This is a very detailed an interesting account of the Penninsula Campaign. Everything from the opening moves to the long slow march and then the 7 day retreat are covered in great detail by the author. I recommend this as the first book you read on the subject.

Richard Wheeler, author of some of the best historical novels of the Old American West ever written, has gathered here stories from many of his fellow Spur Award writers--Loren Estleman, Richard C. House, Glendon Swarthout, Elmer Kelton, Richard Matheson, Jeanne Williams, Sandra Whiting, among them--and fashioned a superb anthology of the modern Western. Nobody knows the craft of Western fiction better than Wheeler and his introduction to this excellent collection is a masterpiece in itself.

when i finished reading this book i was so excited because of the message. the author shows me, through the main character (captain Owe), that the human being must have a goal in life and how much effort we need to reach it. we must do our best in order to get what we really want even we have barriers and tough moments. This book inspired me to write my own research paper for Literature (At the Univ)

In late March, 1865, Petersburgh & Richmond teetered on the brink of collapse. When the siege of Petersburgh ended in that city's collapse, Richmond was evacuated. The account of the burning of much of Richmond by Confederates (to prevent plundering by the Yanks) is haunting. First person accounts of Mrs. Lincoln's behavior during a visit to Virginia during the war's final days reinforce her reputation as a shrewish, self indulgent woman. There are accounts of Lincoln walking the streets of Richmond to the cheers of freed slaves and of Lincoln sitting at Jefferson Davis' desk in his abandoned mansion. After Petersburgh was evacuated, Lee tried to retreat from the Union forces but Grant dogged him the entire way. This was one of the true tragedies of the war. It was over but 2,500 troops were killed in these final skirmishes. It was so needless ... Lee should have surrendered when Richmond fell. The magnanimous termss of the surrender and the gallantry of both sides, however, was uplifting. Much of the tale of these final days is first person accounts and they are pieced together to form a coherent and moving account of the war's end.

In 1803 President Thomas Jefferson assigns his friend fellow Virginian Meriweather Lewis to explore the newly purchased Louisiana Territory. Lewis asks William Clark to co-command the daring expedition. When they complete their mission, a country is dazzled by their accomplishments and worships the courageous duo as heroes. Clark goes on to live a productive life basking in the glory of a living legend. However, Lewis goes into a state of mental decline that culminates in 1809 when he apparently committed suicide speculated by this novelization of their post expedition lives as caused by third-stage syphilis induced dementia.

ECLIPSE is a wonderful biographical fiction that uses Lewis and Clark to narrate alternate chapters as their lives following the expedition is vividly described. The novel is well written and brings a slice of a bygone era to life through an in depth psychological drama. Fans who prefer action-packed non-stop action will find the book a tad slow, but those in the audience who want to hear the rest of the story will appreciate this early nineteenth century Americana novelization.

Harriet Klausner

Eclipse - A Novel of Lewis and Clark, by Richard S. Wheeler, is a book I could not put down until I finished it. Wheeler turns the aftermath of Louis and Clark's historic trek into a gripping novel with vividly portrayed characters and an engaging plot. The title characters are far more than just historically significant. They also have flaws, rivals, financial difficulties, diseases, and other problems resulting in large part from their heroic deeds. I highly recommend this book to all readers.

The historical accuracy of ECLIPSE is a credit to the author's careful research. He ties together the known events in the life of these well-known American heroes, using his extensive knowledge of the nineteenth century. Fiction it is, but it is also very true to the known facts. The book "reads well", never boring, never dull. ECLIPSE is a fine addition to the many books about Lewis and Clark, especially as we celebrate the 200th year of their expedition to the Pacific and back.

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This is a valuable text for the economical traveller who wishes to enjoy the people,customs and natural beauties of this country.

