On the night of March 30/31, 1944, Bomber Command sent every available bomber to Nuremberg in an effort to destroy it once and for all. So determined was Arthur "Butch" Harris to have one less target to worry about, that he sent his bombers out in less than ideal conditions. The night sky was largely devoid of clouds--that is, until the target was reached--and the moon was bright. The conditions were therefore very much to the German's advantage, and the defending night fighters took a grievous toll on the bomber force. In the end, the raid was a complete failure: Nuremberg was hardly touched and Bomber Command ended up losing over one hundred bombers. As Middlebrook points out, the choice of Nuremberg has been somewhat controversial, so much so, that some have contended that the raid was conducted with the Germans having known full well what the night's target was. I have little hesitation in saying that the Nuremberg Raid is a superb book. Meticulously researched and loaded with detail, it draws upon numerous sources, including many personal narratives, to construct aa complete an account of one of Bomber Command's raids as one can expect.

This is probably Martin Middlebrook's best-written account of an RAF Bomber Command Operation in the Second World War. Middlebrook wants the reader to believe that Air Marshal Harris, the commander of Bomber Command, was correcting in pursuing his night-time area bombing philosophy instead of trying to hit military or industrial targets with precision daylight strikes. Throughout, Middlebrook's sympathies and admiration for the brave RAF bomber crewmen that he knew from his youth are clear. Yet this book pushes a point of view that borders on religious or zealous faith, rather than a level-headed assessment of the facts. What pushes Middlebrook over the edge of reason here is the nature of his subject. While Middlebrook's other bomber books on Hamburg, Berlin and Peenemunde covered costly but successful operations (more or less), the raid on Nuremberg in March 1944 was an unmitigated disaster. RAF bomber command suffered its heaviest losses in one night of the war and inflicted negligible damage on the enemy.

Middlebrook begins with several very informative chapters that detail the bombing campaigns in Germany during 1939-1943, the composition of the bomber units that would take part in the raid and the German defenses. As usual, Middlebrook is very thorough and the order of battle is very detailed. However, shows a very profound bias toward area bombing throughout and it starts in assessing the three major raids just prior to the Nuremberg raid. Middlebrook makes a very important point when he states that, "even in non-cloud conditions the bombing results on Stuttgart, Frankfurt and Berlin had been poor ...bombing photographs indicated that not one aircraft released its load within the city's limits!" The point is that RAF Bomber Command did not have the capability to destroy cities because they couldn't hit them and that Air Marshal Harris knew this but continued on with an area bombing campaign that had degenerated into random killing. Wars are won by killing the right people at the right moment, not by killing randomly.

The pre-mission briefs to are covered in great detail and it appears that the intent was to deceive the crews about the nature of the mission, the strength of the enemy defenses and even the weather. The night chosen for the attack was poorly suited for infiltrating a 700+ stream of bombers across Germany due to the illumination from the moon and lack of cloud cover, but Harris ignored these facts and the crews were filled with overly-optimistic estimates. It is also significant that Harris chose an aim point in Nuremberg well away from the MAN tank plant (Middlebrook fails to mention that it was producing 100 Panther tanks per month at that time) and the SS barracks in the city and instead placed it in a residential area that he expected would burn well. The crews were told that the target was the tank plant and SS barracks.

Middlebrook follows the take-off of the massive bomber stream, all the supporting operations designed to help the raid and the massive German interception in great detail. Although the front of the stream made it past the German defenses, the Germans had perfected the "Tame Boar" method of intercepting streams before they reached their target and ripped apart the center of the stream. Visibility was excellent and the bombers were leaving contrails due to unusual conditions. About eighty British bombers were lost in a ninety minute period. The Germans had a very good night; Middlebrook notes that over thirty bombers were shot down by just eight night fighter crews. Two German lieutenants shot down seven and six bombers in one sortie! The flak gunners also had a good night - one battery shot down three bombers in five minutes with only twenty shells. All the while, the British crews watched in horror in the moonlight as bomber after bomber went down in flames. Nor were the British aware of the German "schrage musik" attacks from underneath with specially-modified cannon that fired into the bellies of the British bombers. It was one of the great aerial slaughters of all time. Nevertheless, the bravery of the British crews to press on to target in the mistaken belief that their actions would contribute to victory is sobering.

