SUMMON UP THE BLOOD: D-DAY AND THE NW EUROPE CAMPAIGN, MAY 1944 TO FEBRUARY 1945: The War Diary of Cpl. J.A. Womack, Royal Engineers

Book Description

A lost diary of the Normandy campaign with much new material on operations, friendly fire and atrocities.

Book Description

Dr Helton Godwin Baynes was C.G. Jung's medical assistant in Zurich, becoming the eminent psychiatrist's close friend and confidante. Baynes introduced Jungian psychology to Britain and led the English Jungian community for twenty years. He started the Jungian Analytical Psychology Club in London (APC) and laid the foundations for a Jungian Medical Society with the three aims of providing therapy, education and research.

Baynes was the author of the first two major Jungian books to be written in English: Mythology of the Soul and Germany Possessed, and together with his second wife, Cary, he translated all of Jung's earlier writings into English. He arranged for Jung to visit England to lecture at the Tavistock Clinic, at the AP Club, to the medical students at Barts Hospital, and at Oxford University. Baynes brought a greater psychological awareness to war-time Britain in his lectures throughout the UK and his religious broadcasts with Archbishop Temple.

Customer Reviews:

Unexpected treasures.......2007-09-10

We are all attracted to books for different reasons. My attraction to this book was driven by a central interest in the life and work of CG Jung, extending to his comtemporaries. That Peter Baynes was English and an extravert within this Jungian circle also fascinated me, as it reflects my own psychological attitude.

When I received this book I confess that I immediately went to the chapters specific to Baynes's interaction with Jung, and to that end I was rewarded. It contained lively content, interesting dialogue (via published letters) and many photographs.

What came next was a delightful seduction. Peter Baynes was a fascinating, loveable and dynamic character. I *needed* to read all about him. I started at the .... well..... start. I read it from front cover to back cover, in one sitting. The author - Diana Baynes Jansen - also became a silent character in the story. Her life-long quest was to "get to know the father who has profoundly affected her life and who died when she was only six years old" [back inside cover].

Peter Baynes had an extraordinary life. He was supremely gifted, both physically and intellectually, yet it was (in my view) his heart and empathetic feeling life that makes him extraordinary. The chronicles of his love life are displayed warts and all. His story is replete with relationships - many joyful, many messy and difficult. It is primarily through his prolific letters - that the author skillfully weaves into the text - that Peter becomes alive for us. I agonized with him over difficult decisions, I scolded him occasionally for certain behaviour, but most of all I loved his willingness to analyse himself, to turn the gaze of criticism within. Peter Baynes' inner integrity and honesty drive this book, along with the journey of the author who fulfilled a quest to bring it to us.

A giant of a man in all senses of the word.......2003-09-23

This book succeeds in being both a "good read" and an absolute fund of accessible information about Jung's apprentice - Helton Godwin Baynes -, Jung himself, his theories and the history of Jungian analysis. I learnt an enormous amount and enjoyed myself while reading it (whilst on holiday and I didn't miss my usual Patricia Cornwell a bit!). Diana Jansen has written this biography of her father in a way which is at the same time painfully truthful and immensely moving. Helton Baynes was a dashing, popular and heroic figure and this account of his life pulls no punches. I found myself on a rollercoaster of emotions: admiring of his triumphs, angry with his failings, and aware of his place in history and the dilemmas which he faced before his untimely death.

I unreservedly recommend this book, whether or not you are particularly interested in psychoanalysis. It's really beautifully written - the personality of subject and the author positively shine out of the pages.

Amazon.com

Whereas many popular books on microbes focus on contemporary pathogens and emerging epidemics, Arno Karlen's Man and Microbes provides a historical look at the coevolution of humans and microorganisms. Karlen speculates that infections are integral to the process of life itself, that the mitochondria in every animal cell, for instance, are likely descendants of infectious agents. He then traces the development of man from primitive hunter-gatherer to urban dweller to world traveler, pointedly analyzing how socio-ecological changes have contributed to the changing incidence of disease. With amazing detail, Karlen describes the origins of historical plagues (smallpox, cholera, influenza, polio, and others) as well as the emergence of scourges such as hemorrhagic fever (Ebola and its cousins), Lyme disease, Legionnaires' disease, and even the deep mysteries of retroviruses such as HIV.

