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Books to read if you're planning a vacation in "Hayward", sorted by average review score:

Mine: A Sesame Street Book About Sharing (Classic Board Books)
Published in Hardcover by Random House (Merchandising) (May, 1997)
Authors: Linda Hayward, Children's Television Workshop, and Norman Gorbaty
Average review score:

great for toddlers
My two-year old som loves this book, I think because he can really relate to the subject (sharing trucks and other toys). He seems to actually follow the plot!

My baby loves it!
I have a 9 month old daughter who squeals with delight when we read this. It has lots of sound words (like Whee and Clank) in it. We have checked it out of the library for months straight and now we are buying it.


Junie B. Jones Loves Handsome Warren (Junie B. Jones 7, Library Binding)
Published in Library Binding by Random Library (December, 1996)
Authors: Barbara Park, Denise Brunkus, L. Hayward, and James Bentley
Average review score:

Barbara Park does it again !!
This a great book.Kids will love it.
I've read all the Junie B books.
This book is about a boy named Warren that Junie B loves!
Junie B just doesn't get how Warren could like a nother girl.
Junie B is having a hissy fit,she just has to tell everyone about it. Barbara Park does it again!

Junie B.Jones Loves Hansome Warren
JUNIE B. Jones books are so fun to read. I like one book that is called Juine B. Jones Loves Hansome Warren. In this story one part I like is when she says I want a dress and some shoes that have lighting. So she is a trouble maker and a nosy girl. I will give this book 4 stars because kids like reading her books and when Junie does something the kids want to do the same.

This one is just as wonderful as all the others!!!
Since discovering the Junie B. Jones series, I have become a huge Barbara Park fan. I've read all eleven and can't wait for the new one coming out next month. I wish Junie B. was real so that I could give her a big hug...she is precious! I read these books to my daughter's second grade class and they love them just as much as I do. These books may be written for children, but children could not enjoy them anymore than I do. Junie B. Loves Handsome Warren is among my favorites...I recommend this one as well as all of Barbara Parks books!


Frankenstein (Classics Illustrated Study Guides Series)
Published in Paperback by Acclaim Books (October, 1997)
Authors: Ruth A. Roche, Debra, Ph.D. Doyle, Hayward Webb, Ann Brewster, and Mary Wollstonecraft Frankenstein Shelley
Average review score:

Review from a teenage writer, sort of
Okay, you're probably thinking that I'm just someone complaining about having to read it in my freshman year's honors English class. No, I was not forced to read this. I read it far before it was on the reading list. Just wanted to clear that up. Back to the review. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is an intriguing autobiography of a man obsessed with tampering with the laws of nature by reversing them. This novel shows how man deals with failure and loss. Unfortunatly, Victor Frankenstein dealt with failure and loss the wrong way and... Wait, I don't want to give away the ending. Anyway, Mary Shelley creates a clever plot and adds some gruesome happenings and romance, combining the three to make one of the most famous horror stories. Unfortunatly, for those of you still hooked to video games and fast-paced action, you may have a difficult time reading this for it tends to drag out at some points. But that's how literature is, you'll just have to deal with it. Apart from that, I would definitly recommend this book to just about anyone.

Not a horror story, but rather, a tragedy
The Frankenstein monster is truly one of the most tragic characters in classic literature. He is obviously quite brilliant, having learned to speak (rather eloquently, I might add), and to read simply by secretly watching others. He's sensitive, kind, and appreciative of nature's beauty-all of the most admirable characteristics of a wonderful soul. And yet, he is vilified by all who come in contact with him because of his physical repulsiveness.

His longing for love, especially from Victor, was so painful that it became difficult for me to read. I kept hoping he'd find someone to show him the littlest bit of kindness. His turn to violence is entirely understandable, and Victor's irresponsibility toward his creation is despicable. Victor, who is outwardly handsome but cowardly and cruel, is the story's true monster.

In addition to writing a captivating story, Shelley raises many social issues that are still relevant today, nearly 200 years later, and the book provides a superb argument against *ever* cloning a human being.

