Book Description
This gripping autobiography is at once a heart-pounding adventure story, a moving recollection of a larger-than-life father, and an important account of the Czech resistance. Radomir Luza's father was a revered army general when the Nazis stormed into Czechoslovakia. After his father went underground to avoid arrest and torture, the nineteen-year-old Radomir spend weeks in a Gestapo prison. Upon his release, he joined his father in hiding. General Luza became the military commander of the Czech resistance, while Radomir secretly helped organize the country's largest resistance network. Luza's narrative makes palpable the terror of being constantly hunted and nearly snared by betrayals and Gestapo raids. The Hitler Kiss is a portrait of courage, tenderness, optimism, and sheer survival.
Customer Reviews:
Fascination.......2005-01-01
Fascinating account of the genius of evil. However, did I understand that she believes that Israel alone is to be blamed for the terror in the middle-East? And are we to believe that America is the culprit in Iraq with the use of tactics learned from the Nazis? And are we withholding some kind of rights to the terrorists being held at Guantanamo? I hope I missed something for if this is her opinion I would not recommend her writings.
Not your typical historical account.......2003-10-17
Radomir Luza and Christina Vella have teamed up to write an extraordinary autobiographical account of World War II seen through the eyes of a young resistance fighter in the heartland of Europe. The book does not read like a typical historical account; there is human interest story behind it. That story is Luza's story, of love shared between father and son strained by extraordinary circumstances. The book elicits strong emotions in the reader, especially toward the end. This book is worth the investment.
Riveting account of life under the Nazi occupation.......2002-08-27
This is a wonderfully-written, riveting account of life under the Nazi occupation and the internal workings of the Czech resistance movement. Vella has done a wonderful job in transcribing Luza's story and capturing the personality of the man himself. The Hitler Kiss should certainly be read by all who are interested in World War Two.
Courageous and touching.......2002-07-27
This is a story of survival, courage and love. It does not focus on the art of war or the death & destruction of war itself but rather the way war destroys hopes & dreams. The way it discharges life and family. It is a story of a man who grew up too quickly and experienced more in his lifetime than anyone should have to. This book encompases love, hate, faith, courage, strength and death. It is tender and touching while still being straightforward and at times brutal.
Book Description
This digital document is an article from The Historian, published by Phi Alpha Theta, History Honor Society, Inc. on January 1, 2004. The length of the article is 522 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: The Hitler Kiss: A Memoir of the Czech Resistance.(Book Review)
Author: Andrea Orzoff
Publication:
The Historian (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 1, 2004
Publisher: Phi Alpha Theta, History Honor Society, Inc.
Volume: 66
Issue: 4
Page: 882(2)
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
"Clearly, surviving a nine-month jungle kidnapping requires courage and endurance. But Hart Dyke and Winder came equipped with something else in addition: pluck. It's that quality, crackling on every page, that makes
The Cloud Garden one of the strangest and most satisfying adventure reads in recent memory."--Men's Journal magazine
The Darién Gap, the only break in the Pan-American Highway, is a place of legend. In this almost impregnable strip of swamp, jungle, and cloud forest between the land masses of North and South America, stories of abduction and murder are rife. In recent years, more people have successfully climbed Everest than have crossed the Darién Gap.
In 2000, Tom Hart Dyke, a young botanist, set off to Central America with one thing in mind: orchids. To find the rare and beautiful species he so fervently admired, he would have to visit some of the most inhospitable places on earth. At the same time, another young explorer, Paul Winder, was backpacking through the area. Though he sometimes worked freelance in the City of London, Paul was essentially a fearless traveler. Pure chance brought Paul and Tom together in northern Mexico; they formed an instant bond and their fate was sealed.
Ignoring a final succinct warning from the Lonely Planet guide--"Don't even think about it!"--Tom and Paul set off into the Darién, Tom in search of orchids, Paul in search of adventure. They would find plenty of each. For six days, they made good progress. Then, just hours away from Colombia, the dream ended and the horror began. Ambushed by FARC guerrillas, they were held hostage for the next nine months. From that day on, their survival was a matter of extraordinary endurance, incredible ingenuity--and not a little good luck . . .
Customer Reviews:
True Adventure Fun Read.......2005-06-22
The Cloud Garden came to my attention through a review in Outside Magazine. True adventure books make for an excellent break from novels and heavier literary works. This one is a perfect example. The story is gripping, the characters are likeable, and the book is hard to put down. The bad guys are painted honestly and roundly as real people. No one is all good nor all bad. This is a story about survival, wits, humanity and the romantic ideals of adventure of which so many of us dream. Find your synopsis elsewhere.
