Luisa Lang Owen's recounting of her childhood and the losses she and others experienced before, during and after the war, including three years in a concentration camp is, at once, both hauntingly beautiful and horrific. Her captors, in seeking to exterminate individuals and their culture ironically distilled, in this young woman, the essence of being. Her lush and loving attention to detail, her artistic perceptions were heightened and strengthened in those years, and what we sometimes refer to as the "strength of the human spirit" is clearly defined in the telling of this woman's coming of age under life-threatening conditions. Both fascinated and saddened by the telling, I felt as if I'd entered the spirit of someone who has always lived and continues to live fully and attentively in the world.

This book is an excellent introduction to the history of the English language. As the other reviewers have noted, it's a bit top-heavy on technical linguistics, and therefore may not be suitable to everyone. But if you don't mind reading a book which could also be used as a 400-level college textbook... I think this book would appeal to any who have an interest in linguistics in general and the history on English in particular - especially if you've read other, lighter books on the topic already and you're ready to get seriously into the topic.

I fit the above category, and I loved this book. Probably the best I've read on the subject so far.

If someone is interested in learning the origins, history, and development of the English language, then he or she will gain a lot from this book. There are many technical aspects included. It's also enjoyable. Many applied linguistic terms and areas are covered. From English's relationship to Sanskrit and other languages, to the great vowel shift explaining why English often doesn't sound the way it's spelled--difficult and illogical for students learning the language. The author went into depth about such topics as the culture of the Germanic tribes and how demographics influenced the development of the English language the way it did. The Scandinavians, French, and many others have loaded the language with with many loans words. It's a good informative read.

My interest in linguistics began when my latin teacher began talk about past forms of english in class. I was looking through the book store to find more about what he was talking about. Many of the titles looked either too thick or too long. then i came across this title. It was thin and supposedly for beginners like me. I thought i would give it a try and purchased it. When i got home i immediatly began to read. It was getting dark by the time i put it down. I am an avid fan of fiction, and only read non fiction for the information. I usually find it boring, yet informative and long to be finished with it. But this book i found was very interesting as well as informative and i could not put it down. It introduces you first to the various symbols used to show different sound and then wastes no time plunging you right into the beginnings of the language through old, middle, and early modern english. It was easy to follow as long as you had the symbols memorized and gave a brief history of the times when the languge was at certain stages. I finished it quickly and understood most of the stuff i read. Now i feel i can step up to the next level and read some of the more complex books. This book was a good foundation for my interest in linguistics and i found no fault in it.

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A Terrible Revenge: The Ethnic Cleansing of the East European Germans, 1944-1950

The tragedy of the largest ethnic-cleansing event in history Alfred-Maurice De Zayas' book recounts the events that unfolded during the first few-months of 1945 in Germany's historic eastern provinces. This tragedy, that was the extermination of an 800-year old civilization in Eastern Europe, is regrettably an event that still remains an unknown, even in modern western intellectual circles. De Zayas' book decribes the harrowing tale that the 13 million eastern Germans faced: the largest ethnic-cleansing of human beings, the largest maritime evacuation of civilians, and the most horrific naval disasters in history.

The book is a monument to the great cruelty and depravity that mankind is capable of, and the little dignity that even moral powers can have for their victims. It is a dedication to the millions that suffered because of their ethnic origin and to the 2.5 million Germans that vanished. Today, the survivors and relatives of these expellees acount for 1/5 of the German population.

This book will be intstrumental in understanding the future evolution of Polish-German and Czech-German affairs.

A DEFINITE BUY! A+

Most historians or the public in general do not have knowledge of this ethnic cleansing.

How can this have been silenced away for so many years?

15 Million Germans were herded out of their homelands of eastern Germany and other parts of eastern Europe, that in earlier years were part of the German Empire. People act as if this never happened or dismiss it. Any attempt at making this expulsion known, was until now totally rejected by any mainstream publisher. Anyone daring to even hint at it, was and is immediately attacked.

A. de Zayas has the courage to stand up against intimidation. This book is the tip of the iceberg of the actual records of the

survivors. De Zayas made an event public, that by mere denial of the actively involved perpetrators for the last 50 years, led to many repeats such as Kosovo.

Alfred-Maurice De Zayas' book recounts the events that unfolded during the first few-months of 1945 in Germany's historic eastern provinces. This tragedy, that was the extermination of an 800-year old civilization in Eastern Europe, is regrettably an event that still remains an unknown, even in modern western intellectual circles. De Zayas' book decribes the harrowing tale that the 13 million eastern Germans faced: the largest ethnic-cleansing of human beings, the largest maritime evacuation of civilians, and the most horrific naval disasters in history. The book is a monument to the great cruelty and depravity that mankind is capable of, and the little dignity that even moral powers can have for their victims. It is a dedication to the millions that suffered because of their ethnic origin and to the 2.5 million Germans that vanished. Today, the survivors and relatives of these expellees acount for 1/5 of the German population. This book will be intstrumental in understanding the future evolution of Polish-German and Czech-German affairs. A DEFINITE BUY! A+

As a beginning classical actor, this book was well worth the time and money. The section on 'thou vs you' alone justifies the book.