Working in an office of 10 women, one can understand how it may be tough at times. After reading Vitamin C for the workplace, we had a much better understanding on how some of the differences we had were a result of a difference of personality and once we recognized what each of us were (Peacock, Owl, etc.), it was much easier to communicate. The worksheets are a great addition, as it enables the book to be interactive. Our working environment has been greatly enhanced due to the wisdom of Jospeph Sherren & Luke De Sadeleer. Our productivity has increased and our relationships with one another is stronger than ever. I would highly recommend "Vitimin C for the Workplace" to anyone who works in a group environment.

A definite read for the workplace. I purchased this book to give to our top 10 managers of our organization. Change is always a good thing and this book particularly helps deal with that and how to go about impelenting those changes in a very productive manner. I would highly recommend this book to any organization that would like to create a more healthy and fulfilling workplace for your employees and managers alike.

Vitamin C For A Healthy Workplace by Luke De Sadeleer (President, LDS Consulting) and Joseph Sherren (President, Ethos Enterprises Inc.) is not a diet or nutrition-related book, but rather a motivational book for business managers to help their employees become more productive. The seven C's emphasized in this practical guide are Change, Career, Culture, Coaching, Communication, Conflict, and Connection. Vitamin C For A Healthy Workplace is a superbly presented, practical guide for unifying people within the context of their workplace mission!

The Black Devil Brigade is an "oral history" relating the true and incredible story of the joint American/Canadian First Special Service Force. An elite and deadly combat unit formed in Montana, this blended military force was rushed to battle in the Aleutian Islands, then reinforced by a fresh batch of Canadian and American volunteers, saw action in Italy where it was used for the nastiest, deadliest missions the leadership of the U.S. Fifth Army could devise. Committed to the Anzio invasion they struck terror into the hearts of seasoned Germany troops and were dubbed "Schwartzer Teufel" -- Black Devils. Indeed, these "devils" were among the first to enter Rome. They went on to a key role in the invasion of southern France in 1944 suffering tremendous casualties (their commander was wounded nine times). They were eventually withdrawn from combat and shut down with the Canadian contingent dispersed as combat fillers and the Americans used as the core of a new standard infantry regiment. The stuff of battlefield legend, the lives and accomplishments of this unique unit is memorialized in Joseph Springer's The Black Devil Brigade and a welcome, much appreciated contribution to both military studies and the history of World War II.

Should a few more years have passed, this story would never have been told. Thanks to the years of dedication of Joseph Springer and the remaining survivors or the First Special Service Force who agreed to tell their wartime experiences, this book will serve future generations as a vital history of the leadership, comradeship, heroics, courage and terror on the World War II battlefield. This is a work that tells of a unit of mixed Canadian and American men that volunteered for a 'mission' and how their training made them into the finest, and most feared by the enemy, elite unit of WWII. They were given the most dangerous and difficult assignments that other units had not been able to achieve. This is a must read for the WWII history buff.

The Black Devil Brigade is the compelling account of the 1st Special Service Force as seen through the eyes of the men who were the pioneers of our modern day Special Force units. Simmering first-hand accounts bring the humorous day to day activities of the unit coupled with their terrible and tragic episodes of the war at a very personal level. The book is written is such a style that I found myself emotional attached to the men as most of the stories are powerful and moving. I felt as if I were there and personally knew these men. It's quite simply a passionate masterpiece of Second World War oral history and should be required reading for all infantry ranks.

