. That is to say, she imagines Joan as a sex-hating, social climbing fascist who despises her own humble origins and drools over the aristocracy.
   
   Don't believe me? Check out the interminable passage about how Joan never menstruated. That's Mary Gordon's idea of "purity."
   
   Joan's real purity came from caring about her family, her friends, and her country, and giving her life for them. But Mary Gordon dismisses Joan's family with a sneer, saying they were "one more thing she had to escape from." Tells you a lot about Mary Gordon's feelings about the old neighborhood (The Irish are so frightfully vulgar in Queens, my dear.) Tells you nothing about Joan of Arc.
   
   Then there's the problem of men. Common sense tells you that Joan of Arc got along well with soldiers, that she brought out the best in them simply by believing that even the roughest character was capable of compassion and decency. Boy oh boy, is that beyond Mary Gordon's comprehension! Men are pigs, you see, and they betrayed Joan of Arc. Uh, yeah. Only the amazing thing is that they ever followed her in the first place! Joan worked miracles because she believed in men.
   
   Mary Gordon ought to try it sometime.



3. In this book, Mary Gordon brings Joan's story to life. I can see that she really understands the character of Joan but does more than just tell her story. She explores the mystery that people saw in Joan. Such as the contradictions and mysterious desires that propelled her from obscurity to glory. I began to understand what drove Joan to do all the magnificent things she did. Mary Gordon tells this story in a way that makes me feel like she actually knew Joan and her feelings. She uncovers those feelings and created a better understanding of the mystery of The Maid of Lorraine.
   
   I have never heard the story of Joan's life depicted in such a descriptive manner. Mary Gordon told Joan's story and makes it some what adventurous. I learned a lot from this book but there were some things that could have improved. I think she should have made it more suspenseful and should have added more action. She had quotes and really didn't create it in a story form. It would have enjoyed this book more if these qualities would have been added. But over all it was a heart warming, emotional story.
   Kayla,lake havasu city,15



4. Even being a brief book, the writer accomplished the hard task of turning Joan's life into a sometimes boring narrative. Anyway, if you're looking to start knowing the basics, this is a good book to start.
   
   The chpater at the end where the writer spent time writing about dramatization in books and movies about Joan's life is utter useless, in my opinion is totally desnecessary and the worst part of hte book.
   
   Also, do not expect detailed accounts of the battles.



5. La Pucelle is not well served here. This is a pretty mediocre, superficial treatment of Joan's life. Gordon brings a novelist's flair to what amounts to a somewhat stream-of-consciousness extended essay. Gordon likes Shaw's play, SAINT JOAN, and you can see how Shaw's view of Joan's voices/religious identity clearly shaped Gordon's perspective. Stick with Regine Pernoud's various books on Joan, which are superior in every aspect to this flawed offering.