The author tries to create the illusion that he knew my grandfather real well. In fact they only met on a few occasions. My grandfather, Henri Hekking, was a stickler for detail and was disturbed by the fact that the author "recalled" conversations between them that never occured. The "death railroad" was a very traumatic experience for alot of people and the events should be exposed, but people who glorify themselves on others heroics are bothersome to me. Overall the stories are portrayed very well but I feel they have been "over-enhanced" for better book sales.

"Last Man Out", by H. Robert Charles is a non fictional story about the author being captured in a prison camp in World War II. This book is the story about Robert Charles, who was a marine machine gunner aboard the USS Houston which was sunk by the Japanese in Sundra Strait, March 1, 1942. Robert swam nine hours until he was picked up off the coast of Java by the Japanese. He was held captured for forty three months in slave labor camps in Burma, Thailand, and Saigon. The Japanese had forced the prisoners(Americans, British, and Australians) to build a 262 mile stretch of railroad, from Burma south into Thailand, through some of the worst parts of the jungles. Through all of this torture, a doctor, Dr. Henri Hekking, saved the lives of more than 250 Americans, including the author. He saved them by the knowledge of herbs that grew wild in the jungle. Then something that will help these men survive happens.
This book is a remarkable story about the treatment that prisoners in slave labor camps received. It shows the dedication that these soldiers had for their countries. This book goes beyond what is taught in the classroom. This man, Robert Charles, was there, living the torture that any person could never imagine that could happen to them. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn what these brave men went through, to save our country from being attacked. They are the heroes that saved us.

This is a worthwhile read, mainly because it is the only book in English on a fascinating subject: the life of Saigo Takamori. Much credit is to be given to Yates for exposing the true Saigo, which is quite different from the Saigo myth that has grown up in Japan over the last 130 years. Many pages are devoted to what Saigo's true motivations and skills were. My biggest disappointment was the lack of any detail about the military operations that Saigo conducted. The worst example of this is that the entire 7-month Seinan War is covered in about 2 pages.

I had the great privelege and pleasure to have Charles Yates as my professor as an undergraduate. His keen insights and methodical decontruction, or "unpacking" of issues were seminal in my thinking about not only Japan, but the wider world. This book displays the same kind of attention to detail and thoroughgoing scholarship, combined with finely-honed skepticism, in dealing with one of the less understood figures in Meiji Japan. Through his ability to see through to the "why" in conventional scholarship, Chuck was able to write a convincing and human account of Saigo Takamori which successfully challenges the established ideas about the oligarch.

I am amazed at how much this book is just a copy/paste from Caesar's own _The Gallic War_ written before Christ! It is actually a more dynamic read than this version, and without the distracting *spin.*

Fuller's account of the Career of Julius Caesar can also be found in Caesar's own commentaries. Some of his insights into Caesar's personality are interesting, but most can be found in classical works by Appian and Dio. His thesis that Caesar was not the great general and statesman that history dipicts him can be disputed. Caesar was the first ancient general to incorporate siegeworks as a tactical tool. Fuller's claim that the roman army was "lucky" that it did not encounter stronger cavalry arms is unfounded. Cavalry in anceint times was not much more than a skirmishing force, not in the same league as the legionares.

I was displeased with the dry, accounts of caesar's campaigns, surprising for a military man like Fuller. Also, he does not go into great detail about Caesar's personality, other than to quote the classical historians.

Overall, a very average work.

This book is a classic. Not only is it a classic, it is written by one of the most innovative generals in the 20th Century: JFC Fuller. Mr. Fuller is credited with developing the armored division of the British army, and is therefore an innovator. Almost a kindred spirit, Julius Caeser is described not in terms of how his life was led, but how it was affected by military and political aspects. This book is a must read for any ancient history or military history buff.

Why does anyone think that this book is a good one? I think it is the worst book ever written.

If you like Dickens, then you'll love this book. It's that simple

The book is interesting reading but lacks historical referance that his second book has. Most of the items in this book are for "display" purposes ONLY!

I have made several projects from this book. The descriptions, history and drawings are generally very good. I do have one project for which I would appreciate more information. I did find the book lacking in this area.

For the "Oklahoma Plains Indian Flute", I would appreciate the following information.

1. How large of inside diameter should the central wind tube be? 2. How large should the square carved holes be on either side of the obstruction and how close should each be to the obstruction? 3. What gauge or thickness is best for the tin nest? 4. Should the completely cover the square holes in the nest?

