I bought/read this book for a research paper for a Politics of East Asia class I took this last semester (Spring 03). It gives a very good account of the causes of the wars. It is not a military strategy book so don't expect details of the battles, but it goes into great detail about the negotiations and behavior on both sides; it gives accounts of the battles just not detailed strategies. After I read it I loaned it to my father to read and he enjoyed it as well. I recommend writing down the names of the 'players' as you come across them because the British colonial hierarchy plays a major role and after a while you'll be bombarded by names that you may not have heard for a while. It is a bit long, but it is to the point and well written - buy this book and you won't be sorry.

This well written narrative describes the roots and actions of the two Opium Wars (1839-42, 1856-1860) fought primarily between Great Britain and China. It's not a pretty story, and it's not a story familiar to many Americans.

The gist of the problem for the British was that Britain had an insatiable demand for tea and silk, but there was virtually nothing the Chinese wanted to import from Britain. Therefore British traders in Canton imported opium from British-owned plantations in India, creating millions of Chinese opium addicts (including the emperor himself). Not only did drug dealing more than offset their negative balance of payments, it eventually generated nearly 10% of British tax collections.

The first Opium War erupted in 1839 when the Chinese officials 'got serious' about suppressing the opium trade and resulted, among other things, in the British navy and numerically small but well-armed ground troops opening various Chinese ports by force and obtaining possession of Hong Kong. The second Opium War, in which French navy and army forces joined, resulted in the conquest of Peking and the destruction of immense artistic and cultural wealth when the Summer Palace complex was looted and burned. In fact the words 'loot' apparently came into the English language in the first Opium War from a Hindi word 'lut'. Queen Victoria even named a Pekinese dog sent to her from the sack of Peking 'Lootie'.

Nobody comes off well. The British are uniformly horrible, and the French only slightly better. Americans are not active belligerents (excepting one occasion when a US Navy captain intervenes, despite contrary orders, to help the British), but American traders and consuls are involved in drug dealing. And, yes, the Chinese are victimized, but many Chinese grew wealthy as opium importers (the authors describe one Chinese as the world's wealthiest man), most officials were corrupt, incompetent and uncaring regarding their citizens' welfare, and Chinese soldiers serving in the British army commit as many atrocities as the Brits and Sikhs.

While the British ignore this sorry episode and Americans are largely ignorant of it, the Chinese remember Western aggression and their victimization all too well. Opium plagued China for another century, although most was home-grown by 1900. On the eve of World War II 10% of the population was addicted, with 30% of Hong Kong's population addicted (Not the image of efficient British colonial administration, is it?). Massive opium addiction did not end in China until the Communists brutally cracked down on it after their 1949 victory. The authors conclude, 'The Great Helmsman just said no.'

I recommend this book as an excellent overview of 19th Century Western interaction with China and an important piece of knowledge for those who would understand Chinese wariness towards the West since 1949. The few reproductions of paintings and photographs are interesting, but the large scale map of China is inadequate to follow the complex series of military actions. There is a bibliography for those who want to study the subject further, although many of those books will be hard to come by outside a major university library.

I thought the book was well written and interesting. It tells an amazing story of China's history. The author includes interesting parallels to the 20th century as well. I recommend it to anyone interested in learning more about how the British sold Opium to China in the mid 1800s.

Most of my several thousand volume library consists of serious books, works of literature, literary criticism, philosophy, history, theology, political science, and so on. But I also have a shelf or two devoted to "fun" books, books that I pick up and just lose myself in having fun. This is one of my favorite fun books. Not a masterpiece. Probably won't be in print twenty years from now. But the photographs are spectacular! And in just under 300 pages, almost every major city and structure of Europe has been photographed from the air. It is not merely the famous sights and buildings that makes this such a fun book, but some striking photographs of relatively unknown features. For instance, one of the most stunning photographs for me is what would appear to be a gigantic green field in Denmark that has been punctuated by a series of large housing circles, each cut off from one another, and each surrounded by the same green field.

The text has been provided by noted travel writer Jan Morris. The book is largely structured by starting with Italy and proceeding clockwise through the entire European continent, ending with Greece, Romania, and Turkey.

I really can whole heartedly recommend this book to anyone except those who don't like to look at anything. But if you have any interest in the world, in traveling, in Europe, in history, in photography, or in just having fun looking at awesome photos, this book will prove to be an utter delight.

I stumbled upon this title in a competitor's bookstore and was astonished that I hadn't read a review anywhere. With a 1998 imprint and Jan Morris as the author of the text, it doesn't seem like it should be an obscure tome, yet even here on Amazon.com, only one other person has reviewed it!

