Yes, this book is an atlas, like an atlas must be: with many, many pictures, big pictures (the majority use all size of the page) and a easily text to read. I really recomend. I am sorry by the language, please, corretc before, OK. PS: I don't know if pictures are the correct word, the atlas has colored designs, ok

This masterly, elegant account of who Italy's monarchs were and what they got up to (usually something not very edifying) demonstrates why Mack Smith is widely viewed as the leading authority on Italy writing in the English language. Post-unification Italy's development might well have been less turbulent, had it not been for the distressing tendency of successive kings to interfere in politics and indulge their taste for intrigue. Nurturing the tender plant of Italian democracy was usually the last thing on their minds. As in his other works, Mack Smith wastes little sympathy on the civilian politicians who were, if anything, even more culpable than their royal masters in contributing to Italy's failure to construct a stable, corruption-free democracy before the First World War. But his particular focus is the monarchy, from its crucial part in the wars of unification after 1860 to its inglorious association with Benito Mussolini's dictatorship in the inter-war years. After putting down Mack Smith's book - a gem of concise writing and lightly worn learning - one can only be glad that Italians eventually abolished the monarchy after the Second World War. Republicanism, though drenched in corruption and crime between 1946 and 1992, did at least do something to modernize public life in Italy.

This is a biography at once fascinating and charming: a source of fascination because one cannot help marvel at Mazzini's dogged refusal to give up hope of creating a brave new world in Italy, and charming because Mack Smith brings out the tension between Mazzini the somewhat desperate revolutionary in exile and Mazzini the courteous and likeable private individual. Of the three great men who created the Italian nation-state, Mazzini was both more honourable and less cynical than Cavour, and more humane and less hot-headed than Garibaldi. The contempt in which the new state held him after 1861 was little short of disgraceful, but this biography - well up to the standards of Mack Smith's other works on modern Italy - does a great deal to restore his reputation. If only Italy had had a Mazzini in the latter half of the 20th century.

Fellow students, I am studying LLB Law at Leeds U. and this book is an absolute godsend. It is the most readable broad based reference work that I have come across and provides a superb supplement to some of the more focused compulsory reading that each module demands. I will not be parting with this book unless I can aquire it in hardback.

I'm a firefighter in St. Louis County and have skimmed through several books written about firefighting. Most of them are garbage, diaries of people who worked at small volunteer departments out in the middle of nowhere that found someone to publish their book. Not the case here. This book is very intelligently written and heartfelt. This book is the closest account I've ever seen of what it's like to actually do the job, and why we do it. If you want to know what it really means to be a firefighter in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, any major city. Buy this book. You will not regret it. You will not be able to put it down easily. And it will have an impact on you. It did me.
God Bless FDNY, we will never forget!

Dennis Smith has given a fascinating peak at an often harrowing career. Working in the busiest fire station in the country, he manages to be both realistic and sympathetic towards the people of the South Bronx. Report from Engine 82 gave me increased respect for our firefighters.

Contrary to the stereotype, firefighters do not sit around the firehouse playing cards all day. I first read this book in the early 1980's after I joined the volunteer fire department. I found Dennis Smith's description of the duties and problems firefighters face to be most accurate. Company 82 is situated in New York City and was written in the 70's but it's still a fast paced and hysterical read. My sister, who is not interested in the fire service, also loved the book and screamed with laughter at some of the pranks recounted. For anyone who works in public safety, especially the fire service, this book is a classic and worth hunting down.

For five years, from 1809 to 1814, a tiny sun-baked rock in the Balearic islands off Spain served as a prisoner of war camp for some 9,000 French (and allied) soldiers. The soldiers had surrendered to a Spanish army in one of the more humiliating French defeats of the Napoleonic wars. While the incident has received little attention in English-language accounts of the Peninsular war-this is the first, full-length account of the dramatic story of Cabrera in English-a number of the survivors left memoirs of their internment on this desolate islet. Now Canadian author Denis Smith tells the story of the prisoners who lived and died on this dry, barren rock.

When Napoleon heard of the surrender of Dupont's army at Bailen he was enraged at the blow to France's aura of invincibility and wrote, "I do not suppose that it is necessary to make great preparations at Rochefort, because the British will surely not let these imbeciles pass, and the Spaniards will not give back their weapons to those who have not fought." Napoleon was right.

