History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

Washington's Crossing (Pivotal Moments in American History)

Average customer rating:

Where is a ghost writer when you need one?
Top-Notch history from a Top-Notch historian
What can I say that hasn't been said
Excellent work
Excellent

Washington's Crossing (Pivotal Moments in American History)
David Hackett Fischer
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Military & Spies | Professionals & Academics | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Americas | History | Subjects | Books

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 019518159X

Book Description

Six months after the Declaration of Independence, the American Revolution was all but lost. A powerful British force had routed the Americans at New York, occupied three colonies, and advanced within sight of Philadelphia. Yet, as David Hackett Fischer recounts in this riveting history, George Washington--and many other Americans--refused to let the Revolution die. On Christmas night, as a howling nor'easter struck the Delaware Valley, he led his men across the river and attacked the exhausted Hessian garrison at Trenton, killing or capturing nearly a thousand men. A second battle of Trenton followed within days. The Americans held off a counterattack by Lord Cornwallis's best troops, then were almost trapped by the British force. Under cover of night, Washington's men stole behind the enemy and struck them again, defeating a brigade at Princeton. The British were badly shaken. In twelve weeks of winter fighting, their army suffered severe damage, their hold on New Jersey was broken, and their strategy was ruined. Fischer's richly textured narrative reveals the crucial role of contingency in these events. We see how the campaign unfolded in a sequence of difficult choices by many actors, from generals to civilians, on both sides. While British and German forces remained rigid and hierarchical, Americans evolved an open and flexible system that was fundamental to their success. The startling success of Washington and his compatriots not only saved the faltering American Revolution, but helped to give it new meaning.

Customer Reviews:

Where is a ghost writer when you need one?.......2007-08-21

I believe it was easier to cross the Delaware in winter than to get through this book. I just read 1776 by David McCullough, loved it, and was interested in reading more. Fischer is one of the dullest writers I've read. It is painfully obvious that being a successful academic and a successful writer are not necessarily connected.

Top-Notch history from a Top-Notch historian.......2007-06-24

This is probably about as well organized and detailed as any book on a single historical event can get. That it does so without loosing pace or drying out is commendable. While the title may lead one to believe that this book is only about the famous "midnight" crossing, the actual event serves as the centerpiece for the story with the painting by Emanuel Leutze as its starting point. In fact, "Washington's Crossing" deals as much with the events leading up to and afterwards as it does the actual crossing. It is also about more then just the famous crossing with which we are all familiar. Several other Delaware River crossings are detailed including the initial retreat from the ensuing British, the return from the battle of Trenton, and the advance back into New Jersey shortly thereafter. The book is also a detailed biography of George Washington's years just before and into the fist several months of the American Revolution. Appropriately enough this book is also, at times, about the Delaware River itself.

Davis Hackett Fischer deserves five stars on his writing style alone. This book flows like a well written story, which is appropriate in that history is human drama. The book starts with a description and history of the famous painting of Washington crossing the Delaware and then discusses the recent arguments over the painting's accuracy. It seems to have become the fashion lately to debunk this painting over various, some rather trivial details, such as time of day, type of boats used, and even how chunks of ice depicted in the painting, Fischer staunchly defends the painting based on what and who it represents, and most importantly the spirit that is represented. One appreciates Fisher's references throughout this book that American history is not something that needs an apology.

The first three chapters provide a thorough background on all of the major players, the American rebels, the British regulars, and the Hessian mercenaries. Fischer maintains a sense of objectivity in his accounts. Although the acts of rape, pillage, and violence towards the colonies are not ignored, The British and the Hessians are not merely described as the villains of the story just as the Colonials are not by default "good guys." This book is sympathetic to the American cause, but that does not prevent it from describing the people and nations as what they were. One example is General Cornwallis, who is frequently described the pompous and arrogant buffoon who lost the colonies. Fischer however devotes a fair amount of time to Cornwallis's standing in the British military and career as a whole. The depiction is that of an accomplished military career by all standards and that of a person with his own mind who was well respected by all ranks.

The rest of the book can be divided into three sections starting with the seemingly endless series of disasters that the continental army incurred after the British regulars arrived, including the fall of New York, the execution of Nathan Hale, and the loss of Fort Washington, probably the lowest point for George Washington during the entire revolution. The second, as the book's chronology makes its way towards November and December of 1776, deals with the places and events leading up to and including the Battle of Trenton. There is some good history in this section, particularly the river raiding parties out of Pennsylvania that routinely harassed the British encampments along the Delaware River's banks in New Jersey and numerous contributions they made to the attack on Trenton. This section also details Alexander Hamilton's artillery division, one of the few bright spots for Washington's young army. The final section deals with events following the Battle of Trenton, including post celebration war cabinets trying to decide what to do next, the subsequent trip back across the Delaware, and the Battle of Princeton. Again, there are some great gems of history to be found here. Most notably is Fischer's detailing of the lesser known, but probably more important events unofficially known as the Second Battle of Trenton in which Washington's forces held their ground at Assunpink Creek and turned back Cornwallis's larger and superior forces.

Fischer closes the book with a refreshing and necessary summary and conclusion. While the main body of the book completes in fewer than 400 pages, they are dense with information, which leave one feeling that they have actually completed a much longer book. Additionally, there are numerous appendices detailing all sorts of interesting facts and statistics and a section devoted to the Historiography of Washington's Crossing. This is a formidable book, but it is also a top-notch one that should delight fans of History, the American Revolution, and certainly of George Washington. Newcomers to history should probably work their way through a couple of easier books before tacking this one, but they should still consider putting this one on their shelves for future reading.

What can I say that hasn't been said.......2007-06-03

As an avid early American Historian, I place this book in my top three. This is must reading. The facts are told as they were, through the primary characters and you are there during the end of the mini ice age crossing the Delaware. Like MJ's last shot against Utah, if it didn't really happen, we would all just chalk it up to a Hollywood fairytale.

I read McCullough's 1776 after this and there is no comparison.

This book is so vivid and palpable that I felt obligated to go follow the trail of those early warriors. Amazing!

My other two favorites are Chernow's Hamilton and Gotham.

Excellent work .......2007-05-30

Fischer's Washington's Crossing is detailed account of the New Jersey campaign of 1776-1777, specifically focusing on the battles of Trenton and Princetion. Fischer does a great job of showing the differences between the leadership of Washington and Cornwallis and the effects that the battles of Trenton and Princeton had on the soldiers from both sides. While the book does get bogged down in too much detail in some points and not enough in others, this is a great book.

Excellent.......2007-03-20

This is a wonderful book. Now I want to read all of Mr. Fischer's work.

