Mr. Schmelzkopf offers up wit, humor, and optimism to an otherwise serious and debilitating condition that is brain damage. His anecdotes throughout the book are down to earth and proves that it is indeed possible for a person who has had brain surgery to get through the difficult days of therapy and once again lead a normal life. This book is a must read for all patients recovering from brain surgery and their families.

Dick Schmeltzof's very personal book, Brain Damage, is both heartwarming and informative. He treats a very serious subject with humor, wit and compassion. It is difficult to imagine the drastic changes that have occurred in Dick's life since the emergency surgery to remove a tumor on his pituitary gland. But through his carefully constructed narrative, we can "feel" his frustrations and also revel in the incremental -- yet moving forward -- progress that he makes. His is a story of great courage, hope and love; a lesson for Humanity. Thanks to Dick for sharing this moving and insightful story of life after brain surgery. Readers will laugh. They will weep. And finally, they will applaud this incredible human being. Dick demonstrates a real gift for storytelling through this book. Let's hope he delights us with "Brain Damage II".

This book is an outstanding example of an individual's true courage to tackle challenges that most of us cannot imagine. Mr. Schmelzkopf's wonderful sense of humor invites the reader to learn about brain damage and how it effects all areas of an individual's life, as well as their family's lives. His descriptive approach about his cognitive deficits allows the reader to envision a patient's perception of his own environment. Mr. Schmelzkopf's comical, honest, informative style catagorizes his story as a must to read and a difficult to put down book!

Golf, Tennis, Weight-Lifting, Skiing, Running... no matter what sport you participate in, The Mental Edge can help you!

I'm a race car driver (wannabe), and though Ken Baum makes no reference to race car driving, I can apply his techniques to my preferred sport.

Did you know that at the upper echelons of most sports, it's all mental? If you don't have the mental advantage, or the Mental Edge, you will lose to someone who does.

Step-by-step instruction makes Ken Baum's program easy to understand, and easy to apply. Yes, it may have "New-Age" stuff that some athletes despise, but backed with facts and factual anecdotes, one can't deny the advantages of upping one's mental game.

Besides, Ken Baum takes this "new-age" stuff to a scientific level; a methodical approach to improving the mental game.

Just ask Tiger Woods, or even Michael Schumacher; it's all mental, and that's where the battle really is.

If you want to improve, if you want to be better, no matter what sport (and indeed, no matter what endeavour), then you better read Ken Baum's the Mental Edge...

The Mental Edge is the mind body connection! I am a girls' high school volleyball coach in CA and the team uses Mr. Baums techniques religously. These techniques never allow the mind to get in the way of the body. The athlete learns to bombard his/herself with positive thoughts of previous success! The book is a must for any serious athlete. I have had the pleasure to work personally with Mr. Kenneth Baum and I am a better person, coach, and athlete because of our association! Results come quickly!

I originally purchased The Mental Edge for my two children, ages 11 and 13.I also purchased The Mental Edge AUDIO TAPES so they could follow the exercises easier. I was pleasantly surprised when their play improved immediately and more importantly they had more fun! I was absolutely amazed when at their parent teacher conference, the teacher commented on their ability to focus longer than before. She wanted to know what happened! Even though I proofed the book and read parts of it to them, I never did the exercises myself. So I decided to try them out on myself and see if they could help me stick to my exercise rouitine. THEY WORKED! After years of trying to enjoy exercise, I finally look forward to working out. Now my husband has jumped on the band wagon and used The Mental Edge to quit smoking.We found even though its a book about sports performance it is so valuable in other areas of life.

This is a great book, with some very interesting ships. But, Episode I sadly isn't filled with ships. Well under twenty, actually. The book gives information about parts of ships we don't even see, which is nice but a little pointless.There are loads of diagrams of what the ships look like with huge chunks missing, but not many of what they look like normally (only small ones in the corner of pages). On the whole, it took me around 15 minutes to read the whole thing. For £13, you can't help but wish for a little more. A good read, and a worthy addition to any fan's collection. But let's face it - unless there's more ships, there's not really much point in writing a book on the few there are, is there? One last complaint. Although the Pordacing section was my favorite, I can't help but wish there were larger pictures of them!!!

