This book is a meticulously compiled, beautifully crafted history of our nation's finest military force. It goes beyond the battles and looks at the minutiae that made Marines what they are - from weapons and recruiting posters, to sea stories and folklore, to the heroism and valor that have been hallmarks of the Marine Corps since 1775. Of the many books on this almost mythical institution that I have read, the best by far is this unique and all encompassing volume by one of the Marine Corps most prominent and loving chroniclers. Heritage is the thread that makes the Marines what they are - the tangible link between the first Sea Soldiers and the current Marines even now serving the flag in dangerous places like Kosovo. For those who hold the Corps sacred, this book should become the Holy Grail of Marine Corps histories.

This is an amazing book worth giving any Marine or former Marine or any of those many people who are interested in the story of the United States Marines. On top of the navy blue canvas cover features the ornate United States Marine Seal that buldges up in its nooks and crannies and has the feel of a metal that provides this feeling of pride for the Marines and ownership of the history of such a exceptional military institution. However the good stuff is inside with informative information of the Marines from beginning of their formation to what is expected of them in the 21st century and its tied in with a multitude of pictures in which most I never seen before (despite me being military enthusiast) that explains the text perfectly and will wow you.

This book has an excellent record of the Corps history. As a former Marine who served in Viet Nam and have been working with the marines for the past 27 years, this book provides the links between the old Corps and the new. I recieved this book as a gift from my daughter who has listened to my stories for years. Once a Marine always a Marine.

If you're looking for the definative guide to Six Sigma, you've just found it. From fundamentals to advanced program management, its all here. I first read Pande and Holpp's little 87-page book "What is Six Sigma." The impressive guide convinced me that I needed to pick up a copy of their "The Six Sigma Way." I'm really glad that I did. As a management consultant, I can say without reservation that the ideas expressed in this book are applicable to almost every manager -- regardless of whether or not they are currently involved in a formal Six Sigma program. In addition to enhancing quality, the Six Sigma framework is very useful in identifying and removing irrelevant processes from your product or service operations. Saving your Company both time and money... and freeing up your employees for more value-added work. In addition, I would also recommend Hammer and Champy's "Reengineering the Corporation" and Ashkenas, Kerr, and Ulrich's "The GE Work-Out." Overall Grade: B+/A.

Over the years, I have worked with dozens of small-to-midsize companies, all of which were in dire need of improving one or more of the following: cost reduction, culture change, customer retention, cycle-time reduction, defect reduction, market-share growth, productivity improvement, and product-service development. You can thus understand why I was curious to know to what extent (if any) Six Sigma could be helpful to small-to-midsize companies.

By now we have become well aware of the success of Six Sigma initiatives at major international corporations such as ABB, Allied Signal/Honeywell, Black & Decker, Dow Chemical, Dupont, Federal Express, General Electric, Johnson and Johnson, Kodak, Motorola, SONY, and Toshiba. Once having read this book, I am convinced that -- with certain modifications -- Six Sigma could perhaps be even more valuable to small-to-midsize companies which, obviously, have fewer resources. What exactly is Six Sigma? The authors provide this definition: "A comprehensive and flexible system for achieving, sustaining, and maximizing business success. Six Sigma is uniquely driven by close understanding of consumer needs, disciplined use of facts, data, and statistical analysis, and diligent attention to managing, improving, and reinventing business processes."

The authors identify what they call "hidden truths" about Six Sigma:

1. You can apply Six Sigma to many different business activities and challenges -- from strategic planning to operations to customer service -- and maximize the impact of your efforts.

2. The benefits of Six Sigma will be accessible whether you lead an entire organization or a department. Moreover, you'll be able to scale your efforts, from tackling specific problems to renewing the entire business.

3. You'll be prepared to achieve breakthroughs in these untapped gold mines of opportunity -- and to broaden Six Sigma beyond the realm of the engineering community.

4. You'll gain insights into how to strike the balance between push and pull -- accommodating people and demanding performance. That balance is where real sustained improvement is found. On either side -- being "too nice" or forcing people beyond their understanding and readiness -- lie merely short-term goals or no results at all.

