I expected more for my $35. This is a rather short book in which we hear at least as much from the editor as we do from Sgt. Smith. The reason for this is that many of the roughly 70 letters in the book are brief and lack much substance.

Those who've had experience with using civil war letters for research are painfully aware that it's usually a hit and miss affiar. The letters in this book have varying amounts of substance, just like most letters I've used for my research in college. The easiest explination for this is the monotony of life for a civil war soldier between the battles. However, Eric Wittenberg more than makes up for the understandable lack of action in some letters (hey, armies don't fight all the time) with his excellent commentary. This is the third work of Mr. Wittenberg's that I've read and once again I'm impressed by his grasp of the material and by his fortune of finding these wonderful letters. This book is a truly valuable source for all civil war cavalry researchers.

I am as impressed with Mr. Wittenberg's command of words as I am with the letters he annotates in this book. Sgt. Smith was a prolific writer, who at times may have left out a few details, but Mr. Wittenberg did a great job of filling those details in. For those who want to know what soldiers were really like during the Civil War, this is a good place to start!

Not really much else to say about a humor book...

Burke and Flateau have put forth an extremely acute yet absent-minded commentary. They are keenly aware of the lack of idiotic behavior in American society, and the Idiot's Handbook is a valiant attempt to remedy that situation.
Everything from historic idiotic literature to idiotic music, from examples of idiotic behavior to the science and universe of the idiots, is included in this exhaustive compilation of every stupid thing the authors thought up over their high school years. There are even (fake) advertisments to show the reader all the products that Burke and Flateau would, had they the means, make available to the general populace in order to help them become better idiots.
In order to understand it, one must first realize the nature of this work. What the authors have actually done is to make idiocy into an institution: many of the catch phrases, silly habits, and crazy tendencies that we all display have actually formed this manual for idiots. It is also necessary to employ all of one's imagination in reading it; in order to get most of the jokes, one must imagine the situations, the sounds, and the sights. In this way it is also a modern "interactive" book.
The Idiot's Handbook is, in a word, stupid. But in two words, it's ingeniously stupid...

The introduction says "This is a book about the things people say about images". As a person who buys a lot of instructional books which I hope are insightful and succinct I found this overwritten. Someone liking miles of wordy literary type criticism might find it appealing.

Obviously, as a primary source, this is valuable material, but I have to admit that I found it rather dull. Naturally it isn't fair to judge someone's personal letters on their literary quality, but I wish Goree had seen fit to describe his tasks as an aide, battles (Gettysburg, to my recollection, never appears here), or, well, anything. He focuses primarily on how all his various relatives are doing and so on. At the end of the book letters between him, General Longstreet, and other aides have been appended which will interest those studying the various controversies which have surrounded Longstreet. I really can't see how the non-specialist will enjoy this.

I bought this book as a general reference on Fatima while doing some personal research, and found it to be wholely unsuited to my purposes.

As an introduction, the book lacks the necessary structure to introduce those unfamiliar with basic the basic details of Fatima. Rather, it is an argumentative text that strikes me in the same manner as the publications of the Marian Movement of Priests.

I skipped a good deal of this book due to general frustration with the rambling approach and the extension of scope beyond Fatima and into generalized Marian apparitions.

That this book lacks Nihil obstat and Imprimatur is telling, although the author notes the Vatican ruling that these are not required. The author's assertion of unconditional submission is heartening, however. Yet the Foreword is vey defensive in tone, and this defensiveness seems to permeate the work to follow. Perhaps Dr. Petrisko has suffered supression and criticism to justify this generalized tone, but it comes across as something of a persecution complex.

Overall, I would recommend a more sober review of Fatima, and a separate review of Medjugorje and Marian apparitions before approaching this work.

Warning to true Catholics: This book promotes Medjugorje. The Medjugorje apparition is not approved by the Church and has been denounced by some of the highest members of the Church, including Father Malachi Martin, Father Fiore, Cardinal Ratzinger, and many others. "I don't know what's coming out of Medjugorje, but its definitely NOT Our Lady." -- Father John O'Conner. Medjugorje is deceptively promoting socialism (the dangerous political system of Karl Marx that has killed more people than any other in recorded history, by far.) This book is entirely too flattering to Medjugorje, and it doesn't bother to refute the seemingly endless amount of anti-Catholic "messages" coming from the apparition. For those who know their Catechism, this book will probably repulse you. For those who are lost, this book will lead you further down the garden path.

I cannot agree with the first reviewer. This book is well written and is primarily focused on the APPROVED apparition of Fatima and links events, etc.. into a very interesting process of thought. The Medjugore ref is not the main line here, and by the way, I can't agree with the reviewers ideas about the message of Medjugore and no-matter - if you read the messages given in concern to Medjugore - they are about prayer, turning away from sin - I have never read about it being disapproved by Ratzinger and others listed. In fact from what I have read, the Pope has seemed to be favorable about it. I trust John Paul II. I also must add that even if you don't know how you feel about Medjugore - there are also focuses on Akita,etc.. basically the major apparitions that have been reported. Please do consider reading this book - it is very interesting with it's heart centered on Fatima which is approved. Read and decide for yourself, ask God to help you discern about this book in prayer. God Bless!

Recently I brought a 36 foot boat from Whitby, Ontario through the Canal System, down the Hudson, through Hell Gate to Long Island Sound. I thought this book would be my bible, but found almost no useful information. The book is written entirely from the perspective of going up river, and is very hard to follow if you're going down. Much of the information is already out of date - several times when we tried to follow its advise, the marina or docking area it decribed was non-existent. Other facilities are ignored. For example, Whitby, which has two large marinas was not mentioned. The discussion of going the through locks was rather limited, though probably helpful to the small boat owner. There were very few pictures - certainly not enough to show what the canals are like. Also, the book stopped (actually started) at the Battery without mention of Hell Gate, which must be of interest to a significant number of readers. I suppose this book would be helpful to a power boater looking for the next restaurant, but it was a major disappointment to me.

More than a book it is a collection of papers, not always easy to understand and written in academic language. It could be used as a reference by one who knows already the subject. Not recommended for beginners