I'm looking at this book right now. It actually shows a chart of all the podracers in the Boonta Eve Race! It has a foldout showing the Droid Control Ship. I am a Star Wars fanatic, and I couldn't have loved this book less. I ordered it from Amazon.com, too! Overall, I think this book is magnificent and shoul be on the bookshelf of every Star Wars fan.

(Ok, the book might be a little big for the bookshelf.)

Just like the first Incredible Cross Sections, this book amazes with page after page of intricate cutaways of almost every ship in Episode 1. The foldout of the Droid Control Ship, much like the foldout of the Death Star in the origionl, is great. Definitely recommeded, even if your not a Star Wars fantaic

I bought the Landmark Thucydides because it was the only hardback edition I could find. I was pleasantly surprised because it happens to be the best modern edition available. The editor, Robert Strasser, set out to make the most authoritative book on Thucydides's History of the Peloponnesian War, and I believe he has succeeded brilliantly.

Strasser uses Richard Crawley's translation, apparently revised and updated. In any case the text is very good, though Thucydides syntax is sometimes complex and even a bit confusing. Strasser uses marginal notes besides each paragraph to summarize the events described in the text. The most valuable additions are the maps- there are maps every few pages, illustrating the geography described in the text as needed. Other welcome additions are a timeline, breaking down the events of the book according to date, appendices covering topics such as Athenian and Spartan government, trireme construction, land and naval warfare in ancient times, and even an essay on the monetary units and religious festivals used in the ancient world. There is also an introduction, discussing both the text and the author in detail and in the context of their time. There is also a full and complete index. If you want Thucydides, this is the book to buy!

This book presents a wonderful way to read Thucydides. While the introduction and appendices can be quite helpful to the non-specialist, the edition's greatest strengths are its translation and its maps. Crawley's is truly the definitive English translation, doing justice to Thucydides' majestic, albeit sometimes dense, prose. At the same time the maps make reading it a real pleasure. The Peloponnesian War ranged all across the Greek world, and most editions force you to constantly flip back to a few small and confusing maps in a feeble attempt to follow it. This volume entirely relieves you of that burden, removing all obstacles to the enjoyment and appreciation of this classic.

For those further interested in Thucydides and the war he recounts, I highly recommend Donald Kagan's four-volume analysis of the Peloponnesian War. An up-to-date, thoroughly scholarly work, it is also very accessible to the non-expert and well-written to boot. For expanded views and interpretations of the war, as well as an evaluation of Thucydides himself, pick up any one of his volumes.

Robert B. Strassler's edition of the famous Richard Crawley translation of Thucydides is a remarkable work, not only because of its intrinsic merit but also because it is quite simply unique. Mr. Strassler has provided the ultimate in critical apparatus, an exhaustive series of tools with which to understand and appreciate one of the great books of world civilisation. I have never seen anything like it. First of all, there is the index; if an index can be said to be a work of art, the Strassler index is a work of art in the way it organises and informs the text. Next there are the maps - dozens of them - not clumped together in the middle of the book or hidden away at the end, but strategically placed throughout the appropriate points in the text, right at the reader's fingertips when he or she needs them. The footnotes (yes footnotes, not those pesky and inconvenient endnotes!) would fill a small volume of their own and add immeasurably to one's understanding. And as if this were not enough, there are 11 appendices - short essays by prominent classical scholars on different aspects of the Greek world in the time of Thucydides, from "Athenian Government" and "Trireme Warfare" to "Religious Festivals" and "Classical Greek Currency." As far as I am concerned, the only problem with Mr. Strassler's edition is that is has made me greedy for more of the same - a similar edition of the Mahabharata, say, or Gibbon! Any takers?

It is so amazing to me how one man's work and experiences can touch the lives of so many people. This is a true miracle. Mr. Evans is an exquisite man with the ability to help others see the true purpose in life and cope with tragedy that may come their way. I read the book cover to cover without putting it down. I cried, I laughed, I felt the pain and the joy shared in each story. This book came at the perfect time for this nation. A time to understand destiny, healing, and hope. Thank you, Mr. Evans, for a wonderful book that I will cherish and share with many others.