5. The good news is, Six Sigma is a lot more fun than root canal. Seriously, the significant financial gains from Six Sigma may be exceeded in value by the intangible benefits. In fact, the changes in attitude and enthusiasm that come from improved processes and better-informed people are often easier to observe, and more emotionally rewarding than dollar savings.

The authors organize their material as follows: Part One: An Executive Summary of Six Sigma; Part Two: Gearing Up and Adapting Six Sigma to Your Organization; Part Three: Implementing Six Sigma -- The Roadmap and Tools; and finally, The Appendices: Practical Support. According to Jack Welch, "The best Six Sigma projects begin not inside the business but outside it, focused on answering the question -- how can we make the customer more competitive? What is critical to the customer's success?...One thing we have discovered with certainty is that anything we do that makes the customer more successful inevitably results in a financial return for us."

If anything, it is even more important for small-to-midsize companies (than it is for the GEs of the world) to answer these two questions correctly and then track and compare their performance in terms of what their customers require. The well-publicized objective of Six Sigma is to achieve practically-perfect quality of performance (ie 3.4 defects for every million activities or "opportunities") and this is indeed an ambitious objective. Collins and Porras, authors of Built to Last, would probably view it as the biggest of Big Hairy Audacious Goals (BHAGs). In that book, they assert that the most successful and admired companies have the ability -- and willingness -- to simultaneously adopt two seemingly contrary objectives at the same time. Stability and renewal, Big Picture and minute detail, creativity and rational analysis -- these forces, working together,, make organizations great. This "we can do it all" approach they call the "Genius of the And."

Pande, Neuman, and Cavanagh suggest that all manner of specific benefits can result from following "the Six Sigma way." For example, Six Sigma generates sustained success, sets a performance goal for everyone, enhances value to customers, accelerates the rate of improvement, promotes learning and "cross-pollination", and executes strategic change. All organizations (regardless of their size or nature) need to avoid or escape what the authors refer to as the "Tyranny of Or." Here in a single volume is about all they need to seek "practically-perfect quality of performance." Whether or not they ultimately reach that destination, their journey en route is certain to achieve improvement which would otherwise not be possible.

I found the book to be clearly written and even fun in places. It provides a solid and practical overview of the principles of Six Sigma. It explains Six Sigma as a flexible system to help manage processes in companies. It addressed all the questions I had in trying to decide whether Six Sigma is appropriate for my company. It provides much practical and non-dogmatic advice about how to implement. I bought the book to prepare my self to fight against the six sigma way. After reading it, I am very enthusiatic and am planning to propose this approach for my company. I highly recommend the book for anyone needing an overview of the topic from a management perspective.

The basic premise of this book is: defensive use of firearms is not just for the military and police; it is for every citizen confronted or assaulted by violent criminals violating their personal and property rights. This book contains numerous examples of citizens who used firearms to save their own lives, or the lives of others, before law enforcement arrived.

There are also examples of armed citizens coming to aid of stricken law enforcement officers, who probably owe their lives to the second ammendment rights exercised by the citizens. The stories of survival in the face of certain death at the hands of a violent criminal are gripping.

The book is a fast and easy read. Although not a great literary work, Robert A. Walters succeeds in telling the stories of victims turned defenders completely and understandably. No matter which side of the "gun control" debate you are on, this book will give you a good source of insight into the reasoning behind the pro-second ammendment advocates.

You will probably not sleep well at night after reading this book - unless you have an appropriate, loaded weapon nearby.

There are two things that I like about this book. I have always believed that the best way to learn anything in life is by following the sucessful examples of others. What better examples are there than real life ones? The book also gives good refutations on gun opponents' most popular beliefs:

1. A robber will not hurt you if you do exactly what he tells you to do.

2. Using guns as a self-defense weapon is a deployment of more than necessary force to stop a violent encounter. Martial arts and self-defense sprays should suffice in any violent confrontation

3. Silent alarms should be able to get law enforcement agents onto the scene of a crime in progress before anybody gets physically wounded. In other words, carrying a gun in a place of business is equivalent to trying to take the law into your own hands

4. Law enforcement agents are always here to protect you

Buy this book and read for yourself about the burgular who breaks into the house of a sleeping woman and, without saying a word to her, pulls out a knife and begins to slash her face. The woman did not even have a chance to comprehend what is going on before there are two deep lacerations in her face. The attacker was so strong that after the woman shot him four times, he still continues to beat her and cut her for about another hour. Ask yourself if the martial arts or pepper sprays would have been able to stop him if four .22 caliber bullets barely could. When did the police arrive? One hour after the struggle began.

