I bought this for my three teenage daughters who devoured it and passed it on to me. In this book I expected to find quotes from Eleanor Roosevelt or Amelia Earhart, and I did. However, the quotes by these luminaries were not the quotes one usually sees. Even more surprising were good quotes by less famous figures.Most surprising was that my favorite was a Sharon Stone quote. Check it out.

A must-have for anyone who collects quotations, or anyone who enjoys hearing strong women speak their minds.

Such a pleasure to read and share these smart and sassy quotes from a great variety of famous and/or historical women! I simply could not read these pages quietly-- these gems are meant to be shared! The 'wild' womens' observations span the spectrum from naughty oneliners about bigamy to sisterly encouragements to wise & ironic commentaries on history and society. I reccomend this book unhesitatingly as a gift for yourself, or for a friend who would enjoy thoughtful humor from a fully-female source.

This book is a wonderful guide to best beers in the world from the refined and old world brewers of Europe to the infancy of American microbreweries. The book lacks deep definitions of different types of brew but will give a vivid descriptions of the beers themselves. It is also nice that this book gives examples with illustrations of what glasses these artistically brewed beers should be consumed out of. A nice description of the creme de la creme, but not an in depth source on distinctive styles in general. For that imformation, Michael Jackson's book would be better.

Snyder's book is a wonderful text that is small enough to go anywhere (all over the house) yet contains a wealth of information about the best brews in the world. For its size, this book packs a lot of information from brewing and history, to the art of drinking, and finally, an exhaustive listing of the world's finest beers--truly an invaluable resource for those who want to know the world of beer.

In 240 densely informative, generously illustrated pages we get thorough overviews of ancient Egypt's religion, funerary customs, language and writing, art and architecture, and technology, along with chapters on the country's geography, history and relations with other powers. The information is authoritative--the editors and writers are members of the Museum's curatorial staff--and written in a plain, understandable style. Appendices include "Suggestions for Further Reading" (unfortunately not updated since the first printing in 1992), dynasty and king lists, and kings' names in hieroglyphics. (Aramco World

This is Pocket Companion to Egypt. That's the best reference. You can really carry this book around and read. GOOD BOOK:

For the past 20 years, I have been looking for a book that describes uniforms and equipments used by the Chinese Armies during WW II. This book is the one I have waited for. It is precious because I know it is impossible for a Chinese author to write a book as such without any political overtone, and I was wondering why would anyone else have the interest. This book is smartly titled "Chinese Civil War Armies", not "Chinese World War II Armies" to reflect the internal conflict within the country during that time. The detail description of the uniforms and equipments, as well as the historical accounts are execellent. The color plates are unprecedented. My only criticisms are 1. There is no glossary for all the tranlated Chinese terms mentioned in the book. 2. The text and the related pictures are far apart. I congradulate the author, Mr. Jowett, for the monumental book.

Growing up in the late forties, as a child, I vaguely remember hearing about McCarthy and the Great Debate about "Who Lost China." Well, I can tell you that with no hesitation. Chaing Kai Shek lost China when he invaded Manchuria in 1945 but he made a long run at the pole and almost grabbed the prize. If it had not been for the Japanese invasion he probably would have finished off the Reds and taken over the whole country.
I knew the story of Chaing and Mao and Chou En Lai but nothing about the warlord period before 1930.
As an adult I have read some widely in recent years about the post 1940 period but admit much ignorance about the early days from 1911 to then. Well, since ignorance is curable but stupidity is not, and I am not stupid, I have been able to satisfy my curiousity with this volume and dispelled as much ignorance as I wanted to.
So if you want a detailed history of this period, go elsewhere, if you want excellent illustrations of what the various contenders for the rule of China looked like and a quick overview of what they did, then this is for you.
Many volumes in this publisher's ouevre are lacking in depth or in scholarship. The series began years ago as an aid to the makers of military minitures but in the last 15 years has improved considerably where the latest volumes could claim space on a public library shelf. This is one of those.
My curiosity is satisfied. Yours might be also.

