Captain Hugh North of the G-2 division of military intelligence is in Washington, D.C. working on counterintelligence matters.

A recent wave of spying has resulted in the loss of American tank designs and other valuable military secrets to several foreign powers. Much of the spying has been attributed to a mastermind called simply the Guardsman because his real name is unknown to his adversaries.

North and his ally, Major Bruce Kilgour of British Army Intelligence, must put a stop to the Guardsman before more military secrets are stolen.

This story was written after Adolph Hitler rose to power and Germany, Japan and even Russia had all become likely enemies in any future war.

As a Publisher's Note makes clear before the start of this book, "Why Do People Fight Wars?" was scheduled to go to press right around September 11, 2001. The Publisher's Note calls the event the most devastating attack every launched on the American mainland by a foreign enemy and "a terrifying new chapter" in our history as well as "a new chapter in the history of warfare." The bottom line is that "experts agree that the attacks require a new examination of why people fight wars."

This volume in the Exploring Tough Issue series will provide some help in that direction. The problem is that defining "war," the requisite first step in a look at this topic, is inherently problematic. Ali Brownlie and Chris Mason start with a definition of "legalized violence" and compare the traditional notion of war with the various types of wars being fought today. This explains while their brief history of war really does not go back beyond the 19th century, when wars were first fought by industrial nations.

The inherent problems of the questions asked in this book--such as Why Do Wars Start?, Why Do People Fight?, Why Do Children Fight?--have to do with the topic rather than the authors, beyond the fact that each question is given a two-page spread in which it can be answered. Ultimately this book provides an overview on topics such as Types of Wars, Rules of War, and the Impact of War. What will prove most useful to students is the unit on Questions About Wars: Can War Ever Be Justified? More than Fighting? and Are Wars Reported Accurately? All of these questions are probably more important to students who are watching the nightly news and hearing that the next stage of the War on Terrorism could very well be an invasion of Iraq. The final unit raises the issues of Intervention and Mediation, so certainly the book does not take a pro-War stance, but clearly there are legitimate concerns to be raised about all of these issues in terms of what has happened the past year.

Young students will probably have more questions to ask once they read the questions and answers Brownlie and Mason provide in "Why Do People Fight Wars?" But engendering discussion and dialogue should be considered laudable in these times with regards to these topics. The problem will be coming up with answers, because I would certainly not want to pretend that I had any on these topics. Still, they have to be discussed and they need to be discussed with students.

Though Mason has all but disappeared from American literature, her fiction, written mostly between 1910 and 1935, and largely consisting of superb short stories, is deserving of our time and attention. She tells stories of ordinary men and women struggling inventively with the turmoils created by work, love affairs, money, and meddling relatives, and does so while examining the many subtle, psychological complexities her characters possess and employ. Her characters are sometimes self-aware, often not, and many of her stories deal with the self-discovery they experience as they try to make their way to greater happiness or success. Though the stories are wonderful period pieces, vividly recreating the atmosphere and values of the early part of this century, they are also timeless tales of ourselves and of our struggles. I have found many of her stories capable of adding an unexpected dimension to my own view of aspects of my life, and I find myself returning to them over and over for their simple wisdom, insight, and humor. They are entertaining, but what is more, they can often be enlightening. I am a great Jane Austen fan, and I find in Mason a twentieth-century American version of that early 18th-c. British writer in her dead-on satire, the gentle irony of her humor, and the recognizability of her many characters. I tracked down most of her stories in old issues of such magazines as The Saturday Evening Post, Ladies' Home Journal, etc. from the 1910's, 20's, and 30's, but this collection (which is a 1977 reprint of the original 1932 edition) offers twelve of her fine tales. In particular, look for "The Way to Heaven," a somewhat supernatural story of second chances in love, and "The First Stone," in which she examines the real nature of small-town prejudice through the eyes of a young boy. You won't be sorry for whatever trouble you must go through to get this book.

Physically this book comes as hardback and a glossy dustjacket with rather uninspiring front cover art work. The pages are all high quality gloss which is a pleasure to handle. The book gives a history of 200 of military leaders rated by the authors as having contributed significantly or featured prominently in world military affairs. The leaders appear alphabetically throughout the book and at the beginning, a chronological listing by date of birth is provided. What is most satisfying about the book is that each leader is given a very good description of his personality and achievements. Despite there being 200 entries we are still provided with ample information on each leader. Most of the entries are for field commanders but a few 'ifluential theorists and administrators" such as Clausewitz, Steuben, and Carnot appear. Although there is not a picture or photograph of every leader, the book has many, and I particularly like the authors choice of photographs for the book. Pre-photography days are covered by pictures and drawings of leaders. All photography and pictures are black and white. Overall, this is an excellent general source of information on military leaders. It is the sort of book you can pick up now and again after you have read it through and read up on a leader that interests you. Well written. Recommended as a purchase.

