The Audiobooks Reviews

“… To the Night. Archibald Lampman. Evening. Heat. James Russell Lowell. Midnight. …”

LibriVox volunteers bring you 9 different recordings of Evening by Archibald Lampman. This was the weekly poetry project for the week of August 3rd, 2008.

Zip file of the entire book (5.1MB)

“… distinct offer to Phineas Finn of unbounded popularity during life and of immortality afterwards, if …”

Phineas Finn free audiobook 779 MB

Phineas Finn, the hero (if he can be called that), is a young Irishman who gets elected to Parliament at the age of 25 and enjoys a spectacular rise, although he lacks money, title, and social position. His assets are extreme good looks, sincerity, a modest but confident charm, and lots of luck.

The most interesting parts of the plot deal with his relationships with 4 women: little Mary Flood Jones, his childhood sweetheart back in Ireland; Lady Laura Standish Kennedy, who takes a special interest in the new MP and helps to further his career; Violet Effingham, as rich as she is beautiful; and Mme. Marie Max Goesler, a very wealthy widow, beautiful, intelligent, and very interesting (my personal favorite). Phineas proposes to 3 of these women and receives a direct proposal from the other.

The portions of the plot dealing with parliamentary business may be a bit mystifying to those who know little about the British governmental system or Victorian history, but this is a good place to add to your education. Some consider “Phineas Finn” to be the most tedious of the Palliser series; however, I found it fascinating throughout.

I think Paper Towns has the potential to be excellent. I fell in love with your first two novels. I really like your style of writing. You’re refreshingly original, and I have a feeling that this new novel won’t let me down either. Keep up the great writing John!! I aspire to write as well as you someday…

John Green I’d just like to thank you. You made me want to be a writer again. I love you, you awesome awesome man.

admire the fortitude of one of the authors, David, whom called into the largest radio show and promoted this book. He sounded a little nervous at first when he was talking to Rush Limbaugh, but he accomplished his goal. That action spoke loudly about him and his book must have the same good substance that he demonstrated with Rush. I would say that we need more youth like him, but that is too small praise…our nation needs more people of all ages like him. I bought the book for positive reinforcement.

Extending and building upon Cialdini’s classic “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion”, this new book, “Yes!” is immensely useful and a must-read for everyone who seeks to communicate and persuade more effectively.

A colleague recommended it to me, and I pounced upon it, ordering immediately — because I’ve long used Cialdini’s 6 core strategies in my marketing efforts to help build a business empire. Reciprocity, social proof, and other triggers are must-have tools in one’s business arsenal.

What I like best about Cialdini’s latest work is:

+ Practical case studies in business (not academic) environments, such as the hotel towel case study, and others.

+ Diverse range of experiments and conversion-boosting examples that can be applied to a much wider range of persuasive situations.

+ Clearly explained examples and techniques that are easy to translate and apply to different practical business situations immediately.

+ Packed with humor, insight and concise tactics that work.

Cialdini’s created another classic with “Yes!” and I highly recommend it to all business professionals and folks who’d like to improve their persuasive skills in a variety of situations. An “instant classic”.

To success,

Ken Calhoun

P.S. For more on business success, I also recommend all the books by Jeffrey Gitomer, Dan Kennedy, Donald Trump and Brian Tracy.

Zip file of the entire book(133MB)

I know this book is packed with theory and is intended to give the readers some insight to the Montessori-style Education Theory. Nevertheless, in spite of the aforementioned this is a great read and if some theory is delivered by the way then this is only an extra bonus.
Elizabeth Ann, who spends her first years with her ever worried aunt Frances is suddenly forced to move to the Putney family she always feared of living on the farm. This is a story of a personal growth, covering all aspects of a child’s life - the growth is both mental and physical and is as enjoyable as the “Little House in the Prairie” books or other books of the kind (I mention the “Little House” books as for me that’s the ultimate compliment).
For me the pleasure and enjoyment have to do with the portrayal of the homey life and surroundings (a good example would be the description of the main room that at first seems ugly to Betsy and then becomes the most wonderful room in the world) and especially the account of food… personally I feel this is the first thing that gives the homey feeling. Which foods are served, the way the butter is churned and how Betsy learns to sweeten the apple sauce… this is what I love. Another major matter of enjoyment is the fast process of change in Betsy’s thoughts, abilities and appearance to which the reader is a witness. Similar change happens in “The Secret Garden” where the fresh air outside coupled with hard work makes wonders.
My only problem comes when I did try to return to theory and to try and adopt some of it to my life with my children. Off course anyone I know wants this natural, closer to nature life. How are you going to achieve it in our modern urban life is a different question. I know that the book talks more about the way and the process then about actually churning butter but I would like to churn a little myself…
There is no doubt that life in the outdoor with a lot of physical activity does wonders to your body and soul, especially when small children are concerned.

“… ANNE OF GREEN GABLES Mrs Rachel rapped smartly at the kitchen door and stepped …”

Zip file of the entire book (313 MB)

In 1985 when I stumbled upon Kevin Sullivan’s wonderful production of “Anne of Green Gables” with Megan Follows as Anne, Colleen Dewhurst as Marilla, and Richard Farnsworth as Mathew, it was my introduction to the Lucy Maud Montgomery’s red-headed orphan. Like millions of others, I fell in love with the production and then proceeded to read this novel, the other seven books in the Anne Series, and then “The Chronicles of Avonlea,” “The Story Girl,” the “Jane of Lantern Hill” books, and every other thing written by Montgomery that I could get my hands on (and this was before all of those paperback collections of Montgomery’s short stories were published).

In 1904 Montgomery had written down an idea for a story in her notebook: “Elderly couple apply to orphan asylum for a boy. By mistake a girl is sent them.” In what must be heartening for many would be authors, Montgomery’s manuscript for “Anne of Green Gables” was rejected repeated by publishers before it was finally accepted. The book was a bestseller from the moment it was published in June 1908 (I have a 19th impression printed in September 1910), although a critic in “The New York Times” complained that, “there is no real difference between the girl at the end of the story and the one at the beginning of it.” Readers of the book would quite happy with that fact, because the reason we love this story is not that the talkative, red-haired orphan girl with her big green-grey eyes changes during the story, but that Marilla and Mathew Cuthbert, the elderly sister and brother who wanted to adopt a boy and got a girl instead, have changed profoundly.

Mark Twain described Anne Shirley as “The dearest and most moving and delightful child since the immortal Alice,” and nobody has been able to top that statement. Supposedly Montgomery’s description of her famous literary creation was based on a photography of Evelyn Nesbit, the notorious American beauty who was the mistress whose husband, Harry K. Thaw, shot and killed her love, Stanford White, in the first scandalous murder trial of the 20th century. I suppose there is something archetypal about stories about orphans, that allows young readers to identify with such characters and explains why generations of children have responded to such stories. But what sets Montgomery’s creation apart is her ability to provide of laughter and tears, what with her vivid imagination and her great desire to be loved. You laugh over Anne’s over wrought apology to Mrs. Rachel Lynde and how her introduction to Gilbert Blythe ends with her breaking a slate over his head. But then there are the wonderfully touching scenes when Marilla apologizes for refusing to believe Anne about her broach, when Mathew goes to town to get Anne a dress with puffed sleeves, and when the Reaper whose name is Death comes to visit Green Gables. There are just so many wonderful moments in this novel, which is the best in the series. When you read the rest of the books in the series, this is the one you will keep coming back to again and again to read once more your favorite parts (I just did).

I have two daughters and despite my best intentions I have never been able to persuade them to read “Anne of Green Gables.” But given how long it took me to get around to them they still have at least a decade to beat me to the punch in relative terms, and I have the Sullivan productions on DVD so that I can use the same hook that worked so well one me. Once they do I am sure they will be just as captivated by all of the others who love the Anne-Girl and who have traveled to Prince Edward Island to see all of the sites that Montgomery translated into the world of Anne Shirley.

