Foreign-market Books

No need to add any reviews, just the best british legion book. Plays
in the same league like "Par le sang verse'" (Through the blood wich was
shed) by Paul Bonnecarrere.

For men who have served in a similar capacity (airborne infantry), great read. Easy to say now that I'm no longer eligible, but I wish I'd joined 20 years ago. It's the kind of adventure I was looking for then. Some of my personal experiences parallel Mr. Murray's, but not in intensity and duration. Deepest respect.

I greatly enjoyed Legionnaire, though it does bog down in places, it is a great telling of life in the Legion. The author is a very intelligent and educated man and it shows in his writing. The entire book is a collection from his extensive diaries during his time in the Legion.

The story is a classic Foreign Legion story of a young educated British boy seeking adventure and excitement. What he finds is that the Legion is not what he expected from reading Beau Geste and he is thrust into one of the most brutal and psychologically exhausting experience of his life. But you can see the transformation from the boy who entered the Legion to the hardened and weathered man who left it five years later.

Though the story might seem somewhat cliche the art is in the telling and the author does a magnificent job, a great read and well worth the time spent.

I've read this book at least four times over the past twenty years (yes, I bought it when it first came out) and lent it out to at least that many friends. If you are interested in the Legion, the military, history or just feeling adventurous - this is the book for you.

I had the old version of the book and at first the pace is slow and the diary format wasn't exciting. Later on, the action picks up and I came to like Murray as he is a very good lad and makes me sympathize with him. It is a wonderful account of 5 years in such a tough environment, although I would never join the Legion unless I really messed myself up somewhere in life...the reasons not to join are plentiful and I'm not sure Murray had any good reason to join the Legion other than for adventure, at a time when youths could take time off and worry less about the rat-race as it is today.

What a delight...and an invaluable read. Gungan Bagla clearly knows what he's talking about, first hand. He writes with conviction, clarity, and easy readability. I've been doing buisness in/with India for more than a decade, and been there 9 times to date, but still found a treasure trove of remarkable new information and insights. Anyone who's "been there, done that," relative to business in India, or who's preparing their initial foray, or even who's just starting to flirt with the idea, owes it to themselves --- and to their business associates in India --- to read and relish this particular 'Doing Business in India' book. I loved it.

This book is unique in the fact that it is simple and easy to read, but still manages to cover all of the key topics people need to know when doing business in India. I love how the book goes into both logistics, such as credit and marketing, and culture; many businesspeople often overlook one for the other. As an India consultant I would recommend this book to any of my clients.

Despite having no experience with, or knowledge of India, I was 'volunteered' to spearhead my growing companies attempts to both produce and market our newest product in India. I was to get manufacturing of our product going first, then start the overseas marketing local to those facilities (to benefit from cheap shipping to start).

Honestly, I was petrified! I was to met with several of my counterparts from several companies and I desperately wanted to get it right. Normally I'm quite comfortable in these situations (that's why I'm the youngest member of the executive team) but I knew there had to be major differences and nuances alike that could side-track my best efforts. I needed info.

So, I decided to learn everything I could about doing business in India and purchased several books on the subject. Of the bunch, I only read one, Doing Business in 21st Century! It helped me get a better overall understanding of how things are done when I read through it the first time (on the long, long, long flight), and provided a ready-reference in many occasions during my visit. I thought of it as my secret weapon by the time the trip was over.

The trip didn't go as planned (factors beyond our control) but it surely wasn't due to miscommunication or mishaps with my contacts, and I owe that to this book.

A must have (and a must read) if you are in a similar situation.

India and its environs are called The Subcontinent for more than geological reasons. It is easily the most complex linguistic, social and cultural area in the world. The diversity is overwhelming - more languages than Europe, major presence of every religion in the world, cultural traditions foreign to Western experience, a proud history going back further than even China's -- yet the sirens' call of globalized business opportunity grows louder and louder. Many books are now available explaining why India is an inevitable global power of enormous investment potential. Gunjan Bagla has produced something different, a "dirty fingernails" book explaining exactly what you need to know to actually do business in India. It provides an invaluable series of guideposts and pitfall warnings to help the Western entrepreneur achieve success. None of the book's chapters is comprehensive. They are more in the nature of dipping a toe in the water to gage the temperature for each can unfold into several more books. Possibly the single most important chapter, the one most outsiders erroneously believe is least relevant, discusses India's historical and cultural landscape. The chapter on cross-cultural communication, both verbal and non-verbal is filled with insights and "ah has," even for those of us who have spent a lifetime studying the country. So are the chapters on human resources, marketing, finance, legal and accounting issues, and living in India. If you are thinking about investing in India you need to take "Doing Business in 21st Century India" seriously. If you are serious about India, this book needs to be under your pillow at night.

As a non-resident Indian living outside India for over 25 years, I am amazed how the country has changed its image, specially in the last decade. We were always raised with the notion that making money in India was difficult, and that you had to be crooked or devious to become rich.