As I sat down and read Richard Paul Evans' The Christmas Box Miracle from cover to cover, it gave me hope, a sense of healing and reminded me of the miracles that truly do happen in our lives!
At a time that our nation feels so unsecure, this book gave me the confidence and hope that I was searching for. I cannot thank you Mr. Evans for being so humble and willing to share your experiences and miracles. What a divine destiny we all have and a reminder that when tragedy strikes, we can pull together and know that we are not alone! I treasured the stories about The Christmas Box Angel Monuments, that you have created a place for those who have lost loved ones can go to grieve and heal from our losses. TRULY A BOOK TO SHARE WITH EVERYONE! Thank you Mr. Evans for giving us hope!

Last night i read The Christmas Box Miracle and i must say that i was deeply moved by it's contents. The stories shared by Mr. Evans are real and can be easily related to the struggles that we all encounter. After the tragedy we have faced as a nation this book comes at just the right time to give us all hope. Reading this book left me with such a good feeling and a desire to use whatever capacity i have to improve the quality of my life as well as the lives of others. Mr. Evans has a gift and i am thankful that he has made the effort to share it with everyone- He is truely a miracle to many!

HOW RED SKY AT MORING IS NOT THE CATCHER IN THE RYE, AND HOW TO READ THIS BOOK IF YOU DON'T HAVE TO READ IT FOR A CLASS:

The back cover of this addition compares Red Sky At Morning to The Catcher In The Rye. But there are few similarities that I can draw between the two books. Two struggling teenage boys, yes, but totally different personalities.

Catcher In The Rye - In short, Holden cracked. His brother died and Holden had so many emotional problems that he ended up in a mental hospital. (It's hard to catch but in last chapter Holden makes reference to "psychoanalyst guys." The entire story is not being told to the reader, but to a psychiatrist).

Red Sky At Morning - Josh is composed and has control over emotions. He is able to take charge of things and responsibility for other people, such as his mother. He narrates the book in a way that lets the reader understand that he has control. Things are said bluntly and firmly, he doesn't question anything.

Josh has control, Holden does not.

Being from the Southwest would probably help the reader's interest. There are some parts of the culture that could be new to the reader, (just as they are to from-Alabama-Josh). This isn't a standard required reading assignment for people who don't live in New Mexico just for that reason.

But for those of you who don't a) have to read it for a class or b) aren't comparing it to The Catcher In The Rye, it is a funny, touching book, with a little bit of a Southwestern twist. Setting is everything in this story, and it brings an atmosphere that can either captivate or discourage a new reader.

My opinion: give it a try, try to read with an open mind, and don't analyze too much.

Bradford's RED SKY AT MORNING is unpretentious in it's aims, subtly bringing us to the world of a teenage boy trying to sort out himself and the changing world around him. Rather than the CATHCHER IN THE RYE it has been compared to, this book captures the beauty of healthy friendships with even the most unlikely--foul mouthed preacher's daughter Marcia, Romeo the sculptor, and even the local ruffian turned friend. Young Mr. Arnold's life in the mountains reflects his growth and learning, and serves as a viable backdrop to the tragedy that haunts him. I love this book and read it over and over, always touched by the sincerity and beauty of it.

It's funny; I've read this book at least 10 times and I see from the reviews here that lots of people have seen fit to revisit Red Sky at Morning.

I, too, grew up in the "real" Sagrado. In fact, Bradford's son and I were briefly acquainted as teenagers. I think the book is more autobiographical than Bradford would like to admit; my aunt has said that almost all of the teenaged characters were recognizable as actual people at the local high school at that time--especially Chango.

Any time I'm homesick, all I have to do is reread the book and I'm right back home again. I'm glad that so many people from so many walks of life have enjoyed it as much as I have. It totally captures, very affectionately, all of the GOOD things about Northern New Mexico--things you wish would stay the same forever.

It's like Catcher in the Rye, but it's warmer. It lovingly represents the wholly unique people of Northern New Mexico, who are unlike people anywhere else in the world. But it also reflects human nature and adaptation through scenes of humor, pain, the clashing and meshing of cultures, and the inevitable unwelcome changes that come with the passage of time. Red Sky at Morning bears witness to the coming of age of Joshua Arnold--the futile battle to remain young and untouched by the uglier side of the world, the bittersweet and inevitable transformation of boy to man. It was originally an allegory, I believe, parelleling Josh's growing pains with those of a post-war America. Ironically, it is now an allegory for what has become of the "real" Corazon, Sagrado--full of bittersweet memories--the end of an old road and the beginning of newer, less innocent one.

