5 comments about The Grantville Gazette.

1. I was very surprised to find myself not liking so much of this book. I am a big fan of the 1632 series, and my previous reads have met all my expectations. However, too much of the Grantville Gazette appears to be filler, and uninteresting filler at that. If you're going to flesh out the characters and background of a fiction series, it should be with other fiction stories (in my humble opinion). The large Fact section was for me a waste of space, while the story The Sewing Circle, by Gorg Huff, was long to the point of self-indulgence - like a charlie horse, I was begging for it to be over long before the end finally arrived. The other four fiction stories were enjoyable, but I can't quite say they were worth the price of the book - kind of like buying an entire CD because there are one or two songs on it you like. Hopefully the other Grantville Gazette books will be improvements over this initial offering.



2. This is the earliest of the Grantville Gazette sub-series (= I). You have no reason to read it before Eric Flint's original novel, "1632" (the year), that opens the whole mega-series. Actually, the Grantville Gazette is not a mock up of a fictional 17th century newspaper. Rather, it is an anthology of fiction and fact, like the old Analog SF magazine, that complements the world of "1632," the pathbreaking novel by Eric Flint that follows the arduous development of a West Virginian town that inexplicably finds itself alone in 17th century Germany, caught in the miserable Thirty Year War. This single episode of time travel is the only SF in the series, and so far remains unexplained, indeed unexamined. The series stemming from "1632" is rather an extremely ambitious example of Alternate History, or "What if..." (although its authors appear to come from SF, Speculative Fiction). The writing level is suitable for intelligent teenagers. Everyone has to wade through the historical background paragraphs and "speeches" that are essential because of the unfamiliarity to most of us of the remote period.
   
   This book is the first in a series of occasional short story/article collections that mainly derive from authors drawn into an online community fascinated by the exploration of suddenly-17th century Americans abroad, as initiated by Flint. This is a remarkably constructed series, comprising short stories as well as novels, all directly contributing IN TO the main story line: how modern Americans might adapt to dangerously primitive Europe. The Gazette stories are not sequels, throw-aways, or spin-offs. Therefore, these gazettes are almost as important to understanding the overall story as the big novels (where one chiefly finds the famous events and real people, like politician Cardinal Richelieu and king-general Gustavus Adolphus). It is promised, for example, that a group of teenage capitalist inventors in one of the stories here will appear again in a more important role.
   
   The three "factual" articles on modern technologies applied to the 17th century are something new and informative. Articles by different authors on the immense obstacles to effective radio, and why you don't "just make up some more penicillin" are terrific backgrounds to understanding the objective conditions the Grantville time-travelers encountered. The article on "Horse Power" describes the main types of horse breeds, but includes a list of antique horse breeds that is forgettably more than I ever, ever wanted to know. None of these is essential to enjoying the fictional series, but will enhance the enjoyment for those inclined toward technologies or fuller context. The factual articles don't seem to be appearing in any logical order (i.e., none so far on fundamentals like contemporary agriculture, heating, storage, kinship terminology, education, etc.). Their addition to the series points up the remarkably collaborative nature of this enterprise. A genealogy of the American characters has been fixed, and no rocket scientists can appear. Nevertheless, a lot of basic and vital skills seem to emerge from among the people of Grantville. Some technologies suddenly blossom in the novels (like aircraft!), but these short stories will tend to make them look less arbitrary as we are given the backstories.
   
   The one illustration, on the cover of Grantville Gazette (I), belongs to an amusing story on Peter Paul Rubens, a real Dutch painter of the day. Another "Rubens" is the cover picture for "1634: The Ram Rebellion." These stories, and more, can be found via a website subscription at Baen Books, for a bit less. Since some of these short stories began as emails, I guess this is appropriate. One finds historical portraits of the real personnages there as well.



3. Great story but the constant super American hillbillies is very draining if you don't live in the fantasy world which is the current USA.



4. If you are as addicted to this series of books as I am this is a must read. Emerging authors with unique stories set around Flint's initial premise.



5. This anthology of five short stories and three factual articles based upon Eric Flint's Assisti Shards series (which begins with 1632), was less than pleasing. Besides not adding to the overall story, this book also generally fails to entertain. While the first three stories are all quite good, they are also very short and probably aren't worth the $6.99 cover price of the paperback unless you're completely obsessed with this alternative universe or a collector of anything with Flint's name on the cover.
   
   The last two fictional stories, 'The Sewing Circle' and 'The Rudolsadt Colloquy', are slow going and forgettable. Unfortunately, they also make up about 3/4 of the book's volume. It is my understanding that they were included in their full lengths because they introduce characters and plot lines of future 163x books. For the purposes of THE GRANTVILLE GAZETTE, however, they fall way short of the mark set by the rest of the series. Ending this book with those two stories and the factual articles certainly contributed to the less than enthusiastic manner in which I finished the book, and may have led to my more negative review.
   
   I'll continue on with the 163x series, but can't say I'm particularly glad I troubled myself with this volume. It certainly isn't necessary.

No comments about Mother Courage and Her Children (Penguin Classics).

5 comments about 1634: The Ram Rebellion (Assiti Shards).

1. Some of the stories in here are great and others are just heavy reading. The editor needed to remove some of the preachy and slow moving ones which unfortunately make up over half the book. The first stores about Brillo the Ram are hilarious and as a sheep raiser (Romney and Border Leicester) I can vouch for their authenticity. I too have had problems with tricky rams who want to breed when you don't want them to. Ewes have no concept of a standard and are going to breed who they want if you give them a choice or they can make one. After we get away from Brillo and his escapades and the musical that is made by the drama club on him which is quite entertaining,it got boring very quickly. There are one or two more stories after that that are good but the rest unfortunately are not. If you are looking for an irreplacable part of the alternate history being created by Eric Flint you can skip this one because it is only going to get a slight mention in the other main stories such as The Baltic War.



2. I must say that several of the reviewers that gave this book fours and fives showed a livelier imagination and greater writing ability than did the people that contributed to this book. If you've been reading the reviews, and counted the stars, the ones have it. There's little to add that hasn't been said already. I simply wanted to add my two cents in the hope that I might save one person eight hundred or so cents.
   
   This book is not an enjoyable read. Say what you will about the aims Eric had for this book... I buy books to read for enjoyment. This one I finished only because I spent money on it and I hate throwing away a book without reading it once. It was a relief to hit the last page.



3. I need to start out by saying I thoroughly enjoyed 1632 and 1633 and am an avid fan of alternate history novels. That said, wow, this book has been some serious work to get through. With a cast of over 50 characters (many who go by several names) and multiple stories cobbled together, this book is all over the place. I tend to read in small sessions and this book is not conducive to that at all. This book is only for the die hard fans of the series, and then only for those who like stories about tedious political maneuvering.
   
   This counts as strike two against the entire series, with 1643: The Galileo Affair being the first. Mr. Flint needs to get this series back on track and stop focusing on these side stories. The main story line is solid and makes for great novels. Save these side stories for the short story compilations where they belong. I will try 1634: The Baltic War next, but if it is strike three, then I'm done with the series.



4. The early in this book are fun and enjoyable reads. The later stories I found slower with the exception of the final climax of the book. This scene builds up through several of the stories to the final event and it suddenly occurs and is done with. There is less explanation of these final events than I found to be satisfactory. But it is in a series that I really like so it was still enjoyable. For those who do not like the deep intrigue of politics this may not be a favorite after the first couple of stories.



5. I'm surprised at all the 1-star reviews for this book. I actually thought it was quite good and told an important story that most likely would have made a rather dull novel. Like many other reviewers, I was more fond of the short stories in the first half of the book than the novella by Flint and DeMarce that finishes it. The stories of Brillo the Ram and his rise to fame are highly entertaining, and whoever thought of using him to inspire the Franconian uprising deserves some serious kudos. Kerryn Offord's "The Night at the Ballet" was surprisingly good, even though it didn't tie in with the major plot line very well. I never would have thought a story about ballet dancing would have impressed me, but I guess you just never know.
   