Gunjan Bagla's new book is an eye-opener on the sea change that is happening all over India. It captures the new found energy and entrepreneurship that economic liberaliztion has spurned, but offers a steady hand to guide the over zealous as they seek to do business in 21st Century India. A mature democracy with an in built capitalist drive, a large middle class and a very young workforce, the Indian elephant depicted on the book's cover offers a very stable business model that even booming countries like China can only dream of.

A must read for anyone looking for a "long term" bet on an emerging market.

I read a lot of books in my life but no jokes, this the funniest book i ever read. wow. this petit nicola is awesome. I recomend that u have a little french background so u can easily understand it. I love it. Every body that speaks french should get one

book arrived 5 days earlier than expected. book is very cute and simple. good for children who speak french or french students.

This is one of a series that I have found helpful in bettering my spelling, sentence structure, and overall confidence in the French language. Reading French goes a very long way to establishing and maintaining grammatic skills, and reinforces the many diverse ways that a new language differs from one's native tongue. I have no real teacher, and am grateful for resources like this that are keeping me moving forward.

I use Le petit Nicolas in my French classes. The book is divided into short chapters that students enjoy. The syntax can be challenging, but it also prepares them for more authentic literature in French 4. I highly recommend this book (and others in the Nicolas collection) to students, teachers, and French-lovers looking for a funny read.

It would be hard to overstate the charm of these wonderful stories. Like many others, I picked up this book to help with my project of trying to teach myself French. Not only does it serve that purpose, but it is so engaging that it has held me on course when the inherent difficulty of the language and some cross-cultural exasperation has tempted me to chuck the whole project. No way could I ever write this little dude and his copains out of my life.

Although hilarious, the Nicolas stories also touch you in a much deeper place. He is a little boy full of life and good humor, but he and his friends are also filled with every possible anxiety about growing up and finding their manly places in the world. They are charmingly obsessed with their status and their dignity.

One of my favorite stories is "Louisette," which recounts the visit of a young girl who comes with her mother for tea. Nicolas is pouty from the beginning as his mother dresses him up, in his view, like a clown. And maman assures him that if he doesn't show that he is well raised, he will have an affair with her!

Although Nicolas is always filled with explanations that burst forth in run-on sentences, this traumatic visit brings him close to tears more than once. In Nicolas's world, not crying is one of the main imperatives. Another is assuming a male's naturally dominant [irony] and superior role over young girls, who, after all, cry all the time.

Louisette starts off telling Nicolas that he looks like a monkey and things go downhill from there. She is so much more quick-witted, not to mention athletic, that she repeatedly leaps ahead and distracts him just when he is deciding whether to give her a punch in the nose or to pull her hair. And it is Louisette who is landing all the successful coups on Nicolas. Meanwhile, Louisette is always batting her eyelashes at the mamans and impressing them with what an adorable innocent she is!

As with the "Louisette" story of a young boy having to deal with a very formidable young girl who does not fit into his template defining his superior place in the world, all these stories are filled with such very real anxieties of male childhood. Let me say again, though, they are very, very funny! You love this kid.

How easy/difficult is this book for a student of French. My feeling is that previous reviews have made it seem a little easier than it is. There are definitely difficult bits such as when Nicolas is playing cowboys and describes all the various cowboy accoutrements that he and his friends have hung on themselves. Often, too, sentences are very run-on, mimicking Nicolas's overflowing emotions and self-justifications. And the mannerisms of his speech are realistic and more difficult than the dry dialogue of textbooks. But this is worth a little difficulty - I just want to caution against expecting a child's book to be extremely easy. It is manageable, but not in the first few weeks of studying French.

I also have a two-CD set of these stories read in French which I ordered from Amazon.fr. The CD set is a dramatic reading and it is an absolute delight. But it is considerably more difficult than the book. Those run-on sentences are read in rapid bursts, as intended. The reading wonderfully captures the charm of the book but definitely does not make it any easier.

My only exasperation with the Nicolas books is that I can not share them with my English-only friends. They touched me so much and made me laugh so hard. I hope I have inspired someone here.

For example, for an honest translation and etymology of "shaygetz" or "shiksa," see the Meggido Modern Hebrew-English Dictionary: "sheqetz: unclean animal, loathsome creature, abomination...."

I knew a few Yiddish words just from having learned them in life. I grew up in Los Angeles, so there were just a few in my vocabulary; had I grown up in New York, I'm sure I would have known more. I always found them interesting. At some point, I became aware there was a book out there called "The Joys of Yiddish." Then, some years ago, along came Mike Meyers on "Saturday Night Live" doing his hilarious character Linda Richman, whose vocabulary was liberally peppered with Yiddish words and, suddenly, Americans were using the word "farklempt" to describe a state of being overwhelmed with fond emotion.