Customer Reviews:

Recommended Read.......2007-05-12

Karlen's "Man and Microbes" is a good read, especially for the novice biology reader. I think everyone interested in the subjects of microbiology, medical history, and evolutionary history would enjoy this book but be aware that you will not get very specific scientific detail, rather a broad overview of history. All around worth the time though.

fascinating, educational, and alarming.......2006-06-15

"Man and Microbes" is a good title for this book. Over time, man's relationship with microbes has changed as human populations have grown, moved, changed from hunter-gatherer to agricultural life and then city life, and exploration and colonization exposed groups of humans to new environments. As new land is cleared for farming, humans stir up microbes that had previously interacted with other species, such as mice or monkeys. Having never been exposed to a given microbe before, man has not developed any tolerance and the severity of the disease is harsh. Every new human population a disease encounters has to go though this introduction, before the effects become less severe. This is why native American populations were decimated when Europeans came to their continents. The microbes themselves also change over time, becoming more powerful, less powerful, or retreating to their original animal hosts. Since this book attempts to span the history of mankind and our interaction with microbes, there is less detail about specific diseases or time periods than a reader might like. I know I was still left wondering about the specifics of polio after reading the book. But I do feel that I have gained much more insight into disease and how it has affected our history. When we developed vaccines and antibiotics we thought that we had defeated the diseases which had killed so many humans, but the microbes continued to change, just as always, adapting to our new defenses. Human populations continued to grow, expanding to previously unpopulated territory, exposing people already vulnerable though poor diet and hygene to unfamiliar microbes. My view of our war against disease has definitely changed through reading this book.

Great Intro, But Lacking in the Details -.......2005-01-28

First and foremost, this book is an oustanding, fantastic introduction to the world of infectious diseases. Because of two factors, however, much informatoin is lost. Firstly, the book is rather short - hardly three hundred pages. Secondly, there are thousands of years to cover in such a volume. As a result, the reader is left with a superficial - albeit insightful - look at the history of diseases throughout history.

Karlen attempts - and succeeds, as best as expected - to do three things in this book. He begins by discussing the disease, or outbreak, at hand. Syphilis, tuberculosis, legionnaire's, marberg, ebola are all covered - en brief. Then, he goes on to elaborate on the social climate of the time, to set a context for the reader. He then discusses the impact that these diseases had on thepopulace.

As a personal fiend of specific, explicit writings on the physiological results of diseases, I was somewhat disappointed: AIDs is hardly discussed, and the physical descriptions and onsets are scant, if existant. However, Karlen's adept critical thinking - he analyzes the social impact, etc of each outbreak - makes this book worthwhile.

Overall, a good introduction. I kept notes through this book on topics that I was interested in exploring further, and was not disappointed.

The Medical History of Mankind.......2004-12-01

This book is about the new diseases that plague mankind, an epidemic of epidemics. There was a faith in social, scientific, and technological progress dating from the 19th century (p.3). For millennia, diseases killed more people than war and famine. Since the 1960s new diseases appeared, and old ones reappeared as resistant to drugs. One cause was the high-speed travel from airplanes. This is similar to the 19th century spread of cholera by trains and steamboats. Infection and disease are as old as life. Man's modification of his environment affects other life, and his own. Germs and microbes also change. The tsetse fly's presence in ancient North America corresponds roughly with the extinction of horses (p.19).

Karlen suggests that hunting and meat eating allowed humans to progress (p.22). Leaving the tropics for temperated climates avoided the parasites that still hinder development. But eating wild game can cause problems (p.24). Pages 26-28 tell of Neanderthal man, more advanced than cartoon drawings. The Agricultural Revolution produced greater plenty and more infections; these changes are inseparable and still occur together (p.29). Plant and animal foods leave distinctive chemical signatures in human bones, as do proteins from marine and land animals (pp.32-33). Going from hunting to farming brought declining health and increasing diseases (p.34). New diseases arose: occupational, nutritional, and infectious (p.35). Intestinal helminths may have caused more damage than the more dramatic viral and bacterial plagues (p.37). Domesticated animal brought new diseases (p.39). Farming created new breeding grounds for malaria, organic fertilizers spread both old and new diseases (p.41). Helminth diseases and intestinal infections create a population sapped of energy and disease resistance (p.42). [Recall Richard Henry Dana's comments on New Englanders who settled in Spanish California; "laid back" could be a medical condition.] The Mystery Disease of Pudoc should be a warning against food imported from Third World countries like Asia (p.44-45). We already know about Mad Cow Disease in Great Britain. This is another warning against "raw fish" or raw meat. Once one person has this disease, it can be spread by the local fish!

