2 comments about The Diary Of Anais Nin, Volume 2 (1934-1939).

1. Anais Nin began a letter to her father, on the ship that carried her, her mother and brothers, away from him, away from Europe and to New York City. She was 11 at the time. The letter was never sent (her mother did not think it appropriate), but instead developed into a diary that would become legendary by the time she reached her late 20s. Henry Miller helped feed the legend by stating that, once published, Anais Nin's diary would take its place beside the great literary revelations of the century. Upon publication in the 1960s, many critics, and audiences alike, felt that the acclaim was justified. Though original plans called for the publication of only one volume, demand was so great that seven volumes in all would be eventually be published; then, of course, the "unexpurgated" versions would be published in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

   In the first volume of the diary, we meet Anais Nin living outside of Paris with her husband, banker Hugh Guiler. She has just published her study of DH Lawrence and is about to meet Henry Miller and his fascinating and dramatic wife, June. All characters from the previous volume factor into this second installment, but many new people are introduced. Gonzalo, a Peruvian Marxist, and his wife Helba, are the most interesting new characters. Famous Freudian analyst Otto Rank is also depicted. Anais works with Rank in New York; she struggles to understand whether she is meant to be an analyst or a writer. Yes, in what strikes me as an odd occurence, Anais Nin - with no formal training - is allowed to take on patients.

   Of the first two volumes, I'd have to say that this is my favorite. There is more movement, and with World War II as a backdrop, there is more social conscience on display. "Politics, all of them," Anais writes in an astute observation that, sadly, is still true 70 years later, "seemed rotten to the core and all based on economics, not humanitarianism." Indeed, in this volume Anais seems more aware of the world around her and less preoccupied with herself, well, a little less so. But, as with all other volumes in this series of diaries, and just about all of Anais Nin's literature, the reader is wise to look more for poetic truth than literal reality. What I mean is, the diaries of Anais Nin are most likely not verbatim transcriptions of the manuscript versions (the difference between this original series and the unexpurgated versions pretty much proves this point). They are something closer to being stylized, masterfully edited "memory books" and persona self-creation. But it's an entertaining, romantic, and often beautiful persona.

   Andrew Parodi




2. This book has so much wisdom. I find myself reading it very slowly to stop and really think about what she has to say. This volume of her diary is more disconnected than the one prior, but the insight is much more profound.

2 comments about Theodore Roosevelt: Letters and Speeches (Library of America).

1. Most living today do not know the art of letter writing. Our lives are all phone calls and emails. We live in the instant and do not know the pleasures and benefits of taking time to form thoughts and writing in complete and coherent sentences let alone taking the time to construct paragraphs or a complete and persuasive argument. Another problem is that our communications today are perishable. There are fewer personal documents left for study and almost no drafts to give us insight into the process of composition. Sure, presidential libraries contain mountains of paper, but so much of it is from staff, is impersonal bureaucrat speak, and lacks the wit, sparkle, and insight of a practiced and skilled writer such as Theodore Roosevelt.
   
   TR published forty books, wrote more than 100,000 letters, and his collected speeches fill twenty volumes. All this in a too short sixty year life (Oct 1858 - Jan 1919). I find this productivity staggering, especially when one considers how actively he lived his life. He traveled, he climbed the Matterhorn, he ranched, went to war, fulfilled many public offices including Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Governor of New York, Vice-President, and President of the United States.
   
   We all owe a note of thanks to Louis Auchincloss for editing this volume and providing us with 367 of his letters, every one of them one kind of gem or another. We get observations of TR the Naturalist, the diplomat, the Rough Rider, Governor, President, Ex-President, and the private man. Actually, we get more sides of him than those, but those are the biggest and most notable gems. Four of his greatest and most noted speeches are also included. They all deserve to be read today and should be read by all students of American History.
   
   In my view, the greatest of them is his 1910 speech at the Sorbonne on "Citizenship in a Republic". "The Strenuous Life" is also a wonderful speech to read and contemplate. Both are calls to a responsible and fully lived life of duties and responsibilities to earn the rewards of freedom and wealth. He has no use for the empty life living off the sweat and blood of others. Magnificent sentiments that should inspire us today and will actually have the beneficial effect of making all, and I mean all, of our present leaders seem small in comparison let alone the indictment it makes on each one of us. If you do not want to hear a clear call to action, avoid these speeches. But you will avoid them to your own loss.
   