Taback, Simms. Joseph Had a Little Overcoat. New York: Penguin Group, 1999 Set in a small farming community, Joseph Had a Little Overcoat tells the story of a man named Joseph who has nothing but turns nothing into something. Joseph has an overcoat that is "worn and shabby". He decides to make it into a jacket. When the jacket becomes worn, Joseph makes it into a vest and this process of making a new article of clothing out of the worn overcoat material continues throughout the book. Then one day, Joseph loses his button and has nothing. As always, Joseph turns his nothing into something by writing a book about this overcoat. Taback uses the illustrations, the simple text, the cover and the dye-cut pages to convey the book's theme: something can always be made into something else. The cover of Joseph Had a Little Overcoat has a black frame around the illustrations and Joseph's name is made out of scrap material, the overcoat has dye-cut holes to show that it is worn, the words are written in yellowish-orange and the S and the T in Taback's name are written in red. All these features will appear again within the pages of the book. As the reader turns to the endpaper, the reader will notice that they appear to be made of scrap material. The scrap material creates interest in the reader, foreshadowing that the overcoat will be made into other article of clothing. The title pages give the reader more insight into Joseph's daily life. Once again, Joseph's name is written in scrap material to indicate his resourcefulness. The two orange pages make the reader feel warm and loving toward Joseph. The title pages also have fruit, thread, vegetables, scissors, needles, and buttons scattered around. These items suggest that Joseph is a simple man who farms for a living. Simms uses the black framing, dye-cut pages, the J in Joseph's name written in red and the words written in yellowish-orange again. These four things stay constant throughout the entire book. Taback did this to show consistency in Joseph's life. The black frame and the illustrations span both pages, creating a window effect, which allows the reader to become an observer of Joseph's life. Taback uses warm colors to make the reader feel comfortable and at home. The yellowish-orange color was used in writing the word to again make the reader feel comfortable with Joseph and what is happening in the story. Die-cut holes are skillfully used throughout the book to show the reader what Joseph will make next. They also remind the reader that the article of clothing came from an old worn out piece of clothing. At the very end of the story, Taback writes the readers a letter telling them that he adapted the book from an old Yiddish folk song called "I had a Little Overcoat"; opposite the letter, Taback has the music and words to the song. Adding the song to the end makes the book more personal. The final pages are again scraps of material to remind the reader of the ongoing theme: something can be made out of nothing.

Taback, Simms. Joseph had a Little Overcoat. New York: Penguin Putnam Books, 1999.

In Simms Taback's, Joseph had a Little Overcoat, Joseph teaches a simple moral lesson to the reader about being resourceful and thrifty. Throughout the book, Joseph makes his overcoat into many different pieces of clothing. He begins with his overcoat becoming a jacket. He then makes a vest out of his jacket, a scarf out of his vest, a necktie out of his scarf, a handkerchief out of his necktie, and then a button out of his handkerchief. In the end, Joseph writes a book about making something out of nothing. He proves to the reader that you can make something out of very little. Taback, also the illustrator, uses watercolor, pencil, ink, and color patchwork collages to illustrate this Caldecott award winning children's book. Many illustrations consist of clippings from magazines and photographs. This paints a realistic picture. Pictures of real coffee cups and saucers are arranged on a shelf that Taback drew. This technique is also used in the rugs on Joseph's floor. Taback has drawn the rugs but placed photos of real pieces of a rug into his drawing. This is such a unique and innovative characteristic of Taback's illustrations. The colors that Taback chose to use are very vivid, primary colors. This may represent the simpleness of Joseph's life. Taback also uses "cut-outs" to illustrate to the reader how Joseph's overcoat becomes different articles of clothing. Each time this occurs, the "cut-outs" get smaller, to show each different piece of clothing that Joseph is wearing. On each page of this book, Taback illustrates various aspects of the life of a Jewish peasant. Jewish life in Poland is visible to the reader through pictures of farm animals, various fruits and vegetables, the minora, Jewish proverbs, motza crackers, and hot tea with lemon. Each of these symbolize Joseph's culture. Taback also convinces the reader that music is a prominent part of the Yiddish culture. One illustration of this shows Joseph dancing at his nephew's wedding, while musicians play. There is another example showing Joseph singing in the men's chorus. In both of these illustrations, Joseph appears to be enjoying the music. It is also evident that Joseph's family and community are a central part of his life. This is a characteristic of the Yiddish culture. Many illustrations in this book have a Jewish proverb hanging on the wall. One proverb says "What one has, one doesn't want, and what one wants, one doesn't have." This indicates a society that is not materialistic. Another proverb simply states, "Better to have an ugly patch than a beautiful hole." Again, thriftiness and simplicity are valued. Pictures of different individuals, such as Moishe, the Melamed, the Rebbe, and Molly Picon, are hanging on the walls of Joseph's home. These individuals must have a special meaning to Joseph and are a part of his culture. Another interesting part of the book is the trip that Joseph takes to the city. Taback illustrates Joseph in his finest clothing. This may show that he does not leave his community often and he only does so on special occasions. Finally, this book captures your attention by the simple moral lesson presented. The book shares information on a culture many people are not familiar with. This simple story promotes cultural diversity along with an ethical message.

