Is this book worth reading? Yes. But beware of the author's biases. Robertson has written several excellent books (e.g., biography of Stonewall Jackson), but this book is NOT one of them. Yes, it contains much new and interesting information about Hill. But the author goes too far in blaming others (e.g., Longstreet, Jackson, Lee, the man on the street corner!) for Hill's own failings. And when Roberston does so, he usually simply states something like, "But of the course the true blame belonged with X." without explaining why he thought so. Robertson does present some of Hill flaws. But he is seldom willing to admit that Hill, whom the author obviously admires very much, made some major blunders - e.g., the 600 yard gap at Federicksburg, which Meade and Gibbon used to effect a temporary breakthrough. So read the book and enjoy. But do not take its portrayals of Hill comrades as accurate - too many other sources tell us otherwise.

My forebears served under Hill from his assumption of the III Corps until their end and his. This work is the best I have found, but Hill remains an enigma in the end. One must wonder why Lee promoted his most impulsive and contentious Mj.General to Corps command, and must conclude that Longstreet was right when he concluded that the three corps arrangement was "too much Virginia." Robertson aptly titles his 2nd Day at Gettysburg chapter "Bystander to Defeat," but offers no real explanation for the usually agressive Hill's uninvolvement on this pivotal day. One is left to conclude that the unfinished grudge with Longstreet and rivalry with R. H. Anderson led Hill to malicious obedience to his orders and noninvolvement in the battle. Similar accusations caused the vilification of Longstreet, yet Hill escapes unscathed. Robertson does do what few others have by showing Hill's conscientious defense of the Petersburg lines. This portion of The War, so much like WWI, is the least covered and least understood period. Robertson is very helpful here. A good read and a valuable addition, but much is left unsaid.

Dr. Robertson the historian teams up with VA. Tech's former atheltic physician Dr. Bullock to determine the cause of AP Hill's famous decline after promotion in regards to health and action after he was promoted to Corps Commander after Jackson's death. While many though of Hill as a case of the "Peter Principal" it is apparent from the descriptions of Hill's physical decline and symptoms that Hill was slowly dying of syphllis. The inability of his kidneys to function properly caused Hill sleepless nights and left him virtually unable to command. This book is the first to determin ethecause of Hill's physoical collapse. Some very good descriptions of the impulsive Hill who starts the 7 Days campaign prematurely when Jackson is late or lost, his famous role at Harpers Ferry, his mercruial temperment with Longstreet and Jackson and his severe failure at Bristow Station where he launches his corps into a virtual ambush without any reconnoitering. His role at Gettysburg is somewhat of a mystery but his illness may have contributed. Best parts of the book center on Hill and his corps at Petersburg where his divisions would swing out of the trenches and into the woods and hit Grant's probing left flanks from vitually any angle. Interesting fact that Hill was burried four times after death due to some unique circumstances. Hill's legacy survives with less criticism than Lngstreet because the south was always kinder to their dead heroes than the living.

This is part of a four-volume series of George Washington's life and this is the initial installment, covering his early years. Flexner's narrative takes the reader up to the first shots of the Revolutionary War. Despite the fact that there is a plethora of interesting material on Washington's youth and young manhood, this book is singularly flat and written in a plodding style. It is generally reliable and accurate, but one yearns for a more enlightened and exciting presentation. This is the personification of how history is usually taught: in a manner not designed to capture the reader or the student.

One strong point is that Flexner successfully presents a balanced portrait of Washington. Any bias from the author is thankfully masked from the reader. When Washington deserves criticism or censure, the author soberly dispenses it. Praise and plaudits are similarly given. If you are deeply interested in Washington's early years, this is an adequate and trustworthy source. But if you are merely dabbling in Washington and prefer a swifter narrative, then this is not a recommended selection.

James Thomas Flexner does justice to the early years of George Washington's life. The author has a heavy straight forward writing style, that takes the reader on a journey through the life of Washington. As this is the first installment of a four volume series, the reader gets to know what made and the circumstances related to Washington, that laid the ground work for the framing of his life.

As with most of us, we have a mental picture of Washington as an Icon in our schoolrooms as we grew up, but Flexner paints a picture through words of a man. Not much different than you or I, but the times and circumstances are extraordinarilly different. A man subject to the vulnerabilities of life, energetic, somewhat impulsive, gullible to an extent, put into situations of leadership ill prepared but always seemed to prevail. A man using his resourses to forge a respectable life for himself, a resoursful man to make life better through deeds and enterprises.

This first volume takes us through the first forty-three years of Washington's life with detail and scholarship, the author gives us a glimpse into the society, family, and events that shaped Washington for the future as America's foremost leader early on, as a new nation is forged.