On landing on Cabrera, most of the prisoners were stepping foot on solid land for the first time in four months. There they found no buildings except for an abandoned fort, no sign of human habitation and little more than scrub brush, lizards and rocks. 4500 French, Polish, Swiss and Italian conscripts were left to largely fend for themselves. Supplies arrived, in theory, every four days, while Spanish and British warships stood guard. There was a single spring of fresh water that dried up in the height of summer. The few goats and rabbits which shared the rocky islet with the French were quickly hunted down and eaten. By the end of the first month 62 men had perished (an annual equivalent death rate of 20%). Between May 1809 and Dec. 1809 approximately 1700 soldiers had died. By 1810 only 17 men from an Imperial Guard unit that had numbered 75 still lived. The unit's highest-ranking officer wrote that "they were all virtually naked, pale, and gaunt: left so long without provisions, they resembled skeletons." During one four-day period when food supplies were cut off more than 400 men died.

Finally in May 1814 word came that the war was at an end and freedom at hand. "An incomparable happiness seized everyone," wrote one observer. "Some seemed to lose their minds...Others embraced, crying..." Search parties had to scour the island for hermits who were hold up in caves like troglodytes. Of the almost 12,000 men who had been imprisoned, any where from 4,000 to 10,000 (the later figure including those who had died at Cadiz) had died, their graves unmarked.

The Prisoners of Cabrera is written in clear, scholarly prose. Smith does not overly sensationalize a story that really needs no such embellishments. Nor does Smith exhibit a false sense of outrage. It is incredible to me that the story of Cabrera has never received full-length treatment before. Such a dramatic story would seem a natural topic for a book. Denis Smith is to be commended for bringing the story of Cabrera to an English-speaking audience. Smith does a credible job in fully recounting the events of the Spanish "death camp." Even-handed in its treatment, Smith spreads the responsibility for the affair among the Spanish who imprisoned the, the British who aided and abetted but kept their hands clean, and Napoleon who sent the soldiers to Spain in the first place and who could have done more for their relief.

Events elsewhere at the time are only touched upon briefly by Smith, who focuses on the fates of the imprisoned men. Little space is devoted to the wider conflict in Spain and elsewhere except where it touches upon what was happening on Cabrera. A detailed understanding of these outside events, while helpful, are not necessary to appreciate Smith's narrative. The real story of Cabrera is that of the men imprisoned there. Men like Henri Ducor, the French sailor who scrounged an infantry uniform to be sent to Cabrera in the hopes of being repatriated, and Louis-Joseph Wagré, the "Corporal of the Spring," and Louis Gille, who managed to get himself sent to England along with the officers. As well as, Robert Guillemard, who used the island's theatrical troupe to effect an escape, and Bernard Masson, who escaped twice from Cabrera and even organized a private rescue attempt after his successful escape. The true hero of the book is, perhaps, Don Antonio Desbrull, the liberal Spanish commissioner for Cabrera who almost single-handedly did what he could, often at the risk of his life an fortune, to alleviate the sufferings of the prisoners.

The Prisoners Of Cabrera by political scientist, biographer, and historian Denis Smith is a compelling and informative examination of the Napoleonic Wars in Spain, and carefully chronicles its most brutal events. Thousands of Napoleon's soldiers were sent to the island of Cabrera, with nothing to protect themselves from the elements, insufficient fresh water, and insufficient rations dropped off from Spain. Life was so harsh that approximately half of the prisoners died over the next five years until the survivors were repatriated to France. The Prisoners Of Cabrera is an extraordinary story and a welcome addition to military history shelves chronicling the Napoleonic Wars.

This book's virtues are obvious. It is a very thorough, well-researched scholarly monograph covering all aspects of the public and private lives of the former Conservative prime minister of Canada. It is factually reliable and stylistically readable, if a touch dull.

But it is so thoroughly, comprehensively, persistently hostile towards its subject that it cannot be considered balanced or fair. It probably contains the truth (and nothing but the truth) about Diefenbaker, but it doesn't contain the WHOLE truth about him. The author is too obviously grinding an axe; his antipathy seems almost personal at times.

The cover is a clue to the contents, since it has a demonic close-up of a glowering Diefenbaker. Basically, the author thinks that the former PM did nothing right, apart from give South Africa a hard time on occasion. According to the author, everything Dief touched went wrong. His account of Diefenbaker's relations with John F. Kennedy are particularly disappointing. Absolutely nothing is granted to the PM's position while the President emerges as the very epitome of cool-headed reasonableness. (We know otherwise now.)