The photos are designed to provoke a sense of wonder and awe in the reader/viewer, and they succeed aesthetically, emotionally, and psychologically. From the rock of Gilbralter to a dense set of "potato row" houses in Copenhagen; from snowfields near the Arctic circle to Turkey--it's all here, images snapped from blimps, airplanes, helicopters, almost any method by which one might be "over" Europe.

One will not be able to glimpse most of these sites from comparable vantage points on a typical trek across the continent unless one plans to do so in a biplane. The images here are unusual in their breadth and majesty. ... The text is literate and fun. Buy it and marvel.

If you regard this book as just another coffee table book you aren't even half right. This is one of the best photo books I have ever seen. The pictures are outstanding. Nearly every photo takes you to the alter of the church, the edge of the cliff, or the gate to the castle. Not only is it a photo book, but a great travel book. These aren't just descriptions of what to see, but beautiful pictures showing you what you will want to see when you get there. You won't even need to take a camera or change for postcards-- the best pictures are right here. Get this book before you plan your vacation to Europe.

I am Byzantine history buff, and after looking through this set in a college library, I decided to get it for myself. I plan eventually to read most of it. A feature I like is the inclusion of brief histories of important cities of the empire and also of provinces. So, for example, there are entries on Bari and Sardinia. The careers of important personages are also outlined, not just emperors. I expect to learn a lot from the articles on special topics, some of which are indicated in the editorial review. The maps are clear and not overloaded with detail, but I would have liked a map of the empire around 700 to be included, instead of skipping from 565 to 1025. But that's a minor quibble. I expect to be using this book for years to come, so it should be well worth the money.

I am Byzantine history buff, and after looking through this set in a college library, I decided to get it for myself. I plan eventually to read most of it. A feature I like is the inclusion of brief histories of important cities of the empire and also of provinces. So, for example, there are entries on Bari and Sardinia. The careers of important personages are also outlined, not just emperors. I expect to learn a lot from the articles on special topics, some of which are indicated in the editorial review. The maps are clear and not overloaded with detail, but I would have liked a map of the empire around 700 to be included, instead of skipping from 565 to 1025. But that's a minor quibble. I expect to be using this book for years to come, so it should be well worth the money.

This is a great reference for the thousand years of Byzantine history, covering everything from Amulets to Zoe. It is really helpful in starting any research paper, and is also great just to look things up in that you find of interest.

I have always enjoyed Michael Farrell's work as a journalist and commentator. It was not surprising to see that he had turned to fiction writing, and this is an excellent first novel.

It is hard to find well-written, intelligent espionage fiction these days. When is the next book coming out?

PAPABILE: The Man Who Would Be Pope, by Michael J. Farrell, Crossroad, 1998.

For many years we've been reading Michael Farrell in the National Catholic Reporter. There was a suspicion that he was cloaking vast erudition in a veil of edgy humor and pungent style. Over the years, his articles on various aspects of current religion, from Zarathustrianism to Buddhism to Vedanta, betrayed a subterranean religious strength. But, whether because it was of his own interest, or the major concern of the top-class paper for which he wrote and of which he is now editor, Roman Catholicism was his major concern.

Several years ago he began to do a regular humor page under the enigmatic headline SIC! Since then, each week, on receiving the paper (NCR) in the mail, our reading friends (including professorial colleagues), like ourselves, first turn to look for the SIC! page. It is there that one finds the flair and verve which distinguish Farrell's writing

When word of Farrell's novel, Papabile, leaked (to borrow from the current lexicon of tabloid-laden political jargon) there was a ready readership in our home, and among fellow-readers.

Papabile is more than a good novel; it is a great experience. It is a book about faith, a quest of fidelity. The muscular Christianity of it, the non-trendy piety, the torment of religious probing at its deepest, bespeak a Dostoyeskian torment. Others have noted the headlong rushing stream of the story. But, no matter how gripping, it is not the story that matters. It is the agony of what Victor Frankl called "man's search for meaning."

It is a given that readers, like the protagonist, are true to their convictions. What is not a given is which, among conflicting claims, is deserving of conviction and fidelity. Papabile neither preaches nor teaches; it airs the raw anxiety of a soul seared and torn apart by conflicting polar fidelity-claims. To believe or not to believe, that is the question. Papabile is as serious an attempt to portray the dilemma as one is likely to find in our time.

