"Glory Road," the second volume in Bruce Catton's celebrated history of the Army of the Potomac, covers the critical months between the autumn of 1862 following the Battle of Antietam and the Confederacy's high water mark at the Battle of Gettysburg the following summer. In between the story of the army is marked by the bloody massacre at Fredericksburg, the aimless marching up and down the banks of the Rappahannock in the mud, and the catastrophic confusion of Chancellorsville before heading north to meet Lee's invasion in the hills of southern Pennsylvania. During this period the Army is commanded in turn by three generals--Burnside, Hooker and Meade--but Catton's exciting war narrative is more about the enlisted men, the volunteers and bounty men, who had to fight these engagements.

Catton's source material for this 1952 book is drawn primarily from dozens of Regimental Histories (the Third Indiana Calvary, the 118th Pennsylvania Volunteers, the 8th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, etc.) as well as Soldiers' Reminiscences to go along with autobiographies, biographical studies, memoirs, and military histories. The result is an attention to the human details. Within these pages you meet: the New York businessman who as a soldier wrote the mournful bugle call "Taps"; Clement Vallandigham, the Copperhead candidate for Ohio governor; Annie Etheridge. the army laundress who brought hot coffee and hardtack to the men on the front lines; John C. Robinson, who had the well deserved reputation as the hairiest officer in the entire army; Private Patrick Maloney, who captured a Confederate general with his bare hands.

"Glory Road" is divided into six sections: (1) "Deep River" tells the story of the insane advance up Marye's Heights at Fredericksburg; (2) "All Played Out" covers the dark days following that disaster at the Army's bitter mud marches and winter encampment; (3) "Revival" depicts the new hope that fueled the army when Hooker was appointed; (4) "On the Other Side of the River" relates Lee's strategic masterpiece at Chancellorsville; (5) "Lincoln Comin' Wid His Chariot" sets the stage, politically as well as militarily for the final turning point of the war; and (6) "End and Beginning" details not only the three days of battle at Gettysburg, but offers an absolutely lyrical conclusion to the book as the President attends the dedication ceremony for the national cemetery and begins to speak from two little sheets of paper in his hand. It is perhaps Catton's finest section, with an understated elegance that makes it clear that as a writer Catton owes as much to Homer as he does Herodotus. This is history that aspires to, and achieves the level of, literature. Catton might have received the Pulitzer prize for the final volume in his history of the Army of the Potomac, but "Glory Road" is the high water mark of the trilogy.

This is the second volume of Bruce Catton's Civil War trilogy. I've read the last "A Stillness at Appomattox," his Pulitzer-Prize winning final installment to the series. Like "Stillness," "Glory Road" is a masterpiece of history and writing.

Catton has the rare ability, similar to Shelby Foote and Barbara Tuchman, to write well researched history as prose. While thoroughly covering the trials of the Army of the Potomac in its middle period (post McClellan, pre-Grant), he paints an excellent human picture of those who guided and fought the battles. Liberal use of diary and contemporary accounts from field officers and privates portrays a gritty depiction of army life and battle conditions. He also is very adept at finding the color that bring characters such as Burnside, Hooker, Meade and a host of others to life.

The history is plentiful and solid. The stories of this transitional period for the Army of the Potomic are well told. Fredricksburg, a folly of planning and execution, tested the mettle of the army. Chancellorsville revealed its ability to act decisively (although the inability of Hooker to keep going set it up for spectacular defeat) as a well organized offensive war machine. Gettysburg gave it what it craved for two years -- an important victory over the Confederate forces.

The battles are well explained from both a strategic point as well as in execution. The evolving organization and professionalization of the army is well told. In this period (and primarily as a result of Hooker's reforms), cavalry was made an effective service, logistics were brought up to snuff, moral was given its proper weight in the care of the army. Many of these non-battlefield stories had great impact on the eventual success of this army and Catton does them justice.

Bruce Catton has here an excellent history that is also a wonderfully told story. Both the casual and involved Civil War fan will find much to enjoy in "The Glory Road."