Compounding the heavy losses, the raid itself was a total failure. Nuremberg was heavily cloud-covered and most of the bombs fell well outside the city; only 60 German civilians were killed in the city, including 24 women and 8 children. Even worse however, was that 107 bombers missed the target by 55 miles and bombed Schweinfurt by mistake (and only succeeded in killing one woman and one child). A total of 110 German civilians and 19 Luftwaffe personnel were killed in the raid and about ten fighters were lost. Contrast this with British losses of 108 aircraft (96 bombers were shot down, the rest were crashed or damaged beyond repair) and of the aircrew, 545 of these brave men were killed and 152 captured. Middlebrook notes these cold-blooded facts but then concludes that the raid succeeded because it carried the war to the German people and "it was the German civilians who cowered for their lives in cellars and shelters while the English slept safely in their beds". Aside from this being an asinine "aim for the RAF", it ignores the German V-weapons campaign that was pounding England in 1944 without risking aircrews.

Finally, after all the excellent post-mortem analysis Middlebrook brings the reader to an emotionally biased watershed. Instead of realizing that the Nuremberg Raid clearly demonstrated that night area-bombing was not a cost-effective way to win a war, he launches into an impassioned defense of Harris' beloved area bombing. Middlebrook writes, "The morale of the German people never broke...but this does not mean that the theory was wrong: only that it had not been proved. What might have happened if Harris had been given the 4,000 heavy bombers [that he wanted]?" This completely ignores the fact that RAF Bomber Command could barely find major cities in the dark, except for the few targets in the Ruhr within range of OBOE. How would more bombers have changed this fact? More bombers missing the target still does not add up to victory. Even when RAF bombs hit cities, they tended to kill women, children and the elderly, not people likely to contribute much to Hitler's war effort. Middlebrook's assertion that the bomber raids caused the Germans to allocate thousands of anti-aircraft guns, searchlights and flak crews to home defense is also specious. First, anti-aircraft guns and searchlight cost a lot less to manufacture than four-engine bombers, and few of them were destroyed in battle unlike the 8,325 bombers the RAF lost. Second, the flak crews were often teenagers, women and Russian volunteers, all of whom required far less training than RAF bomber crews. Thirdly, Middlebrook ignores the huge investment that Britain had made into air defense of the UK and the fact that Britain did not have a free ride in this area even in 1944. Actually, it is apparent that RAF Bomber Command diverted far more resources from Britain's war effort than it did from Germany's.

This is a well-written and detailed account of one of the fiercer air battles of the Second World War. It should be on the bookshelf of anyone seriously interested in the air war in 1939-1945. However, the emotional bias of the author colors his assessment of the raid and serves to offer up a false conclusion. It is no disservice to the brave RAF crewmen who died on the raid, they did their best and they were heroes, but the raid was idiotic in intent and execution. Commanders like Air Marshall Harris would send brave men to their deaths for no reasonable purpose should not be excused for "having a bad day" or making a mistake. Unfortunately, the author cannot bring himself to this condemnation and it is up to the reader to make a less biased conclusion.

