history

If you are interested in finding out more about one of the most elite fighting forces in the world then read this. Simon Murray is INCREDIBLY modest which is one of the best factors in this book. Exceptionally hard yet incredibly modest.

READ IT!!!!!

I was given a personal copy of Legionnaire by Simon Murray himself. Once I started to read the book, I couldn't put it down. Truly a well-written first-hand account of life under unimaginable hardship conditions. Simon's journey through life has continued to be remarkable since his days in the French Foreign Legion.

A wonderful read no matter how many times you go through it. Mr. Murray has painted a picture, in words, of his experience with the 'Legion Entrangere' that no hollywood studio could ever dream up. The poingnant moments and thrilling exploits of Simon Murray's experience are detailed here in a wonderful package and tied up with a touching and memorable epilogue that makes whole thing work. A charmed soul, Murray has provided us with an outstanding story and an intriguing look inside his experience of service. Indeed a book for the ages. Vive la Legion!

This book, with whom I share a long and one-sided love-affair, is a perfect gem. I have read it during my life again and again, and I never have escaped without laughing--hard--out loud at all the Thurber family goings-on. Thurber has the rare gift of constructing a symphony of a story with the sparest but most meaningful instruments. His other books, The Thurber Carnival and the Thurber Album are also worth reading.

This has got to be the funniest book I have ever read and read and read. Simple stories of Thurber's early years will get you laughing out loud.

OF all the books of his period, James Thurber's "My Life and HArd Times" is a mirror into the mind of a true renaissance man, humorist extraordinaire, and story-teller. Ever since I was a teen reading this for the first time, I have kept a copy on my nighttable, for those evenings I needed a complete separation from reality. It has never failed me! Each story (which by now I have memorized) brings to mind the family quagmyres and dilemmas common to all, in a form only a genius like Thurber could do. His talent in a far simpler age lives well beyond him, and will forever.

The author takes a humerous approach to the oddities of New England. Many stories are historical dating in 18th and 19th century. This book makes you think twice about the world beyond. The author has gone to great lengths to varify all information presented. Wonderfully written; I couldn't put it down.

Generally, I'm don't get scared by things I read or see on television. This book, however, was quite frightening. I definitely did its job. Many of the stories in this book occurred near where I live, and I never would have imagined these stories had even existed previously. I always knew that New England had a rather strange past, what with all the Salem Witch trials and all, but these stories actually dug deeper than all of that. For instance, could you imagine strange monsters inhabiting Bridgewater, or a strange spirit force on top of Mount Washington? Naturally, these stories are merely legends, but they really make you stop and think. The documentation for this book is also quite good, as first hand accounts are recorded. When people in the law enforcement agency see things, as in this book, you know that there's probably something going on. This book only took me two nights to read. That should give you some indication as to how addictive and gripping it is.

This book is a must have if you like off-the-beaten-path reads. It is well written, and keeps you turning each page. Joseph Citro is one of my favorite authors, he doesn't push it down your throat, you are left to decide what you believe, but they are all great stories. Definitely in my library for keeps.

This is simply a wonderful work of history! Francis Parkman is considered by many scholars to be the greatest American historian ever. "Montcalm and Wolfe" is his masterpiece, written in 1884 as the final volume of his multi-volume work "France and England in North America." It tells the story of the French and Indian War, which is probably the most historically decisive war ever fought on the North American continent. Parkman writes with precision, eloquence, and objectivity. With his vivid and fast paced narrative, he demonstrates a wonderful flair dramatizing history. At the same time, his tremendous knowledge about this vast and complex subject is evident on every page. For me, the most fascinating parts of this book were the chapters which described the conflict for Acadia, and the ultimate forced evacuation of the Acadians by the British; Braddock's defeat; and the battles of Louisbourg and Quebec. Parkman's descriptions of these key events, and the personalities behind them, make them seem to come alive.

Parkman writes in the romantic style popular in the late nineteenth century; yet, his prose is of such high quality that it never seems dated. In fact, as I was reading, I found it difficult to remember that "Montcalm and Wolfe" was written 116 years ago! I highly recommend this book, which is already a timeless classic, as essential reading for those interested in learning more about the French and Indian War.

Parkman "wrote the book" on the French and Indian War and created a benchmark for historians that has stood on its merits since published in 1884. Moreover, Parkman creates a primer on making history real and exciting for the reader. His writing style bridges the century since he wrote it. This book is one of seven in Parkman's series "The French and English in North America". Each volume was intended to stand alone. This, the final and most popular volume, covers the fall of Quebec and events leading up to it. The first chapter alone, "The Combatents" does an extraordinary job of setting the scene in Europe that led to this savage wilderness war in North America. Also of interest will be the foreword which paints a vivid picture of the unusual Mr. Parkman. "Montcalm and Wolfe" reads well, provides a sense of "being there" and must be one of the great histories not only of the battle for North America, but of European history as well.

