Read this book, you won't regret it!

My mum bought me this for my birthday. I read it in two long days! My Grandfather was captured at Calais (one of The Rifle Brigade). He wouldn't talk too much about it, only opening up a little towards the end of his life. He would talk for a while, then change the subject. He was very bitter about not being rescued like those at Dunkirk. I used to say to him, 'Had you been rescued, you might not have been here today, as you could have died elsewhere'. He felt let down by the government and therefore had no desire to try and escape. Until I read this book, I had little understanding of what he and others went through. I was not aware of the continued fighting and other rescues after Dunkirk, despite having read a lot about the War. Perhaps it was a shame it wasn't written earlier. I might have asked my Grandfather more before it was too late.

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.

Amazing tales of courage and gripping first-hand accounts

Great to see this reissued after so many years out of print. The different personalities and experiences come across so well, and you really feel as though you're getting a true taste of the war in the air during World War II. There aren't many first-hand accounts that were written during the war, so these are really valuable historical records as well. The men seem to have a humility and quiet strength, as well as a sense of humour. I really enjoyed hearing ten different stories. <br />It's so sad to read that quite a few of the pilots didn't survive very long after writing their chapter, it really brings home to you how precarious life was for them. <br />Certainly a wartime classic that deserves to be read by anyone interested in the subject.

A great book for any fruit growers.

I have owned this book for several years. I have found it to be invaluable in the choosing and growing of many different fruits. It has extensive sections and reviews with colour pictures on choosing different varieties of apples pears, peaches etc. This includes some more unusual varieties as well as those more commonly available. The reviews are as useful in telling you what not to plant as what to plant. There are reasonable sections on pruning (but I think this is better done by the RHS Growing Fruit book.) The section on diseases and pests is also very good with clear illustrations for correct identification of problems.<br />In summary an excellent book particularly to help with choosing which varieties to plant, although the prunning sections are a little breif.

Try it yourself

This was the first book I bought before starting classes in cake decorating. Although I am more advanced now I found I could acheive really good results with this book when I had limited skills and knowledge. They are simple enough to do when you have young children around that want to help. My grandchildren all helped decorate their own birthday cakes chosen from this book, we started with the pirate ship with chocolate bar gang planks. Although sometimes you have to be a little inventive and substitute some of the sweets that are not readily available here, part of the fun is thinking up alternatives to use in the planning stage with the children, and they were very good at coming up with ideas of what to use instead.

Brilliant book - detailed, interesting and lush!

I have really enjoyed reading and dipping into this thoughtful book. It's an inspiring variety of beautiful container projects that instantly make you want to start grubbing about and planting great things to eat. Plus, did I mention? They look FABulous.... <br /><br />The instructions are clear, succinct and helpful. You don't have to have the exact container that the author uses - you could pick something out of a skip and have the project work just as well. A section at the back has really useful details such as which vegetables need which type of soil, what their peculiarities are, what shade or sun they like and how much moisture they prefer. A section at the front has no-nonsense information on compost, containers and what-you'll-need. I found it simple and easy to follow - not intimidating, and it doesn't expect you to know anything, or make you feel a twit if you don't. There are even recipes for the stuff you'll grow. <br /><br />I am pottering about in amongst my containers with great confidence this spring, trying to grow things I've never dreamt of trying before, thanks to this book. Buy it, move beyond the sadness of one-tomato-plant-in-a-growbag in the corner of your patio. Have some fun!<br />

Wish I'd had this book last year!

I'm planning to build my second extension later this year and I'm finding this Haynes guide dead useful - wish I'd had it first time round ! I like the way it explains choices with the design like trussed rafters v. traditional cut timber roofs, and concrete slab floors v beam & block. I also found the `which trades should be doing what at each stage' very useful, and which ones supply their own tools and materials. The important parts of the building regs are explained in a way that makes sense as you go thru the job. What's also good is the photography so you can actualy see what things look like in real life. It's a very interesting book to read even if your not going to do any of the building yourself! Ben.

great help in understanding...

I bought this book because i was looking for something different than the usual"guide to the first year" type of thing. It certainly is a different type of book! However, it shouldn't take the place of these other books, but add to them, as it is about baby behaviour, and not what they need physically (in terms of feeding, changing etc)<br /><br />This book is packed with pictures and very easy to understand and clear text as well as lots of helpful ideas on how to soothe crying babies, help with sleeping etc. The authors suggest different methods for soothing babies, but unlike other books, the different ideas don't confuse you, instead it is suggested to read the baby's body language to gage what they need from you. Along with lots of pictures and information on what this body language is! <br /><br />I have learned so much from this book and will definitely be using this book for the first year. The only downside was that i wanted more chapters , as it was so informative!