I decided I wanted to know more, so I picked up a copy of "The Joys of Yiddish" and I keep it by my bedside. If I'm not in the middle of a novel, I can pick up Leo Rosten's good-humored, informative book and entertain myself with his definitions and illustrations of Yiddish words.

The book isn't meant to be an all-inclusive study of Yiddish and it isn't for people who speak the language. It's for English speakers who want to know more about Yiddish, especially those words that are readily used in English-language conversation.

I am surprised as to certain words that weren't included. "Farklempt" isn't in there, for example. There are other noticeable omissions. But, in the main, the list of words to be found is quite extensive. In the process of explaining what the words mean, Rosten uses a clever, innovative system of conveying how to pronounce them that I find quite useful. Also, he uses a lot of jokes and humorous stories to illustrate the meaning of the words. In the process, Rosten explains a lot about Judaism, Jewish customs, Jewish history, all of which is germane to learning about Yiddish and interesting as well.

Rosten doesn't mince words. Some of the entries aren't Yiddish words to be spoken in polite company, and he's careful to warn readers about that. Still, you need to know those words because you might hear them and you might not want to repeat them. There are also euphemisms for some and those are nicely explained. Leo Rosten is, in the end, a practical man and not unduly indiscreet in his explanations.

There are a few things here and there that may seem dated. The book was written back in 1968, and society has changed. But we older readers (I'm 54) will know that and the vast majority of what's in this book is spot on.

I have one regret. I should have read this book 20 years ago so I could have written Leo Rosten a letter telling him how much I like it. Sad to say, Leo Rosten died in 1997 not long before his 89th birthday. The title of the book is apt. I find it such a joy to read it, that I experience a bit of regret knowing I can't tell him so.

I have not read the updated version, produced with the efforts of a second author in 2003, but, frankly, I can't imagine reading that without having read the 1968 original first. The original book has told me a lot about the guy who wrote it, and getting a sense of the man by reading his words has been a true mechaieh.

I still remember getting in trouble in school, for bringing this book in and teaching the other kids swear words in Yiddish. Alas, I wasn't even Jewish. One of the words, in particular, still lingers in mind, has something to do with anatomy and....no, I won't ruin the book for you, by giving away definitions or dropping words that you shout out your car window as some shmuck cuts you off on the freeway.....oh dear, I think I just broke my promise, in that last sentence. Oh well. Well, some things can still be left to the imagination, right? I mean, have you seen this book? It's thick. I don't want to start kvetching to you about how much my back hurt, after schleping it around in my backpack. I think that's why it gave me such tzurris, and I had to eventually see a chiropractor! Oy vey....but, as she said to me, "Your back? My feet!" But, I digress. At any rate, purchase this book today. Spanish isn't the only passionate language worth speaking, and you will come to learn that after reading the great stories and anecdotes that go along with the numerous Yiddish terms listed in THE JOYS OF YIDDISH, so you get a sense of the context in which they would be most fitting. Don't take it from me...take it from Leo Rosten. I think he could teach Yiddish Studies at some major university and make a lot of people proud at this point. Well done!

There's no need to repeat the deservedly fine comments already posted about Rosten's book. I simply wish to recommend buying this edition or any released prior to the 2001 "New Joys of Yiddish" by Lawrence Bush. While Bush does preserve Rosten's witty text intact, he spoils things by adding agenda-driven footnotes throughout. Bush castigates Rosten for making Reform jokes (please! I was raised Reform, and I found them funny) and ruins the witty "shadchan" (matchmaker) entry by going on at length about Jewish domestic abuse (a problem to be sure, but no more so than in any other ethnicity). Lighten up, Bush! Finally, he inserts commercials for Reconstructionism and Jewish Renewal, which are valid expressions of Judaism but are post-1950s American in origin and NOT a part of the old Yiddish culture Rosten celebrates. Stick with Rosten's original text if you can find it.

I still remember getting in trouble in school, for bringing this book in and teaching the other kids swear words in Yiddish. Alas, I wasn't even Jewish. One of the words, in particular, still lingers in mind, has something to do with anatomy and....no, I won't ruin the book for you, by giving away definitions or dropping words that you shout out your car window as some shmuck cuts you off on the freeway.....oh dear, I think I just broke my promise, in that last sentence. Oh well. Well, some things can still be left to the imagination, right? I mean, have you seen this book? It's thick. I don't want to start kvetching to you about how much my back hurt, after schleping it around in my backpack. I think that's why it gave me such tzurris, and I had to eventually see a chiropractor! Oy vey....but, as she said to me, "Your back? My feet!" But, I digress. At any rate, purchase this book today. Spanish isn't the only passionate language worth speaking, and you will come to learn that after reading the great stories and anecdotes that go along with the numerous Yiddish terms listed in THE JOYS OF YIDDISH, so you get a sense of the context in which they would be most fitting. Don't take it from me...take it from Leo Rosten. I think he could teach Yiddish Studies at some major university and make a lot of people proud at this point. Well done!

