With the Old Breed, by E.B. Sledge is the best personal account of combat that I have ever read. It is brutally honest, as Sledge does not gloss over the horrific nightmare that is war.After reading Slede's book, it is no small wonder that 26,000 Americans lost their sanity in the Okinawa battle alone. He spares us none of the gory details, yet he delivers this true account in an eloquent style that gives the story even more impact. Sledge does not only desribe the fight against the Japanese,but also the mental battle raging within men on the front line, as he himself fights to remain sane amid the filth, fear and misery that were the battles of Peleliu and Okinawa.It is at times moving, and at other times stomach turning. At all times though it is extremely riveting, and I found that this book was very hard to put down. One can also not put down this book without a profound appreciation for the young men who went through the worst kind of hell for their country.

Three veterans of the First Marine Division have written accounts of WWII in the Pacific. E.B. Sledge in this book, William Manchester in "Goodbye Darkness," and Robert Leckey in "Strong Men Armed." Sledge's book gives an honest, plain spoken, first hand account of two horrific campaigns. He pulls no punches in describing the brutality and the horror, but he doesn't dwell on it. He merely describes it in a matter of fact fashion.

Leckey's book ("Strong Men Armed") doesn't dwell on personal experiences, but gives the vast panorama of the Navy/Marine Corps island hopping campaign, and helps to put Sledge's personal memoir into the context of the whole war in the Pacific.

Manchester's book ("Goodbye Darkness") reads something like the out-loud ruminations of a mental patient working through unresolved issues on the psychiatrist's couch.

Leckey is a noted military historian who has written a number of very good books on the subject. Manchester is a noted author, and of the three has the most recognizable name. Sledge, however, although not a professional writer, is the First Division alumnus who has written the best book on the Pacific War. (Leckey runs a close second and Manchester a distant third).

Somehow my recollection of Dr. Sledge as my cheerful, quiet-mannered, humble (but tough!) zoology professor is stood on its head after reading his book. How did this gentleman live through such stark and utter hell? How could anyone? But he tells you -- his fine scientific mind observant and sparing no detail to clouded memory or gentrified constraints -- so Peleliu and Okinawa are beyond my words (but no longer beyond my imagination). No one who has not endured the horror of entrenched infantry warfare could adequately describe it; but this book helps any reader who hasn't -- like me -- begin to fathom its terror. And as we begin to take it in, we realize what an enormous legacy of sacrifice that generation left us, that "with privilege comes responsibility," as Dr. Sledge says. How can we ever repay these numbed, reluctant heroes? I suspect we never can. But we can listen to some who were lucky enough to survive, and never forget those countless boys and men who came out maimed, or just didn't come out at all. We owe them all a tremendous debt of gratitude for the lives we lead today, and this book tells you, in graphic and heart-gripping detail, exactly why.

This is one of the best of Alexander's Prydain series--definitely an improvement over _The Book of Three_, which was pretty good itself. Once again, Taran has to make tough choices between seeking fame as a hero or just trying to get the job done. His quest for the Black Cauldron, which can be used to reanimate the bodies of slain warriors to create an army of invulnerable zombies and thus must be destroyed if the power of Arawn Death-Lord (i.e., Sauron) is to be broken, takes him and his companions to the Marshes of Morva for a rendezvous with Alexander's offbeat version of the three Fates, one of whom, Orgoch, has some disturbing culinary tastes. As so often happens in Alexander, Taran can win the Cauldron only by giving up his most precious possession. Will he make the sacrifice? And what will he choose? Read this exciting, moving, and thought-provoking adventure to find out.

I saw this book in a book sale our class was having and I bought in on the spot! I'd already read The High King and I had been searching for all of the other Chronicles of Prydain. Right now, I'm searching for the movie that Disney made out of this book.

This story all starts when it becomes evident to Prince Gwydion that The Black Cauldron-- the tool which Arawn, the Lord of Death, uses to create deathless warriors which will forever be his slaves-- must be destroyed. Gwydion leads the quest to Annuvin, Arawn's domain, in hope of finding and destroying the Black Cauldron. But it is a surprise in store for Taran, Eilonwy, Gwydion, and everyone else, including the Death Lord hinself, when they get there and find out that the cauldron has disappeared!