Just beware: you won't be able to put it down and you WILL read it again and again. It really is that good.

Allan Andrade's book is an excellent story of human courage in the face of a horrible tragedy. His book gives the reader an idea of what it must have been like to be aboard a sinking ship in the English Channel on Christmas Eve 1944. His extensive interviews with survivors tell how human error played a role in the death of so many U. S. soldiers and how lucky some survivors were to be in the right place at the right time. It was heartbreaking to read how the government lied to so many families who only wanted to know the truth about the fate of their loved one. It truly was a hard book to put down.

"'Hey, I'm alive!' Drew blacked out. When he came to, he found himself on a beach, naked protected only by a raincoat thrown over him. He heard a faint voice 'Throw him in there too.' Drew, realizing that they thought he was dead, yelled." This is just one of many harrowing tales of a life and death struggle resulting from the sinking. "SS Leapoldville Disaster, December 24, 1944" is the story of this troopship loaded with American troops being rushed to the help in the Battle of the Bulge. It was sunk barely five miles from shore taking with it 763 American servicemen. The book consists of many short stories detailing individual accounts of the disaster. Even the Introduction has 38. These were compiled from hundreds of interviews and research. Andrade includes many actual copies of letters. Perhaps the most moving are letters from parents to their sons before they knew they were dead. One story in particular is very moving: "Lt. Gene Barwick died that night. They never recovered his body. Each Christmas Eve reminded Barwick's parents of his death. His young bride eventually remarried and had two children but 20 years after her first love's death, she took her own life on a Christmas Eve." Many who died were only 18 to 21 years old and came from 47 of the (then) 48 states. All are listed by state in the In Memoriam Section at the end of the book as are the survivors.

This disaster was kept secret for many years. It was understandable during the war but not so afterwards. Allan Andrade has done a service to the nation and to the families of those lost with his book. It is well done, and an easy read - well worth your time!...

I have finished reading Mr. Andrade's book and must state that he possesses a true talent for writing! This book is an extremely well-written tribute to all on-board the Leopoldville that night. Mr. Andrade has managed to bring respect and remembrance to those who survived, and to those who perished in this disaster. It is evident that Mr. Andrade has placed a tremendous amount of personal time and effort into his research. I have spoken to the author on several occasions since reading his book. He is truly a very warm person, who takes a personal interest in each survivor/victim story. He plans to attend a Leopoldville Reunion in Georgia this October to pay his personal respects to those lost and to those surviving this tragedy. I can also appreciate the manner in which Mr. Andrade deals with the personal, human aspect and impact of this disaster. He also states many facts and statistics, but does not make this the book's sole purpose. Reading this book, even if you are not personally involved in it by being a survivor, or family member of a survivor or victim, is most certainly worth the time. I sincerely hope that Mr. Andrade will publish a second book on the Leopoldville. He has continued to acquire much new information from people connected to this tragedy who were unaware of the cover-up or the publishing of his firdt book. These newly-found families deserve to have their loved ones also remembered. I am one of these. My uncle died on this ship. His body was never recovered. I would like to have him remembered for his sacrifice.

This book has had the most profound impact on my life. At the time that I began to read this book, I had all but given up on myself and a goal that I had set out to accomplish about a year ago. This goal took me miles away from my friends and family, and at first I was dead set on acheiving it. But, after many setbacks and rejections, I was ready to call it quits. In reading Ms. Rich's book, I decided that the last thing I was going to do was quit. Her book is filled with such touching stories involving the greatest race car drivers, and also with wise advice following. This is not just a book that gives a glimpse behind-the-scenes of Winston Cup racing, but that also shares life lessons that Ms. Rich learned along the way. It takes not only a talented author, but a strong person, to be able to share such emotion and passion. I would recommend this book to anyone, NASCAR fan or not. It is a book I will not ever forget reading, and I cannot express my gratitude enough to the author for what it has done for me as a person. If you're looking for a book about your favorite drivers, this is it. If you're looking for a book about the good times and hard times in life, this is it. If you are looking for a book without any emotion, without a clear voice, without any meaning to it, this book is not for you.