(Note: I have the edition with the marvelous woodcut illustrations by Barry Moser and the Joyce Carol Oates afterword - superb!)

wonderful, romantic sci-fi - a first!
After seeing at least five versions of this tale in film - one of my great childhood monster loves - I was happy to finally read the novel. As so often occurs with classics, I was as surprised as I was fascinated.

For starters, the characters are far more subtle than any of the film versions: Victor F appears as a brooding and obsessed genius, but also as a great lover of life and nature. The monster, who is an articulate and literate creature who read Goethe, is even more interesting, from his hopeful beginning to his bitter reaction at rejection and his thirst for vengence. His eloquence was vivid and his pain horribly realistic.

But the work is also fascinating as a window into the mind of the Romantics, who at once strove to reject the rationalism of the Enlightenment yet reflected it. The creature starts off empty and what it becomes is due entirely to his experience. Knowledge is not always good, etc.

Finally, the themes are timeless and full of conflict: creativity giving birth to unimaginable destruction, tampering with nature as its necessities overwhelm even genius, and the like. THe book is a kaleidescope of philosophical reflection. The pain of the creator and the monster alike are inescapably linked like father and son.

I did find the style of the book a bit difficult. It is full of florid rhetoric and lengthy circumlocutions, as the doctor and then the monster tell their stories in almost identical prose.

Highly recommended.


Rebel (Isis Series)
Published in Audio Cassette by Isis Audio (January, 1996)
Authors: Bernard Cornwell and Hayward Morse
Average review score:

Entertaining!
For a different type of Civil War story I recommend "Rebel" by Bernard Cornwell. "Rebel" is the story of a lackluster seminary college student from Boston, MA finding his true calling in life as a soldier. Part of a four book series set, "Rebel" is book one of the Nathaniel Starbuck Chronicles. The story is set in ante-bellum Virginia right before the Civil War is in full swing.

The hero Nate Starbuck is a northerner who decides to fight for the Confederacy. His reasons are not specifically stated but we can infer that he is rejecting his family's way of life and rebelling against both his nation and his repressive father. Starbuck decides to join his friend's father's legion as a second lieutenant. Prior to the war, Starbuck has shown little aptitude for any other trade and he hopes that soldiering is his true calling. The battle of Manassas (or the first battle of Bull Run) is Starbuck's proving ground where he shows his budding talent.

Very much like Cornwell's Sharpe series, Starbuck is a little too good to be real and that's what makes "Rebel" so fun to read. Interestingly enough Cornwell gives lots background about Starbuck, more than he has shared about Sharpe in any of his Sharpe stories. I think it is unusual that Cornwell's hero Starbuck selected the South to pledge his allegiance, he is after all a northerner born and bred. Perhaps It is Cornwell's way of illustrating how far Starbuck is rejecting his old way of life.

Nevertheless, I found the novel very entertaining and recommend it to readers who look for high adventure and exciting stories. It is hard to find fault with any novel by Bernard Cornwell. He is an excellent story-teller and he can write. I would recommend "Rebel" to readers who enjoy wars/battles and don't mind a few facts getting lost along the way.

Pretty good....
I've enjoyed reading Cornwell's series of Civil War novels (the Starbuck series). I recommend them, however, only with certain reservations.

These books are best approached as works of pure fiction that are set against approximations of history. People who read them either as an introduction to or as an adjunct to a study of actual history need to be wary here. Cornwell is a novelist, not an historian. Usually he gets the facts right; sometimes he does not. He freely invents major characters and events, and there are places where he alters established historical fact to suit his fiction. The result can be confusing.

For example, in _Copperhead_, Cornwell has Johnston hatching the battle plan for the Seven Pines offensive all on his own. That's not the way it happened. What's known about what did happen is far more interesting than Cornwell's altered and simplified version of events.

The second bone I have to pick with Cornwell's Civil War books, is that people who have read his previous novels (the Sharpe series) will find the many of the same characters and themes recurring in these. The characters here are somewhat less one-dimensional, but they're still transparent and predictable. The dialog is better.

As an historical novelist, I would spot Cornwell somewhere between Patrick O'Brian and the Shaaras (Michael and Jeff). He's not as good a novelist as O'Brian; he's not as good an historian as the Shaaras. On the other hand, he's almost as good as all of them combined. Not quite, but almost.

