History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

Sharpe's Company (Richard Sharpe's Adventure Series #13)

Average customer rating:

Another good Sharpe book
A high-water mark in the Rifleman Sharpe series
A Great Series
Hawkeswill kills everything including this book
One of the better Sharpe novels

Sharpe's Company (Richard Sharpe's Adventure Series #13)
Bernard Cornwell
Manufacturer: Signet
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Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0451213424
Release Date: 2004-08-03

Book Description

Looming on the border of Portugal and Spain is the fortress of Badajoz. To lead an assault on its thick, sheer walls and battlements is suicide, yet Richard Sharpe must lead one. Inside the walls are his wife and daughter, and only he can save them. Outside is the misshapen, vengeance-crazed Sergeant Obadiah Haskewill, a man determined to kill Sharpe. Sharpe knows that in the heat of battle only the cold steel of his battered sword and the ruthless bloodlust of a soldier at war will protect him from the danger of both sides. Third in a series taking Sharpe all the way to Waterloo.

"Consistently exciting...these are wonderful novels." (Stephen King)

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To stem the Napoleonic tide, Sharpe must capture a fortress-where his wife and infant daughter are trapped-while protecting himself from a fellow officer determined to destroy him. "The world may have a new literary hero. His name is Richard Sharpe."-Philadelphia Inquirer "A masterful blend of fiction and historical detail."-Newsday

Customer Reviews:

Another good Sharpe book.......2007-07-13

In the early months of 1812, Wellington led his army to French-occupied Spain. Captain Richard Sharpe participates in the storming of the fortresses of Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz. The siege of Badajoz is bloody for the British army. They failed twice before and now Wellington wants the fortress at any cost. As Wellington moves on Badajoz, a new Colonel and a new Captain arrive from England and the command of Sharpe's Light Company has been given to this new Captain who bought the promotion. Sergeant Hakeswill, who is ruthless, cruel, indestructible and Sharpe's oldest and toughest enemy also joins the company. Hakeswill could do anything to terrorise everyone in the company, including Sharpe and Harper. Sharpe desperately fights for his company, and for Teresa, the woman he loves and with her is Antonia, their daughter, both blocked in the besieged city of Badajoz.

Again, Mr Cornwell did an excellent job in Sharpe's company. I would highly recommend this book to any Cornwell fan and any history buff.

A high-water mark in the Rifleman Sharpe series.......2007-03-06

Bernard Cornwell's series of Sharpe novels has delighted countless readers over the years. Cornwell is (famously or infamously, depending on your perspective) writing these novels out of historical sequence, so even though while "Sharpe's Company" is in the middle of the Sharpe series chronologically, it is among the earliest books Cornwell wrote about Wellington's favorite rogue. And it is easily among Cornwell's best books ever - thrilling, ghastly, funny, and with perhaps Cornwell's greatest villain, Obadiah Hakeswill.

[Full disclosure - I read "Sharpe's Company" after reading the terribly disappointing "Hannibal Rising," and have Cornwell up on a bit of a pedestal right now. A gushing review follows.]

Like all soldiers from the stews of London, born without name or wealth, Richard Sharpe started life in the British army as a lowly private. While serving with Lord Wellington (then merely Colonel Wellesley), Sharpe had the misfortune of serving under Sergeant Obadiah Hakeswill, a grossly fat and evil man who knows that he cannot die - he even survived a hanging! Taking an instant hatred to Sharpe, Hakeswill has Sharpe flogged in events chronicled in Cornwell's "India Trilogy," a sub-set of the Sharpe novels. Sharpe swears revenge and thinks he has killed Hakeswill off . . . only to have the insane Sergeant return in "Sharpe's Company."

Hakeswill is the kind of man who will trump up flogging charges on a soldier in order extort sexual favors from the soldier's desperate wife . . . and then kill her and frame her husband. Truly evil, Hakeswill's love for rape is only matched by his hatred of Sharpe. So what happens when Hakeswill comes across Sharpe's lover, the gorgeous partisan Teresa? He must have her, both to possess her beauty and to ruin Sharpe.

And also, what is to happen when Sharpe finds himself demoted when a wealthier man buys his Captaincy and Hakeswill is put in charge of the 95th Rifles? A mere Lieutenant, Sharpe still outranks Hakeswill, but just barely. This gives Hakeswill the opportunity to ruin the Rifles, the only other thing Sharpe holds as dear as Teresa.

Things are dire enough for Sharpe, what with the return of the mad, gibbering Sergeant. But he must also contend with Wellington's siege of Badajoz, perhaps the most impregnable French-held fort in all of Spain. Even the redoubtable Major Hogan despairs of British boots ever getting inside that mountain of rock and guns. And yet Sharpe must lead men inside, if not only for his honor and to earn his Captain's bars, but also to save Teresa and his new-born daughter, Antonia, who live inside the fortress.

Cornwell writes a battle scene as well as anyone, and he has never been in finer form than with his description of the horrific siege. Perhaps shockingly for a proud Brit, Cornwell pulls no punches at the terrible crimes committed by the British soldiers once they crack open those walls - the robberty, rape and murder of the innocents is one of the most depressing passages you will ever read.

For high adventure, slightly leavened with comedy, you will not find anything better than "Sharpe's Company." Read these novels in order - don't start with this book, because the characters will make much more sense if you have the entire back-story.

A Great Series.......2006-08-15

This is another entry on the Sharpe series. It is fun, entertaining and very readable. Cornwell's research is as excellent as usual. He takes some licenses for the shake of the story and continuity, but this is OK. Some people are outraged by the portrait of some of the real historical characters, but historical characters are rarely depicted accurately in historical fiction, so I think this can be forgiven. Besides, usually a more serious account of these characters is given at the end of the book on the Historical Note.