I am a student at West Virginia State College currently taking a class called Children's Literature. Our instructor required us to read a Caldecott Medal book as part of our assignment and write our personal view of the book.

This is a great children's book. This book is about a man named Joseph who had an overcoat, which gets old and worn and he makes a jacket out of it. Once the jacket gets olds and worn, he makes a vest out of it. Joseph continues to make something out of the overcoat until there is nothing left to make out of it. The moral of the story is you can always make something out of nothing.

The pictures in this book are very bright and colorful. The pages in the book have cut outs so the children can use their imagination and guess what Joseph will make next. This would be a great book to read aloud in a classroom for children of ages 5 - 8.

I couldn't put it down. Interesting characters, a great plot with a number of twists, and plenty of sex and gratuitious violence. It's about 350 pages, but is a quick read. The basic plot of the book is that a group of terrorists uses the Y2K panic as a cover for an attempt to destroy the world's financial markets. But there's a lot more to this basic plot than that. Read it. Great fun.

I thoroughly enjoyed this fast paced, educational and highly entertaining story. I took it on vacation with me and found that I was missing a lot of snorkeling while reading with enjoyment. It moves like lightening and strikes with intensity, blasting me with adventure everywhere it finds it -- on top of the Rocky Mountains, in NORADs impregnible bunker city, and even inside Chicago's hundred-year-old water tunnels beneath Lake Michigan. This book steps far apart from the run of the mill techno-thriller to a much higher level of fun and adventure all to itself. This is the second book I have read by Mr. Massucci ("CODE:ALPHA" was the first) and I look forward to the next adventure. Excellent, excellent entertainment!

I just read "The Millennium Project" and thought it was great! Started reading it last night and finished at 3:00 am. I couldn't put it down. Great Plot, with all the twists and turns and equally great characters. Someone needs to make a movie about this book. Would make Rambo, Terminator 2 and the Die Hard movies look like Disney flicks. I'm recommending it to all my friends and fellow investors in Y2K stocks.

I cannot think of a more superb book to inspire contemplation of ethics, spirituality and values. I was already a fan of Rabbi Joseph Telushkin's writing when a long-time buddy of mine gave me "The Book of Jewish Values" as a gift. Before I even opened it, I knew I had a gem.

Very simply, Rabbi Telushkin's writing is direct, concise, up-to-date and easy to understand. Also ... important! You don't have to be Jewish (I'm not) to appreciate the relevance of the ethical guidelines on which the author elaborates. For each day of the year (excluding the Shabbat) one of a broad range of issues is discussed and highlighted either anecdotally through quotes by other noted Rabbis or supported by reference to important Jewish literature (e.g., the laws of the Torah and Talmud). You probably won't find 300+ issues applicable to your life, but every page is worthwhile reading nevertheless. The most pertinent and/or interesting topics to me were the ones involving relationships, charity, kindness, and speech.

The book's format is suited to every kind of reading habit, so go at whatever pace you like. Each day is comprised of 1-3 pages, with cross-referencing where related discussion appears elsewhere in the book. Also, footnotes can be found on the same page where a reference is cited (I appreciate this) so you don't have to turn to the back of the book to check a source. In the event you do turn to the back, you'll find a decent glossary, bibliography and index.

Whether your intention is to learn or to simply bolster your moral convictions, I give this book my highest recommendation.