I discovered Lloyd Alexander quite by accident while browsing through a shelf of books. From the moment I picked this book up I could not put it down. Taran is a wonderful character whose high hopes for fame and glory any reader can understand to some extent. I love Princess Eilonwy and how she was every bit as independent as any man. All of Mr. Alexander's stories that I have read have strong female characters, but Eilonwy is my favorite. Gurgi can always make me laugh and I love the way he talks ("crunchings and munchings") The story of the Black Cauldron is my favorite of all the Chronicles of Prydain.

This book covers all the basics of trading, from selecting which market(s) you are going to trade, to deciding on your trading timeframe, to picking entries and exits, and finally to money management and psychology. Although it is very well-rounded, I felt that it did not contain as much meat as Elder's previous trading book, "Trading for a Living." Still, it is a good book and I would recommend it, especially as a companion to "Trading for a Living."

When Dr. Elder wrote "the secret of trading is that there is no secret" on page 43. Indeed, there is no magic password for profits, and yet this book about trading is a must-read for anyone serious about making profits.

I suspect this book will rank right up there with the all-time classics like Reminisces of a Stock Operator and the Intelligent Investor, and I highly recommend it to everyone! Don't let the word trading in the title scare you away if you consider yourself an investor, because this book will help make you a better investor or trader.

I have always regarded Dr Alex Elder's first book 'Trading for a Living' as the trader's bible. It explained in graphic detail everything novice and experienced traders needed to understand about trading and if a novice trader had explicitly followed Dr Elder's guidelines when the book was released in 1993 I'm sure she or he would now be making a very comfortable living.

With the release of Dr Elder's latest book I guess I now have to change my description to something resembling the Old Testament while his second offering becomes the New Testament. I don't mean to be flippant to either the Bible or to Dr Elder's books. All are beautifully written masterpieces.

Come Into My Trading Room took three years to write and essentially takes over from where Trading For a Living ended. Dr Elder uses research from many sources and feedback from his very popular Trader's Camps to research this book. He has the rare insight to really understand why traders lose money and what they need to do to start taking money out of the world's financial markets.

Dr Elder has identified three requirements that are paramount to successful trading¯Mind, Method, and Money¯the 3 M's. Mind means 'developing psychological rules that will keep you calm amidst the noise of the markets', Method 'is a system of analyzing prices and developing a decision-making tree', and lastly, 'Money refers to money management, which means risking only a small part of your trading capital on any trade'.

After explaining these and many more concepts Dr Elder succinctly describes to the reader how to become a master trader. Yes, he gives instructions and explanations in how to use indicators; how to manage your money; build a trading plan; document trades and build a money management system. But be aware. This is no novel, it will test your intellect and you will have to read it over and over again. This is a book you will read once and then seriously study for many months¯even years if you purchase the accompanying study guide. A must for any serious trader or investor.

One can find the answers to most of life's little (and big) problems in this classic work. It does everything from helping one determine why the backyard just doesn't feel right to describing the problems with sprawl. I hesitate to label it as an architectural work because it can be so much more. Certainly, it illustrates how architecture can play a much larger role in shaping our lives than it has during the past fifty years.

The format of the book is effective in that it allows one to follow the connections between various design rules/patterns that might otherwise not be obvious. The use of these "links" within the book could have been a source of inspiration for web designers. This book will appeal just as much to the lay person as it does to the legions of architectural professionals who use it as a guide on a frequent basis.

Contemplate "Wings of Light." Yeah, "Wings of Light." Most houses are built like a box because most builders are ignorant fools as are the bureaucrats who prescribe building codes. In contrast, mathmetician and architect Mr. Alexander gives us a plan for inter-twining indoor and outdoor space in a near seamless harmony, including "Positive Outdoor Space" and "Wings of Light." No Fads here, the principles in this book are timeless principles that interact in truly inspiring ways.

We mere mortals are insprired by the principle of "Wings of Light" and hundreds of other inspiring, well-orderd Patterns that Mr. Alexander et al describe in short, concise, illustrative chapters that forever influence our understanding of living space.

You may not be able to change the world but you can change your own little world. "A Pattern Language" is your roadmap. In all of Architecture, there is no other book of rivaling importance. This is the Bible of Architecture, written and dedicated to the masses.

Myself, I am a voracious reader of non-fiction, as well as a life-long student of science. I can say, without hesitation, that this is the most important book I have ever read.

Consider for a moment your home, you living environment. Unless you are profoundly fortunate, you abode is rather dull and uninspiring. Your next home won't be if you put into action the lovely patterns in this monumental book.

In an effort to build a philosophy of the human use of space, Berkeley professor of Architecture Alexander and his colleagues also managed to set down many of the big ideas of the 1960's in this magisterial book-- proclaiming in their careful observation of human settlements, a "timeless way of building" accessible to everyman.