Many people insist in compare this series with Patrick O'Brian's Master and Commander. I don't think this is fair for any of the series, they are different entities. What they have in common is that once you start you may get hooked and devour one book after another...

And in the literary world today that is a rare and marvelous thing.

Hawkeswill kills everything including this book.......2006-08-11

I've eagerly poured through this great series, but was sorely disappointed to see a re-appearance of Sgt. Hawkeswill. His presence ads nothing to this book, other than a great unbelievable diversion.

Sharpe mutters about his life-long desire to kill his arch nemesis Sgt. Hawkeswill at least every 200 pages of every book in the series. Then Sharpe, who has not hesitated to kill before, finds Hawkeswill alone in a barn raping his wife, and then decides to let him go?????? This is the same man that murdered 500 innocent people just so he could leave a city, and now he suddenly wants an honorable public death for for his arch enemy??? Cornwell has made Hawkeswill into the ultimate evil nemesis, and he is just too evil and too lucky to be believed. Having Hawkeswill again and again dance around Sharpe and his friend Sgt. Harper makes Sharpe's other exploits all that more unbelievable. How could anyone that is so easily fooled by the insane Hawkeswill accomplish all the heroics described in this and other books? Here is a guy that tracked one enemy through mountains, rivers, etc. for weeks, just for beating him up, but when he finds Hawkeswill raping his wife (for the second time), threating to kill his child, after Hawkeswill has already killed his good friend Cpt. Knowles, and had Sgt. Harper flogged and demoted, he lets Hawkeswill jump out the window without even a chase???? The Sharpe character wanders all over the place from a vile evil killing machine to a goof-balled mush-mellon.

Fortunately, we have not had to contend with Hawkeswill for a long time in the series, and hopefully we will not see him again.

One of the better Sharpe novels.......2006-04-01

"Sharpe's Company" is one of the better books in the Sharpe series with a mostly convincing plot, a geniunely interesting series of complications for our hero Richard Sharpe to deal with (including a demotion, the birth of a daughter and the return of the evil Sgt. Hakeswill) and some really terrific battle scenes.

If you've read any of the Sharpe in India "prequel" novels ("Sharpe's Tiger," "Sharpe's Triumph" and "Sharpe's Fortress"), this is an especially rewarding book because of the return of Sharpe's old nemesis Hakeswill.

While a great adventure yarn, the book isn't quite perfect. As some previous reviewers have noted, there are a few contrived lapses in the way the characters behave, particularly the failure of the normally aggressive Sharpe to quickly and cleanly end his Hakeswill problem. But, if you've read the Sharpe in India prequels, you're likely to just see this as an ongoing weakness of Sharpe, who tended to do things in India such as force Hakeswill into a snake pit and then walk off without ensuring that the snakes actually finished off Hakeswill. (If I wanted to get all literary, I could possibly account for this by spinning out some psychological theory about Hakeswill's role as a distorted father figure for the orphaned Sharpe, but, hey, this really isn't *that* kind of historical novel ...)

Sharpe's Tiger (Richard Sharpe's Adventure Series #1)

Average customer rating:

Delightful, amid all the luxury and misery of colonial India
A fine book and fun reading...
Cornwells betrayal
Once you start this series you will not want it to end!
Sharp's Tiger--a pussy cat

Sharpe's Tiger (Richard Sharpe's Adventure Series #1)
Bernard Cornwell
Manufacturer: Harper Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0060932309
Release Date: 2004-07-06

Book Description

In a battery of events that will make a hero out of an illiterate private, a young Richard Sharpe poses as the enemy to bring down a ruthless Indian dictator backed by fearsome French troops.

The year is 1799, and Richard Sharpe is just beginning his military career. An inexperienced young private in His Majesty's service, Sharpe becomes part of an expedition to India to push the ruthless Tippoo of Mysore from his throne and drive out his French allies. To penetrate the Tippoo's city and make contact with a Scottish spy being held prisoner there, Sharpe has to pose as a deserter. Success will make him a sergeant, but failure will turn him over to the Tippoo's brutal executioners -- or, worse -- his man-eating tigers. Picking his way through an exotic and alien world. Sharpe realizes that one slip will mean disaster. And when the furious British assault on the city finally begins, Sharpe must take up arms against his true comrades to preserve his false identity, risking death at their hands in order to avoid detection and thus to foil the Tippoo's well-set trap.

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In a battery of events that will make a hero out of an illiterate private, a young Richard Sharpe poses as the enemy to bring down a ruthless Indian dictator backed by fearsome French troops.

Customer Reviews:

Delightful, amid all the luxury and misery of colonial India.......2007-09-30

This first series installment introduces us to protagonist Richard Sharpe, an orphan from the gutter whose only shot in life is as a lowly private in the British Army, and whose only real skill is fighting. Sharpe does have related skills and virtues - honesty, wit, courage, initiative and resourcefulness among them - which is why the time spent with him in each book is so enjoyable.

Sharpe reports to the diabolical Sergeant Obadiah Hakeswill, who exists primarily to cheat and scheme money out of his subordinates, and secondarily to torment them for sheer enjoyment. Hakeswill lusts for Sharpe's girlfriend and wants to sell her to a brothel owner, and so trumps up a scheme to have him flogged to death.

But Sharpe is saved when he gets tapped to accompany an officer on a dangerous mission: finding a high-ranking British spy who has reconnoitered the defenses of Seringapatam. This is the stronghold of the fabulously wealthy Tippoo Sultan, the main obstacle to British rule of southern India.