The inches devoted to Telushkin books on my shelves are growing. Who is the better person? The person who performs a holiday ritual to perfection, or the person who is ethical and helpful. Which is the better "personal ad"? One that lists that the suitor has a DDS or JD degree, or one that states that the person is a 'mensch'? A co-worker used to correct me if I said, "I have time to kill." He said, "make time to live." Or when a flight was delayed, rather than be irritated, he thought, "oh, more time to read or meet someone." He tipped the chambermaid big even though they never met. Jewish Values are similar. We need to seek not to be annoyed, but to empathize, to connect with our neighbors, to heal, to help, and to praise. This insightful book of 313 teachings reminded me of our greater purpose; and its daily 2 page format made it easy to assimilate the information and advice and attempt to apply it in everyday life.

Joseph Telushkin is the premier ethicist of our time. Even though this magnificent book is informed by Jewish ethical values, it truly speaks to all people, regardless of race, religion or creed. It is a superior combination of scholarship, insight, humanity and warmth, which reflects off every page. For those who want to evolve spiritually, become better human beings, this is a must-read. It is written in a very cogent, lucid, readable and accessible style. A veritable gem!

This book is excellent. It covers all the bases--practice with numbers, letters, shapes, opposites and more while using everyday objects and favorite characters to "teach" them all. Plus, there's the fun of lifting the "flaps" to see what's behind many different objects--an activity of great interest to children. My son just loves this book (he's 18 months). He's a big fan of reading, and this certainly would be in his top 3 favorites. I just can't say enough about this book! (As a teacher, I have a great appreciation for how well this book is organized and what all it covers. Teaching and learning is a snap with materials like this!)

A good book for all young childrens: I leave in France and I geave this book to my little nevew. He loves it so much. It's possible for him to learn easier english. A good way to learn!

Buy this book only if you're prepared to read it *all* the time! I love that this book has helped teach my 2 yo son his letters, numbers, shapes, opposites, etc., but he has to read it every night before bed and he has to sleep with it! This has been going on since we got it for Christmas! I'm so sick of it, I came online to find another Elmo lift-and-look book. For my son's bedtime reading ritual, I have to read Elmo first or he won't concentrate on the other books--constantly saying "I wanna read Elmo" as I'm trying to read a different book! Thankfully, there's enough going on each page that I can make up stories about the characters or play games like finding circles in the numbers page to mix things up a bit! Ah well, thanks Elmo :-)

If you are writing ads for magazine and newspaper placement, this is a superb Bible. As I travel the world I see ads written based on Sugarman's philosophy and each time I return, I see the same ads running again and again. The sign of success. I've always found Joe Sugarman's work to be remarkably effective in helping our direct marketing programs. Sugarman has truly got decades of experience to back up his marketing directives. What I found most useful in this book were the many sample full page advertisements which are replete with crisp and powerful writing. At kevinhogan.com we utilize Sugarman's approach and continue to be profitable year after year. This book is a heck of a good read and should be read in conjunction with the marketing book in the same series.
Kevin Hogan
Author of The Psychology of Persuasion
and
Talk Your Way to the Top

Great copy looks so easy -- so simple, so effortless, so "ordinary." There are those who can take the process of writing it and make that process look complicated. And then there's Joe Sugarman.

This is one of the two books I recommend for further study in my home-study "Money-Making Copywriting Course." Why? Because Joe cuts through all of the needless and cumbersome detail so many teachers of copywriting instill in their lessons. He makes the information accessible and entertaining to learn. And he's a super-successful real-world practioner, as well as a very skilled and effective teacher.

A novice might think that because this book does not refer to Internet marketing or the latest trends in print and direct mail advertising, it is out of date. That is a well-intentioned but misguided criticism. Of course very few people know how to market effectively (and close sales) on the Internet. Since I have done this successfully (I've created Web sites that made lots of money, by themselves) and since I spent a year as the editor of a newsletter tracking who was successful marketing online and who wasn't (almost everyone wasn't), I can say with some authority that there are very few people who can market effectively online.

But know this about Joe Sugarman. If he ever chose to do online marketing, he would make a fortune -- just as he has done before in other ventures. Why? Because there are certain principles of human nature, and of selling with the written word, that have not yet changed. And he is a world-class expert in conveying those principles to novices and experts alike.

The technological and situational landscape may make it look like we live in a very different world, but trust me -- as someone who got a 2% response with direct mail at the height of the anthrax scare in the fall of 2001 -- the world we live in now is pretty much the same as the world we have always lived in.