   This book deserves to be read and read more than once. It is that wonderful kind of book you can dip into for a short read over and over again. Each time you will come away feeling energized and inspired to do more and to do better.
   
   Hugely recommended. Thanks to the Library of America for producing this magnificent and beautifully done volume.
   
   Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI
   
   You might also want to consider:
   
   Theodore Roosevelt: The Rough Riders/An Autobiography (Library of America)



2. Theodore Roosevelt was among the most literary men ever to occupy the White House. The author of over 40 books, he was also a prolific letter-writer and in the pre-"West Wing" age prepared his own speeches as well. Numerous collections of his writings have been published, with this volume being the latest of them. Edited by the author and Roosevelt biographer Louis Auchinloss, it offers a selection of some of the most illustrative writings from throughout Roosevelt's life and career.
   
   The result is somewhat disappointing. Though advertised as "Letters and Speeches," the volume is mostly comprised of the former rather than the latter; there are only four speeches tacked on at the end, almost as an afterthought. Nor do the letters published here offer anything new - all of them, in fact, are from the superb eight-volume collection edited by Elting Morison in the early 1950s, only with the excellent footnotes that provided the context relegated to the back of the book.
   
   These criticisms aside, the Library of America has produced a book of merit. Auchinloss has selected letters which offer a helpful peek into Roosevelt's life, providing almost an autobiographical presentation of Roosevelt's ideas and opinions. For readers interested in particular subjects, Auchinloss provides in the table of contents a brief subject line under each letter, which adds to the book's utility. The result is a nice, durable volume offering a useful sampling of some of Roosevelt's most important letters. While diehard fans of TR will probably prefer Morison's hard-to-find collection, for readers seeking a handy edition of his correspondence this is the book to own.

5 comments about The Art of Robert Bateman.

1. My knowledge of English just isn't good enough to do justice to this artist and this book. Robert Bateman translated into paintings all the enchantment I have felt for nature since I was a child. Wish I was much younger to try to follow his footsteps!! Marvellous book!



2. This book, together with "The World of Robert Bateman" is one of the best wildlife art books ever published, and truly shows Bateman at his best. The later collections (especially the very last ones) don't even come close to the beauty of the paintings in these two books. In most paintings the animal is just one character, sometimes not even the main one, while the landscape and the surroundings (depicted in marvelous and maddening detail) almost always plays a central role. Here Bateman shows to be a master of the techniques he uses, and creates pictures of stunning beauty who truly come to life. Both books are highly highly recommended if you life "realistic" wildlife art.



3. THE ART OF ROBERT BATEMAN appears in its 25th anniversary edition to include text by Ramsay Derry and an introduction by noted ornithologist Roger Tory Peterson himself as it provides a stunning blend of full-page color wildlife images and accompanying artist profile. This was the artist's first book and cemented his career: its re-appearance is perfect for collections who either don't have the original or find their lending copies worn.



4. I have 3 Bateman books all are special ,a book for everyone to enjoy



5. To see a Robert Bateman work is to glimpse a moment in Nature's time when an elk treks across a vast winter landscape of snow, conifers & mountains; or a stream bank where tender green plants glow against the moist earth & a minute bird perches; or a trumpeting bull elephant confronts you in a storm of dust. Roger Tory Peterson has written an expressive introduction & Ramsay Derry's profile of the artist makes good reading - especially as he's included a history of who Robert Bateman is; where he's lived; several works-in-progress sketches; photos of the artist in action & on location. A worthy addition to your library.

5 comments about At Home in the World: A Memoir.

1. Forget any news you've heard about this, and simply start reading it for the grand achievement that it is - a heartfelt memoir of a precocious young female writer who grew up sheltered in New Hampshire, was one of the first women to attend Exeter, was driven, smart, silly, shy, very concerned about the world, and (as often happens) fated to not quite fit in...
   
   and who suddenly, at the impressionable age of 19, was lured to live with an older famous male author, and she thought she finally, for once, had found her place to fit in.
   
   And then, she suddenly lost it and went tumbling into confusion.
   
