ET Books

This was a most impressive story as others have said because it is told as it happened. There are no dramatized or embellished inclusions here. This is a story of a time when men were men. Honorable, respectable and not the feminized bumbling type that a PC society is trying to produce today. I strongly endorse this book. It should be "must" reading for any hunter and highly recommended for all young men.

This was a fantastic adventure tale, all the more fascinating because it was true, and well told in the understated style of the era. Even in the most trying situations, the author is matter of fact about the seriousness of their predicament, proving to me anyway that our forebears were a tougher lot than we could imagine being.

A "must" read for any serious hunter who would like some idea of how it was done prior to advent of Super Cubs.

The story of Amoskeag is the story of a society...a story of a different time...a way of life that used to be. This book travels through the 1800's and the 1900's telling the tale of a factory, and the people who passed through it.
The highlights of the book occur when the factory workers are interviewed. The characters and stories they create are so funny and so real...you get such a feel for how their lives were. I laughed so many times.
The only parts I found boring were when the terms of factory making were being discussed. It was important to know to put what the workers were saying into context, but I found it boring.
Overall, the book was a gem. I am now very interested in a time period that before I thought was useless and boring. I would reccomend this book to anyone.

You'll enjoy this book even if you're not particularly interested in Manchester, NH, or mill towns, as long as you want to hear people talk about their lives.

This is a good window into life in a "factory-city" along the Merrimack River from its start in the early 1800s through the 1970s. Each chapter is an interview. You get the story through the words and memories of those who live it. Mill workers and their families talk about the founding of the town, their arrival as immigrants seeking good jobs, what their work lives were like, the strike, and the eventual shutdown of the mills. A good read.

Nineteenth century American travellers waxed enthusiastic or properly melancholic amidst the ruins of Europe. Writers such as Henry James often contrasted the youth and vigor (and innocence) of America with old, tired Europe. None of them could have imagined that less than a century later, the busy New England mills that turned out huge quantities of shoes, textiles, and useful products of all kinds would be silent, weed-strewn ruins. When I look around at cities like Salem, Lynn, Lowell, Lawrence, and Brockton, Mass., at Manchester and Nashua, New Hampshire, at a dozen small towns in Maine, I realize that I grew up during the fall of a whole civilization. I saw the tail end of it. Today so many of those thriving factories and mills have been razed to the ground, turned into condos or specialty shops, or even, into museums of industrial history.

AMOSKEAG is the story of one textile mill, once the largest in the world, along the banks of the Merrimack River in New Hampshire. The story is told through 37 interviews after an introduction of thirty-odd pages. The effect is most immediate: you feel as if you had lived the whole experience, grown up around these people. The reader is taken through the lives of management to the world of work---the varieties of tasks and social interactions to be found within the giant factory. Then we get an idea of family life, how the factory permeated every aspect of existence, and finally of the strikes, shutdowns and rising costs that eventually drove the mill out of existence (or rather, the whole textile industry to other states and countries). The text is punctuated by numerous black and white photographs which add to the atmosphere of "bygone days" that emanates from the whole book. If you are looking for a book on industrial history or early 20th century New England, you must read this one, it's unforgettable.

A collection of poetry, folklore, short stories, biographies, and other non-fiction. Includes a history and discussion of children's literature with suggestions for using this literature.

Part one includes over 500 poems about people, animals, traveling, play, humor, magic and make believe, wind and water, days and seasons, wisdom and beauty.

Part two is Time for Magic and is a collection of folk tales, myths, epics, hero tales, and modern fantasy.
Some of stories are:
Story of the Three Bears;
Story of the Three Little Pigs;
Henny Penny;
The Bride Who Out Talked the Water Kelpie;
Connla and the Fairy Maiden;
Hansel and Gretel;
Clever Elsie;
Snow White and Seven Dwarfs;
The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood;
Cinderella;
Beauty and the Beast;
The Pancake;
The Husband Who Was to Mind the House;
Little Freddy with His Fiddle;
Mida;
The Golden Touch;
Gilgamesh;
Charlotte's Web;
The Real Princess;
The Borrowers (Danger!);
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe;
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland;
The Hobbit;
The Pushcart War (The Pea Shooter Campaign..Phase I);
The Twenty One Balloons;
Farmer in the Sky;
A Wrinkle in Time (Aunt Beast);
And many, many more!!!!