Read about the jewerly store owner who quickly activates a silent alarm after seeing three men enter his store with shotguns. The first thing the robbers did was fire a shotgun shell into a nearby glass window. At this point, the store owner decided it was time to fight back. Before the police arrived, there was already an intense gun battle. Had the owner not possessed guns, the only thing the police would find upon arrival would have been a pile of dead employees and their dead employer.

Buy this book and see why every smart and responsible citizen should be armed.

I would like to recommend "STREET KARATE" by John McSweeney as a good companion to this book just in case your handgun decides not to work.

I finished reading this book very quickly. Every story was intense and captivating. The book was enjoyable for entertainment value alone, but it also contains critical information about personal defense.

Ever wondered what it was really like to be attacked by someone trying to kill you? These are stories of people who lived to tell the tail. Many potential murder victims only survived because they had a loaded gun handy.

On a personal note, my brother wasn't as fortunate as many of the people in this book. He was returning a tape at a well lit video store on a Sunday night when he was kidnapped by four thugs. They had his car, his cash, and all his possessions, but they murdered him anyway. Apparently just robbing people had become boring to them. They are now in jail, but I often wonder if my brother would be alive today if he had a gun with him.

I've been a huge fan for Fulghum's books. He always have a unique perspective in everything. But this book is different from his previous ones. It's a collection of love stories from many people. Fulghum just put them in this book, re-arrange and add his comment. This is one of the most honest book I ever read. Story of strange love, I would say that if we can call it "love". What does love mean? Does it limit only between boys & girls, friends & friends etc? This book doesn't answer anything at all, but it will make you think about it and finally smile.I'm very surprise with such those wonderful, lovely stories in this books. This is the book you will love. Each story has its own charm and memory. Again, as usual, Fulghum's summary in each section of the book is more than I can say. His view for love with the help of his excellent ability to select spectacular words make it a very wonderful book. Good persent for Valentine's day

I found this book by accident and since reading it have purchased it for two of my closest friends. It states at the beginning of the book that it is best read with a lover, but coming from a single woman, I found the collection of stories a sign that true love does exist. This book brought myself and my two friends genuine happiness and hope for our own story.

I loved this book, every single one of us wonders, what is true love? All these stories have some glimpse, or taste of true love possibilities. Some are full blown true love that stood the test of time. Love is the most marvelous feeling in the world, and most desired of all experiences of humans. Yet true love so hard to explain with words, for the emotion of it is so powerful. The human experience is certainly more bleak without true love in our lives somewhere, sometime. I hope everyone who ever hopes to be in love, or has been in love will read this. I have already bought extra copies to share with my friends. What a treat Robert Fulghum is to those of us who love to read of the human experience.

Albert Ellis is the grand-daddy of modern psychology, and this book is the classic. While many psychologists and authors focus on one or several "pet techniques," Ellis and this book show you how to adapt an integrated set of rational (cognitive), emotive, and behavioral tools to your personal situations. And Ellis writes this and many of his other books for us non-psychologists...not just for "professionals."

The book starts by briefly summarizing the results of Ellis' ground-breaking work on what we do that causes us to feel and behave differently than we want. The author then teaches his general cognitive system...which includes very specific instructions...on how to change these feelings, behaviors, and thoughts. Ellis terms this system the "A, B, C, D" method of "disputing" irrational thoughts that are "irrational" because they (i) are not true and (ii) produce results that we don't want. The book then moves beyond this general system and shows you how to easily use cognitive, emotive, and behavioral tools to effectively stop your unwanted patterns. While the methods are extremely user-friendly, they do require work...beyond the reading.