This is one of the earliest books on the French and Indian War, and it still is a great read. While excellent in its own right, it forms the final and arguably the best volume in a series on the French in North America by Parkman. A lot of work and analysis has taken place since this was written, so something like Fred Anderson's "Crucible of War: The Seven Years' War and the Fate of Empire in British North America", (also a great book) is very useful for bring the facts up to date. However Parkman provides a great window into the 18th century from the 19th, he provides detail without being boring, and makes it accessible and real.

The Journal of James Edmond Pease by Jim Murphy is about a 16-year-old Civil War Union soldier who is chosen to write an account of the war. In the beginning, he seems to be a little whimpy. I liked this book, even though I am not interested in the Civil War. It was interesting because it is taken from a direct point of view. It is realastic, too. For example, a lot of things are spelled wrong.

I'm a sixth grader, and I read this book over the summer. I highly recommend this book for history-lovers. I went to Gettysburg, PA, this Spring and it really got me into the Civil War. When my mother showed me the book, I couldn't pass it up. It's a great book with lots of true background. James Edmond Pease goes through lots of interesting things. I don't know how he did it. Some parts were so exciting I couldn't sit still!

This is one of the greatest war books ever!the author does a great job describing the battles and how the bullets zipped past his ear. The book is so descriptive that you feel as if you were there at the battle with James.

Sproul combines theological insights with his very familar humor in order to teach us some basics in deeper reading of the Bible. Since the Bible is a book that gets deeper as one grows taller, most spiritually "tall" teachers seem to write yet another deep book to daunt the study of scripture. On the contrary, R.C. is an excellent teacher, encourager, and writer who first dispels the fear of studying the Bible. Then he immediately points to the importance of studying the Bible, and does an overview of how to interpret and apply scripture in most biblical way possible. His colorful examples are helpful. I am also thankful for his list of further readings in the last chapter (after reading this book, I felt like buying them all!). In almost all of his books I've read, R.C. seems to struggle in trying to be less scholar-like for the sake of the general audience. But only being human =), he cannot hold back his brilliance; and at times R.C. pushes us to think! But he is gentle and very reasonable. This book is short, but very nice. Thus, for leasure or study in group; for scholars and laymen...I highly recommend this book. Both will learn a lot--if not in content, then in sheer style!

This book is a nice little beginning hermeneutics text. Sproul begins this work by telling his reader why it is crucial that they develop a desire, to not only read, but actually study the Word of God. He then moves into how the Bible should be studied with an emphasis on personal Bible study and private interpretation. Sproul also discusses rules for Biblical interpretation. One of the better chapters in this text is titled "Culture and the Bible." Here Sproul discusses the importance of interpretation in light of the culture in which it was written. The reason I like this chapter is the fact that Sproul, who is also a philosopher, is not trapped in the idea that culture dictates interpretation. In other words, while culture is an important thing to keep in mind in hermeneutics it does not determine truth, thus making truth relative to culture. Sproul understands this and explains how to avoid this pitfall. I recommend this work for those who are wanting to get involved in the study of hermeneutics. This is a great place to start that study.

R.C. Sproul does it again in this great book! One is hard pressed to find a more delightful Biblical reference book. Easy for the beginner who doesn't know a lot about the Bible and encouraging for those who have been in the faith for years. A true classic!

I have been enjoying The Narrated Bible for a year and a half now and have specifically enjoyed the chronological order. However, just recently, I was reading a portion in the Gospels (page 1375) that had a portion of Mathew 8::14-15, 16-17. This happens to be a favorite portion of scripture, so I was excited to read it, however I noticed that it didn't have verse 17 (which is a quote from Isaiah 55) in it. I thought that was rather strange, so I looked up Mathew 8:17 in the index (page 1712) in the back of the Bible. It indicated that this particular verse should be found on page 1385. So I flipped over to 1385, and there isn't a single scripture on that page from chapter 8, its all from chapter 7.

So basically, this single scripture (Mathew 8:17) does not appear in this Bible. It makes me wonder what other scriptures are missing. I will continue to use this Bible, but I will always be wondering what is being left out.

Though you should know before you pick one up.

This Bible is wonderful for putting events into historical context. While it should not be the only Bible you read, or the Bible you take to church with you, this is unique and can help you GREATLY in understanding the order of events in the life of God's people.

The 4 gospels are put into one long story called "Life of Jesus". This is a HUGE help! You can so much more easily take in all that the Bible tells us about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! In the Old Testament, the author combines the events of Samuel, the Kings and the Chronicles - most layment are confused by these books and if you're reading them in order, you'll find yourself saying "Didn't we cover this already?". Having it all put together in one story is so helpful!

