The French troops are marching intoRussia and the two Russian leaders, Prince Bagration and the German Barclay de Tolly, represent two conflicting and opposing forces within the Russian army. Prince Bagration has the advantage since the Russians don’t like the Germans too much.
Article first published as Book Review: The Hunger Angel by Herta Müller on Blogcritics. About: The Hunger Angel by Herta Müller is a German novel taking place in a Soviet forced labor camp at the end of World War II. Ms. Müller won the 2009 Nobel Prize in Literature. 304 pages Publisher: Metropolitan Books Language: English ISBN-10: 080509301X My rating for The Hunger Angel – 4 Buy this book in paper or electronic format* More Books by Herta Müller Check out this & more World War II books on Man of la BookStore Thoughts: The Hunger Angel by Herta Müller takes place in 1945, when the Soviet Union demanded that all Romanian Germans who are 17 to 45 years of age be relocated to forced labor camps in order to help rebuild the devastated nation. According to the author’s note at the end of the book, she spent many hours talking to poet Oskar Pastior who suffered under the decree. Müller filled four notebooks with Mr. Pastior’s testimony until 2006, when he suddenly passed away. This is an extraordinary book about the hardships the German people faced after the war, as Leo Auberg, the protagonist states: “To this day, the hunger angel speaks out of your mouth. But no matter what he says, this…
The novel starts off with a section in which Tolstoy writes his thoughts about the nature of historic action. At first this annoyed me (as I continued reading I discovered that this was not unique to this section) because it seems to bring the story to a grinding halt. At firs this type of meditations annoyed me, but the more I read the more I realized that Tolstoy was keeping to the theme of War & Peace, the human condition. Only instead of pontificating on the subject of human condition while telling the story of a bunch of disgusting and somewhat less disgusting people, Tolstoy turns the table on the readers and discusses the subject on a much bigger scale.
Article first published as Book Review: Michael Douglas: A Biography by Marc Eliot on Blogcritics About: Michael Douglas by Marc Eliot is a biography of the famous actor/producer. Mr. Douglas is an award winning actor and producer who had his share of ups and downs yet always managed to capture attention. 352 pages Publisher: Crown Archetype (September 18, 2012) Language: English ISBN-10: 0307952363 My rating for Michael Douglas: A Biography – 4 Buy this book in paper or electronic format* More Books by Mark Eliot Thoughts: Michael Douglas by Marc Eliot (website) highlights the accomplishments in Mr. Douglas’ professional and personal career as well as what influenced and drove the man to achieve such levels of height and fame. Mr. Eliot concentrates on Douglas’ competitive nature as well as his relationship with his parents, especially his famous father. The relationship between Michael and Kirk Douglas is the cornerstone of this book. The author even encompasses a mini-biography of Kirk Douglas, from his defining childhood as a son to Jewish Russian immigrants and his success as a movie star to his recent stroke. Once the reader understands Kirk, we can understand Michael and the love/hate relationship which defined much of young…
About: The Mirrored World by Debra Dean is a fictional account of the life of St. Xenia. The novel takes place in St. Petersburg, Russia during the 18th Century. The publisher is giving away one copy of this book— use the Rafflecopter form at the end of the post to enter. 256 pages Publisher: Harper Language: English ISBN-10: 0061231452 My rating for The Mirrored World – 2 Buy this book in paper or electronic format More Books by Debra Dean Thoughts: The Mirrored World by Debra Dean (Facebook) is has an interesting premise – the life of a Russian saint. This is one of those books where everything is wonderful, but for me the sum of the parts simply didn’t come together to create a whole. The subject is interesting, the time period fascinating, the writing is lyrical and the novel certainly captures a dreamy state of time and place. However, the book simply failed to capture my interest. Even though I appreciated the styling, effort and talent that went into the writing, I found myself having a difficult time reading the novel. I never got vested in any of the characters, I simply didn’t care about them at all. The best…