If you want a daily uplift but find little time to read in the morning, use this book. Each thought could be a discussion for the day. Thoughts that will help guide you with every decision you make. Each wisdon quote a little deeper a little closer your to spiritual peace. The mix of Masters quoted in here is proof to me that the message remains the same only the messagers change.

This lovely short volume contains nuggets of wisdom each of which could provide a day's worth of contemplation.Many of the sources come from non-western sages and mystics.There are many books of wise quotes out there but few as profound and beautiful as this carefully selected volume of mystical profundity.

This is a very scholarly work, persumably written for students of eastern religion. In the Far East, where I am from, we simply observe the rites and rules of the festivals without quite knowning why. This book analyses in a very detailed manner the customs and particularly the myths that lie behind the festival. Much attention is lavished on the tale of Mulien who saves his mother from the underworld. This book will provide a comprehensive presentation of the topic, but I think it is aimed at academics rather than the general public.

If you want know what's the meaning of Yu-lan-pen festival in Chinese Buddhism history and medieval China,you must read it....

Troy has fallen and its queen, Hecuba, has become the slave of Odysseus, who takes away her daughter Polyxena to be slain on the grave of Achilles. However, in this drama it is the earlier death of another child, Polydorus that provides the motivation for what comes to pass. This was a child who had been sent (according to Homer, there are various versions of this tale) for safety to the Thracian Chersonese. But now, after Hecuba hears of the death of Polyxena, the body of Polydorus washes up on shore. Apparently Hecuba's son-in-law Polymnester murdered the boy for the gold, which King Priam had sent to pay for his education. Agamemnon hears Hecuba's pleas, and Polymnester is allowed to visit the queen before she is taken away into captivity.

The most fascinating aspect of "Hecuba" is that it gives us an opportunity to contrast the character of the queen of fallen Troy in this play by Euripides with that in his more famous work, "The Trojan Women." This play was performed ten years before the other and its events take place right before the other play as well, although there is some overlap when Talthybius informs Hecuba of the death of Polyxena. In both dramas Hecuba is a woman driven by a brutal and remorseless desire for vengeance; however she proves much more successful in this drama than she does in "The Trojan Women."

This is an unusual play for Euripides is that the gods do not appear; the prologue is given by the ghost of Polydorus and the exodos are the slave women heading off to the ships (again, contrast this with "The Trojan Women"). Hecuba has harsh words for Helen, as in the other play, but her son Paris receives his fair share of approbation as well. This play also makes reference to the myth that Hecuba would meet her own hideous death, which reinforces the idea that there is much more of a moral degradation of her character in this play (set up by much more humiliation and degradation in the first half). On an entirely different level, "Hecuba" is comparable to Aeschylus' "Orestia," since he addresses the question of the difference between revenge and justice, so while the "Hecuba"/"Trojan Woman" analog is the most obvious and the most fruitful, it is not the only possibility.

Hecuba was the wife of Priam, King of Troy, and the mother of Hector, Paris, Cassandra, and others. At the start of this play of Euripedes, the war between the Greeks and Troy is over and Hecuba is now a slave of Agamemnon. The ghost of Achilles had appeared and demanded a sacrifice over his tomb before the Greeks can set sail for home. They vote to sacrifice Polyxena, Hecuba's young daughter, despite the tears and entreaties of Hecuba. After Polyxena's noble death, Hecuba learns that her last child Polydorus had been murdered by the King of Thrace, Polymestor, to whom Polydorus had been sent for safe keeping. This finally drives Hecuba mad and she seeks vengence for Polydorus's death. Euripedes shows in this play the effects of war and vengence on innocent lives and how cruel men at war can be.