My favorite memory is when we went to “Green Gables.” You go in through the front door and follow the way around the first floor and then up the stairs to the second floor. As I was at the bottom of those stairs the young woman watching the door had momentarily stopped the line entering the site. In this case that person who had to wait was a young Japanese girl, who looked to be about eight years old, and who was shivering in delight at the fact that she was standing on the threshold of Anne Shirley’s Green Gables. That is how beloved Lucy Maud Montgomery’s creation is almost a century after she was first set down on paper.

Ukraine, 2nd: The Bradt Travel Guide by Andrew Evans

I actually live and work here in Kiev and I purchased The Bradt Travel Guide to help me plan some upcoming day trips as well as to get some updates on places of interest here in Kiev. And while the guide was obviously well researched for the first edition it seems to me that the 2nd edition was a rush job or maybe just lacking in its design.

For example Bradt says that it’s possible to travel on $75 a day - okay granted one should assume that amount is closer to $100 a day with inflation in the Euro and the cheapening of the dollar. The problem at least in Kiev - a very cosmopolitan city, is that many of the restaurants mentioned will cost you between $70 and $100 for a nice meal. By the way Georgian wine is very good and is available locally for about $8 a bottle so a glass of wine in a restaurant should not cost more than about $7 - my tip for those who read this! Also the local beers are all very nice and cost next to nothing - about $1 a bottle. There was not an effort to break down restaurants by cost range as was done with the hotels - most other guides I’ve used in the past do this and I find it really helpful. I was hoping for some new restaurant finds! And any restaurant that accepts major credit cards is in this class so beware if you’re using this guide. Also, my specific need was for places to see that are close by but there was very little in that section for Kiev.

Overall, I think there are better guides although not quite as new. One very good point is the availability of apartments at reasonable prices. With public transportation very reasonable - that means cheap!, all you really need to know is what bus/tram to hoop on to get you to either the nearest Metro or somewhere central like Independence Square.

If you aren’t sure about coming to Kiev/Kyiv, I want to tell you that I highly recommend it - the city is beautiful and the people are very nice. Ukraine is a big country and also very nice - I’ve been to the Black sea and to the Carpathian mountains so far and enjoyed them both although for very different reasons.

Ukraine (Country Guide) by Sarah Johnstone

“… 15 Destination Ukraine For those of you who came in late, in 2004 …”

My wife was born and educated in Ukraine and spent many years there traveling all over the country, and we have made a number of recent trips to Ukraine. Her verdict on this Lonely Planet guidebook by Sarah Johnstone is: “A plus!” She kept looking up various interesting places that Miss Johnstone might have missed and she couldn’t find any. They are all there. Miss Johnstone includes an amazing amount of information in a small, 8×5″ paperback of 216 pages that will fit easily in a purse or bag. The book is very skillfully arranged into various headings and sections and cross references so if, for example, you’re not interested in Ukraine’s history you can easily skip over it. And it doesn’t forget anyone: the traveler who wants adventure, the traveler who wants comfort, the student with a backpack, those who want offbeat non-touristy places, to those who are on a budget. Are you a vegetarian? Well, the author hasn’t forgotten you either. There are many useful maps, all the latest Internet addresses, and a number of beautiful photographs.
I am truly impressed with Ms. Johnstone depth of knowledge and how accurate she is. I can only imagine how much work it took to put this together. I have seen all the guidebooks to Ukraine and all the guidebooks with chapters on Ukraine. This is the best. I would give it six stars if I could.

Borderland: A Journey through the History of Ukraine by Anna Reid

“… fertile and fatally tempting to invaders, Ukraine was split between Russia and Poland from the mid seventeenth …”

“Flat, fertile, and fatally tempting to invaders,” Ukraina as literally translated means “on the edge” or “borderland,” wrote author Anna Reid in the beginning of her excellent travel, political, and historical essay on Ukraine. An independent state for the first time with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine has been on the border of various empires for centuries, at various times being split between Russia and Poland (from the mid 1600s to the late 1700s), Russia and Austria (throughout the nineteenth century), and Russia, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Romania (between the two world wars). The fact that Ukraine is literally a borderland has resulted in two main things she writes; a legacy of wars, purges, and other violence, and a “tenuous, equivocal sense of national identity.”

Reid takes the reader on a tour of Ukrainian history beginning with the medieval Kievan Rus kingdom, a civilization that gave rise to the later Russian, Ukrainian, and Belarussian peoples and languages (though it is still debated what the exact relationship between these groups are), civilizations that really started to widen in differences when the northern Rus fell under the sway of the Mongols and the southern Rus (the future Ukrainians) became dominated by the Lithuanians. From then on Ukraine’s history was often a bloody one; between 1914 and 1921 1.5 million died thanks to World War I, the Russian Revolution and subsequent civil war (during which there were two Ukrainian independence movements, both failing); the deliberate and cruel Stalin-ordered famines of 1932-1933 killed a fifth of the entire rural population or a total of 5 million people; many thousands of Ukrainians - out of a total number in the Soviet Union of 1 million executed and 2 million dying in labor camps - perished in the 1937-1938 purges; and 5.3 million died in the Second World War, or one in six of the entire population. The Chernobyl incident, which is also explored, may yet still claim lives.

Understandably lacking a national tradition (as for centuries there was no “Ukraine” nor were there “Ukrainians,” with at various times Poles and Russians refusing to respect Ukrainian culture, history, or language or even at times acknowledging its existence), they have struggled to find historical figures to identify with. One figure Reid discusses at length is the Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky (hetman being a title), a controversial figure who has been different things to different people (to the Ukrainians he was the leader of the first Ukrainian war of independence; to the Poles he was the rebel peasant who split Poland and started the nation on its long slow decline; to the Russians he has been the man who led the Ukrainians out of Polish domination and into the arms of Muscovy). Another she explores is Taras Shevchenko, a 19th century writer that many believe single-handedly turned Ukrainian into a literary language and went a very long way - perhaps more than any other figure - into creating a sense of national identity. Another figure - though not a specific individual - Reid explores as part of the Ukrainian national conscious is the Cossack, a figure she notes that is not unlike the cowboy in the American tradition; outlaw, frontiersmen, pioneer, fighter, even ranging across the steppe in covered wagons, drawing them up in a circle against Tatar (rather than Native American) attack.

Reid tours the modern nation, showing more regionalism and variety than I knew existed in Ukraine. Far eastern Ukraine - the Donbass coal basin - is densely populated, heavily industrialized, and predominately Russian-speaking. The southern city of Odessa - on the shores of the Black Sea - is a largely unspoiled city of outdoor cafes, a city with a long multi-ethnic tradition that once attracted such persecuted minorities as Serbs, Greeks, Armenians, Mennonite Germans, and Bulgars. The far western city of Lviv is part of Galicia, a once Austrian-dominated region, home in the 19th and 20th centuries to most of Ukraine’s dissidents, intelligentsia, and demonstrators. Chernivtsi, located in the shadow of the Carpathian Alps in extreme southwestern Ukraine, was ruled at various times by the Poles, Turks, Austrians, and Romanians, finally annexed by the Soviet Union in 1940, is now no longer as multi-ethnic as it once was but still a beautiful region of mountains and forests, once a favored vacation destination. She visited Crimea, a Russian-dominated peninsula that has had some difficulty believing it is part of Ukraine and a land that was once a pretty much independent Tatar state loosely associated with the Ottomans until annexed by Russia in 1783.

So what does Reid believe the future hold for Ukraine? She thinks that the future is fairly bright for the country. While it had some serious problems going into independence, some of those very weaknesses were also strengths; the somewhat fuzzy sense of national identity (nowhere as near developed as it was in the Baltic states for instance) has worked in the country’s favor in dealing with the large Russian minority. Given full citizenship upon independence, despite Ukrainian being made the official state language they were not required to take language tests to vote and the state even continued to fund Russian language schools. Reid also believed that the very bloodiness of Ukraine’s history in the 20th century have lead many in the nation at a personal level to shy away from war and even politics.