For those looking for the best Civil War novels, I would read these only after first reading the Shaaras' trilogy and The Red Badge of Courage. If at all possible, I would then read them alongside more carefully written accounts of the historical backgrounds.

That said, this is an excellent series of books. It will hold your attention and give you a fairly accurate impression of the sorts of things that really did go on back then. The facts are somewhat loose, but the final impression you'll get will not be.

Sharpe in the American Civil War?
Cornwell is a gifted writer and story teller. When I first became addicted to the Sharpe books I devoured them at the rate of about one every couple of days. I have just recently begun to read the Starbuck books. (I wish Cornwell could have thought of a better name for the main character. Every time I see the name "Starbuck" I think about Dirk Benedict's character in the old "Battlestar Galactica" television show!).

Although this book was very enjoyable, I am afraid that Starbuck is nothing but Sharpe in the American Civil War. It appears that Sergeant Truslow is the Confederate version of Sergeant Harper. Even the plot appears to some extent to be merely a re-working of "Sharpe's Eagle." Just as Sharpe and Harper killed the obnoxious Lt. Gibbons in battle in "Sharpe's Eagle," so Starbuck kills the obnoxious Captain Ridley during the heat of the First Battle of Bull Run.

Mr. Cornwell's command of 19th century military history is excellent except for one error which irritated me and hindered, to some extent, my enjoyment of the book. At several points in the novel Cornwell refers to General P.G.T. Beauregard's army at Manassas as "The Army of Northern Virginia." In reality, this force was called, at this early point in the war, "The Army of the Potomac," which, of course, later became the name for the principle Union Army in the East. (The Southern forces under the command of General J.E. Johnston which arrived in the nick of time at the Battle of First Bull Run was styled "The Army of the Shenandoah.") The Confederate Army in Virginia is not properly known as the "Army of Northern Virginia" until after Robert E. Lee took command of the force in June, 1862. Mr. Cornwell does not usually make errors of this magnitude in his works, and I wonder if this error was merely an oversight or was it intentional?

In closing, although "Rebel" is not "great literature" by any stretch of the imag! ination, it is great entertainment and, like the Sharpe novels, a painless history lesson.


Copperhead (Isis Series)
Published in Audio Cassette by Isis Audio (January, 1996)
Authors: Bernard Cornwell and Hayward Morse
Average review score:

Pathetic Hero Drags the Series Down
Following in the tepid footsteps of Rebel is Cornwell's equally disappointing second tale of Nate Starbuck-a young Northerner who fights in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. Starbuck is a very weak hero for Cornwell to hitch his Civil War series wagon to, and it's hard to care very much about his adventures. As in the previous book, comes across as more of a reflexively rebellious teenager than a heroic man of action. While it would have been interesting to see Starbuck really struggle with himself about the morality of his actions in joining the rebellion, the bulk of such internal conflicts are actually left to his best friend, Adam, who is a Southerner born and bred, and bullied by his father into uniform.

In this installment, Nate is drummed out of the "Faulconer Legion" by its commander, the vain, inept, and rich Gen. Faulconer, who hates him. This leads him to a Richmond prison cell, accused of being a Northern spy, all of which gets him enmeshed in the spycraft between the states. This rather conveniently dovetails with the activities of Adam Faulconer and Nate's own straight-laced brother. The spy material is rather interesting, with the appearance of real-life Alan Pinkerton as Union spymaster. The South's attempt to deceive the North as to its true manpower is particularly fascinating, and is portrayed by Cornwell as an element in their avoiding early defeat, along with Gen. McClelland's timidity.

While these semi-historical asides and speculations are interesting, the best part of the book is the walk-on cameo by a French Army observer Patrick Lésawn. Yes, he is the son of rifleman Richard Sharpe (hero of Cornwell's infinitely better Napoleonic series), and a vastly more compelling character than Starbuck. Indeed, one wishes Cornwell had decided to show the Civil War from within his eyes instead! Over the course of the book Starbuck displays a moral cowardice that makes him more and more unlikable, especially his pathetic treatment of his brother, when his brother reaches out to him. I'll continue the series in blind devotion to Cornwell, but these first two in the series are pretty weak.

