Peter Taylor has presented a picture of the IRA and Sinn Fein and shown that each of the people mentioned had a motive for all that they have done. Whether it be peace, revenge, or a feeling that they must defend their area, the interviews show that the men and women involved would rather lay down their arms but believe that they are forced to maintain them. The book is objective, fair, and in no way flattering to any of the people mentioned. It does not glamorize the struggle, nor does it demean it. It shows what is happening, what people are believing, in a way that no other book does: objectively. That alone makes this an excellent book. Anyone who reads it will realize that Sinn Fein is looking for the same thing as everyone else and that is peace.

a great book that details the rise of the IRA from violent semi professional terrorists to what is now one of the largest and best trained terrorist organizations in europe, it also shows the rise of protestent paramilitaries and thier only partially succesfull attempt to counter the republican paramilitaries, this book is easily one of the best written on the northern ireland tragedy.

An amazingly clear and perceptive retelling of the sad and often brutal history of Northern Ireland and the IRA over the past quarter of a century, BEHIND THE MASK invites the reader into secret and not-so-secret events that have shaped British and Irish history for the foreseeable future. This book provides eye-opening insights into top-level secret negotions between the British and Irish governments and the IRA, even at the darkest hours of the conflict. Anyone wishing to understand the why and the wherefore of the "troubles" must read this book. Arthur Gribben, Irish America Net

This remarkable author relates an ancient saga of northern courage in a 20th century setting, the frozen arctic rim of the North American continent. Pam Flowers, respiratory therapist by profession but dog musher by choice, lived a lifelong dream when she, her dogs, and supply-laden sleds made a 2500-mile trek above the Arctic Circle from Barrow in Alaska to Repulse Bay on the northwestern shore of Canada's Hudson Bay.

Alone with a tandem pair of dogsleds pulled by the eight Husky-mix dogs she trained herself, Flowers spent more than a year en route. She left Barrow Feb. 14, 1993, and mushed triumphantly - and gratefully - into the Inuit village on Hudson's Bay Jan. 9, 1994. The Mayor and ten others from the small settlement came out to greet and congratulate her. To Flowers, who had spent so long alone on the trek, the group seemed like a crowd.

It is the spirit of adventure that motivates the courage and daring of the small, 100-pound woman who is pictured engulfed by her bulky arctic gear and huge insulated boots. Her notes and photos of the careful planning and training for that epic journey clearly convey the danger, the excitement and the moments of trepidation when facing the barren and forbidding arctic.

This determined little woman has run the famed 1200-mile Iditarod Race to Nome, Alaska in 1983. "I ran," she writes, "not to win, but to learn about caring for dogs on long journeys." She put the knowledge she gained into two later, successful trips to the Magnetic North Pole and several trips along the northern coast of Alaska. Finally came the idea to retrace the route of the historic journey of Knud Rasmussen in 1923.

To provide herself with adequate supplies for herself and her dogs for such a long trip. Flowers mailed ahead bundles of necessities to be stashed, along with extra fuel for her little stove, at schools in settlements along her route. In return for that courtesy, on her arrival she talked to the classes about her life, her mushing, and her dogs.

Flowers' much-loved dogs, with all their individual personality traits and quirks, become the stars of this story. Their names become in the narrative as familiar as beloved characters in a novel. These are pets only in a secondary sense; first and foremost, they are work dogs born and bred and they enjoy the runs over ice and snow every bit as much as their driver. They can sense an approaching storm, sniff a polar bear and recognize the faintly distant lights of a settlement that sends them racing forward.
Every moment of the story of this journey is absorbing, even the lengthy periods of storms and whiteouts when Flowers waits them out in her tiny pyramidal tent. There are dangers and there is frustration. There is fear and there is joy. At its end Flowers felt a surge of accomplishment. She had made that trip... because she wanted to!

