Adshead covers, from a Sinocentric perspective, much of the history and sociology of Eurasia over the last three or four millenia in one of the most succinctly argued books I've ever read. You'll find one or two jaw-dropping insights on every page.

Really interesting. Dong digs up some marvellous facts about the paranormal in China, including UFO sightings, ESP, psychic powers, martial arts, and the bigfoot of China. Opens up a huge area for further research, as we are normally not used to this kind of phenomena in China. Should be read by anyone interested in paranormal events and those who want to separate facts from hoaxes.

I read this work back when it was published as a Ph.D.dissertation. I was moved by the history described in those pages.

In this book, Jack proves to be a good researcher, a person able to decribe facts from their historical stand-point, while mainataining his objectivity and neutrality. It might seem like a descriptive social study, but for someone who is a MUHOROVE (like myself, something I am very proud of), this book should be a starting point to come to an understanding of one'self. Our grandparents,parents, and ourselves were brought into something that we quite did not understand. By getting to know the historical aspect of the Baptist missionary effort in Kivu, the background of the split that took place in Katwa befor e my birth, we can get to know much more ourselves.

I encourage all banyaKatwa, wahorove, and the member of the God-blessed baptist community in Kivu, to check this book out. (I consider it to be a CLASSIC)

Mungu awa bariki.

Kisumba

Chronicle Of The Roman Republic: The Rulers Of Ancient Rome From Romulus To Augustus by Roman history expert Philip Matyszak is a fascinating and impressively accessible historical study of the fifty-seven kings, consuls, and tribunes who ruled during Rome's gradual evolution and transformation from a republic into that of an empire. From such famous figures such as Julius Caesar, to lesser-known leaders like Cato the Censor, these Roman leader's great deeds, cruelties, and political acts that shaped the flow of history for good or for ill are straightforwardly presented in this highly recommended, pictorially illustrated, historical survey, which was written for (and is especially recommended to the attention of) non-specialist general readers.

This analytical and thorough work builds nicely on the current critical look at Churchill's achievements. Carlton reminds us that Churchill, at bottom, was just another politician. Certainly, he believed passionately that the Soviet empire was evil and tyrannical; yet, in his zeal to be remembered as a world statesman (rather than just one of the protagonists in World War II) he was willing to flip flop whenever it suited him. Carlton also, repeatedly, reminds us that Churchill probably thought the Russians to be more wicked than the Germans and that he advocated the preemptive postwar use of nuclear weapons before the Soviets had developed a nuclear arsenal. Churchill's duplicity, vanity and senility in his last years are also brilliantly illustrated in this book. This is not the Churchill that many of us were taught by our history masters. Thanks to David Carlton, we now have a readable account of the whole man and not just the man as he would have us remember him. A must read.

Cicero is revealed as him self in this book, which gives great detail about his life and his bielefs. This book is a great read with lots of information about Cicero.

This book fills a huge gap in the literature about the Russian Civil War. The Siberian theatre hasn't been the subject of a monograph since the 1930s, and only Canfield Smith's wonderful book on the events in Vladivostok during 1920-1922 gave the reader an in-depth look at a part of the complicated sequence of events east of the Ural mountains. Dr.Smele's book is the first in-depth treatment in any language of Kolchak's government, how it came to be, why it performed so poorly in all its tasks as it did, and what became of it. The political intrigue, the rather inept leadership of Kolchak himself, the tragically inept military efforts - after reading this book the reader may wonder how Kolchak managed to do as well as he did (at first). I have found this book to be an indispensable reference work. In addition, it is beautifully written - perhaps not an important consideration for a scholarly work, but definitely a feature that makes reading this book a pleasure. Highly recommended to anyone with an interest in Siberia and/or the Russian Civil War.

One of the best comprehensive histories of the Roman civil wars. Contains almost everything you want to know and more. A must for any Roman history fan or buff.

Book Review

Brook, Stephen. Claws of the Crab: Georgia and Armenia in Crisis. Sinclair-Stevenson, 1992.

This is another treasure of a book about the Caucasus that I unearthed from the bowels of the Wandsworth Public Library system in south London. Only one other person had borrowed it, back in September 1999 when I was working in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi. Reading this book, I discovered that Stephen Brook had got there before me when all the exciting stuff was happening at the start of the nineties. Independence from the Soviet Union, the overthrow of the tyrannical president Zviad Gamsakhurdia and the battles for Nagorno Karabakh - Brook was there or thereabouts. Studiedly sympathetic to the Armenians and guardedly admiring of the Georgians, Claws of the Crab is a rare eyewitness account of many of the events that made independent Georgia and Armenia what they are today. Suffice to say that there's been remarkably little change since the book's completion in 1992.

Dr. Watson is an impeccable gentleman who is also an excellent professor. Thus, it came as no surprise to me when I uncovered the depth and scope of his research on the collapse of Soviet communism. Dialectical materialism and Sovietology are clearly presented and I came away with a profound understanding as to why the great experiment of the twentieth century failed.