Wow! What a great read! I am so glad I bought this book - it will be my stocking stuffer of choice for this holiday season for both guys and gals. This is a great book for Winston Cup die-hard fans and for novices! Ronda Rich is hilarious. It's full of anecdotes about all of the greats, including Earnhardt, Petty, Childress, Schrader, and more ... and all from the female perspective with plenty of stories that could only come from an insider. I read Ronda's last book and thoroughly enjoyed it, and this book stays the course. I found myself laughing out loud and feeling sorry when the book was over! More than just a book about racing, the book serves up some deep life lessons in each chapter - the author looks at the truth behind the losses and disappointments that come with the industry. She's quite a teacher - obviously a spiritual woman - it's a great read for kids too. I'm hoping this is the first in a NASCAR series for her ... if you see this Ronda ... please give us another one! Can't wait!

I recently had the opportunity to hear Ronda Rich speak about her new book, My Life In The Pits. I was compelled by her stories filled with humor and strong lessons learned by a young girl in a man's world. I'll admit that I was a fan of hers before I read the book because of the warmth and kindness she showed to each person she met after the event was over. I was impressed. I was more impressed after I read this lovely book. It's so different from any book I've ever read but so entertaining and heart lifting. She finishes each chapter with a moral or a lesson learned from that particular person or event. I found the book to be well thought out and extremely heartfelt. I don't think I could have laid my heart out in such a vulnerable way as she did. But I'm thankful she did. Thanks to her courage and openness, the readers of My Life In The Pits are well rewarded with a honest, heart touching, smile tugging look of a young girl and her heroes.

Dr. Miklos Nyiszli has written an important book: not only for the unique first-hand account of a "privileged" inmate in Auschwitz but also for the questions that it raises about Man and humanity.

As a German-trained pathologist Dr. Nyiszli became pathologist under Mengele, performing both antemortem and postmortem examinations of Mengele's experiments. In so doing he lived relatively well: had sufficient food, clothing, and equipment. The question here is this: can we damn a man for taking advantage of an opportunity for better survival through the aid of the captors? Certainly one is quick to condemn the Jewish Kapos that assisted in the management of the other prisoners.

Some have said that Nyiszli aided in the experiments, yet he only performed the post-experiment examinations. Is he then as guilty as Mengele?

This is not an easy book to read: the content is disturbing and the implications of it are hard to grasp. It provides a unique insight into the operation of Auschwitz that is rarely written about in first-hand accounts: the Sonderkommando were regularly gassed, Mengele disappeared.

As a memoire this is excellent. I would like more cross-references to documented events to substantiate the claims. It is not that I disbelieve him, but adding such documentation would improve the historical usefulness.

Aushwitz - A Doctor's Eyewitness Account is not for the faint of heart. It is the memoirs of a doctor / prisoner of the infamous Nazi 'Death Camp'. I have personally read (at the time I write this) about a dozen memoirs on the Holocaust. Dr. Nyiszli's experiences cannot even be imagined. I am truly at a loss for words to articulate the feeling in my heart left by this accounting of evil. Under the direct supervision of the infamous 'Doctor' Mengele, Nyiszli performs, without question, some of the most horrific and scientifically useless 'experiments' on human beings. Truly, who among us could ever imagine trying to survive in a Death Camp such as Aushwitz? And yet the disturbing point over all in Nyiszli's book, is the fact that he VOLUNTEERED his services ! I will not judge anyone personally, however, was this author truly a victim or a conspirator with a 'better them than me' attitude? If you have the intellect and stomach for descriptions of horror, then I do acknowledge the importance of this 'Self-Damming' memoir, since it does offer a rare glimpse into the levels of mindset that was the sinister and the sadistic butchers that were the Nazi's...and their conspirators. Perhaps it is a confession of a repentant mind tortured with his actions of the past.

