An uplifting read that shows how humanity's darkest hour brought immeasurable good out of so many ordinary citizens. These courageous individuals risked everything to save the lives, in most cases, of complete strangers. Among the heroes profiled are a high-ranking nazi (at least in title if not in spirit), a guard dog, and several would-be-victims whose God-given ingenuity manifested itself at the right time and enabled them to outwit Hitler's storm troopers.

As remnants of nazism are staging a comeback--the tragic Elian Gonzales raid and kidnapping proves that it has usurped a bridgehead within the highest ranks of the U.S. federal government-- these inspirational souls will forever stand as exemplary beacons for us to assiduously strive to emulate.

This book kept me riveted to the page. I just couldn't put it down! There's been so much written about the horror of the Holocaust- it was great to see true, touching human-interest stories with happy endings, considering the historical circumstances. The writing is excellent and consistent, the book is very well-edited, and the stories are just plain moving. Some of them are amazing beyond what any Hollywood screenwriter could concoct- and these are all factual, having come from direct interviews with the survivors themselves. This book would be great for older kids, too, as it explores some valuable moral territory, without any particular religious or social agenda. These are simply stories that needed to be told, and they are well-told indeed! Great book.

Before I read this book, the Holocaust suggested to me a time of darkness and suffering. These stories have showed me that the darkness was sometimes illuminated by works of mercy and the suffering occasionally alleviated by works of charity. It was uplifting to read these true accounts of human love and brotherhood.

Mr. Abrahams can write! Lights Out is a well written and engrossing read. However, the ending was so depressing that I'm not sure I will be able to read another of his novels. He is the master of sympathetic tragic character

I had never heard of Peter Abrahams until I saw his name mentioned four times in the recommended authors section of the Stephen King book "On Writing". Since then I have become a fan.

"Lights Out" is typical of Abrahams' free flowing easy to read style and the length of this book, and infact most of his books, allow for a good 5 to 6 hour read.

The juxtaposition of past and present in this novel is handled immaculately and the ending, although surprising, isn't so difficult to rationalize.

The character of Eddie Nye is well created, gets the reader's sympathy, and I could imagine a movie of this book with the lead being played by one of our better young actors. I hope that will happen.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I am eagerly looking forward to "The Tutor".

Lights out is a very suspensive book, inetersting, you won't get bored with it, very well written, simply the best!

A well done "fresco" of contradictions in the Israelian society. Each protagonist is part of the Israel complexity. A simple and a little surreal story in a difficult history. Great book.

This novel, written shortly after the disastrous Yom Kippur war, captures the complexity of Israeli society through the lives of normal participants.

Rather than lambaste the reader with a litany of politics, the book follows the slightly bizarre, but highly symbolic life of an Israeli family as they attempt to find the Wife's lover - a lapsed Jew from France who returned seeking an inheritance.

The story is unpretentious and surprisingly readable. The author's style is to present each new chapter through the voice of a different character, often retelling the same events from several perspectives.

Through these perspectives - a wealthy secular mechanic, a conflicted rebellious teenage girl, an aging zionist intellectual wife, an elderly native sephardic, a ambitious intelligent palestinian boy, and ultimately through the story of the Lover himself - Yehoshua uncovers the complex stuff that constitutes a very strangely formed nation.

Nuanced, delightfully blasphemous accounts of Zionism like this one are not permitted to be spoken here in the US - but of course in Israel, sophisticated debates about the nature of their society are part and parcel of intellectual life.

Enjoy this book. I give it my highest recommendation.

In a most unusual storyline, a man searches for his wife's lover in the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War. In the meantime, early tension of the Jewish state is plumbed: Ashkenazi vs. Sephardi, man vs. woman, Arab vs. Jew. Told from constantly oscillating viewpoints in the spirit of Faulkner's *As I Lay Dying*, Yehoshua presents a hyperrealistic portrait of modern-day Israel.

