The book tell a story almost forgotten, if known completely. Mr. Band surely has a unique backround to tell the story. Informative,entertaining and accurate!

Reading Bill Band's book was transportation in time. You get to know some of the young heroes who, with fire in their hair and determination in their hearts, were the Flying Tigers. Bill is a wonderful story teller, as giving of the truths of his own trepidations as the heroics of the 'Tigers' exploits. You can feel the adrenalin rush. You can see the tracers. And when you come back with a Japanese sailor's hat in your intake, you too will experience the thrill of combat - and the relief that you survive!

Here is one of the most exciting books I've ever read. It starts out with a one two punch and keeps you wanting to read more and more. It's the type of book that you hate to have come to an end. Bill Band has a marvelous flair for story telling that keeps you glued to the pages. Each chapter is a mini story in itself. He runs you through the complete gauntlet of your emotions. Best of all is his sense of humor. Those were some amazing times and he is one of the amazing people that lived to tell about it, and he tells it SO VERY WELL! The one thing to remeber is that we can put the book down and go do something else. They lived it every day!!!! We can never thank these brave pilots enough.

Don't let the dismal fact that this book is twenty-zillionth on the bestseller list discourageth you.... it is well worth orderething.

I first came to this book through the published endorsement (hence, not personal) of the great C.S. Lewis, who made his first reading of the Well in November of 1914. He read it many times thereafter.

In my ONE reading of the two volumes, I can attest to the fact that this is a beautiful story, a rich fantasy, a vibrant fairy-tale with no fairies. Among other things... a love story. Strictly speaking, as regards genre, it is a "romance". The chivalric, bardic story of Ralph of Upmeads, the least likely of the King's four sons, who devotes his life to the quest of the Well at The World's End... a fabled well which promises to reward its discoverer with perpetual youth.

If you are in love with Tolkien's The Lord of The Rings (and who isn't) you should definitely consider having an affair with The Well At The World's End. Let me defuse the daunting issue of Morris's use of archaic language. Be ye warned, in every sentence you will constantly encounter words such as forsooth, hitherward, quoth, whither, rideth, erstwhile, deem, draweth, betwixt, and I wot not else. At first I thought this would be really intolerable. But I quickly adapted to it, and even found it kind of "not vile".

Remember... Volume 2 is essential. It's NOT a sequel, it's a conclusion. Get both volumes, and escape the world of car horns and remote control for a bit.

I applaud this new re-issue of what is definitely a fantasy classic. Previously, one had to search a hundred used-book stores to find it. Now it's a click away.

And as regards it's place on the bestseller list? I am reminded of the wise words of the great Henrik Ibsen, who once suggested that "the solid majority is always wrong."

I've been interested in the history of fantasy for a while, and I was definately intrigued when I happened upon this title. I immediately ordered it and read it. The Well at the World's End is marvelous. Every once in a while I start wanting to read a romance, and this is a good romance. The story is pretty original and was very different for its time. The story follows Ralph as he searches for the WELL AT THE WORLD'S END. He has enemies and intrigued galor to fight through. Along the way, there is also a love story, too.

The Well at the World's End is a good read even for modern readers. It is an excellent example of "romance." It is also good just as a curiosity read. Fans of Tolkien, Lewis, and Eliot should visit William Morris's writings. Personally, my favorite thing about the book was the archaic prose. For the first twenty pages I thought it would be bothersome. After that, I was used to it and the book flowed nicely. It is sad that few people read William Morris today.

I rank this book up there with the Gormenghast series and the Lord of the Rings. A fantasy masterpiece, it is the precursor for everything that came after. Yes, the archaic medieval language is tough to get into at first, but after ten or twenty pages it becomes natural to the mind and presents no problem. One sees that the language is part of the beauty. Overall, this book is like one of those medieval detailed tapestries, with kings, adventurers, knights and noble women trotting through forests toward distant castles. This is medieval romance at its finest, and because it dates from 1898, it is happily free of the Tolkien imitativeness that has so infected a large portion of modern fantasy. Forget Terry Brooks, read The Well At the World's End.

Snaphots was a deeply satisfying read and all the more gratifying because I took a risk and picked up this book by a writer I had never heard of before.

This book has not gotten the attention it deserves. William Norris has a real gift for characterization; the people in his book come alive from the very first. Like Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections, Norris details the life of an American family and how they got to the places they are --but Norris chooses a path of sensitivity instead of contempt, and the results are characters that linger.

