Till Death Do Us Part: A Civil War Story

Book Description

This is a biographical journal about one man's experiences in the Union Army from 1862 to 1864. He would suffer all the hardships of war like every other man and the heartache of being separated from home and family

Book Description

Andrew Ellicott finished the job Mason and Dixon started, first measured the height of Niagara Falls, helped avert a war over disputed territory between North Carolina and Georgia, laid out Washington, DC, and defined what this country was to become by setting boundaries between the states and defining our national borders.

Book Description

With shiatsu (a Japanese word meaning "finger pressure") you can release and stimulate the energy flowing through your body -- using just your hands and fingers -- to awaken your body's natural healing modalities. The Book of Shiatsu is the authoritative, step-by-step guide to this uniquely effective therapy. The techniques offered are simple and can be used to treat a variety of health problems, particularly:

• Arthritic conditions
• Backaches
• Emotional stress
• Headaches and migraines
• Intestinal disorders
• Menstrual and reproductive problems
• Muscular pain and tension

Here you'll find more than 240 color drawings and photographs in a brand-new, accessible format, demonstrating how to give both whole-body and specialized massages, diagnose specific conditions, and work with the body's energy meridians to promote sustained health and well-being.

Customer Reviews:

the Book of Shiatsu.......2002-01-15

A very informative book. a good buy for learning and understanding Shiatsu. I bought the book Used from Kristine's World of Books and was very pleased with the condition and the quick service I got. Thanks to both of you, Amazon and Kristine's.I will buy used again.

Complete introduction to shiatsu.......2000-08-28

One of my favorite books on shiatsu, I always recommend it for beginners. It contains the essential in 190 pages. Easy to read and to consult, well explained. Drawings are well done and give a better understanding than a lot of other books that have photos. Covers all the practical aspects (a.o. meridians, stretching, breathing, diagnosis), and offers a basic shiatsu session. Nice comments and helpful tips. Goes into important details, but not 'overloaded'. Excellent! No bla bla.

Average customer rating:

The Best Italian-American Cookbook available!

Generally pretty good, but neither great nor definitive

Book comes close but misses the target

WOW - what a great italian-american cookbook

Very Good Study of Italian-American Cuisine Origins

The Italian-American Cookbook: A Feast of Food from a Great American Cooking Tradition
John Mariani
Manufacturer: Harvard Common Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
Italian | European | Regional & International | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
General | U.S. Regional | Regional & International | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
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1,000 Italian Recipes

The North End Italian Cookbook, 5th

The Talisman Italian Cookbook: Italy's bestselling cookbook adapted for American kitchens.

Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen

Every Night Italian: 120 Simple, Delicious Recipes You Can Make in 45 Minutes or Less

ASIN: 1558321667

Book Description

All the classics in lighter versions made with the freshest of ingredients.

Customer Reviews:

The Best Italian-American Cookbook available!.......2006-07-04

We have purchased and tried many an Italian cookbook but recipe for recipe this one has the best tasting collection. My wife who is not Italian (I am) loves Italian food and when we got the first one of these books she went through it and picked out over thirty recipes to try. Every one of these we tried was excellent and then some. It is rare to get one good recipe from a cookbook, let alone dozens. At the time we purchased our first copy it was a peperback. It is worn out. Also, we have given this cookbook to most of our friends as a gift we we go over to stay. They have all called to thank us for it.

Generally pretty good, but neither great nor definitive.......2006-01-08

I really think this book doesn't know what it wants to be. There are many excellent recipes, but it seems to fall into the trap of treating Italian food from Italy as normative rather than taking Italian-American cooking on its own terms. I think that mars what could otherwise have been a great book.

That said, it does provide a lot of great historical material about the rise of Italian food in the United States. There are a great many personal stories and historical sidebars that make the book a worthy purchase. A lot of classic Italian-American dishes are included, even meatballs and Sunday gravy (though it's known in this book as Galina's Meat Sauce).