This book by Bruce Catton follows Volume 1 in his famous Civil War Trilogy covering the Army of the Potomac. In this well written text, Catton covers the footsteps of the army dealing with the loss at Fredericksburg, following Burnside, then Hooker, Chancellorsville and then finally Gettysburg. Catton isn't truly descriptive of the battles and quickly covers the basics, though Catton loves to present the politics involving Union leadership and basically the war itself. While covering the end of 1862 and a majority of 1863, Catton's coverage brings the readers insight to popular sentiment, northern industrialization, the struggles facing the Lincoln administration, the perils of war and much more. Catton never dwells too long a subject and keeps things moving while bringing a bit of humor to uncommon situations or oddities of the war. Catton's books are never boring and either is this one. This is must read for any fan of the Civil War!

I only wish that I could write 1/4 as well.

This is one of the two or three very best histories of the Civil War ever written. It is on a par with "Battle Cry of Freedom." It brings events to life. It has the ring of absolute truth. Its characterizations of events and individuals are poetic and deeply moving. It teaches us tremendously important lessons of character and history.

In addition, it's a real page-turner - not a hard read at all. I've quoted more sections of it to my wife, my children (ages 11 and 13) and my co-workers than any other book I can think of.

I recommend this book to my brothers and sisters who are descendants of Confederate veterans, as well as those of us who are descended from the Union side. It is of a character and stature commensurate with General Lee.

Tim Oksman, City Attorney
Portsmouth, Virginia

I read this book twice; once before and again after reading the Grant Trilogy--Capt. Sam Grant, Grant Moves South, and Grant Takes Command followed by The Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant. The author drew liberally from primary sources, and what he writes you can believe. He writes very well. My first reading was an introduction without knowledge; the second pulled all the other readings together. I recommend them all, of course, but this seems to me a must because it so accurate, complete, and insightful. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

The Voices of 1776 by Richard Wheeler is a
great reference book. The book begins with the out
brake of the Revolutionary War on April 19th
seventeen-seventy-five. The book has a collection
of different accounts of the major battles and campaigns of the war. It is an easy book to read and
entertains the reader. The book also has maps that are useful in seeing the layout of the battles. This
book is recommended to any American history
buff, or some one who just loves good reading.

This book is captivating even for non-"history buffs". I was so impressed by it that I ordered copies for several family members and friends and they rave about it. If the history books used in schools were even half this interesting we'd be a nation of history scholars. Having those who lived through it "tell" you what happened and how in such detail makes it a hard book to put down. It's the best 12 bucks you'll ever spend.

This excellent volume is yet another compendium of primary source material coupled with the excellent commentary and summaries by the author. It is enlightening, accurate, lively, and just a plain good read. It is also an excellent research resource for further study of the period.

The war is covered through a continuous drum roll of accounts of the participants, ranging from a lively description of a hanging, which, failing the first time because of a faulty rope, the unfortunate party was 'launched into eternity' on the second go round, through the accurate description of the worthless militia that 'ran like a torrent' at the first clash at Camden in 1780, leaving the stalward Maryland and Delaware Continentals to slug it out alone and outnumbered under their respected commander, Baron de Kalb, who, after finally falling with his eleventh wound of the action, saw his faithful Continentals ground to destruction by overwhelming numbers of enemy infantry and cavalry. Finally, in one of the best quotes in the book, a Virginia officer saw and heard Washington relieve Lee at Monmouth, in the midst of the retreat, and that the Commander-in-Chief 'swore till the leaves shook on the trees' and that the language used on Lee was both 'charming' and 'delightful.' It is also noted that the Virginia officer himself was a master of the profane.

What this volume does provide is an authentic record of the men who fought and won the Revolution, through incredible hardship and long odds. What they won can be captioned simply by what a British officer told a Quaker in Philadelphia, 'You have got a hell of a fine country here.'

We should all take that comment to heart. Reading this book will give the reader a renewed aprreciation both for what we have and what these soldiers and statesmen wrougt by their dedication and sacrifice. This book is highly recommended.

I've read my fair share of Civil War books and this was my first Catton book. I'm ashamed to say I waited this long to read one of his works, it was fantastic. His writing style is an engaging, comforting read that was informative and well structured. This is the first in a trilogy and as the title alludes to, it lays the foundation for the ensuing war. The period covered is approximately a year before the war starts to First Bull Run, covering the political, societal and military events leading to the war.

I can't recommend this book enough.

