5 comments about Eva's Story: A Survivor's Tale by the Step-Sister of Anne Frank.

1. I really enjoyed this book. I picked it up for a school project, and didn't set it down until I was reading the epilogue. It is fabulously written, and very easy to relate to.



2. This book by Eva Schloss is totally amazing. Not only have I read the book more than once I have actually met Eva Schloss herself!! We managed to meet her because my year six teacher knows her and managed to arrange a meeting for all of the year six's to meet her. She read bits of her book to us and we were shocked and dismayed by the state the Nazis treated these people. She showed us her tattoo, and said that you could only just see it because the person who marked her done it lightly because her mother had begged them to do it lightly. I also got her book and she signed. I was very pleased.
   This book shows the horrors of World War II and what it was like it Auschwitz-Birkenau.



3. I also teach an extensive unit on the Holocaust and Anne Frank. I am always on the look out for survivor stories for teens. This book certainly makes the cut. It is easy-to-read yet does relate the horrors of her experience in the camps. Her relationship to her mother and others in the camps shows the definite role companionship played in survival.

   Eva's relationship to Anne Frank is simply a plus for the book. To have lived so close to Anne and even played in her house with her cat makes Anne become even more alive. Eva's relationship with her brother parallels Anne's relationship to Margot. Interestingly, Heinz and Margot seems to have similar personalities as do Anne and Eva. ...Her courage to speak about this terrrible time in history is a reminder to us all to remember what happened and those who are no longer with us and have no one to remember them.




4. Eva's Story is another powerful tale coming to us from the Holocaust. Eva Schloss was the step sister of Anne Frank (her mother married Anne Franks father after the war). Her story parallels the story of Anne Frank in many ways: both were young girls in Amsterdam, both went into hidding, both were betrayed, and both were transported east to Auschwitz. The only difference is that Eva Schloss somehow survived. If one wonders what would have happened to Anne Frank if only she had lived, the answer is in Eva's Story. The book is powerful, well written, and easy to read. It includes 16 pages of photographs as well as comments marking the major events of the war. The last pages of the book carry her story up to 1984. The book is another powerful contribution to history and survival.



5. Eva's Story is another powerful tale coming to us from the Holocaust. Eva Schloss was the step sister of Anne Frank (her mother married Anne Franks father after the war). Her story parallels the story of Anne Frank in many ways: both were young girls in Amsterdam, both went into hidding, both were betrayed, and both were transported east to Auschwitz. The only difference is that Eva Schloss somehow survived. If one wonders what would have happened to Anne Frank if only she had lived, the answer is in Eva's Story. The book is powerful, well written, and easy to read. It includes 16 pages of photographs as well as comments marking the major events of the war. The last pages of the book carry her story up to 1984. The book is another powerful contribution to history and survival.

5 comments about The Age of Napoleon (Modern Library Chronicles).

1. This is a good book about Napoleon the man. Alistair Horne is a supreme writer. He covers the good in Napoleon, but balances it with his shortcommings. He illustrates the influence Napoleon had back then and the impact he has on our lives today. This is an excellent book about the complex life of one of history outstanding figures.



2. Horne's pithy little book is certainly not a good introduction to Napoleon the man, general, or emperor, nor a comprehensive history text on France. It is, however, a valuable collection of his most lasting and significant policies, ambitions, whims, excesses, successes, and failures.
   
   Horne writes with the facile hand of an expert in his element, yet this book will certainly prove most valuable to the casual rather than novice or advanced scholar of Napoleonic France. It covers his rise to fame, deceptively humble power-grab, impressive reformist tendencies and initiatives, his staid morality contrasting personal hypocrisy, as well as Napoleon's creation of a new and (at least in theory) merit-based aristocracy, as well as the advent of modern French culture. Colorful episodes featuring his beloved Josephine as well as other flames and vixens are recounted.
   
   This will be a nice addition to a Francophile shelf, but only a sketchy entry text for the curious.



3. For those seeking a biography of the man or his military accomplishments, this book does not fit the bill. Horne focuses on the political, economic, artistic, and scientific accomplishments of Napoleon and the Napoleonic Regime. So this book focuses on an area not covered by most authors. Since Napoleon is a topic that many authors have attempted, Horne focuses on an area not usually written about. Napoleon changed a lot in France, and Horne outlines both his accomplishments (Code of Napoleon for law, and scientific research) and his failures (theater, opera, and literature).
   This is not an easy read, despite its brevity. It is a read that will enlighten a Napoleonic historian. However, the subjects and concepts are more difficult to understand than the
   military victories.



