Having first read this book while on active service I found the story truly amazing from the units last action against the Red Army to the hand to hand struggles with the Viet Minh in French Indochina.This story tells of how former German SS Partsian hunters used skills learned fighting in Russia during WW2 against Russian guerrillas to fight an equally determained enemy on instead of the Steppes of Russia it was the jungles of VietNam.Many of my friends have read this book and are eqully amazed as I was.The book having been read soo much is now falling apart being held together by tape.This is one of the best books on warfare I have read and Iam trying to get the others written by the same author

This is without a doubt the best and most definitive work on the former SS anti partisans who were recruited for the French Foriegn Legion after WW2. [Some people claim] this book is fiction, it is not. the Devils Brigade was real, and was the most effective combat unit that the French government had deployed in what was then known as "French Indo China". This is a work reportedly derived from the memoirs of one " Hans Wagemuller"( not his real name)and details the "Devils Guard" in action in Cochin China against the Viet Minh, in the years before Dien Bien Phu. The combat action is real and clearly presented. The main characters come alive on the pages of this incredibly exciting and absorbing book. This should be a must read for every NCO who will lead troops in ground combat or small unit actions. Every teacher of military history should read this book about the combat experiences of a field unit that was combat effective in a part of the world that would eventually embroil the United States and its allies. claiming an excess of 58,382 American lives. One of my friends and mentors was Henry Thibedoux( Henry Africa)during my tour(s)of duty at the Presidio of San Francisco. He was a well known and colorful figure. a retired 2REP from the the Legion, he owned two popular bars in the Van Ness area of San Francisco. Henry knew some of these Legionaires, and confirmed the validity of the basics this story. A must Book, along with the sequels if you can find them!
mine are under glass!
Viva La Legion!

Excellent expose of real history! I read (and still have) the first two books (Devil's Guard I and II) but just found out there was a third. I know a former U.S. army veteran whose father served in the German army during WWII. He knew nothing about these books BUT he did know about the events disclosed in this series. His father had friends (former German Army soldiers) who did serve with the French Foreign Legion in Vietnam...and they did know about the Legion of the Damned. One reviewer stated that the author (Elford) was sympathetic to the Nazi's. He should read the forward to the first book. Elford is relating Hans Josef Wagemuller's story. He is not uplifting or downplaying the role of the former Nazi's actions under the French in Vietnam. Wagemuller (not his real name) is the one telling HIS own story. I would dearly love to find the third volume...to add to my twenty year old collection.

Jean Craighead George describes how wolves survive in the wild and what the wolf pack goes through to survive. This is a great book to learn about wolves and their actions and the relations they have with humans and other animals. I thought it was a little slow moving and it didn't keep my interest going very well. It dragged on about the wolves' lives and was very repetitive. There wasn't a lot of descriptive writing to keep the interest flowing. But learning about the wolves was interesting and I enjoyed that.

Julie's Wolf Pack, by Jean Craighead George, is a well-written, detailed story about a wolf pack's adventurous life throughout the tundra. This is an excellent book because the author writes with great detail about every aspect of an ordinary wolf pack, while including an interesting story about the danger that wolves face in their lifetime. This publication is about the many hardships that the Avalic wolf pack faces including being hunted by hunters, scoured by doctors for good reason, surviving with all of the other deadly animals, and much more. But what happens when Kapu, the Avalics alpha-male is abducted by outsiders to the wolves? Will Kapu survive? And what will the hopeless pack do without him?

This book is being recommended because of the superb detail in this story, and the point of view of this book. This book is in the perspective of the wolves, as if one is with the wolves or even is one of the wolves when reading the book. This allows the reader to understand the situation of the wolves better, whether it is danger, hunger, or even love. The incredible detail in this story is shown often throughout the book. When Raw Bones, a rebellious member of the Avalics tries to overcome the alpha-male Kapu, the facial expressions, feelings, and actions are brought out so well that it puts a clear picture of what's going on in the reader's mind. The wolves' appearance before and after the skirmish, and at other times in the book are also conveyed perfectly. This is an outstanding book because of the way certain things are described, and the wolf point of view to help the reader understand exactly what's happening in the book.

Some people might not find this book so great because they think that books about animals are boring. This is not a good enough reason why not to read this book because even if someone doesn't like animal stories, the plot is so brilliant that that it wouldn't matter. The story creates a thriller that the reader can't put down because of how well this book is put together. This recommendation is influenced by the exceedingly well-written words by George, and the perspective of the book, which makes a fascinating book worth reading.