From the Rivers to the Sea: The United States Navy in Vietnam

Average customer rating:

Comprehensive and accurate

From the Rivers to the Sea: The United States Navy in Vietnam
Richard L. Schreadley , and R. L. Schreadley
Manufacturer: Naval Inst Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books

Naval | Military | History | Subjects | Books

Vietnam War | Military | History | Subjects | Books

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

Southeast Asia | Asia | History | Subjects | Books

Customer Reviews:

Comprehensive and accurate.......2003-12-17

This book is one of the best yet on riverine operations in Vietnam. As a participant in these operations, I found this book to be an accurate account of what really went on there.

Average customer rating:

Suprisingly Fantastic
Sabrina K.'s Counterargument
by Ava Hess
Regeneration
Regeneration

Regeneration
Pat Barker
Manufacturer: Plume
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Historical | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0452270073

Amazon.com

Regeneration, one in Pat Barker's series of novels confronting the psychological effects of World War I, focuses on treatment methods during the war and the story of a decorated English officer sent to a military hospital after publicly declaring he will no longer fight. Yet the novel is much more. Written in sparse prose that is shockingly clear -- the descriptions of electronic treatments are particularly harrowing -- it combines real-life characters and events with fictional ones in a work that examines the insanity of war like no other. Barker also weaves in issues of class and politics in this compactly powerful book. Other books in the series include The Eye in the Door and the Booker Award winner The Ghost Road.

Customer Reviews:

Suprisingly Fantastic.......2007-06-02

Honestly, my teacher assigned the book. I would never have picked up the book. It just did not sound like "my thing." Reaccounting the horrors of war just plain worries me. I guess I always fear the author will regurgitate cold, hard quasi-facts wrapped up in a political agenda. Thankfully for me, my teacher has wonderful taste. The book is emotional. It focuses less on the physical and more the mental well-being and change in the war combattants. Constant peaks into the characters' minds allows the reader to engage with the characters on a personal level and see them develop. There are no clear cut answers. They live in a perpetual grey, faced with hard decisions, and split loyalties. This book will make the reader question what the reader thinks, and give a whole new spin on the evils of war. Although, the book constantly has humorous moments; I'll never be able to look at a billygoat the same. It's an emotional experience of a lifetime.

Sabrina K.'s Counterargument .......2006-09-05

"Rivers' analysis of Sassoon's attitude towards the War shows Rivers the futility of Sassoon's protest. By refusing to participate in the War, Sassoon is not only breaking the oath he took when he entered the service, but because he is not serving, he is similar to the leaders and generals prolonging the War from afar."

Although Sassoon is technically breaking the oath he took when he entered the service by refusing to serve, this by no means places him parallel to the leaders and generals prolonging the war from afar. Unlike those war officers, Sassoon feels an immense emotional connection to his men, which is a main driving force in his refusal to serve in the war any longer in the first place. The oath that Sassoon has vowed to his men, therefore, a promise to protect them and to make sure they are safe, does not break during the novel because he is hoping to save their lives through his protest. Causing Rivers, an extremely intelligent psychologist, to question the motives and direction of the war as well, Sassoon demonstrates his ability to cause those of authority to question the morality of the war as well. In causing Rivers to question the reasons of the war effort, Sassoon provides the reader with concrete proof that his struggle is not futile.

Sassoon is steadfast in his desire to return the front, being described as almost ecstatic to be returning to his men at the end of the novel. Even though Sassoon's protest does not cause the war to end, he is still able to raise serious doubts about the sincerity of the war in Rivers' mind and is able to return to his men and resume fulfilling the physical aspect of his oath by protecting his men from bodily harm.

by Ava Hess.......2006-09-05

In "Regeneration" Pat Barker describes the psychological consequences of war, for both the soldiers and the doctors meant to help "cure" them. One of the strengths of the book was Pat Barker's ability to make every character as realistic and human as possible. None of the characters were simplified, as in many other books, to help the reader decide who they like or agree with. The characters are continually evolving and changing their views and values, as real people do. I must admit that at first I didn't like that I couldn't mold the characters to fit how I wanted them to be. For example, when I read that Sassoon was being sent to a mental hospital to be cured of his anti-war thoughts, I wanted his doctor (Dr. Rivers) to be mean and not at all understanding. This however would have made the book much easier and much less interesting had it been as simple as that. Looking back, one of my favorite aspects of the book was Dr. Rivers' doubt in not only himself, but his psychological techniques and views on the war as well. With the authority of the book, Dr. Rivers, questioning his own sanity and his justification for his work (sending the soldiers back to war), the book takes on a completely new level of meaning, quite an eerie one as well. Now one realizes how completely alone, misunderstood and mistreated the soldiers are.

Regeneration.......2006-09-02

By Mollie

I thought this book was really good. I got attached to the characters and I wanted to read more about them and what happened to them!

I thought that Dr. Rivers was an especially interesting character, and it was my favorite part of the book, reading about all of his changes. As we discussed in class today, the book is about Seigfried Sassoon but you can observe monumental changes in Rivers. As he tries to rehabilitate his patients, he learns things from them and through them, changes himself.

I also liked that pat barker brought up the subject of bonds between men during the war, and all the men that realized that war wasn't really a manly experience, they actually ended up gaining more feminine qualities, nurturing and taking care of each other, and the other psychological effects of the war that you wouldn't normally think about.

I definitely recommend this book and I want to read the rest of the trilogy.
By Mollie Little

Regeneration.......2006-09-01

"Remember, you must behave as becomes the hero I expect you to be."

In Regeneration, by Pat Barker, Dr. Rivers, a brilliant psychologist is given the task of "curing" the soldiers sent to his mental institute so they can return to service. Ironically, these mental problems are caused by their service in WWI. The story tells of a brilliant psychologist, Rivers, and his treatment of several patients, the most important of which is Siegfried Sassoon, the published War poet who was taken to the Craiglockart Mental Institution for his written protest against the War. Rivers is forced to treat Sassoon, who is not remotely insane, but possibly saner in recognizing the evil of the War, which is evident in all the patients he treats. Sassoon forces Rivers to come to terms with his own work and mission at Craiglockart. Rivers' analysis of Sassoon's attitude towards the War shows Rivers the futility of Sassoon's protest. By refusing to participate in the War, Sassoon is not only breaking the oath he took when he entered the service, but because he is not serving, he is similar to the leaders and generals prolonging the War from afar.

Pat Barker expertly illustrates the horrors of the War through its victims. Regeneration is so blunt, open, and horrific that it forces us to square with the terror and outrage of this tragedy, and discover our real feelings on the conflict in the world today. WWI is the perfect setting for this dramatic anti-war book. The author uses the destructive weapons, real people, and extreme mental breakdowns to emphasize what these men went through.