Part Three covers Time for Realism: Facts and Fiction
Some stories are:
Did You Carry the Flag Today, Charley? from The Thing by Rebecca Caudill;
Ellen Tebbits,
Justin Morgan had a Horse,
The Midnight Fox,
The Family Under the Bridge,
Capricorn Bracelet,
Calico Bush,
Johnny Tremaine,
And many more...


Biographies:
The Seven Queens of England,
Penn: The Trial,
Benjamin Franklin,
George Washington,
Paul Revere,
Helen Keller,
Shirley Chisholm,
Etc.

Part four covers children's literature published, awards, etc.

1089 pages.

This anthology, with it's many selections from classic to modern children's literature, was a gateway to many different works for me. I learned my love of diverse literature from this book when I was a child. Any child who received this book would be receiving a gift beyond value.

I read this book when I was little, I read this book when I was big, and if I get the chance, all my children will do the same. I first picked up a copy for 25 cents at a boyscout garage sale and it has remained my all time favorite. It has stories, poems and many other styles of literature that have lead to my being an admitted book worm. I hope that there will always be books like these.

This is an excellent review of the response of Calvin to A. Pighius and the debates of the 1540's concerning the Will of Man, and Predestination. This work covers many areas not covered in other English Translations of Calvin's works, and is very informative concerning Calvin's treatment of the relation between grace and free will.

First written in 1543, The Bondage And Liberation Of The Will: A Defence Of The Orthodox Doctrine Of Human Choice Against Pighius is an English translation by G. I. Davies of one of John Calvin's profound theological works concerning the relationship between grace and free will. Astutely edited with meticulous notes by A. N. S. Lane (Director of Research and Senior Lecturer in Christian Doctrine at the London Bible College), The Bondage And Liberation Of The Will is an historically important and influential treatise of religious and historical significance, and one which is very strongly recommended for Christian Studies theological reference and resource shelves.

This is an excellent debate on free will and predestiantion. it is extremely scholaraly and Calvin is more nuanced and complex than Luther. this book centers around Augustinian thought, as both Rome and the Reformers claimed him as their champion on this issue. Calvin showed conclusively, that Augustine sided with the reformers and solidified the reformation as something not novel, but as a spokesman for Augustine on the treatment of the will and the sinful state of man. The Reformation, it has been said, was the victory of Augustine's thoughts on salvation over Augustine's thoughts of the church.

i had to write a paper for a geography class and figured why not do it on yugoslavia. while researching, i came across this book, and thought it was a marvelous read. it is a fascinating look at the decline of yugoslavia from Tito, who ran the country remarkably well and who had a miraculously peaceful tenure as "Emperor." then Milosevic showed up and [messed] it all up. the thing i find very excellent about this book is that it describes very well how milosevic got that power. he used nationalism to his advantage to get the serbs behind him. this nationalism lead to the bloody split-up of croatia, slovenia, bosnia-herzegovina, macedonia, and finally kosovo. this book shows one of the best (or worst, depending on how you look at it) examples of nationalism and the effects of nationalism. it is especially good to observe what happened to Milosevic in light of recent events throughout europe, with the hard-right gaining popularity, in such places as Romania, Hungary, and even in more tolerant France and the Netherlands. it is a worthwhile read to observe similarities between what milosevic said and did and what these new right-wing leaders are saying and doing.

I really enjoyed this book and I hope it will help me on my Project.

This is an excellent book by a Professor of Political Science at Simon Fraser University, British Columbia, Canada. 'International History Review' said of the first edition that it was "far superior in its factual coverage and balance to its various competitors in the field. .. He has told the story as completely and as impartially as we are liable to get." Cohen gives a brief history of Yugoslavia in the first chapter. The rest of the book gives a detailed account of Yugoslavia's breakup and the war.

Yugoslavia existed as a state from 1918 to 1991. Under Tito it had a devolved and federal constitution. This gave parity representation to each of the six republics in the Yugoslav federation, even though Serbia was by far the biggest. Tito selected people for jobs by 'ethnic arithmetic' and rotated top officials annually. But these policies signally failed to unify Yugoslavia. The constitution encouraged those who wanted to split the country. They had a two-track strategy. They aimed to move from federation to confederation as a step towards independence; at the same time they formed separate institutions designed for complete independence.