I found the Spanish easy to understand, though his philosophy went over my head!

Aunque no estes de acuerdo con todas las ideas de Octavio Paz, las reflexiones y los analisis de esta mente birllante ayudan a entender nuestra magnifica raza. La escritura lleva al lector al pasado y al presente, para poder entender la condicion de Mexico y su gente. Todos los Mexicanos deberian de sentarse a devorar este libro que clarificara las costumbres de nuestra gente y nos ayuda a entender que tiene que cambiar en nuestra politica para tener un pais mas prospero.

Paz, el ganador del Premio Nobel de 1990, escribo tantos libros destacados-Sor Juana, El arco y la lira, pero este representa el cumbre de su poder artistico. El escribe sobre el hombre mexicano en todas sus formas y tribulaciones. El libro es, al mismo tiempo, un ensayo(o mejor, un libro de ensayos), un analisis, una historia, y, sobre todo, una pregunta-en que consiste este hombre cuyo origen forma parte de la conquista de America, un proceso ya en proceso.

Empieza la obra discutiendo "el pachuco"-una figura del medio siglo XX que representaba la ambiguedad y la frenesi del hispano en los estados unidos durante ese periodo. Despues de esta discusion, continua explicando la cultura hispana desde la epoca precolumbina hasta la revolucion mexicana. Termina la historia con este evento, y la unica cosa que le hace falta a la obra es un analisis de la historia contemporanea.

Este seria el primer libro que le recomienda sobre Mexico al nuevo estudiante.

Octavio Paz, el escritor que haya definido nuestra vida como "olvidado asombro de estar vivos", nos habla de sus ensayos escritos más que hace cincuenta años. Su "La Dialéctica de la Soledad", uno de sus ensayos más destacados, presente sus puntos de vista sobre la soledad no solamente mexicana, sino también la de hombre presente mismo. Paz trata varios temas ensayísticos con la cristalina claridad y persigue un proyecto casi filosófico: muestra la alma mexicana con sus raíces aztecas, su plaza en la vida antigua y contemporánea y, finalmente, su visión de "soñar con los ojos cerrados". Justamente por este ensayo mismo atrevo a recomendar todo el libro tratando de la soledad, cuya presencia en nuestra vida diaria es tan obvia. Además, un interesado en la obra de Octavio Paz debería leer su discurso que había pronunciado en el año 1990 con el motivo de agradecer el galardonar de Premio Nobel. Leyendo Paz, uno descubre que Paz ya contestó muchas de nuestras cuestiónes inquietantes ...

Octavio Paz wrote the definitive sociological book that deciphered the Mexican character. He correctly diagnosed that, in fact, the Mexican was stuck in a labyrinth and condemned to find a way out, and in many respects is still trying to find that way out. He understood that he would receive harsh criticism and he did. However, he stayed true to his calling as a man of letters and delivered a book that must indeed be read by anyone wanting to understand the make-up of the Mexican or the serious scholar searching for understanding in the field of Mexican history. I strongly and without reservation recommend this book, it will change your outlook on this important country and most importantly on the inhabitants and descendants of it forever.

Although this book was written in 2000, when I saw it at a book boutique I bought it immediately...a fabulous book on a unique culinary culture for those who love to delve into french cooking recipes. I highly recommend it! The photos transport you back there and it has made me so homesick to return to Paris again even though I return there every year when I can to visit family there and have always made it a pilgrimmage to go to the Marches a few times a week, especially to the 'Richard Lenoir Marche at Place de La Bastille in the 11th arrondisement...you can spend the entire morning (they close at 1PM) there perusing from table to table and end your day walking home in the streets of Paris with a tote-ful of delicacies to prepare the sumptious evening 'repas'
The varieties of each food are endless and fabulous and fresh, the colors of the fruits and vegetables are brilliant, the energy at the marches are exhuberant, and venders are so proud of their products...This book really does take you back to feeling like you are there in the midst of a culinary feast; the recipes are easy and with US measurements, and the descriptions of each arrondisement gives you such a personal tour that you feel akin to each personality they present you with. This is really the true colloquial joie de vivre experience in Paris-a way to commune with nature's bounty. I highly recommend this book; 5 stars!! a true feast for the eyes!!

Nicolle Aimee Meyer and Amanda Pilar Smith have created a book that is part travel guide, part cookbook, part biography -- and all wonderful! The photographs are terrific. The text brings the markets and their people to life. And I can't wait to try some of the recipes, which are for many classic French favorites. Altogether a complete success! Bravo!!