Jim Gallen has, in an earlier review, summed up quite well the content of Catton's first volume in his centennial history of the Civil War. What I will say is that having read this book, and the two that follow, more than 30 years ago, and having read numerous works on the Civil War since then, I keep coming back to these three volumes. Why? Because more than any other writer on the Civil War (Shelby Foote included) Bruce Catton has produced a book that is almost poetic in its style. His prose makes the people who fought the war or who were otherwise affected by it come alive. From the very first pages of The Coming Fury he gives us a sense of forboding, for the tragedy, the senselessness, and the inevitibility of what lay just down the road for the celebrants at the Republican and Democratic conventions of 1860. Catton is one of the first, I think, to truely take advantage of the letters and diaries of soldiers, sailors, and civilians, and not just official unit histories and canned secondary accounts. If more recent historians have surpassed Catton in digging up details of virtually every aspect of the Civil War, none can touch him in the poetic sweep of his narrative. For anyone interested in a good introduction to our most costly war, Catton is the one to start with.

"The Coming Fury" is a powerful rendition of the sad tale of the disintegration of the Union from the political maneuvers of 1860 to the aftermath of the First Battle of Bull Run.

In this, the first of the Catton trilogy, we are show how the breakdown of the spirit of compromise, which had held together a house divided for four score and four years, contributed to the conflagration to follow.

The major theme of this book is that nothing was inevitable about the lines on which the Union would fracture. The lines of division resulted from a multitude of decisions made by the actors in this national tragedy.

For many with only a superficial knowledge, history is the story of conflict between right and wrong, heroes and villains. When I read history I enjoy books which permit us to see the stories and characters with all their triumphs and failures, virtues and faults. "The Coming Fury" ranks high on the list of such books.

The first casualty of the failure of compromise was the Great Democracy, the Democratic Party, which split into its Northern and Southern wings in 1860, making the election of Abraham Lincoln inevitable that fall.

The election of Lincoln convinced many southerners that the Union was no longer provided a suitable home for them. This book tells the story of how the breakup occurred.

We see James Buchanan, trapped by a cabinet which was as divided as the nation, presiding over the rejection of the Constitution and the dissolution of the Union which he was sworn to preserve and protect and who, incredibly, retired in the belief that he had done a good job under the circumstances.

We see Abraham Lincoln, whose eloquence and political magic are the stuff of legends, stumble his way into Civil War. We learn that the speeches along his route from Springfield to Washington contain nothing of the inspiring rhetoric which now adorns his Memorial.

We see that the South did secede in one monolithic movement. The first seven states seceded nearly in masse, while the remaining slave states waited to see whether a compromise would permit the survival of the nation.

We all know about the firing on Fort Sumter, but how many know what was really at stake? The truth is that the main issue was over the possession of forts. In fact, there were several forts which could have provided the spark which set the nation ablaze, but the honor fell to Sumter and South Carolina.

Although the issue of Fort Sumter revolved around the possession of real estate, the implications were much greater. Several of the Border states swung toward the Confederacy after the attempt to reinforce Fort Sumter. It can be said that Lincoln's first crucial decision, that being to reinforce Fort Sumter, lead to the secession of Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Arkansas, with Maryland and Missouri being held in only by military force. It was Lincoln's political decisions which almost transformed the Confederacy from a rump nation with virtually no chance of survival into state with an excellent prospects.

I was interested in the treatment of General Winfield Scott. I had always thought of him as an old soldier who occupied his chair until he was pushed aside for younger men. In fact, Scott played a major role in the preservation of the country during the period of transition as well as in the formulation of the battle plan which eventually restored its unity.

After the succession of the states, the focus shifts to the preparations for war, both in the north and the south. In the north, the challenge was to organize the forces with which to subjugate the rebellious states. In the south, the simultaneous establishment of both government and army was a truly incredible accomplishment.

With the early preparations completed, the First Battle of Bull Run tested the expectations of all contestants. The battle proved the ineptness of both sides. Bull Run dispelled many notions. Both sides now realized that they were in for a long and hard struggle. Both now realized that the lack of compromise, which had rendered asunder the Democracy in 1860, had rendered any chance of a political resolution null and void. Bull Run had set the stage for the long and bitter struggle which Catton would report in his subsequent two books.

This is a outstanding introduction to our great national tragedy.