4. Engaging and informative, Horne manages to present his vast knowledge of Napoleon and his age in an almost conversational tone that-while full of rich historical detail-manages to be scholarly, riveting and often quite humorous. For example, in addition to learn about the numerous ways Napoleon's two decade rule transformed Europe, we learn that his wife and Empress Josephine's wardrobe contained 666 winter dresses, 230 summer ones and only two pair of knickers. If one wishes for a direct introduction to Napoleon and his influence, The Age of Napoleon is an excellent place to start.



5. This newest addition to the Modern Library Chronicles series is not a history of Napoleon but a snapshot into this time in France, although by his very nature the man defines the times. For a short biography of Napoleon, take a look at Paul Johnson's slim volume and for a fuller context of Parisian history read Alistair Horne's The Seven Ages of Paris. This book, the Age of Napoleon, is Alistair Horne's examination of one of those particular ages and the man at the centre of it. The book is arranged by topics as opposed to a chronological history so basic familiarty with European history will be an advantage. The author also repeats himself, at times, as the story moves back and forth. But this book will give the reader an idea of these tumultous times and either lead them to further reading about Napoleon the man or work as a refresher to a previously read biography.

5 comments about Lawrence: The Uncrowned King of Arabia.

1. Having read a few books about T.E.Lawrence and his own tome I found Michael Asher's book easily the most enjoyable of the lot. Any man who took the time to physically visit the routes Lawrence (claims) to have made, has something to say. A very worthwhile book.
   
   Damien in Dublin.
   
   Sands of Death: An Epic Tale of Massacre, Cannibalism, and Survival in the Sahara
   Two Against the Sahara: On Camelback from Nouakchott to the Nile



2. Whether or not you truly want to delve into the life of Lawrence of Arabia and this particular biography depends, I think, on whether you want to preserve the dynamic image of him as portrayed in the movie Lawrence of Arabia by David Lean or want to dig deeper into the eccentric world of the real T.E. Lawrence. I myself am no Lawrence scholar and have something akin to a passing interest in him as a sort of mythological figure like Wyatt Earp or Daniel Boone. This particular book was picked up randomly at a library book sale for a quarter to supplement my knowledge of T.E. Lawrence beyond the movie and to help me prepare to read his memoir Seven Pillars of Wisdom, which I've heard is quite literary and even difficult without a bit of background on Lawrence and the Arab revolt.
   
   As a writer and a scholar, Asher is reasonably capable and has adequate credentials to tell his tale. What has been mentioned in other reviews and which I'll echo here is that he unfortunately wants to interrupt the flow of Lawrence's biography by interjecting his first-person accounts of his travels around the same areas Lawrence traveled. Although this story-telling technique doesn't ruin the book, it slows down the pace and adds little if anything the reader needs or wants to know. To me, it serves as an annoying distraction. It's typical also for Asher to want to pick apart the mind of T.E. Lawrence and give some debatable theories about the motives behind Lawrence's actions. Certainly, Asher appears to do his homework and his assumptions about Lawrence seem well supported, but what is hard to take is the unequivocal nature of Asher's assertions. He himself never doubts his assumptions.
   
   However, if the reader can accept that Asher's views are valid, then the reader should also be prepared to discover that Lawrence was more than a little eccentric, something bound to undermine the beautiful myth around the man. Aside from the details given about Lawrence's truly weird need for self-debasement in the form of flagellation as well as his decision to spend his adult life after Arabia as an enlisted man in the military, what bothered me most about Lawrence as discussed by Asher was his tendency to play with facts, an inclination apparently noted by other biographers. Given the reality that reality is often subjective, I do like to know the facts as accurately as they can be reported. Apparently, Lawrence seems to have appreciated the value of propaganda and chose to exploit it to achieve his ends, which are not terribly clear. Therefore, it's hard to know the whole truth about what happened during the Arab revolt, and Asher finds numerous holes in Lawrence's story. I'm happy to report that Asher does make clear that Lawrence accomplished much of what he claims to have accomplished, so Lawrence was indeed a dynamic fellow and the right person at the right time to do what he did, but he also makes clear that there are bizarre, masochistic motives that drive Lawrence. Therefore, if you want to truly know the man behind the myth, read on. If you want to preserve a myth, watch the movie, and then read an encyclopedia for broad details about Lawrence's life and the Arab revolt.