Like adventure? This book has it on every page! Prefer suspense? Try figuratively walking behind Pam Flowers as she crosses rotting arctic ice, not knowing whether she'll be able to make it to land. Want a good animal story? Here's one that stars eight dogs, with other species making cameo appearances. And, by the way, it also shows a lot about the incredible bonds of trust, companionship and loyalty which can develop in a team which includes dogs and humans. Hope to inspire someone to dream big dreams and work hard to make them come true? This is one of the most inspirational books I've ever read. And there's more...cross-cultural experiences, lots of information about life and survival in today's Arctic regions, history and humor.

Written for fifth and sixth graders, this is a definite cross-over book. I can't imagine an adult who would find it childish; third and fourth graders will enjoy listening to it.

The well-chosen photos illustrate the perhaps-unexpected beauty of the coastal Arctic, as well as the harshness of parts of the trip. And the side bars provide lots of information which illuminates the story without interrupting its flow.

What a woman! What a dog team! What a story!

I came to know about this book because a member of our church choir is a friend of the incredible woman who undertook to live out her dream of retracing the journey of Knud Rasmussen from Repulse Bay to Barrow, Alaska....some 2,500 miles along the entire length of the North American Arctic coast and loaned it to my wife.

I was happily reading Ken Follet's most recent novel when this book arrived in our home. Because the story is about dogs, the human spirit and an amazing adventure, I started reading what it had to say. It was soon after that I decided that Mr. Follet's book could wait.

Several houurs after that, I am writng this review and suggesting, urging, imploring, anyone who has an appreciation of what is involved with staking it all in answering your life's dream to give yourselves a wonderful present and read this book.

You will learn a lot about what it takes to own and run a team of sled dogs, about what is involved in planning such an expedition and all of the pitfalls to be avoided...but more importantly, you will have your eyes opened to a corner of the human spirit that too many of us shy away from as being..too dangerous..too odd..too off the wall..which will make you assess what it is that is important in your life. We already know what is important with the author's life from reading the book. However, she did not write this book to encourage more sled dogging. The book is a beautiful metaphor about life and one's dreams and one's soul. This author found the key. So should we all. Do yourself a favor and buy a copy of this most wonderful adventure.
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Since writing the review that appears above, I have learned that the book was the recipient of a First Place award at the Benjamin Franklin Book Awards in the catagory TRAVEL ESSAY. It is well deserved and the book has goine into a second printing.

Bears do, and you will. The advice may not help you -- may not have helped Dr. Verne, for that matter -- but this is self-help with an attitude. The perfect antidote to Martha Stewart. The perfect read after a bad day at the office -- or the used car lot.

You don't have to DUMB DOWN to enjoy this hilarious read....A humouros book that can be read from back to front or front to back...HA! any page you turn to has GUFFA'S a plenty...Great Bathroom Read...Leave it in the bathroom for guests...Enjoyed thouroughly.Check out 10 tips for women who's ascared of getting stuck with a loser....ENJOY!

I have to admit that I was a tab bit 'ascared' to pick up Dr. Verne's Northern White Trash Etiquette for fear someone would believe I had more to learn. But once I had it in hand, I couldn't put it down. Pages flew until I discovered the help I needed to straighten out my love life. '10 Tips for Women Who's Ascared of Getting Stuck With a Loser' has become my bible. I now know how to determine if the man I'm seeing is a regular pervert or a gentleman pervert. (He's a gentleman. I have the pastel plastic pearls to prove it!) But best of all, even with all of this learning going on, Verne has me in stitches. The good doctor knows his trash and puts all other self-help gurus to shame. It's a must read for the humor hungry, so be prepared to laugh.