Hugh North is sent to either buy or steal plans for an advanced torpedo which are being sold by its inventor in Cienfuegos. The seller of the plans calls himself Alvarado but his real name is Doelger. He is a disgruntled American who was discharged from the U.S. Navy for dereliction of duty in l9l8. When North arrives in Cienfuegos, he finds plenty of competitors already there seeking the prize. Some are agents of their governments while others are merely adventurers in the game for profit. In one role or another there are representatives from England, France, Japan, Germany, Russia, Portugal and Italy. This is the first novel in the series in which North operates in a foreign country under orders from G-2 on a matter of international intrigue.

Colonel Hugh North of military intelligence and his aide, Captain Kenny Trotter, are sent to Zanzibar to rescue a C.I.A. agent who is being used by the Russian KGB in East Africa. The agent is really Master Sergeant Willie Bonhart who defected from the army to East Berlin several years ago, posing as a disgruntled soldier. As a Black and a warrior, he is a useful symbol for the Russians as they strive to gain influence in Zanzibar and nearby territories that are seeking independence.

North and Trotter go to Africa disguised as employees of a spice company. At their first stop in Nairobi they soon learn that the East African Liberation Party is also very interested in Willie Bonhart. The leader of the Party is James Mnoyah who used to be a Mau Mau operative. Both Bonhart and Mnoyah have a potential enemy in Tommy Henderson, a White settler who lost his wife and children to Mau Mau terrorists. All of these forces have to be taken into account as North and Trotter proceed to Zanzibar and attempt to free Bonhart from the KGB officers who are holding him hostage before his appearance at a mass rally for African independence.

This is very much a Cold War spy story with lots of background information provided on East African politics. Much is made of the murder in 1961 of Patrice Lumumba and Russia's involvement at that time in the former Belgian Congo.

The use of coded messages is a key ingredient in the success of North's mission.

IN COUNTRY, by Bobbie Ann Mason, is a post-Vietnam story about Sam, who is dealing with the aftermath of her father's death twenty years ago. As Sam faces her future, she has inner troubles to face, which is definitely understandable, especially as her character and myself are close in age. Sam's journey into adulthood looms in the near future, and she must pick a path to get to where she wants to be.
Sam lives with her uncle Emmett, whom she suspects is an Agent Orange victim. Fatherless and emotionally lonely, she tries to fit the pieces of her life into a puzzle, but they just don't seem to fit. With a baby stepbrother, a pregnant best friend, a flea-infested cat, and a small chunk of change, Sam shows the reader how to make the best of life's difficulties and tragedies.
Unfortunately, IN COUNTRY tends to drag on with unnecessary details, and my patience was thinned by the time I had reached the middle of the book. I was tempted to skip pages at some parts, but I decided to read the excess details that have absolutely no significance to the plot and theme.
This book teaches that as we go through hard and confusing times, we will always have a way to find truth and justice. Sam's journey to find her truth was almost like Odysseus trying to get back to Ithaca in the Odyssey- Sam had to overcome the obstacles by tying her best, and with a passion. Sam visits the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. to put the memory of her father at rest inside her soul, and to really feel the impact of the war. Sam learns that life goes on, even is she thinks it won't.
I would reccommend this book for people who like to read about the Vietnam War and the trials young people face in their lives. If you are an impatient person when it comes to books, you may want to avoid this one.

Bobbie Ann Mason's IN COUNTRY is an excellent novel. Mason's well thought plot allows the novel to remain realistic while letting the reader see the main character learn her family's past, and look to the future while trying to find herself in the present. Mason puts a twist on the typical coming of age storyline by adding an unusual inner conflict. Sam Hughes, the main character who is a highschool student, deals with deep feelings for a sexually incapable thiry-something war vet, breaks up with her basketball superstar boyfriend and supports her pregnant bestfriend all at once. Sam spends most of her time trying to understand what really went on in the vietnam war because her uncle and father both served, only, her father never came back. Some parts of the story are repetative but they show her eagerness to know what the vets went through. This book has humor, sadness and can be very intriguing. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for some easy to read material or for a book to laugh at. In Country does just that.

With so many bad contemporary novels hitting the best seller lists these days reading In Country was a breath of fresh air. Mason creates well-rounded, unique characters. Sam and Emmett are unlike any other characters that I have ever read about. Furthermore, the plot is original and insightful. I always enjoy reading about a place that is diffeerent from my own environment. Mason captures what life in a small Southern town is really like. Furthermore, I really appreciate learning new things frm a book. I walked away from this novel feeling more informed about the Vietnam war. Overall, In Country is a wonderful reading experience. Mason is a phenomenal writer.

