I think the last time I was so enthralled in a book was when I read The Red Tent. This book is well written, extremely interesting, and drags you in and keeps you there until the finish. I was disappointed to see no more books available by this author. I'll be waiting for the next one to come out.

On the cover, this book was likened to The Far Pavilions, but I think it is much better.

Thalassa Ali puts us in the middle of India during the time of the Raj. All your senses are involved in the reading of this book. Ali puts us so in touch with her subject that we can't pull away from this exciting place in time. Action, suspense, love, emotion, revulsion, attraction. Excellent. Would have liked a bit stronger ending, but it was satisfying, nonetheless.

A Singular Hostage is the first book in a projected trilogy by Thalassa Ali. I can't wait till the next book in the series, apparently to be titled 'A Beggar at the Gate' and out in 2003, as the ending to this one is a cliff hanger and I wanted more!

The heroine has been sent out to the India of the Raj and the East India Company to find a husband. She accompanies Lord Auckland on his march of thousands to the durbar with Maharaja Ranjit Singh of the Punjab in 1838, where the British hope to enlist Ranjit Singh's aid in what will become the first Afghan war.

There is little actual romance in A Singular Hostage, as the hero and heroine, strangers to each other, come into random contac, unknowing that the future will bring them together. However, it seems this romance will develop in the future books.

Mariana, the heroine, is a rather naive and headstrong girl, who is not having much luck in securing a husband, and faces the dreaded fate of returning home an unmarriageable spinster. On the march to the Punjab she develops an unfashionable, and suspicious from the British point of view, fascination with Indian culture and language. This brings her into a plot involving the baby Saboor, grandson of a Sufi sheik, held hostage by Ranjit Singh and ultimately into contact with his father, Hassan, the hero, who will become her husband against her will.

Thalassa Ali is herself a Sufi, and there are allusions to Sufi mysticism through the book. The author draws the flavours of the India of the Raj and the Princely States very well too. If you enjoy M M Kaye, Rebecca Ryman and Valerie Fitzgerald's historical romances of 19th century India I would recommend Thalassa Ali. The only problem I had with this book was that the ending is abrupt and obviously the story will be continued in the sequel. I wish the trilogy had been published in one go, as this means waiting yearly for the next installment!

It is a very informative atlas. You could find detail photos, as well as transparencies, for each sections. It is very useful for doctors to plan their surgeries.

It is a very informative atlas dedicated to functional neurosurgery. The transparencies included are especially useful for planning surgery.

It could be an exaggeration when I call the Kobbes Opera Guide a Bible for opera lovers. But it's a very resourceful book on operatic composers, performers and the rich history of opera from its early days in Baroque Italy. Everything you want to know is here...the opera comique style, Baroque masters such as Gluck and Handel, the Rossini operas, bel canto beauties such as the Donizetti operas, German operas and French operas. It is a very monumental source of information on singers as well, sopranos from the very talked about Maria Callas (1923-1977), Joan Sutherland, Beverly Sills, and recent singers as Renee Fleming and Sumi Jo, tenors Placido Domingo, Nicolai Gedda, Luciano Pavoratti, Jon Vickers, and their careers. A must have for any true opera buff. Immerse yourself into the stories of operas and its fascinating background in music.

The new format of this magnificent reference book is the most outstanding feature of this revised, updated work. The prior Kobbe's clumsily, but not wholly improperly , catlogued composers like a taxonomical excercise. The genus being the chronological era and the species is the nationality of the composer. Thus German composers in the nineteenth century with singular emphasis on Wagner are grouped; then Italian opera for that century, and so on through Europe. Then we come to the twentieth century and all over again with this format but encompassing the world by nation. The revised volume has nothing more outstanding than an alphabetical arrangement for the subjects, but how outstanding and important this seemingly simple change is cannot be overestimated. This is a required reference book for opera afficianados whatever level of knowledge of the subject one possesses.

Clear and concise! An adventure in reading and very historically accurate! This is a must read for history buffs (especially Elizabethan!)