Because this book shows how to effectively tackle a wide variety of patterns...the following is a partial list of chapters:
1. Overcoming the influences of your past
2. Refusing to be desperately unhappy
3. Tackling dire needs for approval
4. Eradicating dire fears of failure
5. How to feel undepressed though frustrated
6. Conquering anxiety
7. Acquiring self-discipline
...and others.

While many other psychologists/authors, such as David Burns in his "Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy," use cognitive methods, Ellis shows how to use many of them far more effectively than most others. And he also includes emotive and behavioral tools, many of which he created years ago and that his non-for-profit institute has used successfully for decades. While Burns' book has some excellent additional tools, I strongly suggest that you start with "A Guide for Rational Living" and then move on to Burns' book if you want.

I've gone back to this and a few others of Ellis' books several times during the last 10 years or so. After working through a new situation, I keep realizing how much this one volume still does for me.

In my opinion, the book's only weakness is its stlye of writing. It's older style is less interesting than that in some of Ellis' newer books. I strongly recommend it not for its literary value, however, but for what it can do for you.

Albert Ellis is the grand-daddy of modern psychology, and this book is the classic. While many psychologists and authors focus on one or several "pet techniques," Ellis and this book show you how to adapt an integrated set of rational (cognitive), emotive, and behavioral tools to your personal situations. And Ellis writes this and many of his other books for us non-psychologists...not just for "professionals."

The book starts by briefly summarizing the results of Ellis' ground-breaking work on what we do that causes us to feel and behave differently than we want. The author then teaches his general cognitive system...which includes very specific instructions...on how to change these feelings, behaviors, and thoughts. Ellis terms this system the "A, B, C, D" method of "disputing" irrational thoughts that are "irrational" because they (i) are not true and (ii) produce results that we don't want. The book then moves beyond this general system and shows you how to easily use cognitive, emotive, and behavioral tools to effectively stop your unwanted patterns. While the methods are extremely user-friendly, they do require work...beyond the reading.

Because this book shows how to effectively tackle a wide variety of patterns...the following is a partial list of chapters:
1. Overcoming the influences of your past
2. Refusing to be desperately unhappy
3. Tackling dire needs for approval
4. Eradicating dire fears of failure
5. How to feel undepressed though frustrated
6. Conquering anxiety
7. Acquiring self-discipline
...and others.

While many other psychologists/authors, such as David Burns in his "Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy," use cognitive methods, Ellis shows how to use many of them far more effectively than most others. And he also includes emotive and behavioral tools, many of which he created years ago and that his non-for-profit institute has used successfully for decades. While Burns' book has some excellent additional tools, I strongly suggest that you start with "A Guide for Rational Living" and then move on to Burns' book if you want.

I've gone back to this and a few others of Ellis' books several times during the last 10 years or so. After working through a new situation, I keep realizing how much this one volume still does for me. In my opinion, the book's only weakness is its stlye of writing. It's older style is less interesting than that in some of Ellis' newer books. I strongly recommend it not for its literary value, however, but for what it can do for you.

If you are uncertain about buying this book, just take a look at how many people have given this book 5 stars. I have read self-help books before and found most of them to be full of it. Dr. Ellis really has something here. This is a book that can really help you. It has really helped me. I know it may be hard to believe that a book can improve your life but the ideas in this book did just that. If you're not familiar with REBT,you will be after reading this book. It is a simple technique that you can apply to anything that is bothering you about yourself or your life. It's helps you to work on your thoughts. And no, it's not easy, it takes work, but it is possible. I have bought this book several times always to give it away to someone else. Also if you are not into sappy sob stories than this is a good book.

This is the story of a little girl that goes blueberry picking with her mother. She is helping her pick blueberries but she is more concerned with eating them then she is with keeping them so her mother can make things with them. At the same time a mother bear was picking blueberries with her cub too stock up for the winter. The cub was doing the same thing as Sal and eating the blueberries faster then he was picking them. The cub and Sal did not follow their mothers. They just wondering off eating there merry way around the mountain. Eventually Sal and the cub end up all mixed up and with the wrong mothers and they set out to get with the right ones again.
I love this book. It is a great tale and it is so much fun to read over and over again. The pictures are great and so realistic. I think this really is a good book for children to read and I think it is one that they would really enjoy reading too. This is definitely a book that I want for my class collection and I think the author did a really good job at making this book fun and full of adventure.