   The major story thread is the 'modernization' of personal rights in the Fanconian provinces. Land ownership, voting rights, and such for people living in territories of the New United States isn't really an exciting-seeming subject, but by telling these stories from the perspective of regular people, this book really brings the story to life. While written by a number of different authors with varying skill, most of the stories are focused on a common theme and tie in together nicely. No large battles or extremely important events occur here, but its still and entertaining book.
   
   One reviewer griped about not being able to keep track of all the characters. I didn't find this to be too much of a problem, but I did read the book fairly quickly. I can certainly see difficulties if you typically read books over long periods or many short sessions. There is a helpful listing of characters and maps at the beginning of the book.
   
   All in all, this book does an excellent job of telling an important aspect of the Ring of Fire story, and manages to do so in an entertaining way.

5 comments about 1633.

1. 1633 lacks some of what made me love 1632 so much. Mainly, there is much less action and much more politics than in the previous book. The first ~500 pages are spent setting up for a dramatic clash between the forces of Cardinal Richelieu and Emporer Gustavus that only begins to develop at the end of this book (and will be concluded in 1634: the Baltic War). Actually, throughout almost the entire book, none of the characters seem to be in very much danger, instead just pondering and planning for future dangers.
   
   The majority of 1633 is spent detailing the "up-time" American's efforts to influence the fate of Europe. Diplomatic missions to England, Scotland, and the Netherlands take up much of the book but don't contribute much in the way of action. The beginings of a navy and air force are interesting to read about but don't really influence the story much until the very end (but when they do its excellently intense).
   
   1633 is very well-researched and you'll actually learn a lot about 17th century European politics and living conditions. The characters are great and the whole idea of a small American town changing the course of history retains its appeal.
   
   Overall, while the story is well-writen, fun and interesting, you're left with a very incomplete feeling after finishing. A lot of build-up for very little action and a lot of story still to tell.



2. An excellent sequel... having won breathing space in Germany the New United States must now face new enemies organized by Richelieu. This one has seemingly everything left out of 1632: naval battles, diplomacy, flying machines, the Tower of London and even a touch of cloak and dagger. As an alternate history 1633 is first rate.



3. While 1632 had a real story and a heavy dose of history, 1633 was one chapter after another about nothing. Flint spends entire chapters of this 600 + page book of characters hashing out why they should use wood and not steel, going East and not West, and on and on.
   Europe is gripped in wars as empires battle each other and Flint spends page after page after page with how a radio works.
   The characters don't develop or grow and have as much depth as the paper they're printed on.
   I gave up on the book and Eric Flint.
   
   If you want to read alternate history, go somewhere else. If you want a soap opera on paper where you can fast forward two or three chapters and not miss anything, this is the book for you.



4. I was substantially disappointed by this second installment of Flint's brilliant 1632. About two thirds of the way through this very viscous novel I began to ask myself when the payoff would happen. It never did. The material was dense, probably historically accurate, but BORING. Like it was written by a committee.
   
   Most novels have some flat spots, but the author(s) usually reward your persistence and patience. Not so here IMHO.
   
   And the afterward is a curious thing... Flint waxes enthusiastically about his committee approach to 1633 and further installments of his original 1632 novel. But its almost as if he's attempting to deflect criticism of this approach in advance.
   
   To me, novels are mostly entertainment. 1633 reads like a history text. Instead of an afterward by the author, 1633 should have provided a bibliography.



5. Eric Flint is a genius and his world of th Ring of Fire is incredible.

5 comments about The German Way of War: From the Thirty Years' War to the Third Reich (Modern War Studies).

1. I appreciated this items for summary of German military operation for past several hundred years.especially WWI and WWII, in short German war doctrine is lively and short war.But only disadvantage is lack of organization studies on German army in each period



2. ~The German Way of War: From the Thirty Years' War to the Third Reich~ is a sweeping historical overview of the Germany Way of War. Well-written and intriguing, Citino offers a fresh perspective on Prussian military strategy and its implementation in the great battles of the modern world. This book is timely and relevant to the strategy of military operations today. In a controversial and fresh perspective, Robert Citino wonderfully illustrates the recurrent pattern of German military operations. He demonstrates how German history had contributed to her peculiar tactics, and how the Germany Way of War served her well. From Fredrick the Great's victory at Leuthen to Moltke's triumph at Koniggratz, the Germans relied on superior speed and the use of shrewd, impromptu tactics at the operational level.
   
   Frederick William I as the originator of the Prussian way of war in the modern era, had prescribed a recurring mode for German warfare, namely kurz und vives ("short and lively") wars. The geostrategic situation of the Germans throughout history left her vulnerable to conquest on all sides. Situated in the center of the European continent ("die Macht in der Mitte"), Germania was long divided into a series of feuding fiefdoms before finally being united into a strong centralized government at the behest of Friedrich the Great.
   
   Facing grave difficulties at fielding massive armies for any length of time, the Germans acclimated themselves to their small size, and opted for superior strength by superior strategy. Necessity dictated that they catch their enemies offguard and overwhelm them with short, aggressive, and decisive operational campaigns. Citino traces a recurrent pattern in German military operations, namely the utilization of rapid troop movements, surprise attacks, extraordinary flanking maneuvers, and an extraordinary willingness to annihilate the enemy. A student of Carl von Clausewitz sees how this bold strategy meshes perfectly with the principles elucidated by Clausewitz. For the Germans, however, war did not consist solely of adherence to abstract principles, but was an art, and an art that was forged with actual battlefield experience coupled with historical experience.
   
   Germany's disgrace and redemption following the Napoleonic-French domination of Europe taught her the necessity of military preparedness. She further adapted Napoleonic innovations in warfare to her own successful kurz und vives strategy which showed in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 and the subsequent Great War.
   
   In the interwar era in the 1930s, the Germans pioneered combined arms tactics, devising a potent and lethal method of integrating their new mechanized mobility of tank and aircraft into field operations. The world would later herald this strategy as blitzkreig ("lightning war"). Utilized against the French, the Poles, and the Russians, this strategy allowed for extraordinary surprise attacks whereby the Germans overwhelmed their enemies by superior strength. For the Germans, old strategic gambits such as the battle of encirclement ("Kesselschlacht") gained a new dimension with the mechanization of its armed forces. For example, in the opening months of Operation Barbarossa, the Germans inflicted devastating losses against the Russians, inflicting more than four million casualties upon the Soviet Army.
   
   Citino also challenges the myth of Augtragstaktik ("flexible command"), and explains that it was the willingness of the Germans to delegate autonomy and freedom of action to its subordinate commanders that made her armies such a formidable foe. This tactic allowed for battlefield commanders to be more responsive to battle conditions and deploy rapid changes in tactics and strategy on a whim. During World War II, after the successful lightning war against both France and Russia, Hitler and the centralized Wehrmacht command significantly undermined the historic freedom of action in the war of attrition. This implosion in the command structure proved detrimental to the long-term success of their military operations; and stood athwart German historical experience in military operations. Essentially, Nazi Germany's failure was to consolidate its gains, which led to the characteristic sluggishness in the command structure following the counter-attacks of their enemies and their own counter-insurgency directed at enemy guerrilla operations. Accordingly, careful historical inquiry shows that it was never Germany's kurz und vives tactics that failed her, but rather her failed post-attack strategy to consolidate and solidify her gains. As well, historian Richard Overy documents Nazi Germany's logistics failures to resupply its armies, and demonstrates how its production capacity was insufficiently utilized at the onset of the war. On 25 Februrary, 1947, the Allied Control Commission issued Decree 46, declaring, "The Prussian state, which from the early days had been the bearer of militarism and reaction in Germany, has de facto ceased to exist..." As Citino explains following the collapse of Nazi Germany, the Prussian State was abolished, and in many ways her military culture went with her: "Apparently, in the age of nuclear weapons, the world could no longer tolerate a state in the heart of Europe dedicated to the prosecution of 'short and lively' wars."
   