   Joyce Maynard is an exceptional story-teller, writer, and memoirist. In memoir-writing, the most important detail is NOT what you put in as much as what you leave out - you have to sort through a thousand incidents and keep out the melodrama while finding the small details that show rather than tell.
   
   When Joyce Maynard talks about the letters she writes to magazine editors as a teenager to try to get published, the way her mother taught her; when she writes about how she spelled "penis" wrong in an essay about sex; when she describes the little-girl dress she wears the first time she meets her future lover J.D. Salinger, when she describes the sound of the racecars zooming after he tells her he doesn't want to have children with her -- these seemingly minor details tell us so much about how she felt at the time, and about the dark blessing of being "discovered" at 19.
   
   This is simply Joyce Maynard's poignant coming-of-age story, and there are no superfluous details. It's not written in a salacious way. However, when reviewers found out she was writing such a book, they went ballistic - after all, it might end up as a tell-all about J.D. Salinger, and it might also just be an attempt by Maynard to make money off of his name. There was some reason to believe it could turn out that way: She definitely had spent a lot of her life writing about herself (then again, that's what you do when you are destined, first by the adults around you, then by your inner voice, to become a writer, and you drop out of college to do so.)
   
   But it's never salacious. It includes only the details that are relevant to Maynard's feelings, story, and life. It is a wonderfully written both that will make you sometimes proud, sometimes sad, sometimes shocked. It also tells of the very subtle dangers of exploitation. To me, it made me feel a little better about being a writer, but I don't know if everyone would get that out of it. It definitely didn't make me feel better about a certain male author whose writing I love, but that's the breaks. (And yes, I know it's only her side.)
   
   An added bonus is the bit of "journalistic" research Maynard does at the end...there is kind of a bombshell in it, one that the newspapers seemed to prefer not to talk about while excoriating her. Again, it's her side, and we all must keep that in mind. Still, it's an extremely well-written memoir that she probably couldn't have written until she'd attained the proper distance.
   
   For one brief shining moment, this bright young woman had thought, at 19, that she had everything set for the rest of her life - and then her lover/newfound idol suddenly sent her away. Even if it wasn't a famous reclusive male author, the story would definitely be worth telling.



2. One central question which bothers a lot of readers of this book is, "Should it have ever been written?" Or to say this another way. Doesn't the very writing of it involve a betrayal, and an exploitation, the betrayal of the strong desire of J.D. Salinger for privacy, and the exploitation of his legendary secrecy by Joyce Maynard in order to promote herself and this book?
   The answer to this question is not a simple or non- ambiguous one. For as Maynard claims in this book she herself was misled, betrayed and abandoned by Salinger. When he a world- famous author wrote to her a seventeen year old prize- winning essayist , and invited her to visit and live with him- wasn't he exploiting her? And didn't he exploit her by taking her out of the environment normal for a person of her age, promise her a long- term future with him, and then kick her out?
   Maynard clearly feels that Salinger used and exploited her. And many will feel she is right. Many too will take pleasure in seeing the legendary writer shown to be petty, selfish and just as phony as the adults Holden Caufield condemned.
   Maynard in this book tells her own story. She tells about her relation to her brilliant alcoholic father and her poetry reciting and teaching mother. And too she tells of her older sister from whom she was long estranged. Her story is written with clarity and quiet correctness and it is of interest in itself.
   Yet the real interest in this book , and the reason for its publication is what it tells about Salinger. And this suggests that the ambitious young woman and would- be - writer who went to live with the older man is now an ambitious- would- be more popular writer.
   And this leads to a painful truth for Joyce Maynard if not necessarily for her readers.
   Though so many years have gone by, and she has published memoirs and novels and is a known writer, she is still nowhere close and never will be to what Salinger was long before she met him i.e. a legendary writer a unique one- of - a - kind writer whose books are specially loved.
   Maynard may have listened to Salinger's writing- lessons and learned something including to be true to her own experience- but she could not learn his genius from him. And she does not in this book rival or replace or cancel it.
   He may not have been wonderful to her, and this especially so in the chilling moment when she after all the years of not seeing him , returns to his Cornish New Hampshire home and confronts and accuses him of having exploited her. ( His response is tremendous anger at her.) But he remains the legendary writer. And she will never have anything like the voice, the humor the ability to bring sheer delight to readers the way he does.
   If Maynard is to be blamed for writing about someone who cared above all not to be written about, perhaps we readers too are to blame for wanting to know the 'sordid details' and the true nature of Salinger. And this when our not necessarily kind curiosity goes nowhere near to explaining the Salinger genius.