F. LaGard Smith includes some "devotional commentary", which is clearly marks as such. He also divides The Narrated Bible into daily readings for those wanting to read this through in a year. The sun icon tells you you've reached the end of that day's reading. If you want this same text to be divided up by date (like the One Year Bible), you can get "The Daily Bible".

You will find the prophecies of Isaiah and Jeremiah put into their historical context - I believe that your faith will be enriched and your understanding improved by this wonderful book!

Oh, something important to mention is that you can always easily find exactly what verse you're reading. The reference is in the margin, and in the case of the Gospels, all references to that event are noted, with reference used by the wording of the passage is highlighted in bold.

There is also a complete index, so you can quickly find any verse in the Bible. So you needn't worry about not knowing what book of the Bible you're reading.

Amazon has a GREAT price on this Bible! Take a "look inside" to see some of the pages, and order it today!

You might want to check out my other reviews of Bibles, Christian books, and Christian music. May God bless your study of His Word!

We have purchased several copies of this book over the years. I love it. I would like to make a request. Please make it available on tape/CD for people who cannot see to read, or are not avid readers, or who travel a lot and would be able to make good use of their time by listening to it. I have not seen it anywhere it large or giant print. That would also be great. Thank you.

This is an outstanding academic treatment of the investments made by KKR, all of which were some kind of leveraged buy-out. The authors focus their attention on the transactions themselves, not the way they were viewed by society or on the people that put them together - in this regard the book is a rare gem. It treats the period up to 1990 in some depth, with some very interesting case studies that show pretty good financial detail with outstanding qualitative descriptions of the transactions that were put together. As you walk through the various case studies, you are able to sit alongside with the KKR team and watch as the LBO goes from an unusual financial instrument to a mainstream product that is widely accepted in the marketplace. While growing acceptance of financial products is an established facet of Wall Street, to follow this evolution through the work of a single firm really is quite interesting. The manner in which the complexity, leverage and size of the transactions grow is laid out in plain English, making this a fascinating read.

Only Chapter 5 "KKR as an Institutional Form" focused on the firm itself, and even this treatment was not nearly as obsequious as many other financial books (most notably "Goldman Sachs: the Culture of Success" by Endlich). Mr. Baker and Mr. Smith take a very level-headed approach and document the growth of the firm in a straight-forward manner, although they do inject a good deal of 'positivity' to their view, i.e. the revolutionary introduction of Monday Morning Meeting's at KKR in the 1990's (this is commonplace at most banks).

I particularly enjoyed the second chapter "Recasting the Role of Debt" which talks about some of the earlier transactions that KKR did in some depth. The description of their LBO of Houdaille is very much worth reading, if only for the fact that traditional 'Old Economy' companies are again garnering such interest. Indeed, that is a very noteworthy aspect of the whole book, KKR focused on established companies with real cash flows. The one transaction which involved real growth financing was a near bust. This is very different than all of the financial maneuvering that has gone on over the past two years, and it is interesting to compare the sustainability of the two efforts (the many years of KKR's existence surely triumphs over venture capital's recent 15 minutes of fame). Chapter 4 on "When Risk Becomes Real" talks about some of the failed KKR transactions, EFB Trucking and Eaton Leonard in some detail. The reaction of KKR to these hiccups is very impressive, and while it is told with the same 'positivity' of the authors as mentioned above, the authors still do a good job of telling the story in an objective manner. The efforts of the partners to maintaining KKR's reputation in the marketplace is nothing short of heroic, and while there was a clear financial incentive over the short term it is clear that the longer term reputation of the company also played a clear role in motivating their actions.

It really is rare to get a book as good as this with detailed financial information (even if it is more than 10 years old) and a mostly unbiased view of the Company. Where the authors are biased, it is easy to pick up and interpret. This is very much an academic treatment of the firm, with some detail as to what the rest of the market was doing, but not a whole lot. There are just the right number of graphs, which is very nice. I would think anybody working in finance would enjoy this book, although given the depth in which it describes the transactions, it might not be the most leisurely read. This is an outstanding book.

Baker and Smith have accomplished two objectives in their short book. On the surface, they have expertly captured the key elements in the development of KKR as the frontrunner of the LBO firm. However, on a deeper level, they have also captured many of the elements that managers and entrepreneurs should consider when running or starting a firm. In this regard, the Preface and Chapter Five are worth the price of admission. For anyone interested in the evolution and history of modern American finance, read this book.