Miklos Nyiszli, a Hungarian Jew, was carted off to Auschwitz along with the rest of his family sometime in early 1944. He volunteered to be the assistant to Dr. Josef Mengele--the so-called "Angel of Death"--because he was a doctor and had very good insight into pathology. He was a Sonderkommando, a man of the living dead that did the disgusting job of disposing of the bodies of gas chamber victims. In Nyiszli's case, he was given a pathologist's job of performing autopsies on freshly killed cadavers. Miraculously, he survived the terrors of the camp because Mengele refused to have him killed (all Sonderkommandos were killed after four months and replaced by others, for the SS wanted no survivors to tell tales) for there were very few doctors who were as good and skilled as Nyiszli. Therefore, he wrote about all of his experiences in this book after he was a free man. However, I have found that Nyiszli's book is just another account of the sadistic ordeals that the inmates of Auschwitz went through. If you are well-read in the history of the Holocaust, then you too may find this statement to be true. In other words, there is not much in here that has already been written about it, even though this book was one of the first to come out on the subject. Aside from that, Nyiszli's book is excellently written: it reads like a fast pacing novel in which you find yourself at the start, and in the next moment, you are at the end.

Although I am an avid reader of American military history, I read few first-person accounts of war because I tend to prefer books about geopolitics, grand strategy, and decisive weapons systems. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this book about a marine officer's experience during the Korean War. It was easy reading, its narrative was straightforward, informative, and, I believe, honest, and it provided some valuable insights into the harsh realities of the first of the Cold War's regional conflicts.

The United States' "forgotten war" began on June 25, 1950, when the People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) invaded the Republic of Korea (South Korea). At the time, Author Joseph Owen was a Marine Corps lieutenant stationed in North Carolina, living with his wife and their two young children. According to Owen: "Nobody at Camp Lejeune had expected a shooting war. Nor were we ready for one." A captain who had been an adviser to the South Korean Marine Corps predicted Korea would be "[o]ne lousy place to fight a war. Too hot in summer, too cold in winter, and straight up and down mountain terrains all year round. Except for those stinking rice paddies down in the valleys. Human manure they use. Worst stink in the world." Nevertheless, according to Owen: "The possibility of American Marines in a combat role excited us." Owen writes: "The North Koreans continued to overpower the meager resistance offered by the South Korean soldiers....Seoul, the South Korean capital, fell with hardly a fight, and the Red blitzkrieg rolled southward. In response, President Truman escalated American involvement in the war. He ordered General MacArthur, America's supreme commander in the Far East, to use U.S. Army troops stationed in Japan to stem the invaders." And: "General MacArthur called for a full division of Marines to help him turn back the North Koreans. According to Owen: "The Marine Corps welcomed the call, but we did not have a full division to put in the field;" and "More than seven thousand of us at Camp Lejeune received orders to proceed by rail to Camp Pendleton. There they would form into companies and embark for Korea." Owen's unit, "Baker-One-Seven became one of three rifle companies if the 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment....Our ranks were filled by 215 men and 7 officers who had never before served together....Many of [the privates] were beardless teenagers with little training beyond the basics of shouldering a rifle and marching in step." While training, there was much concern about the readiness of the Marines for combat. At one point, after a sergeant remarks that the troops need more training in boot camp, Owen succinctly invokes reality: "They are not going to boot camp. They are going aboard ship. And they are going to fight." On September 1, the company boarded a Navy transport for the three-week voyage to east Asia. According to Owen: "Ready or not, we were on the way to war." And, according to Owen, the 1st Marine Division's orders were "to go for the Yalu River," North Korea's border with China. At one point, a veteran officer provides this paraphrase of William Tecumseh Sherman's famous dictum: "War is hell, but you never know what particular kind of hell it's going to be." The Korean War hell was cold and barren. Owen writes: "We were chilled through and bone tired as we slogged our way back to battalion....The bivouac was lumpy with rocks and boulders;" "The cold weather was as formidable an enemy as the Chinese;" and "Rarely did the [daily action] reports exceed zero degrees, and there were lows of twenty below."