It has all the usual features many have come to expect from the 'Lonely Planet' guides.Good area/city maps,travel details, pointers for the culinary delicacies of particular areas,good information on inexpensive places to stay,as well as fascinating sights,places and people to visit,a brief introduction to the(amazingly simple and easy to learn)language,and interesting cultural,religious and other useful notes.

This edition and it`s excellent predecessors have played a major part in assisting me in all of my travels to Indonesia,in both the planning and research stages,and during the travel itself.I am certain that I would not have travelled to some of the unique and rarely visited places that I was privileged to see without the aid of this weighty and at times indispensible tome.

However,the most important thing to take with you is an open mind and heart,a friendly nature,and a desire to get to know the people and their customs.(Language is a great help too.)These ingredients(and the book !)tend to make for a most memorable and enjoyable stay. Bon Voyage !

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This is the most detailed book for a big place like indonesia. Indonesia (outside of Jakarta/Bali) is a perfect match of lonely planet's specialty in off the beaten track and/or budget traveling. Every part of Indonesia is covered, except for the small islands between Sumatra and Kalimantan that might be cool to check out. Its not the Riau - that's covered in detail. It has minimal coverage of the Natuna islands. I'm interested in the islands further south - Tambeian Islands, Dadas Isalands, and Pulau Pejantan. Once they add coverage to these islands then this book will be perfection. This book also a lot of information on Indonesian culture, about a 40% overlap with the culture shock indonesia book.

So far I plan a 2 month trip to indonesia. Fly to hong kong, spend 1-2 nights there. Then fly to malaysia or jakarta (whichever is cheaper). Then take a boat to Pontianak, spend some time there and sinkawang (probably a week). Check out the islands between kalimantan and sumatra (1-2 weeks). Then go to the todgean islands, getting their via ujung padang to ambon and then spend the rest of the time (probably a month) chillin and snorkeling / scuba diving. Then go back trhough jakarta or malaysia, spend another 1-2 nights in hong kong, and then come home.

On planning a trip to indonesia I found this guide book from the Lonely Planet Series. I was attracted by the clear concept of the book that makes it easy to find the information, that you need. It provides all the necessary information for a traveller who wants to get of the beaten trak, but also includes the "must see" sights. Specially the Places to Stay and Places to Eat sections are clear and give good and reliable information. It made my trip to indonesia easy and worth a while. I strongly recomend a Lonely Planet book if you like to travel and you want to see as much as possible.

This was fun to read for the most part. There really is nothing new and I do take issue with the claim that this is" the first major illustrated work" on Custer. Lawrence Frost's book, The Custe Album, holds that distinction

A large book well armed with pictures of not only Custer, his family, but also of key major military personnel, Forts, leading confederates and best of all, great Indian leaders. Besides the large presence of photographs, the book provides a nice compressed history of Custer from Birth to his postmortem. It's an accelerated read with direct references to historical events without gratuitous detail. In reference to his CW career, Donovan is a little light on Custer in the valley in 1864 as Custer has some conflicts with colleagues over such things as who earned the captured flags versus who actually took them. In addition, Custer's role at Five Forks is a bit large in contrast to the infantry's 5th Corps who crushed the isolated Confederate left. Overall, it's a pretty good overview of Custer's Civil War and pre- LBH western career. I do note that pictures sometimes fill in voids such as the destruction of Lt. Kidder's command and Custer's meeting with Satanta, which are missing from the narrative. The best part of the book deals with the LBH and the author pulls no punches in explaining what he thinks happened. His theory reflects Michno's "Lakota Noon" primarily in that he theorizes that Custer held his battalion on the east side of the river waiting for Reno and Benteen to rally to him to squeeze the Indians his battalion and theirs. But of course that does not happen and the command is destroyed. The author captures all the personal conflicts in command such as Reno's fitness and Benteen's pouting causing his leisurely stroll. The after the LBH evaluation is also quite good recognizing that several elements caused Custer's defeat, not just Custer's brashness, Reno's ineptness or Benteen's bitterness but the loss of surprise, the pressure to attack, the confidence of the Indians, their stubborn resistance capitalizing on the fractured commands and collapse and the primary fact that they didn't run like everyone perceived. Other elements include Crook's stepping out of the campaign with his 1300 men after the battle of the Rosebud the week before against smaller numbers then Custer. But also it's noted that Custer preferred the standard morning surprise attack but after discivering Indians on his back trail, he felt the need to attack immediately with reconnaissance done while on the move. Many forget that Colonel Reynolds inder Crook was nearly Court Martialed for botching the March Powder River attack. Although not mentioned directly, all commanders were under pressure to attack before the Indians dispersed. Terry's and Crook's subsequent post LBH campaigns attest to the Indian mobility challenge. The latter part of the book deals with the Custer legend based on writings, movies and historical hindsight that are based on the culture at the present, WWII era versus post Vietnam. This latter portion reminds of Hutton's great book the "Custer Reader" which is also worth a very good look since it also deals with participant' writings and fellow historians. This is a good book for those looking for a pretty good capsule on Custer that includes excellent pictures and an argument. Then they can venture into the books with greater analysis and detail and of course a greater feel for why the battle is so controversial.