Outside forces seized on these internal failings. In January 1991 the US and German Ambassadors pressed the Yugoslav National Army not to intervene to keep Croatia in Yugoslavia. In early 1991 Germany and other countries sold arms to Croatia and Slovenia. On 25 June 1991 Croatia and Slovenia unilaterally declared their independence. The Croats were desperate for foreign intervention: "The Tudjman government believed that immediate internationalization of the Yugoslav crisis was absolutely crucial."

When the Yugoslav Government deployed the National Army to hold the country together, the EC secretly threatened to cut off all aid to Yugoslavia. On 4 October 1991, the opening day of the EC Conference, its chairman Lord Carrington presented an agenda "premised on the assumption that Yugoslavia no longer existed." The EC announced that all the Yugoslav republics "are sovereign and independent with international identity". As Cohen wrote, "the EC had apparently made a political decision to dismember the Yugoslav federation." Hurd warned in December 1991 that recognising Croatia and Slovenia would escalate the war. Carrington warned that recognition would weaken diplomatic efforts to achieve a ceasefire and a settlement, and would also spread the war to Bosnia. Despite, or because of, all these good reasons, the EC, including Britain, recognised Croatia and Slovenia in January. The UN did too, despite its "internal divisions about the propriety of intervention in a sovereign state's domestic disputes."

The war did spread to Bosnia. In July 1991 the Moslem Bosnian Organization tried to negotiate a Moslem-Serb accord to prevent war in Bosnia and to preserve Bosnia's territorial integrity. Karadzic accepted this for the Bosnian Serbs, but Izetbegovic, the leader of the Bosnian Muslims, rejected it. Izetbegovic is a member of the fundamentalist 'Fida'iyane Islam', which wants to turn Bosnia into an Islamic Republic, although Muslims are only a third of the population. Bosnia's Prime Minister Haris Silajdzic tried to justify the composition of his government by saying "It is a fact that Moslems make up 99% of the Bosnian defense forces so it is natural that they form the government." In so doing he gave the lie to the nonsense that Bosnia is some form of multicultural democracy. These armed forces have been "strengthened with thousands of volunteers from various Islamic countries" and by illegal arms shipments, often through Slovenia, especially from Iran, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

In his 1970 Islamic Declaration, which he reprinted in 1990, Izetbegovic wrote, "The Islamic movement must and can take power not only to destroy the non-Islamic power but to build up a new Islamic one." Cohen noted "the more militant and religiously nationalistic majority in the party led by Alija Izetbegovic (who had spent eight years in jail under the communists for his Islamic fundamentalist beliefs)." Cohen analysed "the role of traditional religions in generating ethnic conflicts" in Yugoslavia.

Again, in February 1992 Izetbegovic sabotaged the Lisbon Agreement for Moslem-Serb-Croat power-sharing. He "later conceded that Bosnia might have avoided a violent war if it had stayed together with Serbia and Montenegro in a reconfigured Yugoslavia." In early 1992 his dash for Bosnian independence was "prompted by the opportunity for quick recognition by the EC." Even the US Ambassador to Yugoslavia called his decision 'disastrous'. Cohen pointed out that "the lack of a political settlement among the major ethnic groups within Bosnia-Herzegovina actually justified postponing recognition of that republic as another new state in April 1992." But the EC and the UN went ahead with recognition. In the autumn of 1993 Bosnian Moslem government forces killed "thousands of civilian Croats in central Bosnia".

The United States has throughout the war campaigned for US intervention. As Cohen pointed out, it used hyperbolic calls of genocide to try to justify intervention. It has vilified the Serbs and whitewashed the Bosnian Moslems and the Croats. To defeat the Serbs, "the United States, though not ostensibly taking sides in the war, had effectively engineered the Moslem-Croat agreement." Cohen showed how "behind the scenes, Washington was gradually expanding its military support for the Moslems and Croats". Clinton approved the initiative of a group of former US military officers to assist Croatia's armed forces.

Cohen finished by writing hopefully, "The imperatives of economic survival and reconstruction, as well as geographic proximity and other earlier interdependencies, suggested that such cooperation would eventually resume despite the recent episodes of terrible, ethnic, religious, and political violence." But there is no chance of this vital peaceful reconstruction happening with 60,000 foreign troops in the country. Their presence will prolong the war in Yugoslavia, and also runs a high risk of spreading it to other countries. It will certainly worsen the tension between the NATO powers and Russia. Bulgaria and Greece will not appreciate the presence of so many NATO troops so near to them.