The core idea is the elaboration of a series of patterns inherent in the way we build any habitation--from a garden bench, to a sleeping room, to a house, to a university, town, or region. The patterns; written, concrete and specific, can be interlocked and extended--like a language--in unlimited ways. These patterns are not blueprints for construction. They are more about behavior than about decoration, more about relationships than about dimensions. Thus, the pattern, "Sunny Window", when joined to another pattern, Thickened Walls" leads to just the right arrangements for a window seat-- a fitting place to sew, or read, or day-dream. When we build aright, says he, we inevitably follow these patterns, and enjoy the fullness of our humanity as we inhabit them.

Alexander is a radical, an anti-architect. He says that the best buildings are vernacular structures; the ordinary furnishings, gardens, rooms and houses that evolved slowly as ordinary people built what they needed and repeated what worked. What one might call "right building", as opposed to architecture, is not about style or the individuality of the professional designer, but the discovery of transcendent and inherently beautiful supports for the human functions of work, play, intimacy, and family living. Then you build it yourself. When we remodeled our own small urban house, we wove many of the patterns (there are hundreds) into the new space we built, and were happy with the results.

Twenty years after publication, it's a scandal that there are architects and designers who have never heard of this work. (ours--a professor of Architecture, hadn't). Alexander's ideas are reflected today in Stewart Brand's recently popular "How Buildings Learn", and there's surely a vast underground following out there, people who have, or want to build or renovate their homes, or landscapes with an eye to more sociable and spiritually nourishing places. Perhaps as more and more of us work at home, we will turn to this kind of resource to help us enrich our sterile, enfenced suburban environments(Alexander found a lot of his patterns in pre-industrial villages of Scotland and Wales).

Yes, Alexander will be back! This book is one of two that sits out on our reading table constantly. I cherish it and recommend it to anyone who wants to take a more active role in the design of their lives as well as their homes and gardens. END

I used to awaken to gum in my hair. Not very often, mind you, but I can see how that could start off a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. The main reason we bought this for our son was simply for the boy's name. However, I remembered reading it when I was a child; the simplicity of the story really makes it that much better. It's very easy to comprehend, and VERY easy to sympathize with Alexander. It's hard to believe such great character development, depth and storytelling can exist in a children's book with barely a sentence on each line, but it's happened with the Alexander books. I look forward to reading them to my son for years.

Though I wouldn't necessarily admit this to anyone over about 3 feet tall, I must say this is my all time favorite book bar none. I read it as a child and found myself instantly relating to Alexander and distinctly remember feeling pleased that someone...anyone...else had the capacity to blow a day full of minor irratations out of proportion so dramatically. Now, as a preschool teacher I love it yet more because not only do the children have terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days, but when they do, so too do I. I find myself reading the book out loud with so much drama and emphasis that it is emensely cathartic for all of us! I adore this book and firmly believe that every human on the planet would benefit from dramatic readings of it from time to time.

I adore this book not only because it's an excellent children's book, but because it appeals to the child in all of us. When I'm having a bad day, I simply pick this book off of my shelf, read it, and find myself laughing my troubles away. It's easy to forget that we shouldn't sweat the small stuff, and this is an important lesson for children as well as for "bigger" children. Alexander helps me keep in tune with my own child's moods and days- I've learned to accept a few more messes here and there. Buy a copy for your office today! It will put a smile on your face

Believe me, I don't say that lightly. I could have said that it's one of the best Romances you'll ever read but I see it as better than what literary snobs like to judge it as. Technically, I suppose it is a romance but it's not fluffy by any means. In fact, before I read this book, I thought that romances were for light-hearted, flakey women with nothing but time on their hands. The truth is that although this isn't really a "love and laughter" romance, it has a sophisticated sense of humor and an excellent story-line. The characters are extremely well developed and highly enjoyable. And unlike a lot of novels, you're able to get into the book, truly feel what it would be like to experience what the characters are feeling. I highly recommend anything from Ms. McNaught, she's a great writer of historical and contemporary romance as well as romantic suspense.

This book is truly captivating and one that touches your soul. I'm not usually a fan of typical romance novels, but I saw this in a drugstore and took a chance. I loved it so much, that I haven't been able to get it out of my mind and I was sad that I had finished. I'm not one to read books again and again, yet I will gladly relive the story of Matt and Meredith. The characters were extremely well developed and felt like old friends by the end of the novel. I found myself crying and laughing out loud with them. I also like that it is set in the present day. This book is inspiring and one that encourages you to take more chances in your own love life.

