Esoteric Mind Gym

This is a certainly an unusual book and I found it a very stimulating read. It invites the reader to take part in an imaginative exercise, which involves having an artistic and emotional response to the book's ideas, as well as an intellectual one. In a way, it's an experiment to see if we can approach the same kind of consciousness as our ancestors, when people could be rational and mystical at the same time.<br /><br />Pythagoras, Copernicus, da Vinci and Newton are some of the better known exemplars of this way of thinking, but the book draws its inspiration much more widely than the usual poster boys. <br /><br />Comparisons between Lao-Tzu and Heraclitus are illuminated with comments on Confucius and Rudyard Kipling, for example. Creative artists as varied as David Lynch and Botticelli are shown to be nourished by the same ideas - as was P.L. Travers, creator of one the most famous children's magicians of all time: Mary Poppins. <br /><br />The author explores the significance of certain archetypes and symbols down the ages - and personally I found the writing nimble and light of touch. Yes, it makes connections that are sometimes surprising, but that's the point. Ever wondered exactly what the difference is between Satan and Lucifer? Or why French revolutionaries adopted the Phrygian cap as their headgear of choice? Did you know that St Thomas Aquinas and St Francis of Assissi both claimed to have levitated?<br /><br />What"The Secret History" never pretends to be is yet another conspiracy theory book, or an academic history. (A fact that seems to upset some of the other reviewers.) It would be better to think of it as an esoteric mind gym. <br /><br />Sure, it structures itself as a"secret history" of how humanity and human consciousness developed but this is, after all, just a metaphor. The author has created that narrative form as a way to explore the ideas that have fascinated some of the greatest minds in the actual, real, (footnotable) history of the world. <br /><br />Conspiracy theories close things down; this book is an ambitious, enjoyable attempt to open them up and offer a graspable alternative account of how human consciousness has developed - from the creation of the world through to dadaism and beyond. <br /><br />Definitely worth a read, if you like ideas and knowledge and can cope with them being taken out of their boxes and shaken round a bit.<br />

Google Endless Growth

This book describes the growth of the Google Empire. It is written in a gripping detective like format that you dont want to put down. <br /><br />Even though it is written 2 years ago, the book does not have a dated feel.<br /><br />A great read!

Good for getting into milspec shape, best for aspiring recruits

The description of the book tells you it's about getting fit, but that's only half the volume of the book. Much of the book is about getting into the British Army, either the standard or elite sections, complete with 4-month training schedules and locations for the full-load runs that you would be expected to complete. You do get a warm-up routine familiar to anyone who's done military PE, plus a selection of weight workouts, a guide to running and swimming/cycling, but no other definitive guidance about getting fit...until you get to the 16-week 'getting ready for recruit training' schedule, which you may or may not be interested in.<br /><br />If your plan is to get into the British special forces, then great, and this is the ideal thing for you. If, however, you're looking for a complete military-style workout, you're better off looking on military forums or finding another book.

The Whisperers

"The Whisperers" performs the valuable historical task of collating and reporting what it was like to live in Soviet Russia under the constant threat of being sent to a labour camp or summarily executed. In selecting what to report the author imposed the constraint of using only oral testimony which was supported by documentary testimony (family photographs, private letters, official records, etc.). To ensure accuracy the draft of the text in English was translated into Russian to get the observations of those who had been interviewed.<br /><br />What the book reveals is the depth to which fear permeated the whole of Soviet society - not only during but long after the death of Stalin. Whilst the camps were very strongly supported by Stalin it was for economic as much as political considerations that they were dismantled after his death. The camps may have gone but the fear of being sent to a camp as a result of an injudicious remark remained. <br /><br />The testimonies in the book are supported my own, admittedly very limited, experience. The father of a Ukrainian colleague died in 2005. While working he (the father) had attained a high position in the Ukrainian Socialist Republic. For last year or two before his death he insisted every night on packing a suitcase of essentials in case he was sent to the camps; similar actions are reported in the book.<br /><br />Wide ranging though the book is there are still some gaps. The testimonies are centred around those living in St Petersburg, Moscow and Perm: what about those in rural areas, in other Soviet republics and in"fraternal socialist countries" such as Poland and Hungary? Most of the people appearing in the book had close experience of the terror; either having been in camps themselves or having a close relative sent there. Again the question arises: how did other people avoid being sent to the camps? Did people become politically apathetic? What part did luck play? It would be nice to know.<br /><br />Throughout the book the camps themselves remain in the background. For a better understanding of the camps themselves I recommend"Gulag: A History" By Anne Applebaum".<br />