I don't know if this book really should be considered a book of Classical Mechanics. The reason is that its first 5 chapters (more than 500 pages!) contain almost all the global analysis you'll ever need to know, plus some quite esoteric topics such as a section on general quantization and infinite-dimensional Hamiltonian systems (with the Schroedinger and Korteweg-deVries equations as examples). Copious figures and reasonably clear notation help the reader to understand the (often hard) topological and geometrical concepts. As a book on analytic mechanics, it seems like killing a cockroach with a bazooka. If you plan to learn MECHANICS with a geometrical flavor, and not GLOBAL ANALYSIS with physical motivations, choose instead the shorter, cleaner and much more inspired book of V. I. Arnold, "Mathematical Methods of Classical Mechanics". If you belong to the second group, it's a good place anyway.

The rest of the book is dedicated to dynamical systems, including a fac-simile of a paper of Kolmogorov. However, the topics could be trated with less fuss (as, for example, in the marvellous little and sadly out-of-print book of David Ruelle).

Along with a handful of other works this book is a must for anyone interested in geometric mechanics and control. The text provides a rigorous foundation for a huge subject.

All necessary background is self-contained. However, the book is difficult and I would not recommend it as a first learning text. For that I would send you to Frankel's _The Geometry of Physics_.

This is a wonderful book. You could loose yourself for almost a whole career here - because this book tries to explain virtually the whole of the subject, right up to all the twentieth century contributions.

Photographs of mathematicians from Gauss and Legendre right up to the most venerable living mathematicians are included in a picture gallery at the front of the book. This is excellent.

The book requires as a beginning, all the material regarding the Hamiltonian and Lagrangian formulations of mechanics - which means you won't have a clue about what the book is saying until you have got somewhat beyond the second year at university. Then the authors start discussing topology, and the ideas which are necessary to re-formulate ideas in quite different clothing. This is very hard - the reader really needs to know about very hard mathematics. Ideas about point set topology are essential because the subject matter encompasses chaotic behaviour and the many body problem. Newtons equations (and this surprises many people) lead to large systems of non-linear equations - and the general theory of the solution of such systems leads almost inevitably to poincare point sets, winding numbers, and so forth. The theory of integral operators (see Kranoselsky, et al) has long been couched in these terms.

Get this by all means, and prepare to have a hard journey ahead.

I should mention that many parts of the book are quite readable and the authors go out of their way to reach the reader as far as possible.

It's actually a physically large book, it would be probably better to get the hard back edition if it's available.

This is one of the most straight forward texts on the workings of Kabbalism in print that I've read. The author methodically ascends the Tree of Life, stopping by each sefirot and describing its purpose and how it relates to the unfathomable One. The author describes each sefirot as a gate that leads to further understanding. Within each gate, the author pulls together many scriptures in support of his esoteric interpretation and his belief of how one can properly ascribe their prayers so that they are heard on high. Although not easy reading by today's standards, it certainly is much easier to comprehend than the Zohar for example and accessible to those with some patience. For those studying the history of Kabbalah, this text helps the reader understand the teachings and development of the Kabbalistic sect in and around the 13th century. However, this is certainly not an introductory text and should only be read after student has at least a rudimentary understanding of Kabbalism and an intermediate grasp of the Tanakh.

In this book, you can find all necessary explanation as to the mystical and symbolic meaning of the Sephiroth, given here as the Ten Names of the Most High, which are Gates ("Gates of Light") to spiritual enlightenment. It is essential for all practitioners of the Kabbalah.

Translated in shockingly exoteric and readable fasion Gikatillia's "Shaareh Orah" uncovers the key's to the ten spheres. The book takes each of the ten and explicitly explains the name that it is attached to, and the cognomens that are used in reference to that sphere in the Tanakh. The book is eclipsed historicaly in importance by the Book of Splendor (Zohar), but it should not be overlooked. Indeed while the Zohar is hidden and recondite Gikatillia sets much of the same subject matter forth in clear 13th century philosophical style. A most important English translation of a classic Kabbalistic text.