There is a poem by Wilfred Owens, a character in the book and friend to Siegfried Sassoon, which mirrors the brutal horror and futility of the War.

So Abram rose, and clave the wood, and went,
And took the fire with him, and a knife.
And as they sojourned both of them together,
Isaac the first-born spake and said, My Father,
Behold the preparations, fire and iron,
But where the lamb, for this burnt-offering?
Then Abram bound the youth with belts and straps,
And builded parapets and trenches there,
And stretched forth the knife to slay his son.
When lo! an Angel called him out of heaven;
Saying, Lay not thy hand upon the lad,
Neither do anything to him, thy son.
Behold! Caught in a thicket by its horns,
A Ram. Offer the Ram of Pride instead.
But the old man would not so, but slew his son,
And half the seed of Europe, one by one.

Average customer rating:

A troubling story, beautifully told
Fast and easy read
Sweet with a sharp sting
A 5 Star book if ever there was one!
Refuses to let go

Five Quarters of the Orange
Joanne Harris
Manufacturer: William Morrow
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Mothers & Children | Women's Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Psychological & Suspense | Thrillers | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0060198133

Amazon.com

In Five Quarters of the Orange, Joanne Harris returns to the small-town, postwar France of Chocolat. This time she follows the fortunes of Framboise Dartigan, named for a raspberry but with the disposition of, well, a lemon. The proprietor of a café in a rustic village, this crabby old lady recalls the days of her childhood, which coincided with the German occupation. Back then, she and her brother and sister traded on the black market with the Germans, developing a friendship with a charismatic young soldier named Tomas. This intrigue provided a distraction from their grim home life--their father was killed in the war and their mother was a secretive, troubled woman. Yet their relationship with Tomas led to a violent series of events that still torment the aging Framboise.

Harris has a challenging project here: to show the complicated, messy reality behind such seemingly simple terms as collaborator and Resistance. To the children, of course, these were mere abstractions: "We understood so little of it. Least of all the Resistance, that fabulous quasi-organization. Books and the television made it sound so focused in later years; but I remember none of that. Instead I remember a mad scramble in which rumor chased counter-rumor and drunkards in cafes spoke loudly against the new regime." The author's portrait of occupier and occupied living side by side is given texture by her trademark appreciation of all things French. Yes, some passages read like romantic, black-and-white postcards: "Reine's bicycle was smaller and more elegant, with high handlebars and a leather saddle. There was a bicycle basket across the handlebars in which she carried a flask of chicory coffee." But these simple pleasures, recorded with such adroitness, are precisely what give Framboise solace from the torment of her past. --Claire Dederer

Book Description

The novels of Joanne Harris are a literary feast for the senses. Five Quarters of the Orange represents Harris's most complex and sophisticated work yet -- a novel in which darkness and fierce joy come together to create an unforgettable story.

When Framboise Simon returns to a small village on the banks of the Loire, the locals do not recognize her as the daughter of the infamous Mirabelle Dartigen -- the woman they still hold responsible for a terrible tragedy that, look place during the German occupation decades before. Althrough Framboise hopes for a new beginning. She quickly discovers that past and present are inextricably intertwined. Nowhere is this truth more apparent than in the scrap book of recipes site has inherited from her dead mother.

With this book, Framboise re-creates her mother's dishes, which she serves in her small creperie. And yet as she studies the scrapbook -- searching for clues to unlock the contradiction between her mother's sensuous love of food and often cruel demeanor -- she begins to recognize a deeper meaning behind Mirabelle's cryptic scribbles. Whithin the journal's tattered pages lies the key to what actually transpired the summer Framboise was nine years old.

Rich and dark. Fire Quarters of the Orange is a novel of mothers and daughters of the past and the present, of resisting, and succumbling, and an extraordinary work by a masterful writer.

Customer Reviews:

A troubling story, beautifully told.......2007-08-14

Despite beautiful and sensuous prose, this is not an easy read. It demands perseverence from the reader but in the end patience is rewarded: it delivers so much. Its structure is composed of two parallel tales, one set in the present and one comprised of 40-year-old memories of German-occupied France. Harris pulls no punches as she examines the actions and motivations of people living in times that often demanded troubling compromises ... and worse. Few are spared. The role of the good mother is turned on its head. A cold eye is cast on the myth of the noble Resistance. Provocative questions are raised about the innocence of childhood. But the stories inexorably move towards their united climax to show how wisdom and love require acknowledgment of the truth, which sometimes is slow in revealing itself. The ultimate message of "Five quarters of the Orange" is that wisdom and love have their own schedule and it's never too late for either.

Fast and easy read.......2007-06-20

This is a popular book--though it was more popular in Europe than the States. It begins with a mystery. As the mystery unfolds, it reveals character and culture. The main action of the book is told as back-story. A middle-aged woman returns to her native community in rural France. The story is wonderfully atmospheric. The atmosphere is created through an infusion of delightful food and wine and snippets of WWII era French culture. It is no doubt a popular book with the Martha Stewart crowd. But there is a more sinister story, the real story involves Nazis and a community lynching. The story itself is unique enough to keep the Better Homes and Gardens aspect from overwhelming the narrative.

I think the only thing that kept this from being a great book was the author's reliance on mystery. She holds back information. And though this technique did move me through the narrative, and the author did eventually deliver on her promises, I could not help but wonder if the strong mystery aspect was not in someway making up for something the book lacked. I hate to refer to that old American classic, Gatsby, but I will. Where Fitzgerald used the mystery only so long as it was necessary, letting the device fall away to reveal a narrative driven by characters and their actions, there is little beyond the mystery in Harris's novel. Once the mystery is solved, the novel ends.

Sweet with a sharp sting.......2007-04-29

After reading Chocolat (before the movie came out), I wanted to try another of Joanne Harris's novels. I picked up Five Quarters of the Orange at an airport and was impressed. The story is woven into a compact and powerful book that looks at life in Nazi occupied France. In the small village of Les Laveuses, you discover the small town life that stills continues even with Nazi occupation: farms, harvest, the change of people to the seasons, love, hate, gossip, etc.
Framboise Dartigen narrates this story, both from a child's perspective and as an elderly woman. The two stories slide back and forth and give a vivid and powerful feeling of what life was like on that small farm and in that small village. The interactions between the family are drawn richly and with precision. An incedence when Frambouse is younger drives the family from the town, and she only returns many years later and under another name. The story unfolds to reveal the secret but not to the very end of the book.
The story is dark and the amounts of cruelty between siblings, mother and daughter is drawn with a sharp, slicing knife. Harris' writing uncurls slowly, like the pealing orange on the cover, the sights, sounds, and smells from her wonderfully chosen words draws you in. I must admit that the book does slow a little in the middle but gets it upward momentum back again towards the end. Many who loved Chocolat may be turned off by the dark tone of this book, yet it is Harris' skill at words and character development that really lend you to appreciate the story that is being told. I would recommend this novel for both the beautiful and ugly imagery it conjures.