Ultimately there's a dryness to the book that drags it down though, and it's a hard thing to put one's finger on where it comes from. It just doesn't have the personality it needs to pull the job off, though it almost makes up for it in other ways. Maybe it's the emphasis on restaurant cuisine, maybe it's the homogenized voice of both authors, maybe just the subtle bias in favor of the Old Country that doesn't exist in other cookbooks based on Italian American cooking. It's not a bad book, but it isn't the definitive book on the subject. That, it seems, has yet to be written.

Book comes close but misses the target.......2005-11-24

How does anyone write a cookbook about Italian/American cooking without including scungilli. Without even mentioning the word. Has Mr. Mariani ever cooked in a restaurant. I know he has been a critic but has his food been tested by the writing world. Had he gotten any awards. Has he put his money and his time on the line for his cooking or is he just another home cook who gets praised for who he is and not what he's done. Mr. Mariani seems to have his favorites and ignores other obvious places. Little mention of Lombardi's Pizza and Rao's. Even if he doesn't like these places he has to bow to the public support of these restaurants for over 100 years. But then he doesn't think much of the public because he puts down the international dining guide which uses public recommendations to rate restaurants. Couldn't he stipulate in the beginning of the book that the reader should use kosher salt and not have to say in every recipe "salt, preferably kosher."

WOW - what a great italian-american cookbook.......2005-06-28

Best Italian/American cookbook ever! Great American/Italian recipes (which is what we are mostly exposed to/enjoy most in America), great narrative/pictures on how the recipes came to be. Awesome organization:
- Ingredients
- Italian Wines
- Antipasti
- Soups
- Salads
- Pasta
- Risotto & Polenta
- Seafood
- Meats
- Poultry
- Vegetables
- Breads/Pizzas/Snacks/Sandwiches
- Desserts & Confections
- Drinks

Very Good Study of Italian-American Cuisine Origins.......2004-11-24

`The Italian-American Cookbook' is written by John Mariani and wife Galina Mariani. In the rich and varied world of Italian cookbooks, this offering joins `Lydia's Italian-American Kitchen' in the very select niche of works on how Americans, whether transplanted from Italy or from other sources, cook recipes inspired by one of the cuisines of Italy.

Both of these books stand apart and above volumes such as `Eleanora's Kitchen' by Eleanora Scarpetta, a Bronx housewife and `Rocco's Italian American' by Rocco and Mama of the meatballs made famous on `The Restaurant' miniseries. These latter volumes contain many good recipes, but they are a record of a personal cuisine built on their family's Italian-American recipes. Bastianich and Mariani have a much more scholarly goal of presenting a general picture of Italian-American recipes.

Appropriate to Mariani's vocation as a professional writer, his book has a much more scholarly tone than chef and culinary teacher Bastianish. This emphasis is set by a truly erudite 22 page opening essay on the origins of the Italian American cuisine from the political fragmentation of the Italian peninsula after the fall of the Western Roman empire to the flowering of the Italian American restaurant epitomized by Manhattan's famous `Mama Leone's' restaurant. Mariani immediately earned my respect when he pointed out that such classic American dishes as Philly's cheese steak and Kraft's `Mac and Cheese' are both sucker branches from the great Italian stem of cuisines. Very early on, Mariani shows a lot of respect for Italian-American cuisine as a distinct culinary genre which deserves to stand on its own rather than to be belittled as a pale shadow of `true' Italian cooking. As the book progresses; however, Mariani seems to loose his bearings and appears to be presenting purely Italian dishes as the ideal and American takes on these dishes as derivatives, rather than as true evolutions, just as Homo Sapiens is a distinct evolution from Homo Erectus and an improvement over Homo Neanderthalis. The clearest evidence of this is his recitation of Italian wines rather than coverage of American wines that originated with native Italian grapes. He does point out that many of the early California vintners were Italians such as Mondavi and Gallo, but nothing is said of their wines. So, on the issue of scholarship and `keeping on message', I come away just a little disappointed with this otherwise excellent embassy on Italian American cooking to the lay foodies.