Butler's stodgily paced and, at times, slow moving novel is perhaps less compelling now that it once was; yet still presents an interesting picture of the paradoxes and hypocrises of Victorian society. Butler does not, as once reviewer claims, employ the "straw man" to defame Christianity. What the author does (and sadly that reviewer seems to have missed it) is demonstrate Christianity's place in justifying elite conceptions of their own purity and morality. Ernest Pontifex's quasi-puritan parents believe themselves to be the very picture of piety - when in actuality they are emotionally cruel and questionably Christian-like towards their own kin. Really, these characters, who are so imbued by their own sense of righteousness to ably examine their own lives, are a metaphor for all of Victorian society. Perhaps this metaphoric critique, no doubt very biting in its time, has lost its edge in a time of less subtle criticism. Still, worth the time to read if you're interested in the changes in both English society (and self-image) and modern literature at the turn of the century. Usually classified as a "modern" novel, it more aptly lies somewhere in between.

It's a hoot to read the clipped, sullen dismissals of this book by readers from Topeka to Boston. They obviously hate Butler's novel, and for good reason: the mealymouthed, Christian, moneygrubbing Victorian family on which he spits with such accuracy moved west in the course of the twentieth century. It is now only rarely to be found in England; its true home is...Topeka...and Boston...and a thousand other American whited sepulchres. One reviewer whines that this is the "irrelevant" story of "an average middle-class man from an average middle-class family." What an interesting form of "irrelevance"!

In fact, the novel is brilliant and has endured surprisingly well. To see its relevance, all you need do is move its setting 3.000 miles to the West.

I read this book after reading all the reviews on Amazon not knowing what to expect: Incredibly boring or amazing insightful? I have read many books written in that same time period. I believe this to be the most mature work to come out of England in the late 19th Century(although it was published later). I enjoy Dickens, Hardy, and Eliot very much, but Butler makes their works look like grocery store fiction. I can see how many people might be bored if they were expecting a great story. While the story is excellent, it is more a book about ideas. Butler uses his hero to voice his commentary on Victorian ideals. Most of it is still very relevant today, though. I think it will be most relevant for people that have been exposed to the religious right wing who still hold many Victorian values. I enjoyed the characters and the story was compelling. There are many beautiful passages. It was very funny at times and somewhat sarcastic. The narrator reminded me of Hemmingway born 50 years earlier in England. What impressed me the most was Butler's modern style of writing. Much less wordy than Dickens. Dickens would have taken 800 pages to express the same thoughts. I also felt a real kindred to the main character Ernest. This is ultimately a coming of age book which most people will be able to relate to in one way or another (unless you haven't grown up yet). I would recommend it to all serious readers.

Mr. Masson wrote a book on a topic that desperately needed to be
studied and brought to the public and scientific eyes: the Emotional Lives of Animals. All pet lovers and people that work with animals know that animals feel and exhibit emotions. Mr Masson does a good job of making this point come across in a psuedo-scientific way. I say psuedo because, as of yet, there is no real scientific way of defining or examining emotions except through observations and comparisions to our own experiences and lives.
At times Mr Masson does seem to forget about the emotions of his readers and drags some messages on a bit too long. He doesn't really allow us, the readers, to become emotionally connected to his research and observations. This is the only reason I gave this book a 4 instead of a 5. It is a good book that anyone who wants to observe/study or be confident in the facts that they knew animals had emotions should read. Thank You Mr Masson.

The behaviorist school of psychology has taught students of behavior that non-human animals are merely stimulus-response mechanisms. Yet Darwin established nearly 150 years ago that humans are fully part of the natural world; part of the Animal Kingdom. The evidence for conscious thought among non-human animals is now overwhelming, yet fabulous sums are poured into unnecessary research that is pure torture. This book makes the strongest case to date that animals feel the results of this suffering,as well as experiencing joy and many other emotions. It is a powerful book, a "must read" for for every member of OUR species.