Who says that sequels never live up to the original? Part 2 of Aeschylus's masterpiece does just that! For those of you who don't know this, "The Libation Bearers" (Part 2) picks up a few years after "Agamemnon" (Part 1) left off. Clytemnestra killed her husband Agamemnon, and she is now with her lover Aegisthus. All seems well for them, but it will not remain so.

Orestes (Agamemnon's son) comes out of exile with plans to avenge his father's death (under the orders of Apollo). An interesting side note is that the great and glorious King Edward III had a similar experience. His father (Edward II) was killed by his mother, so she could be with her lover Mortimer. And at the age of 17, Edward III flipped the tables. He was to reign for 47 more years. But I am digressing.

In this 2nd chapter, the chorus is some Trojan women who don't have a problem with Orestes plotting against his mother and her lover. Well, Orestes goes to his mother's house, and Clytemnestra does not recognize him. The nurse gives Orestes up for dead and has abandoned all hope that Agamemnon will be avenged. In a comical moment, the chorus tells the nurse that she need not abandon hope. Aegisthus suspects that Orestes may still be alive, and it isn't long before Orestes accomplishes the 1st part of his task and kills Aegisthus. (The lover was the easy part.)

Orestes does not find phase 2 of his revenge so easy. He does hesitate to kill his mother, and it is only with his friend Pylades's prompting that he can do so: "Better men should hate you than the gods." But of course, this makes for better writing. Rather than portraying Orestes as a simple killer, the next phase of his revenge is difficult. After killing his mother, all is not so well. he is tormented by the furies. Only he can see them. The chorus can not. The furies bear a striking resemblance to the ghost of Banquo in "Macbeth." Banquo's ghost puts Macbeth into a psychological turmoil, and the fact that only he can see the ghost makes it worse. (The other characters in "Macbeth" can not understand why Macbeth falls into a psychological frenzy.)

It is even possible to wonder if this 2nd chapter of Aeschylus's masterpiece inspired that scene Shakespeare wrote in "Macbeth." Why not? Shortly before Shakespeare wrote his plays, there was a reactivation of Greek and Roman classics. So, what of Orestes now? Well, that will be answered in Part 3. ("The Eumenides") And worry not! Part 3 maintains the power of parts 1 and 2!

"The Choephoroe" ("The Libation Bearers") is the second play in the Orestia trilogy of Aeschylus. It takes place a few years after the events covered in "Agamemnon," which tells of how Agamemnon returned victoriously from the Trojan War only to be slain by his wife Clytemnestra, who never forgave her husband for having their daughter Iphigenia sacrificed so the Achean fleet could sail for Troy ten years earlier. "The Choephoroe" finds Orestes, the son of Agamemnon, living in exile in the nearby kingdom of Phocis. However, in obedience to a command given him by the god Apollo, Orestes returns to Argos to avenge his father. Seeking out his sister Electra, Orestes disguises himself to enter the palace where he kills Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus. Orestes attempts to justify his act of matricide but in the final scene of the play becomes consumed by madness and flees from the Furies, the punishing spirits of the gods who will hound him for his hideous crime. The Orestia concludes in "The Eumenides," where Orestes is expiated of his crime and Aeschylus completes his dramatic argument for the civilized notion of justice.

The story of the murder of Clytemnestra by Orestes is a unique tale from ancient mythology because it is the one story which serves as the subject for plays by all three of the great Greek tragic poets; both Sophocles and Euripides called their versions of the tale "Electra." All three have their own perspectives on the tale and what makes the Aeschylus version stand out, besides being the middle part of the only extant trilogy from these ancient dramatic competition, is the confrontation between mother and son. After hearing that Aegisthus has been slain, Clytemnestra knows that Orestes has returned and sends her servants to get the ax with which she slew his father. But when they confront each other she reminds him that she gave him birth and nursed him through infancy. Then she argues that she was justified in killing Agamemnon. Finally she threatens him, saying Orestes will be tormented forever if he kills his mother. Orestes replied he would be tormented by his father's curse if he spares her.

This scene in the play's fourth episode is arguably the most powerful ever written by Aeschylus. Notice that neither Sophocles nor Euripides try to compete with this scene and pretty much avoid the fatal confrontation in their "Electra"s. But ironically "The Choephoroe" is the one play in the Orestia that gets the least attention (for example, it is reduced to a synopsis in Moses Hadas's "Greek Drama" collection while the other two plays are presented complete). There might be a tendency to seeing the play as the flip side of "Agamemnon," setting up the stage for the climax of "The Eumenides." Obviously I want to make an argument that this play stands on its own, even when separated from the Orestia. Note: Several years ago the Guthrie Theater did a fascinating version of the curse on the house of Atreus by doing Euripides's "Iphigenia at Aulis," Aeschylus's "Agamemnon," and Sophocles's "Electra."

