history

Whether you're simply curious about the Korean War, knowledgeable on the subject but looking for new details, or desperately researching a paper due in two days, FIRE AND ICE has what you need. Don't let the scholarly foreword by Col. Jessup scare you away, author Michael Varhola's style is extremely easy and free-flowing.

Varhola presents, in orderly fashion, clear descriptions of war on the ground, in the air, and at sea; battlefields; details of the military forces in the conflict; and weapons, vehicles, uniforms, insignia, and various equipment. All of the above includes black & white photographs, maps, and diagrams. A chapter on "Warlords and Statesmen" gives miniature biographies and actions of the leaders involved. Chronologies of the war are given in both the chapter "Armistice Negotiations" and in an appendix covering the war as a whole. The grim chapter on POWs deals not only with the atrocities of the time but also follows the continuing governmental conflicts over war crimes to the present day. A final chapter covers the Korean War as presented in books, on film, and online. An appendix explains military terms and acronyms, and for those who like their information boiled down into bite-sized pieces, there is a facts and figures appendix, plus the previously mentioned chronology.

If you want or need to know about the Korean War, this book is a splendid gateway.

Fire & Ice is, indubitably, one of the best books ever written about the 1950-53 conflict in Korea and definitely the best of the last 10 years. As a non-U.S. reader, I am often amused/annoyed at the wholly American slant given to what are, in actuality, international events. Although written by an American, this comprehensive overview of the war avoids this pitfall and contains information on the Commonwealth forces and their role in the war (along with information about the South Korean and other Allied contingents that fought in the conflict). A worthwhile read for anyone interested in the Korean war. Bully!

Being familiar with some of the author's other works, I tracked this one down as well. As expected, the level of detail and obvious meticulous research were as I expected. Another successful and vivid portrait of a very gripping historical period from an author who clearly knows his history. The wealth of little details interspersed throughout the mandatory historical details make this a true pleasure to read.

Taking you back into the time when the Japanese ruled Korea, the book Year of Impossible Goodbyes written by Sook Nyul Choi leads you on to an adventurous story. The author describes events in such a detail that the book seems so realistic that it is confused to be a nonfiction book, when it is fiction. This story takes place in 1945, when the Japanese ruled Korea. The story is set on this one particular family of a ten-year-old girl named Sookan, and the rest of her family members. The situation that this family is in clearly shows the harsh life of the Koreans. Sookan¡¯s father was working secretly for freedom while her brothers and sisters were away, forced to serve the Heavenly Emperor. Her mother was ordered to take care of the sock factory where the ¡°sock girls¡± worked to produce socks for the soldiers while Captain Narita tried to destroy everything of the family. Then finally, the war ended, but the family was faced by another challenge. The Russians, who had been attempting to gain power over the Koreans came and the same life of when the Japanese were there, reoccurred. Not being able to stand the everyday routine of the cruel Russians, the family decided to go down to South Korea, where Americans were. From this point, not knowing what they were about to face, the family risks their life on a journey to the other side of the country. Told in the view of first person, the author describes the events so well that sometimes it makes the reader feel like it is happening around them. Also, the author uses some Korean words written out in English so it helps the reader to be familiar with the words and to feel like they know more about the Korean culture. There are so many conflicts occurring within the story that it is even hard to remember them all. One of the main conflicts is the person verses person between Sookan¡¯s family and captain Narita. Captain Narita tries his best to ruin the family¡¯s life by sending the ¡°sock girls¡± to the soldiers to give ¡°pleasure¡±, taking away the most precious things in the family, cutting down the tree that the family loved, and finally taking part in killing Sookan¡¯s grandfather. Another example of conflict in this book is the person verses herself. Sookan has to fight herself to take care of her brother without her mother while they are trying to go to South Korea. She faces many challenges and thinks of giving up, but she keeps on reminding herself that she is an older sister so she should care for her brother. Person verses society between the people of Korea and their environment is another example of conflicts in the story. Being controlled by the Japanese, people suffer by being taken away from their families and giving up their lives for the people of Japan. Then they are abused by the Russians right after the Japanese leave. All these examples of conflicts add more flavors to the plot of the story. I consider this book as one of my favorite book. One of the reasons might be that the story, in many ways, relate to my family background and the life I have. I could truly understand the situation that the family was in while reading the book and felt so comfortable reading the book because it contained many familiar Korean words. I also enjoyed very much of the author¡¯s writing style of her vivid description of every single event and her magical power of putting the pieces of the story together like how you sew a quilt together with different pieces. The story flowed as I read and glued me on to the book that I couldn¡¯t stop reading. There were some vocabularies that I didn¡¯t know, but overall, the level of the vocabulary and story seemed to be perfect for me. This book was similar to a book I read, also written by a Korean author. Because the main characters were Korean in both books and the style of the two authors were similar, I was able to relate the two books in many ways. The challenge that the two main characters were facing because of racism was the most similar thing out of all the others. I enjoyed both books very much and the two books made me want to read another book written by a Korean author. If I were to give a rating from 1 through 10 of this book, I would give it a 9. Although almost every part of the book was enjoyable, there were some parts that I wanted to fix like how I feel towards all the other books I have read. Personally, I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Korean history and it¡¯s background and would guarantee that this book will be considered as one of their favorite books like how it was for me.

