Although Pappas' book on the Republic is well written and fairly detailed, I feel that it adds little to the two standard texts: Julia Annas' and Nicholas White's. In fact Pappas admits in his introduction that he has drawn a lot from these. Pappas' study can be a good choice for the student in a rush, but it is not the best for an in-depth study of the text.

Nickolas Pappas' book on Plato's Republic adds a unique perspective to the collection of books on Plato and his major political work. Pappas presents this ancient masterpiece with an eye on the modern reader and "present interest." We not only fit the Republic into political thought and practice of the Fifth Century B.C. We also perceive its relevance to today's world.
Instead of a dry, "academic" discussion, the author presents a lively and trenchant analysis that investigates every concept of Plato's work. The book's exhaustive index is an additional aid to the reader. So is the author's concluding section titled "Fundamental Premises in the Republic's Argument." As a teacher of philosophy myself, I consider Pappas' work to be indispensable for my students' comprehension of some of the most intriguing and challenging ideas on government and citizenship ever developed in political thought. Pappas shows clearly why Plato's Republic has endured for over 2,000 years as a blueprint for the critique of politics in any age.

I must agree with the reviewers below: this commentary has greatly enhanced my understanding of The Republic. Even when I think I get it on my own, there is always some nuance or other perspective brought to light; sometimes my own ideas are reinforced, which is very reassuring! I will look for books in this series that discuss other philosophical works -- the extra reading is worth the effort.

The Valley of the Shadow by Erich Anton Helfert is a narrative autobiographical history of the author's childhood experiences in Czechoslovakia, focusing on the years 1945 and 1946. The book chronicles the tragic decision to expel most of the minority German speaking population from Czechoslovakia after WWII. The book describes some of the most outrageous aspects of the expulsion including the confiscation of the German's property and most of their personal belongings in the process of the deportation. The author lived in Aussig on the Elbe (now called Usti nad Labem) in north Bohemia and he includes in one chapter a description of a dramatic and violent post-war conflict between the German and Czech speaking population in the city. This story is another descriptive example of how the Allies and the newly liberated peoples emerging from Nazi rule were over-zealous in meting out punishment and revenge against the Germans in the closing stages of the war and thereafter. A balanced biography describing some of the day-to-day experiences of the expelled population would be a very welcome addition since this is a chapter in history that we should understand and never repeat. Unfortunately The Valley of the Shadow overlooks all of the most important facts that led up to the expulsion and the book is filled with inaccuracies. The book begins with the post-war expulsion itself and then flashes back to the closing weeks of the war. Nowhere in the book does Helfert have anything to say about the six years that the Nazis brutally ruled conquered Czechoslovakia. Most educated sources estimate that 200,000-300,000 Czechoslovak citizens were killed by the Nazis in the war years, that under the rule of the Nazis the Czech population was not allowed to attend University due to their 'inferior' slavic status, etc. The war years under this regime were an era of indescribable terror and it was significantly worse in neighboring eastern countries such as Poland. In the book the author's family (Helfert's parents were Nazi party members) speaks critically of Czechoslovakia in the pre-WWII years prior to the invasion of the German army. The key fact is that the German and Czech speaking populations in pre-WWII Czechoslovakia enjoyed democracy, which was the first for these peoples in their history. Prior to the formation of the Czechoslovak nation in 1918 the populations of Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia lived in the autocratic Austrian Empire, with some preferences shown to the German speaking population since the empire was ruled from Vienna. Unfortunately in the 1930s almost all of the German speaking population rejected Czechoslovakia and the democracy that had been formed, instead deciding that Hitler's promises of another great German Empire in the east, with a privileged status over the 'inferior' slavic (ie Czech and Slovak) and jewish populations was more important than democracy. The Valley of the Shadow neglects or distorts facts both general and specific. Nowhere in the book does Helfert discuss the general fact that the expulsions occured all over Central and Eastern Europe, in Poland, the Baltic States, Hungary, etc. The expulsions did not occur only in Czechoslovakia and they were encouraged by the victorious Allies (ie especially the communist USSR but also the UK and the US). The expulsion decision was made by Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt at the Yalta Conference and later further defined and confirmed in Potsdam in 1945. Unfortunately the nations in this region became over-zealous in the expulsion and many German speakers were harmed and some were even killed in the process. Also, specifically when the author describes the violent conflict in Aussig in July 1945 he fails to point out that fighting between German Nazi sympathizers (so called Werewolves at the time) and Czechs continued for months after the war. The unfortunate riot occured in this violent climate. The Czech population believed that the explosion at the refinery was the work of Nazi sympathizers. I cannot recommend The Valley of the Shadow because it lacks balance and misleads the uneducated reader. A more balanced and accurate narration of the events in this tragic period would have been much more effective in generating sympathy for the expellees and help us understand that indiscriminate revenge including violence and the dipossession of property, even following the most brutal, dehumanizing and violent oppression, is unacceptable. For those of you interested in a very good, balanced and accurate general description of this tragic time period, I suggest you read Die Vertriebenen, Hitler's letzte Opfer by Hans Lemberg and K. Erik Franzen.