Reading this book will provide a short history of how diseases affected human history. Some of it may be known to you, but the book has it all in 230 pages. The Bibliography has extensive references for each chapter. The Index allows a quick reference to the many topics in this interesting book. Page 140 tells how more abundant proteins from meat and dairy products reduced infections and mortality. [Remember this the next time you read vegetarian propaganda in a newspaper or magazine. They have a hidden agenda for their advertisers.] Measles and smallpox were biological weapons of colonialism (p.59). The Imperialism (or Globalism) of the Roman Empire was followed by new epidemics from the disease pools of Europe, Africa, India, and China (p.65). Will we see this repeated in the 21st century, and be followed by a new Dark Age?

A Fascinating and Frightening History of Disease.......2004-06-15

Arno Karlen's "Man and Microbes" is an informative and well-written account of the history of disease that is accessible to specialists and non-specialists alike. It is well-researched and it is written in the natural style of a storyteller. Karlen covers a wide span of time, starting off about five million years ago when our ancestors descended from the trees to the ground and finishing in the 1990s. He looks at a range of diseases, including the Mystery Disase of Pudoc, influenza, Lyme Disease, and AIDS, and looks at them through the themes of change (changes in environment, technology, interaction/behavior, lifestyle) and adaptation (human adaptation to disease and vice versa). Karlen ends the book on a hopeful note, and reminds the reader that while history shows so many instances of disease it also shows many instances of humans adapting to and dealing with disease.

I was a little initimidated about reading this book, since I have a pathetic knowledge of science. However, I found the book very readable and I can honestly say that I have a greater appreciation for science and for the human ability to survive after having read the book. A must-read!

Average customer rating:

entomophagy ROCKS!

It transform's you in to a bug eater! for life.

Great Recipes, But Kind of Improbable

Excellent entomophagy reference and cookbook

Great book with great recipes!

Creepy Crawly Cuisine: The Gourmet Guide to Edible Insects
Julieta Ramos-Elorduy
Manufacturer: Park Street Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Baking | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
Gourmet | Special Occasions | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
Natural Foods | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
Insects & Spiders | Animals | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Eat-A-Bug Cookbook

Man Eating Bugs: The Art and Science of Eating Insects

Unmentionable Cuisine

Bugs for Lunch

Curiosities of Food: Or the Dainties and Delicacies of Different Nations Obtained from the Animal Kingdom

ASIN: 089281747X
Release Date: 1998-02-01

Book Description

An introduction to the world of edible insects, complete with recipes and color photographs.

Includes an historical look at the use of edible insects in indigenous cultures.

Provides information on where to obtain insects and how to store and prepare them.

Includes over 60 gourmet recipes, complete with stunning color photographs.

The most wholesome source of protein on earth cannot be found in any supermarket in the United States, but it can be found right in your backyard! Insects have been a staple food of almost every indigenous culture, not only because of their delicious flavor but also because they provide a more complete protein than soy, meat, or fish, and are concentrated sources of calcium, niacin, magnesium, potassium, the B-vitamins, and many other nutrients. As the world heads for food shortages in the next century insects can help meet humanity's growing nutritional needs.

Creepy Crawly Cuisine tells you everything you need to know to make insects a part of your diet. It includes an overview of the use of edible insects by indigenous cultures, information on where to obtain insects and how to store and prepare them, and over 60 gourmet recipes, complete with stunning color photographs, that let you take the cooking of insects to dazzling culinary heights. As practical as it is unique, Creepy Crawly Cuisine is the ideal gift for followers of the Diet for a Small Planet, adventurous epicures, and cooks who think they have seen it all.

Customer Reviews:

entomophagy ROCKS!.......2003-09-08

okay so i've never eaten a bug- but i love reading about the subject! My best friend gave me this book for my sucky birthday! lol- and it totally rocks...