There is no better beach book, as far as I'm concerned. I devoured this one. Even if you scoff at "romances" (and, well, I sometimes do), you'll enjoy this book if you're in the mood for something fabulous and light with plenty o' action to propel you through. "Paradise" goes over the top, but doesn't take itself too seriously. There is quite a bit of humor (intentional, amusing humor) and fairly normal situations (i.e. arguing over a Monopoly game or having to deal with some obnoxious preppies) thrown in to ground the story, but it still has the delicious trimmings that go with gorgeous main characters and a wealthy social setting. The heroine is a super blend of warmth, humbleness, sass and Grace Kelly class. One wishes one knew her. And the dashing hero is down to earth enough to love his sister and build relationships based on trust. If the character of Meridith's father is one-dimensional and a pseudo-mystery subplot is rather weak, they comprise a small part of the story, so who cares? This is a fun, sexy book. Buy it and keep it on the shelf for an occaisonal re-read.

A friend of my father's brought me a box full of used books when I was 9 or 10. Tucked away in the bottome was this, the last in the Prydain Chronicles....it sat for quite awhile in my bookcase before I picked it up and began reading. What an experience it turned out to be! The adventures of Taran (Assistant Pig- Keeper), Eilonwy, Gurgi, Prince Llyr, and all the other charming charaters in their quest to beat the evil Horned King opened my eyes to the wonderful world of fantasy in children's literature. Indeed, after reading the High King I ran out and spent all my allowance (preciously saved) on the rest of the 5-book series.

Lloyd Alexander writes with a refreshing and unpretentious stye, neither speaking down to kids nor falling into any of the cliched storylines or dialogue of many writers of fantasy literature. Indeed, I believe many authors of modern adult fantasy would greatly benefit from studying Mr. Alexanders writing style.

I credit this series for the beginning of my 25+ years of affection for Celtic, Gaelic, and Welsh mythology and would strongly recommend this series for any lover, young and old, of fantasy and mythology.

_The High King_ brings to a rousing conclusion Lloyd Alexander's magnificent blending of Welsh mythology and Tolkienesque heroic fantasy. This is definitely the most reminiscent of _The Lord of the Rings_ of all the Prydain books, but that isn't a bad thing. Tolkien had the right formula, and there's nothing wrong with using it, as long as you use it well--which Alexander certainly does. In this novel Taran finally becomes a full-fledged hero, following the quests and disappointments of the preceding novel. If _Taran Wanderer_ was the quietest of the series, this more than makes up for it, with treacherous lords, deathless Cauldron-Born, and relentless Huntsmen aplenty. Alexander weaves together all the threads he has spun in the previous novels, but without appearing to force anything. I read this novel first in the series, which definitely wasn't a good idea. But even without the others, it was excellent. As the capstone of an excellent series, it is superb.

The High King is a Newbery award winner in a series of 5 books (The High King is last book in the series). Starting with the mystical and astonishing book The Book of Three, this series builds over time and forces the reader to read these books again after time. The book starts off with Taran, once a cowardly assistant pig keeper. After the other books he develops the skills needed for a warrior, and is now grown up into a majestic character with the other characters met and discovered in the other books. The saddest and dreadful book in the series, the story must end, and main characters that played an important role are enforced in this book, ending the series once and for all. This book is the final attack made towards the Death Lord, and seals the paths for epilogues, but leaves room for the past to be revealed. The series read together make a great connection towards each other, and answers all unanswered questions that remain in the readers' head. This adventure plots all the characters from previous journeys, and makes a perilous excursion for the fantasy readers. Just like any series, what happens in the past controls the future. This book, read with the series or alone, provides adventure for any age. The fantasy based book implanted on the fundamentals of a welsh legend shows how people can react sometimes, or how much their customs make notice in front of intelligence and common sense.

This book is not a novel. It is an unusually constructed history in three volumes, written by a word-class writer. It is a heavy read. In this volume, Solzhenitsyn describes arrests, interrogations, tortures, trials, prisons, and methods of transporatation from the prisons to the labour camps. He gives a brief history of the genesis of Gulag, its principles and its expansion, in the chapter "A Brief History of Our Sewage Disposal System." Solzhenitysn marshalls an impressive range of facts and first hand anecdotes in addition to his own experiences, usually relating them in a straightforward manner, sometimes with bitter, vicious sarcasm, sometimes with passionate anger. The book is an astounding achievement, especially when one considers that he wrote it in sections, hiding each as it was completed; he was never able to refer back to what he had previously written, yet I noticed no repetitions. The book is an astounding achievement, immensely powerful, but very depressing, sometimes heart-breaking. Nonetheless, anyone who wishes to be well-informed in general, or about history in particular, must read it.

