Book Description

Each of the four books in this box set offers a different perspective of America's role in World War II and life on the homefront -- that of an American soldier; a Japanese-American internee; a soldier's daughter; and the daughter of a reporter in Pearl Harbor, Hawaiil. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Park's Quest
I would give Park's Quest by Katherien Paterson four stars. I have to admit I was confused when the flash back to Midieval Times started. The book was about 11-year-old Park who tries to find imformation on his father's clouded past. But Park finds something he never would of imagined. The ending of the book was excellent with discriptive words and great sentences. But the beginning of the book was dull. Otherwise it was a good book. I would recomend this book to anyone who likes Historical Fiction.

boy uncovers truth about his father
I picked this up for 25p at Bookworld in Edinburgh, and it was good for the price. Katherine Paterson writes well, but this book does not have the complexity or the punch of Bridge to Teribithia. Park, an eleven year old boy lives with his mother. His father died in Vietnam, but his mother won't talk about him. At Park's insistance, he is allowed to go on a visit for two weeks to his father's family, where he finds out about the family history. Park is fascinated with stories about King Arthur and knights and chivalry, and he often day dreams about his life and his father in those terms. Predictably, the truth is a grim contrast.

This is not a particularly happy or comforting story. Nor does it have the emotional depth of Katherine Paterson's other books. I would not have liked it much when I was in the 10-12 age-group. At 27, it was worth the 40 minutes it took to read.

Park's Quest
I didn't really like this book because it didn't make sense. It didn't make sense because he daydreamed so much you didn't know if he was daydreaming or not. I also didn't like it becuse the words werent discribed that well. Another reason I didn't like it was because it was confusing. It was confusing because it sounded all scrambled up.

Park's Quest
Ididn't really like this book because it didn't make sense. It didn't make sense because he daydreamed so much you didn't no if he was daydreaming or not. I also didn't like it becuse the words werent discribed that well. Another reason I didn't like it was because it was confusing. It was confusing because it sounded all scrambled up.

Park's Quest
Katherine Paterson is one of my very favorite authors. As a young child, I read many of her books including The Great Gilly Hopkins, Bridge to Terabithia, and Jacob Have I Loved. I recently finished reading Park's Quest as an assignment for my college children's literature class. As I began reading Park's Quest, I must admit that I was confused when Park, the main character, went back and forth between his character and an Arthurian knight of old on a quest. It took me a long while to figure out why Park switched to speaking/thinking as if he were a knight. But once figuring it out, that he (Park) was on a quest to find out more about his father who was killed in the Vietnam War, the concept of the Arthurian knight made sense. Since Park's mother does not inform him of his father, he begins searching for his father's roots and family. As Park investigates more about his father and family he gathers startling and important information to help him along his 'quest.' Does Park find the true history about his father, is the question that the reader has the whole time while reading the book. This book by Paterson is cleverly written to keep the reader wondering the whole time and engaged in the book until the last words. ... Read more

Book Description

From the American Revolution to the Gulf War, this encyclopedia provides a broad picture of the United States' role, including biographies of the notable figures and quiet heroes, discussions of the mood of the country, timelines, maps, descriptions of weapons, eyewitness accounts, and more. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A valuable history reference for schools and homes.
This encyclopedia fills an important gap in the libraries of many schools- it chronicles the participation of the US in all the major wars, from the American Revolution to the Gulf War. Very different from the overly gung-ho, dusty tomes which turn many students off history altogether, this book uses photographs and contemporary illustrations to great effect, and provides a very balanced view of the role of the US- this book is not afraid to discuss how the Native Americans were cheated out of their lands, media censorship in wartime, anti-Vietnam protests, and other issues that show the other side of wartime. While doing that, it also provides an account of the military strategies and campaigns, using maps to great effect. The book also provides short looks at important military figures, and ordinary soldiers, and explains each campaign in a fresh way that is guaranteed to hook student readers. I believe this book would also be ideal for any adult interested in the history of the US. Authors Tom Jones and June English have previously written a book together, 'Mission: Earth', about Tom Jones's experiences as a US astronaut- also highly recommended. I hope that this duo will continue to write books so useful for modern schools. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Hidden arrows, Poisoned King, and Buried Treasure!
Rich with exciting historical details, The Emperor's Silent Army: Terracotta Warriors of Ancient China by Jane O'Connor offers a well-researched book that tantalizes the reader with tales of a poisoned King, a camouflaged dead body, and a booby-trapped tomb. The targeted audience of ages 9-12 will thrill with the adventure while simultaneously profiting from their newfound knowledge of China's first Emperor, Qin Shihuang, and his war and burial customs. Heavily strewn with color photographs, computer images, maps, drawings, and charts, the book easily captures interest and successfully holds attention with its succinct wording and short chapters that directly complement the images.
Jane O'Connor's career spanning roles as editor-at-large, president of mass market children's books at Penguin, and prolific author is crowned by her most recent gem, The Emperor's Silent Army: Terracotta Warriors of Ancient China. Realizing that no children's books had thoroughly documented the world wonder discovered in China, O'Connor successfully fills the void. This book is a must for any library!
The only negative aspect is that the book fails to be part of a larger history series since once the book is read, the reader will want to read more. The detailed bibliography and author's note provide a scope for further reading on the Terracotta Warriors, but readers will long to learn the same concise and tantalizing information on other subjects as well! Hopefully, Jane O'Connor will follow with more books to engage children and adults since The Emperor's Silent Army: Terracotta Warriors of Ancient China masterfully explores its subject. ... Read more