If you are a serious student of the occult this book is a must! Each and every character and movement has a place in the understanding of the Mystical Dance in which we are all involved. "Zanoni" and "Mejnour" will teach you the harmonic scales, however your ears must be finely attuned to their music. This a great Rosicrucian novel! loreto

This is an interesting story of a young man in World War II. It is detailed and well researched. General John C. Meyer is quoted as saying: "George Preddy was the greatest fighter pilot who ever squinted through a gunsight; he was the complete fighter pilot". The book is also an accounting of the man himself (apart from his war efforts) and his family. It is written by a man who knew George Preddy as a child and looked up to him.

I knew George 'Ratsy' Preddy as a fellow-pilot in the 352nd Fighter Group--the Bluenosers. I saw him at briefings and in action, and quickly developed a tremendous respect for him as a dedicated pilot--calm on the ground, aggressive in the air. This book by Joe Noah and Sam Sox is not only a marvelous tribute to his courage and combat achievements, but a mirror of an outstanding person. He inspired those who flew with him. This book brought back many memories. As Editor/Historian of he 352nd FG Association, I recommend it highly.

Reviewer: John Edwards from United States February 29, 2000 These are merely some thoughts that came to mind while reading the book and shortly thereafter and are in no particular order. This is a detailed account with complimentary diary excerpts providing an excellent glimpse into the man and the ace fighter pilot. A hall mark of a well written biographical account in my opinion is one that depicts the person, not just his/her accomplishments. Military biographies generally do this. I detected no attempt to smear anyone or organization as some lesser works. The book is supported by solid research and timely use of primary and secondary sources, especially interviews and personal rememberances of Preddy. The use of personal recollections makes the book read like an oral history instead of a typical biographical sketch. A particular strength of the work is the use of 'real' photographs, not the well publicized and over used images commonly found in biographical accounts. The gun camera stills bring a certain sense of immediacy to thebook. What better way to visualized the chaotic, swirling dogfights over Europe than with the same images Preddy saw, taken from his own gun camera. I personally like the clear, logical manner of organziation in the book. The writing seemed dynamic and vibrant instead of staid and flat. I never thought the material presented was out of scope in the chapter in which it appeared. Your own close family ties with George did not prevent you and Sam from capturing the man George was. The writing stayed focus on Preddy's life and did not become a dry operational history of the 352nd during Preddy's service. This certainly held true in the first part of the book with Preddy serving in the Pacific. So often in WWII literature, if the subject served in the ETO and PTO authors commonly short shaft the PTO since it does not carry the same appeal. Your book is proportionally balanced. Well done.

These are just random thoughts I had. I enjoyed reading the book. This book does not require prior knowledge like some biographies.

The Charge of the Light Brigade on the 25th October 1854 was one of the three famous engagements that formed the Battle of Balaklava. The Charge, the most famous of all military blunders, was barely over before the process of transforming it into myth began. Accusations, counter-accusations, legal actions and patriotic poetry created more obscuring smoke and dust than the infamous Russian guns. Cecil Woodham Smith traces the careers of two of the major players: Lords Lucan and Cardigan, the brothers-in-law from hell, whose vanity, arrogance and (at least in the case of Cardigan) incompetence, inexperience and crass stupidity, contributed to the fatal Charge. Almost 40 years of peace, and the reactionary influence of the Duke of Wellington, had left the British army in a parlous state of unreadiness and bureaucratic confusion when the call came to defend Turkey against the Russians. The choice of the aged, gentle, inexperienced and unassertive Raglan, as leader of the expeditionary army, only made a bad situation worse. (For a rather more sympathetic portrayal of Raglan, as victim of an inefficient military system, criminally disorganised commissariat and unreasonable government, see "The Destruction of Lord Raglan" by Christopher Hibbert.) A more recent study, "The Charge" by Mark Adkin, provides a detailed and well-illustrated account of the events leading to the Charge of the Light Brigade. Adkin challenges traditional views , including parts of Cecil Woodham Smith's account. Particular attention is given to the role played by Captain Nolan (the messenger). Adkin suggests that Nolan may have deliberately misled Lucan and Cardigan as to Raglan's real intention. Whatever the truth, which is of course unknowable, "The Reason Why" is a genuine classic and an excellent introduction to a fascinating subject.