I had to read this book for a college Children's Literature class and loved it! My father served in the Korean war but I never knew much about all that happened during this tumultuous time. Sook Nyul Choi does a superb job of transferring the reader back to Pyongyang, North Korea. You feel like you are there watching the chaos hit, as if it was your own family. It is one of the best books that I have ever read and makes me want to read more about Korea and it's people. I would recommend this book to children and adults. Teachers this is a must and a great way to teach Korean War history. The student's will always remember this book!

This book has a great plot and is so descriptive that you feel like you are right there with her. This story is quite sad though, I must admitt. If you don't like sad stories, don't read it. Otherwise, GO FOR IT!

Excellent book, just brilliant! I'm actually the mother of a son who is aspiring to one day become a Seal and John is a fabulous writer. The book just captured my attention and I finished it in less that a week. The only other book that commanded that kind of devotion was Trinity. Class-29 is an excellent read for anyone because it is written so well. You don't have to have a deep interest in the special forces or want to serve in such a capacity to emphasize with what these men go through, and have to eventually admit that yes, they have done so much for those of us who normally don't give them much thought in our lives, or even think it's not needed. In the world we live in, let's hope we have more young men with that fighting spirit, able to endure the hardships that this life brings. In appreciation of a captivating book, and hope you write more and maybe that there are some other Seals out there that can follow in your tradition! Hoo Yaaaah!!!

John is an excellent story teller and his description of the pain and cold of UDT Training leaves little to the imagination. His colorful explanations of some of the evolutions of training are blended with personal anecdotes from other trainees. This book is an excellent read. If your interests lie in the history of Naval Special Warfare, The Making of U.S. Navy SEALs should be part of your library.

Helped me understand why SEALs are so special and made me laugh as well.

I thought that A FAMILY APART was a really good book. It helped me to understand what a poor teenager's life was like in the mid 1800's. The story was mainly about a thirteen year old girl named Frances, who lived with her mother and five siblings in New York. After Frances' father died, the family lived in poverty. The mother worked at all hours of the day to support her family. Therefore,she never had time to properly care for her six children, so she sent them on an orphan train to St. Joseph's, Missouri to live with farm families who could feed them and care for them. The children were very upset to leave their mother. They were upset because they would be separated from their brothers and sisters also. Frances did however get placed in a home with her six year old brother, Petey. Frances learned to cope with, and love her new family. Frances had some very exciting adventures while she was living with her new family in Missouri. This book helps the reader understand love, sacrifice and trust. If I were you, I'd sacrifice a little bit of time to read A FAMILY APART.