In his first novel, Snapshots, the author William Norris has crafted a cleverly plotted and worthwhile read. In the tradition of Harold Pinter's works and Girl in Hyacinth Blue by Susan Vreeland, Norris has told the story of the Mahoney family using the technique of presenting the family in present times and revealing more about them by moving through the past.

Ww first meet the Mahoney clan at the Jersey Shore as the Mahoney parents wait for each of their four children arrive to celebrate Christmas. Each of these children have past histories with each other and themselves and as in any family there are many emotional dynamics at work. The oldest daughter, a doctor, is coping with her demanding lifestyle and a reliance on alcohol to get through her days. The second daughter, who is married, is dealing with an emotional illness and her reliance on drugs to "keep her normal." The third child, a chef in England, longs to be with his girlfriend and is most content living far from his parents and siblings. Finally trhere is the youngest daughter, a vetenarian who can't bear to be separated from her woman lover whom she met in college. And presiding over this holiday reunion are the Mahoney parents who aren't quite sure who these adults belong to.

As the name of the book implies, readers are offered verbal vignettes about this family which serve as literary snapshots of this family. The book ends when the children are quite young and have spent the day at the Jersey shore with their parents. As they pack up and head for home all is before them but already one senses that some of the seeds have been planted for their futures. And while we as readers know most of the future, it is intriguing to see the children evolve and to put the puzzle pieces together till we finish the book.

This was a poignant novel especially for anybody who has raised a child and wondered "what if" or "why?"

This was a fine first novel to read and savor. And now I look forward to another book by William Norris.

I have read the Turkish version of this book. I was sleepless until I finised the book, and after me, 8 of my friends were sleepless when reading the same book. It gives great historical knowledge with a very fluent language so that you can't stop yourself reading it. But unfortunately I couldn't find the next book "The gardens of Badalpuor" either in English or Turkish.

I have read this novel in French, and I have found it is one of the best books I have ever read. More, I've also read the next book 'The gardens of Badalpour". I recommend widely these books to lovers of historical novels.

I have read this novel in English and in Spanish, and I have found it is one of the best books I have ever read. Historically, It gives you a realistic glimpse of the fall of the Turkish Empire, the life in Lebanon and the life in India during the last days of the British Dominion. The story of the princess and her daughter is dramatic and sweet at the same time. I recommend widely this book to lovers of historical novels.

Asterix The Gaul was first published in French in 1961 and in English only in 1969.
The first of the Asterix books , it is a very clever and witty piece of work on the Roman occupation of Gaul in 50 BC-with a fair amount of Latin quips in too -read Asterix and you'll soon become familiar with 'Quid' , 'Vae victo , vae victus' and 'Morituri te salutant'.
It begins with the familiar scene of well thumped Roman legionnaires reporting their defeat to an incensed Roman centurion (in this case Crismus Bonus) who then hatches a plan to deal with the Gauls which our heroes always in the end foil.

It also includes such recurring themes as Cacofonix and his hated singing , the magic potion (and why Obelix cannot have any ) and a guest appearance by Julius Caesar.It ends as always without he Gauls feasting their heroes 'under a starry sky...victorious over their enemies , thanks to magic the protection of the gods and low cunning'.

Unlike all of its successors in this book , Obelix does not even offer to accompany Asterix on his adventure (which is so unlike the Obelix we know from all of the other Asterix books).
There are some gaps in the dialogue and there is unusually not one woman or girl in the first book . drawbacks which will be made up for in the other Asterix books.

Nevertheless it is a great start to your Asterix collection and an amusing little book.

Someplace growing up I ran into the Asterix titles, with a four volume set beginning with Asterix the Gaul. As a child I enjoyed the antics; as an adult I enjoy the puns and historical allusions. It continually amazes me to realize that this is originally a French production, and yet translated into English and some 20 other languages, and the puns *still* translate! That's not easy to do. And while later episodes decline in quality and are suitable more for children, stories like Asterix the Gaul are great for children of 30 years too.

The very names provide example of brilliant use of dialogue. Asterix- a small, seeming addition. Obelisk, who delivers menhirs. Getafix, the Druid. (Remember, this series began in the 60's.) Cacaphonix, the Bard, and Vitalstatistix, the chief. In the same vein, the authors use contemporary differences between cultures and play them upon the ancient Gaulish-Roman dispute. This is about the only place one can find swearing in Latin- "ipso facto", "sic", etc. Or the taking of Toutanis' name in vain.