3. Ms. M has every right to write the book she did.
   
   though i would not like to be in a relationship with Ms. M, i find her books interesting and educational.



4. Memoir writing has become a cliche nowadays but this was one of the first I'd ever read, based on an excerpt I saw in a magazine -- plus all the publicity surrounding the publication of the book. I've reread it a few times and each time I am struck by her bravery in not just exposing Mr. Salinger for what he is, but for her showing how her own naivete and insecurity contributed to the whole affair. This book bashes no one person, and as she has pointed out, the affair is only part of her story. I found her account of her relationships with her parents, husband and children equally fascinating and I applaud her for speaking her truth as a woman. Many women can relate to her overwhelming feelings of shame and inadequacy even in the midst of stunning achievment and even more importantly, to how she took control of them. Not in some kind of magaziney, self-help fashion but in a truthful way. I read Catcher in the Rye in college and failed to see what the big deal was. Since reading this book, I've seen Ms. Maynard's work in several magazines and enjoy the honesty she brings to them.



5. At Home in the World is a very disturbing, yet very fine book. It is an honest account of a talented, but emotionally challenged woman trying to keep her head above water. Maynard does an excellent job of portraying her family, something that many do not have the ability to pull off. Objectivity is usually not a trait when a child becomes an adult and begins to have a fuller understanding of her parents.
   
   Because Maynard sometimes contributes to her own problems doesn't take away any of the value of the book. Her writing is suburb as always. The book also shows that success at a young age does mean happiness. Hers is a sad story, but one that should be read. She is, without any doubt, a brillant woman.

5 comments about Because of Romek: A Holocaust Survivor's Memoir, Second Edition.

1. For holocaust survivor to endure the evils of concentration camps and not become bitter towards life and humanity in general is an accomplishment in itself. The book is well written. I can't say I enjoyed reading about the inhumanity that can be directed towards humanity, but it is a necessary book that needed to be written for future generations to learn from. I am glad the book was written for that reason alone. I wanted to add my aggreement with all the other good reveiws here.



2. This book is one that anyone can and should read. There are so many books out there about the Holocaust, but this is straight from the survivors mouth. You won't get a more vivid or perfect picture of what really happened those fateful days in the concentration and death camps set in motion by Adolf Hitler. Take the time to read this rendition. You won't forget what it was about after you put it down.



3. The author of this book actually came and spoke to my 8th grade class a few years back, and he had told us in great detail of everything that had happened to him. What he said in person and in the manner that he said it made me by his book. This book is possibly one of the best books about one's personal experience during the holocaust i have ever read. I ended up reading it in about a day and a half. This book is very good but quite graphic and may not be for the younger ones, but being able to hear this poor man speak about his life, and then be able to a copy of his book autographed by him just really makes it special.
   
   This is deffinetly a must buy.



4. Mr. Faber came to speak at my school and I was absolutely blown away. For a man to go through all of this and still be able to talk about it is just amazing. Thank you for making such a difference in my life Mr. Faber.



5. If you get through this book without shedding a tear, you are not human! POWERFUL and PAINFUL

3 comments about The World I Live In (New York Review Books Classics).

1. I received the book promptly. The material was in new condition without any flaws. I was very pleased. Thank you!



2. She tries to help you understand the reality of her life. It is much more than you can imagine.



3. What beautiful writing! It's pointed out in the intro that, more than most of us, her world was shaped with WORDS. I've only read about four essays so far, and am profoundly touched. I've always admired Helen Keller, but am newly re-impressed with her wisdom and vision, and touched that she can write so clearly as to make me feel how little she felt limited by her handicap. If Helen Keller had simply learned to behave and ask politely for her food, etc, it would have been an impressive accomplishment. The fact that she grew to fully embrace her intelligence, her world and her potential . . . wow. I know so many people who are content to just do the bare minimum, to not stretch their limits at all, to not show any intellectual curiosity . . . she had the perfect excuse to exert the least effort, yet she didn't. Once she was given the key, the entree to humanity, she didn't let her handicaps stop her. I love that even all these years later, she is still able to share that.