According to the estimates of the Goverment of Germany and many mainstream historians such as William Shirer at least 12 million Germans and an untold number of Poles, Ukranians, Russians and citizens of the Baltic states were expelled from their homes in the wake of World War II. Almost 3.3 million Germans were expelled from the Sudatenland, the rest being expelled principaly from East Prussia, Pomerania and Silesia. This land was carved up by Joseph Stalin. He took part for himself including Northern East Prussia and the city of Koenigsberg, today Kaliningrad. The rest was given to Poland as partial compensation for lands taken by Stalin when he invaded Poland in September 1939, after making a secret pact with Hitler. These lands were than "awarded" to Stalin by the victorious Allies in 1945. Most of the German civilian casualties in these expulsions were women, children and the elderly. There was neither plebecite nor self-determination for any of the peoples involved. The loftly principles of Great Britian and France, going to war to ensure "Poland's Territorial integrity" as well as the aims of the Atlantic Charter signed by the U.S. were discarded. Hitler's methods of ethnic cleansing and forced deportations of civilians that were condemned, justly so, as war crimes at the Nuremberg Trials were embraced by his enemies after the war. The history of the brutal acts of Hitler's regime has been told and hopefully will never be forgotten. This book "Valley of the Shadow" attempts to shed light on events that today are seldom discussed and carefully avoided in many academic circles as well as some history books in the west. My father was born in the German Sudatenland in the town of Graslitz, (than under Austria) in 1918. His people were denied self-determination promised by the treaty of Versailles and by fiat forced to live as second-class citizens in a new multi-ethnic state, Czechoslovakia, created by the Allied powers after World War I. The swift and final dissolution and separation of Czechoslovakia into the Czech Republic and Slovakia ten years ago is certainly evidence that the Germans were not the only group unwilling to live under Czech rule. The president of the Czech Republic, Vaclev Havel, has called on his people to critically examine their own history. He, amid a storm a criticism from some of his people, among others, has apologized for the expulsions, calling them a war crime. It is time for those who read books that painfully recount tragic events to decide whether they themselves truly reject Hitler's methods or embrace them selectively. I hope this book engenders discussion and thought provoking debate as well as further study of World war II and its terrible toll on the Sudaten Germans along with millions of others who suffered and died at the hands of Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin. Christian Anton Lehrer, M.A.

I feel very greatful to the author for telling his families story to us. My mother was a child when her family was given the choice to either leave or die. Her parents avoided talking about the terrible journey on foot from the Sudentenland to Germany. The few fragments I know from their tragedy resonate with the story E. A. Helfert has documented in his sensitive and enlighting book. He has experienced the terrors caused by mens irresistible urge of indiscriminate revenge and his story is a warning from history. Yet his story is also one of hope and faith in the good qualities of human mankind. And when these qualities manage to surface in the midst of terror and dispair then they appear like loving miracles. I wished that more people of his generation would write down their lifes' story, so the younger generation can break this cycle of revenge and make miracles.

