If you need a cheap-ish Civil War book for your 10-year-old buff, this may be the one. It's simple, easy to read, doesn't contain overwhelming inaccuracies, and has lots of pictures. I wouldn't really recommend it for adult scholars. It's a decent quick reference but is so short and lacking in either detail or gripping writing that many people won't find it very useful.

I knew when I ordered this book it would be from a particular point of view and even though it was not as extreme as I expected, it was true to form. The author here regards himself as a true student of the Balkans and Byzantine history, unlike others before him. He states early on that he is a Vlachophile and that if there is one Vlach speaker in a village it is labeled as being Vlach by him. And here lies his flaw.

Winnifruth may be a good historian, by this I mean the ability to gather lots of information, but his writing is style is confusing. The chapters are broken down in to time periods, but he will jump ahead to vaildate a point which can be very confusing and names and facts are crammed all together. His main anchor for ethnicity is language, but most of his ideas are assumptions and rules can change when he chooses. One case in point is that if Greek writing is found in ruins located in modern Albania then the people must have been Greek, but it is never taken into account that Greek was the written language at the time and it makes sense that the Greek alphabet would be used. At one point he mentions the Chams of Greece (He calls them by the Greek Tsam). They are labeled as Albanian speaking Muslims. If language is his guide these people are Albanian not Albanian speaking. Another point is the Arvanit community in Greece that is associated as being Greek, but only spoke Albanian a hundred years ago. Here language does not show what the comminuty sees itself as. Another point is the assumption of ethnicity of historical figures by their name and even thinking they are pure in their background. Names mean nothing and are written according to what a writer feels sound better. Mary was orginally Meriam, John Cabot was born Giovanni Cabato. So names me very little. Skenderbeg has the following names... Gjergj Kastrioti (alb), Jorgos Kastriotis (grk), Giorgio Castrioti (Ita). All depends on who is doing the writing.

I do get the feeling that he is less that loving towards Albanians and very much enamored with Vlach/Hellenic culture. Best part of this book is it's a book and all sources must be read to better understand a subject. And I give him credit for having tried to be unbias, but it does show. There are points where he tries to be fair and steps away from some of the insane biased statements out there

This book is a community chronicle. Let there be no doubt about that. Though it does trace the Irish conflict from the the late 60's onwards, it does so to increase the readers understanding of a particular community in an 25 year cycle of violence. Ballymurphy is an urban area in Belfast, just off the Falls Road. It is a republican area, and has been at the hub of IRA activity within Belfast city.

All too often, spectators look to the popular media for ready information. In a world where CNN and Newsweek are the information pushers to a fast fact addicted people, texts such as this will be ignored by the majority. More's the pity.

For if one ever wanted to get a glimpse of what goes on within the partisan mind, this is the place to begin. Detailing outstanding figures in the community, the author weaves local folklore from the troubles in and out of the various character studies. The outlook of the book is republican in nature, and leaves the reader in no doubt that this was a community under seige, and what was done to fight the oppressor was, in military terms, remarkable.

As a historical reference, it is useful text, giving details of the various operations carried out by the local IRA, while keeping tabs on the other republican activities within the province. The stories told give a personal dimension to the many shootings and bombings that became so monotonous to us all.

While some will pass this off as a piece of blatant propaganda, I see this book as the history of a special community. Ballymurphy has survived despite all the odds, and what odds they were. The entire might of an army was brought to bear on a fierce people, and instead of destroying them, it forged a community that could never be broken.

If you ever wondered "why", about the war in northern Ireland, this book is a good place to start.

Suggested reading:
"The Dirty War", Martin Dillon
"The Shankill Butchers", Martin Dillon
"The Troubles" Tim Pat Coogan
"INLA, Deadly Divisions", Jack Holland & Henry Mcdonald.

I suppose that dear reader could stereotype this novel and question why a man would read it. Considering the title and all, I guess that's a classic case of judging the book by its cover, isn't it? Because the title doesn't contain, the words "Kill," "Maim," "Suspect," "Massacre," etc., it's likely that this story would be easily missed. I'm glad that I don't fall for all of that stereotypical hype.

A young woman with four children finds herself widowed in a small mining town in England. She and her children are somewhat literate, being that they can read some and write their names. This particular talent seems threatening to her peers and she is treated as somewhat of an outcast. Finding little compassion for her loss, she is forced to uproot and go into the next town in search of a means to support herself and her family. She takes up residence as a housekeeper in the country manor of a reclusive gentleman who eventually teaches her children to read and write and introduces them to the finer things in life. But always at a price, we quickly observe.

Being the second Cookson book that I've been lucky enough to read, I can admit that she remains consistent. She chooses England in the early 1800's as her setting. Her characters speak (through her words) in that Queen's English that seems to be adopted by people of what was considered a low position on the social ladder. Reading this book was like learning a foreign language, but in an enjoyable way.