An entertaining read
'Copperhead' is the second in the 'Starbuck Chronicles' and it provides the reader with all we have to come to expect from author Bernard Cornwell. If you know Cornwell's writing, this novel will not disappoint, similarly if you have never heard of the name, I would encourage you make his acquaintance.

During the Civil War a Copperhead was generally held to be a Northerner who sympathised with the Southern cause. Within the pages of this book, although he is the son of a Boston abolitionist minister, Nathaniel Starbuck fights for the South. If you know your Civil War history - and that is no way a requirement for this novel - the action depicted within the pages of 'Copperhead' takes us from Ball's Bluff near Leesburg in Virginia to Gaines Mill close to Richmond. However, the main part of the novel takes Starbuck away from the battlefield and into the arena of espionage and deceit. The book also gives us an insight into the insecurities of the Northern generals, in particular McClellan and his 'spymaster' Allan Pinkerton.

There is no doubt that in Nate Starbuck, Cornwell attempts to create the heroics of Richard Sharpe (for those who don't know, Cornwell has written a whole clutch of novels about English rifleman Richard Sharpe who served both in India and the Napoleonic Wars). To some extend he has succeeded in this, although at times 'Copperhead' lacks the pace of some of the Sharpe novels. Nevertheless, I enjoyed 'Copperhead', it is in the main well written and informative and is without a doubt an entertaining read.

As a point of interest, although I'd recommend the reader to work his/her way through the series in order, it is not vital that you do this as each novel is self-contained.

My favorite of the bunch
As this book opens Starbuck is in trouble. He has just beem drummed out of the regiment on(false) charges of incompitance. So he travles to Richmond seeking help and too make matters worse he is frammed.

This is my favorite book in the serise. We are introduced to several new chacters
1. Gordon Swinyard(he grows on you)
2. Patrick Le'sawn(Richard Sharp's son)

I really enjoyed this book, you can always trust Cornwell to give you a good battle and to question your outlook on life as you are reading his books.


The Baltimore Rowhouse
Published in Paperback by Princeton Architectural Press (July, 1999)
Authors: Mary Ellen Hayward, Charles Belfoure, Charles Belfour, and Mary Ellen Haywood
Average review score:

The history of the city as told by its houses
I enjoyed the pictures of these houses, and thought the book was especially well written. It's impossible to separate the evolution of these houses from the changes in the city itself, so some history is inevitable; there is also a great amount of detail involving the lives of the owners and developers. (I suspect this is a result of the book's being partly funded by a grant. Nothing got thrown away, to give the sponsor their money's worth.) If you are not overwhelmed by all this, you will uncover some interesting bits: the ads for Formstone, the fact that basements were hand-dug by a crew of nine in two days, the tales of the "night soil" removers. Really concentrates on the local history, though, so it may not of interest to others.

Well-written treatment of a highly specialized topic
The rowhouse is far more common in Baltimore than other US cities, and these authors have documented its history and development up to the present day. Every nuance of design change is thoroughly discussed, and the amount of detail allows a street-by-street discussion at times. We're told about the various developers who, parcel by parcel, converted old elite estates into street grids covered with rowhouses of varying quality. The book ends as an advertisement for new urbanism, in which dilapidated old rowhouses are renovated and run-down neighborhoods undergo renewal.

The quality of writing is particularly high. There are approximately 140 b&w photos, which for the most part are grouped together so they can be printed on high-gloss paper. This is an awkward arrangement that requires the reader to flip back and forth to the glossy photo pages. There are approximately ten cross-sections and floor plans. There are very few maps, and a detailed knowledge of Baltimore geography is assumed. Because of the highly specialized nature of this book, it is unlikely to appeal to anyone outside Baltimore, but it would probably be a delight to architectural enthusiasts within the city.

They say, "Timing is everything.."
...and the time to read 'The Baltimore Rowhouse' is now! I'm telling you'se- this book has it all. ; )

You not only get the expected descriptions of the architectural styles of rowhouses, and a historical review of the development of this style of housing, but the author weaves in the chronological social climb of an immigrant family throughout the book. Following the family's real estate history gives the book a story-like, biographical feel; unusual for non-fiction of this nature. It is in a sense, a well documented account of one way the "American Dream" has been realized.