Sharpe and Lt. Bill Lawford, good-hearted but naïve, find themselves swapping roles across class lines as they work their way towards the imprisoned Colonel McCandless, impersonating British deserters. Sharpe has more street smarts and finds himself in the unusual position of giving an officer orders.

All Cornwell's distinctive touches are found here - the luxury and misery of India, the fabulous wealth and huge harems of the powerful, the dreary lives of the British rank-and-file, and the exquisite tortures meted out by cruel rulers, who might have prisoners torn apart by sadistic musclemen or fearsome tigers. Cornwell pays meticulous attention to 19th century siege warfare.

In some ways he is even more compelling a character than Patrick O'Brian's Jack Aubrey: Aubrey, from gentry, has some natural allies, but Sharpe's natural state in life is alone, back to the wall, with no allies but the converts he makes as he serves side by side with them. Sharpe's ingenious but totally plausible improvisations allow him to, whatever the day is, seize it. The Sharpe books are delightful.

A fine book and fun reading..........2007-09-26

I really liked this book as Cornwell seems to present blunt and realistic descriptions of life of the average enlisted man. A really good read. Take this book to the airport and you wont worry how delayed your flight is.

Cornwells betrayal.......2007-07-28

I read all of the original Sharpe series in the eighties and thought that the series had come to it's natural conclusion with Sharpes Waterloo in 1990. I was very suprised to see Sharpes Devil a couple of years later and to my mind this was a book too far in the series. Cornwell was always writing other books at the same time including the excellent Redcoat aas well as the nautical thrillers. When he started the Starbuck chronicles I was delighted and followed Nates adventures in the same manner as I had Sharpe's. Then, after the Sharpe series had been shown on tv Cornwell abandoned "The Starbuck Chronicles" mid-series (after four books)and resurected Sharpe. Not to sound too cynical but the only reason for this betrayal of fans who had bought the new books and were following Starbuck could only have been money...Cornwell betrayed and sacrificed the Starbuck fans for a newer and more lucrutive market...the new Sharpe fans worldwide who came to the books after the tv series. In order to continue to cash in along came all the new books each one inserted in a different period of Sharpe's career. If you have read the original series you won't recognise Sharpe's description in the new books..because it's Sean Bean!...Thanks Bernard, how's the yacht?

Once you start this series you will not want it to end!.......2007-07-18

The character of Richard Sharpe was first introduced to readers in 1981 through the wonderful novel, Sharpe's Eagle. That excellent book recounts the exploits of Sharpe and his squad of "Chosen Men" during the Battle of Talavera in Spain 1809. In the years since, Cornwell has written more than 20 Sharpe novels to great acclaim. With Sharpe's Tiger he has created a worthy place to begin a wonderful journey with Sharpe. This book introduces us to Sharpe at the very beginning of his life in the British Army of the early 1800s. In this book Sharpe is not a brash lieutenant trying to prove that he belongs as a commoner among the aristocratic ranks of British officers. Here he is a simple private trying to survive a sometimes boring, sometimes deadly mission to expand and bring order to Britain's holdings in India while fighting powerful native forces. Unforgettable characters we will see in later books (The evil Obadiah Hakeswill; the honorable Hector McCandless; the naive but brave William Lawford; and of course, Arthur Wellesley, who will become Wellington) are introduced for the first time here as we learn how Sharpe became the man that captured an eagle at Talavera and rose from the ranks to become a famous British officer. Read this book if you like adventurous historical fiction with great characters and interesting settings. I guarantee you will want to read the whole series by the time you finish three chapters.

Sharp's Tiger--a pussy cat.......2007-03-18

I was expecting the literary equivilant of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series, and was disappointed to learn that it was merely "good trash," O.K. for a vacation read, but just barely. My interest in reading the rest of them evaporated.

The Siege of Vienna: The Last Great Trial Between Cross & Crescent

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Exceedingly Tedious
Meticulous and Tedious
A very readable and informative history of an important event in the struggles between Islam and the West
A superbly presented and accurately detailed account

The Siege of Vienna: The Last Great Trial Between Cross & Crescent
John Stoye
Manufacturer: Pegasus Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1933648147

Book Description

"John Stoye is the master of every aspect of his subject."- Daily Telegraph

"A fine historical work. . . . Well worth reading."-Otto von Habsburg, The Catholic Herald

"Worthy of the pen of a Herodotus. . . . It is a measure of the fascination of Mr. Stoye's subject that one should think of comparing his treatment of it with the work of the greatest historians."- The Times Literary Supplement

The siege of Vienna in 1683 was one of the turning points in European history. It was the last serious threat to Western Christendom and so great was its impact that countries normally jealous and hostile sank their differences to throw back the armies of Islam and their savage Tartar allies.

The consequences of defeat were momentous: The Ottomans lost half of their European territories and began the long decline that led to the final collapse of their empire, and the Habsburgs turned their attention from France and the Rhine frontier to the rich pickings of the Balkans. That hot September day in 1683 witnessed the last great trial of strength between cross and crescent-and opened an epoch in European history that lasted until the cataclysm of the First World War.

Customer Reviews:

Exceedingly Tedious.......2007-09-25

If you're a generalist, or looking for a book that will help you to appreciate what the defenders of Vienna felt, thought, or endured, this book is not for you. Though undeniably informative, the great bulk of this work is devoted to extremely detailed descriptions of the dozens of political negotiations and troop conscriptions carried on by Hapsburg envoys and the political chess game between the Empire's foes and its myriad lukewarm allies. This is a valuable source for further research, and a great neutral description of the political climate and negotiations that led to Vienna's redemption, but of the siege itself, it will provide you with little insight as to what it was like to be in Vienna in 1683, and will not impart any of the stories, legends, or heroic deeds of the City's defenders - to which the author occasionally and tantalizingly alludes.