So what about the recipes? Starting from my impression stated in the previous paragraph, I feel that the best description of the recipes in this book is that it presents those Italian recipes which are most commonly cooked in American households and in `Italian' restaurants in the United States rather than being a rigorous examination of the transformation of recipes from Italy to America. The first implication of this selection is that it is heavily weighed toward recipes whose origins lie in Southern Italian provinces of Campagnia (Naples), Apulia, Sicily, and Lazio (Rome). One sure symptom of this emphasis is in Mariani's including fourteen (14) recipes for spaghetti, including the Italian classics `alla Carbonara' and `Puttanesca'. A telling comment in the headnote on spaghetti and cauliflower is Mariani's stating that cauliflower is a much more common ingredient on the Italian table than it is in the Italian American restaurant. Why is this cauliflower recipe then in a book about distinctively Italian American recipes? By contrast, Bastianich has only four (4) recipes for spaghetti in her index and the Carbonara and Puttanesca are missing. On the other hand, Mariani has only six (6) recipes with spinach while northerner Bastianich gives us fourteen (14) recipes with spinach. For recipes on veal, especially veal scaloppine, the two books are very close in both the number and selection of recipes. Both include the classic recipes for `Scaloppine alla Marsala', `Saltimbocca alla Romana', and `Scaloppine Piccata' (with lemon-caper sauce).

Since `What is Italian-American cuisine' may be only slightly more interesting than the number of angels jigging on a pinhead, the real value of Mariani's book may simply be the quality of his recipes. On this point, my summary judgment is that his recipes are better than Rocco DiSpirito's traditional family recipes, and they are not quite as good as teacher and chef Lydia Bastianich's recipes in her work on Italian-American cooking. Part of this difference is that Ms. Bastianich simply explains things better. A small example of this is their respective instructions on combining the sage and prosciutto with the scallopine to create the saltimbocca. I have done Bastianich's instructions several times with no problems. Mariani's instructions leave me scratching my head trying to figure out exactly how he meant me to apply the toothpick and fold the results of this marriage of ingredients. Another point in Ms. Bastianich's favor is that her recipes are a bit more respectful of ingredients in the manner so well explained by Marcella Hazan. In Bastianich's recipe for sausage and peppers, the meat and the peppers are sautéed separately before being roasted together to complete the dish. She also does not drown the meat and peppers in canned tomatoes or gild the lily with oregano or dried pepper flakes. Instead, she adds fresh mushrooms and whole cherry peppers. I do not know which recipe is more authentically `Italian-American' but I know I prefer eating Ms. Lydia's dish. On this basis, it is no surprise that Bastianich won an IACP award and Mariani was a runner-up.

The list of suppliers at the back of Mariani's book is just a bit weak and out of date. Balducci's in New York City has gone out of business and his list does not list DePalo's cheese shop, one of the best sources of homemade mozzarella and ricotta in Manhattan.

I recommend Mariani's book especially for his excellent wine and food pairings, but suggest you get both Mariani and Bastianich.

Average customer rating:
Not Your Mama's Crochet: The Cool and Creative Way to Join the Chain Gang (Not Your Mamas)
Amy Swenson
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Crocheting | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
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Not Your Mama's Knitting: The Cool and Creative Way to Pick Up Sticks (Not Your Mama's Craft Books)

Couture Crochet Workshop: Mastering Fit, Fashion, and Finesse

ASIN: 0471973815

Book Description

Forget ugly afghans and dainty doilies and think luxurious throws and sumptuous sweaters. You can crochet cool stuff that will make everyone envious—things to spice up your wardrobe and your pad, or gifts to amaze your "I could never do that" friends. Choose from nearly thirty projects ranging from elegant to earthy—from a chic shrug to a recycled denim rug and from fun plush toys to sweaters too good for boys.

In hip style, this guide covers:

All kinds of yarns and materials, and the tools of the trade
The basic stitches, shaping, finishing techniques, blocking, and more
Simple projects that give you close-to-instant gratification and more complex ones that take some commitment
Suggestions for customizing every design and personalizing every project

Intone your creative mantra and get your hooks into a terrific project. With Not Your Mama's Crochet, you won't just make unique, chic items—you'll make a statement.