Denis (Ph.D.) and Marlene Hickey

An idealistic young man becomes a fervent communist. They ask him to become a model priest and infiltrate the church. He does. And a bishop. The plot thickens deliciously. He is an idealist, he is pulled by the faith he abhors, he oscillates between communist and priest. The lure of the book is the surgical precision with which Farrell describes each temptation to believe and not believe. Either one becomes emotionally possible. I found the depth and precision deeply satisfying. In a strange way, Farrell frees the reader by giving better and worse reasons for whatever position s/he holds. I couldn't put it down, even after the book was safely back on my shelf.

Paris Reflections, Walks Through African-American Paris is a comprehensive walking guide through the streets of Paris. Written by Christiann Anderson and Monique Wells, two African-American women who have adopted the city as their home, the book is a well documented history of African-Americans and others of African descent who have lived, worked and played in the famed City of Lights.

As one reads through the book, the authors' love and appreciation of the city is evident. In Paris Reflections, readers follow six fascinating walking tours of the city and are treated to a treasure cove of information, the obscure as well as the familiar, from important dates in Africa-American history in Paris to profiles of colorful personalities who have lived and worked in the city. Well written and easy to read, Paris Reflections, Walks Through African-American Paris is a valuable resource for both travelers and non-travelers as well.

Congratulations on work well done. While there are thousands of writings on Paris, add this to your list of Paris reading. While this work is uniquely geared towards a personal experience of Paris through the eyes of African Americans, it is a must have for anybody planning a cultural tour of the city of Paris. I congratulate Ms. Anderson for her enlightening and beautiful book!

One recent Saturday afternoon, I set out, copy of Paris Reflections in hand, to do an actual walking tour of the Latin Quarter in Paris. My aim was to familiarize myself with some of the Black American history meticulously detailed in the book. I wasn't entirely convinced that this journey would be that enjoyable.

What followed was an afternoon of sheer delight, as I rediscovered some of the incredible beauty of this area, with the added bonus of a perspective of celebrated Black Americans from a different era. While their very haunts may have changed or even be totally nonexistent, the monuments and neighborhoods themselves are still intact, to be seen just as these personalities saw them.

I applaud the authors for what must surely have been a labor of love. One pet-peeve, however, is the lack of photos of the basic points of interest encountered during the walks. But, otherwise, the discovery process as presented in this book in this most beautiful of cities is worth the price of admission alone. I enthusiastically recommend this offering!

If you've been to Paris at all, you'll recall some of the street corners and landmarks in this sketchbook. But if you haven't been there, these elegant and intimate illustrations done by Moireau will trigger your fantasy about the wonderful city. There is a plethora of competent guide/travel books about Paris with lots of pictures and photographs, but none capture the whimsy of the place like this book does. Mary Kelly's narrative asides complement the illustrations unobtrusively. Once again, Moireau's poetic portraits of the various areas of the city are a marvel to behold; I could really see the love this artist had for the city. The book also has a nice flow to it, so as you move through the book to the end, you feel as though you've taken a nice, slow walk through the Parisian streets. A lovely book.

I love three things: Watercolors, books and Paris. Author Mary Kelly and Fabrice Moireau teamed up to make the most delicious book on Paris that I have seen yet. Yes, I exclaimed "Ooo-la-la" when I opened this to a random page, but forgive me for the cliche. This book is magnificient in every way.

I first travelled to Paris in 1976, then a number of times thereafter, lately last May 2001. Each time, I strive to capture the essence of this wonderful city, and aside from a few character sketches, I don't have much success. This book is everything I wanted to take back from Paris in addition to some wonderful memories.

The format is a longer-than-wide book with excellent paper. The text is accompanied by good-sized watercolors and pencilled notes. It looks as if you are holding the actual sketchbook. The colors are very true; I do watercolors myself and I can tell you that the pages look as if the washes were just laid down. The look is fresh and really, it is stunning.

If you love France, Paris, art, watercolors, travel, you will love this book. I treasure it.

For anyone who has been to Paris and love the city this book is for you. The watercolured sketches are staggeringly beautiful and the text is a bonus. The texture of the book itself of heavy, faux-canvas paper has a wonderful feel and look.For what you get the price is very reasonable

After being in Paris for an entire summer, I've returned to the US with great heartache. Paris had a profound effect on me, so when I arrived in the states, I feverishly tried to gather all I could to remind me of Paris. On a whim I bought "Parisians." From the moment I opened it up, I was suddenly back in my beloved city. The photographs capture Paris in the way that takes me back everytime. Turnley's skill at capturing the essence of Parisians is striking, uncanny and charming. If you've been, you miss it, or want to know what Paris is "really" like, just open the cover of "Parisians." On the days I want nothing more than to transport back to Paris, all I have to do is open this book and I'm there.