From a social/cultural perspective, the 'Baltimore Rowhouse' is a social commentary on Baltimorean (and American) housing development past, present and future from visionary authors who love the City of Baltimore.

I received the book as a Christmas gift and read it in about 3 days. I couldn't put it down and was a little saddened that it had to end. I say this rarely- IT IS A MUST READ.


Judo Textbook: In Practical Application
Published in Paperback by Black Belt Communications, Inc. (December, 1995)
Authors: Hayward Nishoka, Hayward Nishioka, and James R. West
Average review score:

Early Attempt to Reform Japanese Judo.
In THE JUDO TEXT BOOK: IN PRACTICAL APPLICATION (C1979) by Mr. Hayward Nishioka, and others, has managed to reduce the thirty-six throws of the Gokyu No Waza into ten techniques he has personally decided, over Kodokan wisdom, to teach to a beginner.

Starting off with such fundamentals as obi tying; Judo gi folding; rei-ing; and all the basic falls; the author proceeds to demonstrate his preferred Nage Wazas while shrewdly including photographs of the same technique being applied in shiai by a past Judo great in international tournament: such as Anton Geesink winning with Sotomaki Komi or Isao Okano winning with Ippon Seoinage.

The book also contains a copy of out-dated IJF contest rules; sections on the positive power of Judo thinking; pep talks; some basic newaza techniques; excellent historical photographs of Judo legends; some photos from past Black Belt magazines; some interesting historic photographs of Dr. Jigoro Kano; and on martial arts masters unrelated to Judo, as if the author is unaware of the deeper facets of Judo other than tournament.

While the founder of Judo and genius, Dr. Jigoro Kano, insisted for good reason, that the ratio of Judo training to be: Randori: 80%, Kata: 17%, and Shiai: 3%; Mr. Hayward Nishioka devotes his book a full 100% to Shiai neglecting the other more important aspects of Judo, such as kata training.
Since France has won several Olympic gold medals in Judo compared to America's none, and they emphasize the 'Kaeshi No Kata' (form of counters) training from beginning to end in all their Judo practice, it is amazing that Hayward Nishioka, and other US Judo instructors, haven't picked up on this correlation?

The work: THE JUDO TEXT BOOK: IN PRACTICAL APPLICATION is too basic for advanced players, and too inappropriate for the beginner. It is worth the money for the collection of historical photographs and some of the vintage photographs of legendary competitors and masters. But this is still a contribution of Western Judo trying to undermine the integrity of Japanese Judo!

Effective, clear instruction
This book clearly shows many basic techniques of judo in a useable format. I have read through other judo texts that don't give you enough info. on the techniques described, this is one of the good ones. However, a larger book covering more techniques would be desirable. Another good book is Best Judo by Isao Inokuma.


Doctor Zhivago
Published in Paperback by Pantheon Books (April, 1997)
Authors: Boris Leonidovich Pasternak, Max Hayward, Manya Harari, and John Bayley
Average review score:

Combination of heavy philosophy with a beautiful soap opera
This is a worthwhile read. After plodding through the beginning, I, too, fell in love with Lara. I could not put the book down any time her character and her relationship with Zhivago was discussed. The more high brow and intellectually challenging parts of the book that focus on the foredoomed defeat of a poetic free spirit by politics (and not necessarily Soviet politics)were, I felt, too tedious and plodding to qualify the novel among the genuine Russian classics. There is no real plot. The lingering impression is of a beautiful love story, set against a less beautiful and compelling but still profound philosophical and political background. The soap opera wins out.