Meticulous and Tedious.......2007-07-29

The failure of the Turkish army to take Vienna in 1683 marks the beginning of the long decline of the Ottoman state but it was a close-run affair. Kara Mustafa's janissaries laid siege to the Austrian imperial capital while allied horsemen ravaged the surrounding countryside. Leopold III and his court had fled leaving the rescue of Vienna to Charles, Duke of Lorraine and John Sobieski of Poland. Had Mustafa been a little less reckless in failing to fortify his positions the outcome of the battle (and the history of Europe) might have been different.

Stoye has done an excellent job in painstakingly recounting each detail of the negotiations among the Christian princes and charting the march of the various armies. Where his sources have been unclear or lacking he is honest in not speculating too freely. However, if any battle cried out for a historian with a sense of colour and drama this was it. Massacres of prisoners, hand-to-hand fighting in trenches and tunnels, banners with crosses and crescents waving over blood-drenched salients, wild Tartars from the steppes duelling with hussars clad in armour and angel wings, vizirs strangled with bow-strings: the siege of Vienna had all this and more but Stoye is the not the man who can breathe life into such a story. Nor are the maps and illustrations much help.

This book is a noble effort and will certainly serve readers interested in the minutiae of central-European politics but the siege still awaits a better story-teller.

A very readable and informative history of an important event in the struggles between Islam and the West.......2007-03-19

What an interesting book! The present War on Terror does have certain overtones of the past struggles between Christianity and Islam. The Jihadists refer to the Western nations as Crusaders and while most in the West make a distinction between Islam per se and the Jihadists, they are not blind to the fact that the Jihadists (or Islamofacists or whatever you want to call them) are almost completely Muslim.

And certainly, the Christianity of Europe is nominal at best and is not a motivating factor in the West's approach to the current situation. There are other more overriding interests. If one went on Sunday to the Cathedrals and traditional Christian denominations and conscripted the congregants into an army, it would consist mostly of older women and some children. And it would be small.

It was not always so. This book recounts the time in the late seventeenth century (mostly in 1683 to be precise) when the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (and ruler of the Muslim world) and his Grand Vizir took a hundred thousand men (or more) into and through the Hungarian territories into Austria on a quest for new lands to tax (more than for converts) and after conquering lesser cities on the way, laid siege to Vienna.

Europe was very much different than the Europe of the past two centuries. There were nations, but not so much nation states as the two great kingdoms of France ruled by Louis XIV and the Habsburg Holy Roman Empire ruled out of Austria and Spain. Both also had relationship with ancillary and related smaller states and territories. The complex web of treaties were often, but not always, related to whether the ruler and the population were primarily Roman Catholic or Protestant.

This was not the first time that the Ottomans came out of Turkey to attack Vienna. In 1529 they came and laid siege to the city until disease forced them back. In 1683, they came and were making progress in undermining the walls of the city until the King of Poland, Jon Sobieski and came from the north and drove the Turks out. This led to a more extended war with the Ottomans that lasted until 1699 and captured Hungary for the Habsburgs.

John Toye has written a very concise telling of the second siege. There are nine chapters in just fewer than two hundred pages. The first chapter provides the origins of the Ottoman attack. Understanding the court politics and the names and titles of all the players is probably the most difficult part of the book. However, once the reader has that under control, all goes smoothly. The author provides a helpful list of key names and titles on pages x and xi. There are also some maps up front and provided within the text as needed.

The second chapter informs the reader about the situation in Austria and Vienna. We learn about the court of Leopold his character, talents, his key advisors, and I. The third chapter gives us a broader picture of the Habsburg Empire and its competitive relations with France and what its true condition was late in the seventeenth century.

The fourth chapter tells us about the move of the Ottomans through Hungary and how Vienna began its preparations. This involved getting some people out (including Leopold I) and other people in. It also involved getting as many supplies as possible (such as money, wood and food). In chapter five we get the description of how the siege began and what the techniques were for the attackers and the defenders.

Chapter six takes us outside of Vienna and what was going on between the city and its allies as well as the maneuvering of the Ottoman camps. In chapter seven the author gives us the movements of Sobieski and the others who would come to the aid of the beleaguered city.

All of this is prelude to the climax of the book in chapter eight when the armies come out of the north and sweep the Ottomans off the walls of Vienna and into a panicked rout. The last chapter ties up what happened in Europe after the battle. Like most victories, it leads to claims by many as the reason for the success. Offenses are taken at real, perceived, or manufactured slights, advantage is taken by those still strong over those weakened by the struggle (read Louis XIV trying to take advantage of the limited resources of the Hapsburgs now fighting in Hungary).

This was a very important event in the history of Europe, of the relations between the West and Islam (at the time the Ottomans were essentially synonymous with the faith - the Sultan held the key to the Kabah and flew what was believed to be Mohammed's banner). It is an event that everyone should understand better. The troubles didn't begin on 9/11 nor were the Crusades of the eleventh century the only armed struggle before that event. It is a long and rather aggressive history, from both sides.

While some claim history to be bunk, it is critical to learn the true history of what has happened in the past and how it has flowed into and created the world we inherited.