Woodham-Smith presents, in minute detail, the wages of placing social rank over experience, and even competence. British military history follows a disturbing trend. War starts, Brits get trounced upon, influx of fresh talent and new ideas comes (along with, sometimes, timely intercession by allies), British return to triumph. Woodham-Smith attributes this pattern to the notion in the higher ranks of the army (a notion espoused by the Duke of Wellington himself, pip pip!), that nobility ensures, if not competence, at least loyalty.

The price of this notion, is, of course, massive death, but because the massive death does not happen to the nobility, nobody important really minds. This is one reason the Charge of the Light Brigade, with which _the Reason Why_ primarily deals, was so different, and worthy of eulogizing in prose and song (Alfred, Lord Tennyson, by the way, appears absolutely nowhere in this text)--those dying, those paying the price for the Army's obsession with aristocracy, were aristocrats themselves.

Woodham-Smith manages to trace the careers of two utterly unsympathetic characters--Cardigan and Lucan--in a fascinating manner. This is no small feat, considering the reader will probably want, by the end of _the Reason Why_ to reach back in time and shake both of them, and maybe smack them around a bit.

Again, Cecil Woodham-Smith proves herself a master of the historian's craft, and produces a well-researched, thorough and driving account of what is probably the stupidest incident in modern military history.

The Crimean War changed so much about how war is waged--the treatment of prisoners and wounded being tops on the list of reforms brought about in the wake of the debacle. _The Reason Why_ is an excellent account, and should be required reading for anybody with even a remote interest in military history, or European history in general.

The Reason Why remains the classic study of the intriguing and sadly ludicrous episode in military history known as the Charge of the Light Brigade. The author, coming from an Army family and relying heavily on the writings of officers, largely neglects the experience of the private soldier and concentrates on the main characters in the drama. The story is dominated by these extraordinary personalities, serving as a reminder that war is an inherently human drama. On a second level, it is a criticism of the privilege system of the British Army of the mid-nineteenth century. In retrospect, one is hard pressed to believe such a purchase system could have ever won a victory at Waterloo. Intolerant aristocrats with no experience in battle, paltry leadership skills, and maddening unconcern for the soldiers under their command, bought their commissions. The Charge of the Light Brigade illuminated all of the faults of the system and proved that bravery alone was insufficient for victory. While human blunders led to the debacle that was the Charge of the Light Brigade, the British military system was intrinsically to blame.

The heart of this book concerns the relationship between society at large and the military. Military leaders feared nothing so much as public scrutiny, for widespread discontent could lead to political interference and, indeed, political control of the army. Whether in dealing with the incorrigible personalities of Lords Lucan and Cardigan or in covering up the series of blunders that resulted in the sacrificial ride of the Light Brigade, the military leadership acted with the overriding principle of preserving the Army from governmental control.

The embarrassments of the Crimean campaign proved uncontainable. A great source of difficulty was the incompetence of the Army staff; rank and privilege were held to be superior to actual experience. When these difficulties led to humiliation and defeat, the commanders' concern was not with the men they had lost nor the future of the war effort; to the exclusion of these, their main concern was that bad publicity would appear in Britain, that the public would hear of the lack of success, that the House would begin to ask questions of the military leadership, that the press would begin to criticize the Army. This great fear of political interference was realized in the aftermath of the Crimean War. The author portrays this as the one positive effect engendered by the War effort. A new era of military reform was born in Britain, Europe, and America. Experience now became a prerequisite for command, and officers were trained in staff colleges. The author's final point is that, above all, the treatment of the private soldier changed as the military system was humanized to some degree. Her assertion that at the end of the Crimean War the private soldier was regarded as a hero seems rather bold, but it is clear that he was no longer seen as a nonhuman tool of his commanders' designs.