By the time Owen's outfit arrived in Korea, he writes, "we were making bets that the war would be over before we got into it." Owen's Marines could not have been more wrong. While Owen is inspecting his men's weapons, a private asks: "Think we'll get shot at today, Lieutenant?" Owen replies: "We're taking the point for the regiment. If the gooks are there, they'll be shooting at us." A few pages later, after the outfit's first experience in combat, Owen comments: "We were fortunate that the enemy had not chosen a "fight-to-the-death" defense of this hill, as they would when we advanced farther north." But some fighting was hand-to-hand. At one point, Owen writes: "Judging from the noise they were making, and the direction of their grenades, the North Koreans were preparing to attack, not more than thirty yards away." The Captain tells Owen and the other subordinate officers: "The Chinese have committed themselves to this war....The people we will fight are the 124th Division of the Regular Chinese Army....They're tough, well-trained soldiers, ten thousand of them. And all of their officers are combat experienced, their very best....A few hours from now we'll have the Chinese army in our gunsights. We'll be in their gunsights. You damn well better have our people ready for some serious fighting." The combat was, indeed, brutal. According to Owen: "The Chinese attacked in massive numbers, an overwhelming weight, but they also endured terrible casualties." Owen recalls that, while waiting for one Chinese attack, the "men stacked Chinese bodies in front of the holes for greater protection." And the fighting around the frozen Chosin Reservoir may have been the most brutal of the war. Owen ultimately suffered wounds requiring 17 months of treatment, and he never regained full use of one arm.

A few months ago, I reviewed James Brady's wonderful The Coldest War: A Memoir of Korea here. This book has different charms. Whereas Brady is a gifted professional writer, there is no elegant prose here. But Owen provides an equally vivid account of this ugly war. Big, sophisticated studies of military history focusing on geopolitical principles and grand strategy rarely offer narrative moments like the ones in this book. Reader are unlikely to forget the Korean War after reading Joseph Owen's Colder than Hell.

When preparing to travel to an Asian country on business, I seek context by reading of the wars the U.S. has fought there. When I look in those Japanese, Chinese and Korean eyes, I see the children of old enemies and old friends. While plowing through Fehrenbach's canonical Korean War history, "This Kind of War", I took a break and lost a weekend of yard work to "Colder Than Hell" which I ordered based on the praise given by my fellow Amazon reviewers. My thanks to the other reviewers, for this is a superb first person account of a Marine company fighting it's way up and then back down the Korean peninsula in 1950. Marines of Baker one-seven fought and froze to the death too often, but their sacrifice has let 47 million Koreans in the South build a democracy and learn the meaning of freedom. The price of freedom was huge for Baker one-seven, but the esprit de corps so crisply described by ex-Second Lt. Owen carried his Marines from hill to hill. This is an excellent book and a must read for fans of first person stories of war and sacrifice.

Colder than Hell: A Marine Rifle Company at Chosin Reservoir. By Joseph R. Owen. Reviewed by Mike Davino

Army Korean War expert Lieutenant Colonel Roy Appleman has called the 1st Marine Division of the Chosin Reservoir campaign "one of the most magnificent fighting organizations that ever served in the United States Armed Forces." The remarkable and inspiring story of the division at the Chosin Reservoir has been the subject of numerous books and several films. During their fighting withdrawal, the Marines decimated several divisions of the Chinese People's Liberation Army while at the same time fighting an exceptionally harsh winter environment.

Joseph Owen's new book on the subject tells the story from the cutting edge perspective of a rifle company. The author served as a mortar section leader and rifle platoon commander in Baker Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Marines from its activation in August 1950 through the Inchon-Seoul and Chosin fighting where he was severely wounded.

There are many reasons given for the outstanding performance of the Marines in northeast Korea during the winter of 1950. It is clear from this book that a large measure of the credit goes to the Marines and their leaders at the small unit and rifle company level.

Owen's narrative covers the hasty activation and training of the company, its brief participation in the fighting north of Seoul after the amphibious assault at Inchon and the details of its intense fighting at Chosin. He candidly discusses the mistakes made by the leaders and Marines of Baker Company, to include his own. More importantly, Owen covers what they learned from these mistakes and how they used that knowledge to defeat the Chinese in a series of intense actions.

Although focused at the company level, the author frames his story with the overall conduct of the campaign. Refreshingly, unlike many books about the Chosin campaign, it is free of partisan sniping about the contributions made by the various services involved. Owen gives credit to the Army units that fought at Chosin as well as the contributions of naval and air forces and our British allies.

This book is rich in lessons about small unit leadership, training and combat operations. It is an excellent addition to the personal narratives on the Korea War.