I was (happily) surprised when, after reading the first few pages, I was hooked into this book. Ms. Gulland does a fine job of intertwining fact & fiction to create a compulsively readable story. The characters are clearly & fully drawn without sacrificing important historical facts. As a French Revolution buff, I was hesitant to see what liberties the author had taken with the "real story," so I was pleased to see that this fictional journal could almost pass for the real thing.

I look forward to reading the other two books in the trilogy!

The trilogy consists of these novels:

1. The Many Lives & Secret Sorrows of Josephine B.: Here we are introduced to Rose Tascher. She lives at a sugar plantation with her family at Martinico. Soon she is chosen to move to France and marry Alexandre Beauharnais. Rose and her family experience the French Revolution/Terror, the death of friends, and the change of life as they know it. At the end of this novel, which covers many years, Rose meets and marries Napoleon Bonaparte, and she soon must change her name to Josephine.

2. Tales of Passion, Tales of Woe: Josephine is witness to futher battles and scandal of the Revolution. Napoleon is victorious in his wars, and is elevated in popularity. Soon, after more scandal, the Directors of the Revolution are overcome and Josephine and Napoleon are the new leaders of France. This novel ends with the couple moving in to the palace.

3. The Last Great Dance on Earth: Josephine and Napoleon have been married for several years. Josephine is unable to produce an heir and rumors say that Napoleon will take another wife. Meanwhile, the Bonaparte clan would do anything to get rid of Josephine. In a few years, Napoleon does indeed divorce Josephine, and it takes a great toll on both. He is losing wars and France is falling into the enemy's hands. This is unfortunately the end of this wonderful story.

When I first began to read the trilogy, I was confused on my opinion of it because I hadn't read many novels that were like this. Yet, as I read on, I was to the point where I couldn't stop! Sandra Gulland is a great author, and I am eagerly awaiting any future novels written by her.

An absolutely extraordinary account of the Bonapartes and the French Revolution. No one of these three books is complete without the other two. So good I read all three in less than a month in my "spare" time. Five stars is NOT an exageration. Intelligently written, captivating, box-set.

Ms. Bruce does an excellent job of portraying both Napoleon and Josephine with all of their human foibles and thus allows us to see them as people rather than just historical figures. The bibliography is a great reference tool and cites sources from both sides of the debate on 'Napoleon the monster/Napoleon the saint'. All in all an even handed account of one of the most noted marriages of the modern era.

I enjoyed reading "Napoleon and Josephine". It was entertaining and suspenseful like a soap opera. I couldn't put the book down. Evangeline Bruce brought out some interesting tidbits on Napoleon and Josephine. One example: the young and slender General Bonaparte, a newlywed, boldly kisses and fondles his wife while in the presence of his generals. On one such occasion during a meeting, Napoleon's open affections with Josephine forced one of his generals to move over to the window to give the couple some time alone. The "Epilogue" at the end of the book gives detailed information on what later became of indivduals such as Theresia Tallien, Barras, Napoleon's first love Desiree, and others. This is an excellent book!

Bruce brings to life the background behind Napoleon's meteoric rise and fall. The writing is lively and brings a different angle to the typical biographies of Napoleon.

As I listened to Mrs. Stalcup's book, "On the Home Front," I was sucked into a world of Spitfires, Hurricane Bombers, and the Little Ships bringing soldiers from Dunkirk to Dover. Tears were shed when soldiers were lost in battle, and there was rejoicing when a major battle was won. I saw blood, I saw tears, and I saw glory.

It was quite an experience for my classmates and me. We had an author reading her book. Sometimes she would choose a student to read certain chapters because they were so emotional for her, such as the Little Ships and the Spitfire Funds.

It was an amazing book about a young girl who was living during World War Two. But the most amazing paart about it was who was reading it - the little girl from the book!!!!!

Stalcup shares her memoir of growing up in the town of Lydney, England, during World War 11. Ann stays with her parents and experiences war as it comes to her community with evacuees, German prisoners, Australian food packages, and American soldiers. Short, succinct chapters, enhanced by personal and archival photographs, make this a book to be savored as a read aloud or when read independently. Stalcup imparts the flavors of every day English life such as four o'clock tea, sweets, walks in the country, and the pleasures of a front garden, and how they are changed by a world at war. She retells moments of her life, from the age of three in 1938 with her first gas mask to V.E. Day in 1945. This factual memoir complements historical fiction titles such as Pearson's The Sky is Falling, Bawden's Carrie's War, Heneghan's Wish Me Luck, and Garrigue's All the Children Were Sent Away. Stalcup takes the reader's heart and mind into various events sharing humor, fear, courage, and community spirit. Thoroughly researched facts in combination with thoughtfully remembered experiences, make this compelling account a great starting point for curriculum dealing with war and a welcome addition to children's and youth's nonfiction collections. This first book of Stalcup's shows the beginning of a new children's writer with great potential.

