Title: Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge
Author: Mem Fox
Favorite Characters: Mrs. Jordan, Mr. Hosking, Mr. Tippett, Miss. Mitchell, and Mr. Drysdale

Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge was a curious little boy who loved the old people that lived right next to him, especially Miss. Nancy. In the story, Gordon finds out that Miss. Nancy has lost her memory. There is a slight problem, though, he doesn't know what a memory is! He asks everyone what a memory is and everyone gives him a different answer.
After everyone's different answers, Gordon goes out to look for Miss. Nancy's memory. Gordon ends up bring a box with a football, a puppet, a medal, a shell, and a warm egg to Miss. Nancy. What does this all have to do with her memory? Find out by reading the book...

No matter how many times I read "Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge" by Julie Vivas, this book never fails to touch something deep inside my heart. It's about a little boy who lives next to a retirement home and his friendship with the people who live there. We get to see these elderly people in a little boy's eyes. And the thoughtful illustrations by Mem Fox show us quite clearly. (I love the illustrations) The touching and simple relationship between Wilfred Gordon and Miss Nancy is poignant to the core. Wilfred Gordon's desire to revive Miss Nancy's lost memory is sweet and absolutely delightful. It's a great story to share with children about memories and Alzheimer's disease. The world seems a much friendlier place through a child's eyes. Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge is a fantastic book for all ages!

I really like this book. I read it today for the second time, but I remember it from when I was younger. This story has siplicity for young children and a wonderful story line for any age. I am going to get this book for my children when I grow up and hopefully my little sister will read it some day.

A great read from a great author. i'm already ordering Gordan Kormans first series i liked this book so much.and i can't wait for the other two books from this series to come out. Young 13 year old domonic and his brother Chris both great climbers in a contest of 19 teens to get in the final team of 4 The expedition leader Cap cierco saw something in Dominic but he still thought he was just too young and small for the long trip up Everest in Nepal the alpanists dream climb. in the first cut the Dr. sees cap cut all the wild card finalists but the Dr. convinces cap to keep Dominic and the whole team grows suspicious of The 14 year old perry who isn't nearly as skilled as the other climbers that got cut the first time around all around a great book that i reccomend to anyone kids or adults

Everest, The Contest is a great book for both boys and girls to read. I think to bring sand from the lowest point in the world to the top is really cool. Dominic's brother is not going to Everest. Even though he wanted to, he was not picked. Chris, Dominic's brother wanted him to bring up the sand in his place. I like how Dominic just focuses on trying to save Bryn, from the icefall while Cap Cicero is yelling at him to get out of the icefall and get back down the mountain. I really like the fact that the author did not chose for Ethan Zaph to go with the expedition because he didn't even train with the team.
I also think that for Bryn's replacement they should have chose Chris. He was a better climber than Tilt and he had more experience. Tilt Crowley should not go because he is a bully and he gets mad when somebody beats him to the top of a hill or a rock. Tilt also is not a team player and Tilt annoys other members of the team like Cap Cicero. I would think if you had a person on the team who is not very honest and loyal with the team, then why should he be put on? Tilt just wants the record and will not help anybody else, when on the other hand Dominic helps his teammates like when they were climbing Lucifer's Claw, he helped Bryn. But, I am sure that Dominic would like to have the record of being the youngest to summit Everest, but not to get into fights about it.
This is one of my favorite books because of all of the extreme climbing and all of the risks that they take. It teaches you loyalty among friends and how to be a team player. You know you can really depend on someone if you can climb Everest with them.

This is an awesome book. It is by Gordon Korman who also writes a great series called Island. This series has 3 book; The Contest, The Climb, and The Summit. I think this author is very good at describing the people's personalities and also there is a variety of personalities. This book is about 20 kids that are all trying to be the youngest kid to climb Everest. There are 5 wild cards that are picked by something to do with collecting wrappers and bottle caps and they have to spell EVEREST. Cap Cicero, a very well-known and great veteran climber has to pick 4 out of the 20. I won't tell you who the 4 are but I will tell you the main characters. They are: Dominic, Chris, Tilt, Cap, Sammi, Bryn, and Perry. Thiss is being sponsored by Summit Athletic Quest in Colorado. All of the kids have to go through a month of boot camp and Cap Cicero is making the cuts during it, him watching everything you do. They start to climb EVEREST and then......... READ IT ITS AWESOME

SIN AND SYNTAX should be a text in high school English classes. A generation of enthusiastic grammarians might rise up and wipe out the scourge of dangling modifiers. The mystery of lay and lie would be be solved at last. I teach adults how to turn their great ideas into the novels they've always wanted to write; and while the refinements of plot and character and theme are fairly simple to explain, grammar and syntax bedevil student and (this) teacher alike. But no more. With humor, clarity and excellent contemporary examples, this book helps me explain to my students why, after half a dozen rewrites, their sentences still sing off key, why I nag them about details, why some adjectives work and others just take up space on the page. A great resource book.