Doctor Zhivago
Doctor Zhivago is a beautiful book about life, love, war and peace set during the Russian Revolution of 1917. The novel follows the intertwined lives of Yurii Andreievich Zhivago and Larisa Feodorovna Antipova as well as tracing the course of the civil war/Bolshevik revolution. By the end of the book I truly cared for Yurii and Lara. Dr Z is a great love story and also an educational book about Russian history and culture in general. The first 150 pages are rather slow reading and the long names are at first impossible to keep straight, but stick with this book. It'll be worth it. ( I would rate this book 4 and a half stars if possible-half a star less than perfect because of the confusion over names)

An amazing work of imagery hidden in a simple story
Doctor Zhivago is a work of greatness. It paints a picture so vivid, so real, that you can't help but see it. Boris Pasternak's greatest work, Zhivago won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1958. That he was forced by the Soviet Government to not accept that prize is just another testament to his writing. His life was filled with censure from the government, and he was looked down upon by his people. Doctor Zhivago was rejected by Soviet publishers as counter-revolutionary, and was subsequently smuggled out to Italy where it was originally published in the Russian language. It was not published in Russia until 1988.

All this controversy could not have been generated by a lesser book. Pasternak's style of writing is one to provoke thought: rather than social issues running his characters, it was rather love, faith and destiny that did so. Social issues were considered by Pasternak to be important only in so far as they influence individual human destiny. This style can only be successful with the inclusion of powerful metaphors and intellectual conversations and thoughts; the author does all this and more.

Doctor Zhivago takes place in Russia during the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the civil war that followed. This is a time of extreme poverty, and Dr. Yury Andreyevich Zhivago decides to move him and his family out of Moscow and into the country. It also follows the life of Larissa Fyodorovna Guishar (subsequently Antipova), another Moscow native who also finds herself in the country, away from the disease and destitution. The book covers the many chance (or destined) encounters these two characters have had over the years: a party in Moscow, serving together at the front (he as a doctor and she as a nurse) as well as meeting again in the small town of Yuryatin. Yury was an intelligent man. He was of course a doctor, and he was a writer as well (over 30 pages of poems written by him are included in this novel). He is a man of intense feeling, he sees things like we all would like to be able to see. He is highly philosophical, constantly pursuing the meaning of life (much, I suspect, like Pasternak himself). Lara, who becomes his mistress, does not see everything like he does. He loves her for that, and jumps at the chance to be able to recite poetry to her, to educate her in his version of life. But Lara is not stupid. She understands what the revolution means: "Everything established, settled, everything to do with home and order and the common round, has crumbled into dust and been swept away in the general upheaval and reorganization of the whole of society. The whole human way of life has been destroyed and ruined." Yury and Lara try to shelter themselves from the turmoil going on around them in the civil war that followed the revolution. Yet through all this Yury still sees the beauty of life, the reasons for trying to hold on to a single moment, and to try and make this last. Doctor Zhivago is a great story. I love the feelings it portrays, the pictures it paints. Even being translated from Russian seems not to have hurt the artistry. The only weakness in the translation is that the poems at the end of the book are very choppy, and do not resemble poetry that much at all. Yet after reading the novel, I could feel nothing but gratitude to the translators, for making this masterpiece available to the English-speaking world. The novel leaves you with a feeling of sadness. Sadness not just for the characters, but also because Pasternak's life was much like Zhivago's. Forced to live in a place where his views were no longer accepted, Zhivago tries to remain pure, a symbol of artistic incorruptibility. Pasternak did the same, living out his days in an artist colony in disgrace. Pasternak summed up his life with a poem he wrote in 1959 entitled "Nobel Prize", wherein he said: "Am I a gangster or a murderer? Of what crime do I stand Condemned? I made the whole world weep At the beauty of my land." If you are trying to understand Soviet mentality, you should read this book. If you are trying to discover meaning for your life, read this book. If you are looking to read one of the greatest novels of this century, one that will leave you awestruck with it's imagery and enlightened by it's philosophy, then by all means read Doctor Zhivago.


Dramatic Black and White Photography: Shooting and Darkroom Techniques
Published in Paperback by Amherst Media (July, 2000)
Author: J. D. Hayward
Average review score:

See a copy before you buy
I don't like saying negative things and I've debated posting this review for quite a while but I feel I must. I'm so mad at myself for having bought this book just from reading descriptions that I have to say something.