It is a rare occurrence in the history of the human race when a truly great man rises up from the masses and passes on to the rest of us an eternal truth or knowledge that will serve as a testament against the forces of evil. Alexander Solzhenitsyn must certainly rank as one of these great men. All people who live in freedom should speak his name with reverence, and all should read the unabridged edition of 'The Gulag Archipelago,' the author's indictment against the most evil creation mankind ever fashioned: Marxist-Leninist Communism.

Like other great men, Solzhenitsyn's early life gave little indication of the monumental importance he would one day achieve. But one day, while serving as an officer in the Soviet army during WWII, something happened to our author that happened to so many others under the Soviet regime: Solzhenitsyn was arrested for insubordination, sentenced to eight years, and thrown into the gaping maw of the Gulag prison system. Unfortunately for the memory of the 'Great Father' (read Joey Stalin), this obscure army officer lived to tell the tale of all he saw and heard during his imprisonment. The result is the voluminous three volume series presented here in translation. 'The Gulag Archipelago' serves as both an indictment of the evil Soviet regime and as a memorial for the untold millions who died in the camps.

The overarching theme of this book is the process, from start to finish, of internment in the Gulag system. Starting with the dreaded 'knock in the middle of the night,' the author traces the nightmare of incarceration through the interrogation, the sentencing, the transportation to the prison camps, the grinding work conditions of the camps, and the eventual release into eternal exile or tentative freedom. Solzhenitsyn repeatedly delves into historical analysis, biography, journalism, philosophical musings, and literature to present his account. What emerges is page after page of heartrending suffering that is nearly incomprehensible to any sane human mind. The endless accounts of cruelty sicken the soul and should strike anyone who thinks communism is a great system of government deaf and dumb.

Volume one begins the harrowing odyssey into madness, outlining Solzhenitsyn's own arrest, the endless waves of people that fed the prison system, the interrogation procedures used to elicit false confessions to meaningless crimes, the dreaded Soviet criminal code containing the notorious 'Article 58' under which millions went to jail as political prisoners, the disintegration of the Soviet legal system to what basically amounted to a rubber stamp type of sentencing, and the transportation of prisoners via train to the eastern reaches of the Soviet empire.

Volume two deals mainly with camp life, with all of the trials and travails a person faced and how people struggled to survive. It is here we learn about Stalin's canal building projects and the thousands who died to fulfill the sick dreams of a ruthless sociopath. We see the horrible rations prisoners were forced to survive upon while having their ears filled with disgusting propaganda about how their work was important in helping to create the worker's paradise. The second volume also contains a history about how the gulag system emerged and how it spread, a discussion about loyal communists who so internalized the party belief system that they refused to believe Stalin sold them out, and chapters about the different types of people confined to the gulag (trusties, thieves, kids, women, and politicals).

Volume three focuses mostly on prisoner defiance of the terrible conditions in the prisons, discussing escape attempts (especially Georgi Tenno, a hero to the human race and indefatigable in his disobedience of the Soviet authorities), and outright prison revolts where the entire population of a prison banded together against the common evil. We then see Solzhenitsyn's release into exile and his ultimate 'rehabilitation' after the death of Stalin and the rise of Khrushchev and his 'moderate' reforms. The series ends with a call for more investigations into Soviet atrocities committed in the gulags.

No summary could completely outline the scope of this book; so enormous is the amount of detail held in these pages. The reader is tirelessly assailed with the names of those butchered under the hammer and sickle. Predictably, most of the blame for these murders falls on Comrade Stalin, author of the kulakization pogroms, the endless political purges, and the continuous sufferings inflicted on the various peoples under his control. Always referring to this beast in the most insolent and sarcastic tones imaginable, Solzhenitsyn rightly calls Stalin 'Satan.' Hitler was a mere schoolboy when held up to the unholy terror of the 'great' Dzhugashvili.

Still, one gets the sense of the majesty and power of the great Russian people in these accounts. Nothing will keep these people down for long. Everything the camps threw at these many of these wondrous creatures failed to break their spirit. They figured out how to lessen the back breaking labor of the camps, learned how to stay alive on rations barely fit for a dog, struggled to escape the chains that bound them to the death camps. Although the author laments the docility of those serving sentences, there are enough tales of bravery and defiance to warm the most cynical heart.