A great account of an often ignored subject

A grim and often horrific account of the men of the British Expeditionary Force that were left behind in France after the Dunkirk evacuation. The author describes the experiences of these men using a wide array of sources, including eye-witness accounts that pull no punches.<br /><br />A very readable and fascinating book, although perhaps the editing could have been a little tighter, as the author sometimes repeats himself, and there are a fair number of errors in the text, though these are purely cosmetic.<br /><br />Highly recommended.<br />

Fascinating

If you want to learn science through a light-hearted lens, this is a fascinating combination of the history of everything and the story of the people involved in discovering the history of everything. After living in Britain for twenty or more years, Bryson has developed that a particularly wry humour to bring historical stories to life by highlighting the ludicrous and the mundane. Who would have guessed that Edmond Halley was rewarded by the Royal Society, not with salary, but with copies of their poorly selling"The History of Fishes". Priceless.<br /><br />With Bryson's background in travel writing, you won't be disappointed with this journey, combining the chronological story of the earth with the history of dicovery and the potential threats in the future. From quarks to continental drift, Bryson explores where these theories have come from, how they are initially ridiculed, and where they are heading today. A magnificent writing that brings to life the bits we found boring at school.<br /><br />

If only history was taught like this in school...

James Holland's generosity of spirit and indefatiguable labour has created one of the best general histories I've read recently--and there's a lot of stiff competition about. As well as using writen sources, Holland personally interviewed survivors from all sides of the conflict; Germans, Poles, Canadians, Britons, Americans, Italian partisans and fascists. These accounts give a vivid picture of the heroism and brutality of war, and instil a sense of sympathy for (almost) all of the participants. Their stories are skillfully blended into the larger narrative, which explains what happened, and why the major players (Alexander, Mark Clark, Kesselring, Churchill, Roosevelt, Mussolini, etc) made crucial decisions. Holland is immenently fair-minded; the controversy surrounding Clark's dash for Rome (in defiance of Alexander's orders) is explained from all sides of the question. <br /><br />Comparing this book with the banal materials presented in England's National Curriculum, one could almost be forgiven for thinking that our educators don't want our children to understand the past. If books like these--which don't require a vast amount of background knowledge--were used in our high schools, pupils would be queuing up to study history. For all that this is accessible to the non-specialist, there's nothing superficial about it. Certainly one of its most attractive features is the sympathy Holland shows to his cast of characters--a welcome relief from the sneering debunking that has been fashionable ever since Lytton Strachey first picked up his pen.

standard 'history' of Greece and Rome

This is undeniably a good, light read, but in some ways it is almost out of touch with the actual research occupying classicists working academically in the field. Yes, I do know that Lane Fox is a hugely respected Oxford academic, but all the same there is something very traditional and almost wistful about this simple reading of the history of Greece and Rome. As a previous reviwer has mentioned (accurately) this concentrates on 'events' rather than analysis, and given the huge scope of the book, treats them fairly simply and reductively (the entire Julio-Claudian dynasty, for example, is covered in one short chapter).<br /><br />I suppose the major problem for me is the dismissal of classical literary culture to the margins: Athenian tragedy for example has a paragraph, and even there Lane Fox regards it as being 'timeless' and completely divorced from the institutions of democracy. Not just does this assume a huge coincidence that tragedy appears and disappears precisely in the years coinciding with 5th century democracy in Athens (and nowhere else), it also evades the political discussions and negotiations that take place in the plays about the very ideology of democracy which make the plays so important.<br /><br />Similarly there is little discussion of Roman, especially Augustan literature, that engages so closely with the political transformation from Roman republic to principate.<br /><br />That aside, the end point was slightly odd, in that Lane Fox chooses to end with Hadrian, rather than continuing to the collapse of Rome, thus ending on a high note rather than following through to the , perhaps, more appropriate conclusion.<br /><br />If you know nothing about the classical world, then this is an excellent starting point but it's just the beginning...<br /><br /><br />

Entertaining & informative anecdotes

I find this book incredibly useful & great for people that like their superlatives. As the title suggests, there are some lovely little nuggets of information you won't find elswhere. Thoroughly recommended

Love Affair with a Rifle?