At least as it pertains to writing effective advertising copy.

I can't recommend this book highly enough. You'll learn tons, and -- best of all -- you'll be able to make some very good money with what you learned.

I have read many of the books on copywriting and marketing and Joseph Sugarman's book is one of the most helpful and inciteful of any I have read. Far superior to Robert Bly's book, Sugarman takes the reader through the entire creative process and develops a very efficient technique for writing great advertising copy. In addition, Sugarman is a master at what he does. He has proven himself, not in the classroom but on the firing line where real lessons are learned. I've used his techniques to create great ads and have benefited from his book many times over the cost. Well worth it from a great master."

For those law students who are having difficulty comprehending the abstract world of Civil Procedure, this book is incredibly helpful. Glannon has a very simple way of explaining concepts in just a few sentences. After reading Glannon's study guide, I was able to follow what the professor was trying to explain in class. Suddenly, it seemed so very easy to understand! There is also one other element which is the reason that I highly recommend this book over any other Civil Procedure Outline: at the end of each section, there are questions FOLLOWED BY EXPLANATIONS! This important "anti-socratic method" feature allows you to find out if you really understood what you just read. Amazing!

Having just finished my civ pro course and final exam (though no grade yet as I write this), I can say I found Glannon's supplement helpful -- especially for the most complicated questions like joinder, jurisdiction, and the intersections of the two. As another reviewer has noted, this isn't a secret weapon, since chances are almost everyone else in your class will have it. (Our prof even made it recommended supplemental reading.) Like all authors, Glannon has his own quirks, and some points he chooses to dwell on may or may not align with what your professor thinks is important. Glannon's somewhat cutesy writing style may get on your nerves after a while, but this book is still almost surely better written than your textbook. You can usually knock off each chapter in an hour or less.

I was lucky enough to find this book very early in my first year civil procedure class. I remember the pure joy I felt reading it, and feeling like I truly understood these sometimes alien concepts for the first time. Surely it couldn't be this easy!?

I used these Examples and Explanations books in every class possible. They're all good, but this one is probably the best. Everyone called these books "Glannons," no matter who the author was!

One important point: I wrote laborious answers to the examples, which I then "graded" against the explanations, noting issues I'd missed, and analysis I'd mishandled. This practice writing mini "exam style" answers, with instant feedback, probably helped me more than any other exercise in doing well my first year in law school. If you just read the examples and then the explanations, you're cheating yourself out of a great opportunity to practice writing good exam answers before you're faced with the real thing.

I ended up making law review after my first year, and I owe a lot of the credit to this incredible book. Do yourself a favor.

This wonderful children's novel tells the story of eight year old Princess Irene. Cared for by her nurse Lootie, she lives in a mountain farmhouse while her father rules over the region from a mountain top castle. The local folk work as miners but are beset by the Goblins who inhabit the underground. Irene is saved from the Goblins by Curdie, a thirteen year old miner, and she in turn saves him. The whole thing is told in a pleasant conversational style and is filled with humor, word games, magic, derring-do, and pure wonderment.

George MacDonald, a Congregational minister turned novelist, who seems nearly forgotten now, was one of the seminal figures in the development of Fantasy. His influence on other Fantasy authors is obvious, he was a childhood favorite of JRR Tolkein, who especially liked this book, and C.S. Lewis named him one of his favorite authors. His own stories draw on many of the themes and characters of classical European fairy tales. But where they were often merely horrific and meaningless, MacDonald adds a layer of Christian allegory. Thus, Irene and Curdie are eventually saved by a thread so slender that you can't even see it, but which leads them back to safety, teaching Curdie that you sometimes have to believe in things that you can't see.

The book would be interesting simply as a touchstone of modern fiction, but it stands up well on its own and will delight adults and children alike.

GRADE: A

whenever I find a used copy of this or MacDonald's "The Princess and Curdie" I buy it and give it away. Both books are full of religious symbolism if you think about it, and old other-worldness if you don't. "The Princess and the Goblin" can be enjoyed by early elementary school children, while the language of "The Princess and Curdie" is more challenging and suited for 5th grade and up, though anything is possible with a bit of extra effort. Worth trying. George MacDonald (deceased) has a loyal following as do, of course, Tolkien and C.S.Lewis who were his friends. These are lovely books to read aloud.