I highly recommend reading the unabridged version of 'The Gulag Archipelago.' There used to be an abridged version of some 900 pages floating around, but only the 2000-page edition brings home the full scope of the evils of communism. Accessibility is a problem, but stare into the eyes of Yelizaveta Yevgenyevna Anichkova on page 488 in the first volume and tell me her memory does not deserve an effort on your part to read every page of one of the most important books ever written.

One of the most monumental accounts of one of the cruellest ideologies of history,this book should be read by all
Layer by layer Solzhenitsyn exposes the hideous system of imprisonment ,death and torture that he refers to as the 'Gulag Archipelago'
He strips away that the misconception of the good Tsar Lenin betrayed by his evil heirs and exposes how it was Lenin and his henchmen who put into place the brutal totalitarianism , which would be inherited and continued by Stalin
In fact the only thing that Stalin really did differently was to introduce a more personalised ,Imperial style of rule but otherwise carried on the evil work of Lenin
It was Lenin who imprisoned the Cadets (Constitutional Democrats) , Mensheviks,Social Democrats,Social Revolutionaries Anarchists and independent intelligentsia and had many killed
In this way he completely destroyed all opposition to Bolshevik hegemony
Under Lenin the persecution started of anybody convicted of religious activity and the complete destruction of the church in Russia
And it was Lenin who began the genocide of whole ethnic groups that would later gain momentum under Stalin
Under the Communist system all that is spiritual or not purely material in nature is destroyed.And we discover what a horror Marx's idea of 'dialectic materialism ' really is
But I cannot describe the horrors which Solzhenitsyn outlines in this book :the hideous torutres,the slave markets selling of young women into sexual slavery

Solzhenitsyn describes how the prison system of the Tsarist system was compassionate by comparison but the mild abuses of Tsarist imprisonment where reacted to with a shrill outcry that never greeted the horrors of Bolshevism and Communism
As he says in his ever present biting sarcasm "Its just not fashionable,just not fashionable
And even today,even after the fall of Communism in Europe (though its iron grip remains strong in parts of Asia,Africa and in Cuba) its still not regarded as fashionable to highlight the horrors of Communism as it is to do so for other human rights abuses of this and other centuries

First of all, don't grab this book if you are against homosexuality. If you are not prejudiced, or, better, if you are gay, this is THE book on love. You are going to laugh and get your eyes mist as persian Bagoas meets Alexander and little by little becomes enchanted by him and in turn enchants the King and earns his heart. Though we know Hephastion was the main,greatest love in Alexander's life,Bagoas, the persian boy, manages to keep a good part of the king's heart to himself. It is a briliantly written book, never boring, the kind you can't-put-down. Page after page is filled with emotion, adventure, romance and action. And if you, like me, happen to fall in love with Alexander while reading this book, thank Mary Renault's superb sensibility and astonihing knowledge of the male heart and feelings. It is no wonder that for many years many believed Mary Renault was a man. So, DO buy this book. You will not regret, you'll just look forward to the rest of the trilogy: Fire from Heaven (part1) and Funeral Games (part3).

Robert Lipsyte, who wrote some wonderful novels himself, said in a column that his father gave him this book to read one weekend. After putting it off, he finally gave in and was hooked from the first sentence. Mary Renault casts a spell from the first in "The Persian Boy", the pivot of her Alexandriad.

Bagoas is born into an aristocratic family; the turmoil following the death of King Ochos claims his father, mother and sisters, and he himself is castrated and sold at the age of 10. The twin horrors are followed in time by another; Bagoas is himself sold by his master to other men as a prostitute. Procured for King Darius, Bagoas's lot changes only slightly; instead of being sold to many men, he is kept by one man, a King he holds in awe for his station, and not out of personal admiration.

Darius has made the mistake of underestimating the young Macedonian King Alexander, who at 20 undertakes the reconquest of Greek cities in Asia Minor. But Alexander closes in on the Persian Empire, and Darius suffers one defeat after another until his own warlords lose faith in him. When a coup sees Darius taken prisoner, Bagoas escapes with only his life. In time he is rescued by one of those warlords, who decides to beg Alexander for clemency. Who does he bring to sweeten the plea? Bagoas--as a gift.