   Breathtaking in scope, brilliant in execution, this is a wonderful contribution to military science. Historian Robert Citino is to be commended for this excellent book.



3. Robert Citino establishes quite convincingly that the German army's methods in the opening years of World War II were little different, from a doctrinal standpoint, than its traditional methods before the advent of armor. It was World War I and its defensive stance in 1944 and 1945 that were the aberration, in his view -- ironically, given the excellence of its defensive skills. From the days of Frederick William (the Great Elector) in the 15th century to the coming of World War II in the 20th, the Germans stressed the offensive, rapid movement and flank attack. Citino's work is masterfully researched and extremely well-written. He makes his points clearly and moves on. Well worth adding to your library if you have an interest in the material.



4. After reading Robert Citino's excellent books "Quest for Decisive Victory" and "Blitzkrieg to Desert Storm", I was excited to read his latest book. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a disappointment. Citino reduces the German way of war down to a few basic concepts: the limited resources of the Prussian state created a need to keep wars "short and lively" (kurz und vives) which, in turn, led to a focus on operational maneuvers (bewegungskrieg) to achieve decisive victories, preferably by flanking or better yet encircling the enemy (kesselschlacht). Subordinate commanders were given wide latitude and could even flout orders with few or no consequences (the independence of subordinate commanders). For someone who echoes Moltke's disdain for catchphrases, he uses them a lot.
   
   He makes the point that the German army's shortcomings were mostly the flipside of their virtues, although he doesn't discuss this in much detail. He also puts forth the idea that the independence of subordinate commanders derived from the unique social contract between the Junker class and the monarchy. It is an interesting, if not entirely convincing, argument. After all, as he explains, many of the best (and most independent-minded) officers of the 17th, 18th and even early 19th centuries were not Junkers, but foreign mercenaries.
   
   His evidence is also a bit one-sided: it is easy enough to come up with a list of cautious and/or defensively-minded generals to put against his litany of aggressive "attack dogs" (his phrase). Which does not invalidate the truth or value of his conclusions: they help make clear many choices by German generals that otherwise seem inexplicable. But once you get this far, there's no more to say. Citino just keeps pounding away at these few points over and over again, as if we were third graders being taught the multiplication table. If I never see the phrase "kurz und vives" again, it will be too soon. Is there nothing more to the "German Way of War"?
   
   It would have been more interesting if he had explored some other aspects of the German army's performance; particularly such contradictory points as its excellence in defense when its doctrine was so focused on the attack. At the least, he needed to explain better how these doctrines were transmitted down the generations. Saying that it was bred into their genes is a singularly useless metaphor. Certainly Frederick the Great thoroughly imbued these ideas into his army; his comment that the Prussian army only attacks sums up much of Citino's thesis. But only British subsidies allowed him to replace the soldiers his doctrine killed off. His victory at Rossbach did not keep the French off his back, a British-Hannoverian army did that. This is hardly a resounding endorsement. Geriatric generals who began their careers under Frederick help explain the disasters at Jena and Auerstadt. But why, after such clear proof that it was not a panacea, was it still treated as dogma in 1866, 1870, 1914 and 1939?
   
   The book has its strong points. It's basic thesis is clear and well (overly?) supported, if a bit simplistic. Citino does a first-class job of describing many interesting campaigns and battles from 1656 to 1941; although this is rather spoiled by the few and sketchy maps. He does a better job at bringing to life the key characters: the Great Elector (Grosser Kurfurst), Seydlitz, Derfflinger, Frederick the Great, Clausewitz, Moltke and Schlieffen. It is fascinating, but totally irrelevant, how many of these names ended up on German battleships and battlecruisers. The footnotes (as always with Citino's books) do an excellent job of pointing you to further reading on every topic or event discussed.
   
   His final conclusion, that by 1941 the independence of command crucial to the German Way of War had been rendered obsolete by advances in technology, rings hollow. Certainly Rommel, Manstein, Patton and others were prepared to flout orders when they saw the need, right up to the end of the war. Ultimately, in spite of its strengths, I found this book disappointing.



5. Don't get me wrong. This is a great book! Very well written academic scholarship for the general public. I had a hard time putting it down. Citino really master the subject and the vast array of litterature used. His thoughts and ideas are brought forth in a credible and reader-friendly format. It could do with some more maps though. Add those and it'll get 5 stars.
   
   Highly recommended!

5 comments about The Thirty Years War (New York Review Books Classics).

1. Among the very best histories I have ever read. At the end you can actually make sense (???) of the 30 Years War



2. This is the best single-volume account of the Thirty Years War
   (1618-1648). The war was very complex but Wedgwood provides singular
   clarity. Other interpretations are possible, but her vision is strong
   and memorable. The Machiavellian machinations are head-spinning, one has
   to read carefully, the reward is a solid understanding of not only
   17th C dynastic politics but how Medieval politics operated
   before the rise of the nation state.
   
   Wedgwood is an old-fashioned historian like Gibbon, retelling the events
   in highly-readable prose, focused on the "great men". This can be
   problematic, the Thirty Years War was more than just the decisions made
   by a few elites - social, economic and other forces were at work. Her
   sources are almost all 19th century. There are no new insights on the
   war, it is a retelling of established views. As a political narrative it
   is not only a great work of history but also literature.



3. For the English-language reader Wedgwood's book, which has been in print for over sixty years, is still an excellent introduction and synoptic narrative of this lengthy and turbulent period of European history. It gives brief and judicious biographical sketches of the major political and military actors of three generations: The principal antagonists at the outset -- Ferdinand II of Austria and Frederick V, Elector Palatine; the condottieri-style generals - Spinola, von Mansfeld, Tilly, Wallenstein, Piccolomini, Christian of Halberstadt, Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar, the duc d'Enghien (Conde); the contentious minor rulers -- Maximilian V of Bavaria, Johann Georg of Saxony; the northern monarchs -- Christian IV of Denmark and Gustavus Adophus of Sweden (and his daughter Christina and prime minister, Oxenstierna); the "spoiler", Cardinal Richelieu; the new Emperor Ferdinand III and his cousin, the warlord Cardinal-Infant Ferdinand of Spain; and many others. This book is written in a traditional English historian's prose style that is clear, eloquent and totally lacking the jargon of concurrent and later social and economic histories, while still covering these aspects of the period. In spite of some reviewers' claims of a "Protestant bias" in her interpretation, the author seems extremely fair when assessing responsibility for the long-running disaster of the war, taking the position that it was the self-serving political interests of the participants (dynasties, rulers, generals and paymasters) that kept the war going at the expense of the social and economic welfare of the vast majority of inhabitants of Germany and Bohemia.
   
   Although I am not familiar with this new edition (and Grafton's introduction) I emphasize that any reissuing of this book should have a brief scholarly introduction which supplies more details on the constitutional arrangements and crises of the Holy Roman Empire during the sixteenth century, with a special emphasis on the composition of the Bohemian estates and the conflicts between the estates and the Habsburg king-emperors. The extent and internal organization of "the Bohemian crown lands" should also be outlined. A succinct review of the political status of Lutheranism, Calvinism, the Bohemian Brethren, and other Protestant confessions throughout all of Europe around the year 1600 and a note on how their status had altered by 1700 would also be useful in "setting the stage" for the events of 1618 and understanding the relgious-denomination consequences of the war.
   