Who says that sequels never live up to the original? Part 2 of this phenomenal trilogy does just that! All seems well for the detestable Clytemnestra and her lover. Agamemnon's son Orestes IMMEDIATELY grabs our attention when he makes his plans to avenge the death of his father Agamemnon. What makes this such a masterpiece is that Aeschylus grabs us in phases that get more and more intense. First Orestes kills Clytemnestra's lover. Then he grabs us with a dramatic confrontation between Orestes and his wicked mother. Orestes kills her, but Aeschylus DOES NOT stop here! Orestes is then tormented by the Furies! (Furies to Greek Mythology would be like Demons to the Church.) When I finished part 2, I NEEDED some cigarettes to calm down, before I DARED TO open part 3!

Chretien de Troyes invented the Arthurian romance with Erec and Enide. It was the first of what would soon come to be a genre unto itself. Tales of King Arthur and his knights are still popular after centuries of retelling, and Chretien de Troyes is responsible for many of the stories as we know them. Erec and Enide, the earliest of his surviving works, is a story about all the things we recognize as Arthurian--honor, chivalry, love, and courage.

When the poem begins, Erec is a young knight at Arthur's court and heir to his father's throne. When an unknown knight humiliates one of Guinevere's handmaidens during a hunt, Erec follows the knight, his lady, and their cruel dwarf home. There he meets an old man with a beautiful daughter, Enide. They come from ancient nobility but are no impoverished, and the girl can afford nothing but a ragged tunic to wear. The man tells him about a yearly ritual enacted there, where a fine hawk is placed on a perch and only the man with the most beautiful lady can dare to take it. The arrogant young knight from the day before has won several years in a row.

Erec, of course, takes Enide with him to the ritual and, because of Enide's superior beauty, denies the knight the hawk. The knight is furious and challenges Erec to combat, which Erec wins. The father of the girl is so overjoyed that he gives her to Erec as his bride, and the two fall madly in love.

So much in love, in fact, that Erec is soon criticized by many for staying at home in bed when he should be looking to chivalry. After overhearing complaints among the other knights, one night Enide accidentally speaks of her worry about Erec's reputation. Erec is angry and determines to prove himself. He immediately saddles his horse, has Enide follow suit, and orders her to ride ahead of himself and not speak. They set out with no specific destination in mind. Enide is understandably upset.

For the rest of the poem, Erec saves Enide from one predicament after another--three bandits, five bandits, giants, pandering nobles, and would-be assassins. It is never clear whether Erec is proving himself or proving Enide's loyalty, but in the end, when Erec is believed to be dead, only to regain consciousness and kill an overeager suitor, the two are reconciled to each other.

It is then that the poem moves from a string of episodes to a moving and deep symbolic tale that parallels Erec and Enide's own. In another kingdom there is a man trapped in an enchanted garden by his beloved after swearing to do whatever she pleases. In fear that he will leave her, she has made him swear an oath that he will not leave the garden until someone challenges him to combat that he cannot beat. Dozens have tried, and all failed. Erec is victorious, and the man and his lover are set free of the garden.

This, in part, saves Erec and Enide from becoming a tedious, episodic story without a point. The poem--just under 7,000 lines long--is so carefully constructed and unified that a second reading is just as rewarding as the first time. Throughout the story, seemingly every incident in the lives of Erec and Enide have a darker parallel that must be overcome. And, of course, the two lovers must prove to each other that they have "the proper balance between devotion and freedom," that they are not so tied to one another that they neglect their duties, or vice versa.

These themes and the history of the poem are explored in an informative afterword by Joseph Duggan, who has written scholarly end matter for all of Burton Raffel's translations of Chretien's works. Raffel himself has written a short translator's note, and the translation itself is outstanding. As he has proven time and again, Raffel can perfectly balance literalness with beauty--his translations actually convey the spirit of Chretien's poetry.

Erec and Enide is required reading for anyone with an interest in medieval poetry, Arthurian legend, or great literature in general.

Highly recommended.