Blueberries for Sal is a favorite book from childhood and is still one of my favorite books to this very day. This book is about a young girl who finds herself caught in a wild adventure while she is picking blueberries with her mother. It is a perfect book to sit down and read together as a family, and is a story both children and parents can relate to. I will never forget listening to my mother read, eating blueberries, and singing kurplink, kurplank, kurplunk.

A children's book about a little girl named Sal who goes up into the hills to pick blueberries with her mother and eats as many blueberries as she puts into her pail! She encounters a mother bear and her cub also picking blueberries; but, soon the little cub is trailing Sal's mother while Sal is trailing the mother bear. McCloskey's blue and white illustrations are perfect for this story and it resulted in the book being a 1949 Caldecott Honor book (i.e., a runner-up to the Medal winner) for best illustration in a book for children. It is a must for the shelves of any parent of a preschooler or the shelf of any serious student of children literature.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading "Low Level Hell" by Hugh L. Mills. From July, 1968 to July, 1969 I was with the Big Red One assigned to Alpha Company, 2nd Bn., 16th Infantry. Mills book brought back many memories - both good and bad. It was particularly meaningful for me since A-2/16 worked all over the Division's TAOR and the names of the villages and towns Mills wrote about were familiar to me. I have often remarked that the BRO's air support was exceptional and reading "Low Level Hell" reminded me of that once again. It also gave me a better understanding and appreciation of the role of the hunter / killer teams and how they were a major factor in minimizing casualties. To quote from the book "First Infantry Division in Vietnam" at page 126: "As the year 1968 was about to pass into history, the 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry reviewed the year with a profound sense of pride. Much was accomplished but they were not content to rest upon past laurels. The year 1969 was met with the same loyalty, skill and determination which made the 1st Squadron, 4th United States Cavalry the most respected and feared unit of the 1st Infantry Division." - I know from reading "Low Level Hell" that Hugh Mills and the rest of Troop D (air) significantly contributed to the loyalty, skill and determination that earned the reputation that has become legendary.

I think "Low Level Hell" would make an excellent movie. There's lots of action sequences: The chemistry between Hugh Mills and Rod Willis would play well not to mention the camaraderie among Troop D (air) at Phu Loi. I hope it will be playing some day soon at a theatre near me - And, I will keep my eye out for another Mills book chronicling his and Willis' second tour with "Darkhorse" and, if we're lucky, a third one all about his days as a Cobra pilot with the 101st.

Mills' book tells it like it was! I should know, I'm Joe Crockett, his first crewchief mentioned in Chapter Four. I find Hugh Mills' to be a great pilot, and great man, and a great author. This isn't an easy story to tell, but Hugh manages to allow even the novice to the Vietnam War, a chance to ride in the cockpit of a Hughes OH-6A "Loach"! It had been 28 years since Hugh and I flew missions together and reading "Low Level Hell" took me back to a time, rich in experience. I highly reccomend this book to anyone with the slightest interest in Army Aviation and the Vietnam War!

In LOW LEVEL HELL, Hugh Mills has written one of the most exciting accounts of aerial combat to come out of the Vietnam War. Mills flew OH-6A Light Observation Helicopters, nicknamed "Loaches," with the famed Darkhorse unit, the air cavalry troop assigned to the "Big Red One," or 1st Division, in 1969. He was a scout pilot, an "Outcast," whose mission required him to fly just a few above the ground looking for the enemy, and in eye-to-eye combat, engage him. In the long history of warfare, military scouts stand out as a special breed. Always out in front of friendly troops, at the point of the spear, the first to make contact, usually outgunned, the scout needed an extraordinary blend of skills and courage. With the advent of the helicopter, aeroscouts became modern day Kit Carsons and Jim Bowies operating in three dimensions above the battlefield. As a Naval Aviator flying fixed-wing close air support in the Mekong Delta, I had the privilege of working with Darkhorse pilots when they later became an independent troop of the 164th Aviation Group. I knew of no more courageous and dedicated men than the pilots and crew chiefs who flew scouts. LOW LEVEL HELL tells their story with a flair and excitement and detail that I guarantee will get your adrenaline pumping.

