Shotter provides a concise and up-to-date (at the time, bearing in mind it is nearly a decade old now) look at the Fall of the Roman Republic that is invaluable to any student of the period. Indeed it is useful as a general guide to the general reader. Commencing with an explanation of the governemnt of Rome and detailing the concept of the res publica he makes it clear that the republic was divided amongst what he terms the 'aristocratic class' and the plebian. He makes the sweeping statement that the downfall of the republic was caused by the growth of empire and talks of the Social War, the Gracchi and enfranchisement, sweeping on through Marius' reforms to construct a professional standing army to the inevitable conflict between military brilliance as shown under Sulla and oligarchic steadiness as employed by the Senate. A chapter on Pompey focuses on Cicero and Clodius' involvement in the Bona Dea in 61 and Shotter concludes with three chapters on the first triumvirate between Caesar, Pompey and Crassus, Caesar's dictatorship and the second triumvirate of Octavian, Anthony and Lepidus culminating in the battle of Actium in 31. He confirms that this battle is the decisive watershed in the move from republic to empire - though a modern-designated pivotal piece of history. In some respects this admission leads us to realise that whilst modern scholarship neatly splits the Roman domination of the Mediterranean into Republic and Empire, for Rome itself there would have been no such distinction. Indeed, one could argue that the premise of the book is indeed artificial by nature. However, it does allow Shotter to boundary his period of Roman history to 31 and discuss more fundamentally the nature of political power of the time and its shift from oligarchy to principate.
This concise yet fluid discussion on the shift in Rome's power is worth reading as both a general introduction and a more interesting discussion on the nature of political power.

"The First and the Last" contains Isaiah Berlin's earliest surving extended piece of writing ("First"), his final essay ("Last") summarizing his intellectual path and development, and brief tributes by Noel Annan, Stuart Hampshire, Avishai Margalit, Bernard Williams, and Aileen Kelly.

The tributes give us a faint glimmer of the man: his humanity and generosity, his passion for music, especially opera, and his extraordinary devotion to friends and students. "You have beautiful black eyes," Greta Garbo once said to Berlin. In Oxford circles Berlin was as renowned for his vivid talk and character as for his ideas. However, these recollections only hint at Berlin's expressiveness and luminous personality. In this regard, Michael Ignatieff's illumnating biography provides a more rounded treatment and measure of the man.

"First" is a prize winning story entered in a children's magazine competition when the Berlin was twelve years of age. The short story concerns a murderous bolshevik commisar named Uritsky, whose motto is "the purpose justifies the ways". Aside from revealing his precocity, the story is meant to illustrate Berlin's lifelong thematic struggle with absolutism in all its forms.

Berlin's last essay "My Intellectual Journey" is the principal and only substantive essay in this volume. It traces the the main themes of Berlin's intellectual journey, from his early interest in verificationism and phenomenalism, his discovery of Vico and Herder, his treatment of Romanticism, his famous formulation of two senses of "Liberty", and his contrast of monism with political pluralism. The writing is lucid and serves as a good synopsis of Berlin's political pluralism, which he summarizes as "a product of reading Vico and Herder, and of understanding the roots of Romanticism, which in its violent, pathological form went too far for human toleration".

Noel Annan once compared Berlin's writings to a Seurat, "a pointilliste who peppers his canvas with a fusillade of adjectives, epithets, phrases, analogies, examples, elucidations and explanations so that at least a particular idea, a principle of action, a vision of life, emerges before our eyes in all its complexity." The force and brilliance of Berlin's writings is found elsewhere. Nevertheless, "The First and the Last" is worth reading. For it is the one and only place where we find Berlin's own summation of his intellectual development alongside a modest tribute by his friends and admirers.

In this measured and fluently written essay, the author reviews the origin of the linked doctrines of religous liberty and church-state separation in American life by focusing on the contribution of three architects of these doctrines; Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Roger Williams. Miller is very successful in presenting these men without the anachronistic accretions of 19th and early 20th century historians and stresses the novel and indeed revolutionary character of religous liberty and church-state separation. He then follows with a nice analysis of how these doctrines shaped subsequent religous life in America. The doctrines of religous liberty and church-state separation appear as a benign influence on American religous practice, enabling the religious experimentation and enthusiasm that characterized much of the 19th century. Miller also provides a pithy and insightful characterization of the development of American Protestantism and a good history of 20th century legal battles over church-state separation. Miller's book, with its moderate tone and judicious examination of original sources, serves as a nice corrective to ideologues of the left and right on the subject of church-state separation. In Miller's analysis, the Founding Fathers did not frame the USA as a Christian (or even religous) polity nor did they expect the rigid prohibitions demanded by some of the more extreme contemporary proponents of church-state separation. Miller repeatedly calls for restraint and wisdom in addressing these difficult issues and his book exemplifies these qualities.