I found that this first volume to be full of interesting details and is accurate for the youthful Washington. Engrossing, adequate, accurate, but the writing style is again straight forward and factually solid leaving the reader with the impression of early experiences of history classes past... needing a breath of life.

The overall scholarship rated a 5 star, even in light of rather heavy writing style.

After reading Flexner's "Washington: The Indispensable Man" I bought the four part volume on which it was based. Flexner did a wonderful job, making Washington and his life come alive with many details. As a result of reading it I've actually visited some of the historic locations mentioned. After reading the first volume, I could hardly wait to get the second volume! Volume two is out of print, but I was able to find it used through Amazon (thanks!). For an insightful overview of Washington's life I'd recommend "Washington: The Indispensable Man". But if you're looking for lots of details I'd highly recommend the four volumes.

Frank And I was repetitive, boring and poorly written. For example, the only word used for intercourse was 'poke'. The whole book could easily be summarized as: "Whip her butt and poke it in. Then do it again and again and again and again and again and again," using the same words and the same clumsy, inadequate descriptions. It is as if the author were following the command, "Be sure to describe each new scene in the same old way!"
Don't waste your money!

This classic has been published and re-published through the years. This edition is a wordworth classic but I have also seen it as a Blue Moon book published in 1987

The story is narrated by Charlie a young man in the late 1800's in Britainwho meets Frank on the road to Portsmouth to become a sailor. Frank is actually Frances and she donned a boy's clothes and disguise for protection on the rough journey.

Charlie then takes Frank into his home and is happy to have the company for a short while. Frank becomes enamoured of her young benofactor and then in shprt time faces the problem of declaring herself to Charlie and her true feelings. Misbehaving, Frank then sees the opportunity to clear the air when Charlie decides to have her spanked, something that we all know the Vitorians absolutley love to do ...

Its a great story and erotic as the truth is known and the games begin .....

This is *the* superior Edwardian erotic novel, and it has to be read to be believed. It will be re-discovered generation after generation. The story is perfectly told, the characters are vivid, and the dialog crisp and witty. If you are looking for the premier discipline novel of all time: look no further.

"you may be whatever you resolve to be," said stonewall jackson. even a supporter-in-arms of an aristocratic slave-owning minority who leads millions into savagely selfish internecine warfare? i guess that's for the individual to decide, albeit long after the fact. but isn't that what makes the study of history so thought-provoking? doesn't the search for objective truth keep us looking back through the ages to figure out more about who we were then, who we are today, and what we can become once again if we're not careful? i have to believe that, given thomas jackson's strong faith in god, it wasn't long after stonewall crossed the river and sat down to rest beneath the tree that he realized he'd made a horrible horrible decision in fighting for white supremacy and the slavery of his brothers and sisters on earth. i'm sure i'll discover regrets concerning certain decisions i've made in my life. won't we all?! still, don't be fooled by romantic recreations of the past. don't be fooled.

If you're seeking military maxims with applications in business or personal life... along the line of Sun Tzu... you won't find them here.

Unlike Lord Chesterfield's "Letters to his Son", from which many of the maxims herein were extracted, and George Washington's hand-copied "Rules of Civility...", both of which represent selections offered up as a lesson plan for the edification of youth; Jackson's collection provides a portrait of the man himself, defined by those particular guidelines he selected as necessary to fill the gaps he perceived in his social upbringing.

Jackson's well known social awkwardness and reticence in public is clearly delineated by his choices. Anyone seeking to understand Jackson will benefit from this book. However, Dr. Roberston errs by delving deeper into Chesterfield's work, and others, in seeking to add supporting text to each maxim, rather than exploring why Jackson chose it. The treasure here is not the maxim, but Jackson's selection of it.

I really enjoyed this book. It is a great book for people that like StoneWall, or don't have a lot of time to read. ( This is a short read). StoneWalls maxims can be used today as well. This book, also gives us a better understanding of this great American Hero. ( How hard General Jackson tried to be a perfect man, shines through, with this book. One can only admire General Jackson all the more)

It is well worth the time spent reading it.

If you enjoyed Stokesbury colorful and intersting books on the american history and you look for another intersting history book you better get away from this one. The book is a never ending list of bloody battles. The book starts with a very intersting account of the events that led to this bloody war but the rest of the book is really hard to read. The book does give an informative account of the war and it may be that the war should be blamed for this unintersting account of events and not the author.

James Stokesbury manages to summarize the war without reverting to a simple list of events. There are very few of the personal stories of individuals (except the major leaders) but there are enough mixed in with the facts and dates to hold your interest. He does include several opinions of his own with respect to some major blunders by both sides. All in all a very enjoyable book for the neophyte and a nice review for the more knowledgeable.