Julieta gives great nutritional advice on different bugs and descries each bugs particular flavor in reference to things common that we know of.... it is well written and very informative from calories to essential amino acids to proteins and vitamins... the book covers different countries in it's concise and informative beginning. I also liked the fact that the author gives you the actual family and genus name of the species.

the photos however are why i gave the book 4 stars.... most of the photos i feel as if i had already seen in "man eating bugs" because the same photographer helped publish both books... i never really tried the recipes of course.. but julieta does give helpful resources and advice on breeding your own bugs for food!

Loved it read it several times.... get it for your collection!

It transform's you in to a bug eater! for life........2000-06-27

This is the best book i have read about edible insects, i find it rare but exciting, after you read this book you will go to your garden and gather some insects.

Great Recipes, But Kind of Improbable.......2000-04-28

This book contains some great recipes with a south-of-theborder-flavour, but all the same, you may find some of these bugs a tad bit exotic . . . where in the world can you get a half-pound of tree-hoppers anyway? So this might be a bit much for the novice without special resources, but on the whole is well worth the money.

Excellent entomophagy reference and cookbook.......2000-02-20

The author of this book is probably the world's foremost authority on entomophagy. I consider this book the best entomophagy book in print. The book is thorough in its coverage of the value of insects as human food. The author is a superb cook and the recipes are delicious and very artfully prepared and photographed.

Great book with great recipes!.......2000-02-18

One of the most enjoyable additions to our culinary bookshelf! This book is filled with great pictures and even better recipes. Even though we haven't been able to try them all, we've loved the ones we've tried. Do yourself a favor and try this one out!

Book Description

Definitive Smith & Wesson identification and pricing reference, includes 350+ full-color photos for improved identification

Smith & Wesson is one of the hottest manufacturers of handguns, offering more new models than any other maker - 39 new products in 2005 alone

Comprehensive coverage of Smith & Wesson firearm line including the only handgun in the world in continuous production since 1899

Smith & Wesson outfitted some of the biggest and boldest gunfighters, both actual and fictional - including Wild Bill Hickock, Buffalo Bill and Dirty Harry - whose exploits are still legendary. Today a renewed Smith & Wesson corporation is back in the front of the pack. Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson, 3rd Edition combines full color photos with details collectors need to identify and better appreciate all Smith & Wesson firearms. For fans of Smith & Wesson firearms this book is a must-have, with its: *Expert authors who have unique, exclusive access to Smith & Wesson archival material *Easy-to-locate listings organized by model and year of manufacture help to quickly and accurately identify firearms *Rarely seen production and historical notes useful in determining rarity and value

With more than 775 models of Smith & Wesson guns and variations, including many models not found in other firearm-pricing guides, this is the one book for any Smith & Wesson gun-toting fan.

Customer Reviews:

"Must have" book.......2007-07-13

This book has invaluable information for all gun enthusiasts, not only S & W collectors. Very well written and illustrated. A "must have" book.

Indispensible.......2007-07-02

This book is indispensible to the S&W collector. It is the S&W collector's Bible. Worth three times thecost, you need to buy it right now!

Excellent reference and not a clone.......2007-05-31

The Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson has proven to be a useful tool, offering better illustration of models and expanded listing of models and details over the more general guides. By comparison, the Standard Catalog provides 70 pages of Smith & Wesson listings, while the Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson provides 432. The authors, Jim Supica and Richard Nahas are recognized as long standing experts in Smith and Wesson firearms, in both model identification and value.

The authors did an excellent job of identifying factors unique to S&W in value determination, including how S&W collectors might differ from others. Section One, as an example, covers S&W frame sizes and side plate screw counts, pinned and unpinned barrels and hand ejector models as they relate to model identification. Engraving is organized by artist, by time period and by source. NRA condition classifications are extended further into finish and factory refinish, modifications, serial number integrity and grips. I did not realize there was such a big market for S&W stocks. Not only are stocks addressed, but so are manuals and boxes.

The organization is good. Not appearing strictly in model number order or date of production, S&W revolvers are broken into groups such as "Tip Up", "Top Break", "Single Shot", "Early Hand Ejector", "Modern Hand Ejector", "Semi-Auto....". It really isn't so difficult for even a novice to navigate and there is a good solid model number index at the back of the book. Covered firearms are all S&W handguns through the S&W 460 and S&W 500 chambers, long guns, boxes, cases, and even AR 15 types of current production. Individual model entries are not sketchy. As an example, just one line listings of Model 10 specials and variations went on for two full pages. Model descriptions are very full, unique characteristics in product or packaging indicated, dates of production and production counts are present in each case. To some extend, branded general merchandise is also covered; knives, belt buckles, etc.