I have quite a few photography technique books and this one was one book too many. It has some nice images along with brief explanations on how they were created. The problem I have with the book are the manipulated images, which make up about half of the book. I'm sorry, but I just don't see the point in adding water, clouds and birds to all those images, and often it's the same bird. I'd recommend looking through the book before purchasing, and if you can put up with the manipulated images, go for it, but I just don't see the point in them. Another thing-I haven't gone digital yet but I imagine that the manipulated images can be produced quicker on the computer nowadays.

Neat ideas
I enjoyed this book very much, specifically because I wanted to know how to manipulate photos. I was amazed at how relatively simple it is to add clouds or birds or vines and totally change the image. These photos gave me some wonderful ideas. I'm interested in digital but I figured that I better learn how to do this in the darkroom first.

Excellent Book
I've been doing black & white photography for a few years but have never tried combining photos and wasn't sure I could do it. This book has some good explanations. It's easier than I thought. Plus, I got a lot of good ideas about how to combine negatives that I already have. I'd definitely recommend this book...


Battle Flag (Isis Series)
Published in Audio Cassette by Isis Audio (January, 1996)
Authors: Bernard Cornwell and Hayward Morse
Average review score:

Civil war "movie of the week"
Dashing, one-dimensional, yet able to survive war AND a dysfunctional family, Starbuck guides us through the civil war. The action is gripping, fast and frequent (okay, even well written at times); however, it isn't enough to offset wooden characters and dialogue. The history and facts seem accurate and real; but the story is mind-candy. One is reminded of a TV-movie like "War and Remembrance" in which the character's superficial romances and personal tragedies serve as a rest stop between "Important Events." I nominate Chuck Norris for the TV-movie version of this book and series. A "4" for historical accuracy and above average action.

Good entertainment, mediorce history
I continue to read and enjoy Cornwell's Civil War series. I do however, have problems with these books in two areas: 1) the same themes recur to the point of monotony; and 2) Cornwell is not all that competent historically.

With respect to the latter, he makes several errors in _Battle Flag_. These seem not so much due to ignorance, carelessness, or convenience, as to a desire by Cornwell to re-characterize history to fit his own prejudices.

For example, he attributes to Jackson an active role in troop management during the battles at Cedar Mountain and Second Manassas. The truth is quite the opposite; Jackson remained largely passive during both of those battles. That was one of his few notable weak points during the entire campaign.

Cornwell's treatment here is odd, in that he supposedly based the historical portions of this novel largely on John Hennessy's fine history, _Return to Bull Run_, which details Jackson's passivity during those battles at some length, calling his performance "mediocre".

If a bit of gratuitous generosity on Jackson's behalf can be excused, the unnecessary swipe Cornwell takes at Longstreet in the Historical Notes section is not so easily forgiven. Cornwell makes the statement that "Lee's victory might have been more complete had Longstreet attacked [sooner]." Hennessy explicitly expresses the opposite opinion: Longstreet and Lee independently choose the exact same moment for the attack, and it was at that precise moment when the Union forces were at their most vulnerable.

Cornwell is, in essence, another Jackson/Lee groupie who thinks all faults belong to Longstreet -- and he's willing to re-write history in order to advance his prejuduces. Stuff like that is fine for arguing about over beers, but it's dishonest.

Corwell's books are fun to read though.

Pushing On
"I think I died and went to hell. Maybe that's it Colonel. Maybe none of this is real. We're all in hell"

I cannot rate this book without talking about the brilliance of the whole series. Cornwell takes you from your reading room, and teleports you back to a simpler time. And you find out that it's not so simple. Set against the backdrop of the Eastern Theatre in the American Civil War, he portrays the massive carnage and greatest bravery in minute detail. You actually hear the cannons, and smell the rotting flesh of the wounded. Yet, the main plot does not take place amongst the gunfire outside. But, rather, within. It is a story of a soul, and his struggle with God, man, who he is, and what he stands for. Amidst the shouting, crying, blasting, and dieing...is a poor heart, searching for peace. I found Cornwell's protrayal of Nate Starbuck to be no less than perfect. I found myself rooting, questioning, hoping, and praying for this fictional character. For, I saw myself in Nate. The same questions, fears, and desires. When done, I walked away from this story with a different outlook on life, liberty, and what's truly important. As will you.


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