Be sure the book you order has color illustrations, not black and white ones. This version may be the black-and-white photocopy I've seen of the original classic published by the Theosophical Society. Both the original and the black-and-white version present the same textual descriptions, which are vivid, wise and beautifully crafted. The original presents 26 wondrous and compelling color illustrations, including health auras and mental, astral and causal bodies as seen by Bishop Leadbeater. However, a recent and terribly disappointing publication from a different publisher merely presents crude black and white illustrations, which do no justice to the text. I recommend contacting the Theosophical Society to be sure you obtain the authentic version.

My favourites among the lightweight crime novels of Simon Brett that feature actor cum sleuth Charles Parris are those set against a background of the live theatre and What Bloody Man Is That falls into this category.
Parris is engagaed to appear in provincial repertory theatre in a production of MacBeth-not,alas for him ,in either the title role or a significant supporting part ,but in a variety of small roles.It is a production for which the omens are not good.The title role is in the hands of an actor whose recent career has been in a television sitcom,and who has forgotten many of the disciplines of the classical theatre;his Lady MacBeth is a promising young actress used to the more leisurely and academic approach of the subsidised theatre and who is aghast at the short rehearsal time and text cutting inherent in the commercial world.Add to this a cast member who is a predatory old roue who turns up dead and there is every reason to believe that Shakespeares play will live up to its reputation an "unlucky"
The mystery is not deep but the brisk pace and jaunty writing keeps things lively and diverting,and there are some wry observations about the way the young generation of schoolkids have to be dragged along to see the Bard,and the unenthusiastic response of the MTV audience to the classics.Brett is especially good on the cameraderie between actors who operate below the level of stardom.
One for those who like their mysteries breezy and light and especially if they are devotees of the thespic arts.

I'm really surprised that such a terribly written and edited book could make it past an editor or publisher and into print. Much of the information and history presented was interesting, I'll grant, but the prose are terrible, awkward and disjointed and I found myself getting angry at the author for his constant blunders. For instance, one is constantly forced to reread sentances to figure out who is saying what. I even found myself rearranging paragraphs in my head that seem presented in the wrong order or out of place. Whiting also seems as though he has never read any other history authors as he ignores standard conventions. A fan of WWII history and biographies is accustomed to certain standards in translations of certain words, phrases and the like. So, a given general in conversation with Hitler will of course have his sentance translated into english for the reader, but the author will leave the "..., mein Fuhrer" untranslated at the end. Whiting tediously ends the translations instead with phrasing such as "..., my Leader" or "The Leader", instead of the usual Der Fuhrer. However, he is inconsistant in almost every other way, using German or English ranks interchangeably; writing Gruppenfuhrer or major general for the same person at different places.

Whiting also misses a great deal of the drama in his subject matter. A good author can take a few facts and subtly draw out some of the passions or motives of the people he's talking about. Whiting just states simple facts in a colorless way. He leaves interesting tidbits unexplored. He doesnt follow up some of his themes so we know what happens to interesting characters. I really should stop writing. I could go on and on. I would steer readers away from anything this author has written. This book reads like a long junior high school history essay; clunky and distracting. Horrible

Another well researched and fair evaluation of one of WWII's most notorious charcters. Otto Skorzeny once again had a certain amount of influence over the content, giving his last interview before his death from a war wound in 1976. The book provides an entertaining and intriguing perspective on the development of German special forces, as well as Skorzeny's own colourful personal life. Whilst Charles Foley's book 'Commando Extraordinary' goes into the German commando exploits of the war in far greater detail, this book reviews most of Skorzeny's postwar activites, a field previously not written about. Not only does it reveal several key examples of allied treachery and wrongdoing towards the end of the war years, but also a slightly lighter and poignant side to Skorzeny, demonstrating his loyalty to his country and comrades, not it's regime. Essential for anyone interested in the man himself, but not one to start with.

I had hoped to find new, up to date information of Salvadore Lucania (a.k.a. "Lucky Charle", Lucky Luciano, etc.). Sadly, what I got was a reprint of a somewhat lurid "crime reporter's" account of Lucania's trial for prostitution in the 1930s. If that is what you are looking for, this is a good read. However, the only new information herein is a brief introduction and a more brief afterword. The more interesting stories of his role in the WWII invasion of Sicily and his return to Cuba in the 1950s are sadly not given the coverage they deserve. AUTHORS TIP: here is a story worthy of coverage: what happened after he was deported and perhaps what happened to his children.

this book was really really really bad. The writing wwas the worst i have ever seen