A 5 Star book if ever there was one!.......2007-04-15

An adroit, mesmerising novel. I could not put this down, so astonishing and gripping was this story and Harris's subtle, impactful writing. I wanted it to go on forever, couldn't wait to get to the conclusion; the sign of a great book.

Refuses to let go.......2007-01-13

A French widow recalls her girlhood in a village beside the Loire, as she tries to keep the secret that caused her family to be expelled from the town. Joanne Harris is a compelling storyteller; I think there are only a few, and possibly none, who are better. Her stories gently capture the reader and refuse to let go. Along the way, she seems always to incorporate descriptions of foods and cooking that make me want to spend more time with my own cookbooks! This novel grips and tugs and compels, and what more could you ask?

War in Val D'Orcia: An Italian War Diary, 1943-1944 (Nonpareil Books, No 13)

Average customer rating:

A different view of Tuscany
Unforgettable
Restore your faith in humanity ...
a different view of Tuscany
World War II in the Italian countryside.

War in Val D'Orcia: An Italian War Diary, 1943-1944 (Nonpareil Books, No 13)
Iris Origo
Manufacturer: David R Godine
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0879234768

Product Description

A classic of World War II, here in its first American edition. War in Val d'Orcia is Iris Origo's elegantly simple chronicle of daily life at La Foce, a manor in a Tuscan no-man's land bracketed by foreign invasion and civil war.

With the immediacy only a diary can have, the book tells how the Marchesa Origo, an Anglo-American married to an Italian landowner, kept La Foce and its farms functioning while war threatened to overrun it and its people. She and her husband managed to protect their peasants, succor refugee children from Genoa and Turrin, hide escaped Allied prisoners of war-and somehow stand up to the Germans, who in dread due course occupied La Foce in 1944 and forced the Marchesa to retreat under a hot June sun.

Fleeing eight impossible miles on foot, along a mined road under shell fire, with sixty children in tow, she sheltered her flock in the dubious safety of a nearby village. A few days later, official Fascism disappeared, and La Foce was ransacked by the retreating Wehrmacht. Here, as the restoration of La Foce begins, her book ends.

Beyond praise and above mere documentary value, War in Val d'Orcia belongs to the literature of humanity.

Customer Reviews:

A different view of Tuscany.......2006-08-21

"War in Val D'Orcia" is a rather terse diary of events throughout Italy in 1943-1944 written by the English-born wife of a wealthy landowner in Tuscany. As an account of life under Nazi rule it's not nearly as profound or fascinating as Victor Klemperer's "I Will Bear Witness" but after the first 100 pages (or so) which are somewhat strangely detached and impersonal ("In Rome to have the baby"), and mostly an account of Italian national politics at that time, I literally couldn't put it down.

Until I read this book I had often wondered why there are so many abandoned farm buildings in Tuscany: I now understand that until relatively recently there was a feudal system in place, where farmers did not actually own their land but instead worked it for the landowner in exchange for half of their production. "War in Val D'Orcia" exposed me to aspects of Italian culture that I had never even really thought about before. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the history and culture of Italy and Tuscany in particular.

This is the first book by or about Iris Origo that I have read but it won't be the last.

Unforgettable.......2004-05-26

"Greater than the sum of its parts" accurately describes this remarkable diary set in Southern Tuscany during World War II.

Written as a daily record during the tumult of war,Origo does not dwell on emotional reactions to the horror around them. What comes through is the generosity, compassion, and nobility of Spirit that we all are capable of during wretched times.

This diary has had a greater impact on me since after reading it.A book which had lingered with me and one in which I may never forget,I haved been moved to visit La Foce and the region in which this book takes place this Fall.
Highly Recommended.

Restore your faith in humanity ..........2003-04-01

The enthralling story of life on the Origo's estate "La Foce" (just South of Montepulciano in South Tuscany and on the main route of the advancing Allied 8th Army) during the years 1943 and 1944. The contadini farmers and workers on the estate, living in conditions closer to the Middle Ages than the mid Twentieth Century, had no interest in or involvement with the forces of war but equally had no option but to suffer its consequences. They, led by Iris Origo and her Marchese husband, juggled simultaneously playing host to refugee Italian children, escaping British airmen and prisoners of war, partisan fighters, and a German officers' mess, not to mention day to day dealings with facist officialdom. All this in the knowledge that the penalty for a "mistake" was summary execution. An easily readable "must read" not just for those who love Italy and a good story, but for anyone who would like to reaffirm their faith in humanity in the context of a greater understanding of the reality of occupation and war.

a different view of Tuscany.......2002-11-05

Iris Origo makes heroic humanist efforts seem effortless. There is no question as to whether she and her husband will save countless soldiers and civilians, regardless of nationality or politics. I will never view Tuscany with the same eyes, after her description of marching with 28 children (some babies, only 2 her own) over the hills to Montepulciano and safety. The writing is beautiful, the story inspiring.

World War II in the Italian countryside........2002-06-29

Iris Origo is an Anglo American woman married to an Italian called Alberto Origo. She settles in the rural Italian countryside of Tuscany. Her husband is a prominent landowner in a small valley. When Italy gets involved in World War II, Iris keeps a small diary. In the book 1943 and 1944 are revealed as hardship years for the Italian people. Food is scarce, and airplanes are indiscriminate in attacks on civilians and soldiers. What is worse are the Fascists who have become vicious in the face of a sullen people. Origo describes how her and her family managed during these most difficult times. I feel this book is a good read for those who want to discover how a civilian population copes with war.

America's Deadliest Battle: Meuse-Argonne, 1918 (Modern War Studies)

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Excellent, but brief, history

America's Deadliest Battle: Meuse-Argonne, 1918 (Modern War Studies)
Robert H. Ferrell
Manufacturer: University Press of Kansas
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0700614990

Book Description

American fighting men had never seen the likes of it before.

The great battle of the Meuse-Argonne was the costliest conflict in American history, with 26,000 men killed and tens of thousands wounded. Involving 1.2 million American troops over 47 days, it ended on November 11-what we now know as Armistice Day-and brought an end to World War I, but at a great price. Distinguished historian Robert Ferrell now looks back at this monumental struggle to create the definitive study of the battle-and to determine just what made it so deadly.