Average customer rating:

Found many mistakes as well

Beginners Only

Very Creative designs

Great learning tool, so-so patterns

Somewhere in the middle ...

Crochet Your Way (Taunton Books & Videos for Enthusiasts)
Gloria Tracy , and Susan Levin
Manufacturer: Taunton
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Crocheting | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
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Crochet with Style: Fun-to-Make Sweaters for All Seasons

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Donna Kooler's Encyclopedia of Crochet

The Crochet Answer Book: Solutions to Every Problem You'll Ever Face; Answers to Every Question You'll Ever Ask (Answer Book)

Crocheted Sweaters: Simple Stitches, Great Designs

ASIN: 1561583103
Release Date: 2000-05-01

Book Description

There are an estimated 30 million crocheters in the U.S. alone, from novices to artists. Crochet Your Way has something for everyone. A comprehensive guide, it starts with the basics through a quick review of 20 different pattern stitches. Each stitch includes clear technique tips with accompanying illustrations. When the 20 squares are completed, they can be joined together to create an original afghan.

By emphasizing the concepts behind the craft as well as the practical aspects, Crochet Your Way also helps the enthusiast learn to crochet any pattern available. For those who already know how to crochet, the book will give them the tools they need to move to the next skill level. Included are more than 35 creative projects, including hats, sweaters, and home accessories, all illustrated with 275 photos and step-by-step drawings.

Customer Reviews:

Found many mistakes as well.......2007-02-28

I wish I had listened to the previous reviews about mistakes in the patterns but there were so many other good reviews I thought - maybe they were wrong. I should have gone with my initial instincts! I'm still working on the 20 square afghan and have had to consult the web constantly to figure out how to do a stitch b/c the book instructions were either wrong or not clear. I'm not sure how the other reviewer finished hers without any problems. Anyway, I enjoyed learning new stitchs but following these instructions were a nightmare. I wouldn't recommend this book at all.

Beginners Only.......2006-05-10

This book might be a good thing for a beginning crocheter... but there really isn't a lot here for an experienced one. The designs look better on the afghan they have than made up into sweaters on the model. I've had the book a long time, and have yet to make anything from it.

Very Creative designs.......2005-12-06

Despite all the pattern complaints, I find the book to be excellent and although I have not made each and every pattern, so far I have not found any mistakes. This book is full of clothing design information, which makes it worth a place amongst your crochet library.

Great learning tool, so-so patterns.......2005-11-22

This book has become my crochet bible! When I got this book I didn't know anything about crochet and had no one to learn from. Within a week I was creating bobbles and popcorns and trying the various stitches in the learn-to-crochet afghan. I've had the book for 3 years now and I still refer to the stitch directions when starting a new project.

Being left-handed, I found the lefty illustrations to be particularly helpful. The text instructions supplement the illustrations, making it fairly easy to teach yourself the stitches. The learn-to-crochet afghan then allows you to practice the stitches you've learned. I found most of the directions to be clear, with an exception or two, but I got it all figured out with some practice and some hunting on the internet.

I found the patterns in the back of the book to be less useful. Even though the book was published in 2001, the sweaters, vests, hats, etc. seem unbelievably dated (think 1987). When I'd finished the afghan and learned the many stitches illustrated here, I went elsewhere for patterns. However, I find myself constantly referring back to this book for a refresher on stitches that are called for in other more contemporary patterns.

Somewhere in the middle ..........2005-04-15

I was wondering why I seemed to have problems understanding why a hat I've been trying to complete just wasn't working ... I guess either there's something wrong with the instructions or I'm just confused -- which would be unusual, as I'm usually very good at following instruction.

Good points: I like the huge number of stitches and patterns that I didn't know and hadn't seen before. I also like some of the patterns, though probably less than half are to my own taste.