The late-George MacDonald Fraser chronicles his part in the latter days of the Second World War as a rifleman in a Cumbrian infantry battlion. The author talks about his issue First World War Short Magazine Lee Enfield .303 rifle as if it were is wife. He lavished care on his rifle as it was necessary to save his life when fighting the Japanese in the Burmese jungles and plains.<br />The characters of his fellow infantrymen are brought alive by the author's graphic descriptions of them. The encounter of the password challenge is laugh-out-loud-funny; as is the incident at the well and the meeting with the eccentric Captain Grief. George writes in endearing terms about the Cumbrian soldiers and Ghurkas. Matters of life and death are described from the perspective of the best soldier in the world - the British Tommy. <br />Inevitably the book refers to the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan which precripitated the end of the war. The author also compared and contrasted his experiences of British reserve, exemplified by soldiers of his generation, with the media prompted soul-bearering of those soldiers preparing for the Gulf War. <br />This book is not politically correct, nor was it intended to be, it is a genuine exposition of war from a soldier who experienced it first hand. These have coloured his view of the soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army and those critics of the atomic bomb. It probably would not make comfortable reading for people of a liberal or pacifist leaning. The author does pontificate about political correctness, race and nuclear issues - after what he experienced he has earned that right.<br />This book is one of the best reads about the fighting in Burma. It is an honest account of men at war: Full of pathos, grit and humour. A fitting tribute to the dour Cumbrian men who served in Nine Section. <br />

Brilliant book, a must for anyone interested on any level.

If you are newcomer to Britain's flying services during the First World War, this book is a must. If you know your way around the subject already, then it will still surprise, inform and entertain you nonetheless. <br /><br />Mr Levine does to the flying services in the Great War what Patrick Bishop did to Fighter and Bomber Commands in the Second World War. Superbly structured, very well written, and obviously intricately researched, the book guides you around the subject of air fighting over the Western Front and the Home Front with ease. The history of the flying services is intertwined with the history of the men who flew and serviced the aircraft. I have never seen training covered in anywhere near such detail before (an entire chapter), and the same treatment is given to the often overlooked work of reconnaissance. <br /><br />Wherever possible Mr Levine lets those who were there tell the story in their own words. This is a major asset of the book, as these (sometimes lengthy) quotes let you into the minds and the world of these men. Most are from obscure or little used sources, and provide fresh and unusual insights into the war. You will find no great revelations, no 'now it can be told' hype or claims to change how we think about Great War air fighting, but you will find countless nudges away from preconceptions, opening new ways of looking at things or angles that are usually ignored. Between these quotes, Mr Levine's easy style draws you along some thought-provoking avenues. <br /><br />Only two criticisms come to mind. Firstly, there is little information on the role of observation balloons, a large and very important part of the aviation work carried out on the Western Front. Secondly, the quotes are not referenced, making it hard to track down the source if you want to know more. <br /><br />Overall, though, my advice is: buy this book.<br />

Unbelievable rubbish

This book is an insult to our intelligence. I think Phillipa Gregory was having a laugh when she wrote this, maybe an experiment to see if she could sell books on her past recognition. I tossed it in the garbage half way through and will be wary to buy any more of her novels. I thoroughly enjoyed many of her other books, but this one is a load of rubbish.

Refreshingly Honest and Contemporary Account.

I must commend the author for putting together a series of very interesting accounts of a variety of private security operations, in various theatres, that expose the serious failings within the 'security' industry that has grown out of recent world events.<br /><br />Equally commendable is the fact that this is not a detailed account of the authors career within the SAS. I have read a few of those and frankly they begin to repeat. Also, as the author alludes to, he doesn't want to give away trade secrets - which I completely agree with because, if I was serving within one of our elite units, I think I would feel that would be the worst sort of 'Compromise'.<br /><br />The knowledge and skill that is depicted in the carrying out of security based tasks is exactly what I find interesting about Special Forces and how they conduct themselves - also the illustrations of how not to carry these tasks out is equally informative.<br /><br />The complete lack of fearsome firefights within the book is to the authors credit - he was obviously doing a very good job! It is NOT short on drama however.<br /><br />I especially Liked the thoughts presented regarding the Bravo 2 Zero Patrol of the 1st Gulf War. Brief but enlightening perspective. <br /><br />This Book is an extremely good read - I would recommend this for those who would like an intelligent insight into the subject without any embellishment.

A Total Joy To Read

<br />Alison Weir has written many non fiction books on the British monarchy. Her research is always meticulous and her books are written in such a way that they can be read with enjoyment by anyone. By that I mean they are not written in the same way that historical text books were written when I attended school. They are written in a way that not only provides accurate information on the subject but also to give pleasure to the reader. I enjoyed the book enormously.<br /><br />Henry VIII was one of the most intelligent and also most difficult of men. A fine athlete in his youth, a scholar and at times the most likeable of men. But as his life progressed he became more and more unpredictable and could turn on people at the drop of a hat, sometimes with fatal consequences.<br /><br />For any woman to be married to such a complex character must have been a daunting experience. Probably tantamount to walking on egg shells. When the man they are married to is also the King of England there position would be virtually untenable and in a number of his marriages this proved to be the case. However the marriage started out, it soon became apparent that no woman could keep Henry happy for long.