3. I am by no means a Lawrence scholar. I picked the book up at a discount because at the time I was preparing for a deployment to Iraq and was reading everything I could on the recent history of the Middle East. I found the book well written and fascinating. Historicaly accurate? Who knows? But it was a great introduction to a Western icon closely tied with the rise of the Saudi kingdom and the current map of the Middle East. After reading this I read Lawrence's own "Seven Pillars of Wisdom" and who knows what the absolute truth was regarding Lawrence and his exploits. All I know is that this book made for a good reading. I appreciated Asher's insights into Arabic culture and customs. Certainly as we struggle to win the "hearts and minds" of the people in Iraq, any scholarship that helps us to understand how a Westerner can succesfully interact with the Arab peaple is a welcome read.



4. This is a large and invovled biography of T E Lawrence, written by an author who starts out as an admirer, and remains so to the end, though to a much lesser degree.

   Though there is a lot of information about the battles in the desert, i found this book most interesting when the author explores Lawrence's psyche and personality, and attempts (not always successfully or believably) at the truth behind the myth. He tests a lot of the claims about the great man, and mainly finds them wanting. This book is especially strong when it admits that it comes to no definate conclusion - rather, the author presents the facts as he sees them and lets the reader decide.

   This book is probably one of the better Lawrence biographies out there at the moment (though i would not say nearly the best) as it delves into the contradictions of the man and the myuth, and isn't afraid to 'pull punches' and not make excuses for the more troubling aspects of Lawrence's personality.

   I finished this book wondering why such a genius felt compelled to fabricate so much about his life, but also seeing him as more ' three-dimensional' than the common myth.




5. This book fails in many ways. The reason it gets 2 stars instead of one is that it's hard to discuss Lawrence without some fascinating things coming through.

   First, Asher makes himelf part of the biography. He discusses his own personal travels in a manner that add absolutely nothing to the reader's understanding. The final paragraph of the book begins with "I." Further, the frequency and manner in which he interjects himself in the book is highly annoying.

   Second, there are numerous factual problems with the book. At one point Asher refers to Turks shooting their rifles at Bedu who are over two miles away. Even a trained sniper with modern equipment wouldn't take that shot. Further, his description of Lt. Junor's plane crash is at odds with other accounts. Asher says the plane erupted in flames even though there are published photos of the crashed plane that show otherwise. Lastly on this point, Asher doesn't use Tunbridge's writings on Lawrence's days in the RAF as reference material. It's a surprising omission.

   Third, as other reviewers noted, Asher writes extensively about Lawrence's psyche. This would be sensible if Asher was either trained in psychology or referenced studies by those who are; unfortunately, neither is the case. Instead there are a few bibliographical references to works on psychology, but none specific to Lawrence. Asher's vehement discussion of Lawrence's mother makes the reader wonder whether the author or the subject had the greater maternal relationship issues.

   Fourth, is Asher's style, or more accurately, styles. At times he uses the contemporary jargon of British soldiers, whereas at other points he writes in a very stilted manner adding unnecessary Latin phrases to the text. His best writing is when he's providing background or contextual material such as the discussion of British military actions elsewhere in WWI.

   Lawrence was one of the most fascinating personalities of the 20th century. He deserves a much better biography.

2 comments about ERWIN ROMMEL (Commanders in Focus).

1. General Erwin Rommel was able to do the most with the least. Against great odds he earned the name "Desert Fox" by those he fought against; the British and their allies. Code of honor was important to him to where he cut the limited water rations of his own troops so that their prisoners would not die of thirst. The irony is that he received less respect from Hitler and the German high command than from the British and French. If there was a Nobel Prize for military genius he would have won it. He was loved by his troops and when he was recalled from North Africa hated to leave them. One of the British commanders, in a memo to his troops, referred to him as "our friend Rommel".



2. Part of the oustanding "Commanders in Focus" series from Brassey's, Eriwn Rommel 1891-1944 by Karl Hoffmann is an in-depth analysis of one of Germany's most famous and celebrated military leaders, a gentleman warrior also known as the "Desert Fox". Black-and-white photographs and military diagrams highlight this critical assessment of Rommel's strengths, weaknesses, character, and service - dissecting his engagements in World War I and II, and analyzing him both as a military commander and as a manager of men. A must-have for lay readers and military historians alike with a keen interest in learning from Rommel's brilliant life, which ultimately ended far too soon at the hands of his own side.