A superbly presented and accurately detailed account .......2007-01-06

The siege by the Islamic Turks of the Christian city of Vienna in 1683 was a watershed incident in European history. Had the Turks been successful, there well might have been no Christian Europe to dominate the world stage for the next 500 years. Facing that magnitude of threat, European powers that were normally jealous and hostile to one another suppressed their mutual antagonisms to defeat the armies of Islam and their brutal Tartar Allies. The Ottoman empire lost control of half of their European territories which led to the long, slow, decline and inevitable collapse, even as the Hapbsburgs were able to parley the Viennese victory into control of the Balkans and expand their influence into France and the Rhine country. An enthusiastic recommendation for inclusion into both academic and community library World History collections, "The Siege of Vienna: The Last Great Trial Between Cross & Crescent" by John Stoye (Fellow in Modern History, Magdalen College, Oxford, England) is a superbly presented and accurately detailed account of this pivotal incident between the forces of a militant Islam and the armies of a European Christendom.

Sharpe's Siege (Richard Sharpe's Adventure Series #18)

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"Siege" offers plenty of thrills for the intrepid Sharpe and Riflemen
One of the better in the series
A Great Series
Sharpe's adventures are wonderful
One of the best, if not THE best

Sharpe's Siege (Richard Sharpe's Adventure Series #18)
Bernard Cornwell
Manufacturer: Penguin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0140294376
Release Date: 2001-10-01

Customer Reviews:

"Siege" offers plenty of thrills for the intrepid Sharpe and Riflemen.......2007-06-12

Bernard Cornwell's "Sharpe's Siege" is a delightful entertainment, full of thrills, derring-do, deceit, betrayal, heroism, and loss. Not for nothing does the Rifleman Sharpe series occupy an honored place in many high-brow libraries despite its undeniable middle-brow appeal.

Far from Serious Literature, "Sharpe's Siege" is nevertheless serious. Nobody does their research better than Cornwell, who has recreated the battles of the Napoleonic era with incredible details. Whether it's the intricate workings of a British rifle, the chaotic life onboard ship at sea, or describing the sights and smells of the French countryside, Cornwell places the reader at the heart of the action with aplomb. While terse, Cornwell's style is as evocative as it is efficient.

And efficiency is required with this tale. Sharpe gets tossed into a mysterious plot of espionage and counter-espionage as Wellington goes mind-to-mind with Napoleon and his spymaster, Ducos. Unfortunately for Sharpe, his friend, the intelligence master Major Hogan, is gibbering with fever. That means that Sharpe is at the mercy of buffoons and traitors as he leads the Rifles on a desperate joint Army-Navy mission to take a French fort. Thanks to the intense inter-service rivalry, for Sharpe the British navy is just as dangerous as the French.

And to top it off, Sharpe's lovely new bride Jane may have caught the same fever that has reduced Hogan to a wasted shell. Sharpe, who has known loss before, spends much of the novel torn in anguish as his mission keeps him from his wife's side.

Given the title, it should come as no spoiler that Sharpe finds himself defending a fort against terrible odds. Somehow Cornwell can write scenes like the storming of Badajoz or Sharpe's desperate use of rockets in "Sharpe's Enemy," and yet keep topping himself. The climactic battles in "Siege" are tremendous, even if they are not quite my favorite of all his battles. Sharpe must use ingenuity, bravery, and sheer audacity to keep his outnumbered force intact and alive.

Why only four stars? Maybe it's because this is the eighteenth Sharpe novel I've read and Sharpe and Harper are starting to seem a bit immortal to me. I still love 'em, praise be, but they are both starting to move into James Bond territory - has anyone ever figured out how many bullets have been fired at 007 without effect? Sharpe and Harper carry scars, to be sure, but I almost prefer the parts of the battle scenes that feature other characters - at least there is some uncertainty there.

But I quibble - "Sharpe's Siege" is a wonderful addition to the Sharpe series.

One of the better in the series.......2007-03-24

"Sharpe's Siege" is one of the better entries in this series of novels. Although it's not directly based on an actual battle (which I tend to regard as a disadvantage in the occasional Sharpe novel that isn't solidly based on a specific battle), it still does an excellent job of capturing the feel of this type of a Napoleonic fight. And, unlike so many of the more formulaic entries in this series, "Siege" doesn't get bogged down in some unlikely sideplot involving a damsel in distress. Also, while the story does have a bit of a cloak-and-dagger element to it, this book doesn't go overboard on the 19th-century poor man's James Bond plotting in the way that "Sharpe's Prey" or "Sharpe's Sword" did.

A Great Series.......2006-08-15

Sharpe's adventures are wonderful.......2005-05-13

Bernard Cornwell is one of those rare writers of historical fiction who manages to make the fiction compelling without making the history anything less than accurate. His tales of Richard Sharpe in the Napoleonic War, especially, are a joy for both the continuing adventures of the dynamic scarred rifleman and the rich historical detail that Cornwell gives to his characters. In this installment of Sharpe's adventures, he has to defend a fortress on the coast of France both against an approaching army and treachery from his own side. He is also haunted by fears for the health of his new bride, Jane. As ever, the battle scenes and personal relationships in this story are superb. An excellently told tale of adventure.

One of the best, if not THE best.......2003-02-05

When a quick raid on a French fort falls victim to cowardice and miscommunication it is up to Richard Sharp and his men to dig in and defend themselves. Can Sharp get his men out alive with nothing but their guns and an American privateer who may or may not be a friend? Lots of action and good battle scenes an excellent Cornwell book.

Book Description

Alan Lewrie is a scandalous young rake whose amorous adventures ashore lead to his being shipped off to the Navy. Lewrie finds that he is a born sailor, although life at sea is a stark contrast to the London social whirl to which he had become accustomed. As his career advances, he finds the life of a naval officer suits him.