Nuremberg Raid is a dissection of what was probably the most costly bombing mission for RAF Bomber Command in WW2. Conversely, it was the single greatest success for the German NightFighter arm. All details of the mission from target selection, route planning, to execution and return are painstakingly presented. These are accompanied by excellent first-person accounts that illustrate "what it was like" for crews on both sides. Through the use of a single mission, Mr Middlebrook gives the reader a glimpse of RAF bomber operations and tactics in 1944. In the current edition, he also explodes the Betrayed-Mission-To-Conceal-Ultra Myth. This myth came about after the revelation of Ultra and the allegations that some defeats/disasters (Coventry and Crete for example) were due to withholding crucial intelligence as the Germans may assume that their ciphers were broken and change them. The truth is more prosaic: Nuremberg happened due to bad decisions and bad luck. The only area of the book that is weak in my view, is its treatment of Air Marshal "Butcher" Harris. He comes off lightly here, possibly due to him still being alive at the time of writing the original edition. Current research however, is much less charitable: he disobeyed orders from the Chiefs of Staff, refused to release aircraft for other-in actuality more vital-missions, and deliberately misled his superiors with "optimistic" assessments of the damage his campaign was causing to Germany's morale and economy. In fact, he could have, and should have, been fired. This is an excellent history of Bomber Command in 1944, and THE work describing the Nuremberg Raid. Highly recommended.

Unfortunately all common therapies for allergies tend to treat the symptoms and not the root of the problem, the immune system. Medicated baths, fatty acids, antihistimines, allergy shots (the actual success rate of such injections is less than 50%,and now I know why) did very little to help my itchy dog. The author suggests a food trial and endocrine (hormone) test first and foremost. Apparently some animals change dramatically once they are on a diet of novel protein and a novel carbohydrate. Their symtoms are greatly relieved, once they are no longer eating the offending food. Dr. Plechner's book addresses the improper breeding practices (breeding a dog/cat with allergies thus resulting in a litter with allergies) as a cause of such immune problems. The author gives the reasons why so many animals are allergic to beef, brewers yeast, wheat, eggs, corn, milk, etc. He calls this the hit list of things to avoid. Dr. Plechner explains the relation of estrogen, cortisol and thyroid hormone. If these are not balanced, the immune system cannot function properly. The actual cortisone my dog was receiving was not being absorbed and we would have never known without the endocrine test that the author suggests. I am saddened to think that cats and dogs are being prescribed cortisone without having the absorption level tested. My dog was hypothyroid yet was never previously tested because she did not exhibit classic symptoms. So because of this book, my dog eats a healthy commercially prepared diet of rabbit, venison, and fish and potatoe. I am happy to say she now takes a natural plant derived cortisone daily and thyroid medication daily and no longer scratches, plus her inflamed,chronically infected ears are healed!! Thanks to the author Dr. Plechner and this wonderful book. Even the Scientific Director of the Humane Society gave this book a glowing reccomendation.

This book was not only a life saver but an eye opener as well. The information contained in this book describes the problems, makes you think about the causes and then helps you to find a remedy. It also makes you think a great deal about the question, "If this is what the food we give to the animals we love does to them, what is the food we are giving to ourselves and our children doing to us?" As the doctors mention in the back of the book, many of the allergies and symptoms that humans have can be so closely compared to the allergies and symptoms our animals have. A great book to buy and have on your shelf for reference and review. I have my beloved dog with me today because of this book. Thank you

This booklet contains a mass of valuable and above all comprehensive information to cure allergies. The biggest merit of Plechner is surely the fact that he takes ALL responsible causes of what he calls an epidemic into account (commercial food, breeding practices, etc.). Furthermore, the autor provides a very logical and easy to follow strategy to treat allergies (and the numerous side-problemes, mostly not associated with allergy), based on what seems waterproof scientific fondations. Plechners approach owes a lot of its usefulness to its systematicity in analyzing and correcting the direct causes of symptoms instead of just treating the symptoms in an instinctive-like fashion. Definitely worth buying: a lot of wisdom for 8$...

Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" speech was voted the most electrifying public address of the twentieth century. It takes some kind of a leader to give that kind of a speech. Donald T. Phillips presents the ideals of leadership that Martin Luther King Jr. followed in an overview of the history of the civil rights struggle. Phillips describes the techniques King used at various stages of the civil rights battle. He also shares King's comments on leadership. Many of the principles will be quite familiar: listen to learn, lead by being led, awaken direct action, encourage creativity and involve the people. However, the book is especially interesting when it demonstrates how King put these principles into practice. This well-organized, well-written book is clear, direct, and easy to read. While it is written for the general public (especially for African-Americans and those interested in civil rights), we [...] find this book interesting for all managers and executives, particularly those who like to learn the lessons of history.