This book is probably one of the best grammar books out there, and it is absolutely a "Must-Read" for every writer (fiction and nonfiction, also journalists should read through it). The author is clear and precise in her explanations of grammatical concepts and possibilities, and she makes grammar fun. Some conventional approaches to grammar are challenged in this book, but the author Constance Hale--who currently teaches at U.C. Berkeley--is a qualified professional in her field. She's a maverick and she offers a healthy dose of motivation to be creative with your use of grammar in the new millenium. This book can really help to equip a writer with this certain edge in his or her writing projects.

Well structured, as it must be, Hale's guide presents both the nuts and bolts of grammar and the considerations of style that cannot exist without a sound grasp of grammar. The book begins each section simply, with the "bones" of the part of speech being explained, puts on the "flesh," and elucidates the "cardinal sins" and the "carnal pleasures" of nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, and so on. Even when the going gets heavy, as in her discussions of attributive nouns or appositive phrases, her clear, conversational tone smooths the way. She concludes with reflections about voice, lyricism, melody, and rhythm. One of the best features of her book is a glut of choice passages from the likes of Nabokov, Joan Didion, George Orwell, Jamaica Kincaid, and many others. Her well-read reach extends to rap lyrics and the wine labels written by the flip, clever copywriters at Bonny Doon Vineyards. The collection of quotations alone makes this book worth owning. At times the tone is slightly uneven, as when she follows a serious discussion of rules with the casual use of words like "gonna" and "wimps" (apparently she has a reputation for being hip to uphold), and she includes sentence diagrams without really explaining how they operate. Her advice to "go ahead and be ungrammatical if it feels right" may make some sticklers swoon. But these are minor flaws in a manual that is useful for beginners and seasoned writers alike. You close the book understanding how the rich inventiveness of English is rooted in its complex grammar and vocabulary, which are the reasons it can be so flexible, so magical -- the reason, in fact, that language creates reality. Includes a helpful appendix describing other grammar guides.

The Rules of the Game adds to our under- standing of those factorsin the battle of Jutland which make it such a fascinating example of the "fog of war" and the mind-sets of commanders hobbled by tradition and their own preconceptions. Gordon explores the backgrounds of the various British admirals -- Jellicoe, Beatty, Evan-Thomas, etc --who commanded elements of the Grand Fleet. The book's format is unusual: it begins with an account of the opening phases of the battle, then backtracks 100 years, delving into the personalities and events which shaped the Royal Navy after Trafalgar. The author has his heroes and bete-noirs -- those who attempted to bring realism into fleet maneuvers and those who could see no farther than the shine on a ship's binnacle. The Victoria sinking of 1893 and the deqath of Admiral Tryon played a major role, according to Gordon, in arresting evolutionary practices in ship handling and signalling. Midway through the book, we get back to the battle, which is clearly described , although not in such detail as accounts by Corbett and Marder. The author obviuosly has access to new material, which he utilizes to present us with new perspectives on both British and German command decisions. I highly recommend this book to any student of naval history for its intelligent use of sources, clarity of writing, and thoughtful conclusions

This book is not just about the battle of Jutland: it's a critical and outstanding representation of the birth and evolution of British Navy's tactical doctrine from the middle of the XIX century till 1916, with significative glimpses beyond that date. The widening gulf between the peace-time ethos and training of the officers' corps (strict repect of the authority and slavish attention to goose-step fleet manouvres) and the requirements of a war-time Navy (initiative and skill at gunnery) is well presented, with many stimulating references to the psychological, social and cultural context of the Victorian Navy. The examination of the battle reflects to some extent the more general aim of the book and, as a consequence, is not as detailed as it could be (see for that John Campbell's "Jutland, an analysis of the fighting"). But the many still-debated episodes of the clash of the two fleets are thouroughly discussed and illuminated by the vast knowledge of the author. A captivating narrative and a final chapter on how the example of pre-1914 British Navy can teach a modern military service to avoid committing the same errors complete a masterful historical work. I totally agree with the previous rewiers in regarding Andrew Gordon's book as a major contibution to the history of British Navy in the First World War.