Bad points: Maybe I missed something, but I was frustrated by encountering abbreviations for unfamiliar stitches in the instructions and having to hunt them down. I couldn't find a chart that showed the abbreviation, the name of the stitch and the page number of where to find instructions for making the stitch.

Oh, and while this may be great for southpaws, as a right-hander I did find the left-handed instructions distracting.

I checked this book out of the library. I might consider buying my own copy for the stitch references, but I may wait and see if I can find something better ...

Creative Crochet: Clever Ways to Use Your Yarn Stash

Average customer rating:

Awesome Projects
ok

Creative Crochet: Clever Ways to Use Your Yarn Stash
Darla Sims
Manufacturer: Martingale and Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Crocheting | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1564776875

Book Description

Find new ways to use your yarn stockpiles in this creative approach to crochet. Combine leftover yarns, single skeins, scraps, and more into stylish wearables and accents—all while making room for more yarn!

• Twenty projects open up dozens of possibilities for creating one-of-a-kind cardigans, pullovers, purses, jackets, and more

• Designs are based on simple, basic stitches and silhouettes for quick and easy results

• Innovative stripe, ruffle, and cut-and-tie techniques will conform to any yarn stash

Customer Reviews:

Awesome Projects.......2007-06-27

Working on the white&white top. Easy to follow directions. Looking forward to the completed item.

ok.......2007-04-11

this is an okay book, not outstanding. Will do some of the patterns but not all.

Book Description

Add flair to your garden and value to your property! What does your garden need to look its best--a comfortable bench to rest on while appreciating the beauty around you? A summer house to use for storage...or as an artist's studio? A delightfully bubbling water sculpture? This companion to Terence Conran's innovative DIY By Design takes do-it-yourself outdoors with these, and other, projects for gardens big and small. Dazzling photographs offer an inspiring glimpse of what others have done, as well as advice on planning a garden and what practicalities to consider. The projects cover five major areas of design: Seating and Eating; Garden Houses; Patios, Paths, and Ponds; Supports and Dividers; and Containers--and there's a complete discussion of tools, materials, and techniques. 130 fail-safe color illustrations enable you to construct an octagonal tree seat, barbecue, rabbit run, jardiniere, walk-through pergola, and more--30 projects in all. 160 pages (all in color), 9 1/2 x 11.

Customer Reviews:

Make it yourself with these instructions...........2001-08-06

Terence Conran's GARDEN DIY (do it yourself) contains 75 doable projects from a child's play house to various other wood, stone, brick, terracotta, and cement projects for your outside garden rooms. Conran shows several examples for each garden structure (pergolas, trellises, arbors, fences, patios, paths, ponds, and plant containers) with complete instructions for at least one example in each set.

For example, the section showing a variety of seating arrangements, includes a complete set of instructions for making a very pretty yellow painted garden bench with slatted 1"x1" rails. One needs to review the instructions before determining whether the materials and/or tools are on hand or available, but Conran tells the reader exactly what s/he will need for each illustrated project.

I borrowed the book from the library and decided not to purchase it because the items Conran illustrates do not meet my particular needs. Currently, I am looking for instructions for a garden screen to restrict my view of the next-door neighbor's yard. While Conran includes a few items that would fit the definition of a garden screen his examples do not match what I have in mind. I needed a screen in another part of the yard where I was less worried about blocking sunlight (against a fence for example) his illustrations would prove more helpful.

The best sections of the book from my perspective include his great illustrations for hen-houses/bird houses. These fowl shelters are so beautiful I would build one but I live in an area that does not allow chickens--even ornate feathered pet chickens. His examples of garden houses are also beautiful but I don't need a garden house because I already have one.

If you're just beginning to create structures for your outdoor rooms and think you may want to "do it yourself" you'll find plenty of ideas in this book.

Average customer rating:

Bringing a broad spectrum of faith traditions to the family in a secular society

Highly recommended!