Where Ukraine might falter is largely in matters economic. The mid 1990s found Ukraine beset by runaway inflation and huge budget deficits, extreme difficulties in privatizing industries, and its agriculture so inefficient that 80% of all farmland produces only 50% of the total agricultural output. Perhaps worse, near epic corruption and red tape has several hampered business and foreign investment (she gives an example, where 14 different permits were required to export a sock).

All in all though, the author feels hopeful about Ukraine’s future. Its long-suffering people have certainly earned a break if its history is any judge.

The Shoah in Ukraine: History, Testimony, Memorialization by Ray Brandon and Wendy Lower

“… Chapter One- INTRODUCTION TO UKRAINE U KRAI N E On the last day of November …”

This anthology is made up of chapters written by a variety of authors/specialists on either the Holocaust or Ukraine. Some of these chapters are most likely taken straight from books that these authors have previously published (i.e. Bartov’s chapter is pretty much from his lastest book entitled “Erased”), which detail various aspects of the Holocaust in Ukraine before, during, and after the Second World War. Today, most of the attention has been focused on either the Holocaust in Poland or the Soviet Union in general, not so much on specifically Ukraine. This book aims to correct that missing page in western historiography on the Holocaust.

Being from Ukraine I found much of the information within the pages of this book engrossing to read about. Specifically, the history of Jews and Ukrainians in Galicia was very intriguing. I found it interesting that the Ukrainians in this area were affected by German/Austrian anti-Semitism which differed from that of other areas within Ukraine which was more affected by Polish and Russian anti-Semitism. There is an entire chapter which chronicles the destruction of Ukrainian Jewry village/town/city by village/town/city and year by year, an excellent reference. One of the chapters also notes how much more research is needed in regards to the role of Police Battalions, which in Ukraine actually killed more Jews than Einsatzgruppen C and D combined! Something that undoubtedly few know about. As with any book worth its salt this one raises as many questions as it answers, questions which hopefully will be answered in the near future as our knowledge and understanding of this event within the borders of Ukraine grows. Highly recommended for those with an interest in either the Holocaust or Ukrainian history during this time period.

Ukraine’s Orange Revolution by Andrew Wilson

As I write this review, Russia has invaded Georgia and is helping two breakaway regions in Georgia. This book reveals the interfering hands of Russia and President Putin in Ukraine in 2004. Not only had they the gumption of telling the world how the West and the USA were interfering in the affairs of an East European state, but they were financing and fradulently electing a stooge of their own choosing for Ukraine. It shows that Putin’s Russia is just a clone of the old Soviet state and tolerates no dissidence from countries on their own border. It also shows how the left in the West took up this fradulent story of the West interfering in Ukraine.

As the author relates, the Orange Revolution was a genuine social revolution caused by a dictatorship immitating a democracy (managed democracy). The old ruling elite were too corrupt to prevent the population from rising up and throwing them out of office. Russia and Putin supported the kleptocrats and also was shown the door. Hopefully this will happen elsewhere in the near abroad.

I think Wilson does a wonderful job of showing how this Revolution came about. This is a nice work on the progress of democracy in the former Soviet Union.

in this post modern age the complexities of every day life can seem overwhelming and full of obstacles. in the ANSWER IS SIMPLE sonia has written a book that speaks to all us longing for a connection to the divine mystery within us. she writes with such beautiful clarity how as a society we can transform our hearts and minds. she shares how we can access these profound states of insights thru the love and higher truth of our heart. it is clear that that sonia’s life work and message is the reconnection to the true embodiment of love. This book is wonderfull! READ IT and carry its truth with you.

Mike once again cuts through the pseudo-intellectual pomposity generated by most pundits to deliver a straightforward analysis of what’s wrong with this stupid country, and what he thinks needs to be done to fix it. I don’t always agree with his conclusions–to me, Obama is just one more in a long line of DLC corporatists–but he does manage to show that our problems, while not exactly easy to address, are also not nearly as complex as self-serving political “scientists” and other wonks make them out to be. As a matter of fact, as the book shows, if one ignores the Orwellian spin doctors and applies some good old populist perspective, it’s amazing how our most trying social concerns suddenly seem to lose the aspect of overwhelming doom.

Mike Moore for President!

Peace at Any Price: How the World Failed Kosovo (Crises in World Politics) by Iain King and Whit Mason

“… KOSOVO AND HUMANITARIAN INTERVENTION UPTO 1999 Both Albanians and Serbs use …”

In the past decade, Kosovo has only ever hit the headlines because of violence and tragedy. Ethnic cleansing, war crimes, NATO intervention: these events dominated the news agenda for the first six months of 1999 and defined Kosovo’s international reputation. Sadly, destruction is more telegenic than construction, and the important attempts to steer Kosovo towards a better future have received far less attention.

The authors’ task is to tell the story of the UN mission that has administered Kosovo from the early days after NATO intervention through to - presumably - its imminent independence (conditional, supervised or however formulated). This is the first significant study of UNMIK, and succeeds brilliantly in illuminating its challenges, dilemmas and limitations.

From its uncertain first steps, by 2001 UNMIK oversaw the largest per-capita investment in peacebuilding that the world has ever seen. Yet the returns on that investment have been unimpressive, yielding a host of lessons that the “international community” urgently needs to learn if it is to succeed in elsewhere.

Paying particular attention to the orchestrated ethnic violence of March 2004, the authors convincingly portray an international community consistently unwilling to confront hardliners in the Kosovo Albanian community. This timidity is the source of the failure identified in the title, and has long-term consequences for Kosovo and its population.

As a ground-breaking study, the book almost inevitably left me wanting more. What could UNMIK realistically have achieved, given the timeframe and resources available? How much influence could a short-term mission - however well-resourced - really exert over Kosovo’s long-term development? Social and political change is a long-term process, yet western politics - under the scrutiny of the 24-hour media - demands rapid results. Do we really have the stomach for the necessary long-term engagement, or are we content simply with the illusion that something is being done?

Necessarily, the authors have been more conservative in their aims, but in exploring UNMIK’s successes and failures, they have rendered a great service to those who must grapple with these problems. We can only hope that future Donald Rumsfelds will choose to listen, and be willing to learn.

Kosovo: War and Revenge by Tim Judah

“… preying on people at the gorge of Kacanik, close to Kosovo’s modern border with Macedonia. …”

Perhaps nothing explains more about the reason for the war in Kosovo then a chart on page 313 showing the population change in Serbia from 1948 to 1991. The Albanian population ballooned from 498,242 to 1,606,690 while the Serb population barely budged from 171,911 to 195,301. Two groups, one Muslim the other Christian, old rivals, each claiming the tradition and ownership of Serbia. During World War II the Serbs sided with the allies inspiring many as the “Serbian David standing up to the Austro-Hungarian-German Goliath.” Meanwhile the Albanians took up with the Axis gaining, “an unenviable reputation, apparently preferring rape, pillage and murder to fighting, particularly in Serbian areas”. The Albanians managed to appall even the Nazi’s (if that seems possible) who eventually disarmed them. Is it surprising that a people who were savaged in the past would fear and loathe a group that was so decidedly winning the population war?

It takes a bit of the book to get your bearings what with Albania and Kosovo and Serbia and Bosnia and Montenegro and on and on. It all becomes very confusing but basically it boils down to the Albanians and Serbians reveling in abusing each other whenever the opportunity arises. It’s an age old battle with each side claiming ownership of the same piece of land. In this particular conflict the Albanians started by taking a Gandhi like tact of passive resistance towards the Serbian abuses unfortunately this was a failure and in Srebrenica, Bosnia 8000 Muslim men were massacred creating a popular guerilla movement.