The book is an excellent value.

The Smith & Wesson Legend.......2007-05-13

All the revolvers/automatics that made Smith & Wesson famous along with the boxes/accessories that made them "complete" are shown in excellent detail. Serial/model numbers are listed with amazing accuracy along with information about the engineering changes and reason for them. A "must have" for anyone interested in these legendary firearms.

Great Book.......2007-05-13

This guide is the essential book for Smith & Wesson collectors. Written by two fellows that are always willing to respond to questions from anyone about the topic. Must reading

Average customer rating:

Making Bent Willow Furniture

Nice little book on the craft, worth owning if interested in subject

Great resource for do-it-yourselfers!

Making Bent Willow Furniture (The Rustic Home Series)
Brian Cameron , and Brenda Cameron
Manufacturer: Storey Publishing, LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Furniture & Carpentry | Woodworking | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
General | Industrial, Manufacturing & Operational Systems | Engineering | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
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Making Gypsy Willow Furniture: Step-By-Step Guide to Making Rustic Furniture (Schiffer Book for Woodworkers)

Making Bentwood Trellises, Arbors, Gates & Fences (Rustic Home Series)

Green Wood for the Garden: 15 Easy Weekend Projects Using Freshly Cut Wood

A Bend In The Willows

Rustic Garden Furniture & Accessories: Making Chairs, Planters, Birdhouses, Gates & More

ASIN: 158017048X

Amazon.com

People have gathered and used willow for many centuries in furniture of great variety and beauty. The Camerons have written a book to show anyone the proper ways to prepare willow, assemble and maintain the right tools, and learn the basics of willow-crafting techniques. They then describe beginning and advanced ideas and plans for baskets, children's furniture, tables and chairs, headboards, a fanciful "Gypsy Willow Chair," mirror frames, plant stands, and more. With lovely, hand-drawn diagrams throughout and color photographs of some of the finished projects, the Camerons have provided readers with all the basics of bent-willow furniture making. --Mark A. Hetts

Book Description

Rustic is "in" and with this illustrated, step-by-step guide, beginners and experienced crafters alike can easily make rustic willow furniture and decorative items for their home, yard, and garden. The craft that Brenda and Brian Cameron share in Making Bent Willow Furniture has traditionally been passed down from generation to generation. Now with their simple instructions and wide range of beginning to advanced projects, everyone can enjoy making bent willow furnishings that bring the serenity and beauty of the outdoors to any decorating scheme. Beginning projects include a quilt ladder, garden tool caddy, plant stand, hanging baskets, and children's table and chair. Once readers have mastered the technique, they can move on to more

Customer Reviews:

Making Bent Willow Furniture.......2007-05-14

Very good Book. Clear and easy instructions. I'm excited to start on my new projects now.

Nice little book on the craft, worth owning if interested in subject.......2006-08-16

My family's farm has a lot of otherwise useless Willows growing along a creek, I thought I'd get this book and see if I could make some use of them.

It's a nice little book with an intro section featuring color photos of the projects and some history of willow furniture making. This is followed by chapters on gathering and preparing your materials and the tools you'll be needing.

The bulk of the book consists of detailed instructions, parts lists, diagrams and other bits about each project. It does appear that there's plenty of information to get you going. From my reading it doesn't look too hard to make a chair but it is a little more involved than I expected.

I'll try it someday but first I think I'll also get "Making Gypsy Willow Furniture" and "A Bend in the Willows: The Art of making Rustic Furniture", both available here at Amazon. That way I'll have even more information on the subject.

Great resource for do-it-yourselfers!.......1998-07-07

Making Bent Willow Furniture has terrific projects and is very easy to follow. The illustrations and step-by-step instructions made it easy to build the chair on the front cover during a weekend family camping trip. I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes to complete building projects in the same decade they started them!