Book Description

When Nancy Mace entered the Citadel, the United States government had just recently overturned the ruling that women were not allowed to enter the "Corps of Cadets." Having grown up in a military family, Nancy was not unfamiliar with the harsh realities of military life. But upon entering those imposing gates. Nancy soon found out that she wasn't just fighting the tradition of the corps, but the culture and city that surrounded it.

Steeped in tradition and lore, the grand bastion known as El Cid is considered one of the South's most infamous and controversial institutions. Built in 1842, it has turned out a unique brand of Southern man -- and now woman. This is the true account of one young woman's battle to be a part of the long gray line. ... Read more

Reviews (16)

Golden Ticket to Ride
I graduated from this wonderful institution known to all as The Citadel, to some as Pure Hell, and to the Mace's as their fumbling fortress.It is a total sham, everything in that book except for the names and locations.Those are true, but unless you were there at that time, or there at all, you will never get the truth.Conroy's Lord's of Discipline held more legitimacy than this book.And we all know when a book is written by 2 people, the first person spoke and the second person actually wrote.
There has yet to be a truly accurate depiction of The Citadel- maybe someone with a little bit of INTEGRITY (part of what the Citadel stresses) will set the facts straight.Until then, this book may give a few good laughs, but all in all, its more of a wive's tale than anything else.

Mostly accurate -- A story that needed to be told, though
To prove that much of what Ms. Mace states in her book is true, I, as a male cadet, waited until I was on a break at home to read her book.Being the son of a mother who graduated from a military academy, I entered this institution with a much different perspective than most incoming cadets.What I have seen and experienced over the years has blown my mind.

Nancy Mace's book does exaggerate a few things, here and there.. and as the other alum wrote, she does write about stories that are 100% common to every knob's experience (in other words, not unique to her trials).. but still, being one of the first women at this school had to be an experience unlike anything that any normal person could imagine.Whether other, narrow-minded, disgruntled old grads want to admit it, or not, Nancy Mace DID do something special...something that no other person had accomplished.Her story needed to be told, and was done so in an extremely easy-to-read, and frank fassion.

In trhe Company of Men
In 1999 Nancy Mace became the first woman to graduate from The Citadel, a military academy in Charleston, SC. The Citadel is steeped in tradition --- a tradition that included a men-only admissions policy until a court order forced the school to admit a woman in 1995. That woman, Shannon Faulkner, lasted only one week. When her turn came, Mace was determined to make it to graduation. IN THE COMPANY OF MEN: A Woman at The Citadel tells her story bluntly and honestly.

Most of IN THE COMPANY OF MEN details Mace's first semester at The Citadel. Freshman year is the most challenging year at The Citadel --- which is saying a lot since no year there is a walk in the park. Freshmen at The Citadel are referred to as "knobs" --- a reference to their shaved heads --- and are forced to live under the "fourth class system," which greatly restricts their freedom and allows upperclassmen to make their lives miserable in a variety of ways. The year is difficult for all who enter The Citadel, but for Mace and the three women who entered the school with her, the challenge was infinitely increased.

The school, its administration, students, and backers were all faced with hard questions. How short should a woman's hair be cut? What sizes do the uniforms need to be? How do you deal with a soldier who menstruates? How do you keep women knobs safe in an atmosphere where they are resented by their classmates, by upperclassmen, by alumni, and --- most oddly --- by the wives and girlfriends of Citadel students past and present? None of these questions were hypothetical for Mace. As she addresses them in her book, she does a fine job relating not only the actual occurrences, but her own emotions. She does not shy away from the feelings of helplessness that sometimes threatened to overwhelm her; nor does she turn her tale into a list of grievances for wrongs suffered, as she finds humor in many situations that may not have seemed funny at the time.

Mace's story of perseverance, both mental and physical, is inspiring. IN THE COMPANY OF MEN is not, however, a prettified tale of adversity overcome. Mace's language is direct and occasionally peppered with obscenities, and her assessments of her classmates, instructors, and the upperclassmen are unyielding --- as is her assessment of herself throughout the book.

