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Perseverance, responsibility, loyalty and cooperation: these are the core values, never explicitly stated but consistently reinforced, that Wilder's characters embody. Yet all is not sweetness and light in the Ingalls family. Their struggles with bad weather, crop failure and economic troubles form a consistent backdrop for the series; and Laura's jealousy of her blonder, "prettier" sister Mary sounds a bittersweet note throughout.
These books are unique in their perspective of the American pioneer experience, and in their capturing of the wanderlust and striving that drove this family across the continent. They are quietly powerful stories that will stick with you forever... whether you are 4 or 74 the first time you read them.
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This clearly isn't a book for all those who are fascinated by the mediocre and skeptical of the possibilities for true greatness. This is an unreconstructed and unapologetic look at a leader whose instincts often cut against the grain of the 20th century, but who would emerge as one of the great heroes of it, just when extraordinary leadership was needed the most.
Manchester is the rare gifted writer who has mastered the biographical craft as well as the sweeping narrative needed to succinctly encapsulate the mores and habits of an entire nation at a particular moment in time. He does this brilliantly in his introduction, about one hundred pages long, which sets the stage with a lavish description of Victorian England. This is one of the best parts of the book.
Early on, it is clear that the ambitious young Winston is headed for big things. This wasn't only because he came from one of Britain's most prominent families -- his father rose to become the second most powerful man in the government, and his mother was romantically linked to the Prince of Wales. Despite this, Manchester convinces us, successfully, that Churchill was the best of his generation, that he would have risen even from less auspicious circumstances (admittedly, this interpretation has its limits, since entire social classes were excluded from Parliament at the time).
Churchill made his career as a political maverick, changing parties not once, but twice, consistently taking positions that brought him close to political death. Yet Churchill survived -- and what's more, he turned out to be one of the most enduring political presences any democracy has ever seen. What is striking about Churchill's career is that it didn't simply culminate in 1940 after a plodding journey up the political ladder. No -- Churchill had first been elected to Parliament forty years earlier, and he rose quickly within a few years of his election. But then his career plateaud for about a quarter of a century. Here you had a man who was considered a future Prime Minister at age 30, who was in a position to be considered the heir apparent in governments of two different parties at various points from World War I until the late 1920s, and yet didn't take the next step. What happened?
The Great War and its aftermath, more than anything, foreordained Churchill's postponed "rendezvous with destiny." It was here where Churchill was the most out of step with prevailing political attitudes. Churchill held close to his heart a heroic vision of Britain, and believed deeply in the nobility of a war fought for a just cause. He also believed in the Empire, and did not think that Britain should relinquish what was already hers, even in a time of relative decline vis a vis the United States. Where most saw senseless slaughter in the trenches of France, he saw selfless heroism, a nation at its best.
The nation, or at least the political classes, did not agree with this interpretation. In a time that Walter Lippman proclaimed was "tired of greatness" and where the great fear was that Britain had overextended herself, Churchill defended greatness and Empire. In his view, strength in the service of democracy, and not blind disarmament, would prevent future wars. This view, ascendant in World War II, and in many ways, ascendant again in America today, was seen as discredited at the time, and Churchill in the 1920's repeatedly butted heads with a Conservative leadership over disarmament and withdrawal from India. The trend was so strong in the other direction that Churchill was effectively cast out of his party by the end of the 20's, and looked destined to repeat the fate of his iconoclastic father, who was cast permanently out into the political wilderness for his own apostasies.
But with this son, there would always be a second act.
I came away with a fresh perspective of the key people and geopolitical events of the time; and gained a wealth of useful historical information as well. This, and Manchester's first volume of Churchill's bigography should be required reading in any proper 20th century college-level history course. (They're crafted so well that students might actually read them!)
Beware--you will not want to put it down once you start reading; I didn't.
We've seen promising political careers derailed due to self-indulgence and Churchill's career seemed just that in the 1930s. He was a young member of the cabinet in World War I, but after a principled cabinet resignation in the early 30s, he became an outsider in his own party. This didn't stop Churchill from antagonizing everyone who wouldn't listen to him. Eventually, his rise to Prime Minister in 1940 was one of history's biggest I told you sos. But it wasn't his ability as War Prime Minister that made Churchill great, according to Manchester, but his ability to see early Nazi aggression and danger when the whole world slept. Whether you agree or disagree, Manchester has created a wonderful detailed comprehensive biography of the time period.