I've made something like ten pleasure trips to Italy in the past decade, and for me, this is easily the best dining resource IN PRINT. In this Internet age, there are additional ways to garner some information about Eating in Italy, but it you aren't too interested in the "new, hot, trendy" etc., this is definitely money well spent.
There are other books I draw upon, including Sandra Gustafson's "Cheap Eats In Italy," Florence Fabricant's "Trattorias of Rome, Florence, and Venice," and the guides from the Time Out series. But kilo for kilo, this is the one I use most frequently, especially if you wander away from Rome-Florence-Venice.
Many of her recommendations also pop up (as citations) in some of the better travelogues--- for instance her writing is cited in books such as "The Collected Traveler-- Central Italy" collected by Barrie Kerper and the recently issued "Piazzas and Pizzas-- the Adventures of the Clean Plate Club in Italy."
Worth every penny, Euro, or late, lamented Lire that you spend.

I made 3 trips to Italy last year and it looks like I might be repeating my stunt this year. This book has been my faithful companion because I care very much about where I eat and what I drink. It is a great book and I stongly recommend it.

A few gotchas:

1) Lots of other tourists now use this too. In big cities, you'll probably find lots of tourists (typically American) at the restaurants listed. Nothing wrong but FYI.

2) Quite a number of typos. The latest one I found is on pg 46 for the single "inn" listed for Alba. Their fax number should end with 112 and not 122. I pity the guy at 122 who must be so tied of being called.

3) A little out of date. This book was published some time back so it really doesn't talk about some new and very hot restaurants whether in a place like Florence or a place like San Donato in Chianti.

4) Does not cover the South (Amalfi, etc). Warning warning. I will try Fred Plotkin's book on my next trip to the south.

This is the best and most consistent travel book I have ever found. We are going to France this summer and I can't bear planning the trip without F. Willinger's help. I am in the wine business and my other half is a chef, we are very hard to please when it comes to eating and drinking. In three weeks, we did not find one restaurant recommendation that was not right on the money and superb. There were even fantastic and unusual regional wine suggestions. Not only was the food and wine information terrific, but the descriptions of the owners and the restaurants' atmospheres were perfect. I give this book to all my friends who are planning a trip to Northern Italy. I only wish that F. Willinger would write about other countries and regions. I spent hours enjoying the book before we left. Never has planning a trip been so much fun. Don't go to Northern Italy with it!

I strongly recommend this heartwarming book written from a child's point of view in the beginning. Later on, as the boy grows, the reader gets acquainted with his myriad of experiences and encounters with various people and animals. In the end, the reader is filled with a sense of peace and serenity as all comes to a close. This book had me laughing, crying, smiling, cringing, and recalling the times of growing up.

A very good book coming from a time long removed from what we currently have. It really defines the kind of people that settled this country or mayby not...... read the book

Mosher is a brilliant storyteller. His characters are too real to be fictional! This ranks as one of my top ten favorites.

This book is not a retelling of the Arthurian legend. I didn't realize, when I found it on a used-bookstore shelf, that it was the first book in a trilogy, and that it only dealt with Guinevere's early life, up until her marriage to Arthur. The book ends just as the age of glory and pageantry begins. Unfortunately, since this book didn't pique my interest much, and the other two volumes will probably be a hassle to find, I doubt I'll continue reading this series.

Guinevere isn't the simpering fundamentalist you might recall from _The Mists of Avalon_, but neither is she the fascinating character we all want to see her portrayed as. She is a fairly standard romance heroine, sweet and tomboyish (why does it seem that all heroines these days must be tomboys?) and Generically Nice. I read through this whole 600-page book about Gwen's upbringing, and didn't learn much about her except that she likes horses.

In essence, this is to Guinevere as _Lady of the Forest_ is to Maid Marian--a pleasant romance novel, but nothing groundbreaking. I'm not the only one who is longing for the perfect portrayal of Guinevere--but this isn't it.

This trilogy is absolutely amazing. This was the first I had read of King Arthur and Guinevere and I have never found another book to match it. I can't recommend the series enough.

I have read many, many books on King Aurthor and found this one to be FAR, FAR better than any I have ever read. I have never before been captivated by the storie of Gweneuver, and yet I found that once I started reading this book I could not put it down. The book spun a wonderful tail of how it must have been like to grow up a Celtic princes, or simply how it must have been to grow up a Celt. I highly recomend this book to all.