   The author supplies sufficient details on the major battles, but this is not a work of military history. As Wedgwood knows, battles were only significant in the larger view as a result of their political consequences. And it is in the elucidation of the underlying politics of the war (including how political prospects shifted with the waxing and waning of military fortunes) that Wedgwood excels. In her analysis of the general European situation at the outset of the war she proposes that there were three sets of forces which underlay and drove contemporary events. Each was a source of conflict and each might cross-cut the others, complicating the declared interests and objectives of the dynasties and nations involved. In brief, the forces were: (a) Religion, with three major competing factions (Catholic, Lutheran, Calvinist; she notes that the conflict between the latter two forms of Protestantism was often as extreme as it was between each of them and the Roman Catholic Church). (b) Nationalism (French, German, Czech, etc.), which was a new force on the scene, crystallizing the idea that political entities might be defined by nationality (which here equals some combination of ethnicity and native language) rather than conceived of as polyglot territorial agglomerations brought about by dynastic interests. (c) Monarchic-constitutional issues, which were especially complicated and ambiguous within the "constitutional" grouping of major and minor powers known as The Holy Roman Empire (HRE).
   
   The constitutional problem was twofold. Within the small arenas of developing nation states and the yet smaller ones of traditional rulerships throughout Europe (duchies, counties, "free-city" areas ruled by town councils and mayors) contests over the basis and extent of the rulers' powers and privileges were taking place. Aristocrats, oligarchs and merchants had traditional corporate bodies (estates) reluctant to cede their own powers (taxation, the organization of military service) to a central authority. The same conflict was also being played out on the larger scale of the Hly Roman Epire, that loose grouping of special obligations and exemptions which was the final residue of an earlier system of vassalage binding together the elected Emperor (who had been a Habsburg for several centuries) and the smaller rulerships of Central Europe. The religious reforms, rebellions and wars of the sixteenth century had produced a system that appeared to resolve some of the potential problems through the won privilege of cujus regio, eius religio ("whoever rules, his religion [is the religion of the ruled area]"). In the year of the war's inception, 1618, this new balance was very fragile, comprising four Catholic and three Protestant imperial Electors. In Germany the special arrangements regulating relationships between the Emperor (resident in Vienna or Prague) and local rulers and guaranteeing a great deal of political autonomy to the locals, especially the Protestant Electors, had been somewhat codified by the Augsburg Treaty of 1555, and were known as the "German Liberties". These would prove to be especially important to the three Protestant Electors at the outset of the war.
   
   In the developing continental war one could be pro- or anti-Habsburg based on any one of the above factors or any combination of two or three of them. For example, a Catholic ruler (including the papacy) might seek Protestant allies in order to combat Habsburg territorial expansion in his direction or to combat constitutional changes in the Empire which affected his position adversely. Or a Protestant power might accept the Habsburg "program" in any given case because it did not wish to disturb constitutional arrangements that were to its advantage (this characterization is apt for Saxony and Brandenburg during the first twelve years of the war.)
   
   As Wedgwood notes, all three considerations (religion, nationality, constitutional relations) could be and were used cynically to advance the positions and interests of individual rulers and factions. From the point of view of rationality or predictability, political choices and commitments were often self-contradictory (e.g., a Catholic power supporting a Protestant venture; a German Liberties party accepting occupation by the army of a foreign power, etc.) or temporary expedients that made the overall European situation more chaotic. The war began locally in Bohemia, but its complications and consequences radiated outward as far west as Spain and England (even farther, to the Caribbean naval theater), as far north as Sweden and northeast to Poland, as far south as Italy and southeast as Transylvania; in other words, it was a European continental war with global impact.
   
   When the war broke out in 1618 it was over the Habsburg violation of a "constitutional guarantee" of religious freedom in Bohemia (the concessions stated in Rudolf II's Letter of Majesty). And here is where individual personalities and beliefs played an important role. Ferdinand II, who had knowingly violated the terms of the Letter soon after being selected by the Bohemian Diet as King (and therefore the first in precedence of the HRE Electors) was determined not only to expand the political powers of the Habsburg dynasty in Bohemia and elsewhere, he was firmly committed to the goals of the Catholic Counter-Reformation (i.e., re-Catholicizing all of the areas within the HRE which had become Protestant during the last one hundred years). When he was deposed by a special convention of the Bohemian estates (the defenestration of his deputies in Prague being the signal event of this deposition), the crown of Bohemia was offered to the Elector of the (Rhineland) Palatinate, Frederick V, who considered himself a champion of the Protestant cause. The religious zeal of these two antagonists led to extreme fixed positions at the very outset of the war.
   
   Given the other major conflict hovering in the background -- the Spanish Habsburg determination to recover the now Protestant area of the Netherlands which had become the successful and defiant (Dutch) United Provinces - the war soon became international. While the entry of France and then Denmark followed by Sweden, into the war during the 1620's changed its nature and extended its duration, Wedgwood concentrates much of her analysis on the behavior of the two Protestant Electors, Johann Georg of Saxony and Georg Wilhelm of Brandenburg and one Catholic ruler, Maximilian of Bavaria. It is her contention throughout the book that Johann Georg and Maximilian in particular could have prevented the war's spread and forced Ferdinand into a compromise very early in the course of events that acquired their own dynamism once they got out of hand. Despite their religious differences these two were always strong "German Liberties" proponents, and each had the same view of the Austrian Habsburg rulers: they should be kept for the broader protections they offered, but kept in place with respect to encroachments on the traditional rights of local rulers. In the end both of these rulers survived the lengthy war in spite of numerous diplomatic and military reversals (Saxony switched sides and joined the Swedes for several years, while Maximilian's position was constantly and secretly supported by his nominal enemies, the French, as their potential foot in the Habsburg camp.) Wedgwood believes that the price of their survival was far too costly for the rest of Germany.
   
   Wedgwood's gloss on the changing nature of the conflict is that by the year 1635 the war had become one of great-power politics, and that the earlier religious and ideological causes were losing their ability to motivate the antagonists. Her summary of the changes emphasizes the following:
   
   (a) Religion had discredited itself as a plausible source of political programs and a legitimate cause for war. Religion was becoming more interiorized and private, and losing ground philosophically and ethically to the new prestige of empirical and applied science (this was the era of Galileo and Kepler, with Descartes, Harvey, Hook, Newton, Huygens, etc. on the near horizon; a time of laboratory science and scientific societies.) As the basis of a political program religion was viewed cynically by those who saw the devastation it had brought about.
   
   (b) For thinking men, nationalism began to fill the emotional void in public life left by the withdrawal of religion as the underlying motive for political and cultural action. This was very obvious in France, but even true of Ferdinand III, for whom the new main cause was the construction of an Austrian-based hereditary monarchy whose additional obligations as the Holy Roman Imperial protector of far-flung German Catholics were no longer perceived as worthwhile. In the minds of both Germans and Austrian Habsburgs the Holy Roman Empire was becoming an honorific entity with ambiguous and weak political commitments in Germany. The Elbe-North German-Pomeranian ideal empire of Wallenstein was never again revived as a dynastic program. Austria began to move south and east (toward Italy, Croatia, and Hungary) in its expansionist aims.
   
   (c) The control of immense polyglot, multi-religious, mercenary armies and their huge camp followings had become a pressing matter of concern for all of the political authorities that hired them - they were neither religious nor national in their motives and aims and were in fact independent "mobile states" unto themselves, cynical and rapacious and often as dangerous to their paymasters as to their foes; whenever their immediate prospects for pay and maintenance looked bad, they changed sides. The most successful mercenary generals had become mini-sovereigns. Officers were all "out for themselves" and for their troops (rather than for the cause or nation of their paymaster), since without troop loyalty they had no means of personal advancement -- the most famous commanders, Ernst von Mansfeld, Wallenstein, Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar, the Swedish general Wrangel, all expected (and some received) grants of territory and titles of nobility as their rewards for service. The "national" armies of conscripts that came to the fore in the 18th century was the answer to this problem.
   
