The true story of the Battle of Britain. This book is a good read. It's about the planning of the Battle of Britain on German side, and the planning of the British defense, on the British side. If the Battle of Britain had succeeded, it would have been the first successful cross-Channel invasion since William the Conqueror in 1066. Hitler's half-hearted attempt at an invasion was bungled from the start. He didn't count on Britain being prepared. He was expecting Britain to be like Poland and the Soviet Union with its planes on the ground like sitting ducks. Churchill had once said that French said that Britain would have her neck wrung like a chicken. Then he quipped "some chicken--some neck."

The definitive history of the Battle of Britain read this book! Operation Sea Lion is about the planned German invasion of Britain. It's also about the British countermeasures. Not many people know that the British removed the street signs from London's streets to confuse the Germans if they'd invaded. It also confused the British drivers. There are some editorial cartoons as well. One has a man on the telephone, he's probably a British Cabinet Minister or Sir Hugh "Stuffy" Dowding, and the caption's "Get me Messerschmitt 109." Operation Sea Lion was supposed to be like Operation Overlord--a cross- Channel invasion. The British were prepared and they defeated Goering's vaunted Luftwaffe.

I've been a cyclist for about twenty five years and in that time I've managed to accumulate a library of books on cycling. Books on everything from custom frames to offroad riding technique. But by far the most enjoyable to read has been this and several others by Mr.Ballantine. Many of the newer cycling books have a compulsive, competitive tone to them, as if the authors assumed the reader was bent on entering the Tour de France. In contrast, Dick Ballantine infuses the reader with his sense of joy and enthusiasm about the pure act of riding and the pure form of the diamond frame bicycle, a design that has accomodated over a hundred years worth of cyclists. But he also manages to cover practical matters--everything from hub overhauls to recumbents. The first chapter is entitled
Get A Bike! Since I first started reading Mr.Ballantine, I've "gotten" five and partly due to him, I've loved them all.

This book should have never been let go out of print. R's 'Ultimate' book does not replace it. This book has much writing of great character and insight. It covers the whole rainbow of cycling with proper respect and depth, with particular nods to velomobiles, trikes, recumbents and folders. This edition also has the finest assortment of B&W bike sketch art ever published, with superb highlights by the incomparable PAT.

SOULSEARCHERS COMPANY, written by the award-winning Peter David (and Richard Howell). The Soulsearchers are a screwball team of
psychic investigators. The adventures usually have a satirical slant, but can be serious, too. Sometimes at the same time. I deliberately use the term "screwball," because the
interaction between the male lead (a fire demon from an Arabic Hell) and the female lead (a former olympic athlete, with a magic vaulting pole . . . no, really) is reminiscent of
the old screwball comedies: witty, barbed, and very funny dialogue. Any comics fan with a sense of history will recognize the artists: Dave Cockrum and Jim Mooney. Need I
say more?

this is a good book.if you are formilliar with peters work from the hulk and aquaman aswell as spyboy and a litlne of other comicbooks, you will like this. he is an excallent writer. he has done a lot of star treck books aswell. so if you are formilliar with his work from that you aswell know what i mean when i commend his writing abilities. he is funny, witty, and serious in the same page, or at least he can be, and do a good job of it. if you are a fan of comic books and never read any of his stuff as well as star treck fans, now is the time to discover him. he is good at what he does. buy this book.

This book is like burried treasure. Written years ago (updated 34th printing) the author explains things in such simple form that even a baby can comprehend. My seven year old son grasped many of the concepts offered in this book rather easily. We are raw foodists in a big city, with this new (old) information we learned more about how to obtain the maximum nutrition on such a diet. The breakdown of survival techniques are clear and to the point, with several options available in the case of different geographical location, economic status, or space available to the survivalist. The author obviously cares about his and the lives of others. Its fun, its interesting, its necesary information to have in the dawn of the promised calamities ahead. P.S. Not just for those confined to earth, if you know what I mean.

The cost of this book seems to increase just about every year, and for a paper back it can seem rather pricey, but its worth it for the vast range of informatiion given.

I learned about this book 20 years ago, long before the health-food explosion. It was written by a computer programmer who got sick and healed himself with health foods. It is a true reference book, a compliation of hundreds of sources with an extensive bibliography. A true find!