This book has been an eye-opener for me. It outlines the hidden assumptions, as well as the explicit scientific philosophies, behind the academic world's disrespect and irreverence for animals. Because it analyzes and weighs ideas, it is not an easy read in many sections--thus, I think, the number of reviews which gave it 1 or 2 stars. Like some readers, I thought there would be a lot more anecdotes in the book, and yet, I learned a lot more about the flaws in how we think about animals from the authors' discussions about human viewpoints. Be prepared to put on your thinking cap when you sit down with this book--although there are entertaining vignettes, that's not the main point. Also, the reader(s) who were incensed about the authors' "attack" on scientific method did not closely read the text, I believe. The authors' arguments were based on voluminous research and are in line with many dissenting scientists' viewpoints. I find that there are many folks who believe in reductionist science so strongly that it becomes almost a religion for them--and when their "religion" is "attacked", they simply ignore the evidence on the other side whilst saying the opposing views are bogus. The authors should probably take it as a positive sign that they have triggered this sort of outrage. This book is aimed at minds willing to work, rather than be spoonfed. If you want an easy read, buy "Ring of Bright Water" or something along those lines.

I am not a big fan of English film and perhaps that's the reason I didn't really like this book. It just kept going and going and going. I found so many areas extremely boring but I always (well almost) finish a book once I start. There was not enough story for the length of the book.

Having recently finished reading Richard Mason's The Drowning People, I am amazed that the author was only eighteen when he wrote this novel. The plot Mason presents is fascinating, with multiple twists and turns that keep the pages turning. However, the author's age and lack of experience is revealed, I believe, in the lack of maturity and believability in his characters. While Mason exhibits a beautiful writing style and an ability to create a fascinating plot structure in The Drowning People, the characters, especially James and Ella, lack realistic and likeable characteristics. Because of this, I found the book to be an enjoyable read, but not a terribly thought-provoking or emotional experience. Mason is truly a magnificent writer. In fact, his writing seems too good for the petty subject matter of this novel. His descriptions are beautiful and allow the reader to share in what the characters see and feel. James describes Prague as, "a city of arched bridges; sharp steeples; gracious domes. Bathed in the morning light sharper and colder than the light of London, the mist rising from the Vltava was a brilliant, dreamy ribbon in the gray blanket of the city." It is Mason-created images like this that allow the sights and sounds of The Drowning People to come alive for the reader. While Mason's writing is generally excellent throughout the novel, his mode of creating suspense is both obvious and boring. While uncertainty is normally a welcomed element in a fictional work, Mason's version of suspense is obnoxious. There is a moment in the novel when Ella says to James, "I've done something I shouldn't have done, something I certainly shouldn't be telling you about." But rather than divulge what she has done, Mason writes two laborious and boring pages before he reveals the mystery. Mason does nothing but bore us from the point at which he arouses our curiosity until he supplies the information the reader hungers for. Unfortunately, useless and boring pages fill the gap, and by the time Mason divulges the secret, the reader has lost interest in it all together. The plot of the Drowning People is fascinating and shows that Mason has a unique and clever imagination. What a remarkable concept to begin a story with the aged narrator, reflecting on his past, telling the reader that, "My wife of more than forty-five years shot herself yesterday afternoon. At least that is what the police assume...I am the one that killed her." This is probably Mason's only successful attempt at creating effective suspense. It is unfortunate that the creative Mason fails to provide this very exceptional story line with exciting characters with whom the reader can relate to. The main characters in this novel, Ella and James, are unrealistic and difficult to like. For some of the wrongs they commit in this novel, James and Sarah feel almost no guilt. For others, they are grossly emotional. Ella and James also lack a realistic maturity that, while adding to the characterizations, annoys the reader terribly. For example, Ella offers James a challenge, in order for him to prove his love. This convoluted and sick dare, which comes at the expense of James' dearest friend, shows the immaturity of Ella for making it and James for accepting it. Their willingness to play "cutesy" love games at the amazingly high emotional expense of another friend is unusual and twisted. Rather than make the characters dynamic, it makes Ella and James seem too farfetched for reality. While well written, The Drowning People reads, in my opinion, more like a soap opera, at times, than a mature novel. The emotional roller coaster of this novel depends too much on unbelievable and uninteresting characters. In this work, however, Mason has shown readers that he is truly an author of great talent and promise. I am sure as he matures, so too will his writing.

Richard Mason should be proud. It is hard to believe that a 20 year old university student can produce such sumptious prose in his first novel ('The Drowning People'). The words flow beautifully. Not only is it an effortless read, the prose is on par with the best of today's fiction writers. So yes, I loved this book. However the story itself isn't exactly flawless.

The story is a about a love triangle (actually, a quadrangle) set in modern London. A talented violinist falls in love with a troubled young woman with a bizarre past. The bane of this woman's existence is her identical cousin (..hmmm, sounds like 'The Patty Duke Show'). Further complicating matters is the relationship of a (very close) male friend. Sounds like a soap opera? Well, it actually works better than it sounds. A bit contrived, but thanks to the prose it is all compulsive reading.

Bottom line: a fantastic debut of a promising writer. Recommended.