Ferrell reexamines factors in the war that many historians have chosen to disregard. He points first to the failure of the Wilson administration to mobilize the country for war. American industry had not been prepared to produce the weaponry or transport ships needed by our military, and the War Department-with outmoded concepts of battle shaped by the Spanish-American War-shared equal blame in failing to train American soldiers for a radically new type of warfare.

Once in France, undertrained American doughboys were forced to learn how to conduct mobile warfare through bloody experience. Ferrell assesses the soldiers' lack of skill in the use of artillery, the absence of tactics for taking on enemy machine gun nests, and the reluctance of American officers to use poison gas-even though by 1918 it had become a staple of warfare. In all of these areas, the German army held the upper hand.

Ferrell relates how, during the last days of the Meuse-Argonne, the American divisions had finally learned up-to-date tactics, and their final attack on November 1 is now seen as a triumph of military art. Yet even as the armistice was being negotiated, some American officers-many of whom had never before commanded men in battle-continued to spur their troops on, wasting more lives in an attempt to take new ground mere hours before the settlement.

Besides the U.S. shortcomings in mobilization and tactics, Ferrell points to the greatest failure of all: the failure to learn from the experience, as after the armistice the U.S. Army retreated to its prewar mindset. Enhanced by more than four dozen maps and photographs, America's Deadliest Battle is a riveting revisit to the forests of France that reminds us of the costs of World War I-and of the shadow that it cast on the twentieth century.

This book is part of the Modern War Studies series.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent, but brief, history.......2007-03-11

As Ferrell says in his introduction, most Americans today don't know much about our country's involvement in the First World War, despite its influence on the following century and the world we live in today. This volume gives a wonderfully succinct overview of America's entry into the war in 1917, including justified criticism of President Wilson and Sec. of War Baker's inability to put the nation quickly on a total war footing... faults that were, as the author points out, primary in the Meuse-Argonne being the deadliest battle in US history.

Ferrell moves the history along quickly, giving brief overviews of the AEF's smaller battles throughout the spring and summer of 1918 (Cantigny, Belleau Wood, etc) and the reduction of the St. Mihiel Salient in September of that year. He paints a vivid portrait of the failings of US logistics and planning and is equally critical of many divisional and brigade commanders, although he finds little fault with Pershing.

This is essentially an operational level history, but Ferrell does an excellent job of introducing quotes and anecdotes from individual soldiers and officers. These bring the narrative to life at just the right times, and help Ferrell avoid the 'official history' tone of so many less talented military historians.

Like his previous book about the 35th Division "Collapse in the Meuse-Argonne", this is a realtively short volume (195 pp include voluminous end notes) and one wishes for more detail and length. Nevertheless, "America's Deadliest Battle" is an excellent history of America in the Great War - events that are so little written about today. So Ferrell in his brevity, simply leaves the reader wanting more. Hopefully he is hard at work on another book about this important and interesting time.

Average customer rating:

Sex, Death, And History! Can't Beat It
Great story but why all the repetition?
Ho-Hum Alternate History
Truly irresistible
Good alternate history of the War of 1812

1812: The Rivers of War
Eric Flint
Manufacturer: Del Rey
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0345465687
Release Date: 2006-10-31

Book Description

Eric Flint’s acclaimed 1634: The Galileo Affair was a national bestseller from one of the most talked-about voices in his field. Now, in this extraordinary new alternate history, Flint begins a dramatic saga of the North American continent at a dire turning point, forging its identity and its future in the face of revolt from within, and attack from without.

In the War of 1812, U.S. troops are battling the British on the Canadian border, even as a fierce fight is being waged against the Creek followers of the Indian leader Tecumseh and his brother, known as The Prophet. In Europe, Napoleon Bonaparte’s war has become a losing proposition, and the British are only months away from unleashing a frightening assault on Washington itself. Fateful choices are being made in the corridors of power and on the American frontier. As Andrew Jackson, backed by Cherokee warriors, leads a fierce attack on the Creek tribes, his young republic will soon need every citizen soldier it can find.

What if–at this critical moment–bonds were forged between men of different races and tribes? What if the Cherokee clans were able to muster an integrated front, and the U.S. government faced a united Indian nation bolstered by escaping slaves, freed men of color, and even influential white allies?

Through the remarkable adventures of men who were really there–men of mixed race, mixed emotions, and a singular purpose–The Rivers of War carries us in this new direction, brilliantly transforming an extraordinary chapter of American history.

With a cast of unforgettable characters–from James Monroe and James Madison to Sam Houston, Francis Scott Key, and Cherokee chiefs John Ross and Major Ridge–The Rivers of War travels from the battle of Horseshoe Bend to the battle of New Orleans, and brings every explosive moment to life. With exquisite attention to detail, an extraordinary grasp of history, and a storyteller’s gift for the dramatic, Flint delivers a bold, thought-provoking epic of enemies and allies, traitors and revolutionaries, and illuminates who we are as a nation, how we got here, and how history itself is made–and remade.

From the Hardcover edition.

Download Description

Advance praise for The Rivers of War

“Eric Flint [drops] his readers into another time and place, where cultures collide, the action is hot and heavy, and we get to experience the best of the human spirit.”
–DAVID WEBER, New York Times bestselling author of the Honor Harrington adventures

“Eric Flint has a genius for taking his passion for history and turning it into powerful, action-packed stories that instantly grab the readers and plunge them into a time and place that might have been.”
–DAVID DRAKE, author of The Far Side of the Stars and Redliners

From the Hardcover edition.

Customer Reviews:

Sex, Death, And History! Can't Beat It.......2007-09-15

Eric Flint, according to his afterword, apparently wrote "1812: The Rivers of War" and its sequel, "1824: The Arkansas War" (which I have not read) because somebody challenged him to write an alternate history of the United States in which the Trail of Tears never occurred. This required him to go back considerably before the Trail of Tears (which occurred in the late 1830's) so that the Cherokees could prepare themselves to become a nation in the sense that Europeans and Americans would define a nation in the mid-nineteenth century. Two of my best friends are part Cherokee, so of course I love the idea; but it could easily have been done in an utterly unreadable fashion. Instead, Flint delivers a no-holds-barred, spectacular alternate ending to the War of 1812.

The only complaint I have about this book is the title. No part of it actually takes place in 1812. Even the preface takes place in 1806 to introduce Andrew Jackson, who is far from the most important character in the book and is totally absent from the second act. Then we skip ahead to 1814 to witness the climax of Jackson's war against the Creeks, which was part of the war of 1812. One more minor complaint -- the back side of the book refers to Tecumseh fighting the Americans, but he was killed in 1813 and is only referred to in the text. The "Five Civilized Tribes" are the heart of the reason Flint wrote this book and they were not allied to Tecumseh. In fact, only half or so of the Creeks are allied to the British, but this still leads to a very bloody battle at what became known as the Horsehoe Bend of the Alabama River.