Not Where I Want to Go.......2005-01-16
The discoveries made by eccentric British naturalists down through the years have literally turned the scientific community on its ears. But not all exploring trips have yielded spectacular results. In 2000, a young botanist set off to Central America in search of rare and beautiful species of orchids. He met up with another young explorer in northern Mexico. Where else to go but the Darien Gap, the only place where the Pan-American Highway isn't finished.
Traveling through the Gap, collecting along the way, they were just hours away from the Colombian border when they were ambushed by FARC guerillas who were to hold them hostage for the next nine months. From then on, their survival was a matter of extraordinary endurance, incredible ingenuity and not just a bit of luck.
The book written by this pair is a combination of travelogue, adventure store, and surprisingly not without a bit of humor.
can't put it down.......2005-01-07
I am half way through and I love it, well written, fun, exciting.
Interesting story of survival lacks suspense.......2004-10-05
The book's topic caught my interest as did a good magazine review. (The copy we purchased from Amazon.com was without pages 118 to 179 so check before you begin to read. Amazon.com was great and sent us a replacement volume which also was missing the same pages. We finally found a bookstore that exchanged it for a correct version.) The story here is about two young men who choose to hike into the guerrilla held The Darien Gap between Panama and Columbia. The gap where there is no longer any Pan-American Highway. At the end of their telling (I'm not giving anything away, after all the authors wrote the book so you know they survived) the authors make the comment that the British press caught on to the story because of Tom Hart Dykes love of flowers. It was the "hook" all newspapers look for in such stories, and that is also the hook they use in telling their story. But your not going to learn much about Orchids from this story is told in parallel first person narrative which centers on their immature decision to tempt fate and danger and then tests their ability to survive. In a strange way the book reminded me of Jon Krakauer's excellent "Into the Wild" about a youth who graduates from College and ends up alone, dead in the wilds of Alaska. Both books share that same desire to decipher why some young males make such choices. Overall I would recommend the book as an interesting first person adventure, but it is strangely lacking suspense and I really was let down that we really learn nothing about the band of guerillas who hold them captive. I certainly missed that insight which is so strong in the novel "Bel Canto".
Guns and orchids.......2004-09-23
On maps, the Darién Gap doesn't look like a hotbed of armed guerillas. But you have to ask yourself why the Pan-American Highway, which runs otherwise unbroken from Alaska to the bottom of South America, takes its one and only break between Central and South America-at the Darién Gap. The gap's jungles have been effectively off-limits even to the hardiest backpackers for the past 10 years. Guidebooks and Central American officials alike have just two words for it: "Don't go."
So why would Tom Hart Dyke and Paul Winder, two well-brought up British lads, disobey so many direct orders and venture into the Darién Gap with nothing but the clothes on their backs and a couple of packs? In their "true story of adventure, survival, and extreme horticulture," The Cloud Garden, Dyke and Winder explain themselves. Dyke's passion is orchids. For him, the untrammeled jungles and wetlands of the Darién Gap represent a botanist's dream-an opportunity to see rare flowers undocumented by any other scientists. Winder, an escapee from a boring bank job, is in search of the ultimate adrenaline rush. The fact that almost no one dares traverse the gap makes it an irresistible challenge. Both adventurers get what they are looking for-and a lot more than the original bargain.
Just as Winder and Dyke are about to cross into the relative safety of Columbia, they are kidnapped by a band of FARC guerillas. What follows is a harrowing tale of torture and a fight for survival. The young men know enough Spanish to hear the kidnappers talking matter-of-factly about murdering them on an almost daily basis. For months, Winder and Dyke are marched from one makeshift camp to another-deprived of clean water, threatened and humiliated.
Cloud Garden is not, in the end, a travel documentary or an orchid study. Nor do Winder and Dyke take any position on South American politics. Their tale is one of two men figuring out how to make it out of the jungle alive. What makes the book interesting reading is the sense of humor the writers bring to even the most sordid aspects of their capture. While making an outward show of cooperation, Winder and Dyke assign belittling nicknames to their captors, like "Tank Bird," "Space Cadet," "Nutter," and "Lost Cause." When asked for English lessons, they teach their kidnappers obscenities. When the opportunity presents itself, the captive Brits even pee into their tormentors' drinking water. By maintaining an invisible, inner resistance to their capture, the two men keep their high spirits intact, even in the face of constant death threats.