Beautiful photography and lively writing make this a perfect gift this holiday season (or any time) for anyone who likes to eat and loves Paris. Even for a longtime resident of the City of Lights like myself, this book brings another Paris to life, one you will want to explore again and again, in these pages and of course like the authors did themselves, bicycling through every arrodisement, leaving no quartier unvisited, no fromage untasted, no croissant unfinished! A magnificent and original hommage sure to earn its place among the classics of cuisine and travel.

A must for anyone seeking out the real Paris, off the beaten track of tourist traps. Even if you can't visit more than two or three markets per visit to this wonderful city, this book will continue to be a major reference for seeking out these fascinating places of food, drink and 'objets'. Happy exploring!

I love this book! The cover roped me right in and before I knew it I was buying it. I am so glad I did. The book is organized by arrondissement; each chapter is devoted to one of them. They tend to focus on the biggest or best market in each arrondissement but they devote paragraphs to the others. The text itself is gracefully written and yet very convivial. For each of the main markets, the authors start you out on a typical Parisian morning and gently suggest the path you might want to follow as you navigate that particular market; it is almost as though they are walking along with you. They tell you what's available at each market and what are each market's strengths and weaknesses. You will be introduced to a lot of people - the butcher at the Marché d'Aligre, the poissonier at the Richard Lenoir, the organic farmer at the Batignolles market, the interesting old fellow who hawks bath salts as he soaks his feet in green water... I feel as though I'd be able to walk up to them and say hi. There's some history mixed in there, too, so you'll get to see some nice old photos and learn about everday Parisians of the past. And of course there are the recipes. Most of them appear delicious and a few rather exotic. Many of them come from the very people that you "met" in the chapter preceding, so you know they're authentic and the human element makes you want to try the recipe all the more.

I love Paris. This book really gives you a sense of what it is like to be there - colorful, vibrant, stately, modern, classic, young, old... Paris is all of these things and more at once. I went there seven years ago and I don't think I hit a single market. This book makes me feel incredibly well-equipped; I think that without it I would feel a bit intimidated. I plan to go back and I'm gonna bring this book with me!

Permite adquirir el idioma y los elementos suficientes como para hacernos entender y entender lo que nos dicen.
Me gustó !

PARA APRENDER INGLÉS !
A mi me ayudó a convertirme en Secretaria Bilngue y ahora gano el doble !

PARA APRENDER INGLÉS !
A mi me ayudó a convertirme en Secretaria Bilngue y ahora gano el doble !

nos permite adquirir el idioma y los elementos suficientes como para hacernos entender y entender lo que nos dicen.
Me gustó !

my first elements of English when I didn't understand or speak one word of it...

"Colonel Chabert" is one of Honore de Balzac's volumes from his omnibus work, "The Human Comedy." The Colonel is a comic figure in and old military great coat and a wig who is ridiculed by young legal workers at the beginning of the novel. But, the joke is on the clerks, because Chabert is a war hero of the Napoleonic era who was given up for dead on a battlefield at Eylau. This translation from the French by Carol Grosman tells the story of the old soldier's resurrection in contemporary jargon. The novel is relevant today considering the service of soldiers in many wars continuing in our world. What happens to these heroes when wars end, or more accurately, shift to new fronts? Balzac paints the portrait of one old colonel who remains honorable and as a consequence seals his fate. The translation is very readable and the short novel is brief "scene from private life." The work will stimulate further interest in the monumental work of Balzac who had a relatively short life (1799-1850).

One of the greatest novelists of all time, Balzac was most at home in the Paris of Post-Napoleonic Paris. In a time when the middle class was showing its strength and starting to reach towards the aristocracy, Balzac shows just how selfish and grubby and greedy humans can be in attaining and how treacherous they can be in keeping their all important upward mobility.

Colonel Chabert is a man disfigured in the Napoleonic Wars who was left for dead on a battlefield. After digging his way out of a mass grave, he finds that he has no legal right to his title or his massive estate. Nobody will believe his true identity. For ten longe years he goes about trying to communicate his plight to anyone who will listen. They only see a crazy bum, and his wife rebuffs his letters. She already has a new husband and kids. Finally Chabert is able to convince a lawyer named Dervilles to accept his case, namely that of reclaiming his title, lands, and wife. The problem is that noone is really interested in his life being resurrected. Most people would rather that he remained dead. So begins the ludicrous battle of a man against the law to prove his own existence.

This short but great novel, or novella, is a tragic take on the world's thirst for social status and the judgement by visuals that our society is only too guilty of to this day. If it walks like a bum, talks like a bum, it must be a bum. Colonel Chabert has such a hard time convincing people of his identity because of how they perceive him. It sounds echoes of Frankenstein in that a good man is reduced to a monster when all he really needs is love. The fact that even his wife wishes he were dead just drives home the isolated suffering of the book. As in all Balzac novels, you feel a world moving under the mantle of the book. The Human Comedy of Balzac is one of the crowning achievements of literature and ranks right up there with Shakespeare and Thomas Hardy.