Peter Turnley has captured the spirit of Paris and the souls of Parisians and presented it in one beautifully produced volume for the world to see at an affordable price. The images are stunning and the order of the images contributes to the quality of the book. I expect to return to these images often for years to come.

For those of you who have been to Paris, Peter Turnley's work will strike a deep sense of longing to return. His ability to capture some many facets of life throughout his book is delightful. I really enjoyed the mix of people, places, and situations he photographed such as a French woman in a barista or fans at a soccer game. His use of black and white photography added a sense of timelessness to the work. In summary, I think the book is an amazing piece of work that highlights the diversity and beauty of Paris.

I read this excellent book over a year ago and am amazed at how often my thoughts return to visit. I find that many of the folkways described by this extraordianary observer are part of my own everyday life as American Scotch Irish over two centuries removed from roots in Ulster, Ireland. The descriptions of the kitchen hospitality, even the arrangement of the kitchen furniture are very familiar to me. The gifts of storytelling and musicmaking so vividly described are as frequently celebrated in my current mileau. Thanks for an excellent piece of research and writing.

For years anthropologists and folklorists have often "looked down" on the subjects of their studies, attempting to fit their subjects into preconceived boxes and categories. Unfortunately some anthropologists and sociologists continue to regard their "subjects" with condescension or even amusement. Henry Glassie's work is a much needed antidote to such practices. _Passing the Time in Ballymenone_ is a jewel. Henry Glassie regards the people of Ballymenone with respect and affection, allowing them to describe their ideas, life-ways, and values on their own terms, not his. Recognizing that theirs is a mindset and lifestyle that must be seen as an integrated whole, Glassie studies everything about Ballymenone from traditional songs to entertainment to religious beliefs to architecture, liberally quoting from the people who welcomed him into their homes over his extended stays. Some of his insights are pure brilliance, such as recognizing the way the poets and storytellers of a rural Irish district have adapted ancient Gaelic metrics to the English they use today. You will learn more about Ireland and its people in this one book than in a host of others. You may also find yourself re-evaluating your own lifestyle after encountering the wisdom of these tradition bearers. The book also serves as an excellent model for those who plan to work and study in folklore or anthropology.

This wonderful book allows the reader to experience a place and a people now gone. The "stars" of Ballymenone come alive again in story, song and the descriptions of their lives by Henry Glassie. Unlike most academic books, this one is written by a poet...lyrical, powerful and evocative prose by a writer with suberb descriptive powers and spiritual impact. My husband and I recently visited Ballymenone and spent the day searching for what we had read about...but the people described are mostly gone, the landscape altered, the old replaced by new. For anyone who loves Ireland and wants to understand its ways and its culture this book is a must.

Perhaps the two Aristotelian emotions of the tragic are relevant, pity--and terror.
Some of the great cultural advances come through the blending of differences. Human tribalism notwithstanding, nature seems to have done this trick on the divide of Christians and Jews, starting in the period of the Enlightenement, and then at a floodtide in the post-Napoleonic era of the liberation. This book demonstrates such a flowering--and then its unreasonable destruction just at the point where Jews/Christians were set to escape from a terrible legacy. It is a story with many fascinating vignettes, starting with Moses Mendelssohn's early youth, and many vital characters, from Maimon, who appears from nowhere to expound on Kant, to Heine and his ambivalent poetics, to, of course, Marx, said to be the self-hating jew, but not so different from type in this strange and brief generation of 'conversions'. Whence this tragedy, whose collosal waste has deprived a civilization of its own fruits? As the finale approaches the answer seems to recede from the conventional issues of anti-semitism to the mysteries of radical evil.
But I think nature benign, and the future should ask for the original path once on its way to its splendid flowering and mutual enrichment.

Reading Amos Elon's fine history of the German Jewish population is somewhat like watching a horror movie in which you know who is going to meet a horrible end. Even with this knowledge, you hold out some hope, some expectation that everything will turn out alright in the end. Most of the book is filled with this hope, that Germans and Jews would get along and form a new and powerful society through their collective efforts. It is disturbing to know that such tangible dreams and ideas were to meet such a horrific end.