The title of LaWanda Cox's Lincoln and Black Freedom may be somewhat misleading. At first glance, the reader may assume that this book is simply a hybrid of two familiar animals in postbellum literature-a biography of Abraham Lincoln and a survey of African-American efforts to better their condition. Yet while the actions and attitudes of Lincoln may be the primary subject of the work, most of the book focuses on the deeds of lesser men in relation and response to his efforts in reconstructing Louisiana. While the efforts of black Americans themselves are all but entirely missing, this is still a great book that succeeds in its mission to reexamine the actions and intentions of Lincoln and reflect on what might have been had he lived.

Cox begins her study with an investigation of Lincoln's own personal beliefs about emancipation, black suffrage, equal rights, and the creation a biracial society. Despite some historians who had recently questioned his dedication to abolition and egalitarianism, Cox convincingly portrays Lincoln as equally committed to the Radicals' goals while transcending their limited ability to understand that politics is "the art of the possible."

While regional politicians such as Thaddeus Stevens had the luxury of being able to unequivocally condemn the South and her peculiar institution, Lincoln knew that his obligation as President required a message of conciliation, leading rather than pushing towards egalitarian goals that could be reasonably achieved as the opportunity presented itself and in a manner consistent with legal and political norms.

Lincoln was passionately and publicly opposed to slavery. But he was equally concerned with the preservation of the union and adhering to the Constitution. Cox's many assertions that Lincoln was cautious in his maneuvering while consistent in his beliefs are backed by scores of examples taken from Lincoln's own words of instruction. These words, of necessity, may have been privately conveyed, but they were no less uncompromising in their message that the Union must be preserved while slavery must be destroyed.

One of many examples Cox employs to illustrate this point is the action of James McKaye, Lincoln's liaison to the Freedman's Inquiry Commission. The group outlined a plan for dealing with former slaves that would later serve as the model for "Radical Reconstruction" based on citizenship, suffrage, and landownership. Even amongst radicals of the day such as Charles Sumner, McKaye was the most progressive member. Although Lincoln did not lead the group or outline their objectives, Cox reminds the reader that it would be atypical of Lincoln to allow a subordinate such as McKaye to act without first consulting the President.

The core of LaWanda Cox's work is a review and reinterpretation of Lincoln's attempt at Reconstruction in Louisiana prior to his death in 1865. Because Lincoln did not view the Presidency as a endowment to act upon his own beliefs-a view that is reinforced by his moderation in forming executive policies while pressing local officials to be more progressive, such examples as the Louisiana "experiment" may serve as the best model for understanding Lincoln's true intentions for Reconstruction as well as his personal beliefs about black freedom.

Cox joins most historians in acknowledging that Lincoln's first priority in the struggle to reconstruct former rebel states was to aid the Union cause. The Ten Percent Plan was intended to quickly create a "rallying point" for southern loyalists while delivering the Confederacy an important psychological defeat. But Cox examines in great detail the behind the scenes actions of President Lincoln in assuring that the Louisiana government abolish slavery, and if possible, enfranchise black males with the right to vote.

Lincoln was concerned about the permanent legal status of persons emancipated under a wartime proclamation. He knew that the only guarantee against a reverse of the freedman's status was for the states themselves to abolish slavery in their constitutions. He ordered his military governor, Nathaniel Banks, to quickly hold elections and create such a constitution. Lincoln was sure that the Republican Congress would surely ratify such a document, setting a precedent for readmission that would require permanent emancipation before the elections of 1864 would give the Democrats the opportunity to interfere.

The resulting elections and constitutional convention did result in a relatively progressive government in Louisiana by February 1864. In fact, the new constitution not only outlawed slavery but also included equality before the law. Its framers were open to gradual black suffrage. As Cox illustrates, Lincoln used his powers of influence and patronage to prod the fledgling government into accepting these provisions. Unfortunately, a controversy arose over the readmission of the new government that all but destroyed its legitimacy after the Republican Congress denied its petition.

