Castle Keep is an excellent story set during the Battle of the Bulge in World War II. A detachment of American soldiers is sent to guard a Belgian castle that is owned by a count and his young wife. Led by Major Falconer, a one-eyed Navajo Indian, the men live a life separate from the war as they occupy the castle. The rest of the men include a musician, an art historian, a writer, a baker, an ex-reverend, a cowboy, another Indian, and just a regular old sergeant. There are truly funny scenes in the book that have you laughing out loud, most noticably during the incident with Lt Amberjack and Sergeant Rossi as they try to destroy a Volkswagen. The period of rest the soldiers have is broken by the German attack in the Ardennes. While much of the book is very humorous, the battle scenes are very stirring and emotional.

This book might not be for everyone, but many people will enjoy this kind of off the wall humor. Sometimes it seems that Eastlake just tried to make the oddest thing imaginable work in his story. Also check out the movie of the same name starring Burt Lancaster and Peter Falk. The movie stays very true to the novel and is well worth a watch. Check out Castle Keep for a very enjoyable World War II comedy/adventure!

Story about a group of American soldiers charged with the responsibility of guarding a castle overlooking an important crossroad. Must read for people who appreciate the Catch22 type humour.

If Jim Jarmusch ever decides to do a war film, this is what he should base it on. This is a wonderfully odd, comic and moving account of war as pure absurdity. The writing is tons better than Heller in Catch-22, the most obvious comparison. Set in Belgium, a group of American soldiers are given the assignment of holding a castle against the on-coming German front. Their leader is a one-eyed American Indian who is boffing the niece/daughter/wife of the castle's duke. The rest of the soldiers make-up a classic American cultural cross-section: another Indian, a black, a cowboy, a baker, and an art historian. The story is told in chapters from the POVs of the various characters, like Faulkner's As I Lay Dying. Lot's of hilarious dialogue. Thank god Dalkey Archive re-issued this work in their American Literature Series.

When reading this book I was really surprised by its accuracy and liveliness. The author succeeds in putting everything I would like to tell my non-Belgian friends in an extremely readable book (I finished it in one night). The point of view of the author is unique in the sense that he is a foreigner (British) but is married to a Belgian and has been living there long enough to know the small things of life. I would recommend this book to anybody remotely interested in Belgium. For those that are not, I can assure you that your interest will be certainly piqued by reading this book. For me this book is a great gift for a friend interested in my country.

As Belgian myself it was funny read this book which is humorous but too much accurate about many things that we know is true in our people but surprised to read in a book!
Book is a very nice introduction to my country for people coming to live here and know about, but don't worry - not all the drivers are so bad and dangerous!

Mark Elliott has written a very entertaining - and if my Belgian friends are to be believed - accurate account of Belgian culture. Not a classic guidebook with lists of places to visit and restaurants to patronize, this book truly lives up to its title. The book contains a great deal of humor which makes the Belgians come alive for the reader. The book has definitely made me put Belgium on my list of places I wish to visit.

Last summer I went to Switzerland with my girlfriend. She had this book with her. It was great! It helped us to see interesting places, find affordable hotels, good restaurant. I recommend this book to anyone who is planning on going to Switzerland.

This was by far the most helpful resource that I took to Switzerland--extremely detailed, logically organized, and quite accurate. Walking in Switzerland was extremely helpful in its well-written trail and regional descriptions as well as precise information on surrounding logistics. A must for anybody who intends to hike (seriously or casually) in the region. At the risk of gushing overmuch, this is quite possibly the most useful travel guide I've ever bought.

It took us to places that the locals thought were not available without local knowledge. I highly recommend this book. Please e-mail me with your comments

As a matter of fact I never read this book but the film caled "Left luggage" was based on that book so please all of you who read this book enjoi whatching this film.

The Shovel and the Loom was originally published in Holland as "Twee Koffers Vol", which means: two loaded suitcases. Actually, the best translation could have been: 'Left Luggage'. This is also the title of the film of the book. The film, starring a.o. Isabella Rossellini and Maximilian Schell and Topol as 'Apfelschnitt' has been directed by Jeroen Krabbe, the Dutch actor/painter and will be released in the U.S. next spring. The film is a breathtaking adaptation of the novel.

Don't read The Shovel and the Loom until you have read Nightfather. Author hits a nerve to all the children of the Holocaust survivors. The social and religious questions we asked during our youth are answered on the pages in a real moving story. There is no known English background of this author but she again illustrates the voice of my generation.

This testimony to man's inhumanity to man is a welcome addition to Holocaust literature. Mr. Rosengarten's personal story is a tribute to the human spirit and the will to survive. Although the book was originally planned for his children, I appreciate the fact that he shared his experiences, his courage and love of family with the general public. Because this authentic and moving book made such a lasting impression on me, I wish to donate a copy to our library.