Elon begins his history in a very suitable place. In 1743, a young Jewish cripple limped into the Prussian capital of Berlin. The gate in which he entered was reserved for cattle and Jews. When questioned by the gatekeepers on his intent, the eleven year old Moses Mendelssohn replied that he sought to learn. This young boy would become one of the greatest philosophers and writers of the European enlightenment. The enlightenment brought down many walls that had held German Jews in virtual bondage. People like Mendelssohn could contribute and were welcomed by the more learned elements of German society. It became clear to many in the Jewish community that the only way out of their situation was to become educated, assimilate into German culture and in many cases to convert to Christianity. All these themes are examined in detail, as are the contributions to German society that Jews made. The contribution that Jews made to the European revolutions of the mid 19th century are fascinating. It becomes apparent that Germany would not have been the European powerhouse it became in the late 19th century had it been for the artistic, monetary, educational and technological benefits the Jews gave greater Germany. There were many years of peace between Jews and Christians, and even leading up to World War I there was an almost euphoric hope of eventual German-Jewish synthesis.

Of course, however, the plague that was and is European anti-Semitism stayed alive. Many would never really accept real Jews, they could barely tolerate converts or the many non-observant German Jews. Archaic restrictions remained, keeping Jews from reaching high levels in government or the military. While many Jews succeeded in business, they were taxed disproportionately and were not allowed to attend many famous colleges. There were anti-Semitic riots and the hate newspapers remained alive. It is odd to point out though, as Elon does, that German anti-Semitism was not much worse than other countries. It is very hard to explain the eventual outcome. There are no easy answers, but the combination of economic disaster and the supposed connection seen by many between the Jews and bad business was a definite factor. It is just a sad and tragic book, to read about such hope and prosperity ending in such almost inevitable disaster. That outcome does not make it historically irrelevant however, as Elon does not fall into the trap of basing all of German Jewish history on the eventual Holocaust. That is a credit to him and his fine work.

A must for Jewish and European History enthusiasts.

On p. 148, German poet Heinrich Heine is dying and on his deathbed, apparently still wracked with doubt about his conversion and his lack of faith. But he figures as he goes to the beyond, it won't be that bad. "God will forgive me," he says. "That's His Job." After that great line I was more than a little annoyed to find Heine back alive in the next 50-100 pages, you kind of felt like you weren't moving forward, like you were stuck in some sort of mud. But nevermind, once this Amos Elon gets back on track, this is the kind of non ficiton history that gives you goosebumps it is so good and so important. Finally you get to the pre Nazi period and suddenly things you never put together before all come clear. Of course us Russian and Polish Jews- even those of us who are reform, have never been enamored of the Ger. Jews, and its clear there is little to like about them, at least the wealthy ones that are the subject of this book. Nobody would say they got what they deserved, but Elon comes close to pointing out how their devotion to the German fatherland over their devotion to basic principles of Judaism sparked the nationalist counter-reaction that led to the rise of Hitler. Nothing they teach in Sunday school was the point I was about to make. Of the son of one German-jewish leader it was said, "The most Jewish thing he ever did was convert." This is a great great and important book. No one, especially Jews obviously, should not have read this and soon.

This book is great for all ages, as the other reviews have said. I, being a 13 year old, loved the mystery plotline, and I enjoy reading books like Shakespeare! I recommend the author's second book, The True Prince, and The Shakespeare Stealer and Shakespeare's Scribe, both by Gary Blackman! All of these books have a young boy who acts in Shakespeare's troupe, so if you enjoy that aspect of The Playmaker, then you'll love the others!!!

The Playmaker is a work which literally transports the reader to Elizabethan England in a very convincing manner. Cheaney has a beautiful use of language which does not talk "down" to her young readers at all, but instead presents them a fast-paced, exciting story which is as enriching as it is entertaining. I really fell for all the major characters, and I am hoping for a sequel...or several of them! Richard, Starling, and Kit are so well developed they seem like real historical characters rather than fiction. The Playmaker is a great example of how fiction can present a historical period to young readers so that the reader develops a feel for the period-encouraging an interest in history, too. That's a very enriching asset for a novel to have. This book is on my Christmas list for my young friends AND friends my age and older! My 27 year old daughter is going to love it!

If I had been reading this book for myself it would have been a non-put-downer! However I was reading it to my two sons, ages 13 and 15 so we had to make time between everything else. We experienced a wide expanse of emotions while journeying with young Richard. Great read! And, for those interested, it's a great read-aloud! The characters are fleshed out and the action is limitless! Nothing better than a good believable mystery! Don't let the age recommendations put you off. My teens loved it, as did I. Richard and his friends are people we didn't want to let go of at the end of the book. Hope there is more to come!