5 comments about American Priestess: The Extraordinary Story of Anna Spafford and the American Colony in Jerusalem.

1. Here is an extraordinary story about an international group of people who immigrated to Jerusalem to await the Second Coming led by Anna and Horatio Spafford beginning in 1881. The American Colony as they were known settled in a compound situated in the Old City in the Arab Quarter between the Damascus Gate and Herod's Gate. Jane Geniesse writes with fairness about the leader, charismatic Anna Spafford, who was appalling in many ways but also the positive force in developing welcome and lasting social services for any of the local people in need. (Of course much can be accomplished with mostly unpaid workers who are dependent on their leader for food, shelter and salvation.)
   This was like reading three books: Immigration to America, tough times in Chicago and Protestant Evangelism (and dipping into the till); The growth of The American Colony with its vague religious ideas; and The Middle East spanning the two world wars. Her research on the Spaffords, their descendents,the civil, military and religious personalities who lived through the political turmoil of the region resulted in a broad portrait of that era.
   The American Colony Hotel on the grounds of the compound continues to be a favored setting for celebrities,spies, diplomats,journalists, tourists and politicians. Until her death in June, 2008, Valentine Vesper, the granddaughter-in-law of the Spaffords and proprietor, lived there. Be sure to go on-line to tour this beautiful hotel.



2. Jane Geniesse has painted an intriguing portrait of a fascinatingly complex woman. Whether a tyrant or saint, Anna Spafford's Christian Zionism and her devotees won the admiration of Jews and Muslims even as she scandalized mainstream Christians and the US State Department with her unorthodox practices and beliefs. There was no room in her "American colony" for boundaries of national, racial, religious or social attachment that might limit its good works. The "colony" became a model of energetic competence and non-proselytizing Christian universalism, even running hospitals for the Turks in war when America was fighting on the other side. A thought-provoking primer on what makes a difference in relations with the "other."
   
   John W. Kiser ("The Monks of Tibhirine," "Commander of the Faithful: the Life and Times of Emir Abd el-Kader")



3. Adding to Furman Baldwin's commentary on "American Priestess" by Jane Fletcher Geniesse, I too am a 3rd generation descendant of the first wave of members who joined Anna Spaford's American Colony in Jerusalem. Our fathers, Furman and Norman,were sons of Reverend Edward F. Baldwin who with four of his children became early members. Also my mother was 9 years old when her parent and siblings from Nas, Sweden joined the "Overcomers" in 1891.
   
   Like cousin Furman,I learned more about our family background from the book than from our parents and all who knew them, combined.
   
   The story at times shocking, is meticulously researched as to characters and covers decades of fascinating social, economic and historic background from the mid 1800's to modern times. The author's deft use of language is a refreshing force to expand one's vocabulary.
   
   Without sharing much credit for many positive accomplishments of the American Colony, founder/leader Anna kept tight reins on the colonists by revealing to them her divine guidance undergirded by faith, ego and nepotism. The saga is a revealation of the depth and breadth of human potential for good and evil.
   
   If after reading the book, I'd be pleased to hear from any other descendants of the colonists with new informatioin to add. Norman T. Baldwin (baljunor@aol.com).



4. This a very unusual story with serious implications. Full of surprises, it is the work of an experienced historian who can really write. Enjoy the story and gain a better understanding of why America behaves as it does in the Middle East.



5. Jane Geniesse tells a fast-moving, rigorously reseaarched tale of a Chicago society woman who loses her children in a cross-Atlantic shipwreck, later accompanies her deadbeat husband, wiped out in the Chicago fire, to Jerusalem at the head of a group of evangelical believers in the imminence of Armageddon. Her husband dies and she becomes the leader of the group, which persists in the Holy Land for decades through many adventures and leaves behind the American Colony hotel, still a Jerusalem landmark.
   
   
   
   
   

5 comments about Calabrian Tales.

1. My wife is of Calabrian descent -- via both grandparents -- and I bought the book for her. She is delighted with the gift, and reads for a while in bed at night before retiring. She is engrossed in stories of where and how her ancestors managed to stay alive with so little.