The most thorough and well-researched book I've ever read on Custer. The beautiful illustrations, supporting historical documents, and Dononvan's insightful analysis evoke the myth that is our American West. Custer embodies that myth. Donovan succeeds in humanizing this compelling, tragic man while celebrating his immortality. The author does an exceptional job of establishing and explaining the legend of Custer and why his last battle seized the imagination of the American public. Securing not just a place in American history, but in our culture.

It's undoubtely a very good guide, with lots of informations, but it only covers the southern part of Nepal, and contains no informartion about the Himalayan region (for example, cities such as Namche Bazaar and Lo Manthang are not covered).

Before traveling alone to Nepal, Tibet and Thailand in the summer of 1998, one of the first things I did was purchase travel books. My main purpose was to find a book which would serve as my travel guide. This was a very important factor since I wasn't even going on a tour. The right or wrong book could make or break my trip. I spent many hours at local bookstores as well as online bookstores looking for the perfect travel guide. Space was a factor for me since I wanted to travel unencumbered by a lot of luggage so I decided to buy an appropriate all encompassing book for each of the three countries. The Lonely Planet's Travel Survival Kit for Nepal was a comfort to have on my travels AND it was also an indispensable source of information for planning the trip, before I even booked my flight! If I had a question, I could usually find the answer in the book. Some particularly helpful information covered vaccines I would need prior to the trip, suggested items I should think about taking with me, highlighted many, many places of interest and included their background and history, covered visas, passports and the necessary documents along with entrance and exit fees charged upon arrival and departure and much more. Also, there are specific sections on women traveling alone, recreational activites, photos and maps, places to stay and even a section of Nepali phrases and words. If I felt uncomfortable or wasn't sure about something, all I had to do was open up my Lonely Planet and find the answer! Above all, I would definitely recommend that you find the right book for you since travelers have different needs. Peruse the books inside and out at your local library or bookstore. You can ask for recommendations and read reviews like mine, but ultimately, you're probably going to be far from home, and you want to make certain you have the essentials. This book, for me, was one of those essentials!

I kept putting off reading "The Hot Zone", even though I study single-stranded, negative-sense RNA viruses, and continued to hear references to it. I finally bought a copy and was rather shocked. Ebola haemorrhagic fever is a very frightening disease, and the hundreds of people who have died from it since it was identified in 1976 (along with its sister virus Marburg which was identified in 1967) suffered horribly. Preston does these victims and their families a disservice by discussing Ebola haemorrhagic fever in sensationalistic and cartoonish prose. The story the book tells is both tragic and fascinating, but from most of the reviews here, one would gather that it is just a gruesome shock-fest. Just because Ebola virus is native to the forests of Africa does not mean that its victims should also be treated as distant, exotic characters in a horror picture. I'm not trying to be politcally correct by saying this. Even Preston's descriptions of the scientists involved in the study BL-4 agents feel as though they were written by Ayn Rand on steroids. I give this book 2 stars because I do think it has helped inform a number of readers about the continuing threat of infectious diseases and has probably led some of them to more detailed and down-to-earth works like Laurie Garrett's or William Close's. If you have read these works, though, you'll have trouble wading through "The Hot Zone".