Parenting with Spirit: 30 Ways to Nurture Your Child's Spirituality and Enrich Your Family's Life
Jane Bartlett
Manufacturer: Marlowe & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Family Activities | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
General | Parenting | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
General | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
Spiritual | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
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Peaceful Parents, Peaceful Kids: Practical Ways to Create a Calm and Happy Home

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Living Simply with Children: A Voluntary Simplicity Guide for Moms, Dads, and Kids Who Want to Reclaim the Bliss of Childhood and the Joy of Parenting

Accessories:

Health o Meter HDC100-01 "Grow with Me" Teddy Bear Scale for Babies and Toddlers

Braun IRT 4020 ThermoScan Ear Thermometer

ASIN: 1569244057

Book Description

As difficult as it can be for parents to cultivate their own spirituality amid the frenzy of their lives, it can be even harder to nurture their children’s spiritual development. In Parenting with Spirit, author Jane Bartlett offers parents an inspiring yet practical way to both encourage and celebrate spirituality in their children and their family lives. These 30 child-friendly and interesting ideas include: creating rituals for the holidays, seasons, other festivities; going for nature walks, holding family meetings, storytelling with and without books, pursuing creative activities like art, music, and dance; turning everyday activities into play, and much more. Perfect for parents who are looking for ways to bring their family closer together or simply want to show their kids that life is full of potential and purpose, Parenting with Spirit is sure to add depth and magic to every family’s life.

Customer Reviews:

Bringing a broad spectrum of faith traditions to the family in a secular society.......2007-10-03

When I flipped open this book, I came across a statement about society's declining religiosity that struck me as odd. I later realized that the author is British. This explained the context for this book -- how to cultivate a spiritual life for your family and children in the secular context so prevalent in Europe. Since this is not really the case in the US, which is more assertive and comfortable with religiosity by and large, some of the ideas may translate as well to the American context.

The author emphasizes that children are a valuable part of any religious community, and she provides a wide-ranging group of activities. They are mostly aimed at those who are outside any particular faith, and call upon an assortment of backgrounds (such as reading a myth every week from a world religion or culture). While the author is a Christian, the recommendations are certainly not Christianity-specific. Rather, they are broad in spectrum and for those comfortable with looking to a diversity of faith traditions to fill a spiritual void. Some people may find this overly broad -- they may want to focus their spiritual efforts on their faith rather than reading about New Age beliefs or another religion's holy book.

Nonetheless, the idea of a book focussed on nurturing a child's spirituality and discussing your beliefs with them is an important step, and therefore the book is useful just for its basic premise, even if you do not embrace all of the author's particular suggestions.

Highly recommended!.......2005-05-01

Jane Bartlett does a remarkable job of presenting spiritual ideas in a practical and approachable style that would meet the needs of families with a wide variety of lifestyles. Focused meditation and stillness are important skills with many benefits for adults and children, as Bartlett points out, but finding a connection with our spiritual nature in activity is just as vital. Chapters on play, body awareness, toys and pets address real family life. Parents looking for ways to nuture the spiritual side of life within their family's daily activities will find a wealth of ideas here. Jane Bartlett's obvious respect for traditional religious practices as well as spiritual expression outside religious dogma includes a broad spectrum of readers. A valuable resource.

Book Description

Bringing one of Australia's most gripping war campaigns to life, this photography collection highlights the work of two great World War II photographers and presents an historical analysis of each shot, the photographers' reactions to their subjects, and look at the very nature of the fighting in what was one of the Australian army's greatest tests.

Average customer rating:

Damian Parer: Cameraman
Niall Brennan
Manufacturer: Melbourne University
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Strategy | Military | History | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0522844200

Book Description

During World War II Damien Parer became Australia's best-known war photographer, his many cinema documentaries of the war (for Cinesound News) eventually winning Australia's first 'Oscar'. He was on more front lines and probably saw more close-up action than any serving soldier. He became immensely popular, not only with the cinema public but with the serving soldiers and airmen: his unique personality endeared him to great numbers of serving troops. He took many personal risks in pursuit of his photographs, and was killed in action in 1944, at the age of thirty-two.