Average customer rating:

Making Bent Willow Furniture
Brenda; Cameron, Brian Cameron
Manufacturer: Storey Publishing, LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000NZS3TM

Book Description

Since the sixties, musicians have been outspoken and powerful proponents for social change, making them a threat to those eager to maintain the status quo. Typically fond of drugs, they also make easy targets for investigation and exploitation. In this comprehensive look at more than a dozen suspect rock star deaths, conspiracy researcher Alex Constantine delves into the secrets that the record industry, organized crime, and even the FBI and CIA don't want uncovered. Unearthing recent - and successful - assassination plots against Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. as well as new information on the tragic deaths of Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, and John Lennon, this long-overdue report offers disturbing evidence that there may be more behind these deaths than accident, psychosis, and indulgence.

Customer Reviews:

Good but not great read. Interesting none the less........2006-11-20

The Covert War Against Rock explores the unanswered questions and disinformation surrounding the deaths of several rock stars. This was good, but not great. Lots of interesting stuff in this but I think in most of these cases Constantine tries way too hard to connect the dots and show government and/or organized crime complicity in some of these deaths. Just because the FBI had a file on them or they associated with gangsters in the music business doesn't mean they were murdered. That being said, although there is no definitive proof, I lean heavily toward there being government or criminal involvement in the deaths of John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix and Brian Jones. All you people that think Jim Morrison faked his death should just forget about it. I think he just got into his girlfriends heroin stash and overdosed.

Alex is insane.......2005-10-04

What a terrible book. To even entertain the theory that Bob Marley died b/c the CIA INJECTED melanoma skin cancer into him is insane. It can not be done, so to push that conspiracy is plain irresponsible.

Bad excuse for a book. The author is a joke.

Dopey people on dope........2005-01-06

You'll get no congratulations here on your book: This is just another paranoid attempt to slam the U.S. government, for the deaths of some dopey rockers on dope. Wake up" there should be no big mystery as to why these people died. They all lived lives of excess filled with drugs and alcohol, a bunch of fallen stars who burned out way before their time, except for lennon and topac who were shot to death, the others died the way they lived FAST" You see there's no big mystery to their deaths after all, just a few star struck americans who refuse to see their rock and roll idols, for what they really were.

Get An Editor!.......2004-05-02

With a writing style vaguely reminescent of Francis E. Deck, Alex Constantine has produced what is surely one of the most badly written books in publication today. I actually found myself howling with laughter at the sheer inelegance of it. There are many interesting allegations in this book, but most of the footnotes reference other books rather than actual source documents. Get an editor, Alex!!!!

Disturbing but Courageous Reportage.......2003-11-04

Why has it taken so long for this book to appear? Obviously, Jimi Hendrix did not perish from a heroin overdose, as the media-at-large had it at the time ... so why have so few journalists bothered to investigate the true cause of death? The same holds true for the "death by misadventure" of Brian Jones, founder of the Rolling Stones. Several witnesses to Jones's MURDER were intimidated into silence, told to keep their mouths shut or they would be next, but have nevertheless recently come forward -- yet the VICTIM is still blamed for his own tragic demise -- to the present day. We, as a culture, revel in bullying, scapegoating and lying to ourselves. This book -- highly informative and colorfully-written -- is a case study in fascist conspiracies and the ""Good Germans" in the press who have allowed them to thrive like poison toads in America's tumultuous cultural garden. The Left should seize upon this book as an indictment of a criminalized intelligence community, and a lesson in journalism.

Customer Reviews:

A Polonophobic Account of Questionable Factuality.......2007-09-11

Compared with other books on Treblinka escapees, this one, serially written by Miriam and Saul Kuperhand (hereafter MK and SK), is a disappointment. Written decades after the events (p. vii), it contains obvious misstatements and non-objectivity. Thus, the AK was disbanded in 1945, not 1939 (p. xiii). The Polish Army held out for five weeks in 1939, not two (p. 15). MK frivolously accuses some assailants of belonging to the AK (p. 76). Indeed, editor Alan Adelson admits as much (p. xiii).

The accounts of Treblinka itself contain whoppers. SK describes the deportation of Siemiatycze's Jews (including himself), in November 1942 (pp. 104-105), to Treblinka, where the dead were promptly cremated (p. 105; which SK claims to have seen with his own eyes: p. 137). Pointedly, the cremations at Treblinka (both previously-buried and newly-killed) didn't begin until early 1943, some 2-3 months later! Elsewhere, SK speaks of Treblinka's crematories (p. 109, 140) and crematoria chimneys (p. 110, 137). In actuality, there never were any crematories or chimneys at Treblinka! (Bodies were burned in massive open-air pyres).