This is the first book in a series about Asterix, his funny friend Obelix, and the wise druid, Getafix. These hilarious adventures take place in the Roman Era. Goscinny and Uderzo do a splendid job of capturing you in the first book of this priceless collection.

What a truly great reader this book turned out to be. Easy to pick up, difficult to put down, and filled with inspiration. While a small percentage of war techniques do not transfer to the business world; Axelrod pulls concise information and quidance from a library of the General's quotes. Wars are won by making the enemy die for his country. Always move forward. When in doubt, attack. The soldier is the army. Gather accurate information and make decisions quickly. And take the high ground.

My only complaint is with the author's desire to open the book with political-correctness and apologies for Patton's frank language.

This book will spark you up and fill you with pride, boldness, and audacity! I have found my Covey books and Minute Mangers have collected dust where "Patton on Leadership" is starting to look like a well worn Bible.

Having worked in a number of corporate environments, this book struck a nerve. There are so many self-help-styled "How to be a great manager" titles out there that when you finally read something with some substance to it, based strictly on the tried-and-true principles of this country's greatest advocate of leadership skills, that you can't help but be reminded that it is the basics that are worth all.

It may seem trite to some that this book merely takes quotes and extracts from Patton's life and writings and develops them to highlight various aspects of leadership, yet the study of leadership is deceptively simple in this regard; leadership is taking people where they must go, focusing on what is truly important and worthwhile. And the great leader is always one of the troops, not some invulnerable sage from On High. It should be noted that prior to reading this book, the reader is strongly advised to read Carlo D'Este's superb biography, "Patton: A Genius for War" in order to appreciate who Patton was as a man before he was, well, George C. Scott. Suffering from severe dyslexia, he struggled to get through West Point and VMI. His tortured efforts to memorize the works of great historical military leaders apparently left an indelible mark on his thinking, yet what remained throughout his life was the underlying principle that it is leadership that wins wars and not abstractions like courage or heroism.

Military units are like spaghetti, he said, which must be pulled rather than pushed. And this man lead from the front. So when you read in these pages that a leader must endure what his/her minions endure in order to earn (earn!) their respect, he knows what he is talking about.

I once worked at a computer software company that specialized in healthcare programs, and our V.P. of Sales gave a long-winded speech about how we must all "tighten our belts and stay focused on lean expenditures!" The very next day the S.O.B. drove into work in a brand new BMW 700 series car (company car, of course). Just what kind of leadership is that?! Leadership by example, or by arrogant authoritarianism?

Want to hold the reins and lead with certainty and conviction? Here's the manual!

Frederick the Great may have said it, but George "Blood 'n Guts" Patton lived it. What a remarkable man, and what a remarkable presentation about that man, his life and his leadership skills. One should read this book just for the hell-of-it if not for any other reason. What a great first read for anyone wishing to know more about the General.

First of all, this book reads well and fast, and it's hard to put down. Mr. Axelrod tells a great story, conveys the essence of Patton's Generalship and Management styles, and along the way adds some very good history. Axelrod clears up the legends and myth surrounding the famous slapping incident, and details the campaigns into Bastogne and to Berlin in short, clear and entertaining fashion. It was truly enjoyable to read this book.

To keep the record straight, the format of the book allows for a 3 - 4 hour total read time due to the fact that many of the pages have only 18 - 25 lines of print on them, where as others are in standard layout. The stories will excite, entertain, and cause "out-loud" laughter. The language is harsh sometimes, but perfectly appropriate to the original situation.

I say get the SOB book and read it "...every God damn night", and smile.

I first read this highly informative, often hilarious book for Intro to Political Science back in college. In this short tome are pearls of wisdom about politics and human nature still relevant 100 years later. Plunkitt, high atop his regular boot-black stand in NYC, declaims to his biographer, Riordan, a life spent in the political machine known as Tammany Hall, with such disarming honesty that is nearly non-existent today. Plunkitt's diatribes on "honest graft vs. dishonest graft," "Brooklynites Natural-Born Hayseeds," and the evils of civil service exams are outright hilarious. I highly recommend this book to anyone with even a passing interest in politics.