Balzac, one of the greatest writers who ever lived, did not trip up with this one. I read it with great pleasure and conclude, as people so often say, that the movie based on the story did not equal the original. Ever the cynic (some might say 'the realist') Balzac portrays here the efforts of a noble-minded soldier, who rose from an orphanage to serve his country under Napoleon in Egypt and eastern Europe, only to reap the all-too-common fate of dedicated and true warriors---to be forgotten and ignored. Death (which he accepted) might have seized him, but he found a living death, a denial of his sanity and identity, as the reward of his service. Reported killed at the battle of Eylau, against the Russians, after a heroic action, the soldier literally crawls from his grave to a kind of shadowy survival. In his earlier life, Colonel Chabert had raised a woman to his own status, but now finds that she is unwilling to let others learn of her origins and does not want to recognize that he is, in fact, her long lost husband. Honestly thinking she was widowed, she married a highborn aristocrat who knew nothing of her humble beginnings.

The tale is one of greed, intrigue, loyalty and disloyalty. As usual, Balzac manages to cast a light, pitiless and bright, on every rotten corner of the human condition, while offering a few inspiring examples in contrast. Every detail of a lawyer's life in 19th century Paris is scrutinized, every glimpse of urban dairyman or elite country squirehood rings true. No wonder I admire him so much, no wonder I have no hesitation in urging you to read COLONEL CHABERT and any other volume of Balzac you can lay your hands on.

Carol Cosman's translation of Balzac's French 'Colonel Chabert' into the English has been very effective here- she does not input her own interpretations and seems to have a good handle on Balzac's natural, concise wording style.

The story itself is fascinating. In a nutshell, it focuses on a military man who is essentially erased from society, and the tribulations and insights he has from this 'non-existant' state as he tries to re-establish himself. Not only is this a witty and profound social commentary, but an entertaining twist which just keeps twisting.

In reading other's reviews of this short masterpiece, it seems as if many people have missed the meaning of the finale. While it is indeed a very enigmatic ending, it is not as lugubrious or fatalistic as most believe. What happens is that Colonel Chabert, in essentially having his old identity annihilated, becomes enlighted. In the ultimate destruction of his ego he becomes free. This is the magic finale which Balzac labors so hard, and so majestically, to set up in the plot.

This tome is very impressive, and relatively short (just over 100 pages) for those new to Balzac who want a nice, piquant appetizer. Balzac is one of the most brilliant French fiction writers of all time! He is a giant, and in 'Colonel Chabert', he weaves another illustrious stitch into his tapestry the Comedie Humaine.

...of a great Balzac novella. Ms. Cosman captures the rigorous, logical quality of Balzac's prose - most translators get lost in unidiomatic wordiness. This 100 page novella showcases the Master's comfort with legal matters, his profound understanding of "the fang and the claw" and features at its center the incomparable Derville, Balzac's great, recurring lawyer character. I usually recommend Pere Goriot for first-time Balzac readers because of the rich connections between that novel and many other Balzac works - but I am hard pressed to imagine a better one-course meal than this rendering of Colonel Chabert by Ms. Cosman. I certainly plan to read her version of The Girl with the Golden Eyes.

This was required reading for a graduate course in the history of American military affairs. Barbara W. Tuchman's book is a "riveting" biography of General "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell, who was one of America's ablest military leaders asked to perform the near impossible in World War II--train and command a Chinese Army to fight against the Japanese. Tuchman`s purpose of using Stilwell's long connections with China which started in 1911 when he was a U.S. Army 1st Lieutenant, was to explore three historical strands. First, by using a plethora of sources, including Stilwell's diaries, she excelled in her purpose of providing an unusually candid biography of Stilwell's remarkable life. Army Chief of Staff, General George C. Marshall, who personally observed Stilwell's first-rate military abilities as a trainer and leader of men, "...selected Stilwell for the post and felt responsible for having consigned him to an ill-supported mission and wasted the talents of an officer he respected as one of America's ablest field commanders" (391). However, early in Stillwell's career he came to be known by his moniker "Vinegar Joe," for his scowl whenever he thought someone or something went awry. His diary was full of pejoratives describing most British officers as "limeys," the French as "frogs," and when he soon lost all respect for Chiang he referred to him as "peanut." Though Tuchman throughout her biography displayed a great admiration for Stilwell, her caricature of Stilwell is as a man who did not possess the political skills necessary of a high-ranking officer to effectively lead a multi-national coalition in the China-India-Burma theatre of operations.

Tuchman's second purpose was to use Stilwell's four visits and postings in China as the backdrop to explain China's turbulent years--1911 through 1945. This part of her book lacked the depth necessary to provide the reader a good grounding in truly understanding the ever-shifting political situation in China. However, through this strand of her book, Tuchman was able to show how Stilwell had a "missionary's" love and concern for the plight of China's "teeming masses." Throughout his various observations of China's military in his capacity as America's military attaché from 1935 to 1937, Stilwell came to have, "...confidence in Chinese soldiers as fighting material and believed that if properly led they could become the equal of any army in the world" (172).