The Hot Zone by Richard Preston tells the story of a malicious killer. It isn't just a dark figure with a gun, though, but a virus - the Ebola virus. When a man innocently visits Kitum Cave in Kenya on a camping trip, he comes out with more than he bargained for. This was the first known case of the virus in a human. As research began, more people came down with one of Ebola's three strains. The virus remained very mysterious as no one knew how it traveled from host to host. After tearing its way through Africa, Ebola eventually makes its way to America in a shipment of contaminated monkeys sent to a Virginia monkey house.
Richard Preston is very descriptive in his work as he experienced the tragedy in person. Preston tells the true story from his point of view as he researched the Ebola virus. The Hot Zone is one of those books that you just can't put down. It is an easy read that grabs your attention right off the bat and doesn't let go. It will leave you wondering what will happen next.
I recommend purchasing this book if you enjoy detailed, graphic literature. Keep in mind, though, that it is not for those with a weak and sensitive stomach. Some of Preston's descriptions get into the gruesome details of the havoc that this murderer wreaks.

The true story of an Ebola outbreak in Virginia. This is an outstanding book that traces some of the history of the Ebola and Marburg virus's and their emergence in the world, what let up to the outbreak in Virginia and what response the military and Center For Disease Control had.

The writer does a wonderful job painting the characters that were involved in the outbreak in Virginia from the military and the Center for Disease Control. He shows how the major players scrambled to identify the unkown virus and their reactions when they first realized what they had. A new strain of Ebola. Only the fourth type of filovirus, the most dangerous in the world. Read as they tried to figure out if this virus was airborne or not. You can feel the impending doom.

The book is frightening as it describes the virus's and how they kill. How they multiply and move among hosts. This book is not for the faint of heart. The descriptions are graphic and can turn your stomach if you actually try to imagine the thought of it. It leaves you with the realizations that a virus on the level of Ebola can spread across the globe in a matter of 24 to 48 hours and within 12 days people will be dying. People will be dying fast as Ebola kills 90% of the people that become infected. This book gets you to thinking that the ultimate end of the human race will not be the nuclear bomb, as once feared, but a virus, a level 4 biohazard.

This book kept me rivetted, I could not put it down. The fact that it was true made it that much more intense and frightening. This book should be read by everyone.

I recently took this guidebook on a two-week trip around the UK and found it to be just as useful and dead-on as every other LP book I've used (even though it is almost two years old). I looked at some of the others, and this the only budget guide for Britain worth picking up. Forget Fodor's, Frommer's, and Let's Go - this book is all you need for a trip to the British Isles.

This summer I took an awesome two week tour of Great Britain with Contiki Tours. The tour was great because of how it mixed a rigid tour with free time. My free time was excellent thanks to the information in this guide. I had used Lonely Planet before when I visited China. They did a great job on that book and they did a great job on this one. The information, history, culture and advice are priceless. This is a great guidebook to have. Lonely Planet might not have zillions of colour pictures, but it has priceless information and commentary.

I have traveled to England a dozen times and I own current editions of 12 different guidebooks. This is far and away the best. It has the most useful information in the easiest-to-use format. For one thing it has all the travel planning facts you need. In addition, the destinations are described with writing that is evocative, imaginative and accurate. The recommendations are reliable and I was never steered wrong in selecting lodgings and restaurants. Before I found this book, I had to combine four different guidebooks to get all the information that's included in this one. From a veteran traveler, I highly recommend the Lonely Planet guide.