This was an inspiring book that sometimes made me feel that I was in on the action! Jean C. G. really put to mind the feelings of the wolves in this book. I would surly recommend it to people with an interest in animals. But be sure to first read "Julie of the Wolves" as this book comes before "Julie's Wolf Pack."

*Murder Boogies with Elvis* is the eighth and final book in the Southern Sisters mystery series by Anne George. As with the previous seven novels, I loved every minute spent with Mary Alice and Patricia Anne and their families. If you haven't read these yet, definitely try the first novel, *Murder on a Girls' Night Out.*

In *Elvis*, Mary Alice is planning her fourth marriage (widowed three times) to Sheriff Virgil Stukey and Patricia Anne is continuing to enjoy her retirement and planning the return of her pregnant daughter, Haley, and her husband Phillip from Russia. When Stukey and Mary Alice invite Patricia and her husband to a night of fundraising to renovate everyone's favorite semi-attired statue, Vulcan, the Rockette-like Elvis impersonator routine ends in one less Elvis. Unfortunately, the murder weapon is found in Patricia Anne's purse days later, and once again, the two sisters jump into the investigation, hoping to find the murderer in time for Mary Alice's wedding.

What an enjoyable end to the Southern Sister series. We will mourn the loss of Anne George and enjoy the entire series for years to come.

I am a huge fan of Anne Carroll George. I love all of her books. "Murder Boogies with Elvis" is a wonderful continuation of her previous books. Her books are one continuing story of Patricia Anne, Mary Alice, Fred, Woofer - I could name them all but anyone who has read any of her books knows all of the characters by name, too. Unfortunately, the story is ending with this book. I am so sad that this is the last book. I want to "watch" Debbie's twin girls and Brother grow; I want to know about the birth of Joanna, Haley's baby; I want to know if Haley will let Patricia Anne keep Muffin when she and Philip return from Warsaw; I want to know about the next murder that Patricia Anne and Mary Alice will investigate. There are so many quirky characters whose lives make her books so interesting. It is very sad that Ms. George's life was cut short. I miss her, but at least we have the few books she wrote to keep us company.

This book is a must read for all fans of Ms. George. Her writing from one book to the next is so consistent - she never skips anything from one book to the next.

Everyone's favorite southern sisters, bigger than life and soon to be married for the fourth time, Mary Alice (Sister) and prim and petite, Patricia Anne (Mouse) had really been looking forward to the big benefit to raise money for the restoration of Birmingham's Vulcan monument. They had front row center seats and couldn't wait for the promised finale of thirty Elvis impersonators all on stage, together. But, it seems that wherever the girls go, trouble follows and sure enough, one member of the high kicking Elvis chorus line keels over and crashes, dead, into the orchestra pit. It turns out that poor "Elvis" was murdered, stabbed in the back and to make matters worse, Patricia Anne finds the murder weapon, a switchblade knife, at the bottom of her purse..... Ann George has written a light, fast paced mystery, full of original quirky characters and vivid scenes that come alive on the page. But it's her crisp, witty writing and laugh out loud southern humor that really makes this book, as it does in all her others, stand out and no one captures the essence of life in the south, with all its idiosyncrasies, like Ms George. This is the eighth mystery of a truly wonderful series. If you're new to the many travails of Mary Alice and Patricia Anne, start at the beginning and read them all. If you're already a fan, Murder Boogies With Elvis is just what you're expecting...a fun, entertaining, terrific read.

Martin Goldsmith, the familiar voice of National Public Radio's "Performance Today," writes simply in The Inextinguishable Symphony of his parents' meeting, courtship, and marriage during 1930s Nazi Germany. The irony of the situation is not lost on Goldsmith, who recognizes that the young Jewish couple would not have met (and he would not have been conceived) except for the Kulturbund, a group of Jewish artists, musicians, dancers, and writers who existed as a propaganda tool of the Third Reich. Thus, the purpose of the work is twofold: on the historical level, it traces the Kulturbond, describes its leaders, and explains the circumstances under which the unique group thrived for a few years. But on a more personal level, it is a love story about two young musicians working and living in a hostile regime while creating a safe haven for themselves, a world surrounded by the beautiful music of Bach, Mozart, and Mahler and the poetry of Heine, Shakespeare, and Goethe.

The book is a page-turner, especially for anyone who is interested in music and the performing arts. While the purely historical books quote the facts and figures, Goldsmith places the reader right smack in the middle of Nazi Germany, viewing the action from the perspective of his father as a youth. Twenty-two year old Gunther Goldschmidt is a typical student; he has a crush on a beautiful harpist who rejects him. When his best female friend, a young German girl, is impregnated by a handsome, dashing young French art student, he stands by her. Later on, he meets Rosemarie, Goldsmith's mother, and elects to remain in Germany rather than immigrate to Sweden. It is an exciting, movingly written memoir somewhat in the tradition of Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes.