My mom bought me the orphan train adventures series a long time ago, and I never really read them because I wasn't that much into reading. But now, after I read this book, I am reading all the stories in this series 30 minutes a day! This would really be a good book to read.

The story is about a 13 year old girl named Frances Mary Kelly who lives with her mom and her brothers and sisters named Megan, Mike, Danny, Peg and Petey. The family is very poor and the mother realizes that she cannot afford to keep all of them. So, to solve that problem she sends them on an orphan train to live in the west with more wealthy families. Each of the children gets separated into different families and the second part of the story tells how Frances and Petey get along with their new family. I thought that the story was very interesting and when I finished one chapter I was so curious that I had to read more than one. What I also liked about the book was that it was very easy to understand what is happening. I have read many other books including Harry Potter where there are so many things that are happening at once that it's just to hard to keep track of everything so that's another good point of the story.

The other books in this series include: Caught In the Act, In the Face Of Danger, A Place To Belong, A Dangerous Promise, Keeping Secrets and Circle Of Love. The other books tell you the stories of the other kids and I also recommend them.

This was one of the best books I have read so far and I am going to read the whole series!!!

Good Book! It has action, adventure, and helps you learn about history all in one book. I enjoyed reading it and if you read this book, be sure to check out the rest of the series, too! People of all ages would love it. I'd recomend this book to everyone I meet!

Most references to World War Two in the Pacific cite the decisive American victory at the Battle of Midway as the turning point in that conflict - the high tide of Japanese aggression. This book carefully refutes that position. The Japanese were still on the offensive after Midway (in part because the Japanese Navy neglected to inform the Japanese Army of the loss of four front line fleet carriers in that battle). The Japanese were still fully capable of seizing and severing American lines of communication with Australia - depriving the U.S. of a required base for future offensive operations. The dual campaigns in New Guinea and Guadalcanal from August 1942 to January 1943 (both resulting in successful Allied counter-offensives) represented the critical shift from the strategic defensive to the offensive for the Allies for the balance of the war. As Frank so ably demonstrates, there was nothing inevitable about the six-month struggle in the southern Solomons that started when the First Marine Division went ashore August 7, 1942. Both sides suffered significant setbacks and suffered from leadership lapses at critical junctures. In the end, it was the U.S. superiority in high command decisions and material that seemed to tilt the balance. The Japanese were surprised and very slow to believe that the U.S. was committing itself to an offensive campaign so early in the war. An objective analysis reveals that the Japanese had every reason to be surprised and U.S. leaders had every reason to be pessimistic as to the final outcome, especially after the early disaster at the Battle of Savo Island revealed relative U.S. weakness in surface ship actions. Guadalcanal came to be known as Starvation Island for the Japanese and the U.S. also came to recognize the conflict as a battle for logistics supremacy - which equated to air and sea supremacy, while soldiers and marines suffered tropical deprivations and hard fighting against a fanatical foe on the ground. Frank's work attempts to tell the complete story - air, sea and land - and he is successful. No mean feat. His research casts new light on an aging but important subject. As the World War Two generation fades into the past, it is all the more important to to reassess the history and importance of these events. Guadalcanal the history by Frank is a landmark study on perhaps the critical campaign of the entire cataclysm that was the War in the Pacific.

The book is the definitive source on the Guadalcanal campaign. It covers all three aspects (air, land, sea) of the 6 month campaign in detail. It is obvious the Mr. Frank has done his homework and it was very refershing to see that Japanese sources were also used extensively. This is something that is sorely lacking in other books that discuss campaigns in the Pacific.

He provides interesting breakdown tables of casualties after each major battle. I especially liked the way the author analyzes mistakes that were made by both sides. His critiques of Adms. Ghormley and Fletcher was especially interesting. The final concluding chapter was als very excellent as it gives a good tactical and strategic summary of the whole campaign.