One of many personal responses

After I had read this book I was very enthusiastic about it, because it is certainly a very good manual in comparison to any other I have read. I started 'practicing Vipassana' after reading the 3-page summary of the technique in Fontana's Meditation Manual. For a technique that is said to take you to enlightenment, that is a decidedly concise account; concise enough for me to utterly misunderstand the practice.<br /><br />Things to know about Vipassana:<br /><br />There are Buddhists who sideline Vipassana because it is powerful enough to 'unbalance' an unwary practitioner. Too strong an opinion perhaps - but neither is it necessarily as"gentle" as the author of this book describes it!<br /><br />There are as many variants of the technique as there are traditions. Some are very different to others, however this is not to say that there is only one effective technique. This book represents just one of many traditions. <br /><br />----------------<br /><br />I learnt Vipassana on an intensive ten-day course as taught by S.N. Goenka. Only by the tenth day - and not before - did I feel like I had grasped the technique. There are limits to what you can learn on your own from a book. The technique I was taught was different to that in the book - and, in my opinion, far superior.<br /><br />I have a particular reservation with the way in which this book advocates 'mindfulness' of mental objects. Merely watching the sensations is all we need consciously do, the mindfulness is a process that happens by itself. I do not think mindfulness can be achieved deliberately.<br /><br />Bhante Henepola Gunaratana is a very experienced man, and I'm sure his opinion is worth more than mine. But for what it is worth, take a look at S.N. Goenkas 10-day course instead.

A very different kind of biography - an immensely political one

If you have never heard about this Archduke Wilhelm do not get worried. He is indeed just a small fish in the big pond of European history from WWI to WWII. But he is an excellent to tool to demonstrate the developments in the Austrian Empire and the whole of Europe, especially with focusing on Eastern Europe.<br /><br />Timothy Snyder is a respected scholar of this period of time and area of Europe. The reader is suddenly focused on the developments in Poland and Ukraine and there position in the European concert. Very interesting indeed. He tries to show how members of the Habsburg family tried to come to terms with the development of the time and to find a new role in this changing environment for themselves. Archduke Wilhelm serves as a pars pro toto and seeing him developing into an Ukrainian is interesting while the other parts of his family turn themselves into Polish citizens. However, as interesting and unique that seems to be the author seems to forget that the Habsburg have done that for centuries (even when nationality and nationalistic views were less important). The Palatin Branch of the family in Hongary or the Tuscany Branch or the Modena Branch might serve as examples. Important to note is as well that turning into one or the other nationality is combined with the"Habsburg arrogance" of becoming leaders of these nations. Here democratic elements are totally forgotten and maybe that one simply does not want as a new nation as a new leader the junior members of the old ruling family which is regarded as the former oppressors.<br /><br />Wilhelm has this treak of arrogance. He does not come across as a very constistent personality, rather spoiled and very often looking were his own advantages is. He changes position and views far to often and can not regarded as a personality of real integrity. The only constant feature is that he wants to be important and the leader of a newly emerging state as if through being a Habsburg that is his right. Well, he was proved wrong. How he dealt with the Habsburg Family, especially the Empress Zita and Archduke Otto does not make a very nice read. <br /><br />Strange I actaully found that all Archuke etc are called NN of Habsburg. Habsburg was the family name but they all were Archudkes of Austria, Royal Princes of Bohemia and Hongray etc. They never called them"von Habsburg". When the Austrian Republic came they were simple"Habsburg"; only Otto as a German citizien and in his professional life was called Otto von Habsburg. <br /><br />All in all, it is a highly interesting book to read in political terms and explains much of the last century. Indeed worth a read, not easy, not really entertaining, but immensely enriching.<br /><br />

Excellent book

It's a question you ask yourself, especially after 9/11 and 7/7 - why do some people behave the way they do (against the country of their birth in some cases). This book explains the mentality behind such people, how they are recuited to a cause and the way they deal with consequences of those issues.<br /><br />Very easy to read, though the content is quite disturbing. Thought provoking and a wake up call on how to prevent other people from doing the same.