This is a quite epic narrative history, which reads with the facility and pace of a well-constructed thriller. It is at once a social history of the Royal Navy that spans the Ironclad, Dreadnought and Great War eras, a dissertation on naval signalling and fleet-handling in a period of unprecedented technical innovation, a reflection on the challenges and stresses of leadership and a thrilling account of the Battle of Jutland from a British perspective. The book opens with a quite thrilling account of the opening phase of the battle, in which technical and human complexities are treated with equal aplomb, then breaks off - leaving the reader all but white knuckled - at the moment the German High Seas Fleet appears on the scene and forces Beatty's Battle Cruiser Force and Fifth Battle Squadron to turn northwards. It might seem an anti-climax to be diverted from this drama to the controversies that dominated the Navy in the Late-Victorian and Edwardian periods but this part of the story, with its splendidly delineated cast of larger-than-life characters, is no less gripping, especially in view of its ultimate relevance to command and control decisions at the potentially climactic encounter at Jutland. The third part of the book returns to the battle itself, with the arrival of Jellicoe's Battle Fleet, the main clash and the subsequent night action and German escape. The complexities of naval manoeuvre have seldom been so clearly portrayed in print, with excellent use being made of simple diagrams for illustration, and colour and pace are lent to the narrative by many well-chosen extracts from survivor's accounts, ranging from the light-hearted to the outright ghastly. This was indeed a battle where there was no mid-point between unscathed survival and horrific injury. The story is told almost exclusively from the Royal Navy viewpoint - that indeed of a British participant - and, thought this adds great immediacy, readers will need to look elsewhere for a more detailed account of the German movements. The final part of the book is in many ways the saddest, detailing the recriminations, self-justifications and personal tragedies involving the main participants after the war. A postscript that deals with the problem of intelligence overload as a purely Naval concern will be found by many readers to have singular relevance to large modern organisations employing E-Mail! This is, in summary, a quite magnificent piece of work and a delight for enthusiasts of naval history. The only mild criticism that might be made is that the writer has omitted to discuss how experience from the Spanish-American and Russo-Japanese Wars might have influenced Royal Naval thinking on visual signalling and fleet control under battle conditions. Japanese experience might be assumed to have been of particular relevance in view of the strong Royal Navy influence on Japanese naval development - and of the presence on Togo's flagship at Tsu-Shima of Captain William Packenham, who later commanded the 2nd. Battle Cruiser Squadron at Jutland. This minor gripe aside one can but long for more from the pen of Mr.Gordon.

Having taken over 10 years of French lessons through elementary and secondary school, I learned the grammar and had a decent vocabulary. However, after 5 years off of French lessons while attending university, I found myself struggling to form even simple sentences.

I bought this book because of its many (many!) exercises and complete "answer key" for instant feedback. It is organized almost exactly the way I learned it in school which I find very helpful. This book would be very difficult, however, for people with absolutely no background in French. It truly is for the intermediate level.

The book does not have much help for people with poor vocabulary skills in French, but it will drill the grammar into you, if you're diligent about regularly doing the exercises. That being said, if you own a dictionary and a verb conjugation book, the combination of those plus "The Ultimate French Review and Practice" would be a ***** combination.

And easy to follow--I've been away from the formal study of French for several years, and this book really has helped me to dust off my grammar. Great for someone who already knows some French, and refreshing not to have to start with level one, as in most books. The exercises have lots of repetition but don't get dull.

I bought this book to relearn all the grammar I used to know. Having had six years of French (last class was ten years ago), I needed something that would take me through grammar lessons fairly quickly. This book does that.

This is a handbook on grammar and conjugations. It follows a simple pattern for presenting material--it provides short lessons with examples, and then gives 8-12 practice exercises (with answers in the back of book), and so on.

This book emphasizes grammar over vocabulary, but translations are provided for the words that are used in examples and exercises. Translations also appear for idiomatic phrases.