I can remember how, after the NATO bombing ended, Slobodan Milosevic was described as a modern day Hitler but the author paints a very different picture. The author writes, “When trying to comprehend Milosevic it is vital to understand that the man has no long-term vision. His main interest is power and keeping it.” Apparently Milosevic was more of a tin-pot dolt than a master strategist with his biggest blunder being the deporting of hundreds of thousands of Kosovars. Thinking that NATO was bluffing about bombing would run a close second. There were no grand designs or extra-regional desires. Milosevic was more a product of desperation.

In the end the NATO bombing forced Milosevic from power and now he’s dead but the questions remain. Was it right to use NATO against a sovereign country which had not attacked any of them without a Security Council mandate? The Serbians had suffered at the hands of the Albanians and thus took revenge until NATO stepped in but afterwards almost a quarter of a million Serbs and others were forced to flee or find themselves ethnically cleansed. It was the Serbs who were now having their homes burned and their churches looted. The author writes, “While Albanians take their revenge today, the time may come for the Serbs to take theirs” So what was achieved in the end? As the author wrote the biggest lesson of Kosovo may be that no lessons were learned. It’s just one more bloody example of ethnic hatred and revenge added to a very long list.

Kosovo (Bradt Travel Guide) by Gail Warrander and Verena Knaus

“… Back GEOGRAPHY Kosovo has a surface area of 10,908km2. It is ringed by …”

I bought this book because I will start to work in Kosovo in the next few months.
I already read this book and it is full of precious information you really need while being there.
I already have experience with Bradt Travel guide for Macedonia while I was there also for my job.
The books are very usefull and contain a lot of information about almost everything.
This is at this point the only tourist guide existing about Kosovo.

Kosovo: A Short History by Noel Malcolm

I was not sure whether to give Malcolm’s book a 3 or 4 stars but because it is such a well-researched book, I decided to give it 4, although I would probably agree with the overall rating for his book so far- 3 and a half.
As there is so much to say about his book, this will be a thorough review.

First of all, Malcolm has clearly gone out of his way to write the most extensive book on Kosovo’s history of any Western historian. I disagree with the notion that he simply wrote this book to earn some money because the time, help and resources he would have required travelling around Europe to various national libraries, looking through archives from hundreds of years back, asking people for their opinions etc must have been at great financial, as well psychological, cost to himself.
Saying that however, one can see that he visited the Zagreb national library and the library in Tirana but did not visit any libraries in Belgrade, probably the largest city in south-eastern Europe and in this case for Malcolm’s research, a vital institution of knowledge.

I reject the excuse that he did not have the time or that the sources in Belgrade’s library would have been highly biased in regards to his research because the same could be argued about the sources in Zagreb and Tirana.
Another criticism that I would make is that all of the people that he acknowledges at the beginning of his book are non-Serbs, either Croats, Albanians, Bosnians or Westerners which raises questions about his objectivity.

Now, to the book. I think that the earlier chapters on Kosovo’s history are relatively well-balanced but do get the impression that he reserves a disproportionately larger share of the book to talking about the history of the Albanians, rather than the history of Kosovo’s Serbs (from the 16th century onwards)
I think that the area of Kosovo that he calls “Eastern Kosovo” is also quite neglected historically, whereas he reserves alot of paper for Western Kosovo, possibly because that area had a much larger population.

From the period 1912-1941, however, Malcolm is blatantly partisan in favour of the Albanians, although certainly the Albanians did suffer terribly at the hands of the Belgrade and local Serbian administrators,leaders and armed forces. While commenting on the atrocities carried out by the Chetniks, Serbian and Montenegrin armies, such as forced conversions in the Pec area, massacres at Urosevac etc he doesn’t reserve any space for atrocities committed against Serb civilians in Kosovo, which I find astounding. With Kosovo during WW2 he takes a far more balanced approach and states that Albanians and Serbs were committing atrocities against each other, although the Serbs were clearly receiving the worst of the treatment. However, he then quotes one Croat and one Serb historian and one claims that 3,000 Albanians were killed altogether and the other states that 14,000 were killed. There is a huge discrepancy of 11,000 which is not explained by Malcolm. Also, both generally agree that between 3 and 4,000 Serbs died; how is that so, if he stated previously that they bore the brunt of the atrocities? His own view about the Italian and German occupation of Kosovo seems to be relatively benign as well, and there is no criticism of the highly nationalist Balli Kombetar movement in Kosovo during this period.

Finally, his last two chapters from 1945-1997 are generally fair although I would raise one point. He claims that only about 0.4% of Serbs that emigrated from the period 1966-1980’s said they left because of harrassment and violence by Albanians. I personally find this very hard to believe, because there has been plenty of documented evidence to support the theory that many Serbs were leaving because of coercion and violence. Its true that the Albanians have the highest birth rate in Europe and that the economic conditions were poor but to say that 99.6% of Serbs left for these two reasons alone is erroneous.

So, to sum up. Malcolm has clearly done some excellent research on Kosovo and I think that it is completely unfair and incorrect to say that his book is biased all the way through and therefore not worthy to be called a history book. Also, some reviewers criticise Malcolm for using alot more Albanian sources than Serbian ones. I suppose this is understandable, considering that at the time of writing 90% of Kosovo’s population was Albanian.
Its also misleading to say that whenever he does quote a Serb, it is simply to attack or negate Serbian beliefs and ideologies.

Malcolm has used a wide variety of Serbian sources and has also disregarded and corrected certain Albanian myths as being false or exaggerations. For example, the notion that Albanians were always a majority in Kosovo and how some Albanian writers refer to the Presevo valley in southern Serbia as “Eastern Kosovo”, the claim that 40,000 Albanians died in Kosovo during WW2, etc.
A highly enjoyable book which is slightly spoiled in some chapters due to partisan views.

NATO’s Air War for Kosovo: A Strategic and Operational Assessment (Project Air Force Series on Operation Allied Force) by Benjamin S. Lambeth

“… abuses that were being committed against the citizens of its Kosovo province (see the Frontispiece, Map of Kosovo) by Yugoslavia’s elected …”

I was very impressed with this book. I have read a number of books on this operation and the book I thought would be the best overall review was the book written by General Clark. Unfortunately, for me that book did not provide much detail on the actual working of the operation. He focused on the political side of the air war and what it took to get the NATO members to play nice with each other. I came away from his book with some details, but a bit disappointed. This book on the other hand was exactly what I wanted. I always love it when I pick up a book and it turns out to completely exceed my expectations. It’s like getting a great surprise gift.

This book had it all, a good overview of the lead up to the NATO action, a solid review of the weapon systems that were used, when they were used and how they were used, coverage of the operational issues and a good overall political review. I truly think that if you are looking for the one volume book that covers the war from the NATO point of view then this is the one. The book also did a good job in covering the effectiveness of the overall campaign and the working relationship of NATO. The authors did not present it as all success and good feeling, but the true problems that came out of any operation of this size with this many chiefs. He authors do a good job of presenting the difficulties of working on an operation with so many people that have to agree and showing that this organizational structure did more for the Serbian’s then anyone else. Overall I thought this was a great book.

From Plato to NATO: The Idea of the West and Its Opponents by David Gress

The heart of the text disputes Martin Bernal’s thesis & reduces the somewhat exaggerated influence of ancient Greece. While the soul of this book is that the future of the west depends on the new remembering its roots in the ancient foundations of Rome, Christianity, and the Germanic traditions to create a smoother synthesis. The virtues we hold as sacred liberty, reason, and progress grew out of the old west. “We cannot flourish when its roots are ignored, or vilified.”

The author uses well crafted points to refute the emotional histrionics of political correctness used by his critics. He eloquently defends the west with a finely sharpened pen. Painfully pointing out that the west is more under siege from within than from external enemies.

“Note this was written before 9-11-2001.” The crucial points he made were as follows. Ch1-47-8, ch2-debunking some of our Greek roots 74-6,91-4. Ch3-108-9 He thoroughly proves that Rome deserves far more credit than the faulty “grand narrative gave it.” Notable scholars like Fergus Millar and J.M. Roberts support his point. Ex: Without Rome’s legions, how would Greek culture have reached central and western Europe? Ch4-He dissects Hollywoods distorting of our history and the non-scholars who fed their scripts. Ex: on 162, he proves how the revisionists were wrong, the Dark Ages were very bleek! Ch5-185-7, he reveals our often neglected German Heritage. Ch7-261-70, how the growth of the new west came about. Ch8-He reveals the various schools of the west in debate.