Hecuba is one of the most profound, and profoundly pessimistic dramas ever written. It shows Hecuba, who had been Queen of Troy, now facing the ultimate devastation. She has already lost everything except her two youngest children. Now she will lose them, not to war but to politics and human greed. She loses herself to the need for vengeance, succeeds and loses her humanity. It is a shattering story and the Introduction by Kenneth Reckford in which he examines the meaning of the play is worth the price of the book.

The subtitle to Van Dulken's "Inventing the 20th Century" is "100 inventions that shaped the world." True, the airplane, jet engine, automatic transmission, and microchip, among others, certainly have changed the world. But I find it hard to accept that Silly Putty and the Slinky fall into that category. His 100 inventions include many other inventions of questionable worth and pedigree, including several British ones that few Americans would recognize. In many instances the inventions cited by patents were not the ones that turned into the products that we are now familiar with, and his discriptions were often difficult to follow, in part because the auther writes more like a patent attorney than a historian or storyteller. The stories of many of the most significant inventions were already well known to me ---- their stories have been better told in other books, articles or documentaries that I've seen or read over the years. The more obscure inventions were not presented in any more exciting manner. The fault may have been in the author being limited by the format of one or two pages of narrative for each invention. The overall effect was that of a bland, incomplete and unsatisfying meal. You're left feeling hungry but without a desire to consume any more.

I purchased this book to help with a university project and have found it extremely informative and absorbing.
The inventions mentioned are sometimes taken for granted in every day life, while others are just plain awesome. Some are wacky and outrageous, others are very practical. The author has provided an amazing insight into the inventions with clear information and patent drawings. I have recommended this book to many others on my course and this is the best book on inventions I have ever seen. Even my course tutor has commented on the book being a 'delight'.

This is one of those rare books which is as entertaining as it is informative. Van Dulken selects and discusses "100 inventions that shaped the world", organizing his material within ten chapters to correspond with the ten decades of the 20th century:

1900-1910 (e.g. aeroplane, air conditioning, and the vacuum cleaner)

1910-1919 (e.g. Formica®, neon lighting, and the self-service supermarket

1920-1929 (e.g. the bread slicing machine, power steering, and television

1930-1939 (e.g. the jet engine, the photocopier, and radar

1940-1949 (e.g. the ballpoint pen, the computer, and the transistor

1950-1959 (e.g. the geodesic dome, the microchip, and Velcro® fasteners)

1960-1969 (e.g. implantable pacemaker, the mouse, and the Workmate® workbench) 1970-1979 (e.g. the artificial heart, Post-it® notes, and the smart card)

1980-1989 (e.g. cellular phones, genetic fingerprinting, and the video game)

1990-1999 (e.g. cloning animals, fuel cells, and programmable materials)

Van Dulken discusses ten different inventions in each of the ten chapters, providing detailed descriptions as well as explanations of the historical context in which each was devised and by whom. In the Introduction by Andrew Phillips, the reader is told that the inventions highlighted in this book "have benefitted people of virtually every nation. Some have helped combat the despair of disease, poverty, excessive (even unendurable) labour. Other inventions -- though less illustrated by this book --have contributed to the ravages of war. What comes forth so often, however, from the examples described here is the individuality and initiative which characterizes so many inventors who helped change the world between 1900 and 1999." Quite true. Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out Mokyr's The Lever of Riches and Novak's The Fire of Invention.

As Osprey Campaign series books go this is one of the best. The focus of the book is the blunting of the Nazi counter offensive by the Patton's 3rd Army. It is laid out in the traditional Ospery style and as always gives the reader a broad overview of the campaign.

What makes this book better than most is that it does not get lost in the details of the military movements. It does a fine job of explaining the whys and the hows. Not an easy thing in the limited space avaliable. The most interesting part of the book focus on the German commanders, fresh from the Russian front, fighting the American military with the same Eastern font tactics. As explained, the American use of artilery and close air support made the tactics a disaster.