Mr. Hess purports to present the first tactical history of one of the most famous military actions of the Civil War. He therefore sets high expectations for himself, perhaps too high. Mr. Hess does accomplish this forensic and encylopedic presentation, but either this approach to the subject or Hess's style is dry and emotionally unengaging. Hess does a great job in researching soldiers letters and accounts of events surrounding July 3, some of which see the light of day for the first time I have no doubt. These annecdotes are wonderful.

Mr. Hess also does a good job in rebalancing the participation of Pettigrew's and Trimble's commands in the charge. Many accounts of this engagement focus on Picketts' Virginians, partly because these men left a better aggregate written record of their impressions, and partly as a result of post-war prowess with the pen.

There are some gaps. The account of the immediate post-charge Confederate impressions is thin. Is it due to lack of data or just lack of presentation? Does Hess credit the account found in many histories that Lee lets loose his despair that night telling John Imboden "Too bad, too bad, Oh too bad." Did that happen? Is it post-war hyperbole? The account is extant but Hess is silent about what he knows about it. You are begging for a glimpse of Longstreet's post-charge movements that night or over the next few days. Who did he talk to? Did Lee and Longstreet meet within the days following the attack? If Hess doesn't report it you are left to conclude it didn't happen, but is that an accurate conclusion? The Imboden encounter leaves doubt about how thorough the author has been.

Hess explained the storied background of the officers and men who participated in the charge. He mentions Waller Tazwell Patton, colonel of the 7th Virginia, but says nothing about his relationship to WWII's George Patton. Perhaps these ommission's are minor. If Hess sets himself such high expectations, however, the reader has the obligation to call him on it if he fails to deliver.

As a Civil War historian myself, I'm only to pleases to recommend this and all of Earl Hess' other fine works. One of the best tactical studies to appear in a long while

I have thought Stewart's "Pickets Charge" to be the best source for the past 40 years. Hess has written a book that will replace Stewart for more than 40 years. While a master of the sources, Hess is a thoughtful military historian and a writer of a judicious narrative. I have been reading, writing and teaching about the Civil War since 1960 (and graduated from Gettysburg College) and Hess tells me things that I never knew or failed to consider. This is an essential book on the Battle of Gettysburg and one of the better military history works at the beginning of the new century.

This is a very readable book with interviews and stories by many of the participants of the 76 campaign. As Brian Pohanka (foreword) adeptly informs the reader, Brninstool did tremendous research and interviewed and corresponded with a number of the survivors of the LBH. However, as Pohanka hits the nail on the head, Brininstool lacks objectivity when it comes to Reno and Benteen. He supports their versions 100%. In Benteen's statements, he repeatedly denies that Custer had any plan. And in his testimony and letters he constantly states that he was to just ride to infinity to the left, which is totally absurd. In Gray's time motion studies and in Darlings "Benteen's Scout to the Left", Benteen only went one mile further than Custer by the time their trails intersect. Brininstool constant reminds the reader that Custer through his adjutant stated that Reno "would be supported by the whole regiment". If that statement was true then obviously he meant for Benteen to join the attack. If you tour the site of the first separation, it made logical sense for Custer to have flankers on the left where the ground rose and could have hid attacking Indians on his flank. In addition, Brininstool supports Reno and his "charge" that was actually a rout. Later in the excellent recounting of the Lt. Kidder massacre in 1867 about the young Lieutenant and his platoon that ran into a Sioux war party the author states "Running away from Indians was, in the opinion of experienced Indian fighters, poor policy." Well, he seems to forget this when applauding Reno for his abrupt run from the cottonwoods leaving 21 men behind who didn't get the word and somehow survived but Reno still lost 1/3 of his command in his run. The survivors particularly Lt. Hare continuously state that they would have not lived other wise. Brininstool also over estimates the number of Indians. Brininstool also has a section on Theodore Goldin and the famous water detail, which is very interesting except that Goldin has historically been proven to fabricate the truth including his own service period.