In "Never Call Retreat", the third volume of his Centennial History of the Civil War, Bruce Catton writes of the last two years of that horrendous conflict. As he did in his first two volumes in the Centennial triology, Catton effectively covers the social and political aspects of the war, as well as the military. A work of this scope is, of necessity, a top-down view of the Civil War, focussing on the principal commanders and their subordinates. Yet, Catton is able to impart to his readers the confusion of battle; we can almost smell the powder smoke and hear the racket of musketry. As always, he writes with an elegance and an eloquence that many historians aspire to, but most cannot hope to match. Catton never loses sight of the war's ultimate, and higher, purpose and he poignantly brings home to us the human cost of our bloodiest conflict. Perhaps nowhere is this sense of loss brought home more forcefully than in this passage about Lincoln's assassination:

"No one will ever know what Abraham Lincoln would have done--with Stanton's scheme for military government, with radicals like Wade and Sumner and Stevens, with any of the separate aspects of the intricate problem that lay ahead--because it was at this delicate moment (about half-past ten on the night of April 14) that Booth came on stage with his derringer. Booth pulled the trigger, and the mind that held somewhere in cloudy solution the elements that might some day have crystallized into an answer for the nation's most profound riddle disintegrated under the impact of a one-ounce pellet of lead: the heaviest bullet, all things considered, ever fired in America. Thinking to destroy a tyrant, Booth managed to destroy a man who was trying to create a broader freedom for all men; with him, he destroyed also the chance for a transcendent peace without malice and with charity for all. Over the years, many people paid a high price for this moment of violence".

Four decades after its publication, this book, and the two that precede it, still stands as one of the best introductions to the war that defines us to this day.

"Never Call Retreat" concludes Bruce Catton's trilogy of the Civil War in the same excellent fashion which the reader enjoyed in the first two volumes, "The Coming Fury" and "Terrible Swift Sword" (see my Amazon reviews). Once again, Catton explains the war from all aspects, Northern and Southern, Military and Political, Social and Economic.

Beginning in December, 1862, this volume takes us through the siege of Vicksburg, the battles of Gettysburg and those around Atlanta, the March to the Sea and the destruction of the Army of Northern Virginia and the dissolution of the Confederacy. Each theatre of the War is covered in its turn. The campaigns are described, not only as battles but as the wars of supply, command staffing and maneuver. The gradually increasing role of U.S. Grant is apparent as the book progresses.

The war is shown, not only as a military contest, but as a political struggle as well. Abraham Lincoln is seen in his struggles against Copperheads, such as Clement Vallandingham. The pressure from the Radical Republicans forced Lincoln had to balance the need to advance the rights of blacks while maintaining the support of Unionists who were not willing to accompany Emancipation with political enfranchisement. The contending forces within Lincoln's cabinet as well as those in Congress and in the states are carefully studied.

Jefferson Davis' vain efforts find the right combination of generals and to rally his countrymen in support of the war merits our sympathy. The twin challenges of despair and desertion were beyond even Davis' impressive powers of persuasion.

One figure who earned some admiration from me is General George B. MacClellan. I had always viewed MacClellan as an unsuccessful general and a political opportunist. Through this trilogy I came to see MacClellan as, a poor general, to be sure, but a politician who adhered to a consistent platform of support for the war and Union, but without any support for emancipation or equality for blacks.

One figure who did not improve his standing in my estimation was General Ben Butler, the Massachusetts Pro-War Democrat whose combination of military incompetence and arrogance was tolerated only so long as it was outweighed by his political usefulness. Once Lincoln was reelected, Butler was given a well earned ticket home.

Throughout this book, as in the first two volumes, we see Union Wars aims gradually shift from that of Union, regardless of Emancipation, to Union with Emancipation. Catton skillfully weaves the story of the inexorable shift in Northern opinion on the subject of Emancipation which forced this shift in war aims.

At the end of the book we see the wrap-up of the War and a hint at the challenges of Reconstruction and healing, the effects of which we still struggle with today.

At the end of this book I have a much deeper understanding of the Civil War than I had when I started the trilogy. For this, among other reasons, I recommend this book and series to everyone.

The third book in Catton's centennial trilogy of the Civil War, "Never Call Retreat" is a moving account of the war from Fredericksburg (Dec 1862) until the end of the war.

Catton does not devote the amount of ink to events that Shelby Foote did in his trilogy, for example, but Catton more than compensates by his beautiful writing style. As a work of literature, if nothing else, "Never Call Retreat" is worth the read.