The hero of the book is Irish immigrant and universal soldier Patrick Driscoll, who thinks of the United States as his third nation, Ireland and France having been broken by the British, or "the Sassenach," as he calls them. If this book is ever made into a movie, I want to play Driscoll -- I am too short to play the other major Anglo characters, and I'm also about the right age. He is introduced at the beginning of the second act and is thereafter never absent. His views on religion and politics are about as modern as Flint could possibly make them and he is probably a stand-in for Flint himself. It's not exactly the climax of the book, but one of the two most fun scenes for Flint to write was certainly the scene that ends chapter 29, when Driscoll basically says "a pox on all your houses" because Earth has never contained a scoiety he would really be proud to be a part of.

The other, of course, is the love scene. Tiana Rogers, a sixteen-year-old Cherokee who towers over Driscoll at six feet, is gently pushed by her brothers to marry Driscoll after challenging them to find her a better husband than Sam Houston (in the time of this novel, a 21-year-old junior officer in the U. S. Army). She needs very little coaxing, finding in Driscoll her equal as a fighter and dreamer. Driscoll has been totally geared to fighting and killing the Sassenach for as long as Tiana has been alive, and she helps him turn towards the idea of letting his life be about building and loving.

Books like "The Rivers of War" are the reason I love alternate history. It's so much more hopeful than anything by Harry Turtledove. Whatever your background, if you have any interest in nineteenth-century America, you will love this book. I give it my strongest possible recommendation.

Great story but why all the repetition?.......2007-07-05

I have now read a number of Eric Flint's alternate history books and, while I enjoy the clever variations on history and meaty characters, I cannot understand why a skilled author finds it necessary -- in all his books -- to repeat the same facts over and over again, sometimes just pages apart. In 1812, for example, on page 150 a woman named Tiana thinks about another character named Nancy Ward as a "Ghighua" (in Cherokee), followed by the sentence, "The Cherokee word had several translations into English. 'War Woman' was one of them." The story then goes on to explain how Ward's exploits had earned her that name/title.

Then on page 163, Sam Houston also thinks about Nancy Ward as "The last -- and some said, the greatest -- of the Cherokee Ghighua. The title was sometimes translated into English as 'Beloved Woman' and sometimes as 'War Woman." and just two pages later the author AGAIN explains how she earned that title!

He did the same thing throughout the 1634 series.

Ho-Hum Alternate History.......2007-05-15

This is not a bad story but neither is it a great one. It is one of those which I enjoyed enough while reading but which I have no great desire to think about or remember afterwards.

The setting is 1812 and the US is at war with Britain. It also has some internal problems such as what to do about Indians who do not wish to give their land up to the whites. Sometimes the Indians act in a savage manner but, more often, it is the whites who break agreements. In this story, there is an alternative to the Trail of Tears. Instead of being forcibly displaced, the powerful Cherokee nation and allied tribes voluntarily head west thinking they will then be able to set themselves up strongly enough to resist American expansion when it gets that far.

To help them along, they have the services of Sam Houston (of Texas fame) who is a hero of the war of 1812. He puts together a patchwork of tribes and black freedmen and convinces the US administration to sign off on the plan.

This entire books seems to be a buildup for things which do not happen. I understand there is at least one sequel. Maybe this is a setup for that one. Its well enough written that I will not mind reading other books but neither am I going to rush out to do so.

Truly irresistible.......2007-05-11

The War of 1812 seems, to most Americans, as a minor war, dry and forgettable. But Mr. Eric Flint uses it as his starting point for his alternate history. He brings it to life, with such colorful characters, but also REAL people, as Andrew Jackson, Sam Houston, Winfield Scott, George Cockburn, Robert Ross and others. From Chippewa to New Orleans he creates a plot that draws you in. It never slows down yet it never goes so fast that you can't keep up. The American Nation, still young and a little rough around the edges, fighting for its rights and beliefs must deal with a NEW Nation being born even as the conflict rages. Mr. Flint brings Indians, freed men of color, escaping slaves and powerful whites together in a cooking pot of power and ideals. Ideals that will be tested, shaped and forced to deal with the judgment of history, the issue of slavery and growing pains of the young United States.

Good alternate history of the War of 1812.......2007-04-14

I think the War of 1812 is one of the most interesting parts of U.S. History. It's little known; not much is written about it. Which is partly why this book was a joy to read.

For the most part, the battles in this book -- the Horseshoe Bend, the Chippewa, the raid on Washington, and New Orleans (all four of them did occur in real life) -- happened more or less as Flint describes them, and mostly end in the same way. Well, there was no valiant stand in the U.S. Capitol, but still this alternate history is subtle. It will take future volumes to see the effects of what happened at Flint's version of the Battle of Horseshoe Bend.

And the characters are so colorful. Especially Patrick "the Troll" Driscol, the angry Irish sergeant in Scott's brigade with an intense hatred of the British (hating them for what they had done in Ireland in 1798). I enjoyed Flint's take on Andrew Jackson, possibly the most fascinating American of his time. Robert Ross was done well, too. All in all it was a good book, and I look forward to reading the next installment.

Call Each River Jordan: A Novel of Historical Suspense

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The Mystery of a Wartime Atrocity
Series is Back on Track
Parry Just Keeps Getting Better
I Can't Wait for the Next One
Abel is plenty able

Call Each River Jordan: A Novel of Historical Suspense
Owen Parry
Manufacturer: William Morrow & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0060186380
Release Date: 2001-10-02

Book Description

The Civil War collapses from illusions of chivalry into bitter reality overnight. A Welsh immigrant to the Union and a veteran of Britain's distant wars, Major Abel Jones survives the battle's slaughter only to face the riddle of a different kind of massacre.

Far from the cries and smoke of combat, forty murdered slaves hang at a crossroads. There is little concern for the lost lives, but political dangers worry the leadership on both sides. The blood may be upon Northern as well as Southern hands. In a country shocked by casualty lists and unready for emancipation, only one man, a plain-speaking officer with a limp and a troubled conscience, insists on justice.

Ritual murders spur merciless cavalry raids. Political chicanery conceals midnight brutalities. Guerrilla ambushes lead to an underworld of runaway slaves. Desperate men and women make a heartbreaking attempt to build a "city on a hill" in the Mississippi backwoods. And a chain of death proves as relentless as war itself.