The best parts of the book are the story of Lt. DeRudio and Sgt. O'Neil's exciting two
days surrounded by Indians while abandoned and hiding in the cottonwoods after Reno suddenly bugged, the retelling of the 1867 Lt. Kidder massacre and the exciting story of Lt. Sibley's escape from a large Sioux war party while scouting for Crook. After being surrounded, Sibley led by famous scouts Grouard and Baptise Pourier abandon their horses at night and travel days in broken country to return to Crooks base camp. The book also includes a mini-bio on Lonesome Charlie Reynolds, one of the greatest scouts of the west who died turning Reno's bug out. Although not mentioned by the author, another great Scout Herendeen testified that he and Reynolds discussed that the worst thing that one could do is try to outrun Indians which was supposedly said not long before Reno abruptly hauled freight.

Lots of great testimony in spite of Benteen's self serving interview which is valuable to read since his extreme defensiveness is obvious along with his distaste for Custer, his argument is so absurd that it is irrational to believe. Besides Brininstool's lack of objectivity, I was disappointed that he didn't have more interviews with the surviving
Troopers such as Peter Thompson who was with Custer until just before Medicine Trail Coulee where his horse broke down with a few other troopers who walked back to join Reno. Those interviews with these only technical survivors would have been fascinating.

This is actually a good book to add to your collection. In contrast, I like Walter Camp's book "Custer in 76" edited by Ken Hammer better. It appears more objective with lots of nuggets of information such as references to Peter Thompson. Brininstool like Camp met a lot of the participants, reading both is a pleasure.

Being a relative of E.A. Brininstool, I know first hand what length of detail and accurateness went into this product. Earl spent many months/years on interviews, pictures, and fact finding on this compilation. I would recommend this to anyone looking for accurate information on the Custer Battle.

The Old Curiosity Shop certainly displays the hallmarks of the unstructured, free-flowing make-it-up-as-you-go-along type of story characteristic of Dickens's early novels. Indeed, it is rather generous to call it a story, and it's difficult now to understand the sensation it caused when it was first published. However, if a page-turning plot was all there was to it, very few of Dickens's novels would be readable at all. As ever with Dickens, the pleasure in reading this book comes from the comedy, diversity and richness of the characters, as well as the sheer mastery of the English language which came so naturally to him.

The central characters are old Trent, his granddaughter Nell, the moneylender Daniel Quilp, young Kit and the wonderful Richard Swiveller. Of these, the spotlessly pure Nell and the irredeemably evil Quilp are the moral opposites around which the book revolves, old Trent is rather a pathetic figure, while Kit's sturdy progress from poverty to respectability makes for happier reading. However, it is the moral journey of Swiveller, which perhaps reflects the geographic journey undertaken by Nell and her grandfather, which is the real joy of this book. He enters the book in the guise of a rogue, involved in dubious intrigues with Nell's no-good brother and also with the repulsive Quilp. However, from the time that Quilp gets him a job as a clerk in the office of Samson Brass and his sister, the awful Miss Brass, Swiveller's basic decency and natural good humour begin to reveal themselves, and his soliloquies and dialogue provide many hilarious moments from that point on. The Dick Swiveller who subsequently meets up with the hapless young girl kept prisoner by Miss Brass is funny, considerate, charming and kind, and a long way from the doubtful type of character that he at first appears to be.

The book proceeds along two different narrative lines; one which charts the progress of Nell and her grandfather on their long journey, and the other revolving around Swiveller, Quilp and Kit, and to a lesser extent the families of these latter two, as well as "the single gentleman" and the little girl memorably christened "The Marchioness" by Swiveller. One of the big faults I found with this dual structure is that the characters of one plot line have no contact with those in the other plot line for most of the novel, and it is left to the Quilp, Swiveller and Kit to act out most of the drama. Nell and her grandfather spend most of their time journeying through various scenes of early nineteenth century life in England. Nonetheless these all make for enjoyable reading. One particular scene where Nell and her grandfather sleep beside a furnace in the company of a wretched man who watches the flames is particularly memorable.