The conflict erupted from the fallout of an ugly campaign that resembled a soap opera more than a free election. The contest for governor pitted Governor Banks' candidate, Michael Hahn, against Free State Committee leader Thomas Durant. Although there was no essential matter of principle that divided the two men or their followers, (both were committed to abolition and to the idea of extending civil rights to blacks but were hesitant about immediate suffrage) governor Bank's un-Lincolnian style of management by force and Congress' distrust of Lincoln's methods such as military occupation caused Durant and his followers to discredit the Louisiana government after losing the election. The tragic irony, as Cox points out, was that the government that Lincoln had engineered through Banks was even more radical than what was Congress outlined in its own wish list, the Wade-Davis Bill.

Cox's final chapter entitled "Reflections on the Limits of the Possible" compares the policies, skills, and beliefs of Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, Ulysses Grant, and the Republican Congress as a whole and explores the great question of what might have been. Her conclusion is that the ten-year battle between Congress and the Executive would have likely been reduced to a discussion of how to achieve the mutually accepted goal of guaranteeing the rights of the freed slaves. The Republican Party, especially in the South, would have benefited by association with the political skill and moderation of Lincoln rather than with the single-minded "Radical Yankee Republicans" of Congress. Had a stronger Republican party taken root, it may have resulted in a viable two party system that would have made the inevitable transition to home rule more agreeable. Yet even Lincoln could not have immediately guaranteed and enforced equal rights for the freedmen because racism was firmly entrenched and the Southern economy offered no assistance. Even the most radical plan of land redistribution failed to provide a means to revive the Southern economy. Even so, Cox provides a compelling argument to support her case that had Lincoln been able to extend his Louisiana program of consent and force, Reconstruction would have been much more successful.

Lawanda Cox discusses at length the steps that Lincoln follows to ensure emancipation and the survival of the union after the Civil War. Lincoln leadership and strategies is the main topic of the book is. At many times, this book is about building Lincolns reputation as a great leader. Reconstruction, post Civil War, is the time period when this book first leads off. Lincoln immediately uses his talent to hold the nation together. Cox's audience is obviously anyone that has ever question just how brilliant and talented Lincoln really was. This is a great source to see just how strategic Lincoln was to keep the union together and go through with the emancipation. College students could use this book as part of a biography to give examples on what steps Lincoln used during his presidency. This book should be part of everyone's Civil War library. The author, LaWanda Cox is a, "seasoned Reconstruction scholar," wrote Thomas Schott. With the research that I have done, I can only agree with Mr.Schott. She has also written another book about Reconstruction called Freedom, Racism, and Reconstruction : Collected Writings of Lawanda Cox.. Lawanda Cox is a leading Reconstruction historian. She is a professor of history at Hunter College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. In 1992 she received the Southern Historical Associations' first citation for lifetime of to the field of Southern History. In writing this book, Cox uses several primary and secondary sources. Many different books about Reconstruction and black freedom were consulted when this book was put together. Most of her sources were books written by a variety of authors. In my opinion, she seemed to cover just about everything. LaWanda is very objective throughout the book. She is quick to support Lincoln in everything that he does, but does also criticize him at times. For example, "Lincoln's effort to enlist, or a t least neutralize, economic interest and portraying compensation for slaves as money saved from the cost of war depended upon his main contention that the war should be shortened and was similarly vulnerable," criticizes Lincoln a little, but also writes, "Lincoln's extraordinary effort on behalf of gradual, compensated emancipation," and much later, "If any man could met the challenge, that man was Lincoln." She looks at Lincoln as a great leader. So great as to not give in to the radicals, develop and follow the ten percent plan, and realize that small, sometimes flexible steps needed to be taken throughout Reconstruction. Lincoln has always been considered one of America's greatest presidents. This book takes a giant leap to prove that to any non-believer. Cox's shows Lincoln strengths when dealing with other people. Lincoln had clear plan, but Cox's shows how flexible he was in the emancipation in using other people suggestions. He does just this in Louisiana. Lincoln does what he can to create and recognize Louisiana as a state. It was not Lincoln that was doing the dirty work, Cox explained. Most of the time he had someone pass his own words. Lincoln avoided developing a connection between recognition of a state and abolition of slavery. Cox in the end of the book goes on to express what may have happen if Lincoln had remained president. With the strategic power that Lincoln had, he may settled the race issue much sooner. Cox points out how Andrew Johnson was so weak compared to Lincoln. Johnson was not only a weak president, but also had southern roots. Cox thinks Lincoln would have went as far as military force to see what he wanted carried out. Cox writes, "Given the difference in principle and prejudice between Lincoln and Johnson, Reconstruction history would have followed a different path both at the nation's capital and in the secession states of the South had Lincoln lived out his second term of office. Of that there can be no doubt." The style of this book can be very confusing at times. To me it seems to go over the same point over and over. Emancipation was the most confusing of all the things I read. A preliminary emancipation was issued followed by a warning of emancipation, and then a test emancipation all going on at different times in Louisiana. It was in chronological order making it easier for me to read since I have some knowledge of the Reconstruction Era. The book I thought was original. I read new information every time I picked up the book. Cox used many different sources when writing this book. It is not the first book on Lincoln as a Presidential Leader. It refines Lincoln during the Reconstruction Era smoothing out the facts about his strategy. Many people have written books about Lincoln in the past. This is LaWand Cox's second book about Lincoln. LaWanda Cox's book does get more original towards the end of the book when she considers what could have happened had Lincoln continued to be President. The book reviews that I looked seemed to agree that LaWanda Cox's Lincoln and Black Freedom is a great source of information and plainly fascinating. Fresh and sharp were two words that described it according to one critic. She was considered a seasoned Reconstruction author that should receive every ounce of credit for her book. Recently a book was written from a collection of Cox's books, Freedom, Racism, and Reconstruction : Collected Writings of Lawanda Cox. From reading all the reviews LaWanda Cox is consider a scholar of Southern Reconstruction. If you are interested in presidential strategy, emancipation, reconstruction, or just Lincoln, then you should add this book to your library of American History. However, this book is very difficult to read. You need some kind of a background in the Reconstruction Era to appreciate this book. For all the detail, strategy, and depth, all scholars should read this book.