5 comments about Lost in Tibet: The Untold Story of Five American Airmen, a Doomed Plane, and the Will to Survive.

1. 
   For those hauling cargo over the Hump, the enemy was not the Japanese but rather what is probably the harshest weather and terrain on the earth.
   
   On their ill fated flight the crew is lost and hundreds of miles off course when they finally are down to their last drops of fuel and bail out over an unknown land. Much to their surprise they ended up in a remote part of Tibet.
   
   Most of the book is their story of their long journey to safety. The book also offers an early insight into the China-Tibet political struggles that continue today.
   
   Very well written and an easy read for a rainy day.



2. I enjoyed this book because I was a pilot flying the "Hump" at the same time these men were. Their story is exciting, well written and spell binding and will interest those who enjoy adventure. Almost a thousand aircraft were lost on the "aluminum trail" between India and China. A lot was learned in that operation at the expense of the lives of the young inexperienced airmen who took part. Lost In Tibet gives one an insight of the flying conditions we experienced and also the complicated wartime politics in the Tibetan area of that time. It's a good "read".



3. I stopped reading a few pages into the first chapter. I couldn't quit thinking about the ridiculous false statements in the 2nd paragraph of the 1st chapter. First it says "the pilot decided to crash," after the engines catch fire, but he doesn't actually crash. Then it says the cause of the fire was because the spark plug gap was too wide which "let raw fuel run straight through the engines and out the turbines and there it had ignited."
   
   The part about crashing is sensationalism. The part about the sparkplugs is completely wrong since they have nothing to do with the flow of fuel. I'm sure the topic of this story is true but with that many errors on the first page of the first chapter I'm going to find another book on this topic I can trust.



4. I bought this as a gift so just going on the quality of the appearance it was excellent. I was really impressed with how quickly it was shipped to my home during the last week before christmas. Great job!



5. Not a typical story about World War II. Five airmen parachute from their crippled supply airplane and end up lost in Tibet. At that time, Tibet was somewhat independent from China. The airmen's landing in Tibet causes a huge political firestorm between Great Britain, Tibet, and China. The airmen are in the middle of this. The result is a diplomatic balancing act as the airmen leave Tibet.
   
   This is a nice little story about World War II. The authors write a readable entertaining book about the story of the men and the magic land of Tibet. This is a very enjoyable read.

5 comments about Nicholas and Alexandra.

1. This is an all-encompassing authoritative biography of the last ruling Romanovs, and Massie has compiled a thorough and well-researched insight into the lives of Nicholas and Alexandra. Even forty years after its original publication and long after the fall of the Soviet Union, it is a relevant part of Russian history. Massie is very sympathetic in his presentation of the royal family and addresses pertinent questions about the fall of the monarchy. If Alexis, the heir to the throne, had not had hemophilia, would the influence of Rasputin not have been necessary? And if Rasputin were never in the picture, would the monarchy have suffered such a tarnished reputation?
   
   The book painted a very vivid picture of the Royal Family based on hundreds of sources and letters. Nicholas is an incapable Tsar but a warm-hearted, devoted husband and father. Alexandra seems frantic and ill at ease (and often just ill) in her constant concern over the life of her son. And I love that I felt I got to know each of the children, Olga, Tatiana, Marie, Anastasia, and Alexis more individually and personally. This made their demise all the more heartbreaking. This book also gave me a greater understanding of the political climate of the time in Russia and a better comprehension of the revolution and the roles of Lenin, Trotsky, and other important players (although I occasionally found some difficulty keeping the various Russian names straight). Overall, this is a captivating book and the saga is all the more intriguing because it's history. I will definitely be interested to read some of the more recent material that Massie presents in The Romanovs: The Last Chapter.



2. I first read Nicholas and Alexandra many years ago as a 14 year old. It was a transformative experience for me, awakening what has been a lifelong passionate interest in royal biography and Russian history. Now that I'm in my early fifties, I recently reread Nicholas and Alexandra for the first time in about twenty years, and it continues to have the same magic.
   