A fascinating study of how decisions were made

Kershaw examines ten choices that changed the world between the spring of 1940 and the end of 1941. Each of them could have been different (though Kershaw shows that the alternatives, usually lengthily and therefore somewhat repetitively rehearsed, were not very appealing, and sometimes not even sensible), and had they been different, the history of the Second World War and of the world following it would of course have been very different, too. <br /><br />The first choice Kershaw examines is that of Britain refusing to negotiate with Hitler after the fall of France. The decision to fight on alone was taken by the inner war cabinet of only five men. Among them only the Foreign Minister, Lord Halifax, argued strongly for exploring possible peace terms. The others (and the members of the outer cabinet whom Churchill briefly addressed rather than consulted) were won over by the new prime minister's charisma.<br /><br />The British refusal to negotiate surprised Hitler. He believed that the British were holding out only because they hoped that the United States would eventually come into the war (which Hitler also believed) and that the Soviet Union might act against Hitler. The second of the choices was Hitler's conclusion that therefore he needed swiftly to attack and defeat the Soviet Union (which he thought would be `child's play') before he could force Britain to make peace and thereby also prevent US intervention. Kershaw stresses that Hitler had no cabinet meetings after February 1938, and all major decisions were essentially his own, often in defiance of even his military advisers. The plans of the German navy to force Britain to make peace by attacks in the Mediterranean were briefly considered by Hitler as a supplement, but not as an alternative, to the invasion of Russia. Kershaw believes that from Hitler's point of view, the attack on Russia was logical.<br /><br />There is a fascinating chapter on the choices made by Mussolini: to enter the war in 1940 against the pessimistic warnings of the military, of his foreign minister Count Ciano, and of the king; followed by the even more fateful decision to attack Greece in 1941, this time egged on by Ciano who wanted to extend his quasi-fiefdom in Albania, but against the advice of the military and against German attempts to restrain him. Three times as many men were sent to Greece as were then in the Italian army in Libya. Had they been sent to Libya instead, the outcome of the African campaign might have been dramatically different.<br /><br />Then there are the fateful choices made by Stalin: the emasculation of his armed forces in the purges of 1937; his pact with Hitler in 1939; and his refusal to the very last moment to act on intelligence information that Hitler would attack in 1941 rather than, as Stalin had anticipated, in 1942 at the earliest. Here again Kershaw is careful to examine alternative choices that could have been made, concluding that actually Stalin's choices narrowed greatly after the Purge.<br /><br />Two chapters plot in great detail the slow but steady involvement of the United States in helping Britain with Lend-Lease, underlining Roosevelt's anxiety to do everything short of war to support Britain, even though Lend-Lease was likely to make American entry into the war almost unavoidable. Although public and congressional opinion supported these measures, Roosevelt dared not ask Congress for a declaration of war, fearing that at worst he would be defeated there, or at best that he would take a divided nation into the war. In all the other chapters decisions were made essentially by one man (in Germany, Italy and the Soviet Union) or by a small elite (in Japan - though with much debate within that elite -, and, in the first chapter, by Britain). Roosevelt was the only leader whose scope of action was restricted by democratic institutions. Only Pearl Harbour and Hitler's declaration of war on the United States resolved this dilemma for him.<br /><br />Two chapters trace the choices was made by the Japanese. The first had been to attack China. China was too big a morsel to swallow whole, but enough to set Japan on a collision course with the United States. The second choice was to take advantage of the defeat of France and the expected defeat of Britain by planning for an expansion towards the south, deliberately running the risk that this was likely to bring the United States into the war. The debate inside the Japanese armed forces about this policy will be unfamiliar to most readers, and continued almost up to Pearl Harbour.<br /><br />Immediately after Pearl Harbour, Hitler chose to declare war on the United States. Kershaw finds that decision more explicable than most other historians do, on the assumption that, sooner rather than later, the United States would have declared war on Germany even while at war with Japan. It seems to this reviewer the least convincing argument in the book.<br /><br />The last `choice' Kershaw examines is the destruction of the Jews of Europe. This had always been in Hitler's mind, especially since he saw the Jews as responsible for Germany's defeat in the First World War and as steering the policies of Germany's two main enemies, the United States and Bolshevik Russia in the Second. The only question was how this destruction was to be accomplished. Hitler's choice was of course fateful for the Jews; but, unlike all the decisions described in the other chapters, it did not affect the outcome of the war; and the Wannsee Conference in January 1942, which sanctioned the `Final Solution', also falls just outside the period in the book's subtitle.<br /><br />Only this last chapter lacks that tension of decision-making which gives the rest of the book such compelling quality.