Israeli journalist Karny has assembled a massive and somewhat rambling book attempting to capture the history and spirit of the "Highlanders" who dwell in the Caucuses. Part history, part memoir, part travelogue, part contemporary reportage, the book would have benefited from slightly more focus. What we get is 70 pages on the Circassians, who are three tribes spread across several provinces and regions to the north of Georgia (and much of the Middle East and Western world). Then come 125 pages on Daghetsan, which borders the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, and Chechnya. Part three is 150 pages on Chechnya, which would have brought things to a nice climax. However, Karny leaves the Northern (currently Russian) Caucuses and presses on for a further-comparatively skimpy-55 pages on Armenia and Azerbaijan. This last section is troublesome in that by including it, Karny's book discusses all the major players in the region except Georgia! (Perhaps he felt that country had already been well-covered in Peter Nasmyth's recent book, Georgia: In the Mountains of Poetry) One is left with the impression that he has included it because the Azeri-Armenian conflict is such a vivid illustration of his thesis concerning the use and manipulation of history and memory in the region that he couldn't resist putting it in.

The subjectivity of history and memory in the Caucuses is one of Karny's main themes, as is the fact that many of the unique cultures and languages are dying out, victims of modernization and Russian schools. Karny exhibits a marked ambivalence about the highlander desire to never forget the past. While he admires this trait for its role in maintaining culture, and resisting invaders, he also sees it as a force of division in contemporary times-sometimes leading to self-destruction (in the case of Chechnya). Of course the history he shares gives plenty of justification for continued anger against the Russians, who invaded first in the 1830s, occupied the area, and under Stalin engaged in mass relocation and killings against many Caucasian nationalities.

The book emerged from a number of trips Karny took to the region from 1993-1999, and he writes with a steady knowledge of history and contemporary events. He is perhaps a little too fond of reproducing conversations with various officials he meets with, but his flair for describing the everyday people he meets makes up for it. The book is peppered throughout with photos taken on his travels which aren't always the best, but are invaluable for putting a face on the people and places he talk about. If nothing else, one should read the section on Chechnya for a better understanding on why they continue to resist rule from Moscow. Particularly enlightening is his discussions of the various strains of Sufism most Chechens follow, and how they influence the resistance.

First Im 'sorry for my bad English. It's not my native language.

When we travelled with Yo'av through Caucasus I thought the future book will be the collection of stories in style "Foreigner in Caucasus". And my Russian and Caucasian friends told me: "Be serious, Alex. Your American-Israely journalist is not able to understand us!" But now... I've never read such a kind and clever book on this theme neither in English nor in Russian. Yo'av have seen such points and details, which can make honour to best experts in region. Thank you, Yo'av. Thank for the beautiful book, for your friendship and for I feel no shame telling that I rendered you a little piece of help.

Thanks to Yo'av Karny for such an informative book. I was pleasantly surprised to find such a detailed account of my Circassian History. This book really hit home with me, and I found myself weeping. Weeping because it brought back memories and stories that my grandfather used to tell me as a child. This book even covers the story of the Circassians living not only in the Caucasus, but also in the Golan Heights. Yo'av reveals both the good and bad side of Circassians, and Circassian history. Circassians suffered our own Genocide at the hands of various Russian tyrants. On the other hand, Circassian warriors were known for their ruthless actions during all of our battles. That is why Circassians were chosen by countless of kings and presidents alike to act as body guards. That is also why we were given the name "CHERKESS" (Neck Cutters) by our enemies. When European and Middle Eastern mothers wanted to frighten their childeren, they would warn them that if they weren't good, THE CHERKESS would come for them. Those are the sad facts. This book was a pleasure to read. Thank You Yo'av......Yaz Barsbay

Around the time Jesus walked the Earth, a child-warrior from Ulster, named Setanta, went to a feast. King Conchubar forgot to inform his host, Cullen, that the boy was coming. The host had set his dog, the biggest and meanest in all Ireland out to protect his holdings. The dog had set upon Setanta. The child made short work of the vicious beast. When the party's host complained of the loss of his watchdog, Setanta said that he would be Cullen's hound. That became his name. A name revered in Irish Legend to this day - Cuchulain (Cullen's Hound) This translation of the Epic, by Thomas Kinsella, is the one I would say makes the most enjoyable reading. I would place the Irish Epics against Edith Hamilton's Greek Myths any day. There are other versions of this story. Plus many other heroic tales of ancient Ireland. But I think Mr. Kinsella's is the best that I've read so far.