A truly haunting book in its simplicity. This is not high emotion, but an incredibly comprehensive recollection of life in various concentration camps. Israel Rosengarten conveys the true horror of the concentration camps via his narrative of the details and minutiae of day to day life. It is the very ordinariness of many of the details which jolts us and the capriciousness with which one either lived or died. Mr. Rosengarten's detailed memories of the routine of the camps 50 years after the events is what sets this book apart. It is this which conveys the true horror of the Holocaust and makes it a must read. It is a pity that the Publisher allowed such obviously poor translation and editing to be done of such an important work.

Survival: The Story of a Sixteen-Year-Old Jewish Boy begins with Israel J. Rosengarten's deportation in 1942 to the Belgian concentration camp of Breendonk at the age of sixteen and follows his movements through a series of camps until 1945. Survival is a compelling, personal account that concludes with the Auschwitz death march, liberation by the Americans, and Israel's return to Belgium -- only to discover that he was the lone survivor of a family of seven. This intimate story of what it was like to be a teenage boy in the concentration camps of the holocaust, of surviving almost 1,000 days of internment through a series of incredible coincidences, miracles, and a fierce struggle to stay alive against impossible odds. Survival is a welcome addition to the growing body of holocaust literature.

Robin Blake's Anthony Van Dyck could also have been featured in our arts section but is a powerful biographical sketch which should not be missed by any interested in biographical history. Van Dyck was a portrait painter who saw his own works passed over in favor of his contemporaries, although they were compared to Titian and Rubens. Blake examines Van Dyck's life and art with an eye to revealing the underlying influences on his works; in the process imparting a fine bit of history. Recommended for any student of portraiture.

Diane C. Donovan Reviewer

This is by far the best bio on van Dyck in print today. I purchased it a year ago, from Amazon UK, and am very glad to see it available in the States. If you have the catalog from either the recent show in London or the Washington DC show from '90, use the images from that to go with Robin's text and you're in for a real treat. Bravo Robin!

Not only is this book well-researched and documented but it is an easy read. The times of Europe in the l6th century are colorfully presented and the characterizations are believable. It's easy to get caught up in the intrigues. I'll now view Peter Bruegel's works in a new light. Well-worth a read!

I picked this up blind from the new book bin at the Kailua-Kona public library, and boy, I'm glad I did. I've always enjoyed Bruegel, but this novel really makes you look at each picture with new eyes. Thank goodness I had an art book (Phaidon) of Bruegel at home with big color plates, which really complemented the text of this book. I love the feeling of delving into the past, but with good friends, which is how I think of Bruegel now that I've read this book.

Written by/for the Brits, but a must have if you plan to visit the Western battlefields (From the Channel at Calais, Ypres, Mons, Cambrai, Amiens to Verdun). I used it in the fall of 2001 to visit the Ypres area, and really loved the detailed explanations and tours. Found places I would not have had without the book.

This book is filled with magnificent photographs of memorials in Belgium and France. I read the whole thing, altho one ordinarily doesn't read a guidebook word for word. After I read it I said :"I now can probably save the expense of a tour of battlefields. Included in the book is a lesser known poem by John McCrae which starts out: O Guns, fall silent till the dead men hear Above their heads the legions passing on! (Those fought their fight in time of bitter fear, And died not knowing how the day had gone.)

O flashing muzzles, pause, and let them see The coming down that streaks the sky afar; Then let your might chorus witness be To them, and Ceasar, that we still make war.

Tell them, O guns, that we have heard their call, That we have sworn, and will not turn aside, That we will onward til we win or fall, That we will keep the faith for which they died.

Bid them be patient, and someday, anon, They shall feel earth enwrapt in silence deep, Shall greet, in wonderment, the quiet dawn, And in content may turn them to their sleep.

This is one of the best art books I have ever purchased. The layout and reproductions are beautiful: high quality paper, etc. The text, particularly a lengthy article about the Bruges artistic culture of the time, is very informative. Can't go wrong with this one.

Even if the subject of the book is not your current interest, it might well become one after you see this absolutely gorgeous book for yourself, the quality of the plates is the best.

Outstanding account of how a young 13-year old Belgian girl decided to fight the German occupation of her country. She had no training, no background but committed herself to fight the evil Nazi menace in the only way she knew how, helping her brother who was an "eminence grise" of the shadowy and dangerous resistance community. These courageous acts brought arrest, torture and she was sent to Ravensbruck Concentration Camp, north of Berlin. Mark Bles has done a fantastic job of research, bringing to life this fanatastic true life account.

Comming from someone who has read extensively on resistance movements during WWII this is by far the best account. It is inspiring as well as informative. The text comes alive, and the reader is transported to war torn Belgium. Someday this book will be recognized by scholars as the difinitive account of the Belgian Resistance.