Third, Tuchman used Stilwell's life to explore America's foreign policy relationship with China, starting with America's Open Door Policy, but mainly focusing on President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's (FDR's) desire that America could find in China a democratic partner to help block and eventually crush Japan's increasing influence in Asia. Unfortunately Tuchman, through no fault of her own because there is a scant written record on the subject, was unable to understand the crux of FDR's strategic purpose in first supporting Chiang with a naïve reverence, which ultimately undercut Stilwell's ability to get the Chinese Army to engage the Japanese in battle. However, once FDR witnessed Chiang's ineptitude at the Cairo Conference of 1943, he saw Chiang in the same light that Stilwell did. However, it was too late to provide Stilwell the political help he needed to use the Chinese army in a truly meaningful way to affect the wars outcome. Tuchman's book serves historians best as a biography of one of America's most able but tragically wasted generals of World War II.

Recommended reading for anyone interested in military history, and American history.

This is not just a book but a comprehensive education for anyone concerned with the love-hate relationship between American and China. Too bad it came out at such a late date. To me, both and Korean and Vietnam wars might have been avoided had it come out in the late 1940s or early 1950s

simply using the United States, via Stilwell. The war with the Japanese was a convenience in aid of the real issue--waging war against the Communists.

This book's triumph begins with a brilliant idea: Barbara Tuchman's decision to combine a biography of Gen. "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell with a history of China's failed republican revolution. To an amazing degree, Stilwell showed up as history was happening in China after the collapse of Qing Dynasty in 1911. During the Second World War, he played a leading - and doomed - role in United States' relationship with the incompetent, corrupt regime of Chiang Kai-shek. As a result, Stilwell is a perfect vehicle through which to explore the United States' tragic relationship with China for most of the last century. Stilwell is fascinating - tough, smart, curious about the world around him, disdainful of pretense, entirely lacking in tact and patience. In some ways, he was the perfect man to try to coax Chiang into actually fighting the Japanese who were devouring China in the `30s and `40s: Stilwell spoke fluent Chinese, knew Chinese culture, admired Chinese people, had faith in the beleaguered Chinese soldier's ability to fight - and was a brilliant battlefield tactician. In other ways, he was precisely the wrong man for the job: He lacked the temperament to hide the contempt he felt for the Generalissimo and the corrupt sycophants around him. As a result, Stilwell was ineffective in his dealings with Chiang. Then again, perhaps no one could have persuaded Chiang, who emerges here as equal parts stupid and arrogant (with an equally sickening wife), to defend his country instead of his own narrow interests. Tuchman strikes a nice balance between sweeping themes and intriguing, even funny details. True, I sometimes got lost in the narrative. I couldn't always remember the characters, and I got confused on military strategy - so much so that I couldn't evaluate the wisdom of Stilwell's plan for an aggressive ground offensive to retake Burma from the Japanese and weigh it against a rival plan from the British. At least one of its themes - the way a muzzled media presented a wildly misleading impression of Chiang's regime to the U.S. public - struck this reader as particularly timely.

Who was Joseph Stilwell? What part did he play in the unfolding of China�s troubled century? It has been said that "men make a lot of history, and history makes a lot of men." To what extent was Stilwell "made" by the history he lived through? And how might the recent history of China have been different if another were in his position? How did the relationship between Stilwell and Chiang Kai-Shek (Jiang Jieshi) affect their joint ability to save China from the Japanese? To what extent was the conflict between them made irrelevant by the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Chiang Kai-Shek always said that the Japanese were a disease of the skin, but the Communists were a disease of the heart. Was he correct to hold back from fighting the Japanese so that he could spare his reserves for the inevitable conflict with the Communists? Might he have been more effective on both fronts if he had been more aggressive against the Japanese? And how would present day China be different if the Gomingdang rather than the Communist Party had been running China for past 50 years? What implications does this story have for the "Taiwan question?"

Nothing stands out more in my study of 20th Century China, than the frustration of so many situations where there were simply no good choices. Of course, I am not Chinese, so I suppose I am able, because of that, to view the period with some measure of detachment. But I was born in Tokyo, and grew up in the north of Japan, so, while I am always viewed as a foreigner in Asia, I am, in fact, a child of Asia, and keenly interested in what factors contributed to the painful history China has lived since the revolution of 1911.

One of the most interesting comparisons in this book is between Joseph Stilwell, and Claire Chennault. Barbara Tuchman clearly favors Stilwell, to the point where I would say that if this book were your only source of information about Chennault, and who he was, you probably would not have a very high opinion of him. But even Tuchman must admit that Claire Chennault had much better rapport with Chiang Kai-Shek than Stilwell.