Do the foregoing inaccuracies imply the fictionalization of much of this book? Let the reader decide.

MK denies widespread Jewish-Communist collaboration, yet makes the following revealing statement: "I had no compunctions about cooperating with our Russian occupiers." (p. 16), despite the fact that: "I did not understand the precariousness of our situation with the Nazis just a few kilometers away." (p. 16). MK expresses dismay over the Poles' 1941 cheering of the invading Nazis into Soviet-occupied Poland (p. 21), without mentioning that this was their (temporary) deliverance from the Gulags.

It would be a mistake to think that fugitive Jews resorted to thievery and armed robbery of Poles only when they had no other means of getting provisions. Indeed, a band of Treblinka escapees immediately threatened a farmer at gunpoint (p. 130), and waylaid individual farmers who were transporting goods (pp. 132-133). On another occasion, the Jewish band held a farmer hostage (p. 153). Given such events, and as word got around, is it surprising that some Polish peasants came to see fugitive Jews as adversaries rather than victims? And to believe German propaganda that portrayed fugitive Jews as bandits who should be denounced or liquidated?

MK repeats the familiar Polonophobic accusation of Polish Jew-hunters being much more common then Polish benefactors (p. 51). This has been disproved by careful studies (e. g., Paulsson, Chodakiewicz).

The accounts of Poles denouncing and killing fugitive Jews, reported by both Kuperhands (e. g., p. 46, 50-51,156), are unmistakably secondary. Hearsay! Their only eyewitness experience of such a comparable incident was at the hands of common criminals (smugglers) of unidentified nationality (pp. 65-67).

Let's focus on two anti-Polish accounts. SK, who was housed by peasant Anthony Shlewanowsky, reports that Shlewanowsky had warned him about a nearby peasant, Maximiuk, who allegedly took some Jews in, fed them and built a shelter for them, and, that very night, suffocated them in their shelter (pp. 140-141). Did Shlewanowsky know this for a fact? Why go to the trouble of feeding some Jews, and especially constructing a shelter for them, only to turn around and kill them? And is it probable that a near-surface rustic shelter was so airtight that it could be used to asphyxiate its inhabitants? Peasants are good storytellers. What if Maximiuk (who, BTW, sounds Ukrainian), just made up this lurid tale in order to scare Jews away from his property? Ditto for the story, told by one Polish farmer, of another Polish farmer who was said to have turned-in his Jewish-butcher friend (p. 50).

Now consider the tale of a Jewish mother and children in the forest, being denounced by a Pole, begging for life and then pleading to be allowed to cover her children with a blanket before they were all shot by a German (pp. 149-150). One of her sons, a ten year-old, away from the hideout at the time, spotted the Germans and ran away. How could he have seen and heard such details (including the Polish ethnicity of the denouncer) if he was already at a safe distance and running further away? Assuming he simply heard Polish being spoken, how could he know that the denouncer was not a Polish-speaking Ukrainian or German (Volksdeutsche)?

Invaluable for anyone from Semiatycze or nearby, Poland.......1999-06-08

This book is a double account of escaping death during the Holocaust in Poland by a couple that is now married. Before these two met, they each had their own horrifying adventures of survival in the Polish countryside as well as in Treblinka. It is well written and a great source of information about what happened in the cities and towns after the Jews were evacuated, how escaped Jews survived in the woods and how the local Poles signed the Jews death warrants by violence and informing. A touching account of desperation and survival during the worst of times. This book leaves you feeling the sting of hunger, hate and abandonment as well as love, redemption and personal triumph.

In the Shadow of Treblinka - the destruction of Sokolov-Podolski - Yiddish

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In the Shadow of Treblinka - the destruction of Sokolov-Podolski - Yiddish
Symcha Polakiewicz
Manufacturer: Survivors of Sokolov-Pod.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000PWHCEU

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Shadows of Treblinka
Miriam and Saul Kuperhand, Alan Adelson Kuperhand
Manufacturer: University of Illinois Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OPZBQE

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