The book was the proper length for the evidence put forth, although the final chapters were somewhat repetitive. Excellent description of the JN-25 system. This title belongs on the shelf of any historian interested in the US entry into WWII. That JN-25 had been read by the British had appeared previously, notably in the book "And I Was There" by Admiral Layton and have been ignored by mainstream historians. "Betrayal" forces the reader to reconsider the manipulations of the British whose conduct was clearly cost US lives. Continued British lying and secrecy surrounding the issue indicates that England wishes to wait for the WWII generation to quietly pass from the scene before they come clean.

Adolph Newton joined the U.S. Navy during the Second World War by forging his parents signatures. In the service he became one of the first Black machinist's mates (MM) and was assigned to a maintenance unit in the Philippines. After the war, he reeenlisted in the Navy and served on a repair ship. His memoir is honest and personal, and includes frank descriptions of looking for (and finding) women and liquor in liberty ports around the world. Occasionally he even had to stand up for his right to fight for his country. He did suffer gratuitous racial insults and unfair discipline, and speaks candidly about his opinions about white folks. An interesting touch is his love of jazz and popular music; MM Newton frequently recalls what songs were popular at a particular time and even takes credit for exposing other sailors on his repair ship to bebop. The main shortcomings of this book can be laid to the publisher : no index, no maps, and no glossary. Overall, strongly recommended for those interested in the integration of the U.S. Navy and the common life of the naval enlisted man. Parents : if your child wants to use this for a school report, read it FIRST.

Blood on the Harp is an impressive first novel. I was truly captivated with David Winston's sense of time and place. My experience has been that first novels seem to concentrate on the telling of the story to the exclusion of the extra dimensions of believable settings and characters unique to their time. These usually come from frequently published authors. Blood on the Harp is the exception, a first novel that gives the reader characters who would be out of place anywhere else and the feeling of being immersed in their culture, in this case Ireland in the Middle Ages. The success of the novel, however, comes primarily from Winston's causing us to care about his main character, Bran ap Howell. Set in Ireland in 1381, we find an unforgiving culture and a harsh every day existence for Bran, Captain of Lord Arlen's men. Bran was a man we could identify with, ambitious with a bold code of honor yet struggling with a balance between what was best for himself and what was right. He was able to lead men in battle, stand firm on principal and, when conditions required, exhibit a tender side that endeared him to us. In short, we cared what happened to him. I've read lots of books with compelling stories and cardboard characters and perhaps just as many with well realized characters wandering through ill-conveived plots. For those of us who knew David--and I count myself fortunate to say I was one--we knew of his love of Ireland and the re-enactments of midieval times. It was the combining of these two loves that makes Blood on the Harp a personal testament and a memorable read. Godspeed Bran . . and David.

This is a good book for anyone interested in WWII history. His speeches give Great Britain's point of view durning WWII, even before the war begins. America is mentioned several times in the book, but does this book does not give a very detailed description of what is going on in America durning this time. The book focuses on the war in Europe and Africa only. Japan is rarely mentioned. Overall this is a good book, comprised of Churchill's speeches.

Most avid readers of history know of Winston Churchill's mature works about the First and Second World Wars; and occasionally they know of his histories of the "English-speaking peoples" and of his biography of his illustrious ancestor the Duke of Marlborough. But it is much rarer to encounter someone who knows of, much less who has read, this volume of his collected dispatches as a correspondent to the Boer War. That's a pity, for these very early works, written around the turn of the century when Churchill was in his late twenties, provide an illuminating window into the developing character and literary style of one of this century's preeminent journalists, historians, and statesmen. But the stories are of interest not only because of their author. These collected dispatches serve as a primer on one of this century's first and least-well-known wars, one whose brutality and political intrigue foreshadowed the nation-draining slaughters to follow in this bloody century. The prose is a bit less polished and more stiffly Victorian than in his later works, but Mr. Churchill's sense of his destiny and his place in history, as well as his pugnacious self-confidence, shine through. Well worth a read for those who'd like a glimpse at the formative years of this great man. (by Michael Sebastian)

I am a medical oncologist at a large state university medical school. I care for patients and teach pain control to students and residents. This book has been a very valuable resource for both teaching and my practice. It is packed with practical information and is quite comprehensive, covering technical, social and ethical aspects of cancer pain control in adults and children. The various chapters are written by well-known experts in their fields and are well referenced. The chapter on anesthetic techniques is especially informative. The chapters about the use of opioids are practical, including price comparisons and excellent equianalgesic tables.

The only reason I chose 4 instead of 5 stars is that there is now new information that is not included in this volume, which was published in 1997. I hope that Dr. Parris will decide to publish a new edition!