I learned of this book by researching the materials used in upper level French composition classes at various universities. This one came up several times as a companion to the literature that students were required to obtain.

Here are the contents of Ultimate French Review and Practice:

Part I, Verbs--Basic Forms and Uses: 1. Present tense, 2. Present tense of irregular verbs, 3. Negative sentences, 4. Interrogative sentences, 5. Imperative, 6. Passe compose, 7. Imperfect; imperfect versus passe compose, 8. Reflexive verbs, 9. Future and conditional; conditional sentences, 10. Pluperperfect, future perfect, and past conditional; conditional sentences, 11. Passe simple, 12. Present participles; uses of the infinitive.

Part II, Nouns and Their Modifiers Pronouns: 13. Nouns: gender, number, and articles; uses of articles, 14. Stress pronouns; subject-verb agreement, 15. Possessive and demonstrative adjectives and pronouns, 16. Interrogative adjectives and pronouns, 17. Adjectives; comparative and superlative, 18. Object pronouns.

Part III, Other Elements of the Sentence: 19. Numbers; time; dates, 20. Adverbs, 21. Negative and indefinites, 22. Prepositions; prepositions with geographical names.

Part IV, Verbs in Two-Clause Sentences: 23. Relative clauses, 24. The present subjunctive, 25. The past subjunctive; literary subjunctives, 26. The subjunctive (continued).

Part V, Idiomatic Usage: 27. The passive voice and substitutes for the passive, 28. Important idioms and proverbs.

Don't be fooled by the price. This is a great resource.

I was drawn to this book for various reasons: it is a historical novel, it is about India, which I find interesting, and on the top of the book it says something like "After you read this book, you feel like it should win prizes." Well- if I'm going to feel that way then of course I want to read it!

I picked it up and read it on a plane all in one sitting. This book is a perfect book for that because it pulls you into a little web of a community (Englishman, Sikhs, and Eurasians barricaded in an English encampment, fighting against an Indian uprising in 1857). You start forming alliances with the characters, cheering some, scorning others, and smiling wryly over the overall dilemma they are in, and soon you really want to know what will finally kill them all off. For all of these reasons, this is a good book. From my point of view, the absolutely most fascinating part was the role the World Fair Exposition played in this book as evidence of cultural progress, bringing these Expositions to the brilliant context they deserve, and the fact that these expats in the middle of the dessert think excessively about culture. I identify with that! However, I do see detractions to the book. It is slow in parts. Their treatment of the local prince seems weird. The cholera debate is unsurprising. The end comes quickly and adds no real lessons to the whole ordeal the community went through. For these reasons, I am not exactly rushing out to give it to my mom. However, for any serious reader and certainly for a follower of the Booker Prize, this book is well worth the trouble finding.

What a fascinating place India is and, as this novel makes clear, almost as fascinating are the westerners who go there and misread the way that the country seems to work. Farrell's Booker Prizewinning novel is based on events in what has been called by the British the 'Sepoy' or 'Indian Mutiny' and by Indians the 'National Uprising' or the 'First War of Independence' of 1857. In particular, as the title suggests, it deals with a siege in a small town called Krishnapur from the point of view of the besieged British colonials. While the reader feels an extraordinary amount of sympathy for the suffering that they obviously undergo, it is tempered somewhat by the attitudes that Farrell critiques, even among the more enlightened (from a modern perspective) characters.

Whether it be the topics of theology, science and pseudo-science, relationships between the sexes, colonialism, or the way that we respond to extreme circumstances, all are handled intelligently. To my delight Farrell didn't try to give characters modern attitudes or feelings (the bane of much historical fiction) in order to make them more 'appealing' to the reader. Instead, what is most fascinating about the story is to think about how the individual reacts to change, and especially change arising from terrible events. The changes that particular characters undergo are simultaneously humorous and absolutely believable. This is an excellent read if you already have an interest in India, or in the impact that westerners have had upon other cultures. If you haven't when you begin, you may well find that you have before you finish.