Just by briefly glancing at the pages of Amazon.com, one realizes that there are thousands of books about Abraham Lincoln. Within these books are hundreds of "different" Abraham Lincolns. Some of these Lincolns have different ideas, different policies, and different strategies twords winning the war than other Lincolns. Nowhere is this battle over Lincoln more hard fought than the idea of Lincoln the Emancipator.

Lawanda Cox in her wonderful book LINCOLN AND BLACK FREEDOM comes down soldly and convincingly on the side of Lincoln as an active agent working for the end of slavery. Cox demonstrates this, amoung other ways, by closly examining Lincoln's policy twords slavery in La, and by examining Lincoln the politician.

Cox almost never misses in her closely argued, complex arguments. For the reader interested in emancipation, the Civil War and especially Abraham Lincoln, the book is a must-read.

It took me a long time to finish. This basically the political side leading up to the civil. It is interesting. There was a fews that got too much and I had to skip but it is a very excellent book.

All Northerners,such as myself, should read this book which takes the luster off many of the myths which we were taught in high school and college. Because it was his armies that won that War his subsequent assassination and virtually immediate deification, has led to not taking a critical look at his many flaws, mistakes and faults. Lincoln, a country lawyer, unschooled in Constitutional law repeatedly ignored that document in his stubborn quest to restore the Union. Read how Lincoln never did have a Constitution basis for invading a soverign country. Read about Lincoln's 13,000 political prisoners. A must-read book for all of us schooled in "Lincoln-Lore."

This book lays out in great detail (with plenty of references to the basic documents) the events leading up to the US Civil War.

For all practical purposes the original US Republic ended in the Spring 1861 and was recreated after the War with a new character. States Rights including the right to secede were lost in the process.

