To travel to England without reading about and seeing some of the world's most beautiful and interesting cathedrals would be some serious shortcomings for any traveler or student of history.

David Edward has selected 18 of the best cathedrals in Britain. It has been said to see a cathedral you must first understand why it exist and then and only then can you truly see it.

Dr. Edward's book allows you to see beyond the stones and see the great spirit, ambition and faith that drove the British people between the 10th and 16th centuries to build the testimonies to God. Each cathedral has excellent color plates as well as black and white photos.

Yet, being an American, I would not, as the fly leaf does, call Mr. Edward's British writing style as "lively and stimulating" rather he writes in a scholarly manner, but none the less opens the world of cathedrals to new towering heights, and rings a few bells along the way.

Though his writing can be somewhat starched he never less brings to light new insights about cathedrals that allows you to appreciate these towering testimonies to God.

You do not have to be a Christian believer to recognize the imagination, creative spirit, intense labor and force of will it took to create these towering palaces to God.

The Cathedrals of Britain affirm the aspiration and faith of a people past, yet not lost in the current generation of Brits. Well written with clarity and Recommended.

There is little doubt that this book is not a comprehensive account of the life of Charles, the Prince of Wales as its contents had to meet the approval of certain people, but one should not go so far as to pass it off as being total ... Were this the case, then it is clear that some of Charles' perceived short-comings would have been glossed over; but instead, we do get a fair sense about the man who will be the future King of England. He is by no means a gregarious, powerful figure, and, unfortunately and quite unjustly, he has been criticized for this, and some, including his now deceased ex-wife, have gone so far as to suggest that he is not suited for the job. Unfortunately, the people suggesting such things have succeeded in instilling some doubt in the minds of the British people as to whether this is in fact the case, but it is quite evident from what I have read that this is complete ... Granted, Charles does not fit the bill of the warrior king, but there is no doubt that he is a sensitive, well-educated and benevolent person who will undoubtably be well suited for the role of King in this current day and age. One thing that struck me as notable about Charles is his passion for certain causes and ideals, including organic farming and architecture. His opinions on these subjects has raised a few eyebrows and no doubt gave his detractors some fuel for their arguments. But his opinions on these, and other issues, are quite sound and indicate that he is a man well versed in modern issues and could prove to be a quite progressive monarch. Unfortunately, many are blinded to this aspect of the man by a superficial devotion to his deceased ex-wife, whose unfortunate behaviour during the latter years of their relationship succeeded in fooling many people.

This book covers the last two weeks of the hardest infantry course in the western world. 6 months ( withou injury ) and then a week in the field immediately followed by a series of combat fitness tests. THe text accuratly covers what happens near the end of training for those who chose to be a bootneck and those who want to earn the covetted Green Beret and return to their home units to work alongside bootnecks in the field. I been to lympstone ( where recruit training is undertaken ) - the only thing missng is this book are the three hour PT 'beastings' on the assault course and the warmups prior to attacking any physical challenge. ( NB. All commando tests are carried out in BOOTS and with weighted webbing 22lbs min + weapon ) Excellent.

Frederick Law Olmstead travelled extensively throughout the south during the antebellum period, as reflected in this book. He considered the effects of slavery on both blacks and whites and found it to have pernicious effects on both. Although written prior to the Civil War, the book (actually a series of extensive selections from the three original volumes based on his newspaper articles written during his travels)provides a rather indepth and refreshing look at well-known history and looks at the diverse roles played by blacks, white southerners, (and northerners!) in slavery. He also examines their views on the slave issue itself: some nascent Southern abolitionists and colonialists, as well as advocates of slavery, appeared rather intelligent and some otherwise. Many considered slavery an insoluble problem and others defended it as a necessary evil which benefitted blacks and whites alike(!). After completing his tour (including a rather interesting situation in which a black slave seriously injures a biracial runaway, has him clapped in irons and sent to jail - much to the amusement of some white southerners - & an enlightening discussion, especially in light of Talty's research showing persons of pure white descent, including adult foreigners and children who were originally indentured were kidnapped or illegally sold into slavery, of how demeanor would be an adequate determinant of whether or not a "white" slave was really free or not), he provides a critical analysis of slavery and its effects on the south.

This excellent collection of essays on the EU looks at the economics and the politics of the European Union; it finds the EU to be failing on both counts.
Tony Thirlwall explains why the euro would not bring a stable interest rate to aid our industry, nor would it curb the speculators: a single currency may end speculation within euroland, but it increases capital flows between euroland and everywhere else, threatening the euro's stability and therefore interest rate stability.
Mark Baimbridge, Brian Burkitt and Philip Whyman provide a characteristically sharp study of the European Central Bank. They note that the OECD says that for the industrialised economies, the natural rate of unemployment, below which inflation will accelerate, is 11%. So for the Bank, "the focus of monetary policy becomes to ensure, in practice, that unemployment is sufficiently high to reduce price and wage increases." The present level of unemployment across euroland is 11%, so this must be an EU success story: why aren't we applauding?
They show that Britain is not meeting the five tests. The EU's economies are diverging, as Wim Duisenberg has admitted. We have more economic flexibility than euroland does; investment into Britain is rising, the City of London is flourishing, and unemployment is lower than in euroland.
On the political side, many of the essays prove that the EU wants the euro to lock members forever into the planned EU state. German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said, "The introduction of the euro was not only the crowning-point of economic integration, it was also a profoundly political act, because a currency is not just another economic factor but also symbolises the power of the sovereign who guarantees it."
And it would be a most undemocratic state, as even the Euro-fanatic Michael Heseltine admits: "The ... notable characteristic of present political arrangements is that they are about as ineffective and unaccountable as they could be ... the institutions themselves are totally incapable of adjusting to that change. We have federalism by stealth ..." Unaccountable, incorrigible, deceitful - he could be describing himself! No wonder he loves the EU.