This is the untold story of the two Russian brigades sent to France in 1916. About 20,000 troops were sent in exchange for French ammunition sent to the eastern front. It was a trade that appeared to benefit both sides, since France was desperate for infantry replacements after Verdun and the Russians were desperate for artillery ammunition that their weak economy could not adequately provide. Although the Russian Expeditionary Force (REF) units performed well in the 1917 Nivelle offensive (suffering about 1,000 killed) they quickly fell into disarray once the Russian Revolution broke out. One brigade remained somewhat reliable and ended up fighting the other in order to suppress a mutiny. The Russian officer corps appears pretty pathetic in this account; they were unable to deal with their insubordinate troops and the French had to deal with this mess. By late 1917, the French no longer needed these troublesome troops due to American entry into the war and the French were eager to wash their hands of this awkward army. The survivors of the REF trickled back to Russia in 1918, while some remained in France to fight under French command. Pro-Bolshevik leaders were incarcerated by the French. This is a decent, well-documented history of an obscure army that tries to examine the disintegration of the Tsarist armies in microcosm. Unfortunately, Cockfield does not ask some important questions, like why did these two brigades revolt but the two Russian brigades sent to Salonika in Greece did not? This book does lack adequate maps and the actual description of the training and combat employment of the REF is rather brief. The bulk of the book focuses on the gradual disintegration of these two units after the March 1917 Revolution. The focus is also a bit narrow, as other Russian units sent to fight outside the Eastern Front are only barely mentioned.

During the years of World War I, the costly trench warfare in the Western Front was eating the manpower of France. On the other hand, their eastern ally Russia had a huge army but was inadequately provided with weapons and ammunition. So, someone got this splendid idea: Russia would send a couple of their seemingly endless armies to the west, and in exchange they would receive much needed ammunition from French factories.

In the end, the Russians could spare only two brigades, approximately 20 000 men, which were shipped to France in 1916. For what they were worth, they performed pretty well in the battle, but obviously the bargain of exchanging human lives for ammunition had failed, and pretty soon the French high command regarded this Russian Expeditionary Force only as trouble. For various reasons however, they either wouldn't or couldn't send them back to Russia, and the situation became a real mess after the Russian revolution. Two Russian units, one "czarist" and one "bolshevik", actually fought a battle against each other while in France.

This little-known story has been thoroughly told in Mr. Cockfield's excellent book. The author has an eye for tragi-comical nature of REF's odyssey and sad ultimate fate, but admirably this doesn't border to cynicism. On the contrary, despite the heavy research work, Mr. Cockfield approaches his subject with a very humane touch. The various people in this story - Czar and his advisors, French politicians and commanders, Russian officers and ordinary peasant-soldiers - come very much alive with all their faults and few virtues. The book isn't just about an obsucre military incident or war politics, it manages to tell a lot about certain era and the people living it.

I was not trying to find this book I was looking for someone with my name and this man Cockfield came up. I read the book it was a exciting book and I learn a lot form this man that has the same last name as I do. I could not belive it. When I ask my dad is there more sets of Cockfield's he would say only one. Maybe he is a relative of mine. I would love to learn more about this man and more Cockfield's from back in the day. thank you Tarsha Cockfield,

This guidebook has accurate and good recommendations for hotels, restaurants and basic shopping and is written with wit. It also links hotels, restaurants and shops (if in central Prague) to the maps in the back of the book which is a tremendous help to find places. In terms of covering the sites in Prague, it is good for a basic overview. If you plan to visit Prague for a weekend or a long weekend, this is a great guidebook. If you are looking for a deeper understanding of specific sites, take a tour or supplement with another guidebook.

I am a Time out travel guide user for life. Once again, the detail, accuracy and maps are superior; esp to other travel books. I highly endorse the Time Out travel series to my friends all the time. The Time Out guide series is not truly for backpackers, or those on a shoe string type of budget. But if you are one who wants to get everything out of a city...and experience the best the city has to offer, Timeout is for you.

I lived in Prague for a year and I referenced my Time Out nearly every week for restaurants, reliable maps, activities and historical information. I found the information to be well-written with clear explainations. Dress codes, crowds at certain bars and restaurants, prices were all accurate. I owned four guidebooks by four different well-known publishers, and the Time Out was all I really needed.