But there is more. Because of his eloquence, and his passion for the subject, Catton has produced an account truly worthy of the poignant subject matter. If the reader does not weep as Catton describes Lincoln's assassination, or Stonewall Jackson's death, then he cannot be moved to tears by written words.

Catton portrays the war as a living organism, which, like Frankenstein's monster, got loose from its creators, and almost pulled the house down with it.

Catton's centennial trilogy ("Coming Fury," "Terrible Swift Sword," "Never Call Retreat") is an admirable place for the average person to begin a study of the Civil War.

Because of its poetic qualities, however, it is also a must read for the professional historian. All too often, historians have no heart in their writing. Perhaps a good dose of Catton might cure thatŠ

"Mr. Lincoln's Army" is the first volume in Bruce Catton's celebrated trilogy chronicling the history of the Army of the Potomac during the Civil War, one of the most exciting war narratives in literature. Catton had grown up in Michigan around men who had served in that Army and these books were his attempt "to find out about the things which the veterans never discussed." Catton relies on a host of source material to weave his tales, from autobiographies of Generals McClellan and Howard, to the correspondence of Generals Sedgwick and Meade, to dozens of soldiers' reminiscences and regimental histories, to military histories relating to specific battles, campaign, military tactics and weapons. As you read these books you are always feel that you are dealing with living literature rather than dead history. This is because Catton privileges "The Diary of an Enlisted Man" by Lawrence Van Alstyne and the history of "The 27th Indiana Volunteer Infantry in the War of the Rebellion" more than he does "McClellan's Own Story."

"Mr. Lincoln's Army" covers the Army of the Potomac from its creation to the Battle of Antietam. Despite the title the central figure in the book is General George B. McClellan, the war's most paradoxical figure who gave this Army the training it needed to become a first rate military unit and who then refused to use the great army he had created. There are 6 sections to the book: (1) "Picture-Book War" actually covers the events in 1862 that led to McClellan being placed back in charge of the Army of the Potomac, setting up a rather ironic perspective for what happens both before and after that decision; (2) "The Young General" provides the background on McClellan and details his formation of the Army; (3) "The Era of Suspicion" covers the ill-fated Peninsula Campaign; (4) "An Army on the March" centers on the Second Battle of Manassas/Bull Run when the Army was under John Pope; (5) "Opportunity Knocks Three Times" begins with the great intelligence coup of the Civil War, the discovery of Lee's Special Order No. 191 and establishes how the upcoming battle was handed to McClellan on a silver plate; (6) "Never Call Retreat" tells the story of how McClellan snatched defeat--or at least a bloody tie--from the jaws of victory.

Bruce Catton's books on the Civil War are eminently readable, and with his History of the Army of the Potomac he finds his perfect level, writing about the men who were the common soldiers as much if not more than he does about the generals and politicians. You certainly get the feeling his heart was in these volumes more than it was in his larger histories of the Civil War. For those who are well versed in the grand details of the war, these books provide a more intimate perspective on those great battles.

As other reviewers have mentioned, Bruce Catton is considered to be one of the best authors to read if you are interested in the Civil War. Despite many recommendations from others I had not read any of Catton's books until now. Having just finished Mr. Lincoln's Army, I can finally understand why Mr. Catton has received so many accolades (to include the Pulitzer prize). This book is an outstanding introduction to General McClellan, and the Army he commanded.

I truly enjoyed this book for several reasons. First, the writing style is excellent. This book is not boring history (facts, figures, hyposthesis, conclusion). Instead, Catton tells the interesting story of what happened to the Federal Army from the beginning of the war up until the battle of Antietam. The book reads more like a good novel, than a history text book. Having read many Civil War authors, I would put Catton in the top category.

Secondly, Catton includes many observations and stories from the everyday soldier which add vivid details to events as they unfold. His description of the Battle of Antietam comes alive when he includes descriptions of what the men who fought actually saw and experienced. I learned a lot and gained new insight into many events which speaks volumes to the quality of this book, considering it was written back in the 1950s.

Lastly, Catton stays focused on his topic and does not try to cover too much material. The book is about the Union Army, so he does not waste time getting into too many details about what was happening on the Confederate side. I enjoyed this perspective because Catton succesfully answers the question of why the Union Army could not defeat the Confederates early in the war, despite the great advantage of resources that it possessed.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the Civil War. Whether you are a "Civil War Buff", or just trying to find out more about this pivotal event in American history, you will enjoy this book.