Alexander is presented by Renault as a man capable of more than mortal feats who is still reassuringly human--more than that, he needs love desperately, from the hero-worship of the soldiers who follow him to the intimate devotion of his lover Hephaistion. Bagoas has never known love at all, only use. When Macedonian King and Persian courtesan meet, the inevitable happens--and this is where the enchantment begins.

Renault's mastery is impeccable. With a few well-chosen words, she conjures the images of the great Persian palaces--the ruins at Persepolis, Susa, Ekbatana, and Babylon; she recreates the travels of the Macedonian army so well that any reader who picks up her companion book "The Nature of Alexander" will look at the pictures and exclaim, "I know this! This is--" and name the very scene. But it is her characters that truly live. Bagoas is keenly intelligent, charming, courtly, sarcastic, prey to jealousy and possessiveness when it comes to his lover; his growing maturity merely adds to the pain he experiences as the affair and Alexander's conquests progress. And Alexander is much more accessible here than in "Fire From Heaven," which is a wonderful book but presents Alexander as all light and no fire. Here we get to see Alexander as preening boy, heroic warrior, pragmatic king, and devoted lover. It is a marvelous love story whether or not it actually happened.

But the emotional payoffs of the affair are balanced by hideous tragedies, none more affecting than the death of Hephaistion. Bagoas' quiet desperation to keep Alexander with the sane and living is agonizing with the knowledge that Alexander did not survive his lover by more than three months. Renault foreshadows without laying it on too thick, but it's worth noting that the portents of Alexander's death were recorded by historians, and the ancients paid close attention to that sort of thing. The final quarter of the book is grim, with only a few moments of light, and the most poignant moment is when Bagoas, having kept watch over Alexander even after his death, finally gives way to the Egyptian priests who come to embalm the Macedonian.

It isn't all romance and grief. Bagoas is, after all, only sixteen when the affair starts; he's prey to insecurity about his place in Alexander's heart, and his two antagonists are Hephaistion, Alexander's lifelong love, and Roxane, the legendary beauty who becomes Alexander's wife. With Hephaistion, Bagoas indulges in the sort of reverie that anyone who's ever had a romantic rival can identify with (stopping short of cutting him into little pieces and feeding him to the dogs). Roxane, on the other hand, earns Bagoas' hatred for good reason, and she is presented as everything Hephaistion isn't: clinging, vindictive, and devouring. Bagoas wryly notes that Alexander has, like most men, married a woman like his mother, and it's asides like this from him that make the story such an indulgent treat to read.

Like other reviewers, I will say that if you despise homosexuality and homosexuals, don't pick up the book. But if you can put aside prejudices and read for the sheer pleasure of encountering excellence in writing and losing yourself in another place and time, "The Persian Boy" is still in print.

One of the reviewers said, "excellent portrayal of two human souls". I fully agree.

Alexander is interpreted differently today from historian to historian; I must confess that after reading Fire from Heaven and the Persian Boy, I'm forever captured. I've tried to read less adoring interpretations, only to get angry at the authors. This is not to say that Mrs Renault's view is the only legitimate one, but it is so powerful and convincing and human that it is hard to set aside.

As always, the tale she tells rings true and has meaning. Bagoas isn't only a Watson, here to tell us about Sherlock Holmes. He is a deeply human character in his own light. For a hundred pages, we see Alexander only from what he hears about him, while he is enslaved and used as plaything, then comes to the service of Darius. It has been a long time since I have felt so strongly for a character's misery, and felt so happy when he found love, and as always, Mrs Renault does it beautifully, with a word here and there, never vulgar, never too close, always with that deep sense of decency all her major characters posess.

I found this one vastly better than Fire of Heaven, by the way. As to the historical "truth" behind it all, it is well researched, and if you don't like her portrayal of Alexander's character (or if it rings too good to be true), you still get a wonderful book and a great story, and are treated to an excellent work that stands far above other historical fiction.

The Count of Mote Cristo is a really exciting and fabulous story; I really enjoyed the book while reading it. The main character Edmond Dantes is about 21 years old, and for him, life is just full of success. He is a successful merchant and is about to be promoted to captain of a ship. At the same time, he is also about to marry a beautiful young girl whom he has loved for a very long time. But amidst all of these happy things, misfortune strikes, and Edomnd Dantes finds himself to be a prisoner in the Chateau D'If for life. He is a prisoner because he is betrayed by his so-called "friends" and rumored to be a servant of Napoleon Bonaparte. However, something miraculously happens, so read it to find out.