Note-on 335 it is revealed that French author Arthur Gobineau inadvertantly founded “Nazi racial doctrine.” Ch9-Goes over the mistakes the west has made. Ch10-He deconstructs the “New Lefts Delusions.” Ch11-The west vs. itself, how we have become overly self critical. Lastly, in ch12, on 556-9 Universalisms failure and how the west can thrive.

Winning Ugly: Nato’s War to Save Kosovo by Ivo H. Daalder and Michael E. O’Hanlon

This book’s ultimate value for future historians, I predict, will be as a guide to source documents. Its analyses are already dated and rendered anachronistic by “facts” on the ground.

Illustrative of most everything that is wrong with fact-thick, morally vacant analysis, the forest of footnotes and obsession with the minutiae of diplomacy remind one of those thick studies of the Congress of Vienna (which settled Europe for a half-century after Napoleon’s defeat & exile) from the 19th century. The pro-Clinton bias is also evident despite a superficial attempt as “balance.” Much analytic acrobatics is performed to portray the Clinton administation and the ineffectiveness of NATO (and the cowardice of French and German leaders is almost entirely overlooked).

The authors also miss one of the central points proved so recently: war by committee, in Beltway speak, “multilaterialism”, will always fail, especially when it is coupled with an Administration which plans its actions on the basis of polls and an obsession with a tainted legacy.

Nor is William Jefferson Clinton properly criticized for enganging in an adulterous affair and then committing perjury and half dozen other felonies in an attempt to hide his illicit affair. Instead some reviewers bring to task those who held Clinton accountable for his multiple crimes involving the Lewinsky affair (a Federal judge did hold him in contempt and publically label him a perjurer).

Other reviewers laughably attempt to blame Clinton and his Administration’s base incompetence upon what they partisanlly call a “frivolous impeachment” (Richard Nixon faced impeachment over the VERY SAME CRIMES! Perjury, subornation of perjury, conspiracy…yet apparently when a Liberal-left Democrat commits these crimes, in the minds of some, they aren’t crimes at all; after all, the Watergate burglary was, according to one of its primary perpetrators, carried out to find proof of John Dean’s wife’s past as a call girl; oh well, since it involved sex, it can’t be a big deal).

To blame the Republican House for doing its Constitutional duty (while congratulating the Senate on failing to do its duty) and impeaching a President who brazenly committed crimes involving the abuse of his official position is breathtaking in its supercillious desperation.

This book also demonstrates why history should not be written until a significant amount of time has passed (at least ten, more profitably at least twenty or twenty-five years): lack of perspective. In the haze and smoke of recently concluded battle, any analysis is bound to be deeply flawed–as this one is.

Time must be allowed to past, scholar must be given time to digest the facts and the primary sources. Above all, time must intervene so that the actions of the immediate past (just a few years ago) can be judged in light of the lasting consequences (and results or failure) on the ground.

Even today, while it is obviously that earlier, forceful intevention, instead of the usual futzing around with the UN and NATO, bodies designed to delay action not facilitate it, no one can seriously say what the ultimate outcome of NATO’s intervention or the horrors of the Milosevic/Mladic push for a Greater Serbia empire in the Balkans will be. The claims about a push for a Greater Albania are little more than Serbophilic nonsense given the economically prostrate state of Albania (as close to a “failed” state as one can get without actually being one) and the non-existence of an Albanian military. The Macedonian Army, for example, was well on its way to crushing the Albanian terrorists when the Clinton-Albright intervention halted the police action against what were an ill-equipped, poorly led band of rag-tag terrorists. (And the idea that FYROM should have to given into Albanian demands of autonomy and lingusitic equality are quite ridiculous when juxtaposed with France’s long-time refusal to grant similar rights to the Bretons, Basques and other minorities; likewise with the Spanish gov’ts similar policy toward the Catalans and their own Basques; sauce for the goose is NOT apparently sauce for the gander, a point the book completely ignores).

Just as the notorious Bomb Damage Assessment of the strategic bombing of Germany during World War 2, conducted in the immediate aftermath by the US military, led to seriously flawed conclusions that distorted military policy makers appreciation for the very significant role such bombing played in destroying Nazi Germany’s ability to fight, this book too will most likely be shown to contain short-comings not yet recognized.

The “instant-book” phenomenon is not, like so much else, a product of the 24-hour, internet-wired world, but one that goes back to at least World War 2 when a slew of books came out in 1940 and 1941 by, especially, journalists purporting to provide an “inside view” of Hitler’s Germany. Few of these books have much value at today because their immediacy to the events they examine and the author’s consequent lack of access to critical information (especially information concealed by totalitarian and or criminal regimes)render them useless.

This book should be read, if for no other reason, as a clarion call to scholars and historians to avoid the “instant” analysis bug. Time matures and improves human beings. The same is true of historiography.

The impulse to influence future historians–as well as reap quick profits from the topical immediacy of the subject matter seems as irresistable now as it was seven decades ago.

The phenomenon still continues today during the Liberation of Iraq and the democracy aborning. The vast majority of books like this will be consigned to the “dustbin of history”. If they have any staying power is usually negative: cementing one political factions version of events that helps only to muddy the waters for later, more detached and impartial analyses in the decades to come. I.e. converting one political factions biases into received wisdom which only hampers serious history.

A book of straight reportage would have been far more helpful than a thick tome cluttered with stiff, wonky prose and politically influenced goals (however superficially impartial the authors attempt to be).

NATO, the European Union, and the Atlantic Community: The Transatlantic Bargain Reconsidered by General John Shalikashvili and Stanley R. Sloan

Stanley Sloan pairs an easy-reading writing style with a well-documented text to produce an outstanding work for both novice and scholar. His book focuses on the issues surrounding the formation of NATO, the historical events that shaped the alliance, and its relevance in today’s political environment.

The majority of the book is dedicated to examining the historical events surrounding the formation of NATO and the European Union. He begins with NATO’s genesis out of World War II by discussing the need for a collective defense system, the struggles to gain organizational consensus and early challenges faced by NATO. At center stage of the conflict is the European distrust of US intentions and the US’s desire for greater European financial/military support for European issues.

He moves to the Cold War period, examining the impacts of nuclear weapons policy on NATO and he looks at lessons from the Cold War. This book provides a great deal of insight on US Nuclear Policy development as we confronted both a Soviet threat and European political challenges. The post-Cold War portion of the book provides an exceptional look at the wartime missions faced in the Balkans, the issue of NATO expansion, and the impacts of 9/11.

The final three chapters examine NATO’s relevance in today’s environment and potential organizational changes for the 21st Century. He finishes with his draft of a “contemporary” North Atlantic Treaty and his rationale for why changes need to be made to the 1949 original.

Sloan includes two appendicles which compliment this book. The first is the 1949 Articles of the North Atlantic Treaty and the second is a chronological history of NATO from 1941-2001. Both are outstanding references. He also includes a bibliography as well as web links for updated information. All are great additions.

I recommend this audiobook.

No True Glory: A Frontline Account of the Battle for Fallujah by Bing West

“… In NATO Europe the army championed an Air-Land Doctrine for coordinating massive …”

The First and Second Battles of Fallujah, in April and October, 2004, represented the largest sustained US military engagement since the Battle of Hue over thirty years earlier in Vietnam. But just as the battles represented a landmark in terms of US military involvement in Iraq, the political and strategic landscape of the US position in the country was dramatically altered as a result of the campaign. No True Glory is a great overview of the battles and I would highly recommend it.

No True Glory provides a searing description of the fighting that destroyed that city, as well as an insightful and critical overview of the political and military decision- making that affected the outcome, and whose repercussions and lessons define Iraq today more than any other episode in the war.