Yet, like so many other Holocaust writers, Goldsmith really cannot answer the question that his narrative begs. Germany, the nation of Bach, Schumann, and Brahms, degenerates into a nightmare world dominated by thugs who seem intent on destroying the very cultural institutions that the Nazis claim to protect. The Germans are accurately, though rather shallowly, portrayed as monsters, particularly in the sections that describe the so-called Crystal Night. For example, one particularly horrifying photograph depicts a pair of attractive young German women laughing jubilantly at a group of Jewish men who have been dragged out of their homes, removed from their families, beaten, and are in the process of marching towards a prison.

However, Hitler's documented personal hatred of the Jews neither excuses nor explains the sadistic behavior that ordinary Germans evidently exhibited toward this beleaguered group. In fact, the book does not shed any light on the circumstances that led to such moral bankruptcy, a predicament that is only partially explained by the Nazis. Goldsmith's Germans are, for the most part, mean and stupid; certainly they must have appeared that way to his talented and sensitive young parents. But what causes them to be psychologically predisposed toward abusing outsiders - not just Jews but Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, and others?

In defense of Goldsmith, a case certainly can be made for his memoir on the grounds that the answer to such a question is far beyond the scope of the book. It is, after all, a terrifically moving and exceptionally well-written work. I would highly recommend it.

Martin Goldsmith, a senior commentator for National Public Radio, paints a vivid and poignant story about his own mother and father in "The Inextinguishable Symphony." Goldsmith's parents, both German Jewish musicians, were forced to work in one of Germany's Judische Kulturbunds, which were really little more than forced Nazi propaganda. By creating the Kulturbunds, which only Jews could join and attend, the Nazis hoped to cover up their inhumane treatment of this ethnic group.

Both of Martin Goldsmith's parents were talented, highly trained musicians. His father, Gunther Goldschmidt, was the son of Alex Goldschmidt, a prosperous clothing store owner in Oldenburg, Germany and a World War I veteran. Gunther, a budding flutist, was eventually forced to leave music school simply because he was a Jew.

Goldsmith's mother, Rosemarie, was a violinist who had been trained by her own father, the director and owner of the Gumpert Conservatory of Music in Dusseldorf, Germany. Both Gunther and Rosemarie considered themselves Germans first and Jews second, and both were happy to be accepted into the Kulturbund...at first.

On 9. November 1938, the eve of the horrible "Kristallnacht," the Jewish community in Germany was forced to take another look at their comfortable Kulturbunds, for it is on that date that the Nazis chose to burn synagogues and Jewish places of business. When Alex Goldschmidt marched down the streets of Oldenburg with other young Jewish men in protest, he was rapidly taken to prison. The Nazis, however, attempted to "smooth things over" by telling the Jews they were only "protecting" them from other, angry German citizens.

In 1941, when the Nazis closed the Kulturbunds, Gunther and Rosemarie escaped to freedom in New York City. Other patrons and musicians, however, did not make it to safety. As a memorial plaque at one Kulterbund reads, "Almost all of those who worked here were murdered in concentration camps."

The Goldschmidts, now the Goldsmiths, eventually settled in Ohio where Martin Goldsmith was born in 1952. Although his father gave up music forever, his mother later became a member of the Cleveland Orchestra.

"The Inextinguishable Symphony" is a book about Nazi Germany that gives us another view of the era and of the Holocaust. Rather than focusing on the camps as excellent authors such as Elie Wiesel and Primo Levi have done, Goldsmith focuses on the plight of Jews who managed to remain out of the camps, yet lived very restricted lives.

This book is a fascinating account and one that is extremely well-written. I would recommend it highly to anyone who is interested in this period in world history.

This is a remarkable account of Martin Goldsmith's parents who survived the early years of the Nazi regine through music. I have, however, labeled this review as "used" because, as Goldsmith so wisely noted, the organization set up by the Nazis was a tool in their hands to placate the west into thinking that the Jews were NOT being mishandled. When the real schemes of Hitler and his henchmen became better known, the Jews were out of the picture. Fortunately for some, they (like Goldsmith's parents) were able to escape to America...but not all. Many in the jewish community could not see, or pehaps did not wish to see the horrors which were about to become realities. This account gives yet another view into the those days of the late 30s as Hitler was gaining more power at the expense of human life. What is disturbing is that so many in Germany were misled by the lies of this little man with the funny mustache. This could make a person wonder what lies are being told today, lies which are taking people down the wrong road. The book is a must read for anyone wishing to become more familiar with this awful time in human history. Goldsmith is to be commended for the effort. Lets hope that many of today's teens will be encouraged to read this account, an important work in the face of today's revisionists, those who would say the holocaust did not happen.