Like Raymond Kennedy's many out of print books, The Flower of the Republic impresses with the author's ability to assemble shallow, predictable characters and propel them through a trite, contrived plot while creating, like a literary sausage maker, a gristle-sharp melange of pork snouts and cow parts that digests far more easily than the various low-grade ingredients might warrant.

As an author, Kennedy resembles Teddy more than Bobby, and John Jr. more than John. He seems one of the inexplicable authors who never dazzles, rarely impresses, and yet has manufactured something resembling a career despite his lack of talent. Kennedy's characters reflect the author's life of triumphant mediocrity, investing every flaccid word with a frowning, sagging, tragi-comic pathos.

This is another must-read from the Stephen King of his generation.

I found this book to be an excellent source of factual information for such things as admission prices, hotel and dining prices, contact names and numbers for embassies, travel information bureaus, etc. It was the only guidebook which I found that had the proper visa information for Canadians in it.

If you're interested in doing some reading before you go, there is also a "recommended books" section at the back.

This book also has a wonderful English-Czech common-phrase section at the back with a great pronunciation guide. Many other travel books for this area seem to have phrase books but few (none that I've seen so far) have pronunciation guides.

I also appreciated the maps and the walking tours. I suppose that doesn't really make me one of those off-the-beaten-track kind of travellers, but if you only have a limited amount of time in which to see the Czech and Slovak Republics, chances are you don't want to miss all of the major sites.

The guidebook appears to be written primarily for North Americans and this shows in some of the descriptions of things (I'm a Canadian so I found this very helpful but if you're from outside of North America you may not appreciate this like I did), especially when restaurants and hotels are discussed - lodging that is typically recommended is that which is up to "North American standards" with all of the North American "comforts of home".

I only had a few criticisms of this book:

1) It's not really meant for budget/student travellers. The International Hostelling Association is mentioned at the beginning and a contact name and number is provided, but otherwise, there is no mention made of hostels, and not a lot made about other budget accommodation.

2) This book is also lacking in pictures - although I guess most content-rich guidebooks are. However, the maps are quite good.

3) There is not a lot of rich historial detail - although there is probably plenty to satisfy most visitors. Anyone taking an extended trip to the Czech and Slovak Republics (as I am) may want more historical and cultural details than what is provided by this guide.

Few books have treated this topic, Madison and Washington's collaboration, and this is an excellent treatment. Unravelling the waxing and waning of this relationship serves well those interested in the Federalist Era. The scholarship is obvious, and the presentaion is good. Those interested in the unfoldings of the Republic must pay attention to the Father of the Country, and his relationship to the Father of the Constituion. Liebiger allows an enormous view of Washington's dignity as a statesman, and Madison's erudition in the realm of Constituion building, amongst other federalist era realtionships, this collaboration was as crucial as any, and a topic long overdue.

this book is out of print. i have a copy in good condition.

General Paik's work stands out among the many works on the Korean War because of his focus on the operations of the Republic of Korea (ROK) forces. Highly recommended to readers looking for information that goes beyond the American contributions to the struggle. The operational details and accounts of the interaction of American and ROK commanders are fascinating. The book suffers slightly from a lack of detailed maps that assist readers in following the movements of the oppossing forces.

For the most part, the contributions in this collection are very informative and useful studies of various aspects of gender issues in the former Yugoslavia. If nothing else, it's refreshing to see a book that covers such a chronically under-studied topic. The first article on the 'traditional' Yugoslav family by anthropologist Andrei Simic, although first published in 1983, was a good choice to head this selection of studies. His observations of some typical aspects of family relations and the gender roles therein provide a good basis for understanding other gender-related issues. Most of the other articles deal with a specific region or former Yugoslav republic (i.e. Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, etc.) Among the best is an article by Julie Mertus on women in Kosovo. She illustrates the many problems faced by Albanian women activists, particularly the deep and sometimes self-induced repression exercised by this extremely patriarchal society. The examples she cites from her fieldwork are very illuminating. Two articles by Gordana Crnkovic are particularly interesting, and too short in my opinion. Both deal with literature as this pertains to gender: the first covers mainly Serbian and Croatian women authors, while the second deals with the way women are portrayed in literature. The afterward by Branka Magaš is also helpful in that it ties together some of the common themes.

I just returned from my first trip to the Republic of Georgia. I say "first" because my wife and I both fell in love with the place and we are already planning our return.

I read Peter Nasmyth's book shortly before travelling to Georgia, and I found it an excellent preparation. Nasmyth's book is largely a report of his own travels in Georgia, first shortly before independence, then just after the brief civil war and also more recently. It doesn't give as much historical and descriptive material as a standard travel book would, and the photos (which Nasmyth took himself) are in black and white.

What comes across most vividly, however, is the Georgian people, and this is as it should be, since, although Georgia has an abundance of natural and historical beauty, it is the people that one falls in love with.

Lancelot Fletcher lance.fletcher@freelance-academy.org