Plunkitt was a king in a world that needed benevolent despots. In a place like turn of the century of New York before Keynesian economics and the Welfare State, Tammany was the only relief the poor knew. Plunkitt reveals with refreshing honesty the seemingly rough and coarse manner with which one needed to play the game of politics in his town. However, one must look at it in context. This was a different time from our own, and the reader must imagine whether a person of Plunkitt's demeanor can last in the information age political world. Then again, the book also illustrates how many of the problems Tammany had still exist today.

I originally read this book in undergraduate school as Political Science major, and had to go back and find a copy because of the profound affect it had on my psyche. George Washington Plunkitt was a "stereotypical" politician. You know, the one who says what he needs to say to get elected; but once there does what's necessary for his party.

Comparing his comments to the actions of present day politicians, I don't think there are many differences. Everyone does a little grafting and civil servants are still "civil servants." Understood?

As with any politician, Plunkitt "seen (his) opportunities and (he) took 'em." This is a must for anyone interested in any realm of politics.

I read Goldman's Temple of Gold in 1963 and have read it many times since. Goldman took me into the character of Raymond. I experienced his joys, his accomplishments and his sorrows. To write a novel had been a dream of mine my entire life. That is, until I read Raymonds story. When I finished the book, I knew that I never would, because this was the book that I would have written..

This book is one of William Golding's best! Being a fan of his writing (beginning with the Princess Bride) I fell upon this book. I honestly feel it is a novel that has gone unnoticed. Every time I reread this compelling novel about friendship and love I find a new aspect that I missed previously. This about a struggle of a man who lacked the emotional support from his family and found it only in a friend whom he lost and a girl he can't express it to. Golding does a wonderful job of making the reader feel and think like the main character. Despite the main character's flaws and seemingly emotional stupidity you want to be him or at least be his friend. Rarely does a reader find humor and saddness in parents such as is and the description of friendship so rare. Worth reading at the very least for the small insights to life and the humor

I read this book as a teenager and it "spoke" to me. I read it again as an adult and found it even more meaningful. It's funny and terribly sad; it will make you roar with laughter and cry with anguish. I have read practically all of Goldman's novels and, although I've enjoyed each of them, I've found most to be like cotton-candy; they taste great but don't have a whole lot of nutritious value. The Temple of Gold is a feast for the soul; the stuff of life.

Thats right. One of the best books I have ever read. I have already purchased some 5 copies for my friends - to share the beauty of the book with them too. Its a masterpiece.

The depth of description about a bird, and its daily life, is described here in a way I have come across before. But thats not what its all about. There are many concepts discovered here, and it makes the reader ponder. Issues such as war, friendship, love, dreams, insanity and sanity.

I especially got involved in Birdy's dream. I am a bit of a dreamer too. He goes onto explore the fact that maybe we living now, is a dream. And the dream that both you and I will have tonight, is actually our real life. I liked this view.

Buy the book, its very much out of the ordinary, and I hope you really enjoy it as much as I did! Happy Reading!

I just happened upon this book in my school's library one day last week. I decided to get it out if only because my own facination with flight seemed somewhat similar to the storyline. I read the whole thing that day, and I still can't get it out of my mind. I went back to the library maybe hoping for a sequel (I always do that), but since there was none I got out the only other Wharton books they had: Dad and A Midnight Clear. While they were both great books and I enjoyed them greatly (even though I'm usually a strictly scifi fan and this really far from my range), none of them are even half as good as Birdy. Theres something about that book that makes you think about it long after you've turned the last page. Now I need to get the movie.

This is an incredible and beautifully told tale of friendship, sanity(& insanity,) obsession and the horrors of war. The second reading is even better! As a bird lover and owner, I especially enjoyed the details of what the experience of being a bird is really like. I can only suppose that William Wharton has spent time as a bird, or has some very close friends who are birds and were willing to describe the experience of "birdness" to him for this book. The story of friendship and growing up is quite moving and enjoyable with much humor and insight. The section dealing with the boys' job as dogcatchers should be skipped or abridged by the squeamish, (or animal lovers, such as my spouse, who take fiction for reality too easily!) Highly recommended! Two enthusiastic wings up! (P.S. Also recommended; "Dad" by William Wharton.)