The book outlines how The White House, senior generals and ambassadors ordered, then stopped, then re-ordered the attack upon Fallujah in April 2004, finally refusing to let the Marines finish the job at all. This occurred despite evidence that the Marines were close to clearing out the city. (Indeed, in less publicized battles in nearby Ramadi, the Marines had closed out an equally entrenched revolt. The major difference in Fallujah was international press coverage). Result: Fallujah became the stronghold of the insurgency and the Marines had to face a more entrenched and confident foe in October 2004. Fallujah provided a blueprint to the insurgents in the use of international political opinion to change the course of US military action.

The book also gives a clear insight into the challenges the US faces in pacifying the Sunni triangle, given the entrenched rebellion and the Sunni’s fear of giving up control of Iraq. It sheds some light on the difficulties in getting the Sunnis to cooperate in the political process as played out in the recent constitutional drama.

Finally, the book highlights the intensity of the house-to-house and hand-to-hand fighting in Fallujah, which was equal to engagements going back to World War II. The Sunni insurgency, with some combatants jumping out of taxi cabs to join fights, only to melt away upon disengagement, offers a classic guerilla style war, with high walled compounds taking the place of the jungles and mountains typically associated with these campaigns. The Marines, when set loose, overwhelmed the opposition in a manner which caused the insurgency to permanently switch tactics from fixed position defenses to a more brutal manner of roadside and car bombing.

No True Glory is not only a great look at the battles, but a great primer on the issues the US continue to face in Iraq.

SOG: The Secret Wars of America’s Commandos in Vietnam by John Plaster

“… t While the president addressed NATO’s North Atlantic Council, those aboard Air Force One worked out …”

Since the mid-sixties the American media/Hollywood has painted a picture of the American military, and the Americans who populate it, as villians of mythical proportions. Since I was in the Army from ‘67 to ‘70 I know this to be not only an untruth but a slander of mythical proportions. However, in the world of popular thought it’s hard to fight against NBC, CBS, PBS, ABC an Hollywood … they have the the loudest propoganda machine the world has ever seen.

That brings me to “reviews”. If the Fort Worth Star-Telegram touts a movie or book … I ain’t goin’, but if they pan it I’ll be there. So I recommend that before you buy Sog: The Secret Wars of America’s Commandos in Vietnam, read the reviews. You will find them all to be FIVE STAR and they glow with praise for the detailed account of a true American Warrior and his battles behind enemy lines. No ghost-writer here … the only ghost in this book are those of the valliant men that died fighting at Plaster’s side and the 100:1 (kill ratio) North Vietnamese that died at the end of a SOG AR-15. This book and Mr. Plaster’s other VN history, Secret Commandos: Behind The Lines With The Elite Warriors Of SOG was written by the REAL DEAL and it’s written in a most readable and entertaining style. If you want to feel really good about America and her military in Vietnam buy this audiobook. I promise that you’ll be writing another FIVE STAR review when you’re finished. THANK YOU JOHN PLASTER.

PeeWee Pilates: Pilates for the Postpartum Mother and Her Baby by Holly Jean Cosner and Stacy Malin

“… What most new mothers want is to look attractive and sexy again, and PeeWee Pilates is on the case! Pee- Wee Pilates gets to work …”

I’ve never done pilates before but this book has helped me tremendously in regaining balance and strength after having my baby. my daughter also loves the exercises and can stand doing them for a good 15-20 minutes, which is all I need every day. the book also has great information about infants that other books I’ve read don’t share. definitely recommended

Six-Week Bikini Countdown: Tone your butt, abs, and thighs fast combining Pilates with select strength and cardio interval training workouts by Karon Karter

“… Stay committed, and then say hello to your bikini body. PILATES: A STRONG, SEXY SPINE AND THE BEST BIKINI ABS Bikini abs are made …”

Not just for Women! As a Doctor of Chiropractic I have encouraged patients of both sexes to buy the book. It is filled with great workouts that can challenge people of all fitness levels. Targeted at the muscles needed to stabilize and support your body (the “core”), not only will this help you tone, but strengthen as well.

Karon integrates exercises like Pilates (long a favorite exercise of dancers) with exercises usually only performed by elite athletes like “plyometrics” and interval training (made popular recently in an article published in The Australian Journal of Applied Physiology). Pilates was started by Joseph Pilates as a way to rehabilitate wounded soldiers during World War I. It emphasizes control, strengthening and stretching of key muscles in the body. Plyometrics uses quick short movements to help build strength, and speed. Interval training usually involves high speed workouts along with lower intensity workouts such as sprints, while performing a longer run. Interval training helps burn calories and increases cardiovascular fitness.

Karon’s program is FUN! Her writing style is easy to read, follow, and is entertaining. She takes you from the basics, to more advanced exercises as your skills improve. By the time you’re done you’ll have a better body, not just a better “bikini body.”

Sexy in 6: Sculpt Your Body with the 6 Minute Quick-Blast Workout by Tracey Mallett

“… 146 Â SEXY IN 6 6. Pilates Side Leg Series Inspiration: Pure toned buttocks! Think Jessica Biel. …”

Tracey’s book brilliantly shares her years of expertise and experience in health, nutrition, and fitness. This is clearly a program written by a woman for woman. Tracey understands all those bulges and jiggles that many woman are self conscious about and has designed exercises to target those areas. The exercises are designed to work out several muscle groups at a time, so you get more bang for your buck! A very quick and efficient way to work out and GET results.
The 6 minute segments can be broken up throughout the day. No excuse not to squeeze in a quick blast here and there!
The food program is very easy to follow. It doesn’t require unusual ingredients, just simple shopping and prep. It is easy to stick to because it doesn’t eliminate any food groups. It is all about portion control and timing.
I participated in Team Mallet and Tracey’s Sexy in 6 worked for me! In just six weeks I lost 4% body fat and several inches which means I replaced fat with muscle! Once you see the results, you’ll be motivated to adopt this healthy life style forever! Let’s face it, who doesn’t want to look like Tracey!

Shortcuts To Sexy Legs And Butt: 337 Ways To Trim, Tone, Camouflage And Beautify by Cheryl Fenton

“… don’t stretch muscles that haven’t been warmed up. iso . sexy legs and butt …”

I have been what the author calls a “pilatista” for 15 years, and I wish someone had written a book like this sooner! I commend her on the vast collection of research and information included in the book, which has been both helpful and inspirational. I will be looking forward to the sequel!

Pilates for Dummies by Ellie Herman

“… 10 Part I: Pilates Basics beginning series, plus new and harder intermediate exercises. Sometimes …”

I started using this book 2 years ago to learn the basics of Pilates. I have tried other Pilates books/DVDs since, but I keep going back to this book. The first part of the book explains what Pilates is, such as controlling movement, maintaining stability, and why breathing at particular times in the exercises is important, and it gives examples of these that are easy to understand. Then it goes into what the words neutral spine, abdominal scoop, pilates first position, etc., actually mean, and how to do them.

The mat exercises contain 4 levels: Pre-Pilates, Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced. Not knowing anything about Pilates when I started, I began with the Pre-Pilates workout. Because there are multiple steps to most exercises, it did take some time to remember when to breathe, when to roll up or down, but once I got that down, it made the subsequent levels of exercises easier to learn. Also, a few of the exercises were impossible for me because I didn’t have the strength to do them, but I just did what I could, for example the hip-up, I would lie on the mat with my feet in the air and worked those abdominal muscles although my feet were going nowhere, and within 2 weeks I was doing all 9 hip-ups. You just have to do a little more each time. The beginning mat series contains some exercises from Pre-Pilates and it’s not very long, so it wasn’t too difficult to learn.

The intermediate mat series is where I really felt I was getting a workout, and I still use this one, although I have added some to it since. It really felt as if I was getting an intense abdominal workout and after adding the variations for the side kicks, my legs definitely got stronger. The advanced series I have done a few times, but it is rather long, about an hour compared with 20 minutes of the intermediate, and I have trouble finding time for it.