DAMIEN PARER Putting War on Film, Makers & Shakers Series

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DAMIEN PARER Putting War on Film, Makers & Shakers Series
Archie Fusillo
Manufacturer: Cardigan Street Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 186391434X

Average customer rating:

Damien Parer's War
Neil McDonald
Manufacturer: Lothian Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Artists, Architects & Photographers | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0734405898

Book Description

This book features interviews with Parer's friends and collagues and includes previously unpublished photographs.

War Cameraman: The Story of Damien Parer

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War Cameraman: The Story of Damien Parer
Neil McDonald
Manufacturer: Lothian Pub Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Collections, Catalogues & Exhibitions | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Photojournalism | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Artists, Architects & Photographers | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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General | Movies | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Documentaries | Movies | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Journalism | Writing | Reference | Subjects | Books

Damien Parer: A unique Australian (A.C.T.S. publications)

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Damien Parer: A unique Australian (A.C.T.S. publications)
Bernard Hosie
Manufacturer: [Australian Catholic Truth Society
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Australian | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Journalists | Professionals & Academics | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Amazon.com

In 1941, accidentally rolling a Soviet tank while fording a river was considered a death offense by the Red Army. Unfortunately for young Janusz Bardach, he committed just such an error; lucky for him that an old acquaintance from his hometown in Poland had enough rank and influence to commute the court-martial penalty from death to 10 years hard labor in Siberia. For the next four years, Bardach endured hellish conditions in various labor camps--first a logging camp, then a gold mine in the frozen north. Frigid temperatures, inadequate food and clothing combined with physical and spiritual malaise to bring prisoners first to the edge of despair and then to the brink of suicide. Bardach survived by turning his mind off, by refusing to remember happier times or to anticipate the future. He became, simply, a beast of burden, shuffling through the hours of his slavery until he could fall into the brief oblivion of sleep.

Ironically, it was a near brush with death that proved to be Bardach's salvation. After surviving an explosion, he was sent to a prison hospital where he managed to talk his way into a job as a medical assistant. There he gained both a new lease on life and a future profession. Released from his sentence early, in 1945, Bardach went on to become a surgeon. His memoir, Man Is Wolf to Man, is more than just an account of his sufferings in a Russian labor camp; it is also a meditation on the will to survive in the face of hopelessness, the occasional kindnesses of strangers in unexpected places, and above all, the struggle to remain human under the most inhumane conditions.

Book Description

FROM THE BOOK:"The pit I was ordered to dig had the precise dimensions of a casket. The NKVD officer carefully designed it. He measured my size with a stick, made lines on the forest floor, and told me to dig. He wanted to make sure I'd fit well inside."
In 1941 Janusz Bardach's death sentence was commuted to ten years' hard labor and he was sent to Kolyma--the harshest, coldest, and most deadly prison in Joseph Stalin's labor camp system--the Siberia of Siberias. The only English-language memoir since the fall of communism to chronicle the atrocities committed during the Stalinist regime, Bardach's gripping testimony explores the darkest corners of the human condition at the same time that it documents the tyranny of Stalin's reign, equal only to that of Hitler. With breathtaking immediacy, a riveting eye for detail, and a humanity that permeates the events and landscapes he describes, Bardach recounts the extraordinary story of this nearly inconceivable world.
The story begins with the Nazi occupation when Bardach, a young Polish Jew inspired by Soviet Communism, crosses the border of Poland to join the ranks of the Red Army. His ideals are quickly shattered when he is arrested, court-martialed, and sentenced to death. How Bardach survives an endless barrage of brutality--from a near-fatal beating to the harsh conditions and slow starvation of the gulag existence--is a testament to human endurance under the most oppressive circumstances. Besides being of great historical significance, Bardach's narrative is a celebration of life and a vital affirmation of what it means to be human.