Manchester's easy way with words, apt scholarship and detailed descriptions really bring the time period to life...
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I love this story. I used to love having this story read to me. With the recent reading of it I remembered just how much I love the story and illustrations. The pictures are amazing, add that to the story and this book completely captures the season of Christmas. The author does a wonderful job with the miracle of Christmas. The author illustrate with word and picture the importance of the miracle of Christmas and how important it is for you to believe in that miracle. As well as all the miracles life has to offer, all it takes is a little bit of faith and imagination.
This is a great book. It is beautifully illustrated and it really pulls in the reader. I loved it when I was little and I still love it today. I read it every year around Christmas and love it just as much every time I read it. The pictures really draw the reader in also, and they follow the story greatly. I think through this book, the author was trying to show that you have to have faith sometime. Only the ones that truly believe can hear the bell and I think that goes for a lot of things in life. I think it is a great story for children and adults of all ages.
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Alas, pride and treachery are rampant in the land bordering Annuvin, whence the dark lord of evil reigns and schemes. Our hot-tempered hero must use both his wits and his heart his to gradually acquire wisdom in this difficult and dangerous odyssey. The small company of adventurers are eager to prove their valor and gain honor, yet they experience the inevitable personality conflicts. How will the companions ward off attacks by The Hunstmen and the foul Cauldron-born who do Arawn's bidding? And who can defeat the black beast that travels on Ellidyr's tattered shoulders?
Yet there is much more to this book than a mere succession of adventures, traps and twists of fate. Many serious themes bubble up between the mayhem that Alexander has set in motion. One reminded me of a later book, THE GIVER: "Give us--the nicest summer day you can remember!" Ah, but is it easy to part with something intangible like a dream or a memory which has become a part of onesself? And this black Crochan, as it is called, emanates evil and possessiveness towards those who think they own it--reminiscent of the ring in THE HOBBIT. Evil can completely dominate one's neutral or natural personality. Just how much will Taran sacrifice or allow his friends to sacrifice for him, in order to obtain and destroy the Black Cauldron?
Alexander weaves a masterful tale of good versus evil, with Taran wedged between, forced to choose time and again between right and wrong, loyalty and self-preservation, or blind obedience and moral obligation. This second book notches up the excitement. The plot is more curvy and better-conceived than book one. Taran's burden grows as does his reputation. Taran is one of the strongest and most likeable characters of all time, and as readers we begin to question his true origins. --Christopher Bonn Jonnes
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Nothing could be farther from the truth! Edmond Dantes' adventures kept me fully engrossed from beginning to end. I was disappointed to turn the final page, left longing for more.
If you've seen a movie version of Count of Monte Cristo, expect surprises. I had seen both the Richard Chamberlain and Jim Caviezel versions before reading the book (mmmm . . . Jim Caviezel), but neither were entirely true to the storyline or the mood of the original.
Edmond himself is a thoroughly satisfying and seductive hero. (The reader must take with a grain of salt the numerous references to his drug habit; at the time, opium was unfortunatly de rigeur for a Romantic hero.) The secondary characters are equally engrossing, from the admirable Maximilian Morrel to the villainous Danglars; and the ingenious machinations by which Edmond contrives to reward the deserving and doom the guilty make the chapters fly by.
I would encourage everyone to be sure and get the unabridged version of this masterpiece. It is by no means slow or ponderous, and the thought of what must be left on the cutting room floor to reduce this book to half its size makes me wince.
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Laura's writing is wonderful - it is packed with details not just of how they lived life, but how they made things - the recipes, the way they lit fires, made button lamps, beds, and everything. The writing is so vibrant and colourful it leaps off the page. It is wonderful that books are so transportable.
Of all the books the two I love best are Little House on the Prarie and On the Shores of Silver Lake. I think because they seemed the most hopeful and the most detailed (of all very very detailed books).
If you haven't read these then buy the whole set - they really are compelling reading, and for all the fuss about Harry Potter (which I enjoy immensely) I love these more, they are pure humanity.