Hacking Linux Exposed by Brian Hatch, James Lee and George Kurtz, is a nice follow-up to their bestselling Hacking Exposed . While not as groundshaking as its predecessor, the new book does provide a good reference for people just starting with Linux. Anyone who is setting up or planning to set up a Linux network should consider owning it, together with the appropriate Linux administration manuals.

Hacking Linux Exposed covers security administration issues such as FTP, sendmail (but for some reason, not POP3/IMAP servers) and web server setup; it also discusses local user security issues and touches lightly on Linux firewalling and other network access controls (TCP wrappers).

The book includes a big section on keeping your system updated, which outlines methods used by several popular Linux distributions (rpm from RedHat, apt-get from Debian and pkgtool from Slackware). This information is essential to the security of any Linux machine, whether a home workstation or company server.

The focus is Linux, but the book also covers some other important security areas. It attempts to offer a total solution for Linux security, starting with general infosec philosophy (such as proactive security), and moving on to physical security, social engineering, Trojan programs, access control, user security and server setup. Each security problem is rated for global risk on a 1 to 10 scale, factoring in frequency, simplicity and impact. In general, the book is more encyclopedia than detailed guide, as it strives toward breadth over depth.

I'm a big fan of the Hacking Exposed style of writing. All offensive theory is backed up by command line examples, followed by defensive countermeasures. Hacking Exposed: Linux, 2nd Ed (HE:L2E) follows this tradition, updating the content of the first edition and adding 200 pages of new content. Although I reviewed the first edition in Sep 01, reading the second edition reminded me of the challenges posed by securely configuring and deploying Linux systems.

The best way to learn while reading HE:L2E is to try the sample commands. I also recommend visiting the links mentioned and installing many of the tools described by the authors. I found programs like raccess, nsat (ch. 3), sslsniff (ch. 7), nstx, and httptunnel (ch. 15) particularly interesting from an attacker's point of view. From a system administration standpoint, coverage of passlogd (ch. 2), lilo and grub (ch. 5), and X (ch. 6) were very helpful.

The authors share many novel ways to abuse Linux systems, but counter those exploits with little-known features or third-party tools. I never knew I could use bash's HISTCONTROL feature to selectively remove entries from shell history files. HE:L2E goes the extra mile to help secure your system, such as including sample C code in ch. 13 to allow one to compile TCP Wrappers support into one's own programs. Other clear, concise defensive measures were introduced in excellent chapters on keeping the kernel and packages current (appendix B) and pro-active security measures (ch. 2). The last appendix gives a short yet powerful description of the damage an intruder can perform, showing how he hid unauthorized programs and how those programs were discovered.

If you use Linux, you'll find HE:L2E indispensable. I even applied many of the tools and techniques to my FreeBSD system, showing that that good security advice can be a cross-platform endeavor.

I was beefing up my outdated security bookshelf, and thought I'd snag the latest in the Hacking Exposed series. I figured that since it was only covering one OS it would be able to have more depth, one of the chief failings of Hacking Exposed.

Well, I was not disapointed. This book covered aspects of Linux and network security that I had not ever thought of. It makes very appropriate use of source code to illustrate problems, and shows you the attacks in both manual and automated forms so you can actually see what's going on, rather than just saying "run the blah program" as so many other books do.

This book has information that will be useful for the newbie, but excells in including detail appropriate for all audiences. In that respect, this book almost reads like a textbook on how to hack and secure. If you're a new Linux user, you'll find good starter information, and want to come back to this periodically as you learn more. If you think you know Linux security, then this is the book against which you should test yourself. I doubt most folks have tried half the things listed in chapter 10.

This book is phenomenal! The information never ends! It details the opera house in Paris where this who story was supposed to take place. There is alot of information on the early movie forms of the story, including those who acted in them, as well as Gaston Leroux's book form. The bulk of the book is about Andrew Lloyd Webber though. There are so many pictures and stories about each of the characters, and the important peopel behind the scenes of the stage! This is a wonderful book whom anyone, Phantom fan or not is sure to enjoy!