Some books take you farther than you imagine possible. I am a lifelong student of Plato. This book showed me aspects of platoninc political theroy that were novel, brilliant, and utterly neglected by mainstream and traditional platonic analysis. Craig has discovered a deep, rich vein of unmined material in the Republic--no mean accomplishment in itself-- and from it unearths the crucial dimension of military theory within Plato's masterpiece. The War Lover hit me like a ton of bricks. I cannot praise Criag's accomplishment enough. The only disappointment is that he did not write more.

Accounting for many issues ignored by most commentary, this book raises a number of significant questions about Plato for anyone wishing to come to terms with the Republic. The book is strongest in its comparison of the two brothers, Glaucon and Adeimantus. Craig proves adept at revealing the psychology of both interlocutors, and his portrait of Glaucon as not only "erotic", but also as a lover of victory, is compelling. Bloom's analysis is certainly meant to be a "companion piece" (as another reviewer remarked), and although The War Lover is a somewhat less agreeable read in terms of poetic style, it ultimately goes to depths that are left uncovered in Bloom's shorter analysis. One word of warning is that the author seems to leave it to the reader to understand some of his more dangerous points. I cannot help but believe that he has left his more profound claims for the more diligent readers, those who would truly like to reign "victorious" over the text.

A brilliant, difficult book and clearly not for everyone (e.g. see msropg..'s muddled view above). The author takes the able reader into the depths of The Republic and leaves him there to find his way out. A companion piece to Bloom's work, Craig carefully illuminates areas of the cave where shadows are at play and danger lurks. Be careful.

This book was interesting and informative. Though, I do believe that the foreword and the afterword could have been omitted since they were basically a general overview of bad government in all but the Western World. I recommend this book to any one who wants to learn more about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa.

This book started out as just a piece for my research paper on South African Aparthied, but it soon turned into one of my favorites! It disturbed me a bit to hear about some of the autrocities, but I attribute that to a good description by the author and good research. It was an excellent source for my paper, and I enjoyed reading it as well. I don't recommend it for everyone because it drones in some parts, but it is a good read for those interested in Apartheid, learning more about Sout Africa, and the traveller.

Martin Meredith's COMING TO TERMS is a well constructed description of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa and forces nations to look at themselves and consider the fact that their actions of today will linger on forever.

'Cry Repbulic' concludes the trilogy started by 'Procurator,' in which ancient Rome never fell. Written by Kirk Mitchell, history as we know it was changed when Pontius Pilate spared Jesus Christ from the cross. Without its Martyr, Christianity never rose to take root in the Empire, eventually erroding its strength and causing its crumble.

Germanicus Agricola began the series as a Procurator. Through a failed coup, most of the Imperial family was killed, and the title of Emporer fell to Germanicus. Over the course of adventures in the East and in the New World, Germanicus attempted to solidify his power....only so he could give it all away. His goal, from the beginning of his reign, has been to restore Rome to a Republic.

However, the very individuals that seek to gain the most from this arrangement, the Senators, stand the most firmly in his way. They have grown use to living a privileged lifestyle; the rise of a Republic would make them have to work. They help plot Germanicus' overthrow with Nepos, a high ranking Emporer's aide. Nepos conspires with Claudia, the mother of Germanicus' adopted son, to assassinate Germanicus and assume 'the Purple'--the rank of Emporer.

Germanicus manages to escape with the aide of his most loyal bodyguard, the German Rolf, and another advisor from the Far East, Tora.

The most intriguing part of these novels is to watch the Rome that never fell attempt to weave modern technology into the Empire. For the most part, the Empire has been resistant. Electric power is in its infancy. Gunpowder and firearms are generations behind modern day warfare. The automobile is practically nonexistant. The first airplane of the series is seen in the last novel. The Romans may have been stubborn enough to conquer the known world, but that same stubborness appears to have prevented the world from evolving much.

'Cry Republic,' like its predecessors, is steeped in theological mystery. The mystery of Christ, who appears to have moved onwards towards China after his pardon, is touched on throughout the series. The Jews still make their home in Isreal. Germanicus is somewhat torn between the Roman Gods of his homeland and the intriguing faith he discovers as he flees.