What Cronon does with this book that is quite ground-breaking is to understand the events surrounding the arrival of colonists in the new world not in terms of colonists arriving in a pristine, untouched wilderness. Instead he carefully shows how the Native Americans had been shaping their environment quite significantly for hundreds of years before contact with europeans. He also shows how the idea of the commodity shaped the differences between "Western" and "Native" land use practices.
The book is immaculately researched and thouroughly footnoted. It is a must read for anyone interested in the history of New England or even just in how people interact with their eco-system in general.

At one point in my life, I read every single thing ever written on the Puritans; I was preparing for a dissertation that took me a year to prepare for, only to find somebody else published almost exactly what I was working on a month before I sat down to write. To this day, I have an inordinate fondness for books on the Puritans that mystifies my friends. Like all fans, I know everything there is to know about the subject at hand. So my joy in discovering "Changes in the Land" was in finding a book that told me much that I didn't know about the Puritans. William Cronon, a student of my favorite colonial historian Edmund Morgan, has come up with an excellent mix of ecology and anthropology, history and theology. The development of New England as a land separate from the Indians, and from their uses of the land, is one which resonates throughout American mythology. From the Pilgrims' first Thanksgiving (wherein their wholesale adoption of Indian agriculture kept them starving) to the wholesale abandonment of New England farms in the early 1800s due to their miniscule returns, Cronon covers all the bases. A truly fine read for anybody wishing to know more about the history of ecology, the dynamics of invasion, or the Puritans themselves.

Make no mistake about it. An interdisciplinary interpretation of history is here to stay. Thanks to farsighted historians like Dr. William Cronon and his ethno-ecological study of New England, circa 1600 to1800, entitled Changes in the Land, an enlightening perception of colonial times in New England is depicted by a well-documented mix of anthropology, ecology, sociology, biology, and environmental history. The actual text of the book comprises 171 pages with no less than 35 pages of notes, and an innovative bibliographical essay encourages further study. Cronon clearly states his thesis and purpose for the book in the preface, "the shift from Indian to European dominance in New England entailed important changes" (vii). Cronon not only evaluates the reorganization of people but also stresses the effects of changes on the New England plant and animal populations. With political and military history kept to a minimum, an intriguing analysis compares the ecological histories of the New England Indians to the European settlers and reveals the resulting environmental alterations incurred. There were basic ethno-ecological differences between how both cultures viewed the earth. The New England Indians perceived the natural world with reciprocal sustenance (63) for 10,000 years (33), but the colonists envisioned commodities and wealth in what the earth could provide (75). Within the short period of two hundred years, the environment of New England could not sustain the few Indians who survived the diseases of the Europeans, because the land, plants, animals, and even the climate had changed (169).

These changes seemed very subtle at first. In order to trade for metal utensils, the Indians killed more and more beaver (83). In this way the Indians started to view nature, or their environment, as a commodity instead of a gift to be shared (92). Cronon does not assume that the Indians had no effect upon their native environment (viii) nor that the colonists came to a pristine wilderness (11). What Cronon does enumerate is how the two sets of ecological relationships, Indian and colonist, came to live upon the same land (15). Early in the affiliation, the European settlers came to disrespect the Indians, because although the Indians lived in a land overflowing with natural "wealth," the Indians looked like the poor back in Europe (54). Marshall Sahlins is quoted by Cronon, "there are in fact two ways to be rich, [. . .] Wants may be 'easily satisfied' either by producing much or desiring little" (79-80). The indigenous residents of New England desired little, while the European colonists seemed economically motivated to produce much from the land and introduced the Old World concepts of value and scarcity, using cost as the only constraint to consider (81) (168).

Unfortunately, neither the land nor the Indians could withstand the monumental alterations to come: an Indian "money" system in the form of wampum (97), epidemics which wiped out entire villages (85-90), the severe reduction in native animal populations (98-101), domesticated animals that grazed wildly on indigenous plants and even ocean clams (128-150), deforestation (109-126), the surface of the earth responding more drastically to climatic changes (122-123), flooding (124), the "drying up of streams and springs" (125), land ownership and pastoralism replacing shared land conservation (137-141), soil depletion (147-152), and the introduction of weeds and migrant pests (153-155). The New England landscape went from forests and freedom to "fields and fences" (156). This book vividly correlates the significant and divergent relationship between the New England Indians, the colonial settlers, and the environment they could no longer share. Changes in the Land by William Cronon, winner of the 1984 Francis Parkman Prize, serves as a fine academic example in cross-curricular historical documentation.