Article first published as Book Review: Shadow on the Mountain by Margi Preus on Blogcritics. About: Shadow on the Mountain by Margi Preus is a historical fiction novel which comfortably fits in the YA category. This is a well researchedand exciting book despite its intended audience. 304 pages Publisher: Harry N. Abrams; 8-page insert of color photos edition Language: English ISBN-10: 1419704249 My rating for Shadow on the Mountain – 4 Buy this book in paper or electronic format More Books by Margi Preus Check out this & more World War II books on Man of la BookStore Thoughts: Shadow on the Mountain by Margi Preus (website) takes place in Norway during World War II and follows the adventures of a boy named Espen. As any good historical fiction novel, the book combines actually historical events while exploring the emotional nature which these events caused. Norway was an important target for the Nazi regime, not because of it is strategically importance, but because of their Aryan look. Hitler clearly hoped to “marry” Germany and Norway in order to produce his vision of the ultimate master race (blond hair, blue eyes and fair skin). However, many Norwegians were against everything the Nazis stood for and resisted bravely. One interesting aspect of the…
Military Strategy… can books get anymore interesting? Reading about heroics in battle is the stuff which makes books exciting, but strategy is what makes them interesting. Heck, The Hunger Games is about strategy as much as the Killer Angels is even though they are two very different styles of storytelling and genre. Of course there is the grandaddy of all military strategy books, The Art of War which is being talked about today as much as it was many moons ago. The lessons in these books do not belong only on the battlefield, but in everyday life whether at home or in business. Check them out, let me know what you think. Check out the books below, I only found one for free but the rest are $0.99 at the time this post was written. Authors: If you’d like your book to be featured on Tightwad Tuesdays please email me. Harold’ The Last of The Saxon Kings [Illustrated] by Edward Bulwer-Lytton Digital List Price: $0.99 Print List Price: $18.98 Kindle Price: $0.95 includes free wireless delivery via Amazon Whispernet You Save: $18.03 (95%) Harold Godwinson, (1022 – October 14, 1066 A.D.) also known as Harold II, is widely regarded as the…
I figured I’ll do something a bit different today then I usually do and instead of looking for books by a particular subject or genre, I’d see what I can find from the NYT Bestseller’s list. While there aren’t many free books from this supercilious prestigious list, there are some good bargains. Enjoy! Please note: The prices for the post are current at the time of the post, please pay attention to make sure they haven’t changed before purchase. Authors: If you’d like your book to be featured on Tightwad Tuesdays please email me. The Hunger Games Tribute Guide by Emily Seife Digital List Price: $7.99 Print List Price: $7.99 Kindle Price: $1.60 includes free wireless delivery via Amazon Whispernet You Save: $6.39 (80%) The New York Times bestselling Hunger Games is now a major motion picture — and here is the ultimate guide to the all the tributes in the 74th annual Hunger Games!Here is the ultimate guide to the twenty-four tributes participating in Panem’s 74th annual Hunger Games. Follow the tributes’ journey from the reaping to the Games, with a look at all the highlights along the way–the Tribute Parade, the stations of the Training Center, the interviews, and…
So far, this was the shortest part of War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy and also the least dramatic. This part, it seems to me, is a setup for things which are upcoming in the novel.
The part which I mostly enjoyed in this section is the wolf hunt. Tolstoy goes into the minds of the wolf as well as the hunting dogs and the reader gets to share their thoughts and excitement. The way the wolf hunt was written reminded me greatly of the great battle scenes earlier in the book.
Andrei is on his way to visit the Rostovs, on the way he sees an old, weathered oak and identifies with it, continuing on he sees a young girl which is full of life and spontaneous. The Count invites Andrei to spend the night, which he readily accepts. From his window, Andrei can hear the girl he saw earlier, Natasha, who is enamored by the moonlit night. Andrei feels his world weariness going away, being replaced by hope. On his way back, Andrei sees that same old oak tree sprouting new leaves.