   The pace of the war wound down during its last five years (although there were several major battles fought even then), which was a period of extended negotiatons in Münster and Osnabrück, with the "final treaty" being signed late in 1648. For the next five years a series of conferences met at Nürnberg to implement and enforce the peace treaty and to deal with difficult problems raised by demobilizing huge armies. Many of the loans of this period, which were raised to cover the demobilization costs, were not paid off for a century. Individual rulers such as Charles of Lorraine and the Duke of Savoy (who got nothing from the treaty) refused to vacate various fortresses for five or six years, but the war did not break out again. France and Spain continued at war with each other, but not in Germany. Numerous soldiers, especially officers, went into mercenary service all over Europe. Others took to the hills as professional bandits - for the next 20 years merchants traveled through certain parts of Germany and Bohemia in armed caravans.
   
   Wedgwood accepts the more recent (1900-1930's) historical estimate that the population of the Imperial German lands (excluding Alsace and the Netherlands) dropped from about 21 million in 1618 to 13 million in 1648. The number of dislocated people was also substantial. While she acknowledges that the number of towns and villages destroyed and other "infrastructural" and economic losses were very large, she feels that all contemporary sources (e.g., the pamphlet literature of the next 100 years) exaggerated local losses, since all parties in the war continued to seek indemnities and restitution. The free peasantry benefited briefly, since landowners were desperate for manpower to restore their estates - prices fell while wages rose for a number of years, which increased the standard of living of peasants and artisans. But within a decade of the peace treaty the landowning gentry was pleading with Imperial, royal and local rulers to impose legal restrictions which would re-create bonded, serf-like conditions for peasants. Town councils now became pawns and bureaucrats of the dynastic courts of their rulers and also implemented restrictive legislations on peasants (e.g., prohibitions against mobility, domestic industry, and household craft production -- a trend which later historians refer to as "neo-serfdom"). Class stratification was as rigid as it was before the war started. There was a new, large class of mobile petty nobles and gentry seeking court-backed military and bureaucratic appointments, at the expense of town and peasant taxpayers.
   
   Germany and the Austrian-based monarchy and empire were totally excluded from the international competition to establish overseas colonies and from the developing "Atlantic trade". For a number of years the outlets of Germany's major rivers (Rhine, Elbe, Oder, and for Brandenburg-Prussia, Vistula) were controlled by foreign powers, reducing Germany's commercial strength. Hamburg was the exception, becoming the major maritime merchant city of the North Sea coast, at the expense of the other Hanseatic cities and the Scandinavian powers. The only medium-sized German state to emerge with positive prospects was Brandenburg, soon to become the administratively efficient and militarily powerful Prussia. The peace, while ending the "wars of religion", set the stage for a long series of "nationalistic" wars that subsumed dynastic and religious sources of conflict. France replaced the Habsburg Spanish-Austrian coalition as the menacing and tyrannical continental power willing to disturb the peace. Austria turned to the south and east and Spain lost its great power status and became an economic and cultural backwater. There was no politically or culturally unified Germany within the boundaries of the old Empire (French culture began to reign supreme) and the cosmopolitanism (its openness to outside influences) of this area during the 18th century, instead of being a source of pride over its achievements, became a source of lament for later cultural and ethnic purists of revived German nationalism.
   
   Author's Judgment and Conclusions: In terms of responsibility for the overall disaster, Wedgwood points to the futility and self-destructiveness of sincere religious zeal in the cases of Ferdinand II and the Elector Palatine. But, from the point of view of failures of practical (and ethical) politics, she highlights the behavior of Maximilian and Johann Georg, who could have prevented the spread of the conflict in 1620 and could have brought the war to an early end in 1635 if they had agreed to work together on a "unified German program" which would have forced Imperial compromises and concessions had they both stood behind it. Between these two she sees the Saxon as the greater victim of military circumstances (pressed by the Swedish juggernaut) and therefore less culpable for the mess, while she judges the Bavarian as too subtle and too ambitious in pursuit of his own dynastic and territorial ambitions at the expense of a general settlement good for his fellow Germans, thus identifying him as the more culpable.
   
   Beautiful in its style and concision, Wedgwood's final summary is also gloomy (as one might expect of a work completed in 1939, on the verge of World War II):
   
   "As there was no compulsion towards a conflict which, in despite of the apparent bitterness of the parties, took so long to engage and needed so much assiduous blowing to fan the flame, so no right was vindicated by its ragged end. The war solved no problem. Its effects, both immediate and indirect, were either negative or disastrous. Morally subversive, economically destructive, socially degrading, confused in its causes, devious in its course, futile in its result, it is the outstanding example in European history of meaningless conflict."



4. I have had this book high on my reading list for over 40 years now, ever since a took a course in German Baroque literature as an undergraduate. It is far better than I had imagined, both in style and content. My only regret is that I didn't get around to reading it 40 years ago.



5. While the data is accurate, I didn't find this an engrossing read, too much emphasis on details on less on the whole. But many history books make this mistake.

5 comments about 1632 (Assiti Shards).

1. This is the first of Flint's "shared universe" series; followed by 1633, 1634: the Baltic War and more. It's not as good as the others in the series, especially those written by/with Weber but it's still a pretty damn good book.
   
   Several reviewers of Flint's books accuse him of political/religous bias in his works; this appears, to me, to be mainly in the mind of the reviewers. Otherwise Flint manages the impressive task of being simultanously a Marxist, a Libertarian, a Liberal and a pro-NRA gun nut who writes to show off his knowledge of C17 European politics and making basic factual mistakes.......all the time spewing politically correct platitudes that are also jingoistic garbage.
   
   Judge for yourself; it's availabe free for download from Baen (http://www.baen.com/library/defaultTitles.htm)



2. If you're like me, you like reading for the escape, and 1632 by Eric Flint, flaws notwithstanding, takes the reader on a strange story of timeshift and alternate history. The town of Grantville, Virginia falls victim to an Assiti Shard, aka the Ring of Fire, and is transported back to 1632, right in the middle of Germania and the 30 Years War. Eric Flint writes good characters, and although some of the logistical issues that would arise are never adequately addressed, he spins an interesting tale. I'd recommend this to anyone curious about reading alternate history and sci-fi in general.



3. I love alternate histories, have a great interest in the 30 Years War and all things German. Modern man displaced in time is also an engaging theme to me. This book, however, that promises these things and engages with all of these topicss, fell unfortunately short of the mark.
   
   Perhaps it is the readiness of the transported Americans to pick sides in their very first encounters with local violence, and the feeble rationale ofered for why their side is "right" and the other wrong. It chances that they catch one faction's militia brutalizing innocent civilians, and thus leap to the side of the innocent. But what about the same brutalization by the opposing side, which (historically, we know) was also going on at the same time? Such actions are out of sight and out of mind, in this book. They are not portrayed or considered. It is a convenient if clumsy literary device that creates polarization, sides and "conflict' from early on in the book. Effective for that purpose, but jarring from the pov of an historically knowledgeable reader.
   
   Perhaps it is the lack of more significant social and personal shock on the part of the transportees. The crisis of being transposed elsewhere in time seems a bit too readily resolved; there is no collapse of the social fabric, nor does it seem to threaten under the super-manly Leadership presented by our modest Hero/s who step to the fore.
   
   There is also the eery readiness of the 17th century locals to accept clothes, mores, and technology three centuries apart from their own. And of course there is the gun-toting, marshal-on-the-frontiers "cowboy" mentality transported out of place and time that strikes a dissonant note. I am actually rather fond of the cowboy mentality in its appropriate place; in the last decade in particular, however, this hallmark of American thinking has become iconic for American brashness in the world at large. It is a cultural attitude echoed in this book.
   