I cant believe I haven't read this untill now, its such a great book! A princess lives in a castle all her life, never knowing of the great dangers that go on in the mountain. One day(being about 7 years old) she finds a stairway in her house that she has never seen and it leads her to her great, great grandmother. After she meets her grandmother she is shown the dangers of the goblins and meets a boy named Curdie who mines in the mountain with his father. Throughout the book Curdie and the princess have many encounters with the goblins. This is a great book I highly recommend it for readers of all ages.

Although I am an avid reader of American military history, I read few first-person accounts of war because I tend to prefer books about geopolitics, grand strategy, and decisive weapons systems. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this book about a marine officer's experience during the Korean War. It was easy reading, its narrative was straightforward, informative, and, I believe, honest, and it provided some valuable insights into the harsh realities of the first of the Cold War's regional conflicts.

The United States' "forgotten war" began on June 25, 1950, when the People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) invaded the Republic of Korea (South Korea). At the time, Author Joseph Owen was a Marine Corps lieutenant stationed in North Carolina, living with his wife and their two young children. According to Owen: "Nobody at Camp Lejeune had expected a shooting war. Nor were we ready for one." A captain who had been an adviser to the South Korean Marine Corps predicted Korea would be "[o]ne lousy place to fight a war. Too hot in summer, too cold in winter, and straight up and down mountain terrains all year round. Except for those stinking rice paddies down in the valleys. Human manure they use. Worst stink in the world." Nevertheless, according to Owen: "The possibility of American Marines in a combat role excited us." Owen writes: "The North Koreans continued to overpower the meager resistance offered by the South Korean soldiers....Seoul, the South Korean capital, fell with hardly a fight, and the Red blitzkrieg rolled southward. In response, President Truman escalated American involvement in the war. He ordered General MacArthur, America's supreme commander in the Far East, to use U.S. Army troops stationed in Japan to stem the invaders." And: "General MacArthur called for a full division of Marines to help him turn back the North Koreans. According to Owen: "The Marine Corps welcomed the call, but we did not have a full division to put in the field;" and "More than seven thousand of us at Camp Lejeune received orders to proceed by rail to Camp Pendleton. There they would form into companies and embark for Korea." Owen's unit, "Baker-One-Seven became one of three rifle companies if the 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment....Our ranks were filled by 215 men and 7 officers who had never before served together....Many of [the privates] were beardless teenagers with little training beyond the basics of shouldering a rifle and marching in step." While training, there was much concern about the readiness of the Marines for combat. At one point, after a sergeant remarks that the troops need more training in boot camp, Owen succinctly invokes reality: "They are not going to boot camp. They are going aboard ship. And they are going to fight." On September 1, the company boarded a Navy transport for the three-week voyage to east Asia. According to Owen: "Ready or not, we were on the way to war." And, according to Owen, the 1st Marine Division's orders were "to go for the Yalu River," North Korea's border with China. At one point, a veteran officer provides this paraphrase of William Tecumseh Sherman's famous dictum: "War is hell, but you never know what particular kind of hell it's going to be." The Korean War hell was cold and barren. Owen writes: "We were chilled through and bone tired as we slogged our way back to battalion....The bivouac was lumpy with rocks and boulders;" "The cold weather was as formidable an enemy as the Chinese;" and "Rarely did the [daily action] reports exceed zero degrees, and there were lows of twenty below."