Bruce Catton is, in my opinion, the most readable author of American Civil War history. Whenever I've labored through some book I wanted to read but have struggled with, I reward myself with something he has written. This trilogy is, as all his work is, thoroughly researched and very balanced. It would be hard to detect any bias in this native Michiganer of the first half of the 20th century, though I vaguely suspect he had more sympathy for the South, if only for the "pluck" (he likes that word in fact) of their "David vs. Goliath" undertaking. In any case, this first volume delivers a very important message in a very complete way, and it's a message I had never before considered: The Army of the Potomac's loyalty to the government was never compromised, but it was fretted about in some pretty high places, perhaps not the least important of which was in the White House. So completely was this Grand Army made in the image of its creator, McClellan, that his removal gave cause for many to hold their collective breath and pray that it would remain intact and loyal to the Union once stripped of its beloved leader. That it did, and the rest, as they say, is history. McClellan is thoroughly understood by the reader of this work. He is a man of some complexity and some sympathy, diminished by his ego perhaps. Despite many lost opportunities that would have made the war much shorter and correspondingly less bloody, he was a good soldier caught between military logic and political caution. In fact, Catton points out to us that never before had there been a general of a great army of a democracy, and that that arrangement itself is tenuous at best. In the end, we understand that the Army of the Potomac was Lincoln's Army for just as long as he remained the Commander-in-Chief, and despite their love for McClellan, they always stood ready to do what was asked of them.

Catton has a fine narrative style which is a pleasure to read, and the book includes insights into Grant's personality and the growth in his generalship, as well as detailing political and military history of the Western Theatre 1861-1863. The war in the west has been overshadowed in history by the war along the Atlantic coast (even by Catton, with his Army of the Potomoc trilogy), but it is arguably more important than what was going on in Virginia in this period. The book shows Grant feeling his way to an understanding of what it would take to win the war, and it becomes clear why Lincoln, by the end of the book, chooses him for head of the Union armies. For example, at the battle of Shiloh (1862), the Union forces were surprised and almost beaten the first day, but Grant retained his optimism and rallied the troops to fight hard and hold off the Rebels until reinforcements arrived that night. The next day they took back all the ground they had lost, although they didn't take the opportunity to destroy the Army of the Tennessee. Any other Union general in that situation would have (and did, in similiar battles in Virginia) retreated the first evening and lost the battle. One comment: If you want a hardback copy of this book, it can be easily obtained in on-line used bookstores. I just bought a good copy for 7.95 + taxes and shipping.

In this book Catton describes Grant's movements in the West. From Belmont to Vicksburg. It is outstanding, because it also desribes the soldiers story, without being a novel.

Grant Moves South and Grant Takes Command are fine narrative history. With insight into human nature and a dead lock on military strategy, Catton strikes deep into the myth to rescue the man. Mission accomplished.

A lavishly illustrated and easy to read book, Oriental Adventures should appeal to anyone that wants to run a Dungeons & Dragons campaign based on Kurosawa samurai movies or Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. This book includes new classes, new prestige classes, new weapons, new feats, new monsters, new spells and lots of great pictures.

A sample campaign setting is included by way of the Legend of the Five Rings campaign setting called Rokugan, though the references to the setting are so comingled with the rest of the book, that you would think that this was the LOTFR role-playing game. That's why I gave it four stars instead of five. I was hoping for a more generic treatment of the rules as in the other three D&D core rulebooks.

Otherwise, this is a great book.

Did you know that the tanar'ri aren't the only demon race there is? Ever wonder what makes a samuri's katana better than your old longsword? And what use does a D&D character have for skill in origami?

All these questions and more will be answered when you delve into the magical world of Rokugan, a place where honor can be more vital than life. Not only must you choose a character class - with new character classes to choose from - but you must choose where your loyalty lies. Do you belong to the steadfast Crab Clan? The elegant Dragon Clan? Maybe the stealthy Scorpion Clan is more to your liking.

Of course, you'll still be fighting monsters, saving princesses, and uncovering priceless magical items and secrets...

But its a cool way to do it.

I've been a fan of oriental milieus for role-playing for a long time. I've played various incarnations of 'Bushido', which I keep for source material, and the 'Legend of The Five Rings' is prominent on my bookshelf.