KKR was the first name I heard while researching the Private Equity marketplace for a college paper. It also became the name heard mostly afterwards and rightfully so. Jerome Kohlberg, Henry Kravis and George Roberts are obviously extremely smart and confident guys, fortunately the book exhibits moments of vulnerability; which is helpful for any financial entrepreneur. The only shortfall is that the book isn't longer. I was excited while reading some of the chapters, keep in mind that this is a finance book not the Lord of the Rings. This book is terrific. Enjoy

I have never read a series so full of heart as this. The characters are vibrant and alive, funny and real in their emotions. Any thing I write is a pathetic reflection of how truly great these writers are. How can I even begin to say what an impact the Galway Chronicles have had on my life? This is the most perfect Christmas story I have ever read. Just read the book and you'll be hooked too! Incredible!

What a novel! It has everything! Love, great conflict, good vs. evil! The Thoenes have done it again! Not to mention the fact that now the whole family is writing! I just read Heart of Allegience, the latest novel by Jake and Luke Thoene, and I have to say that the sons write every bit as powerfully as their famous parents! The torch of great historical fiction has been passed to the next generation! Congrats to the Thoenes on their great novels in the Galway Chronicles and big congratulations on two sons who write so beautifully! I'm reading the books by Jake and Luke and passing their Baker Street and Last Chance Detectives kids books on to my kids. Keep it up!What we have found in our house is that the Thoene name means good, exciting, meaningful fiction.I'm reading all the Thoenes!

When Joseph Connor Burke returned to the small Irish village of Ballynockanor, he only expected to stay a few months. Just long enough to put the past and his stolen inheritance behind him. But as he gets reacquainted with his neighbors, he finds himself drawn into their struggles against Protestants in general and his uncle in particular. Is there a way to reclaim what is rightfully his? Is the priesthood his true calling? And what about his feelings for Kate?

The Thoenes went in an unexpected direction when they started this series. Up til now, they'd been writing about Israel and America. For that reason, I've put off starting this series, even though I've heard such good thing about it. Boy, was that a mistake!

I know very little about Irish history. In this one book, I learned so much that helps me understand the current struggles. Yet, as always, the history is wrapped in a wonderful story with very real characters. While I figured a few things out before they happened, most of the time I was unsure what would happen next and had a hard time putting the book down as a result. As always, the Thoenes develop their characters well and I felt myself getting angry on their behalf on more then one occasion.

I'm already planning my next trip to Ballynockanor for the next chapter in this sage. Any fan of the Thoenes or anyone wanting some fictitious background on Ireland will love this book.

The Oxford Classical Dictionary is the most reputed if not exhaustive reference guide to every conceivable subject involving antiquity. Whether one seeks information on Julius Casear or birth-control, this book has it all. Each topic is organized alphabetically and has a detailed section with bibliographical references to contemporary works as well as classical sources. There's simply no comparable book available other than perhaps Adkins & Adkins, A Handbook To Life In Ancient Rome and A Handbook To Life In Ancient Greece: even so, although those books are great reference guides in their own right, they are obviously more limited in what subjects/civilizations they cover. In comparison, The Oxford Classical Dictionary covers Greco-Roman civilization ad nauseam; it even has brief summaries about other classical civilizations such as the Persians, Parthians, Phoenicians, Scythians, etc.

Although I wouldn't recommend this as a first book for the casual novice, this book is indispensible for all serious classical scholars and academicians. It is isn't cheap but the amount of information in this text makes it worth every penny. Owning one myself and having benefitted immensely from it in my own studies, I most strongly recommend this book.

The "Oxford Classical Dictionary" is a gem of a reference book, which far surpasses any other edition available in its class. With over six thousand entries, covering any topic imaginable in the sphere of the Greco-Roman world, this dictionary will come as a relief and a reward to the aspiring student and the accomplished scholar. This seventeen hundred-page dictionary is well worth its weight and should be on the shelves of anyone interested in the multifaceted occurrences of the classical world. This authoritative volume has no equal--nothing may be compared with it--and it is highly recommended. For a more convenient sized edition of the OCD, which treats the lives of influential men throughout antiquity, see Simon Hornblower's "Who's Who in the Classical World" (Oxford Paperback Reference).

Everyone else below will tell you how excellent this book is, and I do not disagree. I use it almost every day as a graduate student in ancient history. It's incredibly useful, etc. The one complaint I have is about the article under the heading "pornography." A wretchedly Dworkinized, politically correct definition follows which never discusses the actual meaning of the word (which is, literally, "prostitute depiction"). Whatever happened to the advances in feminism after 1981 in which pornography was thought about again and, with publicatioon such as San Francisco's magazine "On Our Backs," seen as empowering? For that matter, why must the term "pornography" have as its article one written by an ideological feminist of any stripe in the first place? How about by a humanist? The definition in this book isn't broadminded, isn't general, isn't technical, but fanatical. I don't know how it passed the board of dons that controls the Oxford Classical Dictionary unless they are much more susceptible to presentist rhetoric than anyone thought. Aside from this entry -- which, as the gentle reader can observe, is my one bugbear about this book -- it's all superb.