Customer Reviews:

WARNING! Might have major binding error........2006-12-29

The 2002 McBooks Press version (paperbook) that I bought at Borders has pages 145 through 192 printed twice, and then pages 198 to 241 are missing altogether! I can't imagine how such a mistake could get by. One minute they are setting up in the trenches, the next they are sailing wearily out of the the bay. So...I have no idea what happened and I'm taking it back tomorrow for a refund.

So check it out before you buy it.

Otherwise, great book.

Better and better . . ........2004-05-08

This is the second installment in what is developing into quite an enjoyable naval series. In _The King's_ Coat, Alan Lewrie, an illegitimate sixteen-year-old London rakehell, was essentially forced into going to sea in 1779 as a midshipman after being framed by his moneygrubbing father and his two half-siblings. He had a very rocky start in his new career but was beginning to learn his trade and had made a few friends, as well as more than a few enemies. He had also managed to come to the notice of at least two men of note, and well-placed interest was always paramount in advancing one's naval future. And there was the gorgeous young Lucy Beauman in Antiqua to whom he began paying court. Now it's two years since he left England and the rebellion in America is drawing to a close, buoyed by incompetence on the part of the British army and navy. And in the process, Alan finds himself trapped like a rat with Cornwallis at Yorktown. He escapes the disaster, partly through chance, partly through the aid of some Loyalist militia, and partly through his own intelligence and unexpected competence. By the end of the book, his future has improved in several important ways, both professionally and personally, and he has become a harder sort of person than he was at the beginning. And there's a new love interest, whether he wants to think so or not. Lambdin offers a welcome antidote to the rather proper style of Hornblower and even Audrey -- his sailors swear fulsomely, his protagonists can be just as narrowminded as anyone else in their society -- but he certainly knows his naval lore. And just when you're settling in to an adventurous episode, something horrible happens to remind you of just how bloody a true civil war the glorious American Revolution really was.

Grim defeat in the Americas.......2003-01-15

The French Admiral in paper has been awaited by Alan Lewrie fans since 1990. It is the crucial #2 "missing link" from early in the series of Alan's swashbuckling adventures in the age of fighting sail. Although we know the general events of this long-missing novel about the Royal Navy from references in succeeding books, it comes as a throwback to the exciting rakehell that Lewrie was early in his career. The alleged orphan [] of a scheming English knight, Lewrie has a most modest opinion of himself, although he comes of age as a mariner in the course of this pivotal novel. American readers will be most interested that this novel takes place on the Eastern Seaboard, especially during the crucial siege of Cornwallis' troops at York Town. (From the detailed sailing descriptions in the Chesapeake Bay it's a good bet that Lambdin sails there often.) This story offers a chance for an extended look, from the British point of view, at the vicious enmities and fighting that characterized the American Revolution in the genteel South. It does not, however, offer the least personal glimpse of the French Admiral. That august and triumphant sailor, the shipbound Admiral de Grasse, is instrumental in the series of British blunders and defeats that lose the rebel American colonies to England.

The language is a bit rougher than is the salty talk customary in sea stories by genuine British authors. I wonder if Lambdin chose "Lewrie" as his hero's name because it resembles lurid and lewd, which Alan is, although he's not a scoundrel as well. This is a physically bigger book than the other Lambdin pb's I've read, thanks to the customarily expansive McBooks Press edition (i.e., larger type and better paper than the stubby Fawcett Crest/Ballantine editions).

Gritty! The Revolutionary War from the British perspective........2002-09-03

As a strong fan of Dewey Lamdins' books, I've now read them all, The French Admiral was the best. I felt a much greater sense of history and a deeper understanding of the conflict as it impacted the lives of Loyalists, Revolutionaries, and their families. The bloody fighting seemed more in context than the conflicts described in the other books of this series.

I recommend this book very highly.

I found it!!!!!!!!!!!!.......2001-06-28

Fans of this series have been stumped by this book's continuing unavailability and the unfulfilled publisher's promises to put out a paperback copy. Well I finally found this book at the local library in the LARGE PRINT fiction section. It is published by G.K.Hall who also have published the eighth in the series, Jester's Fortune in a large print addition. So check it out at your local library or ask them to order it. It is every bit as good as the others in the series so it is not on account of quality that it has been mysteriously made unavailable. If only the author would stop confusing sex with acrobatics!

Great Siege: Malta 1565 (Wordsworth Military Library.)

Average customer rating:

Spectacular
highly readable account of a heroic moment in European history
The Great Siege
Amazing siege, amazing story, amazing book...
Magificent tale of courage, duty and iron discipline

Great Siege: Malta 1565 (Wordsworth Military Library.)
Ernle Bradford
Manufacturer: Wordsworth Military Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

Malta | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1840222069

Customer Reviews:

Spectacular.......2007-10-09

An absolute page turning account of a desperate battle. The account, though historically informative, reads like a novel. It is concisely written, expressive, and captivating. I could not put it down. I highly recommend this book if you're interested in not only learning about a fascinating struggle, but in obtaining a sense of what it must have been like to be in Malta in 1565.

highly readable account of a heroic moment in European history.......2007-09-30

The "Great Siege", is the Siege of Malta in 1565, as the Turkish Ottoman Empire tried to expand further into the Mediterranean and up to Italy. The Ottomans had already conquered most of Eastern Europe.

The book, by a British historian named Ernle Bradford, is great! But unfortunately extremely difficult to get. It's not stocked on Amazon and second hand copies are rare. I was lucky and got mine second hand off Amazon for 20 bucks plus shipping, back in April. It's a book I'd always had a wish to read, since seeing a review years ago.

The historical background to the siege, and an abbreviated discussion can be found here online: Siege of Malta (1565) - Wikipedia.