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In 1941 Janusz Bardach's death sentence was commuted to ten years' hard labor and he was sent to Kolyma--the harshest, coldest, and most deadly prison in Joseph Stalin's labor camp system--the Siberia of Siberias. The only English-language memoir since the fall of communism to chronicle the atrocities committed during the Stalinist regime, Bardach's gripping testimony explores the darkest corners of the human condition at the same time that it documents the tyranny of Stalin's reign, equal only to that of Hitler. With breathtaking immediacy, a riveting eye for detail, and a humanity that permeates the events and landscapes he describes, Bardach recounts the extraordinary story of this nearly inconceivable world. The story begins with the Nazi occupation when Bardach, a young Polish Jew inspired by Soviet Communism, crosses the border of Poland to join the ranks of the Red Army. His ideals are quickly shattered when he is arrested, court-martialed, and sentenced to death. How Bardach survives an endless barrage of brutality--from a near-fatal beating to the harsh conditions and slow starvation of the gulag existence--is a testament to human endurance under the most oppressive circumstances. Besides being of great historical significance, Bardach's narrative is a celebration of life and a vital affirmation of what it means to be human.

Customer Reviews:

Gripping.......2007-08-25

This is one of the most unbelievable stories I've ever read. It's written with superb simplicity, making it a rapid and engrossing page turner. What a great gift Bardach has given us in writing this book about his horrific and heroic experiences. This is the best account of any world war 2 camp survivor, period. He clearly illustrates that the Soviet Union was about as horrible a place to be as Europe at the time. The book is as well written as the story is interesting. Fantastic. Thank you, Janusz!

Stunning.......2007-08-11

I read this after reading The Unquiet Ghost: Russians Remember Stalin. This book may be bleak and shocking, but remember, the author survived! It is an amazing, gripping, shocking story about humanity. I loved it.

Surviving against all odds.......2007-05-31

I can't really say anything that hasn't been mentioned already, and I think that it would be inappropriate to give away any of the plot.

This is simply the most fascinating story of survival of any that I have ever seen. It is incredible as well as inspiring. It teaches you to value your life, and the relationships that you have with the people you care about most. There were so many instances when he could have resigned to his fate and accepted death, but instead he kept going. Millions of people died in prison camps during the war, and unfortunately all of their stories cannot be told. But to understand what they had to go through in their fight for survival, nothing beats this book. Besides telling his story, it examines the history and psychology behind what happened to him. And overall I believe that it is a valuable read for anyone interested in Russian Gulags or prison camps in general during WW2.

An unbelievably bleak tale of survival in the Gulag.......2006-08-23

Janusz Bardach, who became a plastic surgeon in Iowa City, Iowa in 1972, recounts his experiences in the Gulag in this bleak tale of survival reminiscent of Solzhenitsyn's The Gulag Archipelago. A secular Jewish man and supporter of Stalin and communism living in Poland In 1939, he and his family fear their future as Germany's military forces are set up along the border. He is eventually drafted into the Red Army, but when he inadvertently gets his new tank stuck in a river, he's arrested and given a sentence of 10 years of hard labor. He, like the other prisoners, spends most of his time working to meet ridiculously high work quotas, while in a constant state of starvation. He travels from camp to camp during his six years in captivity working in various work situations including a mine, the forest felling trees, and as a medical assistant working with tuberculosis patients (which he eventually contracts). Once he recovers, he's sent to work in a psych ward, where the main focus is exposing the "fakers," those trying to get out of work. His job is to inject them with a seizure-inducing drug, which he does reluctantly. With a little help from his one surviving family member, Polish army officer brother, he is eventually released and finds out the fate of his grandparents, parents, sister and girlfriend. They were all executed.

must read for those interested in the holocaust.......2006-03-09

difficult to use words like "i couldn't put this book down" when the subject matter is so depressing but that was my reaction. reading about the soviet gulags and the human sufferring they caused educated me that it was not only the nazi regime that was the cause of so much sufferring.

Man Is Wolf to Man: Surviving Stalin's Gulag

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Man Is Wolf to Man: Surviving Stalin's Gulag
Janusz Bardach
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster (Trade Division)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0684840472

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