As a hardcore Phantom fan, I am always looking for more information on the play. I came across this amazing book in the public library in my town and was amazed at the detail. There was so much that I didn't already know, and I knew a lot. I wanted to keep on renewing the book and never give it back but a good friend of mine, who is also very adamant about Phantom, went searching for this book that I wouldn't shut up about and bought me a copy. I love it. It includes info on the opera house, Gaston Leroux(the author of the novel on which Andrew Lloyd Webber's play is based), the story behind the novel, Lon Chaney's film, other versions of the film and other plays, Andrew Lloyd Webber's version, and the Libretto. This is the most complete and well written book on the play I've come across. George Perry reveals the intricacies of the production from make-up to costumes to set to everything. I consider this a valuable part of my Phantom collection and I highly recommend it to anyone who likes this play or theater in general. It rocks!

This book ROCKS!!! It is the closest you can get to the behind-the-scenes of Phantom. I got mine on an Amazon Auction(by the way, check out those auctions sometimes, they can be useful). It has the complete libretto at the back and amazingly sharp, clear pictures( they are so sharp you can even see the actors veins in their hands!).
This book has the history of the Paris Opera, then it goes on to tell how Gaston Leroux came up with Phantom, then the film versions of Phantom, then, of course, the Lloyd Webber version.
This book is perfect for the true Phantom Phan!

It's a rare thing indeed to discover a movie adaptation is actually better than the book that inspired it, but here it is: Paul Brickhill's THE GREAT ESCAPE is a great plot with no characters to speak of.

Brickhill gives a firsthand account of the escape of 76 men from Sagan, a German prisoner-of-war camp, during World War II. Through tireless efforts and disheartening setbacks, the men managed to dig a lengthy tunnel 30 feet down into the earth, and 300 feet towards possible freedom. The plan, which originally called for three such tunnels, was the single largest escape in WWII history, and the efforts, patience, and bravery of the men secures their escape as one of the most noble efforts of man.

What a pity, then, that THE GREAT ESCAPE is a fairly badly written first-hand narrative, related with all the style of a person making a grocery list. Brickhill has provided the bones of an amazing story, but he neglected to provide any meat along with them.

The story couldn't help but lend itself to a fascinating read. The actions of these men could never be anything less than remarkable. But all Brickhill does is tell the story. He doesn't add any true characterization to the hundreds of people who pop in and out, resulting in a lack of empathy for these men. The reader is left wanting to know more, but is frustratingly denied the opportunity. Even the leader, Roger Bushell, is a cipher, easily interchangeable with any other character.

It is easy to see why this story makes such fertile ground for a movie. The plot is astonishing, and the complete absence of any true personality leaves the filmmakers free to make up any character they want. Roger Bushell didn't escape from Sagan, Richard Attenborough did. So did Steve McQueen and Charles Bronson.

I don't want to seem as if I am making light of the situation. THE GREAT ESCAPE was a shining example of what humanity can achieve under the most strenuous circumstances. But Brickhill doesn't provide us with any reason to care. The story unfolds with all the excitement and tension of someone telling of their day at work. Simplicity in storytelling can be a fine thing, but not where the story demands so much more.

220 Allied POWs would have been swarming all over the Third Reich before the Germans realized they were missing. Unfortunately, only 76 managed to escape through a tunnel under Stalag Luft III that had taken a year to dig. Of those 76, only 3 managed to make their way back to Britain. Twelve found themselves back in Stalag Luft II in a matter of days. Eight wound up in concentration camps. The remaining 50 were shot by the Gestapo, on orders from Hitler himself. Among the 50 was South African-born RAF Squadron Leader Roger Bushell, a.k.a. "Big X", the originator of the escape plan. The Great Escape is an incredible read. While the book is narrated from third person omniscience, its author was anything but detatched from the story. Paul Brickhill mentions his own role in the escape only very briefly in the foreword to the work. A key element of the escape plan, as Brickhill recounts in great detail, was the forging of official papers required for freedom of movement across the Reich. Brickhill led the gang of "stooges" that warned the forgers when camp guards approached. He found himself barred from participating in the actual escape when Big X learned of his acute claustrophobia. That fear may well have saved his life. After the war, Brickhill interviewed several of his other fellow survivors to assemble the grand narrative. The result is a riveting tale that ranks among the greatest war stories ever written, fact or fiction. You've seen the movie. Now read the book!

Paul Brickhill, based on his actual experiences in a prison camp and using characters based on real life POW's, takes the reader behind the wire at a World War II prison camp. These men were trapped, unable to fight for their country in battle, so they found a way to do the next best thing. Led by Roger Bushell, they formed the X organization, a group of the most intelligent and resourceful prisoners from the British and American air forces. Using only their wits and the few materials available, they devised and executed a plan to tunnel under the fences and escape into Nazi Germany. Unfortunately this led to fifty of the escapees being shot by the Gestapo, but Brickhill does credit to their memory with this book. Using a light writing style, humorous anecdotes, and fascinating descriptions, Brickhill has created an entirely readable adventure with charismatic protagonists who gain the readers respect and sympathy from page one.

