MO

I was prepared not to like this book. I say this at the beginning to give the reader of this review warning: I'm a convert, somewhat, to the author's point of view.

The Dieppe Raid is one of the puzzles of WW2. Why the British persisted in launching it when it had already been cancelled once, and was obviously a precarious proposition at best, has never been satisfactorily explained. My worry was that Villa, being a Canadian, would take an explicitly anti-British point of view, with which I would take issue. He doesn't.

Instead, the book focuses on the decision-making process, and the way governments launch operations in wartime. This part of the book is fascinating, and enlightening. His premise (that Mountbatten launched the raid himself, as Combined Operations head, without the required approval of the Chiefs of Staff) is a bit of a stretch, but by the end of the book, I was willing to say I needed to see an alternative explanation before I believed otherwise.

The book's style is rather formal, and there's little attempt at humor or levity, but the writing is clear and incisive. The author has obviously done his homework. There are separate chapters on the navy and RAF, both of which display knowledge of the overall context of the period of the war in which Dieppe took place, and the circumstances under which the decision was made. All of this strongly adds to the book itself, and the author's thesis. All in all a very good book.

This book was extremely helpful for our family trip to Branson. The information is excellent and surprisingly on-the-dot correct. We stayed in this great bed & breakfast that was highly recommended and could not have had a better stay. The information on picking shows and times to attempt driving through town made everything so much easier than we could have imagined. Anyone traveling to Branson should definitely get this book and plan for a wonderful time! You will love it!

Before I moved to St. Louis in 1990 (where I lived for a year) one of the first things I did was look for an informative local interest book. This book filled the bill. At the time, Elaine Viets was a columnist for the St. Louis paper, and this book is a collection of her columns about quirky people and customs in this beautiful, doomed old city. Her essay on brain sandwiches alone was worth the price (as I recall, she mentions the Haven near Carondelet Park, someplace on South Broadway, and Pat's on Oakland).

Although I know nothing about this edition or translation I'm writing this review to turn dharma-interested people on to this remarkable sutra. I've read the translation by Robert A. F. Thurman in an Indian edition and was blown away. For me it is the most eloquent and enjoyable expression of wisdom I've ever encountered. Anyone who has some basic background understanding in Buddhism might have a similar experience... try it.

This Images of America book about West Plains, MO 1880-1930 is full of fascinating details & lengthy captions below pictures such as one would find in Grandma's attic & wonder what they pertained to. The author has obviously done his research! He tells about such events as the dance hall explosion of 1928 that killed 36 of the town's young people & the "Ma" Barker gang's killing of the local sheriff. The book catches the essence of the town's early flavor & formative events that make it such a wonderful place to live & visit. A fast & interesting read!

Congratulations to all that contributed to this outstanding book. The history of the Places was carefully and completely researched and presented with beautiful photographs.

"Wide River Wide Land" is a wonderful piece of historical fiction. In its pages, we art treated to a glimpse into the life of early St. Louis, seen through the eyes of Hugh O'Rome, scion of an 18th century Franco-Irish marriage, so common in the Mississippi Valley of that day. Beginning in the era of the founding of St. Louis in 1764 and continuing to the Battle of New Orleans, we see the development and transformation of a land, a city and a region.

We are introduced to an interesting cast of characters, both historical and fictional. Probably the greatest development of an historical character is that of Fr. Pierre Gibault, the Patriot Priest of Mid-America, who guided his Francophone flock into the American Revolution. Here we meet George Rogers Clark, the Virginia adventurer whose daring expeditions won the heart of a continent for the U.S. Of local interest, we meet Pierre Chouteau, founder of St. Louis. The nations playing roles in the drama are represented by the Indian Chief Pontiac, French Commander St. Ange and the Spanish Commandant, De Leyba.

All of these characters are skillfully woven into the life story of Hugh O'Rome. Fr. Faherty uses O'Rome's life story to teach us a bit of history along the way. O'Rome is the son of an Irishman and his local French-Canadian wife, a common domestic arrangement of the time and place.

It is explained that the name "O'Rome" had been adopted in Ireland in an effort to trade an obviously Irish name for one more acceptable to the British overlords. Perhaps that is how my mother's family acquired the name of English.

Through the lives of three O'Romes, we see the resentment of the British Empire among the Irish and French, as well as the gradual incorporation of our region into the American Commonwealth. With these three generations of the O'Rome family we live through love and hatred, victory and defeat, moral crises and spiritual blessing. We meet a family whose goals and beliefs are not all that different from our own.

Perhaps test of greatness in literature is whether or not the work leaves us with a thought which has changed our world view. For me, "Wide River Wide Land" meets that test. In the St. Louis region today, the Mississippi River is often seen as the wide river which separates Illinois and Missouri. Since my first reading of this book, I have often thought of it, as Hugh O'Rome saw it, as the Wide River which unites the Wide Land. So may it forever be.

This is a great cookbook, espically exciting for me because I am not very experienced at cooking. Its interesting, creative, useful and easy to use. It's pretty (nice illustrations) and even fun to just read. Really overall enjoyable.

This book is based on a collection of about 150 pictures of the fair taken by the author's father. The pictures are very good and give a very good idea of the fair to anyone who is truly interested in the fair.

The map of the fair ground is interesting too, with its comparison to the present day Forest Park.

In addition, Mrs. Daniels Birk has explained the activities and events at the fair ground in a very smooth manner, from the eyes of a visitor !!

This is not a detailed narration of the fair. I know there were 45 nations represented at the fair. I was especially looking for any mention about a building on East India, but couldn't find anything about it.

A real good book !

This epic is one of the most cynical and grim satires ever written.
Ysengrimus is the prototype of the monk disguised as a wolf. Christ was a shepherd for his sheep, the monks are wolves.
With a strong and blasphemous vocabulary, Nivardus insults relentlessly the Church and her representatives: 'They sell human beings for money, and even God'.
'You may commit what sins you want, you will be absolved if you can pay'.
What only counts for the monk Ysengrimus is power and money. If you have them you stay above the law; if you don't, you are lost.
But Nivardus takes revenge on the corrupt and wicked Ysengrimus through the hands of his nephew, Reinaert, the fox, who exploits in a gruesome manner the craving for power and money of his uncle. Ultimately, the Monk's skin is stripped off and his corps is thrown to the swine.

Apparently, this is the first time that the character of Reinaert, the fox, appears in the medieval literature. Here he is the avenger of the righteous, the poor, the real Christians.

In the latter works, Reinaert is portrayed as a cunning and cynical exploiter of human weaknesses. The social criticism of the Church disappeared. In this way, one could say that the author of the second Reinaert (Van den Vos Reinaerde) took revenge on the Ysengrimus by painting the fox as a not reliable and immoral character.

This epic is a powerful, colourful, lively and very modern work.
A masterpiece.