   Perversely, Flint does a good enough job of pure storytelling that in spite of all the drawbacks I was curious enough to keep turning the page to find out what happened next. But because of those drawbacks, was put-off enough by the general tone of the story to *not go ahead and buy the rest of the series, as I had originally planned to do in a mad dash of impulse buying. If you want good alternate history, try Harry Turtledove instead.



4. This period of history is not one I'm familar with, but I just read Mother Courage and Her Children: Adapted By David Hare
   which takes place at that time. This sci fi is an exciting and well written tale, but somewhat bloody. It takes a lot of technology to make an M16
   or a modern tank. The ebb and flow of Europe at this time was very bloody
   and things were just about to change forever as science and mathematics combined for the start of new technology, but the guns were poor
   and the tactics pretty basic. I think an American town would have lasted about a week...



5. First and foremost, Eric Flint is an upper. The man's writing is very positive with the good guys always good, the bad guys always bad, black and white. He is the literary equivalent of methamphetamine, a real feel good author. This is exactly what I was looking for so I picked up one of his books.
   
   1632 is the first in a series about the town of Grantville, West Virginia being picked up and moved through time and space to southern Germany in 1632, in the height of the Thirty Years war. They find two Jewish academics running from mercenary soldiers. After saving them and finding out the Inquisition is going strong and everyone still lives by near medieval morals, they people of the town, headed by their local union rep, decide to bring democracy, justice and apple pie to the backwards heathens. The town/time travel thing is not all that new, and we have seen it before, most notable in the Island In The Sea Of Time by S.M. Sterling. While I don't think this book lives up to Sterling's, its still a good read.
   
   As I have said before, I like lists, so here is my good/bad list. The book does have its good points, to be sure.
   
   1. The characters are all for the most part interesting, even if they are a bit cookie cutter. They have some since of personality, and you really do like them.
   2. The battles are well described, with action being clear an not overly confusing, as is sometimes the case in alt. history.
   3. The history is pretty good, and I buy the way it playes' out with the twist of modern interjection. Alt. history sometimes has a tendency to really take weird turns, and this one doesn't do that so much.
   4. I like the way they take a major figure the author clearly likes, Gustav Adolphus, the King of Sweden, and gives him a major role and a personality.
   
   There are however problems:
   
   1. the romance that springs between characters is for the most place really forced, with some of the couples falling for each other almost instantly.
   2. The flip side of the history being good is he sort of beats you with it. There are chapters where you get how events really took place in history, before you get chapters about how they took place in this reality. Really superfluous.
   3. There is to much jumping between groups. An occasional chapter here and there from the view of someone else is fine, but stay with your main characters, the town back in time. If every three chapters you move to someone else, it's harder to connect with the characters, and frankly, annoying.
   
   The problems aside, this is a good read. Flint remains to be a happy read, and I look forward to the next book in the series. If you like Alt. History or sci-fi of the ilk, I would suggest this.

5 comments about 1634: The Bavarian Crisis (The Ring of Fire).

1. I started reading all these Eric Flint books but I got confused. What is the order in which one is supposed to read them? There is nothing more confusing than reading a series of related books in the wrong order.
   
   Could someone list these Flint books in reading order.



2. 1634: The Bavarian Crisis (2007) is the eighth work in the Assiti Shards series, following 1634: The Baltic War. In the previous volume, the United States of Europe sent warships and troops to relieve the siege of Luebeck. Then the warships sailed to Copenhagen and bombarded certain works.
   
   In this novel, Duke Maximilian of Bavaria loses his beloved wife, yet his advisors recommend that he remarry. They point out his duty as the head of the Catholic League. At first he firmly disagrees, but his advisors wear him down. They decide that he will marry Maria Anna of Austria.
   
   Maria Anna is a Hapsburg woman, trained to rule if only in a regency. She would prefer to marry an old man and become the regent for her son, but one has to take what comes. She would settle for becoming the bride of Don Fernando, the Cardinal-Infante and younger brother of the Spanish king.
   
   Don Fernando has chosen Maria Anna as his best choice for marriage. Of course, certain plans would have to mature in the Netherlands before he could make an offer. Besides, he has other candidates to consider.
   
   Mary Ward is the head of the "English Ladies" or "Jesuitesses" in Munich. The women of the former Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary have set out to establish a new type of female religious order, working in the ordinary world to serve their God. The Vatican has not been acceptive of their goals and has ordered them to cease and desist.
   
   Veronica Dreeson -- formerly Veronica Richter -- has some family business to undertake in the Upper Palatinate. Mary Simpson decides to travel with her. They get a big sendoff in Grantville, but the rest of Europe is wondering what is their real mission.
   
   In this story, Ferdinand II -- Holy Roman Emperor -- consents to the marriage of his eldest daughter to Duke Maximilian. A great procession takes Maria Anna to Munich, where she is to wed the Duke. But she has a few reservations.
   
   Veronica makes some progress in straightening out family affairs in Amberg. Her brother-in-law, Kilian Richter, had arranged for his brother's family to be declared legally dead and then gained possession of much of their property. However, Veronica and family -- except for Hans -- are obviously not dead and a good lawyer could overturn the previous declarations. But what is she going to do about the Jesuit Collegium build around the location of her husband's shop?
   
   Meanwhile, Mike Stearns is thoroughly enjoying the confusion that the Richter/Simpson journey is causing within the capitals of Europe. He hopes that the ladies have a successful trip.
   
   This story tells of the consequences of the USE victory at Luebeck. The League of Ostend is definitely weakened by the loss of Denmark and the turmoil in France. Now attention is turned eastward toward Bavaria and the political marriage of the Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria.
   
   This novel continues the new history of Europe after the transfer of Grantville to seventeenth century Germany. The common folk have been responding strongly to the message of the Committees of Correspondence. Recently, however, the American ideals and histories have been exerting an even greater influence on the customs, traditions and planning of European royalty. Some are responsive to the new ideas and others are strongly repelled by such thoughts.
   
   Naturally, the storyline does not end with this novel. More is to come. Enjoy!
   
   Highly recommended for Flint & DeMarce fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of political intrigue, social institutions and marital customs in the seventeenth century German states.
   
   -Arthur W. Jordin



3. [...]
   Great cover though, and some some really great author names. That's it.
   In the book's defense, and the readers who rated it at five stars, I'll admit that my comments are based on the first third of the book. Maybe it all changed on the page after I stopped and gave the book away.
   The inside - at least the first third that I managed to plow through - does show the author's knowledge of which cousin managed to influence a paternal uncle to consider the bastard son of the brother in law to not have breakfast that day...
   So if you are interested in that - buy the book. Or get it from the library...
   If you want to enjoy reading a stirring story of what might have been if American culture is transposed to 16th century Europe - don't bother...



4. Let preface this by saying that I enjoyed The Ram Rebellion. I have enjoyed the other short stroies that Ms. DeMarce has written in this universe. And, natch, I have enjoyed Mr. Flint's work.
   
   This book was a tedious, turgid slog with a few bright points. When Maria Anna and the rest of the characters are doing things, this book is engaging and exciting, as I have come to expect from a 163x work.
   
   When the narrator is describing Hapsburg lineage, the book is tedious and textbook-like. However, it is easy to find these sections and skip over them. Worse is when characters take it upon themselves to narrate cultural or historical circumstances in paragraphs of text that sound exactly as if they were lifted from scholarly works.
   
   Ms. DeMarce, please stick to short stories and novellas and save the extraneous exposition for scholarly work. (Or disguise them better.)
   
   Mr. Flint, please do not be afraid to remind your co-authors that the story must come before everything else.
   
   Baen editors, please use red pen.