Steven J. Zaloga, the renowned expert on armored vehicles, has delivered a solid campaign synopsis of the battles fought in Lorraine between 5-29 September 1944. The campaign pitted General Patton's pursuing 3rd Army against the hastily-raised 5th Panzer Army under General Manteuffel and elements of the 1st Army. This campaign has received considerable attention in other far lengthier works, so this volume does not claim to break any new ground. However, it does offer a balanced account which covers all the key events and offers perspectives from both the American and German points of view.

As in all the Osprey Campaign series, the volume starts with a section on the opposing strategic plans. In assessing Allied strategy, Zaloga conforms to conventional wisdom in suggesting that if only Patton's 3rd Army in Lorraine had been accorded logistical priority in September 1944, then perhaps the year might have ended very differently. This is actually the voice of Patton glorifiers/Montgomery bashers. This conveniently ignores the logistic bottlenecks back at the beaches: even if Eisenhower had given Patton the bulk of available supplies, the Redball Express could not have supplied Patton very much further east at that time. The Allied armies were consuming vast quantities of fuel in their pursuit across France and they needed a deep-water port like Antwerp in September 1944 far more than a tenuous foothold across the Rhine. Finally, does anyone seriously believe that Patton's 3rd Army - which only had 8-10 divisions at the time - could have mounted a serious invasion of Germany with minimal support from the other Allied armies? Zaloga ignores the vast manpower and material resources that were still available to Hitler in September 1944. Despite widespread condemnation by many armchair strategists, Eisenhower's "Broad Front" strategy was the best course of action under the circumstances.

The section on commanders is a bit odd because the majority of the space is devoted to well-known higher-level commanders, including Hitler, Model, Bradley and Patton. The corps and below leaders who actually fought the battle are barely mentioned - the two US corps commanders receive one sentence each. Major General Wood, commander of the exemplary US 4th Armored Division, is barely mentioned anywhere in the text. Given the local nature of the armored battles in Lorraine, it is probably inappropriate to describe this series of actions as "Patton versus Manteuffel". These were battalion and brigade-level fights.

As expected from a technical expert, the sections on the opposing armies are quite good. In particular, Zaloga makes very good points about the US edge in battlefield communications. However, one major item lacking here is a discussion of tactical organizations: what did German armor battalions look like in comparison to their US counterparts, particularly in terms of scouting assets, support weapons and maintenance capability? As a former armor officer, I can attest that maintenance capability is much more critical in sustaining armored combat than is often appreciated. Unfortunately, Zaloga leaves this vital area blank and instead tells us that the Germans committed about 616 tanks and assault guns against 1,280 US tanks and tank destroyers.

The sections covering the actual campaign are quite good, starting with the destruction of the 106th Panzer Brigade on 8 September 1944 and progressing up to the final battles around Arracourt on 25-29 September. While the 3-D maps are quite good, the standard 2-D maps leave much to be desired since key phases of the battle are not depicted. There is no map depicting the German offensive that led up to the Arracourt battles, so it is difficult to determine how the Germans coordinated all their units. This tends to make it look like the panzer brigades were committed with support from other units.

The section on wargaming the battle is ridiculous as it usually is in Osprey books. With the availability of superb computer simulations of the Arracourt battles such as Talonsoft's WEST FRONT and OPERATIONAL ART OF WAR (which are never mentioned in this section on war gaming), it is absolutely ludicrous to read a discussion of a "war game" where the players "wear personal stereos, playing deafening music to recreate the effect of motor noise within the crew compartment. Players could also wear cardboard spectacles, with narrow slits to simulate the view through a periscope or vision port..." and so on. Please stop. Given the existence of Avalon Hill's SQUAD LEADER series and the Talonsoft products, which adequately cover the Arracourt battles, this section is a gross insult to serious wargamers.