   Robert K. Massie became interested in the last Tsar of Russia because he, like Nicholas, was the father of a hemophiliac boy. Massie spent long hours reading about hemophilia and famous hemophiliacs, and he was fascinated by the way Russian and world twentieth century history turned on a chance genetic defect. Had Tsarevich Alexis not had hemophilia, it is probable that Tsar Nicholas II and his wife Alexandra would not have come under the malign influence of Gregory Rasputin, the Siberian faith healer who had a catastrophic effect on the Russian government before and during World War I; leading to the Russian Revolution, the rise of Communism, and the deaths of Nicholas, Alexandra, and their children. Its an interesting thesis that still holds up well, though Massie's focus on the inner tragedy of the Tsar's family tends to make him discount the many other problems from which pre-revolutionary Russia suffered. Massie also has a natural tendency to whitewash Nicholas and Alexandra (parents of hemophiliacs have a special bond with those who share their trauma, after all), by barely mentioning such negative traits as the Tsar's anti-Semitism and the Empress' many neuroses.
   
   The book remains an extraordinary work of art. Massie's descriptions of the Russian landscape and his finely drawn character sketches are wonderfully rich and detailed. He is able to explain the political and social complexities of the era colorfully and wittily, even when dealing with such abstractions as the differences between Social Democrats, Social Revolutionaries, and Bolsheviks. Most of all, Massie is able to make us weep for the Romanovs: a man who was a bad Tsar but a good husband and father, a woman who destroyed her family while trying to keep her son alive, and five innocent young people who never had a chance to lead happy, productive lives. Every time I read Nicholas and Alexandra I tremble again at the thought of their last awful moments, but I am enriched still more by the chance to read such a magnificent work of art and scholarship.



3. In 2000, there was much talk about the "most important person of the 20th Century." My choice was always Gavrilo Princip, the young Bosnian assassin who killed Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary, igniting World War I, which caused the Russian Revolution, Communism, and the Treaty of Versailles, which led to Naziism, World War II, atomic bombs, and the Cold War.
   
   Of course, there were other factors which formed the tragedy of the twentieth century, and perhaps some of these historical events would have happened anyway. Almost for certain, the Romanov Monarchy would have fallen or been transformed out of recognition without the help of Gavrilo Princip's bullets.
   
   Although the Ottoman Empire was always referred to as "the sick man of Europe," Robert K. Massie illustrates that Russia was not very well either, despite appearances. An obsolescent autocracy, the Russian Empire was mired in time at the dawn of the twentieth century, the great mass of its people existing much as they had 100 years earlier.
   
   Massie's theory, that the hemophilia of Alexis, the young Tsarevich, had an inordinate influence of Russian and subsequent world history, is well thought-out, though perhaps an oversimplification. Yet, it cannot be discounted. The Romanov Dynasty had ruled Russia then for 300 years, and brought the country, by fits and starts, slowly into the orbit of the modern world. Despite this, there is much truth in the observation that "Lenin inherited a nation playing beside a manure pile and Stalin bequeathed a nation playing with an atomic pile." This is not to defend Stalinism, but only to say how little the Romanovs did overall to modernize their State.
   
   When Nicholas II inherited the throne after his father's untimely death, he was woefully unprepared to rule. Dominated for years by archconservative and anti-modernist members of his family, he did little to educate his people, provide health care, build infrastructure, or lift the heavy cloak of official repression that lay over all but ethnic Russians in his realm, or the cloak of cultural repression that lay over the ethnic Russians.
   
   Yet Massie shows us a man and a family of uncommonly kind nature in Nicholas II and his family. His daughter Olga paid personally for the care of a handicapped subject she spied from her carriage one day. The Tsaritsa, Alexandra, despite a reputation as an uncaring woman, herself nursed sick friends before the war and horribly wounded soldiers during the war. The family built hospitals and schools in and around the various cities wherein lay the royal estates. They acted to ameliorate suffering wherever they saw it, without reservation.
   
   Of course, this was the problem. They acted only on what they saw with their own eyes, never recognizing that these sufferings were endemic throughout the realm. Their myopia was part and parcel of the lives of the citified upper classes, completely divorced from the mass of agrarian peasants in the countryside, magnified by the hermetically sealed nature of being an Imperial Family, aided and abetted by sycophants and the self-serving, who kept the real world at a very long arm's length, in order to maintain their own privileged positions. Living in a bubble within a bubble, they were just not aware of conditions in most of Russia.
   