Let me try to phrase the matter in very basic terms: Joseph Stilwell was a brilliant general who�s relational skills, and more importantly his relationship sense was seriously wanting. Throughout the book, I am struck, not by a deficiency of intelligence, or determination, or persistence, but by a lack of basic humanity. This deficiency hangs over Stilwell like a cloud, polluting his relationships with those with whom it was most important for him to get along.

For starters, he was one of the ungodliest officers in the history of the U.S. Army. To his daughter, he wrote about the "criminal instincts I picked up by being forced to go to Church and Sunday School, and seeing how little real good religion does anybody, I advise passing them all up and using common sense instead." This cynical godlessness expressed itself in many ways. Stilwell was generally contemptuous and disrespectful toward those with whom he disagreed (mostly Chiang Kai-Shek). This was a source of irritation to FDR, who felt that Chiang Kai-Shek was a head of state, and ought to be accorded the level of respect due one in that position. Stilwell did not see it that way. He constantly referred to Chiang in his diary as "Peanut," or "Hickory Head." Several times he referred to FDR himself as "Rubber Legs." The Japanese he called "buck-toothed bastards."

Both Churchill and MacArthur possessed a spiritual dimension that was completely foreign to Stilwell. Churchill used to say, "In war, resolution; in defeat, defiance; in victory, magnanimity; in peace, goodwill. Stilwell probably should be given credit for understanding the first point, and perhaps the second in some measure. But for the rest of it, he was clueless. No, I mean really, completely clueless. When MacArthur ruled Japan as a virtual dictator after World War II, he issued a request for 10,000 missionaries. He also contacted the Gideons and requested as many bibles as they could supply. Whatever one may say about MacArthur�s personal spiritual life, he did understand that the essential problem of post-war Japan was a spiritual crisis. Stilwell had no such insight. Following a tour of the gutted and burned out districts of Yokohama after World War II, he said, "We gloated over the destruction and came in feeling fine."

At one point, after he had been removed from China, he allowed himself to believe that he would be chosen over MacArthur for command of forces in the Pacific. By God�s mercy, he was not chosen, and the Japanese people experienced the big-heartedness of MacArthur.

This book is old. It came out in 1971. In spite of that, this is a very useful book. Barbara Tuchman was a war correspondent who personally witnessed much of the Sino-Japanese war during the 30s. She is very thorough, detailed and organized. She also possesses a level of objectivity which is refreshing in this day and age when so much written history is editorial in nature.

I have been pretty hard on Stilwell. Perhaps I have been so turned off by his acerbic nature that I have tended not to appreciate his brilliance as an officer. Marshall, who was always Stilwell�s strongest supporter, said that Stilwell was "his own worst enemy." The point, here, I guess, is that many good qualities can be obscured by a little bit of folly. Nonetheless, this, as I said, is a very useful book. It isn�t all about Stilwell. It is about a very important point in China�s history, and the way personality affected policy. Understanding the American experience in China is critical to comprehending how events developed toward the culmination of the conflict, in 1949.

I will admit, this is a good book. From the at times harsh skepticism of the introduction (the skepticism, of course, is well founded), to the interesting tidbits of the final chapters, this is a pretty good book about Forex. It skips the obvious BS I've seen in most volumes, and gets right to the nitty-gritty.

But is it a 5 star book? Nope. Not at all. In fact, I would give it 3 stars if it weren't for the fact that there is such a dearth of good reading in the Forex arena!

I will admit that there are some good tips in here, and it is well written and features some actual setups and examples. A little pricey for what it is, but then that's pretty common in the world of trading books. Note to fledgling Forex authors out there: Get to work! We'd love to hear from you!

Before you even think of trading the forex market, read this book. Augustin has revealed what really goes on in most of the retail trade for the day trader. I loved every part of it.

Finally, somebody has some, and told the truth about many of the retail dealers in this industry. Even better, he shows you how to overcome a lot of their shoddy practices. A true "eye opener" that will bring tremendous clarity to your trading style.

Ignore the dealers that will ultimately give rebuttal reviews here. They do the same thing in the forums to keep the unknowing traders off their backs. They're always giving lame excuses and trying to fix their so-called platform issues. What a joke.

This is a great book for traders on any level. One that you will thoroughly appreciate and enjoy.

This is an outstanding book, particularly relevant in this time of turmoil in the markets. Is a type of book which you very seldom find. The author is on your side and this is very helpful during this unique period of such an incredible volatility. The book help you to better understand how the market works and how to take advantage of that.
BM

Other reviewers have already well articulated my sentiment and I just want to echo what others have said in that:
"DO NOT TRADE FOREX BEFORE READING THIS BOOK!"

This book should be a must for every intraday trader that already has some knowledge of the forex market,although you will not get a clear cut trading strategie out, you will find out what goes on behind the scene at your broker and how to avoid their pitfalls