"The first sign of trouble at Krishnapur came with a mysterious distribution of chapatis, made of coarse flour and about the size and thickness of a biscuit; towards the end of February 1857, they swept the countryside like an epidemic." When I was a young teacher living in China in 1984, an English colleague traded me his well-worn copy of The Siege of Krishnapur for my stack of back issues of The New York Times. Set during the British Raj, Krishnapur is the story of a slow-brewing sepoy rebellion and yearlong siege at a remote hill station, loosely based on the Indian Mutiny of 1857. (The sepoys comprised the native Indian regiments of the British army.) The late novelist J. G. Farrell perfectly captures the beauty of the Indian landscape. With deft irony, he tweaks the complacent, insular attitudes of the British ex-patriots, who are bewildered by the rage directed at them by the native population. More suspenseful and less sentimental than other famous epics about the Raj, Krishnapur is a wry, funny book. Incidentally, Farrell wrote two other comic novels about hapless Englishmen caught up in the sweep of history: Troubles, set in Ireland, and The Singapore Grip, set in Malaya on the eve of the Japanese invasion.

I found this book in a little bookstore. I'm always open to find more like it. My only problem is that really great books like this one have no sequel or are really hard to find. (I have a really unique talent of finding one book in a series and then never finding any more!) Anyway, it was a fabulous book. If you can find it, READ IT!!

I found Mr. Kendall's work to be amazing. The storyline is well developed and the characters are phenomonal. The thought of Earth humans being an orphaned race pitied by the rest of the races is an intriguing concept not often explored. Especially the fact that humans take that shame and turn it into pride. And the "family" tone, absolutely breathtaking. If you can find a copy of this book, GET IT! You will NOT be disappointed

I read this book so many times that I almost knew it by heart. If ever a book deserved to be made into a movie,this is one. I would spend my last dime to replace this book.

Son of the Mob was an excellent book. I gave it a rating of five, because I felt it did a good job of progosticating what was going to happen next. Vince Luca is nothing like his family and doesn't want to be anything like them either. His father is part of the mob, which deals with tons of secertcy and crime. Vince Luca has a life most kids would love to have. A new mercedes for his birthday, an allowance like you wouldn't believe, and a certain kindness from all of his teachers. It all seems to good to be true and it is. Come to find out his mercedes is stolen, his allowance is a part of his Uncle's murder business, and his dad pays off his teachers so he gets good grades.Even though it's nice to have all these luxuries, it puts serious doubts on ever having a girlfriend. What is he to tell his girlfriend when she asks what his father does for a living? Still say he's part of the "vending machine" service like he was told when he was younger or the truth? Finally when he meets Kendra is she worth the trouble? Her family seems like the biggest problem of all to though, because her father is the FBI agent that wants Vince's father caught.

Meet 17 year old Vince Luca. Son of one of New York City's top mob bosses, Anthony "Honest Abe" Luca. Although Vince wants nothing to do with his father's buisness, it still mixes into his life some way or another. Like when on one particular date a body was found in his trunk. Like when he finds out the Porshe he got for a birthday present turns out to be stolen. Or when in football he doesn't get tackled because word gets around his father is Anthony Luca. But through all of this Vince deals. That is until he meets Kendra Bightly, whose father happens to be the FBI agent who has been trying to put Vince's dad away for the past 5 years. Isn't that just peachy?

Oh My God! This book was hilarious! A definite must read!

You will like this book because it's very energetic and something is always happening. It makes your own problems seem like nothing compared to Vince's in Son of the Mob.

Vince Luca has a life most kids would love to have. A new mercedes for his birthday, an allowance like you wouldn't believe, and a certain kindness from all of his teachers. It all seems to good to be true and it is. Come to find out his mercedes is stolen, his allowance is a part of his Uncle's murder business, and his dad pays off his teachers so he gets good grades.

Vince is a like able who wants nothing to with his dad's no good business. Kendra, Vinces girlfriend, is skeptical about their relationship. But who wouldn't be with Vince's dad being King of the Mob and Kendra's dad being the top FBI agent right on his tail. So read this book to see what happens to Vince and Kendra in Son of the Mob.

"Quantum-Touch" is a powerful book. I have used energy healing techniques for over 23 years, and after applying the easy and accessible techniques in this book I have increased my capacity dramatically in just the first few weeks. The book is written in easy to understand language that demystifies healing energy work. I cannot say enough good things about this book and the author. I was fortunate enough, after reading the book, to attend a workshop presented by Richard Gordon. I found him to be sincere and dedicated to the idea that we all possess the power to heal and if given the chance we will use it. I encourage anyone interested in life and health to read this book. It not only contains wonderful and simple techniques, it also contains invaluable information for general health and well-being all presented with humor and love. Buy it, read it, use it and spread the word, we are ALL healers.