   Nicholas II ruled over the largest domain on earth. Russia today is still the world's largest nation, even shorn of Finland, Poland, the Baltic States, Belarus, the Ukraine, the Central Asian provinces, and (in 1867) Alaska. Sunset in Vladivostok was dawn in Brest-Litovsk. His hundred million subjects included hundreds of peoples speaking hundreds of languages, linked together by a shockingly small road and rail system. The sensitive Nicholas, had he been really cognizant of the shape of things, could have, by a single order, vastly improved the lives of each and every Russian (of course, as he noted, being an autocrat and giving orders does not ensure that they are carried out properly). His greatest failings, as a ruler, all had to do with his decisions to outwardly maintain his Imperial hautre and his autocracy at all costs in the face of cataclysmic change.
   
   This bubble-within-a-bubble existence however, could not spare them from the fact of the Tsarevich's hemophilia. A genetic disorder inherited through the female line (Alexis' Great-Grandmother was Queen Victoria, whose progeny were ravaged by the disease), it prevents the clotting of the blood. When Alexis was born in 1904, the world was a full lifespan away from the development of a usable clotting factor; most hemophiliacs simply bled out and died. The Tsarevich was protected by a full retinue, but this did not help him, and the boy was often in screaming agony and close to death from what might in another child, be a bad bruise. The Heir, therefore lived in a bubble within a bubble within a bubble.
   
   The Tsaritsa, Alexandra, was a solemn, shy, but deeply emotional and loving woman, nicknamed "Sunny" by her husband. To the world, she presented an aloof exterior, and was extremely unpopular with her subjects. Had they known the sorrows and agonies she suffered through with Alexis, her realm, and history, might have treated her far better. But the Imperial Family decided to keep Alexis' condition a closely guarded secret, fearing the destabilization of the Monarchy and Russia in the face of a physically frail Heir. This may have been the Imperial Family's worst error, as it robbed them of an outpouring of sympathy and support from a passionate populace.
   
   Alexandra turned to religion, and ultimately, to Gregory Rasputin, a filthy, degenerate, sexually perverse and personally dissolute monk of peasant extraction. Although derided by most, and called a charlatan by many, Rasputin was perhaps one of the most charismatic men in history, had a devoted following (largely comprised of Society women he'd seduced), did have the power, somehow, to control Alexis' bleeding episodes, and therefore, had the Empress's full and unwavering support in all things.
   
   The feared and hated Rasputin may have indeed been a seer or had mystical powers of some sort, judging from circumstances. Rasputin was not really political, but as his influence over the Romanovs grew, his power expanded commensurately, and he was able to have Ministers dismissed, Generals reassigned to sinecures, and policies changed according to his own whims (expressed as messages from God) or concerns. Capable Russian leaders, who did not know the basis of Rasputin's power, suspected the worst of Alexandra, and in challenging Rasputin found themselves toppled from power. As World War I dawned, Russia was upside-down, its best men in internal exile, and woefully unprepared for war. Rasputin himself counseled against war, stating that Russia would collapse from within. Nonetheless, the British, German and Russian grandsons of Queen Victoria went to war.In that war, millions died, empires fell, nations were born, ideological political systems triumphed, and the stage was set for a darker and yet bloodier future.
   
   The Tsar and his genteel family were consumed, ending their days against a wall before a Bolshevik firing squad, probably not understanding, until the end, that they had been in the eye of a hurricane that remade the world.



4. nicholas and alexandra should never had become czar and crazina of russia.nicholas was just to weak spirit and alexandra to strong without know the real russia people.she saw russian as childern who needed to be told how to run their lives by the papa czar.she hide her son illness and brought in a sexual twisted man of god into her family,ruin the romanov's relationship with it's people.stopping changes that would give citzen russian say in their country.in the end the people turn on the romanov's every thing end tragical.



5. I read this book many years ago and have never forgotten it, and I just recently purchased a copy of my own. Robert Massie is an excellent writer who makes this book memorable for the fun and loving family that the Romanovs were and their terrible, tragic end. I'm now collecting more books on the Romanov dynasty and the individual people who made up this fascinating family. For anyone with an interest, this is the place to start.

5 comments about The Making and Un-Making of a Marine.