This book is a concise, well written narrative covering the horrors of this conflict. I have noted previous reviewers stating that it is a listing of one bloody battle after another: True. However, Stokesbury gives great explanations as to the "why" behind the staggering loss of life based on the use of pre-WWI tactics, in the face of new weaponry.
If you are looking for detailed accounts of other than the Western and Eastern fronts, then this might not be the book for you, for they are only covered anecdotally. Yet the coverage for the conflict in the European theaters is great.
Stokesbury does not give a dry, mundane explanation of the events, but attempts to make the reader see the whole picture and does it in a very easy to understand format. A great book for anyone who wants a brief history of this conflict

As did Gilbert Moxley Sorrel (Longstreet), staff officer Walter Taylor offers his insights of the War of Southern Independence. Indeed, Taylor has rightful claim to his judgements, as his acquaitance with Lee offered him first-hand knowledge of events. However, I caution future readers that this is NOT a memoir or diary per se - Taylor rarely gives any unique slants to anything, and more often than not, seems occupied with setting the "numbers straight" - many, many, many tables and charts are provided giving the numbers available for this battle and that battle, etc...I suggest this book only for serious students of the war - and more particularly, those wanting "first-hand" data on "numbers." Of final interest, though, is Taylor's disdain for Hiram U. Grant (accurately recognizing Grant as a true butcher - merely throwing big numbers at an under-manned, under-supllied army) and the insertion of a speech given upon the anniversary of Genl Lee's birthday (albeit NOT written, or presented by Taylor himself)

Taylor's approach to covering the history of the Confederate struggle is encouraging to read. Though the title of this book tends to be a bit misleading. It should be called Four years of Confederate history. Taylor tends to describe battle movements and give calculations as to the manpower of divisions, brigades and regiments to a dragging sense. This books I recommend highly for those trying to get an accurate count of soldiers available for each battle, how many were casualties, after battle net amounts,etc.. Rarely are daily affairs of Lee covered. When I read this book I was disappointed to find out that it wasn't a book about General Lee and his daily livelyhood as I wanted to read about. Since Taylor was Lee's secretary I thought who better than to describe Lee's motives, attitudes, triumphs and defeats? Very rarely did Taylor ever mention Lee in this manner. Not enough to capture the man and tell his story. This book is a quick refresh of battles and movements throughout the war of the Army of Northern Virginia which hardly fits being called Four Years With General Lee. Credit is due to Taylor's ability to calculate total manpower and army positions throughout the four years though falls way short in covering Lee.

Wonderful book describing the massive work and devotion to duty that General Lee adhered to. Written by his A.A.G. A must read for southern patriots.

There is no doubt J.I. Packer has been and will continue to be one of the 20th century's most important theologians. His contribution to the current debate between the liberal and evangelical wings of Canada's Anglican Church is critical. As described by McGrath, Dr. Packer has maintained a theological position of integrity throughout his life.

However, I hope he will one day be served by a biography that is much more readable than this biography by Alistair McGrath. Despite my interest in Dr. Packer, I found reading it a definite struggle. Only my interest in the subject caused me to finish the book.

Did anyone edit this book? McGrath's sentences go on and on - and I found I couldn't pin down his opinions. Often half or more of the sentences in the book were extraneous. Perhaps he has written in a classic academiceze style - but I found myself really struggling and wanting him to make his points clearly and succinctly.

Although many may read the book due to interest in Dr. Packer's life and work, it was definitely a struggle and I cannot recommend it as a well-written biography.

Are you looking for a spiritual blood transfusion? Look no further! JI Packer's enthusiasm for God and tenacity for right thinking regarding the bible is contagious! His interactions with Stott and Lloyd-Jones provide brilliant historical insight into the tension of "reform from within" vs "be ye seperate".

Many Christians miss out on the experience that excellent spiritual biographies provide. Don't be one of them!

As far as the previous writer that didn't think McGrath did a good job writing, I couldn't disagree more. Type the words "Alister McGrath" into the Amazon search engine and you'll find many people like the way Dr. McGrath puts sentences together.

I found Alister McGrath's biography of Packer to be most interesting. Here is a man (Packer) who is truly bringing honor to the name of Christ and His church (when in the age of supposed regenerate men that consistantly do otherwise). McGrath is a man of like public character and a honorable person to do such a work. I was pleased to read such a work, and am looking forward to further McGrath biographies having to do with such honorable men (McGraths work on Calvin was also quite excellent). This was a easy and uncomplicated read, factual and supposing nothing yet is thorough enough. I would suggest the work highly.

For those interested in James and his music this is probably the most thorough biography available. Stephen Calt tends to be vitriolic and is often none to kind in stating his opinions about James' behavior or those of other blues musicians discussed in the book. That's fine, such bluntness is refreshing from the candy-coated, politically correct "criticisms" often present in biographies.
However, Calt does have one habit that is, in my opinion, a reprehensible practice for a biographer. He tends too much towards conjecture. Instead of stating events, he often extrapolates what people are feeling, thinking, or might have done in a given situation. This kind of "completion" can get in the way of allowing the reader to draw his own conclusions.
All in all though, if you are interested in Skip James you would do well to read this book.