A towering achievement. The first fifth of the book passes through a dream-like state while sweeping and surreptitious changes take place in the police forces, the national government, the propaganda movements, the press, the ministries, the military. This book presents things about Germany that are normally not considered. Most Americans probably think that Germany was an idealistic war machine in the 1940s: with one mind, one head, one purpose. Not so. The author begins in 1933 as a new attache in the newly-formed Gestapo. Immediately things begin to go awry. New changes come down, rumors abound, mistrust fosters mistrust. In his own building and everyday workplace, his own boss tells him to take the staircase at the wall-side rather than near the railing, as this would expose him to sniper fire from a vantage point higher in the stairwell. No one walks across the hall to clean his face without phoning a colleague on such a "dangerous enterprise." After these initial scenes, the author travels "outside" of government circles but remains in close contact with the major players plotting to overthrow the Fuehrer. He recounts across the years how the church was subdued, how the German people were "assisted" in imagining that things were working out, that propaganda helped to pave the way for even greater excesses, even how the generals were quailed (these last were long thought to be the last hope). The book is terrific in that it follows an agent in actual work, sifting through facts, talking clandestinely with associates, plotting an important life-or-death struggle to overthrow the Monster. Never knowing who to trust, never knowing what is coming next, never knowing when the bullet will come -- these are momentous and continuing features with which we have to deal. That the author survived as early as 1934 is remarkable. That he lived through the failed assassination attempt and the subsequent purges is incredible. A must read for WWII buffs, this highly readable text is a testament to those Germans working for sound government, healthy industry and a stable German society. An excellent book!

To get top of the heap, and to start a war, and to institute Death Camps for Jews and other undesirables, Hitler had to leave many corpses. Among this carnage are the dead bodies of some of Germany's Finest People. If there was any GOOD person more knowledgeable about where the corpses were buried, it was SS Agent H.B. Gisivius, who was also an insider in the tragically unsucessful attempts to get rid of Hitler. Agent Gisivius also distinguished himself as a witness at Nuremberg with his testimony that enraged Herman Goering, the same Goering that was able to frustrate Supreme Court Justice Jackson's prosecution efforts. Gisivius goes though several adventures, from the Nazi Regime's bloody beginnings, to his transfer to the Abwehr [German Military Intelligence] under Canaris, to the frustrating attempts to get rid of Hitler, often interrupted by the major events of the war, and the lawless antics of Nazi Functionaries (including the embarrassing trials that took place for the Reichstagg Fire). Gisivius was a Witness, and like Historian Procopius, who tried to do GOOD in the Midst of EVIL, and He lived to tell about it!

Firstly, Hitler was a constitutional scholar, not in the sense that Thomas Jefferson was, but in the same sense that Houdini was a Locksmith. Hitler reasoned that the Law of the Land was what the Police enforced. His partners, Goering, Frick, Bormann, Hess, Rohm, and later Himmler, proceeded to build the Gestapo, which they eventually integrated into the Police. The SA acted independantly, starting their own private concentration camps. A power struggle broke out for control of the Police which Gisivius describes in detail with black humor. The result was the Night of the Long Knives, where SA Chief Rohm perished and Himmler gets control of the Gestapo. Meanwhile,Goering uses his special units to end the SA private concentration camps with his own special purge (Goering wanted no competition). In its first months, the Nazi Regime has already shot a Mountain of Corpses.

It was frustrating work to bring about the end of the Nazi Regime. Hitler, when he was in the deepest of doodoo (as in the Reichstagg Fire Trial) was able to pull off some magic trick to put himself back into a favorable light, be it the Annexation of Austria, the Occupation of the Rhineland (where he narrowly missed being declared insane), the annexation of Czechoslocakia, Poland, and the Russian Front. Hitler, had he passed from the scene during his pinicle after the Annexation of Czechoslavakia, would have been known as the Greatest german Statesman of All Time, and would have been the Supreme Proof that "Character DOES NOT Matter". Instead, Hitler stayed on and things turned sour by degrees, and it took till 1944 before things got bad enough for Assassination Atempts to become sufficiently daring to recieve notice. (Granted, the March 1943 attempt happened, but those in the know did not talk about it. It was so secret, even Hitler did not know!). Hitler was certainly protected by his own Guardian Devil!

The Big Day approaches! We must get rid of Hitler. The German Resistance meets for one last time before it happens. (The German Resistance were certainly a cut above the average Resistance Movement. In the French Resistance, you only had to worry about an interrogation [you did your duty if you lasted 24 hours] and a speedy execution, with some hope of release. The German Resistance, on the other hand, had secrets that had to be kept for months! No quick execution by pistol either! These guys died by long messy execution by piano wire at the end of a Meat Hook! Look up Fritz Nova's book for the biographys of the July 20th Martyrs to get into the details.) They argue and dissent! Stauffenberg delays and delays, with the hope of getting Hitler, Himmler, and Goering in one fell swoop. Leber has been arrested and is about to be shot, whom Stauffenberg wishes to save as a consequence of his tyrannicide. Staufenberg can delay no longer and the bomb goes off!

