Anyone familiar with Gericault's painting "The Raft of the Medusa" will know immediately that this is not going to be a pretty story. "Narrative of a Voyage to Senegal," written in 1816, is by two of the survivors from the raft. They tell a frightening tale of abandonment, starvation, mutiny, murder, and cannibalism, the horrors of which are surpassed by their treatment by the French government once they've been rescued. Despite the dreadful consequences of the rampant incompetence and indecision that led to their fate, ultimately it's the misguided faith the authors have in their mother country that sees them through.

The Medusa set sail in 1816 to reclaim Senegal, on the west coast of Africa, from England. Despite France's loss in the Napoleonic Wars, England had conceded France's former colonies in the wars' aftermath. The ship was carrying the governor who was to take over the reclaimed territory, as well as several hundred soldiers who were to be stationed there. After the Medusa wrecks, due to the incompetence of the captain (who relied on the advice of a passenger rather than pay attention to what his own navigators were telling him), bedlam breaks loose. Plans are made only to be tossed aside, no one is in charge, and people are scrambling to save themselves without a care for anyone else on board. As there is not enough room in the boats for the approximately 400 sailors and passengers, the survivors build a raft to carry away those who won't fit. The raft, approximately 85' x 25', is quickly lashed together from intersecting masts and spars, but it doesn't have a solid floor. (Later, people's feet and legs get caught in the holes, and they drown, unable to free themselves.)

One hundred and fifty people are put on the raft, with the idea that the boats will tow it behind them to safety. That many people, however, are too much for the small raft, and they are crowded together so tightly they stand side by side, with no room to sit down. They couldn't have sat anyway - the raft is so overloaded that the people are up to their waists in water. That is only one of the many difficulties they face.

First, the boat towing the raft deliberately loosens the tow rope, casting the raft adrift with no oars, no rudder, and no charts or navigation equipment. Then there is a gale, and many of the victims are swept overboard to their deaths. The second and third nights see a mutiny of the soldiers against the officers; many on both sides are killed and almost all are wounded. Food and water are scarce, and all are suffering from sunburn and exposure. Soon, sharks appear alongside the raft.

By the time the raft is sighted and the people on it are rescued after 13 days at sea, only 15 people of the original 150 are still alive. Of those, five die soon thereafter. The remaining 10 are put in a filthy hospital, with little food and no clothes. The governor and his cohorts leave them behind, escaping to Dakar in hopes of avoiding a scandal by spreading their own version of how the raft came to be on its own. The authors appeal to the French government for help and are spurned, again in an attempt to avoid scandal. Despite their trials, they remain loyal French citizens, with an undying hope that their country will give them at least some sort of pension after all they have been through. They are to be sorely disappointed.

It is only because of Savigny and Correard's rather florid writing style that I give this book four stars instead of five. Nevertheless, they write with an emotional candor that is heartwrenching, and I would recommend this narrative to anyone who is interested in adventure tales, sea stories, or history. The book is well worth-while, and for those of you who aren't used to reading early 19th Century literature, I recommend sticking with the story through to the end. This terrible event is rendered more awful by the knowledge that the authors really experienced it.

Written in 1854 and published the next year,this book is fascinating in providing personal sketches of distinguished Americans Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, Andrew Jackson,Henry Clay and John Randolph with many references to other prominent men who were their contemporaries. The author's
analysis is interesting not only in the spirited description of the individuals profiled but in his comparison of each of them with their political antagonists. The unique perspective he brings a man whose life overlapped some of these figures is worth a read for history or politics buffs. His admiration and defense of some he buttresses with argument. His passion is clear.
His oratorical style is typical of the time yet conveys a vivid impression of his subjects, and reminds one of a time before soundbites and simple words geared to a mass audience.

This book is very detailed and colorful as is folk art. The pictures are very clear. The writing is concise and to the point. I like the book very much. My only problem with it is that I would rather have had it in a hard back edition so that I could display it on the table top near my folk art.

If you're taking a course in Beethoven, at a graduate level, this is pretty important required reading. It's comprehensive, and along with the Solomon book, and the Kerman/Tyson offering in the small New Grove edition, you cover a lot of info. It's well-written and doesn't get too lagubrious, in spite of it being translated from the German. I found the subject matter spurred me on anyway. Even though the work first appeared in 1921, a lot of the information remains accurate, and one gains also some insight into what a remarkable historian Thayer was.

I bought this book a few years ago, and i would buy it today. the color plates are wonderful to look at, and the units depicted are varied. The only drawback is the lack of campaign uniforms in the latter half of the book.

This book (which I have not read) is purported on this webiste and elsewhere to be a collaborative effort between Dumas and Williams or at least a Williams adaptation of a Dumas play. It is actually believed by many others to be the sole work of Williams and of inferior quality to anything penned by Dumas.

A must read for any book fan worth his salt... a masterful book.... I loved it tremndously......
The story is about , as most of you will know , D'Artagnan , who comes from the district of Gascon to the city to become a musketeer and his adventures with the new friends he makes from the King's musketeers.......

I recommend this book to everyone......

The contention that Anne was noble and gave her life for her country is utterly absurd. She was firstly a political pawn moved by her famliy and secondly desperately ambitious. Admiring Anne for her skillful manipulation of court politics is one thing but romanticising her as some kind of heroine misses the point entirely.

This book is one of the best fictional biographies of Anne Boleyn. It is well-written and beautiful. Vercors believes in Anne 100%!

I came to know Aaron Henry when he was elected to serve in the Mississippi House in 1980. Initially I thought he was a doddering relic, yet pleasant enough, who tended to pontificate. He was in over his head and didn't really seem to have much interest in the legislative process and, as a result, was not highly regarded by his peers. He had a long history of arrests in city parks in the middle of the night, if you catch my drift. He made advances toward me and several other individuals--it was pathetic. Aaron Henry is indicative of the rotten core of the civil rights movement and liberal politicians in general--you don't have to look far for this. He ranks up there with Al Lowenstein and Bill Clinton. I believe this book is self serving and out of synch with reality.