Zed

Very enjoyable in a drug riddled type of way. A tad dated (I suspect) for those that may not understand the musical and/or political references and a genuine you had to be there book. None the less I understand the impact back in the day.

Another fine book from Mr Pryor who is always easy to read and always has new ideas to explain.

Superb. Bitingly sarcastic through to deep sadness. An anti war novel for the ages.

Fantastic anthology. The compilers are to be congratulated.

Not my kind of history book. Written like a novel.

Wonderful!

Superb. Answered many questions. Am unable to think that there could possibly be a better book on the subject of Food and WW2.

A bit too dense for a Brief History. Seemed to lack a chronological focus.

An excellent Brief History. With the Emphasis on “The Tudor Age”, not the kings and queens, Jasper Ridley has written a first class brief history of everything from how people dressed through to their crimes and playtime. Even food and furniture gets discussed. As far as short and sharp social history goes this is as good as its gets. Recommended.

The best short history of the 3rd Reich I have read. The only reason it is marked down is a bit of poor proof reading and editing. Wittock is to be admired for producing an introductory book that does not home into just the war itself and briefly explains the day to day life of all that lived in these unhappy times. These “Brief history of” series are well worth the couple of dollars.

There is a superb book in there somewhere. It was not the subject as such, the subject is riveting, but the way it is presented. Almost like reading a novel at times.

As long a book as I have ever read. Apart from Tolstoy's philosophical rant about history at the end there is not much to do other than say what a magnificent novel.

I had little to no knowledge of Venice other than the fact it was a major tourist destination. That has all changed. Horodowich has written a superb easy to read short history that will be of great use to those that like things short, sharp and concise. It covers not only the history but also makes good comment on various modern issues such as the huge problems of rising water levels, tourism and Venice's place in the modern world while attempting to retain the history and charms of it's past. This is an excellent Brief History.

A fine beginners guide.

A fine read on a little discussed subject. I applaud Will Davis for producing such an easy to approach book that could easily have been caught up in far too much technical detail. This book deserves a wider audience and anyone with a modicum of interest in WW1 will come away with just that little more learnt about this brutal war.

I found myself fluctuating between several emotions while reading this book. It was my first attempt at Russian classic literature and came out the other side feeling rather cold. I found the conversations between the characters far too garbled and enigmatic at times and always felt that I was missing something. The plot itself was rather thin and it was hard to get any sympathy for any of the characters from that. For a tome this long I expected more. Be that as it may I think I will look a bit further into Dostoevsky at a later date. At times I read his prose veraciously so that was a good sign.

If I recommended just one book on Archaeology to the beginner this would be it.

Fascinating. I could not put this book down and would consider it a must read for anyone who has an interest as to the rise of the Taliban and the consequences of the actions of the super powers.

Difficult to put down. A short sharp and personal history of the 20th Century.

A subject that I knew little about. The book is set out into three parts, The Beginning, Conflict and finally Aftermath. I initially got through the 1st part of the book and realised that I knew little of the reformation. I read The Reformation In Germany by C Scott Dixon and restarted Europe's Tragedy again. This made life a little easier in understanding the religious tensions that were present in the Holy Roman Empire in the time leading up to the outbreak of the war in 1618.

In the end Peter H Wilson's broad and complicated tome has been a fine read indeed. It has shown a time of complicated religious and political violence that had a remarkable effect on the Germanic people's both culturally and as to their thinking well into the future. For the beginner a slight knowledge of the Reformation is a must in my opinion but be that as it may once understood it makes this book fascinating. Highly recommended.(less)

My copy comes with a very useful illustrated guide to places of interest. Though a touch dated anyone with an interest in The Conqueror will get something from this.

A wonderful book that tells it's story in a way that keeps one gripped to every word.

An interesting idea for a book in an area that is not covered as well as it might be. I read passages of this to my wife and we both found ourselves at times moved at what the returned and the families went through. My only criticism is that I felt that as it was a subject that required more analysis the book itself was too short.

I have read this several times in my life and it has to be considered as one of the greatest pieces of literature this world has ever known.

A children's classic. A wonderful tale.