The Abwehr acts with Operation Valkyrie, or does it? When Gisivius sees that the dawdling that ensues will come to naught, he looks up his friend, Police President von Heldorf and attempts to abscound. Tragicommically, his attempts to leave the country are frustrated. The Good News is that Gisivius'es hous has been bombed, making it an excellent hiding place for the duration of the war. Finally, the Allies escort him out of Germany as Germany perishes in flames.

This is not a book for the weak of stomach! It is a study of Tyranny. Fritz von Hayek's Road to Serfdom had already been published in 1944, but doubtless, had Gisivius and Hayek had ever met, the von Hayek chapters on German and Austrian History would have been thicker. This book deserves to be a contender for the top 100 Great Books of All Times, and is Certainly worth the trouble to read.

I have been reading most books on Tropical Medicine. This is the the best book I have seen so far. It is a must have for anybody seriously interested in Tropical Medicine.

The first truly comprehensive guide to tropical infectious diseases, compiled by the leading authorities in the field. Of enormous use and benefit.

This is an anthology for thoughtful people. Every poem is excellent. There is an interesting reason for each poem's inclusion. I wish these editors would write another book.

"A Year in Poetry" offers 365 poems for each day of the year. The true genius of this anthology comes from the intriguing use of dates in the poems. Sometimes the date comes from the poem's title, sometimes it is the date on which the poem was composed by the author, and sometimes the date is related to historical events depicted in the poem.

The first thing I did when I saw this book was turn to significant dates in my life (birthdays, anniversaries, deaths) and read the poem for that day. It was more revealing than a horoscope, and much more engaging! I learned from this book that my wedding anniversary falls on the same day that Cleopatra committed suicide, commemorated in the text with an excerpt from Shakespeare.

This anthology is not a cheesy collection of "feel-good" poems. Some of these poems will inspire you, others will depress you, some might confuse you. There is a wide range of styles and authors in this book. There are poets that are familiar, and poets I've never heard of. Overall, the collection of poetry in this book makes me want to read much more than just the "poem of the day."

This book offers a great way to bring poetry into your daily life, and for those who are already poetry fanatics, this book presents poems in a new and intriguing light. It also provides a whole range of gift opportunities--who wouldn't like to read a poem composed on their birthday? This anthology wonderfully displays the variety, beauty and meaning of English and American poetry.

Surely the most delicious book ever written on the fabulously glamorous subject of Champagne. A thirst quenching encyclopedia that answers all your questions and guides you through the sparkling world of this fizzy French drink. The layout is elegant and the text is on-the-dot clear. It is a beautiful book and it makes a great gift to all and everyone who wishes to indulge in Champagne know-how. A definate must-have for those who enjoy good food and good drink!

I thought this book was great! The pictures of the objects are beautiful. Where a picture could not be obtained there is usually a detailed sketch of the object. The descriptions give not only insight into use of the archaological object but also surrounding information like similar objects and archeological context. Then the essays descibe the time period and unknown/debated issue of Egyptian Archeology. As a newbie to Egyptian Archaeology I found the book easy to read and felt that things were explained well.

For many years I have searched for a book that would classify the entire range of thought of the great philosophers - that is, a sort of map that would define the scope of the philosophical terrain. This book does exactly that. In fact, Watson suggests that this scheme may be applied to any written work - including literature, poetry, etc.

Walter Watson expands on the work of philosopher Richard McKeon in classifying the thought systems created by the great philosophers. Watson's scheme identifies four 'variables' - Perspective, Reality (i.e. metaphysics), (epistemological) Method, and Principle. For each variable he identifies four possible values. He identifies:

- Personal, Objective, Diaphanic, and Disciplinary Perspectives

- Existential, Substrative, Noumenal, and Essential Realities

- Agonistic, Logistic, Dialectical, and Problematic Methods

- Creative, Elemental, Comprehensive, and Reflexive Principles

This method of classification is defended by numerous examples and quotes from a wide variety of philosophers. Finally, Watson relates the four variables and the four values of each variable to Aristotle's four causes.

Watson does not promote or disparage any of the classes. His writing is clear and descriptive, but not evaluative. If he has a bias, it certainly is not apparent in his writing.

After reading this book, I can also recommend you continue with the companion work "Philosophy in World Perspective" by David A. Dilworth (also available from Amazon.com). Dilworth applies Watson's scheme of classification to many of the world's great thinkers - including the pre-Socratic Greeks, Eastern philosophers, 20th-century thinkers, and the major world religions.

Watson's book is presumably targeted at professional philosophers. I did not have trouble understanding most of the material, although I am not a philosopher, nor have I had any formal education in the subject. Dilworth's book does assume that his reader also has read widely in philosophy and I found it necessary to supplement his book with reading of a dictionary of philosophy and religion.