The Ulster Cycle is a group of tales associated with the northeast of Ireland and the Ta/in Bo/ Cuailgne is the core of the cycle. The tales are preserved in manuscripts of the twelfth-century and later, but they look back to a pre-Christian culture dominated by warriors who counted their wealth in cows. Raiding your neighbors was one way to acquire more cows. In the Ta/in Bo/ Cuailgne, one group, the Connachta, tries to obtain a very special bull, a transformed human, by raiding another group, the Ulaid. In the process, gods, goddesses, kings, queens, seers, and heroes of every description become involved, and a raid turns into a monumental battle.

This is not a retelling or a novelized version of the Ulster cycle tales. Rather this is a translation of an ancient saga equivalent to the Odyssey, Iliad, or Mahabarata. Years ago, not long after this book was first printed, I had the good fortune to hear Thomas Kinsella, an eminent modern Irish poet, describe how in translating the Ta/in, he combined his own vision with expert input from scholars of the ancient language. The voice in this translation is that of Kinsella, but it echoes the voices of all those who came before him. Having studied the ancient language and texts myself, I feel that Kinsella has produced a work of poetic art that is nevertheless faithful to the meaning and spirit of the stories. The beautiful semi-abstract images by Le Brocquy are not really illustrations but accompanying art, demonstrating how the cycle of Ulster tales, which has inspired Irish artists through various eras, continues to kindle the creative fire in those who read and hear them.

If you are interested in learning about pre-Christian Irish--or Celtic--tradition, the Ta/in is indispensable reading. If you are seeking a novelized version (at one extreme) or a literal translation (at the other), you may want to look elsewhere. If you are new to Celtica, you may want to pick up some additional reading to better appreciate the text. For commentary on the mythology behind the story, see _Celtic Heritage_ by Alwyn and Brinley Rees. For more information about the culture of medieval Ireland, see Nery's Patterson's _Cattle Lords and Clansmen_. To keep all the names straight (and the Ta/in has a cast of hundreds!), get James Mac Killop's _Dictionary of Celtic Mythology_. If you are interested in modern Irish literature rather than medieval, you will still want to read the Ta/in: this saga inspired modern Irish writers from Yeats to Heaney. Even Joyce drew heavily from the Ulster cycle (see Maria Tymoczko's _The Irish Ulysses_ for details).

This is a literary masterpiece to match the 5th(?) century manuscript: action, adventure, deceit, love, death, life, marriage, and hurling! What more could I ask for? Kinsella manages to pull you into the past of Ireland without loosing the flavor and excitement of the original epic. No pansy 19th century Victorian mush here, Mrs. Brown. This is the raw thing, the Irish story of how a hero was created. I grew tired of reading German translations of Old Irish stories, for lack of anything worthwhile in English. Too frequently, translators spend their time getting the exact meaning of each word, only to loose the beauty and flavor of the original melange. Kinsella comes through like a mighty warrior of the Uliad out of the distant past. Slainte!

True, a percentage of the photos either weren't that good or that interesting, but the point of the book was to inspire people to shoot their own photos of the same places. I really enjoy the book even after a year of reading it. I bought it right before I moved up to S.F. I still go back and look at the photos and read the text for inspiration. I can name a number of things I discovered from teh book. I learned Sutter Fort is in Sacramento, discovered teh Sonoma Coast, Wine Country, etc.