Donald Phillips did a wonderful job of telling the story of Martin Luther King Jr. from his childhood to his death, and connecting it all to a marvelous leadership style. Being a student of leadership studies and a fan of Martin Luther King Jr., I chose this book as a study of both subjects. Having read it, I have to say I learned more about leadership from this book than any other I have read. However, I am no longer a fan of MLK......... he is now a hero of mine.

As Donald Phillips points out, for every major turning point in American history, creative leaders - right for the times and uniquely suited to the task - assume the mantle of leadership. Donald Phillips not only describes how MLK ended up at the mantle, but how and why he was the right person for the job.

MLK's movement is not the same civil rights movement being pushed by the self-serving, so-called, activists today. Read this book, you will learn about a true leader and what a true leader is. It is easy reading and inspiring. Highly recommended.

I am a student and a teacher of leadership skills, and I have found no better example than Martin Luther King Jr. This book combines the history of King's movement, but also chronicles the qualities which made King great. The text is easy to read, and fascinating. Martin Luther King, Jr. On Leadership should be required reading for anyone who hopes to impact their world. The famed Harvard psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg, who studied moral development, named King as one of the greatest moral thinkers in history. Read this book, and you will understand why.

What an incredible account of these lost people. The book does have an academic sound to it, but the events more than keep you interested. Its almost like real-life science fiction. They have an idea that something's out there. They look for it and find more than they bargained for. Those that like history or lost and found will like this one.

I purchased this book on a visit to Williamsburg and it sat on my shelf for quite a while before I seriously dove in. This book combines a clear explaination of archaeological methods with the building suspense of a good detective novel. As The author and his team uncover the existence of an early Virginia colony and utilize an astounding range of techniques and research to slowly piece together the lives of the inhabitants you will be drawn into the past. More than that you will be excited to read on and discover with these archaeologists what really happened. I.N. Hume writes eloquently on all aspects of organizing and proceeding with a project of this scale and mixes those details regarding administration and method with the fascinating story of the settlement of Martin's Hundred flawlessly. I could not imagine a better introduction to the discipline of archaeology for the layperson.

While you might think that a book about historic archaeology would be dry and boring (and many are!), Ivor Noel Hume's story of the archaeological dig, the background research, and the people of the 17th century who lived at Martin's Hundred is fascinating. This is probably the only archaeology book that you won't be able to put down because you will want to find out what happened next. If only I could write as well!

...The kids aren't always good.if you've ever read #59 you would know that.The girls do get bad hair days. The only reason the BSC is always thirteen is because people won't read the books if they were twenty or something.I have about 100 BSC books and I say they rule!

In Mary Anne and too many babies it shows the real life responsibility of being a parent just like Mary Anne and Logan and all the other babysitters had to do. It also shows that sometimes it is not possible to do everything at once, especially when you are looking after babies and small children at once. I think that the way all the babysitters handle the situation is something others should think about when in this position.

This is a good book. Not the best book out of The Babysitters Club Series but good. Ann M Martain is a brilliant autor. Her book are very entertaining for children aged 9 - 13 they ar e a must read

This was interesting coming from Ann Martin, Queen of All Happiness. I used to read the BSC religiously, but now looking back on the books, I think this one was one of the better. I mean, most have absolutely no plot, and are totally unrealistic, but this one is a pretty good example of a breakup. I don't think it's quite completely what a breakup is, but coming from Ann, this is a better one.

Looking back on my youth and teenage years, I used to read BSC religiously. I have all the books that were made from the time I was in 5th grade, up until I graduated high school a few years ago. When I first read Mary-ann vs. Logan, I was shocked because I really didn't think that they'd really do it. I was heartbroken, and happy at the same time. I found this book the other day in a box while I was moving, and in the front flap of the book I marked off each time I read it, and I had marked it a total of 15 times, so that's how good the book was! I recommend it to any BSC fan.