The best part about Cookson's writing is that she doesn't place all of her efforts in making the reader second guess what is going to happen. She doesn't present a mystery, murder, or crisis of some kind that would be clearly considered point "A" and spend the entire story leading the characters and the reader in the direction of point "B." If these points do exist in her efforts, the reader isn't aware of it. We just follow along with the story and read about someone's life. Life for most of us is not just a matter of getting from "A" to "B," where someone on the outside (such as dear reader) knows how we'll get from one place to the other.

I'm still trying to reconcile the title of the story, since the actual "black velvet gown" seemed like such an insignificant role in the story. But then again, I couldn't think of a better title that didn't sound like a cliché. Maybe it's this sort of literary obscurity that makes me want to read the rest of Cookson's work. I assure you that I'll read more and recommend that dear reader do the same.

The description of The Colorado Plateau was appealing as I enjoy visiting our nations National Parks. This book met the minimum criteria described on the cover of the book. It was a fairly complete guide to the National Parks. I was hoping to gain and develop my own impressions from the impressions and experience of the author and thus develop a sense of those places I'd like to visit most. The book also provides historical information for many of the areas, which is interesting. The author is also very opinionated concerning land use which to me are political issues. I found this very distracting, having to skip paragraphs to get back to the information this book advertised it was all about. Also, the book could have done a better job of providing maps that showed the locations and routes into the Parks it was discussing. I found myself having to keep a map close by of each of the States that were discussed, something that could have easily been presented better in each section of the book. Otherwise, the organization of the content of the book was very good.

This book addresses the vital issue of what to do about Ireland. Unfortunately, it muddles matters rather than clarifying them. The key points, surely, are that 12,000 British soldiers are still over there, in what almost all British people consider to be a foreign country, and that these soldiers should not be there.

Liberation from the occupier has to be the main aim of a country still partly occupied by the forces of a foreign power. However, the book's editors, Anderson and Goodman, explicitly reject this, writing, "national sovereignty is the problem not the solution." In effect, they back successive British Governments' claim that Ireland's difficulties are peculiar to Ireland, rather than the result of the British state's continued interference in Ireland.

The book's contributors generally advocate cultural not political change, avoiding the necessary, difficult, political work of moving the peace process forward. They seem to see nationalism in general as the enemy. One contributor wrongly asserts that "British nationalism has state-sponsored, imperialist and sectarian origins." This implies that the British people's feelings of patriotism and national identity are not really our own, and that we are just stupid dupes, to be filled with whatever ideas our rulers pour into us.

We should support the Good Friday Agreement as a step towards peace and towards the withdrawal of the troops. The IRA cease-fire is, thankfully, still in effect, as are the other ceasefires. No longer are terrorist groups murdering innocent civilians in Ireland and Britain.

But we have to do more than just support the Good Friday Agreement, because it is not the end result of the peace process. We have to make the Government set a date for complete British withdrawal from the whole island of Ireland. When it finally pulls out the 12,000 British soldiers, all those who live and work in Ireland, free at last from the foreign occupier, will be able to build their future in peace.

This is a collection of maps of the western states with a page size somewhat smaller than a Rand McNally Road Atlas. The R-M is a better set of maps (and cheaper), but the smaller size of this atlas is more convenient to use in the vehicle.

I gave this book three stars, which in my mind usually means that the writer achieved her objective, but not much more. However, it wasn't at all clear to me what her objective was, so I can't tell if she achieved it. It's a nice enough read, anyway.

The book is a series of vignettes about gardens in "cottage country" in Northern Ontario, Canada. The gardeners, in residence only for the summer months, battle against vast outcroppings of rock, frequent dessicating winds and nightly visits from hungry wildlife. It made me believe that I garden in the lap of luxury with only a few winter gales and the occasional mole. But then I don't have the resources to bring in barge loads of topsoil, as these gardeners seem to do, so I guess it all evens out.

This is a pleasant read for a cold wet evening. The book has a short bibliography, a short resource list and plenty of colour illustrations.

I was in a book store in El Paso, Texas, when I happened to see the cover of this book. I picked it up, and thumbed through the pictures. Curiously, I went the the "S" section, for Savoy. I couldn't believe my eyes. There was a picture an uncle of mine that never returned from the Bataan march. Many times as I was growing up, I heard my mother lament that they did not have a picture of this man. I can't describe her reaction when I gave her the book for Christmas, then showed her the picture (some 55 years after he was lost). This book contains quality photographs considering the passage of so much time. Also, a brief biography is included with each photo. The pictures are military induction shots showing the men in uniform, and of course, are in black and white. Included are pictures of whole companies, though it would be very difficult to pick out individuals because of the resolution of the prints. Again, if you know of any person that was on the march, or a relative of such a person, you should have this book. Possibly, as in my case, it would make the perfect gift. Marvin L. Burrows

"A History of Northern Ireland" offers a detailed account of Northern Ireland's history, from its beginning in 1920, until 1996, when peace talks were underway. Although it is thorough, the book is rather tedious, often reading like a list of facts rather than the compelling account it could have been. Northern Ireland's history is far from boring, and if you are intrigued by the Troubles, you might want to pass on this one -- it saps all the passion and fury out, leaving only a dry compliation of facts.