The next section deals with Pilates accessories such as foam roller, magic circle, and big ball, and give some exercises to do using those. Overview of Pilates equipment just tells what some of the things are you might find in a Pilates studio and shows pictures of people using them, but gives no exercises.

Overall this is a great book that I would recommend to anybody interested in learning Pilates. Thanks to the wonderfully detailed instructions, I believe I am getting a safe, effective Pilates workout.

Zip file of the entire book 456mb

Since reviews of entirely different editions seem doomed to appear together: This is a review of the two-volume edition of Sir Thomas Malory’s “Le Morte D’Arthur” published by Penguin Books, edited by Janet Cowan, with an Introduction by John Lawlor. Originally part of the Penguin English Library (1969), it was later (1986) included in the Penguin Classics, in both the older, smaller (mass-market) Penguin format and the current, somewhat larger format; they all appear to be identical in contents. However, I will discuss other versions, notably the Modern Library, the Wordsworth Classics, and the old Everyman’s Library editions.

The Penguin edition is based primarily on the 1485 text printed by William Caxton. It is modernized in spelling, but not in grammar. Each volume has a glossary of proper names, and another of archaic words; the most difficult words are generally noted and translated at the foot of the page on which they appear. A small section of notes in each volume deal with some confusing passages, and identify places where Caxton’s text has been emended — usually from the “Winchester Manuscript,” now in the British Library, discovered in a safe at Winchester College in 1934, after being mistakenly catalogued under the title of a 1634 printed edition. The manuscript differs from Caxton’s text in thousands of places, mostly minor, but some very important.

(There is now another set of editions, based primarily on the longer Winchester text; unfortunately, modernizations of that version are either abridged, or, in my opinion, more or less open rewritings, or both, like Keith Baines’ “rendition” — not to mention John Steinbeck’s unfinished “Acts of King Arthur …,” which is a retelling as a modern novel. Two complete old-spelling editions of this second, longer, version, are in paperback, the Oxford Standard Authors original-spelling edition, as “Malory: Complete Works,” followed by a recent Norton Critical Edition, as “Le Morte D’Arthur,” on somewhat different lines. I have reviewed them together, under the “Complete Works” title; both are worthwhile, for readers willing and able to deal with them.)

Among the readily available editions of the Caxton “Morte,” the Penguin edition is my favorite; a judicious balance of modern, or regularized, spellings, clarifying punctuation, and short explanations, without distortion of the not-yet-quite-Modern English of the sentences. Although Lawlor’s introduction is beginning to show its age (Malory’s French and English sources are treated as evidence in a then-current critical debate), Janet Cowan’s text remains exceptionally attractive. The two-volume format is easy to handle, but can be a bit of a nuisance; if you want the whole story, be sure to order both!

It was Caxton, the pioneer of English printing, who assigned the title “The Death of Arthur” to a work which begins with Arthur’s conception and birth, for reasons which he rather laboriously explained in a final colophon. (For those of you who know enough French to see that the title should begin “La Mort” — the spelling is, as elsewhere in the text, based on medieval *Norman* standards, and the Parisian certainty of Death’s feminine gender did not dictate English scribal — or printing-house — practices in the fifteenth century.) Until the publication of the Winchester text in 1947, all editions of this famous late Middle English compilation of stories of King Arthur and his Knights had to be based, more or less (and often less) directly, on the 1485 printing by William Caxton, of which two copies have survived, one missing fifteen leaves.

Unhappily, most nineteenth-century printings (the first two both in 1816) were based on the very corrupt (”improved”) 1634 Stansby printing, sometimes sporadically compared to the Caxton text, or were in some other way “corrected” for (mainly) Victorian readers. In 1817, the poet Robert Southey tried to rely on Caxton, but had to replace the missing pages in the copy he was using with those in one of the reprintings, in 1498 and 1528, by Caxton’s apprentice and successor, the self-named Wynkyn “de Worde.” (The first is the original “illustrated Malory,” the second is the first intentionally “modernized” Malory, customers having apparently complained that a book written in the 1460s was sounding a bit old-fashioned.) In addition, Southey’s publisher seems to have used Stansby as a printing-house copy, directly or through the competing reprintings of 1816. Uncertainty as to proper editorial principles, reflecting uncertainty as to Malory’s literary worth, and concern over the “immoral” contents of a book thought likely to appeal to boys, continued through the nineteenth century. (And into our time, as well.)

The three-volume edition (with extensive apparatus) by H. Oskar Sommers of 1889-1891 finally used the surviving copies of the 1485 edition as the sole authority. (I have not seen a reported reprinting of the full version, but the Sommers “Morte” text, without the introduction, notes, glossary, etc., is available in a hypertext format). It was presumably used by F.J. Simmons, who edited the ornate J.M. Dent edition of 1893-1894, illustrated by Aubrey Beardsley (reprinted a few years ago by Crown; Dover has issued an illustrations-only volume as well). Sommers’ text was certainly used by Israel Gollancz for another Dent edition, the modernized four-volume Temple Classics version of 1897. This text appears to have been reset for a two-volume edition in 1906, in Dent’s Everyman’s Library series, with normalized (modern) spellings. There are some peculiarities in this version; for example, the spelling of names often changes between volumes one and two. For most purposes it was reliable enough, and was widely read during much of the twentieth century, appearing in the US in hardcover in Dutton reprints of the Everyman’s Library, with a paperback edition in the 1970s. It seems to be out of print, but used copies show up regularly.

The Dent editions of the “Morte” had competition from other modernized texts, based on the Sommers edition, which included a revision by Sir Edward Strachey of his somewhat expurgated (”for boys”) 1868 Globe edition for Macmillan. This version was replaced by a new Macmillan edition in 1903, edited by the distinguished bibliographer, and able editor of popular editions, A.W. Pollard. Pollard’s text has been reprinted by a number of American publishers, and was at one time a Book Club offering, advertised as “unexpurgated” — which it was, compared to some Victorian editions, and most especially to Sidney Lanier’s “The Boy’s King Arthur.” The Pollard text is available on-line. It has been reprinted yet again, in the current Modern Library hardcover and paperback editions, with a fine new introduction, by Elizabeth J. Bryan, describing briefly the Arthurian Legend, and the problem of the two texts of the “Morte.” The Pollard text also appears to underlie the Wordsworth Classics paperback, which has a helpful new Introduction, by Helen Cooper, and includes an index of characters (by Book and Chapter, not page number), but lacks notes. It is a relatively inexpensive, if not overwhelmingly attractive, alternative to the other editions.

Since the appearance of the Penguin “Morte,” there have been two major technical publications of the Caxton text: a facsimile, edited by Paul Needham (1976), and a critical edition, edited by James Spisak (1983). I am not aware of a popular edition which has taken advantage of these resources.

Natalie Portman: Queen of Hearts by James L. Dickerson

Having listen James Dickerson’s other audiobooks, I knew what to expect from this one — meticulous excellence. And, of course, a timely and fascinating subject.

The star of Natalie Portman continues to rise, her upcoming “Star Wars” movie will take her to another level and Dickerson shows us that her work speaks for itself. She’ll turn 21 in June, already has an impressive list of films and her adult beauty is just beginning to bloom.

Dickerson digs under the surface, of course, follows her path to fame and discusses her reluctance to reveal the private side of her life. This is an author who has the ability to not only tell the truth about his subjects (sometimes to their displeasure) but also to offer interesting commentary along the way.

What better time to latch on to the adult Miss Portman’s star and this is an excellent place to begin the ride.

Dressing a Galaxy: The Costumes of Star Wars by Trish Biggar, Rick McCallum, Natalie Portman, and George Lucas

Trish Biggar was the costume designer of the ‘Star Wars’ Prequel Trilogy. In this beautiful book she details the work that went into the design of the many costumes used by all of the actors shown in the three movies. In addition there are several short articles or commentaries by George Lucas (writer, director), Rick McCallum (producer), Natalie Portman (Princess Amidala), Samuel L. Jackson (Mace Windu).