2. Every Italian American should read this book to understand why our forfathers and mothers came here!



3. This story is more than a tale of a Calabrian family's fortunes and misfortunes, it is an accurate look at a culture during a period of hardship that would eventually lead to great change. The author adds depth to the characters through more than just words, he gives them life through their thoughts and actions. An excellent book for those interested in a true picture of the times and events that shaped the people of southern Italy.



4. This is a heart-rending story of triumph over tragedy. The characters come alive and invite the reader to see how determination of the human spirit lives on through their valiant lives. Ths story unfolds with a trip through this part of Italy and its history.



5. You really feel what it's like to know you will starve once the food you are growing runs out. That overwhelming insecurity was the life of many of our parents and grandparents. The story is fascinating and truly holds your attention. It illuminates our emotional inheritance while it entertains. I want to give this book to all the people who go on about how hard life is these days.

5 comments about The Last Playboy: The High Life of Porfirio Rubirosa.

1. I am a former foreign student in the Dominican Republic where I got to learn the name "Rubirosa", linked to large peppermils in chique restaurants on the Malecon and the pubs of the then (80's) newly renovated Colonial Center. I also heard his name in equestrian circles with acclaim for his introduction of the sport of Polo to the now largest Polo playing country in the Caribbean.
   
   Curiously the new generation in the Dominican Republic and elsewhere know little of him but when an older generation is asked about him, a smile is the first thing to apear on their lips before an anecdote or a recall of one of his memorable deeds (or scandal) is to be told. Most of the time these stories are connected to fast times,headlines and the high life, despite lacking a fortune, commercial enterprise of significance or a scientific mind.
   Nevertheless making headlines by his own merits and decisions (marriages) and of those around him.
   
   This book is an improvement over previous biographies made in the 70's and 80's, among others Palbo Clase Hijo's book, that I bought 20 years ago as a present for an uncle who was a contemporary and admirer of Rubi.
   
   This book is great fun to read and brings very well into perspective the details of Dominican political life under Trujillo's dictatorship and the international impact that it brought upon the region and Rubi's pivotal role in the softening of the ugly face of the regime. Reason for his love-hate relationship with the Trujillo family and the political 'intelligentsia' around them, such as Joaquin Balaguer (6-time president).
   
   In this aspect Rubi had historical impact and records do not offer much reliable evidence to give credit to it, but in high stakes of international politics, personal relations, phone calls and small favors to key persons (intermediaries) can change history.
   
   I recommend this book to anyone who admires celebrities and light subjects for entertaining reading. They can make comparisons on the life of celebrities between today and yeasteryear (not much has changed!).
   
   Many a bachelor would like to have, at least for a some time, the kind of life experience that Rubi got out of his relatively short stay on this earth and a hell of a time it was!
   
   The book does justice, historically, to a man that lived life intensively and with great love and loyalty to his friends, a great party companion, which made him an important and long-time confidant, intimate friend and acquaintance of many of those with economic and political power on both sides of the Atlantic and also the Magreb.
   
   These characteristics are not highlighted too much in the book but can be interpreted to through the lines and is part of the things to be learned from the book and the life of Rubirosa.
   
   This is what makes the great difference between Rbirosa and many other born-rich playboys that bought most of their goodies and many a 'friend' with the funds of their pockets.
   
   On the contrary, most socialites and even wives had Rubi's company at their expense!
   
   I definitely recommend reading and keeping or as a gift.
   
   
   Randall Croes



2. Loved reading the history of this man - someone who has always been in the biographies of others from the 20th century, but I never knew his story. The book is well researched, but only reason I didn't give the book a 5 star review is that that the writing is rather "small-town", with lots of editorializing that really isn't necessary. Let the reader make their own inferences from the information in front of them. Asides, and exclamation points, have no place in a serious biography.



3. Shawn Levy could write about a sack of potatos and make it interesting. I knew very little of Rubi but after reading this book I feel like went through a week by week breifing of the events of his life. Some of the details in the book are of astounding accuracy; I wonder how he did it. Bravo Bravo.