Gogol's "Dead Souls" is an amazing, if incomplete, novel. I would say it is about a fellow named Chichikov, but that would not be true. The novel is about Russia. In "Dead Souls" we see that Gogol loved Russia so much, it drove him mad trying to find a way to save it. The novel is entrancing, moving seamlessly between minute particularity to epic scope, as it takes all of Russia under its gaze. At times, the tone is satirical, angry, comic, even desperate - but always with a wistful fondness that should be apparent to the observant reader.

Chichikov, the hero of Gogol's epic poem, shows the influence of Laurence Sterne's "Tristram Shandy," a novel with which Gogol was familiar. Like Shandy, we know little about Chichikov until well into the novel. This narrative indirection allows us more insight into the other characters and the conditions of Russia after the Napoleonic wars. Chichikov is a minor gentleman, who, having served in various government positions, decides to pursue the life of a land-owner. His scheme is to traverse Russia, gathering the legal rights to serfs who have died on estates since the last census. By turning an accumulated list of these 'dead souls' over to the government, he plans to make a small fortune, which he will use to buy an estate.

While Chichikov may appear to be a morally questionable swindler, like Herman Melville's "Confidence-Man," he does have noble motivations, despite his methods. Chichikov seeks what each person seeks, according to Gogol - to have a family, to do honor to one's country. Although his plan can seem to be a ludicrous, last-ditch sort of effort at establishing himself, Chichikov is, throughout, extremely level-headed about it. Chichikov knows how to speak and carry himself so that he will be accepted by everyone he meets. From the noble, efficient land-owner Kostanjoglo to the wild, hilarious liar Nozdryov - Chichikov mingles with and exposes us to "the whirligig of men."

Gogol points out throughout the novel that the written text is inadequate to convey the actual experience - the air, the sights, the smells, the people of Russia. He tries, then, to give us "a living book" - a testament to a way of life that was soon to change. Like Melville's "Confidence-Man," which was published shortly before the American Civil War, Gogol's "Dead Souls" came out only a few years before Marx's "Communist Manifesto" which would change and determine the fate of Russia in the first decades of the 20th century.

Read the lyrical "Dead Souls" - if you like his short stories, like "The Nose" or "The Overcoat," - you will find a wonderfully complex and sophisticated, and deeply involved intellect at his best.

Dead Souls is Gogol's first and only full length novel, ironically written in Rome rather than the Russian countryside it was set in. Tragically he destroyed most of the second volume shortly before his death leaving only bits and pieces of chapters leaving only volume I whole.

A story of a swindler and a social satire on life in early 19th century Russia, Dead Souls is also a comment on class and hypocricsy. Small town Russian officials and landowners strive to keep up appearances, valuing them more importantly than susbtance. Even Chichikov knows this, in fact as the main character (anti-hero) he thrives on this.

Gogol's story is comic on its surface but reading it you get a glimpse of life just twenty years before Alexander II freeded the serfs from their landowners. Dead Souls is both comedy and satire.

One note the Peaver-Volokhonsky translation while newer is a bit "choppy" and the translators make the most awkward word selections from Russian to English. It makes reading this version a bit off-putting at times (The Guerney translation was the favorite of many Russian expat's). Dead Souls is worth the read.

This novel was one of the funniest books I have read from this time period, and easily the funniest book by a 19th century Russian author. Although there are moments of dialogue in Dostoyevsky's books that are humorous, they cannot compare to the prospective serf sellers in Dead Souls. Sobakevich seeks to sell his dead souls based on their merits when they were alive. Nozdrev is a gambler, drunk and compulsive liar who even cheats at checkers. Throw in the overly affectionate Manilov and the miserly and paranoid Plewshkin and one is provided with an entertaining cast of characters. It is due to the idiosyncracies of these characters and the gossip mongering of the neighborhood that leads to a result in which a sort of justice occurs to get rid of the protagonist Chichikov. Of course, in the world created by Gogol, there does not seem to be a moral authority and as a result a sequel would definitely have been feasible. Chichikov did not learn the error of his ways (nor did the town notice amid its idle speculation) and I would have enjoyed Gogol's follow-up.