This is a large format, coffee table type book. The printing, the photographs are excellent. In many cases for the more important costumes the original concept drawings are given along with a description of how they changed over time to become what we saw on the screen.

Most of the book is on the prequel, i.e. Episodes I, II, and III. There are pictures of the costumes used in the original three movies as well which show how fashion design might have changed over the time between the movies.

This is a fascinating book for Star Wars fans, and for anyone interested in seeing how movie costumes are developed (i.e. in at least one case, having custom fabrics woven).

The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch and Jeffrey Zaslow

“… I I I . I . R I , . (Natalie Portman) tells the toymaker (Dustin Hoffman) that he can’t die; he …”

kind of tweed-jacket-with-elbow-patches talk that may or may not impart useful knowledge and lasting inspiration, but almost surely gives all present some warm and fuzzy feelings.

But a “last lecture” by Randy Pausch was different in every possible way. The professor of Computer Science, Human Computer Interaction, and Design at Carnegie Mellon University was just 46, and this really was his last lecture — he was dying.

And dying fast. In the summer of 2006, Pausch had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, a ferociously efficient killer. Only 4% of its victims are alive five years after diagnosis. Most die much faster. Think months, not years.

Pausch fought back. Surgery. Chemo. Progress. But in August of 2007, the cancer returned — and now it had metastasized to his liver and spleen. The new prognosis: 3-6 months of relative health, then a quick dispatch to the grave, leaving behind a wife and three little kids.

On September 18, 2007 — less than a month later — Randy Pausch gave his last lecture.

No one would have faulted him for launching a blast about desperately seizing opportunities in an irrational universe. Instead, Pausch delivered a laugh-filled session of teaching stories about going after your childhood dreams and helping others achieve theirs and enjoying every moment in your life — even the ones that break your heart. Pausch’s philosophy, in brief: “We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.”

The lecture was taped, and slapped up on YouTube. Jeffrey Zaslow wrote about it in The Wall Street Journal, and news shows made Pausch “person of the week” — and soon Pausch had a book deal reported to be worth almost $7 million. Few expected him to be alive when it was published.

On February 19, I interviewed Randy Pausch for Reader’s Digest. To the surprise of many — including Pausch — he was still his recognizable, energetic self. As I write (in early April, 2008), Pausch reports he’s recovering from a standing eight count. But his good news doesn’t deceive him. He notes that pancreatic cancer did to the photographer Dith Pran (”The Killing Fields”) what Pol Pot couldn’t — it buried him in three months.

And now we have the book. It’s two books, really, because it reads one way with the author still among us and will surely read differently when “The Last Lecture” is like the The Butterfly and the Diving Bell — the record of a dead man, talking. The first book invites your support and gives you a wake-up call. The second, I suspect, is also a wake-up call but, between the lines, reminds you that even happiness can’t save you from death.

Somewhere in between — in the quiet space where a book really lives — is a document that accomplishes a lot in 200 pages. It’s about paying attention to what you think is important (when asked how he got tenure early, Pausch replied, “Call me at my office at 10 o’clock on Friday night and I’ll tell you”) and working hard and listening really well. It’s easy to miss that last part of that in the emotion and the stories surrounding this book, but Pausch argues that hearing what other people say about you and your work is crucial to success and happiness. Because this is what you get: “a feedback loop for life.”

So, if you must, shed your tears for Randy Pausch. Imagine what it would be like if you or your dearest loved one drew the card called pancreatic cancer. And then put dying aside, and get on with your dreams. Amazing how many you can achieve if you want them badly enough. And how they have the power to cushion the pain when the bad stuff happens.

Sounds crazy, I know: Pollyanna in the cancer ward. But I talked with the guy. And we laughed and laughed. Of all the achievements in a life that’s winding down, that’s got to be up there.

American Film Institute Desk Reference: The Complete Guide to Everything You Need to Know about the Movies by Melinda Corey and George Ochoa

“… 329,693,974 u Wars: Episode I the Phantom Menace 1999), starring Natalie Portman, gined the first Star Wars film as one of the …”

There are plenty of good books available on what films are out there and other books of the art of making films. We can find vertical market books on specific subjects that are film related. However this book is exactly hat the title implies. There is more depth to this book than just an overview or an introduction book. Although this book could be a good coffee table book it also makes a good desk reference book.

With 608 pages, most containing partial if not totally glossy color snaps from the famous and obscure movies of our time. The different subject or chapters have color coded tabs on the edge of the page allowing for quickly finding the information sought.

Although designed as a reference I found it more fun to read page by page picking up gems here and there that would never have been found by just reference searches.

Areopagitica by John Milton

Thank goodness there is a audiobook that no longer refers humankind as mankind, references he for they, and men for human. To the reviewers below-get over it-

As a woman, I appreciate it, this is not some politically sensitive wordage, it’s inclusive wordage. I am not a man, mankind does NOT mean humankind, and during John Milton’s time women were being burned on stakes, so his outlook especially torwards women was dim, and very well could have been reflected in this book, if it wasn’t for the publishers insights regarding this. This is an excellent account of one of the original ideas for free speech in this country. This book will particularly interest those who are in media studies.

Areopagitica: And, of Education : With Autobiographical Passages from Other Prose Works (Crofts Classics) by John Milton and George Holland Sabine

Anytime one looks at a work in another historical context, consideration of time and place must be given if the communicator’s message is to make sense. This seventeenth century oration was delivered by John Milton to Parliament, with the central theme of the right of individuals to seek out the truth for themselves.

A Christian worldview was the framework from which Milton’s peers made decisions. The age of official state religions was a contemporary issue. Milton calls for the individual conscious to be the determining factor, not an institution. He bases his argument on historical precedent, the Bible, errors made by the Roman Catholic Church, and the virtue of the members of Parliament.

Complete English Poems, of Education, Areopagitica (Everyman’s Library) by John Milton and Gordon Campbell

I once said in another review that the number of editions of Milton’s poetry could make choosing which one to purchase a tedious process. Gordon Campbell, who revised William Riley Parker’s beautifully written biography of Milton, introduces the poems of this Everyman edition with a nice essay and an invaluable chronological table that aligns the poet’s life with historical and literary events.

Also, Campbell’s own voice comes across clearly which is unusual for an editor. In the second clause of the opening sentence of his introduction, Campbell insightfully speaks of Milton’s bizarre talent in checking his great learning against his innate drive to create: ” . . . it is remarkable that the weight of his erudition did not crush his genius for writing poetry.”

Campbell’s humility, which is felt in his confessions of weaknesses as an editor and scholar, comforts the reader through the most allusively amazing read that is Milton’s poetry: “In struggling to avoid the occasional perils of dependence on earlier editors I have doubtless made mistakes of my own invention . . . “.

The leaves of the cloth-bound (not the paperback) Everyman edition are acid-free and sewn in signatures.

Essays, Civil and Moral; New Atlantis; Areopagitica; Tractate on Education; Religio Medici (Harvard Classics, Part 3) by Francis Bacon and Charles W. Eliot

“… AREOPAGITICA A SPEECH FOR THE LIBERTY OF UNLICENSED PRINTING TO THE …”

Eh. Ok. Yeah, I guess.

This 18-point type edition is just that. Straight 18-point text; no explanations, no annotations, no background. I wish I had seen a copy before I ordered it. I don’t have the copy in front of me, but I don’t even remeber any paragraphs. Just page after unremitting page of 18 point type. I took one quick look and put it on the shelf.

I already have a good copy of John Milton’s classic work, but I needed a copy I could mark up, and call me old-fashioned, but I wanted a real book, not a printout from the Web.

Somehow that page after page of 18 point type was a real jolt to the eyes.

But all is not lost. I can use the book as a perfect example of the differences different sizes of type can make.