1. This is a compelling and honest story of a war. Not the war in Vietnam but the war inside the writer. Larry's honesty and storytelling skills make this book a great read in and of itself. His description of his own post traumatic stress and its long-term effect on his life, make this a "must read" in the context of the hundreds of thousands of soldiers who are, or will become victims of PTSD. No soldier who has seen combat comes home without wounds.



2. This book brings us full circle in the life of a soldier. Tender, tough, hard to read and yet I could not put it down. Then when it was finished, I couldn't stop thinking of it. Mr. Winters humbly and honestly talks with us as if we are sitting in his livingroom, sharing stories and sharing the healing that has come to him.



3. Larry Winters has written an honest, brave, beautiful and sometimes horrifying account of the making and unmaking of a soldier. As a woman, I have always been both curiously pulled toward and repelled by the world of war; Larry has given me insight into this world that made me weep with shame for my ignorance and insulation. I now have a new understanding of and an appreciation for the soldiers who sacrifice so much for us. Thank you Larry for baring your soul and for giving me hope that healing the wounds of war is possible.



4. What a journey I was taken on by reading Larry Winter's emotional story. After having survived a challenging childhood, he was asked to survive the Viet Nam war experience as well. As many young people may experience today going off to war,the idealism and optimism which brought them there may only be replaced by doubt and confusion.
   Larry Winters tells this story in his own magnificent words bringing us to understand as closely as we can without actually being there, that strength and sensitivity can work very well together.



5. Larry Winters story is told with honesty, humility, and sensitivity. His ability to transport the reader into his world is truly wonderful. Mr. Winters shares with the reader, the childhood events that shaped his life, his experiences in Vietnam, how he coped with the effects of trauma upon return from Vietnam, and how he uses that experience to help others. This book was very difficult to put down, as Larry has the ability to really invite you into his world...

2 comments about Corregidor: From Paradise to Hell!.

1. I am lucky enough to have met Ben Waldron through family members that know him. I am not related to him in any way, but after reading this book, I feel that I know him better than some of my own family. This is a gripping true story of Ben's life, narrated by Ben, of leaving his family at 18 years old during the depression and joining the Army. Ben kept a diary for the three and a half years that he was kept as Prisoner of War under the Japanese. This book will take you through all of your emotions, and you will be left awestruck, bewildered, angry, sickened, happy and well informed about life as a soldier and as a POW during WWII.



2. Excellent book. I read it in one sitting because it was impossible for me to set it down. The author tells the story in real language with no extra words. It really shows the horrors of being a prisoner of war.

3 comments about Major General Maurice Rose: World War II's Greatest Forgotten Commander.

1. It is, by definition, impossible to determine the "Greatest Forgotten Commander" of any war, but if the authors have not managed the feat indisputably, the life of General Rose has set the barrier so high that one is hard put to think of a "remembered" commander who is so great. To this day, the division he commanded holds the record for the longest opposed advance in a single day.
   
   The life of Maurice Rose is truly inspirational, but what few personal effects remained of his life were almost completely destroyed in a flood. Messrs. Ossad and Marsh have performed a spectacular feat of bringing this important personage alive. There is much of the inner man we can never know, of course, and much of the book is pure military history as it should be, but you get enough of a glimpse of the man to get a sense of what he was like. The authors do not hesitate to criticize his flaws, but that honesty just makes the man that much more impressive.
   
   The authors "bookend" the story with a detailed description of the General's last day (although at least two U.S. generals more senior to Rose and two other division commanders were killed during World War II, to my knowledge, Rose is unique at that rank to have been killed by small arms fire rather than bombs or artillery, a tribute to the General's habit of "leading from the front"). I would have liked a little more information about the fate of the division after the General was killed, but that is available elsewhere.
   
   The general's conversion from Judaism to Christianity is speculated upon in some detail, but the willingness to redefine oneself is uniquely American and it is one of the things which make General Rose a uniquely American hero.



2. If you're a World War II history enthusiast this book is an outstanding selection. The authors, Steven L. Ossad, and Don R. Marsh, did a tremendous job researching Major General Rose's life. They have conducted thorough research that explains everything about him from his faith to his tragic death in March of 1945. I particularly like the footnotes. They provide an easy way for the reader to get background on an event or person the authors have written about. I'd highly recommend the book.