I have read Incidents in the Life of a Slave by Harriet Jacobs, twice! I enjoyed reading her book. Her book is full of rich vocabulary. Her writing skills and the description of events she used was impressive, i.e. the separation of mother and child being sold to slaveholders, I felt the pain. In her writings, she constantly humbled herself because of her circumstances of being a slave and how she felt incompetent to write her life story. I must say that Jacobs did a magnificent job, considering her life of chattel slavery. Besides being courageous, strong and enduring, she was a very wise person. I think Jacob's does not give herself credit for being wise. She was very wise because she had to plan various strategies to outwit her devil master's attempts to capture her. She was wise in not trusting Harriet Beecher Stowe. What was Stowe's purpose of forwarding Jacob's writings to Mrs. Willis, which included her sexual history? Jacobs was no fool. Finally, the most indelible impression on my mind was when she hid in her grandmother's house, above the storage room, for seven years! I was right there with her. Great job Harriet Jacobs!!

Intended to convince northerners -- particularly women -- of the rankness of Slavery, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl presents a powerful autobiography and convincing writing that reads like a gripping novel but is organized and argued like an essay.

Incidents follows the "true story" (its authenticity is doubted in some places) of Linda [Jacobs uses a pseudonym] who is born into the shackles of slavery and yearns for freedom. She lives with a depraved slave master who dehumanizes her, and a mistress who mistreats her. As the novel progresses, Linda becomes increasingly starved of freedom and resolves to escape, but Linda finds that even escaping presents its problems.

But Incidents is more than just a gripping narration of one woman's crusade for freedom, and is rather an organized attack on Slavery, intended to convince even the most apathetic of northerners. And in this too, Incidents succeeds. The writing is clear, and Jacobs' use of rhetorical strategy to preserve integrity is astonishing.

Well written, convincing, entertaining, Incidents is an amazing book.

This is without doubt one of the best autobiographies I've ever read. On a very touchy but ever pertinent subject, Harriet Ann Thomas' story of her life as a slave is a remarkable document of antebellum life in the US, both south and north. Unlike the patent attempt to play with the readers' emotions of fictional works like Uncle Tom's Cabin, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl Written by Herself, is almost a graceful understatement. At the time it was apparently believed to be a work of fiction, but it lacks the florid style of the Nineteenth Century narrative.
I had expected to have problems reading the book. For one thing, I expected either a convoluted prose style or an offensive parody of slave dialect. I also anticipated a graphic description of the violence perpetrated on individuals considered chattel by their owners. Instead I found the work to have been clearly written. It is remarkable for the literacy of its author-Ms Thomas was taught to read and write by the first owner of her family-and the care with which it's editor, L. Maria Child, took to preserve the author's intentions. Dialect was introduced only where it furthered the narrative and where the individual was likely to have spoken in the manner described. Violence is described but not so graphically as to entirely put off the reader.
Instead of the sensationalism that might have been used to promote her cause, the author provides insight into the emotional losses, personal deprivations, and incredible uncertainty in the lives of the individuals enduring slavery. She emphasizes her point by demonstrating her willingness to undergo a seemingly unending imprisonment in an attic with only a tiny peep hole out onto the world rather than continue as a slave. The great sacrifices and risks that others assumed in order for her and others like her to escape to freedom in the north underscores the extent to which the vicissitudes of the institution created a network among those opposed to it and those oppressed by it. Most poignant is her description of New Years as being a time of great tribulation for the slave. Unlike the white members of southern society who looked forward to the new year with festivity and expectation, the slave family looked upon it as a tragedy waiting to happen. Rentals and sales of individuals on that day tore families apart, husbands from wives, children from parents, often never to be reunited or even heard of again, and no slave or slave family could ever feel they were entirely safe. Sadder still were those cases of slaves who had been promised their freedom by kinder owners, only to have these promises abrogated by the heirs or to discover that no actual paperwork had been put into motion prior to the death of the individual.
Ms Thomas also makes a strong case for the damage that slavery caused to white society as well. Just by relating her own experiences and those of people around her, she recreates the anger felt by white wives who discovered that their husbands had had children by slave women, the blunted feelings of white men who, no matter what their feelings for those children, were caught up in a society that punished them for "recognizing" any children by black mistresses, the poverty and anger of the average white wage earner caught in an economy where he had to compete with poorly maintained, unpaid labor in order to make a living, and so on. In short Ms Thomas makes it abundantly apparent that the institution of slavery dehumanized both the enslaver and the enslaved.
One thing especially of note is the author's observation that the north was hardly better. She was free, perhaps, but only free to be second class. While recognizing that slavery was incompatible with the institution of democracy, northerners were still, with rare exception, prejudiced against individuals of non-white background. I think a case could easily be made that it is the more silent prejudice of the north that has perpetuated the inequities that still plague the lives of non-white Americans today.

We all have books like this in our personal arsenal of "will read and reread again" books. ("Catch 22," "Cat's Cradle," books like that.)