My greatest complaint with this novel, and the series for that matter, is that it is often difficult to determine where things are happening. Mitchell uses a lot of latin names for locations that are not obvious, unless of course you have studied latin. The same problem holds true for some technological innovations. After enough reading, even the casual reader can figure out what is meant. However, this leads to frustration and often a plodding story line.

That being said, this is still an excellent alternative history novel. It gets away from the Civil War and World War II, both favorites of most alternative history authors, and is compelling. I highly recommend this series to alternative history fans, Roman history buff, and those interested in theological fiction.

This fine adventure story wraps up Kirk Mitchell's "Procurator" trilogy. The first book ("Procurator") introduced Germanicus Agricola, military governor of Anatolia, serving in the name of a Roman Empire that never fell. In the next book, Germanicus travelled to the New World, to make war with the bellicose Aztec Empire, and their enigmatic Chinese allies. Throughout his career, however, Germanicus had only one goal: the dismantling of the Empire, and the ultimate restoration of the legendary Republic.

Alas, the tradition-minded Empire has little room for idealists. Germanicus, his plot detected before it can reach fruition, is forced to flee East in fear for his life. Meanwhile, a cruel usurper seizes the Roman throne, determined to profit from the chaos. A bloodthirsty and paranoid tyrant, he ruthlessly goes about the task of eliminating his rivals. His main target, inevitably, is Germanicus...

Germanicus himself makes his way to Anatolia, in the desperate hope of finding allies, or, more probably, a peaceful death. He finds more than he could have expected, however. For in the East, away from the pagan heartland of the Empire, monotheism has survived through the milennia. And now, both the Jews of Palestine and the Muslim-like Anatolians see something special in this _pasa_ from the West, something which may forever change the course of events, both temporal and spiritual.

This book, like the previous ones, provides a satisfying mixture of alternate history and theological fantasy. The timeline is not particularly plausible (the Imperial structure has apparently survived almost completely unchanged for two thousand years), but the static and conservative empire, straining on the brink of a major technological revolution, makes a fascinating setting.

An excellent concluding book.

This is the sequel to Procurator and New Barbarians, where Germanicus Julius Agricola eventually wound up becoming emperor in a Rome that never fell. In this book, his Republican dream-a Rome without an Emperor, governed by the Senate-are discovered and a conspiracy forms that puts him on the run, and later plunges Rome into civil war. Don't be hoping for a conclusive ending though-this book ends on a cliffhanger.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book, I had a good laugh, I learned something
about myself (after twenty five years out of Prague, in Africa) and I
also realised how difficult it is for a non-European to appreciate
complexities of a small nation which lived for more than forty years
under communism. The book is amusing, open-mined, tolerant and
kind. It generally assesses well the character of the Czech
nation. Where it hits shallow ground are the issues related to life
under communism: incorect or insignificant problems like limited
shopping opprotunities, non-availaibility of goods, banning of western
music overshadow the real issues of the evil of communism: its grip on
people's life, its control of persons' destiny. And what really jabbed
me was a very ethnic view of the author on what is a polished
culture. Athough numerous habits and customs encoutered in the Czech
culture are rather ethnic, American mannerism is equally culturally
challenged....The notion of crasness is indeed
different in different cultures. Overall, a great book to buy so that
you can return to it and enjoy its wits and successful attempt to search for ethnic diversity.

As Czech living in Canada I really enjoyed this book. I was amused and often surprised how exactly our manners and traditions were described. I would recommend this book to anybody who are visiting Czech republic and wants to understand czech people.

I loved this book but it needs much more czech to english phrasing to help you get by while in Czech.

While this book may be interesting to those who have not been to Russia/CIS yet and have no other sources of information, those who have and were expecting more detailed practical info on trekking will be sorely dissapointed.
It does have lots of background information on various regions that are of interest to hikers, but unfortunately it is EXTREMELY thin on practical details.
It tends to write pages about how interesting a region is in general, before finally moving on to "describe" a single trek of several days' length in maybe 10 lines or so! This is particularly bad in the sections about Asian Russia - the European part is covered a bit better.
The maps and trail descriptions are often useless for those planning to attempt the hikes on their own.
The general advice on travel/hiking in Russia in the introductory section is so out of date now that it is of very little help either.
All in all, if you want to read about how nice places await discovery out there, you will get your fill. Just don't expect this book to be of much help in actually trying to "discover" them!