The only minor quibble I had was with the comparatively short (comapred to the land and sea) coverage on the air aspects. More personal details on the airmen who particpated would be better since the author himself stated that control of Henderson Field was instrumental to the Japanese inability to resupply their land forces, and the eventual win. The daily listing of air casualties over-claimed/suffered by both sides gets a bit numbing after a while.

A superb work. One lives with and through the unutterable pathos and grief and the ultimate taking of this island over a 6 month period of apocalyptic proportions. I read about men like Sgt John Basilone and Sgt Major Vouza (a native of Guadalcanal) and know that their stories have been replicated many times over through the current day. Mr. Vouza raised the American flag in front of his living spaces long after the war ended, and if I remember correctly, until he died of old age, a true hero to the Allied cause and his homeland. Sgt John Basilone created an aura of an unbeatable American front on Bloody Ridge by manning more than one machine gun and placing himself in extreme harm's way, contributing to the illusion that the defensive lines were solidly manned by many marines- a fiction which seems to this reader to have won the day (night) in that particular pivotal battle on land. He was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. Sadly, he did not survive the war, dying as a result of enemy action on Iwo Jima. One reads of the Battle of Savo Island, a critical phase of the Guadalcanal landing which occurred on the night following the Marine landing.This was a very one sided IJN victory which sank or disabled 6 of the Allied Forces cruisers and which resulted in an unanticipated early departure of the US carier escort and unloading of only a portion of the supplies. One reads about Pistol Pete, dugout Sunday, the Tokyo Express, washing machine Charlie, malaria, swamps, and Elephant grass.

This is written with grateful thanks to those brave men, and to all the brave women and men who have followed. They are truly the linchpin of our freedom.

Unsung Valor: A GI's Story of World War II is a war memoir that will appeal to women as much as men. Cleveland Harrison's recollections reach deeper and wider emotionally than the usual battlefield tales. The reluctant draftee's journey from basic training to college, to combat, and finally to occupation duty in Germany does not put women off with a lot of combat details but strikes a nice balance between the military and the human emotions. Harrison's descriptions of his sensations in every place and time are so detailed and clear that one learns to care what happens to him and his buddies.

A reluctant but good soldier, who was surprisingly innocent and firm in his integrity, Harrison reveals more of his attitudes toward women than is ordinarily found in military narratives. His respect and relations with his mother and his college sweetheart (to whom he is secretly engaged), and the women he later encounters in training and service--a math professor and a group of sorority sisters at college, nurses in military hospitals, State Department officers and secretaries, and WACs in military government overseas--make Unsung Valor a unique wartime reading experience for women.

This is great personal account of the war experiences of A. Cleveland Harrison. What makes Harrison's Unsung Valor different is that it is a memoir by a soldier who was not in a lot of battles but rather spent his war years as a cog in the military bureaucracy. But if you think this sounds like a boring book, think again.

It is a credit to Harrison's writing ability and his talent for telling a story that his book never flags in holding the reader's interest. When the last page is turned, most readers will share my thought that this was a really interesting book and that it provided a view of war seldom reported.

I was very lucky to find this book UNSUNG VALOR as I was searching the net for information on the 94th Inf. Div. I served in this outfit from Jan.1945 until ??? after the war and then transfered to the constabulary until discharge in June 1946. Rec'd purple heart for gunshot wounds on Feb 22 45, at tihe Saar river crossing, then 3 month in Hospital's in France and Belgium. Never got to know many other GI's in combat because of the worst conditions a boy could encounter as an Inf Rifleman. This book brought back many memories, Thanks to Cleveland Harrisons for writing this excellent autobiography,
Sincerely Charles Terwilliger

This book is a must have for anyone interested in Tiki or kitsch art. Describing themselves as "urban archaeologists" seeking remnants of Tiki culture, the authors provide a fun and informative look at this vanishing art form. The book does an acceptable job presenting the evolutionary history of Tiki, from the 1920s to the present. Key events, such as the establishment of Trader Vic's, and the Kon Tiki craze of the late 40s, are looked at in further detail. There is also a good look at the "artifacts" of Tiki art and architecture throughout the United States. The book is packed with color photos of Tiki mugs, matchbooks, buildings, and much more.