Although this novel is usually thought of as a story of revenge, it has an even deeper meaning than that. This story not only warns people who betray others, but it also promotes love, friendship, and most of all hope. When the Count of Monte Cristo comes back and seeks revenge, he also meets some friends on the way that move his heart. Some of his friends become poor and have a sad life because of his imprisonment long ago, but they still hope that he will return and they wait for him day by day. The count rewards them in a secret way, and shows how important it is to have hope in one's life even when there looks like no hope. So when you read this book, keep in mind that there is more to it than just vengeance.

This book is very pleasant and I finished it in a couple of sittings. It will definitely put you on the edge of your chair and you will hardly be able to put the book down. This book is for all kinds of people, but it is especially for people that think life is hopeless, because as this book will point out, nothing in life is ever hopeless.

I've reviewed this book before. I'm writing another review of it now so that it will appear on my list of reviews next to my review of the butchered 2002 screen adaptation of this epic work.

Alexandre Dumas's _The Count of Monte Cristo_ is one of the greatest novels of all time and in fact stands at the fountainhead of the entire stream of popular adventure-fiction. Dumas himself was one of the founders of the genre; every other such writer -- H. Rider Haggard, C.S. Forrester, Zane Grey, Louis L'Amour, Mickey Spillane, Ian Fleming, Tom Clancy, John Grisham -- is deeply in his debt.

The cold, brooding, vampiric Count (born Edmond Dantes; known also, among other aliases, as "Sinbad the Sailor," Lord Wilmore, and a representative of the firm of Thomson and French) is the literary forebear of every dark hero from Sherlock Holmes and the Scarlet Pimpernel to Zorro, Batman, the Green Hornet, and Darkman. And the intricate plot provides everything any reader could want: adventure, intrigue, romance, and (of course) the elegant machinations of the Count himself as he exacts his terrible revenge on those who have wronged him -- thereby serving, or so he believes, as an agent of divine justice and retribution. Brrrrrrrr.

The book is also a good deal _longer_ than many readers may be aware. Ever since the middle of the nineteenth century, the English translations have omitted everything in the novel that might offend the sensibilities of Victorian readers -- including, for example, all the sex and drugs.

That's why I strongly recommend that anyone interested in this novel read Robin Buss's full-text translation. Unlike, say, Ayn Rand (whose cardboard hero "John Galt" also owes his few interesting aspects to Monsieur le Comte), Dumas was entirely capable of holding a reader's undivided attention for over a thousand pages; Buss's translation finally does his work justice, restoring all the bits omitted from the Bowdlerized versions.

The heart of the plot, as most readers will already know, is that young sailor Edmond Dantes, just as his life starts to come together, is wrongfully imprisoned for fourteen years in the dungeons of the Chateau d'If as the victim of a monstrously evil plot to frame him as a Bonapartist. While in prison he makes the acquaintance of one Abbe Faria, who serves as his mentor and teaches him the ways of the world (science, philosophy, languages and literature, and so forth), and also makes him a gift of a fabulous treasure straight out of the _Thousand and One Nights_. How Dantes gets out of prison, and what he does after that -- well, that's the story, of course. So that's all I'm going to tell you.

However, I'll also tell you that the 2002 screen adaptation doesn't even begin to do it justice. The plot is so far "adapted" as to be unrecognizable, except in its broad outlines and the names of (some of) the characters. Pretty much everything that makes Dumas's novel so darkly fascinating has been sucked out of it. It's not a bad movie on its own terms, but if you're expecting an adaptation of this novel, you'll be disappointed. And if you've already seen it, don't base your judgment of the novel on it.

The Count of Monte Cristo is a hurting, vengeful, magnificently wealthy man who is bent on paying back the people from his past who took away all of life's gifts in one action - love, family, peace, and hope when he was a nineteen year old child still full of vision, love to give, tenderness, and dreams. Throughout this story I am constantly amazed at the insight into human emotion, pain, intricacy and joy that Alexander Dumas had. The story fills your head with another time and place- it takes you there. You hurt for the Count, begin to understand his thinking and are with him as he incredibly takes revenge on the men of his past and their families by becoming one of them, and later begins to see that vengence is, in fact, not his alone. As he begins to desire peace once again, he begins to feel again...and to weep for the love lost. This book is more than amazing - it is an experience that has put into me considerations and dreams that move me still - long after I have finished looking at its pages. The invitation? ...Come and ache and love and hate and hurt and grow and LIVE! Go to another time, another place that will effect and move you, and perhaps change you, here and now. It's worth your time.