But Dyke and Winder emerge, in the end, as more than just adolescent pranksters; they are also incredibly brave. Their kidnappers form the wild notion to ask for $3 million dollars in ransom. Dyke's family could, technically, raise that amount of money and more-by selling Lullingstone Castle in Kent, their ancestral home. When ordered to write home, demanding millions for his return, Dyke writes: "Dear Mum and Dad. Our kidnappers are all idiots. They are a bunch of gits. Give them absolutely nothing. We are well. Don't worry about me."
Readers will find themselves turning pages and delaying dinner while Winder and Dyke slowly blossom into the heroes of their own misguided adventure.
Book Description
The Yoga of Eating is a practical and inspiring manual that offers original insights on the physical and spiritual functions of sugar, fat, meat, and other foods; fasting, dieting, processing, willpower, and the deeper principles of self-nurture. This book appeals to a higher authority--your own body--and shows how to access and trust the wisdom your body has to offer.
Customer Reviews:
Awareness rather than a diet.......2007-05-02
This book is not about ayurveda or following any other diet program, and does not include recipes or identify what you should eat. The author offers suggestions about how to bring more awareness to your eating habits and life. His solution is to stop forcing your body to conform to the mind or the latest diet strategy. Instead, pay as much attention as possible to each aspect of eating, from "Am I hungry?" to savoring each bite to listening for when the body is satisfied. If the bite doesn't taste good, then the body doesn't need it or want it. He addresses and proposes ideas for cravings, including theories for psychological understanding.
For the more spiritually evolved, he confronts the idea that enlightened people eat vegan, or survive only on air, etc. Just because an enlightened person eats only vegetables doesn't mean that eating only vegetables makes you enlightened. The author suggests that that your body will tell you when you're vegetarian, not your mind. There's even a nice essay about eating meat versus eating vegan from a consciousness evolution and cultural impact perspective.
He offers a highly conscious perspective for those seeking to bring more awareness to their lives. If you're open to the idea of accessing your body's own intelligence or intuition and looking for perspectives to move you further along, then this book will be valuable. If you're looking to be told what to eat, look elsewhere.
Illuminates the Body/Mind/Spirit of Eating. .......2007-03-31
Readers of today's diet and nutrition books face bewildering and contradictory advice. Eisenstein's gift is to help us cut through all the mental chatter and learn to trust in the higher authority of our own bodies. As we cultivate this inner wisdom, we will learn to distinguish artificial addictions from authentic appetites and identify foods that not only bring us great pleasure but support our quest for health. As a student of yoga, I love this profoundly simple book.
Lots of talking but not much use.......2007-01-23
This is the lowest rating I've given a product. It goes on and on. I was expecting diet plans, receipes, etc to plan a yoga diet - nothing here. I gave up reading it after the first few pages.
Goes far beyond diet..........2007-01-07
The author was one of my "professors" in college. This guy understands the universe on a deeper level then most. The ideas in this book will change your perceptions about your relationship to the food you eat and the air you breath. This is not new-age babble, it is a harmonious combination of logic, commonsense and spirituality that just feels right. Buy this book now, it will not disappoint.
Thought provoking food relationship ideas.......2006-10-02
The Yoga of Eating is one of those books that threatens to change your entire relationship with food. And if you're ready for it, it can be one of the most positive changes you'll ever experience.
Eisenstein has a way of looking at & explaining things that's so far removed from traditional diet - and even holistic nutrition - books. Not one to be wave the flag of any extreme diet position, he humbly suggests not adhering to a particular diet for adhering's sake; but to listen to your body and give it what it needs. You might think a book with a title like "The Yoga of Eating" would recommend a vegetarian diet high in fruits and veggies, grumbling about the evils of heavy items like meat and cheese. Not so. The message is, eat meat if your body calls for it; abstain if your body calls for it.
The innate wisdom of our bodies far surpasses what we can understand or comprehend with science - a simple concept with huge implications. How many of us actually silence the diet "rules" governing our food choices long enough to "ask" our bodies, "What is it you need right now?"
The author's unique way of turning things over and presenting them in a fresh way can be seen on p 45, where he says,
"To put it in simple terms, if you only taste a tenth of your food's flavor, then you need to eat ten times the quantity, or food with flavors ten times more powerful, to get the same aesthetic nourishment. Therefore we can infer a delicious irony: We overeat not because we enjoy food too much, but because we do not enjoy it enough!"
While some chapter become vague and repetitive, and the writing style dry and non-engaging at points, determined readers will find enough wisdom and there-is-no-box thinking fodder to help them drastically change their relationship with food for the better.