This book explains how it all happened and why you may feel you live in a high-tax Empire instead of a Republic.

Ponape and Nan-Matol ARE still mysterious islands in the South Pacific - despite much archaeological speculation, Easter Island is too! This wild tale combines the mystery of these islands with hollow-earth theory and techno-occultism to produce a fantasy epic only Abraham Merritt could conceive.

abraham merritt: a great writer from the age before the far corners of the world had been explored. when there was still a sense of innocence about what the world contained. it is gone now that we have investigated the whole world. there are no strange islands in the south pacific; no metal monsters in outer mongolia; no bridges to valhalla above the artic circle in scandinavia. there are times when knowing too much hurts the ability to dream. from pat taylor

I gave this five stars because it deserved it. It's still a classic and still a lot of fun to read. However, readers be warned. You must remember it was written in 1919. Stereotypes abound. Women are voluptous, wear very little clothing and are either totally good or totally evil. If you can make allowances for all that, then it's a thoroughly enjoyable romp and the author's imagination is stunning. Today, he would place his adventure on an alien planet. In 1919, the vast uncharted regions of the Pacific were vast and alien enough to contain lost races, lost civilizations, unimaginable science, etc. My recommendation is to suspend all disbelief and critical judgment and simply enjoy.

This is a well formatted, highly technical book. That is what surprised me. This book is not written for the layman. DO NOT purchase this book unless you are well-versed in chemistry and can follow a highly technical medical book. I was impressed by "Parkinson's Disease: Questions and Answers" but it took some intense reading for me to be able to pull good information out of it. This is a must-buy for your primary care physician if they aren't well versed in Parkinson's disease.

This book is written with a great deal of research and medical substance. If you are just learning about Parkinson's, this is not the book to begin with. If you have some knowledge and want specifics, this is a good book. It is a nice book to pick up and read parts at a time. Information is candid and thorough.

I loved the format of the book! In reading any publication of its type, one typically has specific questions on a particular subject or seeks further explanation on a variety of issues to maintain as a reference. It was very easy to direct my attention to the very topics I was most interested in, and to return to them in times of need. The format of the book (question and answer), the length of the chapters, and flow of information made it a very quick read despite the complexity of the material. It will be one that I will keep on my shelf for a long time.

Cualquiera que lea las rimas de Bécquer en la adolescencia temprana, en el momento de los primeros enamoramientos, quedará fascinado por la sintonía de sus sentimientos con los versos. En realidad, su calidad es dispareja (aunque ello no impide recomendar su lectura). Los que mejor recuerdo son "Volverán las oscuras golondrinas" y "Qué solos se quedan los muertos". Algunos rayan en la cursilería más simplona, pero otros tienen un patetismo atractivo, sobre todo porque Bécquer tiene la cualidad de proyectar una atmósfera muy provinciana, muy sevillana, que les da un aura de misterio. Las leyendas, en cambio, son una joya del romanticismo: recuperan de manera convincente la obscuridad y la cercanía con lo sobrenatural, que caracterizan el apego del romanticismo por la Edad Media. Son , desde luego, sumamente sentimentales, pero la creación de ambientes rayanos en ell delirio es muy buena. El trabajo de Bécquer vale la pena por su representatividad y por la recuperación del sabor de las antiguas leyendas españolas.

Yo lei el libro de Rimas y Leyendas cuando era una jovencita de 15 o 16 anos de edad. Ahora como mujer mayor, con familia y una carrera, todavia me emociona y me hace sentir como esa jovencita sonadora. Si tu eres romantica/o, este es un libro que se debe tener en la biblioteca personal. Las Leyendas estan tambien llenas de misterio y romance. En general este libro es uno que no aburre y que renueva.

Becquer para mi es el mejor poeta romantico con diferencia, sus rimas estan llenas de intimismo, imaginacion y libertad, uno se ve reflejado en cada verso, y en sus leyendas emplea una bellisima prosa poetica para narrar sus irreales y magicas historias. Si te gusta el misterio leelas.