Since about the middle of the 20th century, it has become increasingly difficult to find poetic translations of long poems. This trend has recently been reversing, with some excellent translations of the Iliad and the Odyssey -- and Ruth Harwood Cline's translations of Troyes' works joins this new and welcome trend.

Most reviews and reviewers will concentrate on the plot -- I want to focus on the translation itself. For too long there has been a philosophy of translation that does not see any value in translating poems in the forms in which they were written. With longer poems especially, more "literal" and plot-driven prose translations have been the norm. But prose is not how these works were written, and it is not how they were meant to be read or heard. They are poems, and only a poetic translation will be able to communicate the full meaning of the poem being translated. Meaning in a poem lies not just in the plot and characters, or even in the particular words used -- though all of this is true -- but also in the rhythms and rhymes, the music, of the poem. Cline's poetic translation thus translates too the music of the poems she translates. We get the full beauty of the works only when we read them the way they were meant to be read: as poems. One hopes Cline continues to translate poems of this period into English.

And now, for a slight aside: Do not read Cervantes' "Don Quixote" until you have read all of Troyes' works, for you will miss almost all the jokes and the full satirical impact of the novel.

With Arthurian Romances seemingly always staging a comeback, how nice to have a fast-read, "words-a-poppin" translation of the very first Arthurian Romance, written in Old French around 1170. What I found most intriquing was that the book essentially wrestles with the ways in which men and women define themselves when becoming partners. Erec's rather pig-headed forcing of Enide to lead the way in the forest and never speak to him has odd contemporary overtones. But they are sweet compared to the couple they meet in Erec's final quest in the book - wait until you find out who "The Joy of the Court" is. Burton Raffel's translation, even if you don't like poetry, reads like a smooth silver skate. I gave the book a "9" instead of "10" because it doesn't have any illustrations. I know it's a University Press, but come on folks, with a story about knights couldn't you throw in at least one old woodcut or something

Stylistically, this is certainly is an extraordinary, and extraordinarily odd, book--an uneven mix of law and economics, law and literature and law and religion, juxtaposed with reflections on legal history; thematically, an intellectual history of the institutions that sustain the rule of law and political pluralism. The book is packed with fascinating insights and controversial propositions; the only adequate response from a reviewer would be to write another book.

This is an unusual book with a fascinating thesis and a wonderfully eclectic scholarly range. The author makes the striking claim that the legal system of Spanish Colonies had much in common with current American constitutional law and the US Federal system but that these features of the system were destroyed by Napoleon. He even suggests that the US constitution writers may have been directly or indirectly influenced by this model.

The book is a study of 16th and 17th century legal humanism. The literary style is baroque, not schizophrenic. I rather enjoyed the author's fevered, florid prose. It is true that those qualities are mostly absent in the academic world. That is why so much academic writing looks drab and dreary. Another book in a baroque style would be _From Newton's Sleep_ by Joseph Vining.

The author is an adjunct professor of Latin American law at IIT/Chicago-Kent College of Law, and director of the newly formed Latin American and Caribbean Law and Economics Center affiliated with the Latin American and Caribbean Law and Economics Association and George Mason University. The scholarship is based on original sources (all too rare these days,) not secondary materials, from research conducted when the author was an Olin fellow in law and economics and a Robbins fellow in legal history at the University of California's Boalt Hall School of Law in 1998-1999. Too many Latin American authors are Anti-American, this one comes out of the Chicago-school, and is not likely to be overly biased against this country.

Any legal history of public law that looks at the confederalist system of the Kingdoms of the Indies, which developed judicial review back in the 16th century, is not only innovative, but may be quite a noteworthy contibution. Much more so if the scholarship comes from a Latin Americanist who works in rational choice theory rather than more traditional approaches, relying on the historical and cultural record.

If anything, I'd assail the intellectual history presented here as showing the author's antiquarian affection for books and not rigorous historical narrative, but the author of a work of synthesis sometimes must pursue a thesis as Mr. Granado does. Legal history is changing its face, look at the work of someone else, the economic historian Avner Greif of Stanford, who also combines economics and legal history. Mr. Granado adds literary theory to the mix.

This is truly great book. Unlike many history books it is written in a very readable style. I have read the original diplomatic transcripts of some of the key meetings here. This book brings them alive. It is also a very good book in getting into the psychology of totalitarianism. Hitler was probably the man Stalin most admired. A good book to read with this is Nazi-Soviet Relations 1939 - 1941: Documents from the Archives of the German Foreign Office.