All in all, it's not exactly a page-turner, and the ending is not a happy one. I would not recommend this book as an introduction to Dickens, and is best read by people, like myself, who have already decided that anything by Dickens is worth reading. Also it focuses less on London than many Dickens novels, and gives an interesting view of rural, village and town life outside London in those times.

The only pleasure greater than discovering a new book
is rediscovering an old friend you haven't read for a while.
Many years ago I read all of Charles Dickens novels, but I
recently had occasion to re-read The Old Curiosity Shop, and
it is just as good as I remembered it the first time.

The story, like most of his plots, depends a great deal
on coincidences, so you have to suspend your scepticism to
enjoy it. Dickens begins by introducing us to one of the
most innocent little girls in literature, Little Nell, and
to her most unhappy grand-father. Quickly we discover that
instead of the old man taking care of the child, she is the
one responsible. We then meet one of Dickens' great villains
- the evil, corrupt, mean, and nasty Quilp - a man, if that
term can be used, who has absolutely no redeeming qualities,
one who finds pleasure in inflicting pain on all he meets.

Thinking that the old man has secret riches, Quilp
advances him money to support his gambling habit.
Unfortunately Nell's grandfather never wins, and the debt
grows ever larger. Finally Quilp forecloses on the curiosity
shop that the old man owns (thus the name of the book) and
tries to keep the two captive in order to discover the money
that he still believes is hidden somewhere. While the
household is asleep, however, Nell and her grandfather
escape and begin wandering across England in a search for
sanctuary.

On that journey, Dickens introduces us to a series of
minor characters who either befriend or try to take
advantage of our heroine. He's in no hurry to continue the
main story, so just sit back and enjoy the vivid
characterizations that are typical of any good Dickens
novel.

In the meantime, we follow the adventures of young Kit,
a boy who was one of Nell's best friends until Quilp turned
her grandfather against him. Here we find one of Dickens'
favorite sub-plots, the poor but honest boy who supports his
widowed mother and younger brother. Thanks to his honesty,
Kit finds a good position, but then evil Quilp enters the
picture and has him arrested as a thief!

Of course, we have the kind and mysterious elderly
gentlemen who take an interest in Kit and Nell for reasons
that we don't fully understand until the end of the book. We
are certain, however, that they will help ensure that
justice prevails in the end.

This is not a book for those in a hurry. Dickens tells
his stories in a meandering fashion, and the stops along the
way are just as important for your enjoyment as the journey itself. That can be frustrating at time, especially as you enter the second half and are anxious to see how things turn out. I try never to cheat by reading the end of a book before I finish, but it is tempting with Dickens. At times I wanted to tell him, "I don't want to meet anyone else; tell me what happens to Nell and Kit!" But I know the side journeys will prove rewarding, so I just have to be patient. Anyway, I am in better shape than his first readers; he wrote in weekly installments, so
they had to wait!

If you have and enjoyed other Dickens' novels, you will enjoy this one as well. If this is your first time (or perhaps the first time since you were in high school), you are in for a treat.

This edition of the Old Curiosity Shop is outstanding. It contains all the original illustrations drawn for the book, very helpful footnotes, a chronology of Dickens's life, etc. The book takes the reader on a wild journey through the English countryside with Little Nell, an angelic girl, and her troublesome grandfather, and features a host of amusing characters as only Dickens can draw them. While it was being written in serial form, it was so popular that sailors returning to port in England were known to shout to people on shore to ask what was going on with Little Nell. Today, however, you can miss some of Dickens's nuance and humor if you don't have good footnotes to turn to. The notes in this book explain obscure terms, references to contemporary popular culture, places where the action occurs, etc. If you are going to read this book, this is the edition to buy.