I've torn into "Son of the Morning Star" six times now. This book is responsible for my spending a total of some 13 days at the Montana battlefield just trying to find out what George Armstrong Custer was up to on his final horrible day on earth. Connell weaves a spell over you, dear reader, and you just hate to finish this book. (You have books like that in your arsenal, too, right?)

The book was a Christmas gift from #1 son. Prior to reading "Son," I just thought of Custer as that Civil War stereotype we study about in high school -- brave, vain and, ultimately, dumb. Of course the book reveals a much more accurate and layered portrayal of this long-haired Hotspur. Connell has researched his subject to a fare-thee-well and yet the writing never gets pedantic. This book is a time machine and you're going to be whisked back to a hot June day, 1876. Be prepared. And you'll get both sides of the complicated US Army/American Indian debate, too. (Can't beat that with a stick!)

What was GAC trying accomplish that morning and afternoon? Why, in the face of a large amount of Indian braves, did he split his command into three battalions? Why did he send an important "come quick" note to an officer he sent off away from the pack train? Why did Custer ignore Reno's plight in the valley and continue a foolhardy attempt to smash the "enemy" at his flank? Did Custer get his first bullet (left side) at Medicine Tail Coulee? Would that explain the slapdash rush away from the Little Big Horn river and up the hill to the now-famous "Last Stand Hill?" This book makes you think.

This book is contagious!

Connell brings a novelist and poet's gifts to the writing of history. Would that all historians wrote prose like this. In a unique, non-linear style, nearly every aspect and detail, macroscopic and mundane, of the Little Bighorn campaign is laid before us, as well as antecedent and peripheral matters relating to it. One of the many marvels of the book is the way Connell writes unflinchingly about a brutal and tragic period, yet with a dry sense of humor that compels one to read passage after passage all over again, and aloud to anyone who will listen. Connell would be a great dinner guest, and friend to meet for a beer. I have read Son of the Morning Star three times, not counting innumerable browsings which threaten to draw me into the entire work yet another time. I've nearly memorized entire passages without intending to. Some may feel uncomfortable at a similarity Connell draws between the Nazi genocide and the European-American destuction of the Native American cultures and way of life. But hey, no one likes an attack on his national mythology, justified as it may be. Connell neither deifies nor demonizes Custer (or any other man or woman in the story), but treats him as a fascinating, flawed human being. His account is compassionate, but unrelenting in its exposure of human frailty and folly, wherever it may be found in the complex mosaic of history. Buy this book, enjoy, re-read, and hope that Connell takes up the historian's pen again

This book, in my opinion, is a superb introduction into the world of Custeriana and other characters and invents in U.S. history of that time.

What makes this book unique in it's portayal of the General and the events surrounding the famous last battle is that Evan S.Connell, who is primarily I believe a novellist, approached this topic with absolutely no agenda of his own on the subject.

Whilst this may not satisfy many historians it makes for great reading!! Making this a book ideal for somebody new to the subject wanting to learn more or the learned reader who just wants to be entertained and not swamped with complex time theories or arguments over the size of the village etc. There are plenty of books on the market that do this much better but not all are always as enjoyable.

Connell just reports on various different accounts in an easy going prose without really putting his own slant on the proceedings. He simply just writes about Custer, Benteen, Crazy Horse et all, giving examples of both the good, the bad and the downright ugly in all of them.

It is left to the reader to make up his mind on the events and actions of those who took part in them. Too many historians come to this powerful and contreversial subject with their own ideas on what happened, be it pro or anti-Custer, and this has a tendancy to sometimes, neccessitate a need to distort or bend the facts accordingly.

Refreshingly you come away from this book wanting to know more about the protaganists involved but without having a biased opinion on them. The General himself comes over in a fairly good light considering at the time of publication his character was probably at it's nadir.However Connell also shows up the darker side of the man that made him the paradoxical figure he was and why he remains so fascinating even after all this time.

Indeed what the book clearly shows is that what makes this such an enduring legend in America's history is that arguably it's most famous, or notorious, soldier left his mark not by a glourious victory but rather(as it was thought of at the time)a fairly ignominious defeat.What Connell does do is also give the credit where it's due to the Sioux and Cheyenne tribes at the Little Big Horn who actually won the battle that day, which tends to get forgotten in a lot of literature ammassed on this subject.

This was the first serious book that I bought on George Armstrong Custer and back in 1984(which I think was the year I got it) living in the United Kingdom there wasn't many books around at that time specifically on this subject. I found it an excellent starting point to begin further and more in depth reading on the General and his last battle.It may seem an odd subject for a Yorkshireman to show an interset in(I think it might be Errol Flynn's fault!!)but this book certainly kick-started a long lasting interst in Custer and that particular area of American history.