The book uses all the contemporary accounts and puts them into a flowing narrative, that is really quite riveting. The main characters are the Grand Master of the Order of the Knights Hospitaller of St. John, (a fighting religous order who also maintained hospitals! Go figure.), Jean de Valette, the Turkish leader , Mustafa Pasha, and his Tripoli ally Turgot Reis.

The Turkish invaders really should have won the day as they had vastly more men. They were stymied by their own infighting, some bad tactical decisions (especially opening the siege by trying to capture the Fort of St. Elmo's), and by the heroic defense of the Christian defenders who travelled to Malta, and the Maltese fighters. The violence level is appalling. It was a bad idea to be captured, by either side!

It's a great, highly readable story, if you can get the book. I hope it gets re-issued soon.

The Great Siege.......2006-04-23

This is a truly great book. Mr Bradford is so passionate about his subject, so vivid in his detail, that it's all you can do not to book a plane ticket to go and see for yourself. The detail is staggering - he recreates the past with the love and care of an artist. It is a book about the Knights of the Order of St John of Jerusalem and their struggle against the Turks of the Ottoman empire - and it's a ripping good read. Just pick it up - you'll enjoy it.

Amazing siege, amazing story, amazing book..........2006-01-18

What I read: An amazingly heroic defense of the knights and the Maltese against an amazing siege of the navy of the Magnificient and his generals. When I read in my middle school history class, this siege just was an unsuccessful one-sentence event in the hundreds of pages of the Ottoman Empire, but, while reading this book, I felt like I watched and lived the siege minute by minute. And I felt like this was the most important siege of all times (it truly might be!). My respects to especially Dragut (Turgut) and to La Vallette increased, since both were great leaders. I also learned how little things can change the result of the war. Questions in my mind after reading the book are: What would be the result like if Suleiman attended the siege? What would be the result like if Admiral Piali Pasha listened to Mustafa Pasha so that they would secure the north before the siege? What would it be like if Dragut wasn't hit by a stone and die during the siege? What would the result be like if the Don Garcia waited for two more days? What would the history be like after that?
It felt sorry for all the people fought during the siege, both the siegers, who came to "smoke out the nest of vipers who were constantly attacking their ships in the mediterranean", and the defenders, who "were defending their last homeland to death".

Magificent tale of courage, duty and iron discipline.......2005-08-17

Outstanding story of the true events on Malta in 1565 in a struggle between the Turks and the small band of Knights of St John. Terrific research, compelling characters and some truly horrific and gruesome battle when most battles were fought at close range and with edged weaponry. The author has captured the mood of the garrison and the Turks and their allies like no other book I have read. Powerful characters who were so convinced to stand against overwhelming odds for months on end is remarkable and true. What an epic film this would make as some of the events ring true to this day.
A must read for anyone interested in the advent of gunpowder, heroic and defiant stands, massive battles and some incredible characters like the leader of the knights, La Valette who was seventy years old while leading the defense himself! Most enjoyable book of this nature that I have ever read. Powerful stuff.

A Shred of Honour (Markham of the Marines)

Average customer rating:

Sharpe meets Hornblower
Interesting but Implausible Action Yarn
Compares favorably Richard Sharpe books by Bernard Cornwell

A Shred of Honour (Markham of the Marines)
Tom Connery
Manufacturer: Berkley Trade
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0425184986
Release Date: 2002-08-06

Book Description

As an Irish-Catholic and a reputed coward, Lieutenant George Markham is a marine with something to prove. When his commanding officer is killed at sea, Markham seizes his chance-and finds himself at the helm of a creaky frigate crewed by malcontents. Now, Markham must gain the crew's respect, teach them to fight as a unit, and lead them into the heart of Revolutionary France on a mission they aren't expected to survive.

Praise for A Shred of Honour and the Markham of the Marines Series:

"The action rises to a grand and bloody climax." (Booklist)

"One of the novel's strengths is its historical accuracy, especially regarding the weaponry of the period...The scenes explaining the use of muskets, and Markham's attempts to train his troops to fire accurately, are fascinating." (Denver Post )

Customer Reviews:

Sharpe meets Hornblower.......2002-09-28

Action and mayhem are the words of the day with Lt. Markham's little band of not-so-merry men. Neither fish nor fowl (perhaps like the marines portrayed as neither soldiers nor sailors), this doesn't come across as a wind in your hair nautical adventure (since it pretty much all occurs on land), nor is it a soldier's tale.

It was interesting, and while certain combinations of characters are expected (the Gaelic NCO who must be persuaded to the reluctant support of the officer who is thrust without realization into his new role), they aren't completely re-hashed personalities.

While Markham doesn't appear to be cut from the same cloth as the rest of the men of the late 18th Century, in his opinions and actions, he and his companions were drawn well. Many hints of intrigue or seeds for curiosity to draw you to the man (who served in the British army in the Revolutionary War, then the czarist army in Russia, and now is back in the British army and foist onto the RN). Will his purported cowardice, previous love interests, etc. come back to haunt him in further adventures?

Worth reading. Not entirely sure it's worth pursuing into vol. 2, which the author's postscript indicated was coming. Obviously the first of a series.

Interesting but Implausible Action Yarn.......2001-04-04

Given the success of previous Napoleonic series, such as Hornblower, Sharpe and O'Bannon, it seems only natural that someone would attempt the seemingly effortless act of writing yet another novel of late 18th Century nautical yarns. Tom Connery has done just that. To be sure, there are new twists here, such as the focus on the Royal Marines and the author makes ample use of historical characters for his large cast of supporting figures.