4. I just finished The Last Playboy on my winter vacation, I found it to be a fabulous read. The writing is clear and pretty even, although Levy does sometimes dip into gossip-like quips from time to time that aren't useful. The material appears to be well researched and presented clearly, with facts labeled as such, speculation and insights also clearly labeled. I do not know if there are any errors, but I don't think this should be taken as an authoritative bio by any means.
   
   Few people live such thrilling lives, and Levy takes you along for the ride. You can almost sense the author's face as Rubirosa himself changes as he grows older and more depraved at times. There's a sensitivity that is found in some of the best biographies, and insights that are to be expected.
   
   If you're looking for a good, fast read about the fabulous lifestyle of a playboy, this is one you should be reading. Someone should definitely look at making a movie about this guy and his times.



5. Well researched account of the life of "Ruby." Juicy narrative of the man married to Barbara Duke and Barbara Hutton among others, (at the time considered the wealthiest women in the world), amid the ultra high society lifestyle he pursued while maintaining a "job" for the Dominican Republic as a diplomat. Scandalous, sexy, fast paced...you won't want to put this one down.

5 comments about Genghis Khan's Greatest General: Subotai the Valiant.

1. This book is poorly researched. Instead of taking the time to understand the key sources, the author makes use of low quality secondary sources combined with guess work and speculation. Sube'etei can be associated with more than 20 campaigns and more than 35 battles. The author deals only with a few of these and not even able to reconstruct these correctly. This book should be classed as fiction.



2. Purchased for father. He said he read it front to back and for a man that doesn't read a whole lot of books, that probably says something!



3. An interesting, readable and fairly unique book. There are a number of books discuss the Mongol military history, but Gabriel makes point that although Mongol military history is covered in books on that particular subject, it is neglected in general military history, and one of his purposes in writing this book is the urge a rectification of the omission. I don't know of any other books on the Mongols that focus on one of the generals -- generally biographies are strictly about Chinghis Khan and Kublai Khan. This is a great pity: even a book of short biographies of other personalities could add enormously to one's understanding of the period. Gabriel here sticks pretty closely to Subotai military career, except in discussing the beginning and end of his life. Personally, if there is more information, I wish it was included, because the biographies of characters who are poorly documented or less important can be the vehicle for a general exploration of a typical life of that class and era. That of course is a personal opinion, and I don't fault the book on that account. Recommended to people interested in Asian and military history.



4. Unfortunately little information is available from that era as to Subotai the man. As a subordinate, the scribes of the Royal Court would have naturally spent most of their historical writings (accurate or exaggerated) about the Khans themselves more than their subordinate generals. I believe that the author was fortunate to have scraped together what information that he could for this book by referencing what little material there is out there that cover Subotai the man (and his boyhood, etc., etc.). Of course maybe some more historical novels would be the right answer in that way some novelist's opinion could be used as an accurate measure of "who was Subotai"!
   
   I believe that the author did an exceptional job in outlining the tremendously advanced tactical, operational, and strategical methods that Subotai (along with methods also developed by Genghis as he united the various Mongol tribes into one entity and then organized them). At a minimum, Subotai ranks up there with the greatest military commanders of all times: Alexander, Rommel, Jackson, etc. - but in reality, was so advanced for his time in history and developed to such a degree advancements that would not be seen again for centuries and possessed such an overall record of achievement (conquering 32 nations and winning 65 battles) that one must consider him most probably THE greatest military commander of all time to this point.
   
   With the information prsented in this book - that is so lacking just about anywhere else - I can forgive the fact that the author didn't report on personal historical facts that he had no references to draw from!



5. As a book about Mongol tactics and campaigns it was quite good, as a book about Subotai Bagatur it fell a bit short of my expectations. I have read a few books about Genghis Khan and this one doesn't deviate to far from what I have learned and I give the author some points for the graphs and such detailing mongol tactics, but Gabriel leaves quite a few factual points unattended. At some points he explains events very thoroughly and at other points he gives you educated guesses, which for me was a bit of a downer.
   
   He does deserve credit for trying to undertake a project such as a biography of Subotai, but I am forced to wonder if he just used the title to grab attention, because the main points are not even about Subotai. This book would be much smaller if it were just left to Subotai because there is so much filler that is unrelated, yet still interesting, to the title of the book.
   
   You might be better off picking a different book unless you really want to know what little there is to know about Subotai.