There was not much to do with the painting of murals included in this book at all. The title is rather misleading. If, however, you are interested in beautiful illusions in sculpture and decorating, this would be the perfect place.

Jackson's light coffee table book, History of The Royal Navy suprisingly squeezes in a lot of information and easy to understand explanations. He starts from the beginning and dosen't dwell on a subject for to long and quickly moves on through.

Naturally the Royal Navy from the mid 1700's to 1945 gets the most coverage as this was the time it ruled supreme.

The modern future is covered and we can see that the US Navy will rule supreme for the next two hundred years at least.

The Man who knew too much

Martin Allen's book „The Hitler/Hess Deception" deals with the fate of Rudolf Hess who had been, at one time, Hitler's deputy and who, in his day, carried the epithet „the conscience of the party". He was condemned to life imprisonment and served time for half a century until he was found hanged in the prison at Spandau whose only remaining prisoner he then was.

He had left Germany in May, 1941, under mysterious circumstances, and was held essentially incommunicado ever since. At that time, the Nazis had instituted a number of antisemitic laws, they had instigated or at least tolerated a pogrom, and were following an expansionist and aggressive policy, but with some hindsight, one wonders why this man had to be shut up for the rest of his life, whereas other figures among Hitler's close associates who had played a more active role for a much longer time, were released from jail after a number of years that appear reasonable under normal legal aspects.

The author has gathered together the shreds of evidence that remained after the British in 1945 had collected and destroyed whatever pertinent files they were able to put their hands on and „neutralized" undesirable witnesses. He shows that the „Hess incident" - Hess' solo flight to Scotland in May, 1941, a month before Germany attacked the Soviet Union - was not at all the feat of a madman decided on at the spur of the moment that it was later made to appear by both the British and the German side. Even (nay, particularly!) Hitler's deputy could not just get into his personal Messerschmitt 110 and take off for the 1000 mile flight to Prestwick without major technical and logistic preparations in Germany, along the way, and at the other end.

The book explains that the flight as such was the result of a sting operation devised by Britain's Strategic Operations staff, aimed at making Hitler believe that the British government could be toppled, peace could be made in the West, and the Germans would be able to affront the Soviets without having to worry about their western flank.

According to Allen, in the year prior to Hess' flight, there had been numerous contacts, mainly in (neutral) Spain and Switzerland, between British representatives and German politicians and intellectuals. The talks in Scotland were to be, as it were, the touchstone of the matter. As time was getting short for the Germans, Hess convinced Hitler that the German delegate should not be a mere emissary acting under orders but a political figure able to take decisions on the spot - Rudolf Hess.

In the end, it makes little difference whether the British were thrown into complete disarray, as Allen asserts, when unexpectedly Hess turned up or whether a lower-grade delegate would have been able to fly safely back to Germany and report. The British sting operation was effective enough in getting Hitler to continue with his preparations for the war against the Soviet Union and thus remove pressure from Britain. To what extent the British actively encouraged the Germans in their plans or whether or not they went so far as to promise support cannot be ascertained at the present time - whatever files still exist seem to be under lock and key for another dozen years or so.

What is frightening about the events Allen describes is the apparent lack of scruple with which the British government went about setting the two dictatorships up against each other. The outcome of this duel was not at all certain, for if weather conditions in late 1941 had been just a little more favorable for the German side, the Soviet empire might well have toppled and Britain would then have had to face a Germany extending from the Channel coast to the Urals. This unpleasant but entirely possible risk for Britain is begging the question to what extent Churchill, in order to forestall such a potentially horrifying scenario, did not somehow play a double game by keeping the Soviets informed, and assured of future Allied aid.

In this connection, some US and a few Russian historians have recently argued that Stalin, in 1941, was himself preparing to attack Germany. Considering the recent revelations by Christopher Andrew and Vasili Motrokhin on the activities of the „Cambridge Five", it is entirely conceivable that, officially or unofficially, British sources kept Stalin informed of the negotiations. For a man like Stalin, whose distrust was legendary, the obvious reaction would have been to prepare against a German attack, possibly by a pre-emptive strike.

Regardless of who, Stalin or Hitler, would eventually win that confrontation, the only thing that was certain, even in 1941, is that such a war would spell the end of freedom for most of the still independent states in Central and Eastern Europe. The only foreseeable difference would have been that, under Soviet rule, the Slavic states might fare slightly better, whereas countries like Hungary or Romania would have found Hitler somewhat more accomodating. In any case, the fate of the lands in question should have been clear to the Western world when the Germans discovered, in 1943, the graves of thousands of Polish officers murdered by the Soviets two years earlier. However, by then it was too late, the Western powers preferred not to take too close a look at the implications, and chose to abandon those countries to the Soviets for the next half century.

I really enjoyed reading this book, full of wonderful descriptions of easy, scenic walks. It gives lots of arguments for why you should try walking in Britain and lots of information for how to prepare. I decided I wanted to do mostly more strenuous hikes than what's covered here, but this book was my inspiration to think about seeing Britain on foot.

Any animal loving person will love this book. Wonderful pictures. But I wish they could give more animal information.