I view this book very differently than the other reviewer, although both of us rated it 5 stars. I found this book to be one of the best written history books I have ever seen. While it is factual, it is never boring or dry. It is well researched, well written, informative AND interesting.

The book is about the dance that Stalin did with Hitler. Stalin desperately needed to industrialize his country quickly. Hitler was equally desperate for raw materials. The two dictators grudgingly traded something to each other. Stalin knowing that those raw materials would soon be used against his country!

If you enjoy reading this book, I urge you to read any of the many works authored by Sir Martin Gilbert; especially his official biography of Winston Churchill titled "Churchill: A Life."

This is the story of how the world's two greatest (or worst) totalitarian powers reached an agreement to carve Europe between them. Hitler was obsessed with avoiding a two-front war as happened to Germany in WWI. This time, though, the situation was reversed. He sought to knock out the Western powers first before turning to the East. France and England were the major worries at the moment.

Stalin also wanted a free hand as he sought to restore the USSR's border's to pre-Revolution range. This naturally included a division of Poland and the absorption of part of Eastern Europe. One is struck at the gall of these powers sitting at a map and drawing lines, dividing the civilized world into spheres of influece, knowing all the while that in the end, they will have to fight.

The authors record the pre-talks, the feelers, the struggles of the Western powers to stop this deal at any cost. But Hitler was determined to press ahead and secure at least half of his border. There are several mini-tales included that were affected by the treaty - the tragic dismemberment of Poland, the Russian rape of Finland, the beginning of a pattern embraced by both powers and continued by the USSR after the war: The absurd claim that a government would ask either power to invade its territory in order to crush "warmongers".

Both nations shocked their supporters - Germans were puzzled as to why such an agreement was needed with its arch-enemy. Leftists worldwide were struck dumb as their hero, Stalin, smiled and signed on the dotted line. But there was nothing to fear. As the fighting wore on and England refused to bow, Hitler planned the final punch - knock the USSR out of the war and England would be forced to sue for peace. It was almost a success but the supply lines and huge area became a quagmire and the lost retreat was in place. The treaty had served its purpose and like most treaties signed with totalitarian powers it remained in force as long as it was needed.

A heart felt book of 'life lesson' stories for people & mice of all ages. Five grands from 3 to 14 whole heartedly agree! This should count for 6 five star reviews.

Dear Church Folks is a wonderful book of stories! I have to admit that I am a bit biased since I attended Perley's church for the first 16 years of my life (and I've had Dot's carrot cake..yum!). Perley truly has saved my childhood church by sharing his wisdom and stories. These stories will be cherished by adults and children alike for generations to come. Regardless of your age or your religion, do yourself a favor and read this book...then share it with someone you love. Oh, and be sure to leave some sunflower seeds out for Perley!

Perley turned up unexpectedly in my life. Sure, I'd heard of church mice but I'd never met one before. He visited the snack table one day after church, much to our surprise since we were still eating the food. I guess he was a little impatient and had an empty corner in his belly that needed filling.

Next thing I knew, I began receiving cryptic notes in my pew. The mouse had something he wanted to tell me. As I read his notes, I discovered that Perley and I had much in common. Both of us on the small side, with pointy noses and a sweet tooth, and the love of a good tale (or is that tail?). We began a correspondence that grew as our ability to understand each other increased.

Before long, I was helping Perley share his stories about our church and about God's love. His stories multiplied quickly until he had the makings of a book. His stories, his humor, his simple wisdom, all combined to help our church keep its doors open during some pretty dark days.

Before long, as his fame spread, I'd walk down the street of our small town and folks would stop me and ask how Perley was doing. Letters arrived addressed to Perley, inquiring about the health of his family. Once a check arrived made out to Perley who doesn't even have a bank account.

It's a strange calling being a Mouse Whisperer. It's something I never aspired to. But Perley, well, he's a very special mouse. We've become quite close now. His growing fame hasn't spoiled him. He knows famous author mice still have to clean their own mouse holes. And he always keeps his love for God and his neighbors foremost in his mind. It seems we can all learn a thing or two from a mouse.

Fix yourself a nice cup of sunflower tea, grab a piece of Dot's famous carrot cake, curl up in the sunshine with Perley's book and watch the time melt away. And don't forget to read his stories to your little mice and grandmice. You might think his stories are just for grown up mice but he'd like it if you shared them with your little folks, too.