Call Each River Jordan re-creates the torment of a divided nation -- of shattered families and broken dreams -- yet the power of the human heart to hope underlies even the darkest moments of danger. A master of authenticity, Owen Parry captures the early reluctance of Grant and Sherman to free slaves as uncompromisingly as he portrays the hardscrabble-reality of the Southern backcountry. Whether describing the miseries and joys of a common soldier's life or recounting a slave's lifelong humiliation, Call Each River Jordan provides a vivid and startling portrait of America's past.

Expanding the critically lauded panorama of Civil War America begun in Faded Coat of Blue and Shadows of Glory, Parry continues to reach beyond the familiar, cherished myths to depict a nation and its people as they really were: heroes and cowards, the faithful and the faithless, men and women honorable and less so -- and all of them very human. Suspenseful, swift-paced, surprisingly humorous, and populated with the unforgettable characters who have already become a hallmark of his fiction, Parry's latest novel offers a fresh and haunting vision of a past still with us today.

Customer Reviews:

The Mystery of a Wartime Atrocity.......2007-01-11

This is the third, excellent volume in the author's series that follows the detective work of Major Abel Jones during the Civil War. This time, the author's masterful style immerses you in April, 1862, with its odd speech (to the 2007 ear), its stomach-turning savagery in the Battle of Shiloh, and its well-mannered relationship between Union and Confederate officers off the battlefield. Someone has brutally slaughtered forty slaves, men, women, and children, in the no-man's land between Union and Confederate lines. General Grant sends Major Jones on a hazardous trip through the lines with a request that Confederate General P. G. T. Beauregard cooperate in investigating this terrible crime. Beauregard agrees and assigns Confederate Lieutenant Drake Raines to aid Jones. The two officers follow a frightening path as they track down the murderers and barely prevent another mass killing. The story is full of action, and the plot twists wonderfully.

Series is Back on Track.......2004-05-13

I loved the first Abel Jones Civil War mystery (Faded Coat of Blue), but was sorely disappointed by the second (Shadows of Glory), so it with great relief that I can report that this third in the series displays much (if not quite all) the skill Parry brought to Faded Coat of Blue. The story kicks off with a serious bang, as the first thirty pages or so throw Major Abel Jones into the messy battle at Shiloh in early April 1862. From the very first sentence ("I remember the smell of men burning"), the reader is immersed in the chaos and confusion that is war, and it's hard to imagine any work of nonfiction\ able to compete with the "you are there" sensation these pages impart. In this in initial bloody action, the ever-stern Jones rounds up as many of those fleeing the battle as possible, and rallies them into a little unit, fighting through the day.

It's only after the battle that we finally learn the purpose of his foray into the front lines. As outlined in the previous books, the Welsh immigrant and former soldier Jones has been transformed from an army clerk into a special agent of President Lincoln's. Here, he sent is to investigate the massacre of forty runaway slaves, an atrocity discovered by advancing Union troops in Tennessee. Jones meets with Generals Grant and Sherman (and his friend Dr. Mick Tyrone), and is escorted to the Confederate side as an emissary to General Beauregard to discuss this heinous crime. Of course, this isn't as simple as it sounds, and Jones goes through a few adventures before he's able to team up with an young aristocratic (and Harvard educated) Southern officer to unmask the killers.

Actually, the book's one significant weakness is that there is a great deal of buildup to the mystery, but once the investigation is underway, the killers are identified with very rapidly (not to mention that the answer seems obvious the moment the villain is first seen). As in Shadows of glory, the emphasis is much more on mood and atmosphere than actual suspense. Much of the story seems designed to have Jones come to the realization that slaves are humans too, and perhaps are worth fighting a war over. To that end, a number of the supporting characters aren't nearly as well realized as they are in either of the two earlier books. Jones' Confederate liaison is a textbook golden-haired young Southern gentleman, and there are a smattering of basic rednecks and slave types as well. One notable exception is the Barnaby B. Barnaby, the Cockney gentleman's gentleman to Jones' liaison, who provides comic relief and a vivid voice. Of course, the strongest voice is Jones' own as narrator, and his telling is robust with the Welsh idiom, cadence, and priggish prejudice of the earlier books. Phrases like "he was as full of tricks as an Irish barrister" abound, and add much to the story.

All in all, the book is satisfying reading, if not as outstanding as Faded Coat of Blue, which just had everything going for it. The series continues with , Honor's Kingdom and Bold Sons of Erin which I will definitely be seeking out.

Parry Just Keeps Getting Better.......2003-09-26

I'm always wary of historical novels, since they have a tendency to transfer 21st Century sensibilities to their subject matter. Owen Parry (whose real name is Ralph Peters, the great Russian expert and strategic thinker) avoids that, creating a hero and a story which live and breath the Civil War era. I was impressed, although not overly so, with the first book of the series, but I am increasingly moved by every addition to the series.

Major Abel Jones is pompous and priggish and if weren't so clever in solving murder mysteries, he would be a classic comic figure (one on-going theme is the pride this Welshman takes in his singing voice, when it's obvious (though not to him) that it's rather awful).

The walk on parts of various historical figures is impressive. I always judge the walk ons in historical novels by using as my gold standard the Abraham Lincoln in George MacDonald Fraser's Flashman series: lovely little vignettes which both capture the essence of the man and allow the reader to see his hero in a new light. In River Jordan, Parry manages a General Grant who is every bit as real as Fraser's Lincoln. That is the first time I can say that about anyone's novel about any era.

I Can't Wait for the Next One.......2003-02-23

I've traveled in Wales, know Welsh history back to the early Middle Ages, and even studied the language some years ago. I recognize Owen Parry's Union officer, Abel Jones, as the counterpart of some of the sturdy people of that splendid land. I've now read all three of Parry's Civil War mysteries available in paperback, and each new one has been better than the last.

The only mystery writers of comparable talent who've dissected the physical, mental and moral tragedy of war are Charles Todd and Reginald Hill. But Parry, writing in the voice of a deeply religious, highly puritanical Welshman of the mid-Nineteenth Century, is unique. I doubt that there are very many better first-person stories out there in any genre.

The plot and characters of this latest novel have been covered by other reviewers (with whom I soundly agree). I only want to suggest that if you haven't yet heard the voice of Abel Jones, go thou and do so.

Abel is plenty able.......2002-11-15

There is something sublime about this book.

It would be easy for Parry to follow the easy path to Civil War fiction that so many other authors have followed. But, instead, he chooses to probe the depths of slavery and abolition and Union versus Confederacy.

Although this book is billed as a historical suspense/mystery novel, it is far more. The murder plot is merely a device the author uses to explore the depths of human character and the interplay between Whites and Blacks during the Civil War. All of Parry's characters are very human, including his main hero and his major villain. The terrors and bloodlust of war are portrayed vividly. And, to Parry's credit, not all of the action takes place on the battlefield.