You know, people are always saying that Anne's books are too unrealistic. I say that those people are just the "party poopers" as the eight-year olds would say. But look, she's a very positive person, in my opinion. Who wants to be writing about sex and drugs when you could imagine being happy on an almost-daily basis?I mean, come on! Which would be more interesting? I rest my case. I guess I'd better write my summary. This was a good book. It should that Mary Anne stood up for herself, and she knew that was she was doing was right; giving she and Logan some time to cool off. I think that that is what books are about; finding your problem, and your solution, even if your answer isn't the one you want to hear. Two thumbs up, Anne!

Melanie Martin is back from Italy. She is now done with 4th grade (which I just finished, too!). She, her ever-serious dad, her art-loving mom, her six-and-a-half yr. old brother, Matt the Brat, and her best friend Cecily. She is SOO excited to be traveling again, especially with a friend!

The reason Cecily is going with them is because her mom, who Melanie never really liked, had breast cancer. Later in the book, Melanie realizes that Cecily's mother really isn't so bad after all. But 'Mellie' just is not very sensitive towards her best friend.

Melanie is frustrated with her parents, her brother, and especially Cecily. She is sick of hearing everyone dish out compliments to Cecily. Cecily is a good artist, Cecily looks great in royal blue, Cecily is such a good sport, Cecily says the most interesting things. Mel is pretty upset, as I would be. Not admirable,but quite true. In the end, she has a great vacation and she makes up with her pal.

This book was not perfect, but pretty darn good nonetheless. Written in diary form, this very realistic young girl teaches us Dutch words, info about artists, and how to deal with tough stuff. If you are an 8-10 year old girl who is smart enough to ask questions about breast cancer after reading this book, then pick this up at your local bookstore.

The name of this book might make you think it's just for girls. It;s not. Matt is really funny and it's cool to read about the different countries they visit.

This book is really funny. It made me laugh a lot. I enjoyed learning all about Holland, especially the artists from there like Vermeer, Rembrandt and Van Gogh. I liked seeing a new place through the eyes of a person my age. Melanie's trip reminded me of when I travel with my family (lots of excitement, lots of squabbles). I keep a journal at school, and I liked being able to read somebody else's journal. I hope Carol Weston writes more Melanie Martin books soon. I want to read them all.

All poetry is, in a way, fiction, meaning its an imaginary world that we enter by way of the writer's words. But not all fiction is poetry, certainly not poetic. Just scan the best-seller lists or the books you see people on airplanes and commuter trains reading. That's why it is a such a pleasure to find a novel that tells an engaging story, with characters you care about and situations you worry over, but also speaks in a poetic voice. Yet, while this book is both poetic and fictional you will never read a more heartfelt and truthful story.

My Wife's Last Lover is also very funny, and goes to the heart of contemporary issues between men and women today. It's also the kind of book that book groups love, since it deals with the issues that everyone talks about all the time, men, women, modern relationships, the search for meaning in a world that seems Godless and empty to some, yet filled with beauty and holiness to others.

I bought this book for myself, read it and then purchased one for all of my friends. The erotic honesty is seductive, fresh and unique. It makes you satisfied, yet wanting more. My only disappointment is that I can't find more by this author.

This author has the ability to take the reader on a journey through the mind of a man with such vivid images that you feel as a voyeur who has access to intimate thoughts. The reader feels "Daniel's" pain and passion, and shares his hopes and fears. The journey, at times, will also make you laugh out loud.

Martin Golan has a unique talent. I recommend this book to every woman (who yearns to understand men) and to men who will find a familiar and entertaining voice speaking to them.

I anxiously await more from this author. Much more!

I have been studying neural network design for almost 30 years now and I have never found a more enchanting text book than this one. From day one I could not put it down. In fact, I bought a copy for each member of my extended family. Beale is brilliant in the way he demostrates the design and capability of neural network systems. No one has ever captured the public's imagination and heart the way he does in this compelling work. He has taken the study of neural networks to the next level. Hence, the world will be a better place. H2BurBabes4Ever.