In other words, this is just a long, dull but dependably scholarly version of Peter Newman's anti-Diefenbaker polemics from the 1960s. It is as though the author wanted to make Newman's caricature of Diefenbaker respectable. Measured against that very low ambition, this book must be judged a success. Too bad the author didn't aim higher and produce a balanced picture of Diefenbaker warts and all, rather than just all wart.

This text appeared as I was attending graduate school in Toronto, Ontario. I ended up writing my thesis on a specific part of the Diefenbaker governments and this book is the reason why. (I'd also like to say that I wrote Smith about some of my research and he was very cooperative and professional!) Wonderfully researched and well written, you'll learn quite a bit about Dief the Chief and US-Canadian relations during the dangerous years from the late 50s to early 1960s; but you'll also learn more about the Canadian experience.

This book is simply must for anyone hoping to understand Canadian politics and culture.

This book has all you'll ever need to know about Canada's 13th PM. It is thoroughly (almost excessively!) researched, and covers the Chief's life from start to finish. At no point did I find myself thinking, "gee, I wish Smith could have provided us with more details or factual information". No book has gone this far in providing us with the definitive Dief!

This is a great GURPS book to use as a guide in futuristic campaigns. Adds new rules, new features and some do not appear in Compendium I. Teaches how to make any type of robot your imagination desires.

But nothing is perfect...
Did you ever think GURPS' rules are complex? Well, think twice before reading this book. There is an entire new chapter to cover new rules for size and shape, power matrix, type of body (humanoid, submarines, "snake" types, etc.). Oh and don't forget your calculator to build a new PC or NPC. I like rules, they make the game very realistic, but I have to say that after the second character the rules become a pain...

Thank to the Gods of roleplay, there is an example of making a robot character: A dangerous female robot that serves as bodyguard.

I'm sorry but after having spent the last 6 years in Italy studying Italian politics and Mussolini circa 1910-1950 I am obligated after having read this book to denounce it as a poorly researched overly biased work and it is pitiful to see this attempt to present the Authors anti mussolini anti Italian views as an historically accurate look at Mussolini by claiming to be his official biographer.

I'm sorry but this book is a piece of garbage, if you really objectively want to find out the truth about Mussolini you won't find it here - but you will find the it in Anthony James book the title of which is simply called "Mussolini".

I agree this book is definitely one sided and skewed. Mussolini was not a saint, however this book fails to mention any other aspect of his life, other than that of disturbed Hitler sidekick. The fact remains that Benito Mussolini was a leader in his own right. Many other biographies show his ability to make people have pride, and the 'mighty' Adolph Hitler twitch. look elsewhere for facts.

Other, later scholars have added a little here and there, but D. Mack Smith's biography of Mussolini is still definitive. It's a very insightful study of Il Duce's personality and psychology, backed up by impressive research and written in a very incisive, pungent style. Its only flaw is that it neglects to investigate very deeply the ideology and political structures of Italian fascism; but since Smith had already discussed these matters in his earlier, equally masterly book "Mussolini's Roman Empire", this lapse is forgivable. In fact, one would do well to read this biography in conjunction with Smith's earlier study to get a complete view of fascist Italy.

One more point: Readers should be aware that the "James" book recommended by a previous reviewer (from Japan) in place of Mack Smith's is a negligible, pro-fascist work dismissed by all reputable scholars in the field (but lauded by the so-called Institute for Historical Review, a Holocaust-denying propaganda organization). Stick with Mack Smith.

Truly a wonderful travel guide. This is a must have for your adventures in Amazing Thailand. This book gives you all the information you need, when you pack for your vacation this will be the only travel reference you will need to take with you. A valuable tool in exploring Bangkok and the surronding regions. The maps inside helped us get back to our hotel on more than one occasion, a definate life saver and an essential necessity.

I found Eyewitness Travel Guide for Thailand very informative, and easy to read. It had tons of pictures, facts, FYIs, and did I mention pictures? Like Eyewitness I agree that a picture is worth a thousand words. I also bought Lonely Planet's Travel Guide for Thailand, but liked Eyewitness' much better. Lonely Planet's Travel Guide had a more standard layout for the abundant amount of facts, but was limited on the pictures. The phrase at the bottom of Eyewitness' book holds true, "The Guides That Show You What Others Only Tell You."

If you are looking for a Thailand travel book, this is it. The many beautiful pictures and the well written articles on every aspect of Thai culture are invaluable for the traveller or the person who simply dreams of exotic locales. Definitely a must purchase!