Main character Abel Jones is a Welsh major hired by President Lincoln to solve the mass murder of some Blacks barely over the Shiloh battle lines. To do so, he must coordinate his activities with officers from the Confederacy. The Union blames the Confederates for the murders and the Confederacy blames the Union. But Abel is Able as he solves the dilemma. But, as I said, the mystery plot is secondary.

Abel struggles with the line between Christian non-violence and wartime bloodshed. Some characters struggle with loss of life and property while others struggle with the concept of true freedom.

The only negative to this book is its obvious setup at the finish for a sequel. I don't dislike sequels or series novels, but the setup is too obvious.

Book Description

The year is 1861. Civil war is imminent and Tilly Pruitt's brother, Noah, is eager to go and fight on the side of the North. With her father long gone, Tilly, her sister, and their mother struggle to make ends meet and hold the dwindling Pruitt family together. Then one night a mysterious girl arrives on a steamboat bound for St. Louis. Delphine is unlike anyone the small river town has even seen. Mrs. Pruitt agrees to take Delphine and her dark, silent traveling companion in as boarders. No one in town knows what to make of the two strangers, and so the rumors fly. Is Delphine's companion a slave? Could they be spies for the South? Are the Pruitts traitors? A masterful tale of mystery and war, and a breathtaking portrait of the lifelong impact one person can have on another.

Customer Reviews:

School Reveiw.......2007-03-16

The simple life in Grand Tower is going to get a lot more complicated. The Pruit family has to worry about keeping Noah at home and out of the war, and now they have two strange visitors from New Orleans to deal with. One night in 1861, Delphine and Calinda stepped off a boat coming from New Orleans. Rather than stay at the town's hotel, Mrs. Pruit invited them to stay at her house with her and her children, Tilly, Cassy, and Noah. With different food and strange customs, Delphine and Calinda brought new excitement to Grand Tower. Delphine quickly captured the hearts of the local men, including Noah. Even though Grand Tower was full of people he loved, Noah, against his family's wishes, soon left in the middle of the night to go fight in the Civil War. This devastated Mrs. Pruit to the point that she almost when insane. When she could not stand it any longer, she sent Tilly and Delphine to go find Noah and bring him home. They packed up some clothes, food, and all the medicines they could think of, and left. With some help from the Grand Tower doctor, they were able to find Noah. He was very sick and his living conditions were horrible. So Tilly and Delphine helped nurse him and the others back to health and improved the camp's living conditions. When Noah was strong enough, they sent him off to battle. Tilly and Delphine waited, still helping with the camp, until he returned. By this time he had lost an arm, but he was well enough to be taken home. When they get back, they find out that Mrs. Pruit had committed suicide because she thought Noah was dead. Noah made a life for himself in Grand Tower with Delphine by his side and close to family. And now Tilly tells this story to her grandkids, so that what their family went through during the war will never be forgotten. Overall, this is a pretty boring book. It had some interesting characters, but parts were confusing and it wasn't all that interesting.

One of the reasons that I didn't like this book is because parts of it were a little hard to understand. For example, the story was written how the people actually talked. Since their speech wasn't that good, some of the sentences didn't make much sense. Like when Tilly was talking about what they had for dinner, she said "we's never et so good." Even though I got what it said, that type of sentence got annoying after awhile. Another confusing thing was when the narrator thought she remembered wrong. This book is a story that she is telling to her grandkids. So as the story went on, sometimes the narrator would stop and say "no, wait, that's not what happened." They she would say that the event happened differently. Sometimes that got confusing when she was second-guessing herself. Another thing that mad the book hard to understand was when Delphine spoke French. Whenever she was telling a story she would throw in some French words. They people in the story knew what she was saying, but I didn't.

One of the very few good things about this book is that it has some interesting characters. I thought Tilly was interesting because she seemed like a kind person. She was protective of her younger sister and was willing to go and try to find her brother. She knew that they might not find him and how upset her mom would be if she came home without him, but she did it anyway. Another interesting character was Cassy. At the beginning of the story Cassy is sitting looking out at the river. That's when you find out that she can see all the people that have died there in the past, and that she sees more people that will die in the future. That seemed pretty cool to me. Delphine was also an interesting character. Without her the book would have been pretty boring. She told some good stories and she made life exciting for the simple Pruit family.

One of the main reasons that I didn't like the book is because it was kind of boring. In about one hundred and sixty pages, nothing much happens. Mainly its just Delphine comes, Noah leaves, they go get him, and they come home. A lot of the stuff they wrote had nothing to do with the story line. It was just some background on Delphine and what Calinda cooked. Most of that was just there to make the story longer, but it only made the book boring. If they got rid of some of the stuff about how all they men fell in love with Delphine or some of the many conversations that they had about New Orleans, it might have made the book better.

I didn't find this book to be very interesting and it was hard to stay focused on it long enough to finish it. I would on recommend it to younger kids; older kids would think it's really boring. I don't think it's worth reading.

C. Chapman

Civil War Drama.......2006-11-16

This is a very good and fast paced book for Junior High readers and learning of the beginnings of the civil war. Richard Peck always has interesting characters and this book continues with that.

The River Between Us.......2006-08-23

The River Between Us, by Peck, illustrates the beginning of the civil war in 1861. Tilly Pruitt and her family welcome two stranges from New Orleans to stay with them in their house in Illinois. Their whole household changes when the strangers introduce new styles and home remedies. The overprotective mother worries about her son, Noah, going into the war. He eventually leaves home and his mother sends Tilly to retrieve him from the war camp.
I recommend this book for children ages 11-15 so that they understand the events occuring in the book.

Not a good book........2006-06-23

My daughter is "into" the Civil War so I bought this book for her. I read it first and am glad I did. I cannot recommend it. It is boring and has very little suspense. I know the Civil War was a sad and serious time, but familied still had some happy times in the midst of it! Cass, the main character's younger sister, has visions and all sorts of weird things. I do not want to expose my children to that. Another character also reads cards and supposedly has second sight. These things are occultic to me. Therefore I cannot recommend this book at all.

What a great book!!!.......2006-05-23

I love this historicle fiction book, it used GREAT discription and had a great plot that kept me interested the intire time! Although some parts were very sad, and the time change was rather confusing I loved it. The book tells a story of a boy in the civel war. He has just turned 16 and is allowed to join the army. He is eager to fight for the North. Then a misterious girl appears off a boat and is welcomed into the Pruitt family. The girl appears to be keeping Noah from leaving and the mother is thankful for that. What will hapen? I LOVE this book!!!

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