As a nurse-healer, I am always studying the dynamic and often mysterious process of energy-based healing. When I read Quantum-Touch, I knew I had discovered an important key to the process of accessing and directing the subtle energy which we healers use. I quickly put the information into action and feel as if the quality of my healing work has taken a quantum leap. The book is a true joy to read, never complicated, down to earth. I loved this book and after reading it cover to cover, I went out and bought 4 copies to give to my closest friends. I am now rereading it. Richard Gordon is a deeply developed healer with the ability to communicate the process of energy (life-force) science in a beautiful style. I recommend this book to anyone who has interest in developing the art and science of hands on healing.

This is exciting stuff:

Alternative Medicine Magazine in the July 2001 issue calls Quantum-Touch, "... a significant breakthrough in hands-on healing." They go on to say that "...for professionals and lay people alike, Quantum-Touch is an essential and invaluable tool."

Dr. C. Norman Shealy, Founding President of the American Holistic Medical Association calls Quantum-Touch, "... the first technique that may truly allow us all to become healers." He also wrote the foreword to this book after he became impressed that Quantum-Touch provided dramatic and lasting pain relief to his patients with 20 to 30 years of chronic pain, who had not been helped by any traditional or alternative modality.

This is the only book I know of on hands-on healing that is praised by physicians, chiropractors, acupuncturists, physical therapists, nurses, Reiki masters, chi gung instructors, and a host of other health care professionals.

Dr. Darla Parr, D.C. wrote, "You actually have to see this work to know how good it is. Bones move into alignment with just a light touch, and it speeds up the healing process."

Amazingly, you can actually learn to use Quantum-Touch from just reading the book, but if you get the chance, I highly recommend attending a Quantum-Touch workshop.

A good book for those who are about to begin their collection on the Waffen SS. It details all aspects of the SS from start to end and is extremely informative on all areas including the concentration camps and the more sinister aspects of the SS namely the gestapo and einstazgruppen, A very easy read and well worth the money spent on it

This is a spectacular book on the introduction of waffen-SS army! It reviews the success of the Waffen-SS troops from the beginning to the end of the war where Waffen-SS divisions fought bravely not just in the Western front but the Russians in the Eastern front from the seize of Leningrad to the huge tank battles fought in The Battle of Kursk! Although Waffen-SS divisions did not reach combat strength from 1943 to 1945, these crack troops fought bravely to delay the Allies from the strength of 19,000 per division to less than 1000 or total anhilation! Hitler's looked at his WAffen-SS divisions as a savior to the military situation but they were not man made of steel. Unlike the Allies troops, they were not fully well equiped or air covered in 1944. But, this does not mean they cannot give tough resistance to the allies landing in Normandy! SS Panzer divisons were experienced and deadly, especially armed with tiger and panther tanks which can easily knock out any allied tanks. Tanks Aces like Major Whitmann and Technical Sergent Barkmann! Waffen-SS accepted many volunteers not just from Germany but foreign legions from Denmark to Sweden especially in 11th Panzegrenadier division who fought bravely near Lenningrad! This book tells us the bravery of the Waffen-SS men but I see them as discplined, elite troops and well repected military strategists with the use of combined arms effectively! The brutality of mass killings of civilians in the Russian fronts and American troops in the Ardennes offensive was in the history books forever!

This book is a must read for anyone interested in world war 2 and the rise and fall of the third reich. Unlike many illustrated world war 2 books this book is very readable. Of particular interest to me was the chapter "Hitler's Foreign Legions" on the foreign component that served in the SS. It may come as a surprise to many to learn that hundreds of thousands of Dutch, Belgian, French, Norwegian, Finnish, Danish, Hungarian, Romanian, Croatian, Serbian, Swedish, Italian, Ukraine, Albanian, Russian, Bulgarian and Bosnian nationalities voluntered and fought for the Germans in the ranks of the waffen SS Divisions. There was even a small contingent of British ex-POWs a few of whom fought in the Third Reich's final cataclysm in Berlin. Odly many of the foreign volunteers were from races distinctly non-aryan - a massive contradiction with the racial politics of Himmler, Hitler and the Nazis. The book outlines the beginnings of the SS through the years of German victories and then of German defeats to the destruction of the SS in the collapse of the Third Reich.