3. Maurice Rose, a tall, handsome soldier was a stand-offish person with those around him. No one in the 3rd Armored Division really got to know much about his personal life. Married twice, he kept his life so secret that his two sons, by different wives, did not know the other existed until many years after some digging by one of the authors.
   Rose was a brave man, single-minded, whose only mission was to defeat the Nazis as quickly and as throughly as possible. Whether that was due to his Jewish background (which he seemed to shun) or not is problematical. He demanded absolute loyalty from his men. He would not accept any excuse from any of his subordinate commanders -- accomplish your mission or move on!
   This book sheds a lot of light on the man whom General J. Lawton Collins regarded "as the top notch division commander in the business at the time of his death." I heartily recommend it especially to those who are interested in the fighting in North-west Europe during WWII.

5 comments about The Souvenir: A Daughter Discovers Her Father's War.

1. I have the hardback (2001) edition. This was an excellent read, especially for all of us that read war history. It was refreshing to read of the human side of a warrior and his daughter. You won't put this one down until it's read. This is an important book especially for those that may still hold hatred for a specific person or race.



2. The Souvenir is a marvelous book for book group discussions, and is especially appropriate for Jewish groups. Ms. Steinman writes poignantly about her father, her family, and herself in relation to the military experience of the World War II theater of operations in the Pacific, and its aftermath. This is a story that is relatively unknown, since many histories and memoirs of World War II focus on Europe. Although not a book about Judaism, this is a very Jewish book. It is very much in keeping with the Jewish storytelling tradition: of creating and telling a good story that is important for the audience to hear, and to feeling a connection to the characters and values in the story. The themes of repentance and renewal (tshuvah in Hebrew) are vital to maintaining and nurturing relationships of family and friends, especially at the time of year when the Jewish holy days of the New Year (Rosh HaShanah) and the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) occur. I was moved to tears a number of times. There are valuable lessons to share that will broaden our understanding and compassion for veterans, their families, and Jewish values.
   
   Rabbi Wendy Spears



3. You see all the reviews having 5 stars out of 5 stars--I couldn't bring myself to agree. This book starts being really quite good--it drew me in--but then it started to dddddddrrrrrraaaaaaaaggggggggg. I put it down for a while and tried again (I did this 3 times) when I decided to give it up for good. I think it could have been better. :(



4. Louise Steinman has hit it out of the park with this wonderful, moving memoir about her father, Norman Steinman, his war experiences, and the way those experiences shaped his life--and his relationships with his family. It is also about Ms. Steinman's own odyssey in experiencing her father's war, through reading hundreds of her father's war-time letters discovered after her parents' deaths, talking to other Pacific War veterans, and visiting long-forgotten battlefields in the Philippines. Ms. Steinman eventually makes a special journey to Japan to visit the family of a long-dead Japanese soldier. It involves a simple errand: she needs to give something back...
   
   Ms. Steinman shows that the scars of war run deep and the impacts are felt through succeeding generations. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.



5. Like so many in my generation, the author, like the rest of us, really had no clue as to what made her father tick. These men, and women, of the "Greatest Generation" were a different breed. I had to blink twice when the author described her father, his attitudes, work ethic, treatment of his family and on and on. She could have well been describing my own father.
   
   The author, after her father's death, discovers a box of letters written to his wife (the author's mother) during the war. Her father fought in the Pacific, taking part in some of its most brutal of battles. Amongst the letters, in an envelope, was a Japanese Flag, a "souvenir flag" which her father had sent home. The flag was of the type carried by many Japanese soldiers, which was a sort of good luck piece. The story is basically Ms. Steinman's search for the family of the soldier whose body it was taken from and a story of Ms. Steinman's search for her father, i.e. who really was her father, and how had the war changed him?
   
   Now I will be honest, there were parts of the book that disturbed me. I am not all that certain if the author ever did have a clue as to what made her father the man he was and how the war truly affected him. The author never actually says it, but after reading her description of her father, which gave us some idea of the kind of man he was, there is really no doubt where he got the flag, and how he got it. He did not seem the type of man who would simply pick up a flag off any old dead body and keep it. While this falls into the realm of speculation, I think it probably would have been better if the author had faced reality. Be that as it may, the author did quite a good job with her research and I certainly admire her objectives.
   
   The book is well written, easy to read, and quite informative. Like another reviewer here, I have the feeling the author actually found out more about herself than she did of her father, and that is actually a very good thing. I do recommend this one highly. You certainly will be richer for having read it.
   
   D. Blankenship