However, the book does lean a bit too much towards making the book eye candy. The Book of Tiki uses intense colors, and ultra-hip page compositions that make it difficult to read (typically Taschen, but I still found it distracting). Also, a consolidation of information would have made it easier to reference, such as a table differentiating the different "Trader" Tiki businesses. Also, some of the text ("Exotica and the Tiki style were denounced as contrived rituals of the imperialist establishment at the same time that the Vietnam war developed into and ugly mistake, with native huts and palm trees burning on TV."), had me wondering if they were being tounge-in-cheek, or were actually serious.

Nevertheless, this book is the current bible for Tiki aficionados, and is well worth having on your bookshelf.

It does not happen often that a new facet of American pop culture that has not been recognized before gets discovered. With his Book of Tiki Sven Kirsten succeeds in establishing a style that has been overlooked by art critics and historians alike. Through an amazing amount of visuals Kirsten proves how Tiki in it's heyday influenced every walk of American life, from architecture, design and graphics to food and drink.

In addition to the rich imagery (which affords the viewer an almost physical experience of the phenomenon) Kirsten's writing traces back the origins of the style to the Western fascination with Polynesia and, without becoming too analytical and dry, enlightens the reader on the motives for this escapism.
The chronicler's ironic enthusiasm for his subject saves him from becoming judgmental and falling for easy, politically correct conclusions.
We are guided through the history of Polynesia as an eternal metaphor for an earthly Eden up to the point where Americans fell in love with this vision.
Here Kirsten conveys how the post-war need for more moral freedom coincided with the tales of Pacific war theater veterans and the 50s idealization of Hawaii as a dream vacation destination.
In taking the guise of an urban archeologist who (as is done in classic archeology) discovers a lost culture through it's objects and artifacts, Kirsten accomplishes to throw light on a fascinating chapter of American pop that has so far lingered in obscurity.

Like all Taschen books, this book is visually STUNNING! Just leafing through the pictures never gets boring. The real treat is the book is also jam packed facts, folklore, drink recipies, and so much more. More information about Tiki than I ever knew existed.

Plenty of eye-candy in this book, but very well balanced with informative and fun content. A must have for the Tiki enthusiast!

Much has been written about the Wehrmacht, discussing strategies, campaigns, results and commanders; less has been written about the common German soldier in W.W.II. In this
extraordinary book, Gottlob H. Bidermann narrates his experience in the 132 Infantry Division on
the Eastern Front from June 1941 to May 1945 followed by surrender and internment in Russia
until the summer of 1948. He was commissioned and received officer training in 1943 but
continued to be assigned to the 132 Infantry Division. Bidermann's memoirs were written for and
distributed to the survivors of his regiment and division, and originally were not for general
audiences. Derek S. Zumbro, a US Naval officer and friend of the Bidermann family, was given a
copy of his memoir in 1985 by Bidermann which Zumbro translated; the memoirs were published
as the book IN DEADLY COMBAT.

The text is basically an accurate chronology of the events Bidermann personally experienced on
the Eastern Front. Daily death, suffering and destruction was encountered and the author states
"We tended our wounded, buried our dead and moved forward to the next encounter, knowing
that eventually, we would meet the end of our journey". He later notes "Most of us owed our
lives to the skill and self-sacrifice of other in our company, many of whom were no longer with
us."

It is interesting to read the author's personal reactions to brutal combat. He relates how his
training and discipline gave him life saving split second reactions when face to face with the
enemy. While generally not critical of German combat general officers, many of whom he
admired, like the common soldier in all armies he "called it like was". For example, commenting
on one general "And the highest commander, to whom credit for the catastrophe should be
awarded, was not present to witness what his decisions had wrought. As always, the soldiers in
the field bore the brunt of these mistakes and paid with their lives." In another case he wrote
"When captured" General Shoerner "was wearing a traditional Bavarian alpine costume, for
which he had exchanged his uniform and golden party badge. Only weeks earlier he had subjected
untold numbers of soldiers to summary execution for similar displays of cowardice."