Rebekah
Editor In Chief, www.FitFoodies.com
Book Description
The Protein-Powered Vegetarian is not just a book for people who do not eat meat. With this cookbook, the individual can explore new and exciting ways to include protein—an often-misunderstood vital nutritional element—into their diets. The recipes are veggie, but as the vast number of dishes and cultures become obvious, that fact becomes far less important. Bo Sebastian offers a sound, intelligent and creative way toward health and happiness in the home.
Customer Reviews:
Try It, You'll like It!!!.......2002-05-25
I really like this cookbook. It opens up a whole new way of cooking and eating.The recipes are great and don't take hours to prepare. Tastes that are wonderful and healthy, too! What more can you ask for? Great for vegetarians and meat eaters who choose not to eat meat all the time.
Easy and delicious.......2002-05-16
I love the recipes in this book. They are both easy and delicious, and are geared to living in the real world. The ingredients are readily available and good for you. Plus, the recipes don't require the kind of time commitment required by many vegetarian dishes. It is a great book for busy families who want a healthy vegetarian lifestyle.
A Dissenting View.......2002-03-30
From the other reviews, I gather this book is useful to some people, so I'll try to be balanced in my criticism. Perhaps this book is helpful for those who have extremely mainstream, fastfood tastes. no experience with vegetarian food, and no cooking background. For others, however, this book is useless. Much of it involved (1) descriptions of premade vegetarian meat substitutes that can be purchased in supermarkets and (2) elementary cooking ingredients and techniques. The recipes include instructions on how to "pizzazz" a commercial frozen pizza with Green Giant hamburger crumbles. I'd like to see vegetarianism spread in this country so perhaps this book can perform a public service. But it's not for the serious cook, and I am going to return it.
Protein Powered Vegetarian:From Meat to Vegetable Protein.......2001-03-09
I have never used a cookbook to the extent that I have used this one. I find these recipes to be better than many I have used in the past that were not vegetarian. My family is not completely vegetarian, we still eat fish and seafood and the occasionally range poultry, but this cookbook has allowed me many options that I could never have found on my own and they are options my family actually now prefers. I have enjoyed the recipes and information so much that I have actually bought several copies for friends who were contemplating a more veggie diet.
I tried something new, and I'm so glad!.......2001-03-09
I am one of those people who are always looking for new ideas in cooking and preparing foods. I especially like books that focus on fat-free cooking and low cal. ideas to get me on the healthy track. I have been working out in the gym since last November and I have been regimenting myself towards proteins and away from carbs. When I first looked at this book, I thought, this is just what I have been looking for! As I thumbed through and realized that, yes, most of these recipes were things I already liked, but, there are some great new ideas on how to change my old recipes into fresh new meals plans! I have even tried a few new things that I have been afraid to try in the past. That may sound like an odd thing to admit, but, I think many of us do fall into that trap of not being willing to try new things! I have always been a very picky and afraid to try new things. So, this cookbook has opened many new doors for me. I highly recommend this book! I would also like to add that I had a wonderful sense of heart and home and felt as if I personally sat around the table and shared these meals with Mr.Sebastian. I have told all of my friends about this book. So many have passed these new recipes on to their friends. I am sure this book will be a great hit!
Average customer rating:
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Stink Bug Wild Indian Dog
Robert Mjollnir
Manufacturer: Xlibris Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Native American
| Ethnic & National
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Dogs
| Animal Care & Pets
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Animal Care & Pets
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1401058841 |
Book Description
This book is about building things of wood, from a new cup rack to a completely new interior, but it isn't just another project book. Bingham wisely assumes that many people want to be told how to perform neat joinerwork rather than what to build. By starting with a simple task, such as a cleat, deck box, or even a toolbox, and then proceeding to more ambitious projects, you can develop the skills you need to build practically anything you can envision. Bingham's joinery techniques and handy gimmicks were born of trial and error; he provides realistic alternative procedures for many of the projects, telling how to make them by Method A, Method B, and Method C. Bingham's gift for providing simple explanations for complex problems can transform a rank beginner who has never held a hammer into a journeyman boat carpenter, and a journeyman carpenter into a true craftsman.