I may not need them anymore.... I have Oriental Adventures now.

First off, the artwork and presentation are on a par with the Forgotten Realms Sourcebook. Yep, it's just that good. Most games that try to add an Asian flavor just try to tweak the ordinary fighter/wizard/cleric/thief classes a little and call them something else, like samurai or ninja. Worse, they make the Asian PC's virtually unstoppable against those poor elven and dwarven sods in Western games. Not historically accurate, or really that broadening to play. The samurai and other classes are very well fleshed out. Love the rules on augmenting a family katana, too; it makes good sense how they do it, and makes it unnecessary for the DM to alter his treasure tables if he has one samurai character in a party.

The history section is interesting, and based on L5R, but I'm more interested in historical Japanese and Hindu milieus. That said, the section on weapons is very good, and doesn't have just one or two weapons. The special rules on the sodegarami and the sai really capture the reason for the weapons. Some nasty Chinese weapons make the cut, too. (So to speak....)

The spell lists are great (although I have a certain fondness for Bushido's "Stench of Kim-Chi" spell), and very Asian in their flavor and execution. This way, a wu-jen isn't just a standard D&D wizard with a couple of odd characteristics and different names for his spells.

The feats and prestige classes are uniformly well balanced and interestingly presented. The monk classes, like the Tattoed Monk, are inspired, and fit the flavor well. As a GM, I didn't see anything in them that warranted disapproval, or (*gasp!*) being banned from the games I run. All in all, very well thought out.

The extra races are a treat, too, and, like the rest of the book, very well balanced, and they fit well within Asian areas of concentration. I especially like the Vanara.

All told, an excellent supplement, and well worth the dollars I laid down for it.

I found John Craven's "The Silent War" to be a thoughtful, at times riveting, account of America's deep sea phase of the Cold War, as it was waged by its undersea fleet of attack and fleet submarines. Craven, formerly, the chief scientist of the Polaris Missile program, gives us an exciting look at his involvement in developing the missile, undersea rescue vehicles such as the Deep Submergence Search Vehicles, and his participation in the search for missing Soviet and American submarines, without comprising national security. I am greatly relieved that the U. S. Navy had men like Craven in its service, able to keep their wits and sense of humor, as they toiled to maintain American preeminence in undersea technology - and more importantly, prevented the Cold War from becoming the next world war. This is a fine little book which will appeal to students of marine engineering, naval history, and maritime politics, as well as fans of Tom Clancy's technologically based naval thrillers.

Few people knew of John Pina Craven before the publication of "Blind Man's Bluff" in 1998, shedding light upon the life and work of the man who has left a mark nearly equal of Hyman G. Rickover's upon the silent service. "Bluff" wasn't perfect, however, relying upon partially declassified documents and (sometime anonymous) personal accounts of submarine espionage operations during the Cold War.

Now, Craven has written his own account of his service with the U.S. Navy. Though he avoids discussing some of the accounts found within "Bluff," due to classification concerns, he does provide a number of details previously unpublished, as well as his unique insight into Cold War submarine operations.

Some of his accounts are somewhat questionable, given contradictions with previously published accounts, which again, brings up his concerns over revealing sensitive information.

The only thing lacking from the book is illustrations or pictures of any kind, which seems odd given the wealth of published images on the subject. Furthermore, a peek into Craven's personal photo collection would be fascinating.

Overall, a highly-recommended book for those interested in submarine and Cold War history.

John Pina Craven was key to helping keep the Cold War cold and eventually collapsing the Soviet Union. His work in the late 1950s for the Special Projects Office under the U.S. Navy led to the development of the first ballistic missile submarines and their missile, the Polaris. Other projects included underwater labs, saturation diving, and searching for lost objects on the seafloor of major importance to national security, including a Soviet ballistic missile sub that went down in the Pacific in 1968. Was it about to fire a nuclear missile at the U.S.? You'll be shocked by his conclusion on the subject. Craven is not a man many people are familiar with, but his work has made headlines many times over. He tells his stories with as much detail as national security will let him, which at times was a constraint that led to stories being oversimplified. His overuse of technical jargon made the book a little hard to understand to a laymen, even one with a rudimentary knowledge of military hardware. All things considered, I walked away from the book feeling a lot more knowledgeable about how our nation prepared for it's defense against the Soviet Union and happy that people like John Craven work for us and not the other side.