Former Nam grunt, American Neal Morley, operates out of London for the shrouded government agency, the Bureau. His superiors send Neal on assignment to Brussels, a city where he busted up an international drug ring at a high cost to his own health. He is to interview a puppeteer, Serge Cailleau, who earns a living smuggling refugees into Belgium. Serge believes that his latest party is actually terrorists planning an assault on the participants of an upcoming European Union meeting.

However, during a performance, someone kills Serge. With little to go on, Neal begins to make inquiries. However, he also uses his time to finish up his mess from last year since the head of the drug ring was never busted. Neal realizes he is not quite the superman he felt he was before the drug ring case, but worse yet, his own agency has little confidence in the agent anymore.

DEATH OF A MARIONETTE is the paperback version of a fabulous espionage thriller released in the middle nineties. The story line retains its crispness even though the EU has moved way beyond that of the novel. Neal is a fantastic character who provides insight into the psyche of the Viet Nam vet, which in turn explains why he needs to stay in the "cold." The support cast adds drama and tension as the audience wonders what each one has up their sleeve and if that individual will betray the hero. Frank M. Robinson and Paul Hull provides sub-genre fans with a triumphant thriller.

Harriet Klausner

For a whole host of reasons, not least the barrier of language, the history, personalities, and sometimes even the existence of the Belgian Royal Family is a mystery to many Americans. Three decades after its publication, Theo Aronson's entertaining 'Defiant Dynasty' is one of the best, if not the only, places to begin learning more about them.

Although Belgium has only existed as an independent kingdom since 1831, the small country has produced enough interesting dynasts to keep any dedicated royal-watcher entertained. The first king, Leopold I, was the uncle of Albert, the Prince Consort, and therefore familiar to any student of the life of Queen Victoria. His son, Leopold II, ran the Belgian Congo (now Zaire) like his private plantation, making him one of the most reviled men of his era.

Leopold II's sister Charlotte, meanwhile, made a splendid match, marrying Archduke Maximilian, brother of the Emperor of Austria. Soon, however, political machinations led to Maximilian becoming Emperor of Mexico, and Princess Charlotte, 'Empress Carlotta.' Urging her embattled husband not to surrender to the revolutionary forces of Benito Juárez, Carlotta returned to Europe to plead for military aid for her husband's tottering 'empire.' While in Europe, she received news of Maximilian's murder, beginning a descent into madness that ended only with her own death in seclusion, 60 years later, in 1927.

But that's still only a part of this dynasty's fascinating story. Aronson introduces us to King Albert I, a noble man in the truest sense (one historian described him as 'the best constitutional monarch who has ever reigned on the Continent of Europe'), who personally led his armies in the valiant, doomed, effort to resist German invaders in World War I; to Princess Stephanie, jilted wife of the restless Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria-Hungary; to the beautiful, beloved Princess Astrid of Sweden, bride of the future Leopold III, whose tragic death in a car accident triggered national grief akin to that following Diana, Princess of Wales' similar death decades later; and to Leopold III himself, who faced the wrenching decision of fight, flight, or surrender during World War II, and who paid for his choice with his throne.

Aronson's narrative ends in 1967, and much has happened in the decades since. But this book is a wonderful introduction to a dynasty that was never expected to survive, let alone thrive, in its task of reigning over a nation that itself was given, at its founding, little chance of success. Aronson's writing, even this early in his career, is entertaining and clear-eyed. He's not malicious, but neither does he pull punches in his descriptions of people and events. For students of monarchy wanting to look beyond the Scepter'd Isle, tracking down and reading this title is an excellent way to go.

Two Belgian friends travel to Las Vegas for a fornight. But their minds never leave their home-town (Ghent), their families and their friends. Their troubles, repressed up to that date, surfaces...

The author (and the translator) have a sound command of the language and a vast vocabulary.

My husband and I went to Bali in April 2000, and used this book as a supplement to Lonely Planet Bali & Lombok. Essential Bali & Lombok is a lightweight book, with only 126 pages, and not quite small enough to fit in a pocket (it's about 7 inches long by about 5 inches), and due to it's size we didn't expect a whole lot from it, but we were pleased with it. The book gives quick, brief descriptions of some of the primary things to see and do. Certainly with it's the old publication date (1998), we didn't rely on it too much with regard to specific restaurants and hotels. It was good to have an abbreviated source to refer to, and we used to it to find some of the must-sees, especially those listed in the "10 Essentials" sections.