Equally interesting is his attitude serving on the Eastern Front, as his division went from a
conquering army in 1941 to the desperate fight for survival in the Courland pocket. Bidermann
writes "....those who continued to cling to the belief in a "final Victory", now realized the
hopelessness of our situation. That said the will to resist the Soviets, the fighting spirit within the
ranks of the Courland fighters, remained unbroken" resulting in the fact "....the troops in
Courland were .... the only combat units in the German army that were never defeated in open
battle." The author makes the interesting statement "We saw the true sense of our operations in
Courland as having one clearly defined objective: the defense of European culture..." then he
laments that the West ignored what he termed "the tragedy unfolding in eastern and central
Europe. Communism descended on an entire culture...."

The text is dictated by the framework of the German army in which Bidermann fought, by the
nature of the Reich and largely by a set of cultural and intellectual conventions in the army which
differed widely from those of the British and Americans. These factors contributed a cohesiveness
that allowed Germany to maintain front-line effectiveness when units like the 132 Infantry
Division fought the enemy for 3 1/2 years, almost without relief. Amazingly, Bidermann relates
that within the framework of the army there were no plans, policies or training for retreat and a
strategic withdrawal which could have reduced losses and preserved unit strength. When orders
were received to surrender on May 8, 1945 the author writes "The philosophy of fighting to death
had become so ingrained within us during the past years that to surrender, as we were now being
ordered to do, was inconceivable." Although they knew that the Russians liquidated thousands of
Polish officers in Poland and expected possibly the same fate, the culture and strict discipline of
the army did not allow for disobeying orders; Bidermann's division surrendered as ordered.

Throughout the text, references to events at home are noted such as "....our relatives lived in a
daily terror of the bombs...." and "The attempted assassination revealed that the war was lost.
Hitler was nothing more that a dictator in brown." Then finally, "In general, news of the death of
Hitler was received by the troops with indifference; however, it must also be said that some
breathed a sigh of relief."

The Epilogue describes of the brutal life in the Soviet prisoner of war camps. The text states "In
the twentieth century prisoners were often afforded little or no protection in any form and
remained free game for the victors. One could beat them, work them to death, shoot them or
simply let them starve." Bidermann observed all of this in Soviet prisoner of war camps. It should
be noted that the same philosophy was followed in Japanese prisoner of war camps. In contrast,
the author states "In the United States prisoners had confinement vastly different from our ordeal
in the gulags. They were well-fed and in the best of health...."

While the writer did not report witnessing atrocities, neither does he ignore their existence. This
work is refreshing as it narrates the hard, brutal life of a front-line an infantryman in combat with
none of the usual apologies of "we were just following orders." often found in other memoirs.
This is a "must read" for those interested in W.W.II history.

In Deadly Combat is the "Must" read of World War 2. The memoirs of 3 1/2 years of combat on the eastern front, followed by over 1,000 days as a Soviet POW can not be described in any other words except by a man that survived the ordeal. Bidermann's account not only details the destruction and misery brought by the "Gods of War," but offers a very intriguing insight on how he both excelled as a soldier, and leader of men....And, his memoirs offers insight about survival.

The most fascinating aspect about Bidermann's memoirs is "what went through his mind" during a terrible & horrific experience.

After my readings of the US combat veteran in WW2, the Korean War, and Vietnam; the perils of 3 1/2 years of continous combat seem momentus compared to the shorter combat tours. Of course, any combat tour must be incredibly sickening, but the realization soldiers of the Red Army and German Army lasted so long boggles the mind.

Finally, Bidermann depicts 3 1/2 years of combat on the Eastern Front in a concise, entertaining and easily read book. His work both as a soldier and author is INCREDIBLE!