My travel companion and I took a recent trip to California. We started in the Napa Valley and drove down the coast to San Francisco, Monterey, and Hearst Castle. This the first time either of us had been to this area. We both enjoy photography and when I read about this book I knew I had to get it for the trip. I brought two other guide books-the AAA book and "The Eyewitness Guide to California (The Eyewitness Guides are a worldwide series of guide books which I highly recommend for the info they provide and the photographs). "PhotoSecrets" was the book of choice. It gave great suggestions of where to go and what to photograph. I can't say that we got the exact photos as suggested but I got hundreds of great shots based on suggestions from the book. My favorite shots were taken at the Monterey Bay Aquarium all using the suggestions in this book. The book gives suggestions about the best times to take photos and I used this as a guide to planning each days itinerary. My biggest regret is not having enough time to visit all the great places suggested. This book has a unique prospective and I hope that someday there will be a whole series of "PhotoSecret" books.

This is a great book but you must understand that it is neither an instruction manual on photography nor a real tour guidebook for San Francisco. It is written to help give you a chance to get great shots of northern California landmarks. It not only points out the best locations from which to take pictures but also provides other info such as which time of day proviides the best lighting.

On a recent trip to SF I got some amazing shots of the Golden Gate Bridge from places I would never have known even existed without this book. It shows you perspectives from several different locations for each landmark so you can choose your favorite. This allows you to head straight for the spot you've picked out and know what time of day you need to be there to get them. This kind of plan of attack will greatly increase your chances of getting great pictures.

As Christiansen notes early on, this extraordinary phase in Eastern European history has had little impact on popular memory. The only film to depict the Northern Crusades was Eisensteins 1937 classic, "Alexander Nevsky," a thinly-veiled piece of Soviet anti-German propaganda which portrayed the Teutonic Knights as cruel and hypocritical savages, destined for a deservingly bloody fate. Absent this kind of rank oversimplification, however, it is well-nigh impossible to find a single constituency with whom the modern observer might empathize. Of the Teutonic knights, one has to ask, how did a group of intelligent, ostensibly religious men take it upon themselves to visit extermination on so wide a scale? Not that the heathen Baltic peoples who they professed to "save" were particularly cuddly, either. As bizarre was the prolific, but genocidal St. Bridget of Sweden, whose many pamphlets encouraged Swedish and Teutonic crusaders to kill any pagan who refused instant baptism, on the grounds that the sooner their sinful lives were terminated, the better. This is a compelling history of the bizarre series of wars which introduced Christianity to Prussia and which forged the future of modern Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Finland.

This book covers the Christianization of the Baltic region during the late middle ages. Christiansen does a very nice job assimilating the archaelogical and historical evidence, and then explaining it and telling a good "story" in a very readable fashion. This is a very complex area, and Christiansen has to deal with the collision of four different linguistic groups and cultural traditions: 1. The Christian West Germanic and North Germanic peoples, i.e., Saxons, Danes, Swedes, etc. 2. The pagan Baltic peoples such as the Latvians and Lithuanians. 3. The pagan Finnic peoples, including the Finns and Estonians, but also many tribes whose language and culture barely survives today, such as the Livonians, Ingrians, Karelians, etc. 4. The partially Christianized Slavic tribes.

There is very little published in English about this time and place in history. I would strongly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the subject, or in the Baltic region in general, especially someone interested in a good overview as a start. As I've indicated, in spite of the complexity of the subject, it does read well.

The crusades against northeastern Europe are far less known than the parallell Palestinian ones, although perhaps of far more historical importance. Between the 11th and 15th century the entire Baltic region grew from an unexplored semi-wilderness into a area of organized, settled states, a growth partly caused by the influx of Western crusaders and partly by the subsequent reaction against this.

Eric Christiansen tells the story of these important centuries without the bias towards one side or another which is typical for other works, particularly when descibing the Teutonic Knights, their conquest of Prussia and subsequent wars with Poland and the Novgorod Russiansand, and has succeeded in writing a book that is both informative and entertaining.