As Juvenile Literature, I suppose the book isn't bad in terms of its approach; as any sort of history, however, even for the American market, it falls well short because it's riddled with errors of fact and perception. This, despite the uncredited, but apparently heavy, reliance on Angus Calder's "The People's War" (Cape, 1969). It's no defence to claim "this is what I remembered" if the book purports to be a picture of "Growing Up in Wartime England." A better sub-title would have been "the middle-aged memoirs of a sheltered little girl." Stalcup is 20 days older than me and what I remember of WW2 in Britain is somewhat different.

A must for anyone interested in the Third Reich, Hitler, Speer and WWII Berlin. This book is a real one-of-a-kind jem. It contains information and pictures that cannot be found elsewhere. One of the finest books on the subject I have ever come across!

The Third Reich came to an abrupt end almost sixty years ago and, though time alone cannot heal all wounds, today it is possible to look with fresh eyes upon things that once produced emotions of hatred, fear, suffering and cruel death. Of themselves, public buildings are usually seen as neither good nor evil, though the Coliseum in Rome can never outlast the muffled cries of the early Christians and others who were once tortured and killed there for the entertainment of the masses. Nor can the vastness of that public square outside the Kremlin buildings in Moscow be visited without the mind flashing back to a not-too-distant time when military aggression and might paraded there to intimidate the whole world.

And so it is ' or was ' with the seat of power in Adolf Hitler's Berlin. When he came to that power in January, 1933, the Reichschancellery consisted of a run-down eighteenth century mansion connected to a small and colorless office building put up in 1929-30. Obviously not an edifice indicative of a new political movement that presented itself as dynamic and energetic. And as a tangible symbol of that energy, a gigantic new complex was created to exemplify that movement, in less than one year, including the furnishings.

Much has been written about Professor Albert Speer. He was a talented artist who had the organizational skills of a modern corporate CEO and, like the other zealots of his master's political movement, he possessed seemingly boundless energy. It was Speer who designed and brought this mammoth complex to life, this New Reichschancellery.

When the building was opened to the public on January 12, 1939, a new book documenting its creation was already off the press ' an elaborate and beautiful book of coffee table-sized proportions (12x15") that presented the new building in impressive color and black-and-white photos and in the glowing words of its new inhabitant, as well as those of well-known architects, artists and designers. This book is a rare and welcome addition to one's history library ' when it can be found.

Ray Cowdery took upon himself the task of preserving the New Reichschancellery ' in word and photograph ' and he published his first book dedicated to that subject in 1987. Produced in the same size as Speer's book was in 1939, Cowdery's Hitler's New German Reichschancellery In Berlin 1938 ' 1945 included many of the original photos in color and black-and-white as were found in Speer's publication, together with information about the eventual destruction of the complex by the Soviets in December 1949.

Today, Cowdery's 1987 publication is almost as hard to find as Speer's original book. On the other hand, much more information has come to light over the past sixteen years. That brings us up to today, with Ray and Josephine Cowdery's new book, The New German Reichschancellery In Berlin 1938 ' 1945. Simply speaking, the Cowderys have outdone themselves. While this new book is slightly smaller than its two predecessors (9x11½"), it contains twice the number of pages as the 1987 edition and equals that of Speer's original. The number of color and black-and-white photos has greatly increased, while the quality of the photos equals that of the 1939 work. It is enhanced by drawings and paintings of the Voss Street construction site. New and expanded information is present, including material on the Old Reichschancellery, the furniture and silverware created for the new seat of government, and biographical sketches of the major artists and designers who contributed to this monumental building project.

It is difficult to limit my comments and my praise for the Cowderys' new book. One may only hope that they will consider producing companion works of similar depth and quality on the Führerbau and the Haus der Deutschen Kunst in Munich, the Berghof on the Obersalzberg, and other monumental sites so often lost to the ages.

I recently obtained a copy of Ray & Josephine Cowdery's new book THE NEW GERMAN REICHSCHANCELLERY. I have several of their previous books, including an older book on the same subject. This book is different; it's more comprehensive, with more, never-seen-before photographs and the chronological progression of the Reichschancellery itself. . I have an extensive German WWII reading library. I would rate their new Reichschancellery book among the top five books in my library. I have been to Europe several times with the Cowdery's. This book parallels their superbly conducted WWII German history tours. You can count on three things when you pick up a book written by the Cowdery's, its: (1) interesting, (2) comprehensive, and (3) factual. The first time I picked up the REICHSCHANCELLERY book it was fun just to take a cursory look at it and review all the photos and illustrations of the Reichschancellery itself. The next time I reviewed all the photos in detail, helping me link the various rooms of the Reichschancellery together. There were so many great photographs that it was like taking a virtual tour of the Reichschancellery itself. The third time I sat down and digested all the information surrounding the planning, building, and operation of the Reichschancellery. Nothing was left out. The Reichschancellery was one of the great buildings of the 20th century; it should be studied from political, historical, and engineering perspectives. This book covers it all. If you are a student of WWII German history this is a "must have" book you'll review over and over again.