By the time Owen's outfit arrived in Korea, he writes, "we were making bets that the war would be over before we got into it." Owen's Marines could not have been more wrong. While Owen is inspecting his men's weapons, a private asks: "Think we'll get shot at today, Lieutenant?" Owen replies: "We're taking the point for the regiment. If the gooks are there, they'll be shooting at us." A few pages later, after the outfit's first experience in combat, Owen comments: "We were fortunate that the enemy had not chosen a "fight-to-the-death" defense of this hill, as they would when we advanced farther north." But some fighting was hand-to-hand. At one point, Owen writes: "Judging from the noise they were making, and the direction of their grenades, the North Koreans were preparing to attack, not more than thirty yards away." The Captain tells Owen and the other subordinate officers: "The Chinese have committed themselves to this war....The people we will fight are the 124th Division of the Regular Chinese Army....They're tough, well-trained soldiers, ten thousand of them. And all of their officers are combat experienced, their very best....A few hours from now we'll have the Chinese army in our gunsights. We'll be in their gunsights. You damn well better have our people ready for some serious fighting." The combat was, indeed, brutal. According to Owen: "The Chinese attacked in massive numbers, an overwhelming weight, but they also endured terrible casualties." Owen recalls that, while waiting for one Chinese attack, the "men stacked Chinese bodies in front of the holes for greater protection." And the fighting around the frozen Chosin Reservoir may have been the most brutal of the war. Owen ultimately suffered wounds requiring 17 months of treatment, and he never regained full use of one arm.

A few months ago, I reviewed James Brady's wonderful The Coldest War: A Memoir of Korea here. This book has different charms. Whereas Brady is a gifted professional writer, there is no elegant prose here. But Owen provides an equally vivid account of this ugly war. Big, sophisticated studies of military history focusing on geopolitical principles and grand strategy rarely offer narrative moments like the ones in this book. Reader are unlikely to forget the Korean War after reading Joseph Owen's Colder than Hell.

When preparing to travel to an Asian country on business, I seek context by reading of the wars the U.S. has fought there. When I look in those Japanese, Chinese and Korean eyes, I see the children of old enemies and old friends. While plowing through Fehrenbach's canonical Korean War history, "This Kind of War", I took a break and lost a weekend of yard work to "Colder Than Hell" which I ordered based on the praise given by my fellow Amazon reviewers. My thanks to the other reviewers, for this is a superb first person account of a Marine company fighting it's way up and then back down the Korean peninsula in 1950. Marines of Baker one-seven fought and froze to the death too often, but their sacrifice has let 47 million Koreans in the South build a democracy and learn the meaning of freedom. The price of freedom was huge for Baker one-seven, but the esprit de corps so crisply described by ex-Second Lt. Owen carried his Marines from hill to hill. This is an excellent book and a must read for fans of first person stories of war and sacrifice.

Colder than Hell: A Marine Rifle Company at Chosin Reservoir. By Joseph R. Owen. Reviewed by Mike Davino

Army Korean War expert Lieutenant Colonel Roy Appleman has called the 1st Marine Division of the Chosin Reservoir campaign "one of the most magnificent fighting organizations that ever served in the United States Armed Forces." The remarkable and inspiring story of the division at the Chosin Reservoir has been the subject of numerous books and several films. During their fighting withdrawal, the Marines decimated several divisions of the Chinese People's Liberation Army while at the same time fighting an exceptionally harsh winter environment.

Joseph Owen's new book on the subject tells the story from the cutting edge perspective of a rifle company. The author served as a mortar section leader and rifle platoon commander in Baker Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Marines from its activation in August 1950 through the Inchon-Seoul and Chosin fighting where he was severely wounded.

There are many reasons given for the outstanding performance of the Marines in northeast Korea during the winter of 1950. It is clear from this book that a large measure of the credit goes to the Marines and their leaders at the small unit and rifle company level.

Owen's narrative covers the hasty activation and training of the company, its brief participation in the fighting north of Seoul after the amphibious assault at Inchon and the details of its intense fighting at Chosin. He candidly discusses the mistakes made by the leaders and Marines of Baker Company, to include his own. More importantly, Owen covers what they learned from these mistakes and how they used that knowledge to defeat the Chinese in a series of intense actions.

Although focused at the company level, the author frames his story with the overall conduct of the campaign. Refreshingly, unlike many books about the Chosin campaign, it is free of partisan sniping about the contributions made by the various services involved. Owen gives credit to the Army units that fought at Chosin as well as the contributions of naval and air forces and our British allies.

This book is rich in lessons about small unit leadership, training and combat operations. It is an excellent addition to the personal narratives on the Korea War.