Outstanding upclose view of a German infantryman's experiences on the Eastern Front. He didn't win the Knights Cross, he wasn't a pilot or a panzer leader and he wasn't a member of the SS or an elite division. He was a "common" combat soldier doing his duty in a lethal environment. I now have a better understanding of what made the German soldier "tick" during WWII. Outstanding says it all, it's very readable and it's a keeper.

This is the third novel in the Jack Aubrey-Stephen Maturin series, and the story just keeps rolling right along. It's difficult to maintain the pace and the reader's interest for more than the first couple of volumes in any sort of fiction series, but O'brian certainly has the knack. This time, the newly-posted but still heavily indebted Captain Aubrey is detailed to ferry a diplomat to the court of an Indian prince . . . having been the unknowing beneficary of Maturin's leverage at the Admiralty. He's impatient at being out of the principal theater of the war with France, but happy to have any ship at all -- especially the frigate SURPRISE, in which he had served as a midshipman. Besides helping his friend, Dr. Maturin has his own reasons for visiting India -- Diana Villiers has gone there in the company of a wealthy merchant from the City and the East India Company. For O'Brian spends as much time on the details and development of his characters' personal interrelationships as he does on naval maneuvering and battles. And the descriptions of rounding the Cape of Good Hope are mesmerizing!

H.M.S. Surprise, like the two books before it in this series, is excellent in every way. There is great dialogue, subtle humor and riviting action. We finially get to see what Jack Aubrey can do when given command of a decent ship (as oppossed to the little Sophie and the piece of junk Polychrest). I think most male readers will like this book a little better than Post Captain; the main characters spend a lot less time on shore and there is a little less romantic/relationship stuff. From the reviews I have read of this series, it stays pretty good at least through book #17 and then deteriorates badly. Although it is a shame this series is not strong until the end, O'Brian did write a very large number of excellent books that we should all be grateful for. In my humble opinion, if O'Brian had not written another word after finishing H.M.S. Surprise he would still deserve to be remembered as the best novelist who ever wrote in this genre.

I, like many others I suspect, was sucked into reading the Aubrey/Maturin series by the Peter Weir film. Little did I know that the books would be so much deeper than the film or topic would lead one to believe. Stephen Maturin: physician, scientist, naturalist, spy (and Patrick O'Brien alter ego) studies people (including his great friend Jack Aubrey - and himself) dispassionately, and we are the beneficiaries of his study. Jack Aubrey: ship's captain, sentimentalist, musician and astronomer is a man of the past - he is a hero with flaws but he holds honor and duty above himself (usually).
H.M.S. Surprise is the best of the early series. We get adventure: a daring rescue of Stephen by Jack, a brilliant sea maneuver led by the Surprise on the Indian Ocean. We get a novel of manners: Maturin's and Aubrey's continued wooing of Diana Villiers and Sophia Williams. We get a marvelous frigate and her crew - O'Brien's depiction of the Surprise is a microcosm of the world at the time of Napoleon. And my, the Surprise is yar!
Some of my friends have expressed surprise (pun intended, and Aubrey would love it!) that a feminist landlubber would admire the same series that Charlton Heston and other manly men have loved before me. My response is that great writing is enough. There are few female characters in Aubrey/Maturin, and those that O'Brien includes are not particularly sympathetic (although I can imagine every actress alive wanting to play Diana Villiers), but it doesn't matter when I feel as much a part of the crew as Pullings or Bonden.
When you get down to it, Patrick O'Brien is just a great writer. At moments I have been reminded of Melville, Austen, and Robertson Davies. His grasp of the technical is thorough. His ability to share the historical feeling of the period is amazing. On top of all this, these books are just page-turners! I was gripped from the moment I opened the novel.
A previous reviewer mentioned that if you read the first three books in the series, you'll read all twenty. If the next seventeen are half as good as H.M.S. Surprise, I'll be singing Patrick O'Brien's praises for a long time.