Thank you very much for the kind words! I'm the illustrator of this book, and I was very happy and touched when I observed the exhaustive reviews above. I absolutely agree with them, the story is really wonderful. I especially admire its polished style, it is really carefully-chosen. I remember when I red it the first time, it was a special experience for me to read the story. It is so touching, beautiful and amazing. I warmly recommend this book for everybody, who loves the classical values.

Want to give your children or other children whom you love a precious gift? Give them this book! It's one they'll read as children and they'll read 40 years from now to their own children. It's not only a beautiful story, but one that will strengthen their faith.

Wonderfully written by Josephine Nobisso and luminously illustrated by Katalin Szegedi, The Weight of a Mass, is an original cultural folk tale based upon a true story. The story reads and looks like a fairy tale.

A ragged, destitute widow arrives at the kingdom's prosperous bakery and begs only a crust of bread in exchange for offering a royal wedding Mass for the baker.

The baker scoffs and tears off a tiny piece of tissue paper on which he writes the words: One Mass, intending to place them it on the scale to find out the value of a Mass.

Much to his surprise, when he drops a piece of old bread on the other side of the scale, it does not tip. So, he enlists his son to stack more and more baked goods on top of the scale. Out come cherry topped cupcakes, marzipan apple, filled chocolates, poppy seed cakes, rolls, donuts, fruitcakes, cream cakes, berry tarts, poached pears, plum pudding, candied fruits, almond confetti, crsuhed walnuts, and eventually the royal wedding cake.

The father, his son, the old woman, and others in the kingdom come to learn the weight of a Mass.

The story includes an author's postscript recounting the original story as told by Father Stanislaus from Luxembourg who tells of a conversation between a butcher and a Captain of the Forest Guards that was interrupted by an old woman begging a morsel of meat in exchange for a Holy Mass intention. As a result of the miracle, the Captian began attending Mass daily and one of his sons later received a calling to the priesthood.

I cannot say praise this book enough. It's a genre that is sorely needed in children's literature. Not only is it a beautiful book, but it teaches about the richness of the Mass and the priceless presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.

The paintings are wonderful, particularly those of an arched interior of the Cathedral and the bishop holding up the Eucharist at the wedding Mass.

Do yourself a favor. Purchase this book for your children, your grandchildren, and any other children whom you love.

The Weight Of A Mass: A Tale Of Faith by Josephine Nobisso is an enhanting children's fairy tale picturebook based on a true event, about a widow who brings about change in the formerly cold hearts of a kingdom when she begs for stale bread in exchange for participating in the royal wedding Mass. Gentle color illustrations by Katalin Szegedi enrich this heartwarming and enthusiastically recommended tale of human spirit and faith in God.

Classroom Classics is a wonderful collection of plays. The plays are baised on storyies like, Little Women, Tom Sawyer, Treasure Island, the Secret Garden, and many others. They have quizes and word searches after every story. It also has a teachers book which is extremaly helpful. I loved this book.

I had used one of Josephine's other books, and decided to give this one a try; kids just love it. The idea is do one of the mini plays as an introduction to the reading of the book. I think it's fun to use these plays to generate some enthusiasm, and then let kids choose which book they'd like to read. All of the tests, vocabulary, games, etc. are included, which is what I like about her teaching texts. Easy on the teacher!

A terrific book. I could not stop listening. It is a great story and the fact that it is a true story makes it even better. It is a fascinating story of world war II espionage. This woman is a true hero and her story should be given more attention. I would reccomend this to anyone.

This is a book-on-tape selected by accident while searching for British mysteries. And what a fortuitous accident it was. This is the story of a British female physician, very familiar with France due to a long period of residence there, who was selected to be a member of Winston Churchill's Secret Circle of spies. The detail of the accounts of her preparation and adventures in France, running from the Gestapo, establishing collaborator networks, rival the best of fictional novels. This autobiography will rivet your attention from beginning to end, and hope someday for the movie. Bravo, Jay Bee, and thanks!!

Josephine Roberts' work on Wroth sets the standard for scholarship in Early Modern English writers, both in depth of research and clarity of presentation.

Roberts' edition leaves any Renaissance scholar in her debt. Having tried to read Wroth's work on microfiche, I can attest to the near-impossibility of the task; that Roberts collated 27 copies of the book is astonishing to me. Her introduction is excellent, her research impeccable, her writing fluid.

This book is terrific! It is based and is by a native Hawaiian. Great step by step instructional.

I loved this book! I was having a luau birthday party and I wanted all the guests to have real lei's, but the price I found were crazy ($40-$80 a per lei!). So when a friend of mine bought this book for me I was VERY happy. After I got into it and discovered how easy it was, I couldn't imagine my luck! If you are into Hawaiian stuff or having a party, this is the book for you!

I think that this book sould be a best-seller because it contents a lot of profitable information about Josephine.

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Dear Amazon.com

I would appreciate you giving me a contact number for Ms. Haney, I would like to write to her directly regarding a matter. Sincerely Sheila10011@yahoo.com