Nevertheless, Zaloga's book is a useful campaign summary to keep on the bookshelf. Certainly the organization of the material is more interesting than the actual subject, for this overly-covered campaign was certainly not one of the epic struggles of the Second World War. The US 3rd Army was winded after a long pursuit and at the absolute limit of their logistical chain. Although beaten in Normandy, the Germans were starting to regroup but the Lorraine campaign offers one of the very few times in the Second World War that they fought poorly on the offense. Most of all, the strategic stakes were low in Lorraine. If the Germans won, they might have hurt 3rd Army a bit but they would probably only have bought themselves a few weeks respite. On the other hand, the US achieved a tactical victory but so what - the campaign still ended in stalemate for logistic reasons and the weather. This is a key factor ignored by Zaloga and most other writers on the Lorraine campaign: yes, the 3rd Army defeated the German spoiling attacks but how did this translate into a strategic success? The fact is that the strategic circumstances of September 1944 prohibited 3rd Army from inflicting a decisive defeat on the Whermacht, no matter how much tactical skill they demonstrated on the battlefield.

This little book gives an overview of a single campaign in France during 1944. It involved the liberation of the Lorraine area by Patton and his famous 4th Armored Division versus German armor expert von Manteuffel. The author, Steve Zaloga is a long-time student of armored combat in all areas. His expertise shows in this book as describing this campaign weaves the technical aspects of armor with the personalities of the commanders and the tactical situation. As with most Osprey "Campaign" series books there are chapters covering the larger picture, the opposing commanders, the forces involved and then looking at the actual campaign and significant engagements. At the end of the book are quick notes on touring the battlefield today and on creating wargame simiulations of the campaign. A quick and easy read, but packed with good historical information. Highly recommended for history buffs and armor fans.

Ambrose edited the Eisenhower Papers project for many years and finally turned his talents on writing a military biography of Ike. The Ike opus is infinitely superior to Ambrose's earlier biography on Henry Halleck and his research and knowledge about his subject is obvious throughout.

The only "criticism" I have is that Ambrose is blatantly biased in Ike's favor and makes no bones about it. The first words in his introduction are, 'Dwight Eisenhower was a great and a good man," which is undoubtedly true, but a biographer should take more pains to disguise their own feelings. There is very little criticism of Ike in Ambrose's work, which borders on the hagiography. Perhaps a bit more of Harry Truman's invective towards Eisenhower could have infused these pages.

Still, Ambrose is a wonderful writer and his works are always fun to read and informative. This is an excellent look at Eisenhower in World War II, even if it is a completely uncritical examination.

I was not aware of the fine writing of Ambrose until I read "Citizen Soldiers" and in "Supreme Commander" he does yet another job of putting the reader right there besides Ike as he learns, commands and most importantly earns the trust of all who comes in contact with him.

Many of Ike's compatriots questions his skills as a soldier but all are certainly of his positive human skills at bonding a diverse group to attain the goal of defeating the enemy, in this Ambrose describes well. And from this experience at war time an outstanding president is groomed. I think Ambroses' "Eisenhower: A soldier and President" will have to be my next purchase.

One point I'm a bit disappointed is the fact that Ambrose does not spend much time dealing with Ike's rols in the debacle of Hurtgen Forest, the problems with Repple Depple, and the problems with the problems caused by Segragation in the Army, several of the areas that Ambrose had detailed discussions on in "Citizen Soldiers". But all in all, an excellent read.

Stephen Ambrose skillfully tells how Eisenhower developed into one of the greatest military leaders in history. Eisenhower was able to lead the Allies to victory WWII because of his ablitiy to keep the alliance together. Eisenhower understood that the only way to achieve success was to build a consensus among differing viewpoints on how to conduct the war. He had to understand British strategies, goals, traditions, and hardships and meld them together with American objectives. He realized that the British have all ready been punished thru years of war, where as the Americans had justed entered the war and had not endured the hardships in the degree in which Britain had. Eisnehower was faced with many strong-willed military and political figures like Roosevelt, Churchill, Montgomery, Bradley, de Gaulle, and Patton, each of whom had their own views on how to conduct the war. Eisenhower was able to work with this men, which was no small feat. It is diffcult to see how another person would be able to lead such a diverse group of people.