An excellent analysis of Churchill's life, based on the premise that if his career had ended in 1939, it would have been a litany of failure, failure, failure. James's book starts with a thumbnail sketch of Churchill's father (another spectacular failure), then traces Winston's march through the first half of the 20th century. He bolted from one parliamentary caucus to another, making enemies in all corners; he sent thousands to their deaths at the Dardanelles fiasco; eventually, he was outcast and ignored through most of the 1930's. James writes in fine style, though it is sometimes a little too aloof, preventing a closer relationship between the reader and Churchill. However, the book is an excellent overall look at the Churchill most people don't focus on (ie. his first FORTY YEARS in parliament). Worth getting if you can find it.

Sir Winston Churchill is one of the most thoroughly biographied people in history, so it's surprising to find a biography that really covers new ground. This one does.

Woodford is the London suburb that Churchill represented in Parliament during the most important decades of his sweeping career. And even while he was striding the world stage, he had responsibilities to the community that elected him. This is an intriguing, and at times surprisingly touching, view of the Great Man's relations with his constituency committee, the candidates who stood for office against him, and the men and women of Woodford.

Most touching is the story of Churchill's ultimate decision to leave Parliament, and the mixture of sadness and relief this occasioned in Woodford. They knew they were lucky to have him. So were we all.

The soft and gentle words of this little book have soothed my soul many times since I received it as a gift in 1976. If you love nature, STARS in particular, and like quiet, contemplative moments, then you'll like this book too. It's a treasure in my library.

Converations With the Enemy is the well documented saga of the 14 year captivity of U.S. Marine PFC Robert Garwood in Vietnam. In September of 1965, while serving in Da Nang as a staff driver, Garwood was tasked to pick up a military member some distance from his base when he was accosted by the Viet Cong and placed into the enemy prison camp system.

Beginning his ordeal in Southern Vietnam, the book portrays a story of dreadful conditions suffered by American POW's in the worst types of conditions. The compelling narrative will illustrate how a U.S. serviceman can suffer and cope and adjust to his situation to make it survivable so that he may one day return home. But, it goes quite deeper than that.

We find that Garwood, while stationed at a number of prison camps in the south, was eventually joined by other captured American prisoners. Already in the camp system for many months on his own before seeing new Americans, he had to adjust his means of survivability in the way he interacted with the North Vietnamese enemy that held him.

Some of the measures he adopted were learning to speak the Vietnamese language fluently, interpreting for the camp hierarchy, assisting camp cadre with duties, and succumbing to propaganda viewpoints (after being tortured) to name just a view.

It is no great leap of logic that when new American prisoners were brought to the camp and witnessed Garwood's activities and unusual behaviors, he appeared to be colloborating with the enemy in certain ways and his actions could certainly appear to be traitorous. When described in detail by the authors, the activities of Garwood do appear to be detrimental to the U.S. soldiers code of conduct but you must also ask yourself this: In his position, what would you do to survive and to make ends meet in a very harrowing situation?

I agree that some of Garwood's actions are very suspect and quite possibly out of line and readers will cast their own judgement's about the controversial happenings in this book.

After years of confinement in Southern Vietnamese camps, the story shows how Garwood was eventually moved to North Vietnam to another camp and was "employed" in a matter of speaking by the North Vietnamese as a mechanic for their military vehicles. The methods by which he lived in that camp might also be seen as controversial depending on the views of the reader. There is no doubt though, like his life in the Southern Vietnamese camps it was far from pleasant. Using clandestine methods, Garwood was eventually able to get a note to a foreigner in Hanoi to alert the United States of his captivity in Vietnam.

Upon being repatriated back to the Unites States in 1979, his return is problematic and controversial to our government and to the Vietnamese government being that after the release of POW's in 1973, both governments claimed there were no more POW's in Vietnam. To compound the problem, Garwood is accused of committing several military crimes while he was in captivity and is faced with a court martial. Many of the POW's he was interned with at the different camps testify against him at his court martial adding further questions to the whole situation. This book will detail the elements of his trial and court martial proceedings and in the end, the reader will be left to form their own assumptions of what really is or is not true justice.

Being a military member, I had many conflicting emotions throughout this book and tried to be as objective as I could in my decisions of guilt or innocence. Readers will be put to the test also in this regard and it is not easy. Overall, the story is a very poignant testament to a sad, difficult and tragic time in Garwood's life and where it has left him to this day.

This book is highly recommended to anyone who is interested in Vietnam POW's and accounts of their captivity. The authors did a very good job in the detail and scope of the book keeping their views honest and non-judgemental.