Allan Weisbecker is a wordsmith, fer sure ... In Search of Captain Zero is worth a read for its verbal pyrotechnics. The cover photograph is, indeed, spectacular if, as the novel itself, overtly posed.

Weisbecker is NOT, however, a "philosopher," much as he would like to think of himself as a "deep" and thoughtful time traveler. Neither is he anyone's friend, although he poses throughout as his former buddy Christopher's great pal and soulmate. On the contrary, Weisbecker's world is replete with real and potential enemies, jerks, and idiots, from all of the non-surfing population of his small world to all Germans, stereotypes every one. It is no surprise that Weisbecker's women friends do not stick around long. It's not a matter of sexism: the man is tediously in love with himself and not about to create a union outside of his monadic self. I wondered that his poor dog Shiner lasted as Weisbecker's "faithful companion" as long as he did, although I notice that at the end even Shiner stays in the surf with Christopher and the five mutts rather than stick around self-bemoaning Allan on shore.

It is amusing to hear Weisbecker, time and again, reveal his extraordinarly immature behavior toward those he meets and, what is more interesting, his comical rationalization of their rejection of his arrogant, self-serving manner, on and off a "surf stick." In once scene, when Weisbecker is attemting to hustle marijuana onto shore in Long Island, he actually gets a friendly [if uninformed] hand from a couple of members of the Coast Guard Auxiliary. Weisbecker, always short on gratitude, opines that these "two fat guys wearing dumb hats" are members of an organization "largely composed of wannabe watermen, ... law-and-order types who join up for the para-military vibes, the testosterone-rich conviviality of meetings with other faux watermen, and the patches and hats they get to wear. True idiots, the vast majority have never been out of sight of land." Yes, Mr. Weisbecker is a genuine human being, a friend of humanity, if not of individual persons. Has Weisbecker considered that those many folks who seem initially to think of this chatty interloper as a jerk have it right the first time? A finely wrought case of "no one understands me."

For those fans of Thurber's "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," you will find ample tribute to Mitty's worldview in this book. When Weisbecker, as captain of his ship [if not of his fate] narrates his misadventures, instead of focusing on his comic ineptitude, thereby demonstrating some psychological distance in his view of himself, he seems convinced that we really should consider him a legiminate successor to the "Great Age of Piracy" and the "explorers who had opened up the northeast a millenium past." But he fails to deliver the punch line ... so I gather he does believe this nonsense.

In the final analysis, one has here a failed, selfish man who has not matured, the classic aging hippy boy, a man who attacks his best friend, having already deserted his father, apparently a much more interesting figure than Allan Weisbecker the son, and a man to whom the son never measures up. The only redeeming aspect of Weisbecker's persona is his occasional descent into depression. I'd suggest this depression always follows the onset of a bit of self-knowledge. Unfortunately, he keeps rallying.

Take a look at the cover photo, read the book for its facile manipulation of the language, but do not expect to learn the lessons of life from this aging child-man, unless, of course, one needs to be reminded that Socrates advice to "know thyself" can safely be ignored if one has sufficient chutzpah!

It's not a deep metaphysical journey or anything; it's just a great anectodal journey from California to Costa Rica in a Ford truck with a camper shell. Good Central American surfing-trip stuff with descriptions of great days on the water. I've driven down to Cabo a few times with my truck (and boards), so I can relate. The flashbacks to the '70's drug-running days are great! I was surfing in Brazil last year and plowed through this book in three days during beach breaks. I highly recommend it. (from: Mike Zinsley, author of "The Rapture of the Deep...")

A travelogue with little to no pretention, swimmingly beautiful prose, and an underlying tone of the importance of friendship, freedom, and self-understanding, this book touches all the important parts of the soul. But it's light, and funny, and introspective, and I cant say enough about it. i don't want to say too much about it. Read it, love it, and go be inspired. It's a perspective changer - nothing less.