5. Chapter 1 begins with the person who turns out to be the main character of the book - Maria Anna. The many other people in the story supplement and enable her role to be told. It is possible to skip the parts of the story that center on others, but that would loose much of the richness that the Ring of Fire series has built over its several volumes. If you've read and liked the others in the series you'll enjoy this one. If you haven't, then you would be well advised to read at least the first book in the series: 1632 by Eric Flint. The universe Eric Flint has created has been ably expanded by him and others over several novels and a number of short stories. The main characters have plenty of depth and form. The story doesn't any large slow spots to let you drop the book without finishing.

5 comments about 1634: The Baltic War.

1. In my humble opinion this was a great book. It had all the elements that kept it from being strictly speaking a hard core Military History Fiction novel. The balance of military, personal, and just a little touch of romance were just right. Almost like.....let me think........Life?



2. This is the keystone volume in the four "1634" books in the "Ring of Fire" series (begun with the amazing "1632" whose colossal success has inspired all the rest). It has been long promised and awaited. Although the books about "1634" are written as parallel, independent threads, rather than serially, Baltic War definitely should be read before "1634: The Bavarian Crisis." The latter gives away the concussive conclusions reached here (reducing such suspense as "Baltic" contains). While the other books deal with really interesting "peripheral" matters to the south, Baltic War features Emperor Gustav Adolf himself, deploying the new-formed United States of Europe Army and Navy in northwest Europe on a critical campaign to fend off the united enemies. Finally, it also resolves the USE embassy to England that has been, literally, hanging fire while imprisoned off-stage in the Tower of London. It is good to see many of the central characters from the earlier novels back again, even if some casualties result. This volume returns the series to technological aspects of the new machinery of war introduced by the up-time Americans who have been "frisbee-d" back into the 17th C past. And enemies, such as the likable Danes and the detested French, are beginning to wise up and innovate on their own. The question is whether the ancien regime will survive the inventions it needs to protect itself--I find this a fascinating question so will stay tuned for "1635."
   
   This volume gets only 4* because: hardly any of the backstory (2+ volumes) is provided (I suspect making the first 35 chapters almost incomprehensible to a newcomer); the story drags a bit for 372 pages before critical confrontations finally burst into action; the love interests are implausible and sophomoric; there is very little anxiety over the fate of Americans, submerged by petty humor. Of course, without the attempt at manly humor the interminable diplomatic scene-setting would really drag (even then it's hard to understand what is going on in the Netherlands, like who is besieging whom). One thing missing is the element of irrationality or medieval superstition. Everything works so reasonably, and then characters actually list their reasons for doing so. Maybe the authors could apply a more subtle technique. But I shall continue to read these books for their brilliant extrapolation from the situation Flint created.
   
   A remarkable addition to this (hardback) volume is a CD-ROM disc bound in. Nowhere is its purpose stated: it does not enhance the Baltic War with illustrations, say. Astonishingly, rather, it contains most all of Flint's Baen books! Several dozen! The full texts! They are suitable for several types of readers, although a few of the titles did not work on a Mac. Obviously, this is the ONE book/CD to buy if you haven't bought any of Flint's before, although "Baltic War" is certainly not the very book in the 1632 series with which to commence reading. So...this book gets 5* because of the disk, and of course because it is the essential centerpiece of the year 1634 in alternate Europe, and cannot be missed.



3. 1634: The Baltic War (2007) is the seventh SF novel in the Assiti Shards series, following 1635: The Cannon Law. Obviously, this novel actually precedes the previous volume by internal chronology.
   
   The League of Ostend has King and Emperor Gustav Adolf surrounded in the fortified town of Luebeck. However, League attacks have been repelled several times by artillery, scuba divers and warplanes. The United States of Europe is not likely to lose Luebeck any time soon.
   
   Also, USE forces are gathering to relieve Luebeck. Ironclads are being constructed in the Magdeburg naval shipyards. The USE Army in being equipped with new types of weapons. By next spring, the League forces around Luebeck will be under heavy attack from sea and land.
   
   In this novel, Thorsten Engler is night foreman at the coal gas plant in Magdeburg. He was hired as a repairman and his training had focused on those duties. After the previous foreman died from influenza, Engler had been promoted to the position, but has not yet received additional training.
   
   Unfortunately, few people know much about the overall operation of the plant. Engler notices that the gas lights outside the plant are going out. He immediately starts looking for reasons for the loss of gas pressure, beginning with the coal loading operation. There he finds that a grate had been removed from the coal chute and the opening covered with wood.
   
   Engler also noticed that the main pipe was red hot at the top, but not at the bottom. He visualizes what he knows of the operation and deduces that the coal dust had been converted to coal tar, which has plugged the pipe. He immediately sends someone to the fire station.
   
   Mike Stearns hears the fire wagon arrive at the scene and soon becomes involved in limiting the damage. The firemen try cooling the exhaust chimney, but the structure erodes and collapses from the effects of the water on the very hot bricks. This releases hydrogen gas, which mixes with the outside air and causes an explosion. Burning coal and hot metal are thrown everywhere, starting additional fires.
   
   As an uptimer -- and former coal miner -- Mike is more aware of the possibilities than the narrowly trained downtimers. He is particularly concerned about the light benzoils -- effectively gasoline -- and has the collapsing storage tank dumped into the river.
   
   The fires are eventually put out, but the coal gas plant is now in ruins. High level management fires Engler, since he is the only non-union employee involved. Now Engler has to find another job.
   
   Manual labor jobs are readily available in Magdeburg, but Engler has become used to using his mind to solve problems. He doesn't want to have to accept some repetitive -- and boring -- job. Then Gunther Achterhof -- headman of the Magdeburg Committee of Correspondence -- suggests that he join the army. Frank Jackson shows up later and convinces Engler that he will not be bored as an army sergeant.
   
   Gunther also talks Engler into approaching the social workers in the Department of Social Services. Despite Gunther's recommendation, Engler is reluctant to face the American social workers. He has heard many stories about American women and he hesitates for some time before entering the office.
   
   The receptionist is amused by his hesitation, but Engler is filled with lust at the first sight of her. He somehow manages to inform Caroline Platzer of the nightmares and images that he has been having since the disaster. His manner also arouses Caroline's interest and she decides not to become his counselor in case their relationship should develop further. She does invite him to visit her at the Settlement House.
   
   In this story, Tom Simpson learns of the industrial accident, but is alarmed at the burning river. He soon decides that the burning material is only a thin layer on the river and should soon burn out, but he hurries to the shipyard to inspect his ironclads. Fortunately, the fire doesn't present a danger to his ships.
   
   Later, Jesse Wood attends a conference with Mike, Simpson, Jackson and Torstensson. The meeting concerns various military affairs, including the possibility of Jesse flying Mike to Luebeck. After they discuss certain necessities, Jesse agrees to take Mike there the next morning.
   
   Mike goes to Luebeck primarily to get Gustav's permission to arrange a ceasefire with the Cardinal-Infante. Don Fernando is considering the establishment of a separate Habsburg dynasty in the Netherlands. Such a move would create major problems for his older brother, King Philip IV of Spain, and would weaken the League of Ostend.
   
   This story eventually leads to major problems for King Christian IV of Denmark. His son Prince Ulrik is working behind his back to avoid these problems, but Christian is an energetic and meddlesome King. Unfortunately, he also tends to create multiple projects rather than concentrating on one or two at a time.
   
   Eddie Cantrell is one of the problems facing Christian. King's daughter Anne Catherine has a crush on Eddie and he is seriously lusting for her. He wants to marry her, but she is a little too young for him. Anne Catherine and Danish customs don't agree with Eddie.
   
   In England, Darryl McCarthy is having similar problems with Victoria Short. At least she is old enough to marry. Darryl is seriously in love with her, but she is always under observation by her family. She is the brother of Andrew Short, a Yeoman Warder of the Tower of London. Moreover, her uncle, Stephen Hamilton, is a man that nobody wants to antagonize.
   