Like Dr. Murry's Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine, Dr. Atkins book acts as a reference resource beyong compare. Many of us yearn to take our health into our own hands. With comprehensive books such as this, we can learn more and consequently demand more from our health care professionals. These are not "non-cures". Nature can provide an abundance of what our bodies need. When we are ill, we just need them in a more concentrated form. Dr Atkins solutions have validity. One site I have found where we can find the types of vita-nutrients that Atkins recommends is Papanature. His prices, service, selection are the best I have found. His documentation of these products correspond with the same information proposed by Atkins.

A thorough survey of available vitamins, minerals, amino acids and herbal supplements. Dr. Atkins brings the perspective of his clinic where he has used these supplements to help thousands of patients live healthier lives.

Dr. Atkins suggests how much of each supplement should be taken and outlines synergistic combinations to achieve particular goals and to deal with particular health conditions.

The book is well referenced with Dr. Atkins citing hundreds of research projects around the globe to substantiate the points he makes.

Every health care provider should memorize this book!

This book surpasses all the books I own on herbs and vitamins. It also represents a life beyond being a prescription victim of the AMA. Again Dr. Atkins puts his tush on the line by giving people advice that is no where near conventional but puts the trust in the reader, his "patient" to try to heal themselves by natural and most often benign methods that bypass pharmaceutical side effects, toxic build up and cross interaction. He once again tries to change the staus quo with his off the beaten path knowledge and pays no mind to the flack he might receive in his efforts. This man believes in what he is doing and this book is a show-case of his whole medical stand point. I love it! A must for herbalist and vitamin-health gurus! A must for those with that want to take charge of their own health! Exhaustive and extensive about vitamins, the low-down on many products that the health industry over sells, and some you may never have heard of that could actually save your life! Dr. Atkins takes you on a very informed tour of the natural health product section, and teaches you a plethora of acquired knowlwdge.

You must read this book twice: once for its obvious story line, Africa and the Mau-Mau revolt and the second time for its relationship to what is currently happening in America today.

The parallels are ominous. The British entered Kenya with the intent of 'civilizing' the savages. They imposed thier way of life on the natives of Kenya. However, the new values made no sense to the Kenyans. They did not understand the value of the white mans ways.

Similarly, todays intellectuals and social elitists are imposing a new value system on America's children. One that has no absolutes, no heroes of substance, no morality or ethics. The children don't know if they are good or bad. They have become value-less because of the lack of value. Nothing more than wondering generalities.

When you read this book with this perspective in mind, the reason for a lot of the problems that are occurring today become obvious, American society has become an amorphous blob of do what feels good whenever you feel like it and let someone else take care of you.

"Something of Value" is as revealing today as it was back in the '50s. If you read it with an open mind and are willing to draw parallels to today.

It is history being repeated.

This book was so accurate and so brutally honest that Ruark was banned from Kenya by the British and the Native Kenyan goverments. For those of you who don't know; Roberk Ruark was THE defining voice in America for Africa in the 1950's. His columns appeared in Field & Stream magazine when EVERYONE read Field & Stream. He was a celebrity with apartments in New York and a villa in Spain. These were the days when rich men ate red meat, went to Africa to "shoot lions" and were disappointed if it didn't charge! If you love African game stories and you belive in the superiority of Western civilization over shamanist tribalism then this book is for you. When the English colonized what is now Kenya it was a true clash of moderns with the Stone Age. These men (and women) had as rough a time as Americans did taming the West. Really more so because the Africans were more numerous than the American Indians and only one or two of our animals would eat you. After years of carving farms out of the harsh African veldt with the permission and support of the Britsh goverment the farmers suddenly found themselves put "out into the cold" by their goverment. The Socialists in England suddenly decided by vote to modernize the Native African from the Stone Age to the Industrial age overnight. From shamans and chiefs to democracy; brought in by "the Winds of Change". If you ever suspected that you have been lied to about Africa by the Desmond Tutu's and Nelson Mandela's of the world, if you want to know what is going to happen in South Africa in the next 10 years, if you need any more convincing that America's Africa policy caters more to Jesse Jackson than the true "status quo" of Africa, then this is the book for you. Ruark does a brillant job of juxapositioning the issues of tribesman and colonist alike. The politics and violence of MauMau are amazingly similar to the African National Congress. In Ruark's Africa everyone is right; and wrong. All the native born Africans in his book, Black and White alike, believe to the bottom of their soul in what they are doing. I don't think Kipling himself could have captured the essense of Africa any better!