What we have here:1) The lengthy and always compelling transcribed oral-autobiography of Skip James, a brilliant, idiosyncratic (and none too nice) blues musician from Bentonia, Mississippi whose greatest work was done in the 20's and 30's. A cynical fascinating tale of violence and feigned redemption, petty compromise and amoral cultural brilliance in the Jim Crow South. 2) A tour-de-force critique of the early 60's Folk Scene and the misguided, patronizing white college students who "rediscovered" blues musicians like Son House, Mississippi Fred McDowell and Skip James. Told by a man (Stephen Calt) who, to his lingering shame and horror, played more than a bit part. A scathing dark comedy about race, art, America and ostensibly good intentions, which Tom Wolfe would've given a kidney to have penned.3) Pages upon pages of detailed technical musical analysis that, alas, is all too often prejudiced by the ambivalence and still festering rage of Calt. 4) A minor yet compelling intellectual memoir in which -- twenty-five years after James' death -- Calt tries and fails miserably to reconcile all of the above.The end result is a deeply flawed, mashed together work of incendiary history, cruel insight and all manner of self-delusion. A messy harrowing work of great worth and constant interest.

In this book, Stephen Calt uses Skip James as a case-study to show the guts of the popular music industry from completely new angle. In the 1960s, a generation of British musicians suddenly became Blues aficionados after hearing that music on records. The recordings they heard were new reissues of old forgotten 78rpm discs from the 1920s and 1930s. Calt traces the story of how the reissued records came to be, and the new market they ultimately created. The story is not a pretty one. For fans of most popular music--especially the line which runs through the Stones, Clapton, and Led Zeppelin--this is fascinating and disturbing stuff. Skip James, the unlikely intellectual with many moral faults of his own, turns out to be a perfect lens through which to view the ugly business of some incredible music.

Calt is often accused of being "mean spirited" and pompous and such. Any writer whose purpose it is to shatter baseless myths is certain to ruffle some feathers. And that is the point.

I had wonderful memories of Lennart Nilsson's wondrous photography and book from the 1975 edition my mother got me at age 3. Now, as a mother and a doula I wanted to share it with my own daughter. I did not like the new edition at all. The old edition included more photographs of the developing fetus as well as actually explaining reproduction. It includes multi age nude group photos so children can see the differences between male and female, and there is a photograph of a crowning infant, rather than the sanitized and cleaned up newborn of this book. Overall, I found this book dumbed down and wanting. If you want your child to really understand what is happening inside your body, and how it started, I would recommend Nilsson's "A Story in Pictures" form 1975, which you can get used. It is realistic, everything is illustrated with photographs, not cartoons. The only exception to that is penetration, which is represented by a cross section illustration. It is overall a much better introduction to reproduction and childbirth for children than all of these patronizing, cartoony books that are so common nowadays.

This is the book--color pictures of the baby inside the womb and yet geared towards children so they can share in the experience even more.Wonderful book!

Our oldest daughter was spellbound by this book that we bought while expecting our second child. Lovely pictures and a great way to explain what is happening with their mom to a child.

William Durant is just a pedant who cannot appreciate a hero's greatness. Don't buy or read his books unless you are a useless pedantic fool like him with no hot blood in your vein.

Generally, the series of books written by Will and Ariel Durant is an enormous project, which the authors produced in a workman-like manner. Yes, they are pedants, and the works have a kind of lets-hurry-along flavor; a lets-get-it-all-in aura.

The Durants are Anglophiles, and it shows here. Too much Wellington, and too many British viewpoints, which were in the 19th Century and are to this day stacked against Napoleon, in particular, and the French, in general.

Reading this book, one gets the feeling, that the authors can hardly wait to get to the part about the Battle of Waterloo.

Anyone interested in Napoleon -- the man, and his works -- can find more comprehensive studies by other authors.

The Durant's writing style can sometimes be confusing to the uninitiated. They tend to string long sentences together with semicolins; using pronouns to the point of confusion for the reader.

There is a lot of information here, but this is not a great book. It is a very broad, shallow history giving only a mild flavor, not a real taste of the "Frenchness" of the Age of Napoleon. Francophiles and fans of the Emperor should look elsewhere.

Yes, this book presents an Anglo perspective of Napoleon and his time in Europe. Still, the work of the Durans is fantastic as it captures historical elements from sources as diverse as visual arts, philosophy, literature as well as the customs of the time. The work is also rich in research and references, presenting numerous scripts from Napoleon himself and his subordinates.

After reading this book, I was encouraged to buy the whole collection the Durans produced and I am very happy to have done so.