This woman has managed to see things that some of us, Russians, are unable to notice, for the reality we live in is too close to our eyes. This book gave me a rare pleasure to see our people and places in a new, clearer, nearly stereoscopic, light.

Traveling Russia is like nowhere else in the world, and Maier is uniquely qualified to help make sense of it. This book was the most interesting and useful of the required reading for Peace Corps volunteers going there.

To get five stars, a book would have to leave a lasting (positive) impression on me and would have to leave me begging for more. On the other hand, a three star book would be mildly interesting, and would invariably have its faults that would keep me from liking it even more. I would probably not miss out on much by not reading such a book. By this definition then, I would give "Waking the Tempests" three stars.

Randolph talks about various aspects of life as it was just after the fall of Communism, from topics such as the status of women, healthcare, sex, ballet and the fine arts, and criminal justice. In doing so, she tells the stories of a number of people, some sad and some encouraging, that she met while in Russia in 1992.

In talking about homosexuality, Randolph mentioned that "virtually every Russian" knew that Ivanovo (an industrial city close to Moscow) was a lesbian hangout. When I told my wife (who is from Ukraine) this "fact", she couldn't stop laughing and thought that this was one of the most outlandish things any American had said about the former Soviet Union. I wonder where Randolph got her information, since this "fact" about Ivanovo ws not referenced. Additonally, she makes the occasional snide feminist comment in the book that I really didn't much appreciate.

All in all, if you're looking for a book depicting life in Rusia just after the fall of Communism, then you may find "Waking the Tempests" interesting. However, for various small reasons (some of which I mentioned above), I personally just didn't think that this book was a standout, especially since there are already a number of published American accounts about living in the former Soviet Union.

I listened to the book on tape, the narration was excellent. What I particularly liked was that this book was about ordinary life in Russia, rather than the political situation. Lots of bleak description on all sorts of aspects of Russian life during the years following the fall of the Soviet Union. Fascinating, very long, and rather depressing.

I happened to be going through books at work when I came upon this particular one; I'm a self-professed "Russia-freak", so it seemed the type of thing that would be just up my alley.

Randolph and her husband are both journalists, and lived in the USSR/Russia from 1991 to 1993. Instead of living almost completely in the "second society" of newly rich and expatriates that Matthew Brzezinski describes in his book "Casino Moscow", or being almost completely on one's own as in Lori Cidlyo's book "All the Clean Ones Are Married", Randolph manages to pull off a fine balance between the two. This balance is maintained in Randolph's writing as well. She's a Western journalist coming to write about "everyday" Russia, and she tries hard to get the real story. One of the things that impressed me is that, although she used a translator, it was more to make sure that what she was reporting was accurate. There is at least one point in the book where she mentions about her translator not translating a certain question to her liking. Most Western reporters would have no clue if this were to happen, and I think it seriously limits our view of the world.

Randolph tackles a different subject as it pertains to the Russia she experienced in the book. There's one about the problems with housing, and attitudes toward private ownership (especially of land), as well as chapters about religion, cults, women's issues, homosexuals, the state of the arts (case in point: ballet), as well as others. What is impressive is the time she took to track people down and have serious interviews with them, rather than be satisfied with fluff pieces that could be easily made into simple anecdotes or pieces to feed into current stereotypes of Russia.

When reading this book, one can think that the conditions in Russia are unfathomably bad. However, it's not like the Russians can stop living because life there is crazy. Randolph starts the book with a story about her returning home one grey winter's day. She looks up and is struck by the beauty of a blazing light in the distance, and after a moment realizes that it is the reflection of the last rays of the sun on the golden crosses of a church. She compares this experience with her stay in Russia. As horrible as a lot of life there seems, there is something there that is enduring and beautiful. This is the sense that I came away with after finishing this book. I only wish that it was a little bit more current, as much has happened in Russia even after her last interviews in 1995.