Looking for a nice adventure book for a young lady or a young man? Look no farther then this book "Brother Enemy", book #4 in the Promise of Zion series. This book picks up with Dov Zalinski, a young Jewish man in Jerusalem, who is hoping to find his brother, Natan. He believes that Natan is his only surviving relative. Dov is a Holocaust survivor, and proves to be a very quick witted young man. His quick wit and survival instincts come in very handy has he makes his way through a Jerusalem that is being systematically destroyed by bombings.

He has a good friend in Emily Parkinson, another quick witted young person. However, Emily has a problem in helping her young friend, her father. Her father is an officer in the British Army and he is actively trying to find any Jewish people who are trying to regain their land. However, other members of Emily's family, her Aunt Rachel and Uncle Anthony working to help the Jewish people by witnessing to them about Jesus. Emily's aunt and uncle find themselves shoved almost into the middle of the Jewish resistance movement.

The book has a lot of research and wonderful history tied into it. You can't help but have your curiosity peaked into finding out more details of this period of our history. The book is written in such a manner that you don't have to have read the first three books in the series to enjoy this book, but it will make you want to pick them out to find out more about Dov, Emily and their adventures.

--- reviewed by Tammy for Christian Bookshelf

In Brother to Dragons, Robert Penn Warren, former poet laureate and twice winner of the Pulitzer, combined the historical elements of the New Madrid earthquake and the murder of a slave by two of Thomas Jefferson's nephews with his love of poetry. This book has various "voices" relating the brutal events in verse, but history is only a vehicle for exploring the nature of evil and Jefferson's dream of the perfectability of mankind.

This is a marvelous rather experimental volume; it is both novel, play, and poem. It is grim; it is disturbing; it is absolutely wonderful. I highly recommend this work.

Sam Roberts found David Greenglass and persuaded him to talk for this very readable 500 page book. It tells of their family histories. How did David Greenglass get assigned to Los Alamos (p.70)? Perhaps due to his talents? He was cleared by Army and FBI investigators (p.71). Soviet atom bomb development began in 1939, they deduced American research in 1940 (p.80). Julius Rosenberg became involved with Soviet espionage, and a recruiter of people who could provide "technical information". The crime is committed when the message is relayed (p.92). Life in Oak Ridge or Los Alamos is likened to a socialist paradise where the government provides for everyone; but not all enjoy Army life (pp.100-1). None suspected that DG's insatiable curiosity was to gather information for a foreign government (p.104). Winston Churchill's scientists asked for dynamite lenses (p.107). How to steal a proximity fuse? Get a defective reject then replace the broken parts with working parts (p.109).

With the war over, DG was no longer interested in helping the Soviets (p.147). The Soviet atomic research resumed in 1943 (p.182), their first atomic test occurred in 1949. This affected the political outlook in Washington (p.183). When they deciphered a message on gaseous diffusion in refining uranium, this led to its author and prime suspect - Klaus Fuchs (p.188). Another deciphered message said a spy at Los Alamos went on vacation in Jan 1945 (p.197); 100 suspects were turned up. The two prime suspects were Luis Alvarez and Edward Teller - the best friend of Klaus Fuchs.

DG's confession is on page 242. He hired O. John Rogge and cooperated with the FBI; he could not testify against his wife (p.261). Greenglass and Gold were interviewed together to harmonize their stories (p.278). The Government wanted Julius Rosenberg to confess and identify other members of the spy ring (p.282); the death penalty was the threat (p.287). David was trained as a draftsman and had surprising neat handwriting (p.297). Page 317 says his handwriting needed to be typed, and this implicated Ethel in the crime. The trial found them all guilty. The Rosenbergs got death, but they insisted on their innocence and never cracked. They were convicted on the word of the Greenglasses alone, there was no independent corroborative evidence given at their trial. I think the failure to show spending or money from their spying was a failure in the Government's case. The rule is that spies get paid for their information ("The Double-Cross System").

Some questioned the scientific value of Greenglass' atom bomb sketch. It was "valuable information" to corroborate the information given by Klaus Fuchs (p.408). The 1946 Smyth Report gave much more information on atomic energy research than given by Klaus Fuchs (p.410)! Page 425 lists the information that Julius could give to delay their execution; nothing was asked of Ethel. President Eisenhower denied clemency because they "increased the chance of atomic war and may have condemned tens of millions of innocent people to death" (p.430).

Chapter 36 has Greenglass' "final confession". He thought the worse thing he did was working on the atomic bomb because it killed a hundred thousand people (p.469). He didn't regret his spying if it prevented another war (p.479). David and Ruth now said they didn't remember Ethel typing the notes, but "that's the way it would have been done" (p.483). Without this, Ethel might not have been convicted. Why didn't Julius and Ethel save themselves? Because it would mean putting other people in their hot seat (p.493). DG's verdict: they were guilty, but they didn't deserve to die (p.496). This disproportionate punishment may explain Pope Pius XII's call for clemency. The Prosecution team never again won distinction in their careers.

In this charming book for children, two brothers grow up learning to care for one another. This relationship carries over into adulthood, when, faced with a severe famine, they still want to share their bounty with the other. It is a wonderful story for children, especially for brothers.

This is a wonderful story with great illustrations. I look forward to sharing Robert Kraus' story of the importance of family with my new niece and nephew.

Notes are essential for this great russian novel. It will take anybody at least a few hundred pages to reslize who evybody is, with those wierd russian names, but the notes eliminate that. Also since this book is very long you might forget something from the begining or you just might stop reading it for a while, which makes these notes very helpful

A most delightful book. Perfect to breeze through after a long week of hard classes and stress. Loaned it to a friend and searching for a new copy.

It was a REALLY neat adventure. I liked it alot.

A real find for those who love poetry about nature and humannature--and humor: "I took a book with me to bed--and on the lastpage that I read--I found a little bookworm dead. It makes me feel so insecure--to find a worm could not endure--the current taste in literature..." RLB

Another great book by Robert Holland, a must read for anyone