The novel is set during the four-month siege of Toulon in 1793, with the protagonist being Lieutenant George Markham, a thirty-year old officer in the "65th Foot" (which did not serve at Toulon). Markham is portrayed as a "classic rogue": a bastard, alleged coward, rake with women, insubordinate but brave in the face of the enemy. Connery develops this character too slowly and with too much baggage. The great "revelation" of his supposed cowardice in an incident in the Battle of Guilford Courthouse in 1781 is rather inane. Then, after this "disgrace", Markham served in the Russian Army for a time. He also speaks French fluently and likes to play the role of females in plays. After awhile, Markham appears to be overly-complex and contrived. He is also misperceived by virtually everyone around him, and the book is full of snarling superiors who wish to see Markham dead and surly subordinates who wish the same. There is also Fouquert, a French Jacobin cut-throat, thrown in as the main nemesis.

In short, Markham's tiny thirty-man mixed army/marine detachment is sent ashore at Toulon and quickly finds itself in a desperate blocking action at the village of Ollioules. Connery has loosely based this novel on the real siege of Toulon, but only loosely. In the real skirmish at Ollioules, about 600 Spanish and British defeated a like-size force of French. Instead, Connery portrays Markham's thirty men fighting off over one thousand French infantry, virtually single-handed. In fact throughout the novel, Connery takes little effort to depict the efforts of other troops, which makes it seem that the entire British defense rests on Markham's little troop of misfits. There is plenty of action in the novel, in fact there is too much. The reader never really gets a good handle on this odd character because he is always dodging bullets or making love quickly with a passing French con-artiste to spend much time thinking or speaking.

One of the best scenes in the novel, when Markham's detachment is ordered to attack one of Napoleon's batteries in broad daylight, is exciting but also troubling. Markham succeeds by using advanced light infantry tactics that were non-standard for line infantry. How would he have learned these tactics? A better written novel would have shown some mentorship, some older, experienced soldier who would have passed on tactical wisdom to Markham. Not here. All Markham's superiors are depicted as idiotic blowhards. Markham apparently learns by ESP or something. Connery also goes to great lengths to make the Spanish look deceptive, including a Spanish colonel who is in collusion with a French spy. These departures from historical veracity and plausibility only serve to make the novel more contrived.

As one would expect, Markham and a handful of his men survive the ordeal after too many near-death encounters, all set for the next novel. By the end, Markham has won "a shred of honor" and the respect of at least his men, if not the reader.

Compares favorably Richard Sharpe books by Bernard Cornwell.......1999-11-19

Tom Connery's writing style is easy to read and the story plot line is well laid out. His characters take awhile to develop. The hero of the story, Lieutenant George Markham, is hard to like at first but he grows on you. I have read all the books in the Richard Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell and this book compares favorably to the first book in that saga. This book appears set up for a series (I think the sub tittle ' A Markham of the Marines Novel' suggest that) so we will see if Tom Connery can continue turning out a quality adventure series.

CAWNPORE AND LUCKNOW: A Tale of Two Indian Mutiny Sieges

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CAWNPORE AND LUCKNOW: A Tale of Two Indian Mutiny Sieges
Don Richards
Manufacturer: Pen and Sword
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1844155161

Book Description

Following the May 1857 uprising by sepoys in Meerut and Delhi, the whole future of the British Raj was in the balance. Nowhere was this better demonstrated than at Lucknow and Cawnpore. At the latter a garrison of 240 with 375 British women and children battled to survive a siege by 3,000 mutineers led by Nana Sahib. Unimaginable horrors of artillery and sniper fire coupled with the crippling heat of the Indian summer took their toll. An offer of safe passage was treacherously reneged on and the massacres which followed drew a terrible retribution when relief finally arrived, in the shape of Generals Havelock and Neil. At Lucknow, the 1800 British men, women and children supported by more than 1,000 loyal sepoys resisted assaults by 20,000 mutineers, despite heavy casualties and sickness. Sir Colin Campbell's force got through to relieve the garrison and evacuate civilians in November 1857 but the city was not restored to British control until March 1858. These dramatic events are brought to life in this first rate history.

Sinister Twilight: The Fall of Singapore

Average customer rating:

Debacle

Sinister Twilight: The Fall of Singapore
Noel Barber
Manufacturer: Cassell
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Japan | Asia | History | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0304364371

Book Description

Filled with drama, this classic account follows every step that led to the disastrous fall of Singapore to the Japanese in February 1942. The Japanese army, though outnumbered by 20,000 men, defeated the British only one week after the actual assault began. "Fortress" Singapore turned out to be nothing of the sort, with its defenders ill prepared and complacent. It was all too ripe for handing Japan its second victory of the war after Hong Kong.

Customer Reviews:

Debacle.......2004-06-15

For anyone living outside the former British Empire, it is virtually impossible to describe the calamitous psychological impact of the loss of Singapore in 1942. Winston Churchill had touted Singapore as the Gibraltar of the East; it was imagined to be impregnable, yet it was overwhelmed in a relative heartbeat by the Imperial Japanese Army, which rapidly advanced through Malaya (sometimes even by bicycle). Indeed, once the Japanese reached the island of Singapore itself, their main problem was that they had overrun their supply lines and were almost out of ammunition. Much has been made of the "complacency" on the British side that led to the debacle; the simple truth is that Singapore was only ever a trading post, that its defenses were more imaginary than real and that the local British and Australian troops, when put to the test, defended themselves very bravely. Barber paints a vivid picture of the pre-war Singapore, a place where English families would travel down to the same shop every week for Streets Ice Cream; where pink gin was lovingly poured at the clubs; where "There'll Always be an England" was sung on Sundays. Plainly Barber is in love with Singapore's history (as his other books on Singapore attest); from that perspective he conveys the sting of defeat just that more sharply.

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