I spent three of the most impressionable years of my live in Kenya in the early '70's as a State Department dependant. Even then, the Mau Mau uprising had a strong influence on day to day life in Kenya. Gun control laws were among the most strict in the world and for good reason. During my three years in Kenya I heard many stories from people who lived through the emergency. Most of these stories made Stephen King novels sound like childrens' tales. I could not count the times I've read both Uhuru and Something Of Value and each time they have taken me back in time to the Norfolk or New Stanley hotel. Everything about the book, from the safaris, to the uprising, are totally authentic. While this is not a "feel good" book, anyone who has a interest in East African history, or just wants to read on of the great books of this century MUST read this book. Even though this is a book of fiction, it should be required reading for anyone studying the history of Kenya. Make no mistake, most of the things written about in this book, no matter how disturbing, actually happened.

It has been awhile since I've read a book in this series, but returning to it I felt like I had never taken a break. Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin have become my good friends, and O'Brian swept me away with their exploits instantly. Even thought the style is decidedly un-modern, O'Brian's narrative thrust is irresistible. In this, the third volume of the series, Jack is still in debt due to the Admiralty refusing to honor a war prize based on a technicality, thus putting his engagement to Sophie in danger. Maturin is in real danger as the new Lord governing the navy broadcasts his name in a public meeting, thus raising possible questions about his role as a spy. Stephen's heart is troubled as well; he still moons over Diana Villiers, from the events of the second book.

How can you possibly dislike a book that contains a line such as this: "Jack, you have debauched my sloth." Yes, O'Brian has a certain amount of levity, although it is often hidden underneath the layers of the manners of the time. His style is somewhat like that of Jane Austen, where the most cutting of phrases are being said in the nicest of ways. You either like this sort of thing or don't. I like it, when I catch it, but I yearn for annotations, just knowing that there are some subtleties that are escaping me.

This is the third novel in the Jack Aubrey-Stephen Maturin series, and the story just keeps rolling right along. It's difficult to maintain the pace and the reader's interest for more than the first couple of volumes in any sort of fiction series, but O'brian certainly has the knack. This time, the newly-posted but still heavily indebted Captain Aubrey is detailed to ferry a diplomat to the court of an Indian prince . . . having been the unknowing beneficary of Maturin's leverage at the Admiralty. He's impatient at being out of the principal theater of the war with France, but happy to have any ship at all -- especially the frigate SURPRISE, in which he had served as a midshipman. Besides helping his friend, Dr. Maturin has his own reasons for visiting India -- Diana Villiers has gone there in the company of a wealthy merchant from the City and the East India Company. For O'Brian spends as much time on the details and development of his characters' personal interrelationships as he does on naval maneuvering and battles. And the descriptions of rounding the Cape of Good Hope are mesmerizing!

I read HMS Surprise several years ago, and I've read several others in this wonderful series, but I backtracked and read this novel again at the same time I listened to most of it in the audio version with Patrick Tull as the reader. It was a great experience. HMS Surprise comes close to being a perfect novel. From the rescue of Stephen in Port Mahon, to the scene on St. Paul's rocks, to the gale as they went round the cape of Good Hope, to Stephen's tragic adventures in Bombay, to the incredible battle with the French squadron, to Stephen's tragic relationship with Diana Villiers, to Maturin's duel in Calcutta, to whether Sophie would be waiting for Jack, every scene is near perfection.

Patrick Tull is a perfect narrator for O'Brian's work. He has the various voice down to perfection and you can tell he loves what he's reading.

Each book in this series has much to recommend, but his one stands slightly above the others.