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.

The Essential Garden Design Workbook

After ploughing through endless variations on this theme it's good to find something that's user friendly and totally practical. The best feature is that the book follows the design process in a logical manner identifying principles and showing you how to apply them in a practical way; it also shows you what works in design terms and what doesn't plus some tricks to achieve more professional results with plan presentations. Another thing of interest is the quirky graphic style of illustration used to highlight non- plan points. Extremely useful throughout.

Great Book

Fab book.

Shows you everything from textiles surface embellishment to jewellery design. Shows you all the equipment you need and gives you ideas for things you can do with a detailed step by step guide.

Brilliant

What kept them going?

an astonishingly good book!The history of the final 2 years of WW2 on the Western front covers in detail the defeat of Germany,and pulls no punches.Contrary to what we were taught at school,the defeat of Germany would have been impossible without the Russians,who not only fought against most of Germany's forces on the extended Eastern front,but who drove forward accepting enormous casualties.Millions of Russians died in this advance.Without this huge sacrifice,the Western front alone would not have succeeded in defeating Germany.Surprisingly,the British author also points out the sparse contribution of the British army on the Western front,relative to the Americans who seemed to carry the invasion and hard fighting forward.<br />In reading about the Germans during this period,I couldn't help but wonder what kept them going for so long with no hope of winning?The German army was still fighting street by street in Berlin against vastly superior Russian forces right until hitler's suicide-why,when they had no hope of winning?I suppose all the German protagonists are dead now,but it would have been interesting to explore what kept them going when clearly all was lost.A terrific book.

Easy to use for all

Another good book from this author. This is easy for the beginner and also for the professional dog trainer. Short, simple and explained really well it sets out not only what to do with a dog that pulls, but also explains the reason why it's pulling in the first place. There are also lots of nice photos to illustrate along the way.<br /><br />Easy to digest problem solving book for all levels of doggy experience. Highly recommended!<br />

Feathery fun... and a little bit more.

Like other reviewers here, I thought this book was very entertaining, hugely humerous, and very warmly written. It is not a soppy recollection of chicken tales, but an open and honest (yes, and funny - but how could a book about these fabulous birds fail to be funny?) look at how one man has had his life affected by his feathery pals. <br /><br />Chapter 2 starts with the words:"The sort of chicken-keeping we were embarking on can be summed up in three words: 'twee' and 'middle class." And I read those words with recognition, not embarrassment. My two ex-Tesco hybrid waifs are currently strutting their stuff around our ill-prepared garden, and laying an average of 9 eggs a week between the two of them. <br /><br />This book is for people like me. I have recently ordered 2 more copies of this for my newly chickenified friends. Why? Because of its honesty. Because of the little snippets of chicken care secrets. Because of the kindness in this book. Because it's worth its weight in eggy gold!

Beyond Toddlerdom: Every Parents guide to the 5-12 ...

This book has been and still is my Bible for keeping track of changes in my children. It is written with great sense of humour, gives practical advice without exaggeration, and I highly recommed it.

A mini sized mine of information

This is a super little book and brilliant for the novice gardener (me)! We had just moved house, I had no idea about plants and this book helped me to identify all the plants that came up in my garden throughout the year. It is arranged by season (starting with early spring) and then by colour, so if you have a plant that appears in early summer and is red go to the 'Early Summer' chapter and then look at 'Red' - it couldn't be easier. I shall be planning my planting using the book - what colours do I want and when do I want them?<br /><br />There is also a lot of information about each plant - type, size, best position and type of soil - to help you avoid expensive mistakes. The index contains both common and latin names to help you find your way around. If you buy only one plant reference book, make it this one!<br /><br /><br />

Great for learning beading techniques

This book is really nicely illustrated and the instructions clear, but the author tends to favour more traditional designs using french wire (gimp) and gold.<br /><br />It does have some great explanations of the basic beading techniques though, so useful for any beader to have for reference.

Essentially a picture book

I agree with one of the other reviewers that this book is a bit of a disappointment. I was hoping for more in-depth discussion about Aspergers and perhaps about parallels with cat behavior, but the book consists essentially of pictures of cute cats with brief captions. I think it would be useful for reading to a child with Aspergers disease, and discussing with them, but it does not put across any information I did not already know.