   This is another good war novel in an excellent series. Of course, it only covers a limited time frame, but it holds the readers interest throughout the story. Enjoy!
   
   Highly recommended for Flint & Weber fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of military and naval action, political intrigue, and a bit of romance.
   
   -Arthur W. Jordin



4. Yes, Eric Flint is a communist. This isn't in any real dispute. He doesn't deny it although in the dust jacket blurb he is euphemistically termed an "activist". That much is certainly true. He wasn't an arm chair lefty. He left the main stream bourgeois world to try to organize the proletariat for the coming revolution. Alas revolution failed to come in America and the Soviet Union crumbled. Flint turned to writing.
   
   This is a rather atypical background for a Sci-Fi author - many of whom from Campbell and Heinlein to Niven and Pournelle have been predominately oriented toward the right. The question is then, does Flint's unusual personal politics color his message? The answer I think must be yes.
   
   Notice I didn't say plot. I said message. The 1632 books are very preachy. They are all didactic and this one - The Balkan War - is no different. In some ways its worse. The heros have always been proletarians, minorities or women.
   
   Mike Sterns who is called "the Prince of Europe" in this book is a coal miner and a local labor union organizer. I once was a local labor union organizer. Maybe I should put in for the "Prince of Europe" job. The US President (GWB) has had an MBA from a Yale. He ran most recently against another Yalie with a law degree. But in Flint's world the only person with similar credentials (Simpson) is shown in the first book to be a total fool. In subsequent books this cartoonish portrait of a corporate "suit" is molified and the rigid and wrong headed Simpson is allowed to contribute in a technocratic role but he is kept from any kind of political leadership. Only proletarians need apply.
   
   The working man hero portrait of Stearns is pretty heavy handed but it is subtle compared with with the Richter character. She is a big busted, vigorous revolutionry woman of the people. You can imagine what she looks like by recalling the "social realism" murals painted in the Stalin era. In this and earlier novels she starts communist cells everywhever she goes. It isn't modern technology that trasforms 17th century europe so much as it is her revoluntionary ground swell.
   
   Notice that it isn't the doctors that bring about change so much as it is the nurses. The two doctors who are praised are a black and a jew. Otherwise to be a progressive in Flint's world you must be a nurse. Doctors are part of the ruling class.
   
   The best shot in the world must be a woman too. She is supposed to be an Olympic Biathlete and deadly with an M-1 at incredible distances. Of course woman biathletes only shoot a .22 at 50 meters and females don't compete directly with males in the strenuous skiing competition. The Julie character was probably based on Lyudmila Pavlichenko a heroine of the Great War and well known to most communists.
   
   What does all this mean? In the real world our western civilization was built by white men. Sorry about that. The positions of authority and/or acheivement were generally held by those men who were the best educated. In the Matrix movies all the bad guys are white men in business suits. There are many black guys and gals in the movies and all of them are "good guys". The 1632 novels are similar. There are no evil or even foolish female characters. All the blacks are portrayed as noble. This isn't characterization its just a lefty agenda painted in broad strokes.
   
   I feel sorry for Flint. I Sci-Fi author is supposed to be a kind of a prophet. He's supposed to write about how the world to come will be. But if you are a communist your world crumbled in the nineties. Everything you believed in was shown to be at best nonsense and more typically dangeous and evil. Communists like Flint believed that they knew how history would play out and they were wrong. Flint then took up writing about "alternate" history where he could continue to expand on his discredited ideas.
   
   Poor little commie.



5. I've been following this series for quite some time-- and I love how fun, how interesting, these alternate histories can be.
   
   That said, I'm dead sick of how interchangable these characters are.
   
   You have two types of bad guys: real bad guys and competent bad guys.
   
   You have only ONE type of woman: screamingly strongwilled (a nice way to say overbearing), the female version of the archetypal omnicompetent man.
   
   And the heroes are all of the "I'm savage but smart" variety.
   
   Seriously, Weber and Flint, how many times can you use the word "Grin" in a single book? How many goofy placements of modern phrases into the mouths of 16 century-- non "uptime"-- characters?
   
   I love this series but I want to stop right here, if only because I can only tell the characters apart by their names and-- besides Melissa, the Richter woman and Abranel (sp?) I literally can not tell these women apart! And the men? Forget it! There's Mike Stearns, there's Admiral Simpson and there's a thousand other characters who act and talk the exact same way-- sometimes even characters who aren't American.
   
   PLEASE gentleman, learn something about complexity!

5 comments about The Star Wars Vault: Thirty Years of Treasures from the Lucasfilm Archives, With Removable Memorabilia and Two Audio CDs.

1. I highly recommend this book. It's a collector's must have. It comes with several pull out items and pictures of some things you might not see too many other places. I'm just a little concerned with how well the pockets that hold some of the pull out items will hold up over time. I feel that I have to be extra careful pulling the items out. If it wasn't for that, then I'd be giving it the full 5 stars.



2. This book is a must for every star wars fan, the presentation, the wealth of the material, and the incredible Memorabilia, plus 2 audio cd's. make this a must Own.



3. My 8-year-old, who is a huge Star Wars fan, loves this book. Unfortunately, because it's so cheaply made, it fell apart shortly after he got it. The pages have completely separated from the hard cover, probably because the materials/methods used in the binding are too flimsy. For a more-than-$50 "collector's edition," the publisher should have made the book to last more than two weeks. It will cost me $85 to have it repaired.



4. I bought this book for my husband. He really loves it. Its like a scrapbook collection of 30 years of Star Wars. Very neat! I was disappointed because the shipping caused the book to be dented in the corners. I know its a heavy item, but Amazon should make sure to accomodate.



5. STAR WARS VAULT BY STEPHEN J. SANSWEET AND PETER VILMUR: Celebrating it's thirtieth anniversary this year, the Star Wars franchise is in a similar predicament to the time after the release of Return of the Jedi: no plans for future movies, apart from a continuing animated series of the Clone Wars. By the same token, fans are in the same state with little to nothing to look forward to. Thankfully, to commemorate the third decade of the blockbuster, internationally bestselling movie series, there's the Star Wars Vault: "thirty years of treasures from the Lucasfilm archives with removable memorabilia and two audio CDs.
   
   This is not just a nicely decorated picture book in a sturdy slipcase; it's an experience, a journey that one is immediately taken one when they open up the cover. Star Wars Vault is part of the new style of picture being published, like that of 1776: The Illustrated Edition, where the book goes beyond glossy, colorful pictures and photos, but incorporates all types of media, and with the rich heritage of the Star Wars franchise which literally revolutionized the world with merchandising, Star Wars Vault is a gift that would make any fan of the series, no matter how old or how much of a fan, respect you greatly in your choice of gift.
   
   Sansweet keeps his story short, taking up little room on the page, and leaving the evidence reproduced here in various forms to speak for itself. He begins with the fascinating tale of how the first movie, Star Wars Episode IV, barely made it to release, and with little support, until the enormous numbers of audience members proved that the studio executives were very wrong. While Sansweet spends less time on the development and release of the rest of the movies, the experience as one turns the pages and relives the history of the Star Wars empire is unlike that of any other. With unique photos, movie posters, and a plethora of pictures from around the world, there are innumerable insets and handouts of unique items like patches, stickers, collectible postcards, film cells, and even two audio CDs with a variety of different pieces ranging from the mid-eighties radio ads, to special interviews, to a recording of the song sung by Carrie Fisher for the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special.
   
   While the price for Star Wars Vault is considerable, no one will regret it when they turn the page and discover the world within. It is a book that will immediately be quickly read, the stickers and patches possibly used, and added to the shelf to be rediscovered over and over.
   
   [...]