Citypack Venice contains almost all the information you will need to make the most of your stay in this beautiful city. Of course, the top 25 sights are spot-on, but we found the practical infomation sections almost as useful. The recommendations for restaurants were excellent, both in the budget and expensive range, and the fold-away map was invaluable. The only improvement we could suggest would be a map with some of the further away islands included. The author recommends these trips but doesn't include a map to show where you're going!

Overall, an excellent book and well worth buying.

Nearly eighty-five years ago men from Canada, Britain, India, France, Belgium, Germany, and Algeria partook in a battle that made drastic changes on the future of warfare that no one could comprehend at the time. Explore the battle, hearing accounts from the soldiers who fought there and, by understanding the commanders errors that cost so many countries their youth. Starting from when the Canadian troops first came to the salient on April 14, and ending with the last counterattack on April 22, Gas! The Battle for Ypres, 1915 tells of the horror that the common soldier and officer alike shared to help protect the most vulnerable spot in Belgium.
The battle starts with mistakes made by commanders, and, as in many battles, a large amount of the casualties could have been averted by paying attention to small precautions that were given. In not heeding the warnings made by defectors from the German ranks, the leaders of the allies condemned many men to an awful and painful death. In many ways the mistakes made by the allied commanders were much like the mistakes made throughout the war. Many countries, other than Germany of course, were not ready for the cold-hearted tactics that are necessary in this type of war. Many generals still thought that warfare would be fought in an honourable way, a mistake that caused many good men their lives. When allied generals heard that the Germans were preparing for an assault proceeded by a poisonous gas cloud, they thought that it was just another German ploy. It wasn't until later that they found this assumption to be untrue.
Unreliable information from the front lines also made for some disastrous counterattacks, many making for whole brigades to be put into the meat grinder, from which few returned. Gas! The Battle for Ypres, 1915 combines the point of view of the soldier, who is living in a small ditch, with a detailed setting that puts you on the battlefield with these inspiring soldiers. Men like Arthur Currie, Canadian brigadier at the time, and future commanding officer of the entire Canadian forces, who put their lives at risk to protect the well being of the men they served, help to bring the story down to earth for any reader, not just the history buff. If there is anyone who likes reading about the history of the First World War, or just wants to learn about one of the battles that Canada her identity, this the book to read. By combining real life courage and actual facts, J. McWilliams and R. J. Steel have made a masterpiece that will forever preserve the disaster and victory at Ypres.

If you love Belgian beer, this is the ultimate porn: glossy, leering shots of trappist beers, breathless accounts of spontaneously fermenting lambics...all impressively put together on quality paper etc. A great gift for beergeek friends and other Belgophiles.

This little book contains a plethora of information on Hill 60. Included are; photographs of the terrain from during and just after the war, various maps of the hill and surrounding area showing the disposition of troops during each of the major engagements and reproductions of paintings of various actions and individuals related to the Hill. One exceptionally interesting map shows the positions of all the allied tunnels in the area and the dates when various mines were exploded.

I purchased this book in an attempt to find out what happened to a relative of mine who was in the 2nd Battalion, Duke of Wellington Regiment and died on Hill 60 on May 5th 1915. The book describes exactly what happened to the battalion on that day and it is fairly clear what happened to my relative.

Much of the information in the book has been taken from various regimental histories and private memoirs. This leads to a very choppy style. The information about the one-day I was interested in is spread throughout the book. Furthermore it is inconsistent.

This is my one criticism of the book I would like to have heard more from the author with regard to the inconsistencies between the various accounts. Some guidance on how to interpret these accounts would have been on great use.

This is a required textbook for history students at the University of Leiden (the Netherlands). Well actually, the untranslated, Dutch, version is.

The book gives a good overview of the history of the Low Countries, starting with the Kelts, Romans and invading Germans, covering the Bourgondian Age, the dominion of the Habsburgers, the struggle for freedom, the golden age, the changing relationships between what is now called Belgium and the Netherlands, the importance of the religion and tolerance, ending the description in the mid 1990's.

The book covers political history, but economic, social, cultural, and religious history as well. The language is clear, and no prior knowledge of this region, or its history is required. Four stars and not five, because the part dealing with the 20th century has less analytical qualities then the high standard set by the rest of the book.

At the end of this readable and engaging book you'll know more about Dutch en Belgium history then most inhabitants of these countries do, and you'll understand some of the basic concepts still strong in Dutch foreign policies, and some of the structural internal problems Belgium still faces today.

Colin has written a most informative guide, it covers the background of the "Wall" and then goes into technical details. Living in the Channel Islands as he does he gives us lots of drawings and photos of sites and details of the "Wall" in the Channel Islands. Well reserched by the author who lives and breathes the "Wall"