Customer Reviews:
From the Simple to the Difficult, It's All Here.......2004-05-11
Most cruisers are not shipwrights and never will be, but that doesn't mean you can't learn to do some easy woodworking tasks. And even if you can't master the basic rudiments of joinery, because, like me, you have clumsy hands and the artistic ability of a one-eyed fruit fly, you can at least get an idea about how to use the basic hand and electric tools used in cabinetmaking. True, you most likely won't be building a boat, but Mr. Bingham has simple projects in his book that even a simpleton like me can manage, plus if you have a lot of wood on your boat, or you are one of those who is forever changing and improving your floating home, than this is a handy book to have on board.
Very Basic.......2002-01-10
This book touches on basic woodworking joinery. Its a good reference for novices. The only short commings that i could find were that it wasnt as advanced as i thought it would be.
Customer Reviews:
Animal pests to Wildflowers.......2002-03-28
This book is a handy companion come spring time and it is prep time for your yard. There are many useful ideas, some not exactly practical , like a "handy" cart that looks like one of those golf carts(but made of wood)to haul your gardening tools and supplies around the yard, but there are enough to make this book worth your time. Myself I just use a 5 gallon bucket to haul around my most used tools. Good ideas often spawn new insights leading to one's own ideas which can be better or more suited for one's needs, thus is the case with this book. The book has illustrations to compliment the ideas which are often tips offered from real gardeners. My feeling is if one can pull a few time saving ideas from a season of chores it is time well spent resting in the shade between jobs browsing this book. Browsing is the right word because it is a book that can be read in sections according to needs. There are suggestions for low maintenance plants that are proven to minimize time spent caring for, including annuals that replant themselves, and perrenials that just keep on giving and suggestions for problem areas. This book is a reference source that will give you a quick fix for problems that come with maintaining a yard. One of the beauties of this book is the use of seemingly unrelated materials for the yard, like 2-liter bottles with holes burried in the vegetable garden for concise watering near each plants to keep weeds down. I have read many Rondale Press garden books and this one rates right up with the best of them. Recommended for practical gardeners who like "new" ideas that work.
concise, well organized info for the typical garden.......1999-09-22
This well organized volume provides concise, easily accessible info on specific plants for the average garden as well as suggestions for mixing varieties into complementary gardens. Definately a must have for a serious gardener as a reference volume for a garden library.
Average customer rating:
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Shortcuts to Great Gardens
Nigel Colborn
Manufacturer: Little, Brown and Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Landscape
| Architecture
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
Garden Design
| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0316150525 |
Book Description
Compares the role of the family in the political thought of Rousseau, Burke, and Wollstonecraft.
Average customer rating:
- Excellent for social history of Regency/Victorian England
|
George Cruikshank's Life, Times, and Art: 1792-1835 (George Cruikshank's Life, Times & Art)
Robert L. Patten
Manufacturer: Rutgers University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Illustration
| Commercial
| Graphic Design
| Design & Decorative Arts
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Drawing
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Artists, A-Z
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
Artists, Architects & Photographers
| Arts & Literature
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
All Titles
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
ASIN: 081351813X |
Customer Reviews:
Excellent for social history of Regency/Victorian England.......1999-09-25
Excellent decades-long study of the illustrator and caricaturist George Cruikshank, best known as an early illustrator of Charles Dickens' works. Not merely about Cruikshank but a very full account of the social and material contexts of England at the time. The book even describes in great detail the methods of engraving at the time. Highly recommended
Average customer rating:
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George Cruikshank's Life, Times, and Art: 1835-1878
Robert L. Patten
Manufacturer: Rutgers University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Illustration
| Commercial
| Graphic Design
| Design & Decorative Arts
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
Artists, Architects & Photographers
| Arts & Literature
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0813518148 |
Average customer rating:
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Divided Self: A Biography of Arishima Takeo (East Asia Series)
Leith Morton
Manufacturer: Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Japanese
| Ethnic & National
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
20th Century
| British
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Japanese
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0043780067 |
Books:
- The Life and Military Career of Thomas Stonewall Jonathan Jackson
- The Most Beautiful Man In Existence: The Scandalous Life of Alexander Lesassier
- The Power of Solitude: My Life in the German Resistance
- The Second Vermont Volunteer Infantry Regiment, 1861-1865
- "...The Secretary of War Shares Your Grief..." : The Brief Existence of Captain Milton Jerome Sheldon
- The Sherman Tour Journals of Colonel Richard Irving Dodge
- The Tarnished Cavalier: Major General Earl Van Dorn, C.S.A.
- They Called Me Kenny
- Through Ordinary Eyes: The Civil War Correspondence of Rufus Robbins, Private, 7th Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteers
- Tickled to Death to Go: The Memoirs of a Cavalryman in World War 1
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