I purchased this book while looking for an appropriate textbook for use in my class on neural networks. This book is excellent for both beginners and experts. It is a rare book in that it demonstrates complex mathematical manipulations and principles (that are difficult to grasp and visualize - and explain) using examples. The review on mathematical principles is very useful. The book makes it easier to teach the subject now. Given the way everything is presented, this book will also help those that want to code their own networks. I recommend this book to everyone.

This book has an easy way the explain the complex of Neural Networks. Begins by a short resume first chapter that allows you understand the concepts and mathematical background of Neural Networks. Then you read chaptter after chapter and get deep and deep on Neural Networks. First you discover that they can clasify objects on diferent classes. After that you are notified that they can predict values based on historical data. And more interesting they can recognize patterns of objects. All of this with complete support of theory and mathematical explanations. This book is the perfect book for biliografy as theorical and practical background.

Private Yankee Doodle, the diary of Joseph Plumb Martin, is an excellent account of the Revolutionary War told from the soldier's view.

Martin campaigned almost continuously from the beginning of the War through Yorktown (with the exception of the first winter after his initial three month service). He lived much of what have become the hallowed tales of our epic struggle for nationhood. He was at the Battles of Brooklyn, Harlem Heights and White Plains, endured Valley Forge (though for most of that winter stationed away from the camp as a forager), Monmouth, the other terrible winter encampments and Yorktown to name a few. Through it all, Martin marched, froze, starved and suffered for his service. It is remarkable that he kept at it for most of the war. (One reads of the constant lack of food (often for two or days) and is amazed that more soldiers didn't simply just quit.) It is more remarkable that he kept at it in fairly good humor - though he did parade with the Connecticut troops who conducted a minor mutiny over the lack of provisions. (An incident that Washington reported to Congress as more worrisome to the cause than the British force occupying New York.)

Martin is a good storyteller and raconteur. The reader will not find detailed accounts of battle here. In fact, battle is mentioned rather matter-of-factly. What is delightful to find is an account of the day in and day out hardships of life in Washington's army. Stories abound of camp life, foraging, marching, guard duty, scrapes with Torries, the hunt for clothing and the other ever-present challenges that soldiers had to endure and perform to simply survive between battles.

This is a wonderful book that I highly recommend.

A fascinating low-level perspective from the eyes of a soldier. Mr. Martin has a terrific sense of humor and shows how much in common modern day people have with our Revolutionary ancestors. The Editor George Scheer provides a high level view of the same events through footnotes. The dialog can take a little getting use to but the reader will find themselves comfortable with it in short order.

It is unfortunate your format allows only five stars; on a scale of one to five, Joseph Martin's memoir is an eleven! As a university history professor, reenactor and volunteer at Brandywine Battlefield, I have been recommending "Private Yankee Doodle" for many years to anyone with any interest in history at all. It is the best account of the American Revolution by any participant on either side. To really know the War of Independence, you should read Joseph Plumb Martin's great memoir. Almost anyone who has ever read the book will say that.

Too many of the great events of history were either unreported, or told only by leaders bent on demonstrating their own greatness. "I came. I saw. I conquered!" We all know Caesar did it by himself without the Roman legions. Luckily, sometimes someone else who had no particular reason to flatter or even like the leader wrote about what happened. The Spanish conquest of Mexico is best seen through the blind eyes and extraordinary recollections of Bernal Dias de Castillo, who despised Cortez. The court of Louis XIV lives in the jaundiced memories of the Duc de Saint Simon. Martin, Dias and Saint Simon, despite differences in time, place and language, speak with similar literate, irreverant, funny, cynical, and bitter voices.

One reads Martin with wonder. They suffered so much! The Revolution becomes real. What were the soldiers like? Now we know. There is heroism at the Battle of Long Island, for example, but it is the hunger, cold and discomfort readers are likely to remember best, along with Martin's own personality. It is no coincidence that all three of the television series on the Revolution have quoted and used Martin so much.