Mace spends some pages detailing her second semester at The Citadel, including a moving description of the final challenges a knob faces before being released from the "fourth class system." The two years leading up to her graduation are summarized too briefly. A more complete description of her life as an upperclassmen --- during which knobs were subject to her whims --- would have been interesting and would have provided a better transition to the graduation scenes that end the book. Nevertheless, IN THE COMPANY OF MEN is a fascinating look at The Citadel and at the kind of person who can make it from knob to Citadel graduate.

--- Reviewed by Rob Cline (rjbcline@aol.com)

In the Company of Men Review
By Emma

Before reading In the Company of Men, I disliked all biographies and autobiographies, but while reading about Nancy Mace's life, my opinion changed.This autobiography is a funny, touching, and compelling true story about the first women to graduate from the Citadel, a strict military collage with much discipline and hazing.This is a great book, mainly for girls and women, that realizes how hard it was when men were considered superior.It gives the important message that even though the world will always be filled with mean and hurtful people, it is possible to accomplish anything, even the impossible.That is what Nancy Mace did; she was the first woman ever to graduate from the Citadel, something that seemed impossible for women before her.All females should read this book, even if they aren't interested in the military.This is a terrific autobiography!

The greatest cadet ever! (According to the writer)
This book is as vapid as it is untruthful.I have never seen anyone praise themselves so blatantly.This ghost-written book is nothing more than a collection of outtakes from the cadet manual, and random stories.
I am a graduate of this institution, and have nothing against the fact that it is now coed.But it should be noted that Petra Lovetinska, mentioned briefly as a roommate, was the first female to spend four years at The Citadel as opposed to the author's three.Petra made it through on her own accord, and her daddy wasn't the commandant.You also don't see her writing a book about how she single-handedly revolutionized the Corps of Cadets.Thank God for Nancy Mace. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A Concise History From A Very Human Perspective
This is an excellent history of World War I by a very skilled story-teller. It's a perfect book for young readers and a fascinating read for anyone interested in a concise overview of the war. Bosco also makes the human and personal side of the war experience come alive with a compassionate perspective through details often overlooked by others. I recommend it highly.

Amerca's participation in the Great War.
A summary of the First World War and America's participation in the war.I have read a number of summaries of World War I, but Bosco managed to make this interesting by making it concise and with some little known facts.The reader can easily understand the history behind the war with an investment of two hours reading this book.Although written for high school students, this book can be read by an adult wanting to know something about this event.America's participation is highlighted, due to the educational nature of this book.
A good quick read about World War I. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Superbly Written
I highly recommend this brief but superbly written synopsis of the Mexican War. Even though it is aimed at students, it does not talk down to the reader and really captures the events, political debates, protests, and ultimate outcome of the conflict. John Eisenhower's "So Far from God" and John Weems' "To Conquer a Peace" are good choices for those wanting a more in-depth look at the war, but for those shopping for a quicker, easier read, Nardo's book really fills the bill.

Very Well Done
A well written and kind of disturbing book about a war most Americans have pretty much forgotten. The author tells it like it is, or was to be more precise, without trying to gloss over the bad parts, for instance where Americans were lawbreakers, greedy, and sometimes warlike and brutal in their relations with the Mexicans. Those are the disturbing parts, because today we don't like to hear that our country can do things that we normally associate with guys like Saddam Hussain. But the story has to be told because it did happen and forgetting about the past is a big mistake, as some scholar once pointed out. For those who are unhappy about George W. Bush making it into the White House, I wonder what they would think of James K. Polk. They should read this book and find out what this guy did to make sure the country got its hands on Texas and California.

Moving, Highly Informative Writing
Historian Don Nardo has written numerous excellent books for young people, mostly about ancient times. I have had the good fortune to use some of them in teaching my high school history classes. I was not aware until now, however, that he is equally versed in American history. Most people today do not remember the Mexican War. That is probably due in part to the fact that it was a shameful affair, in which the United States quite literally launched an essentially unprovoked military aggression against a neighboring country, mainly out of greed for land and deep-seated racial and ethnic bias. Though Nardo does not take sides, since he is writing for studnets and must remain impartial, he allows the facts to speak for themselves. And those facts nearly leap from the pages. Numerous passages from books, newspapers, and official documents of the times provide copious documentaion worthy of scholarly history books (although Nardo is always careful to keep the writing clear and easy to understand). It is difficult, after reading this superlative treatment of the war, and especially the events leading up to it, to think about Texas in the same way I used to. The way this country acquired it was and will always remain a stain on American honor. Nardo must be congratulated for a job exceedinly well done. ... Read more

Book Description

August 6, 1945, 8:15 a.m.
Hiroshima. Japan

A little girl and her parents
are eating breakfast,
and then it happened.
HIROSHIMA NO PIKA.

This book is dedicated to
the fervent hope the Flash
will never happen again,
anywhere.
... Read more

Reviews (8)

A Good Book
I do not think this book is meant to be political. It is meant to tell the story of what happened to one little girl and her mother and father on one day. Other reviewers say that this book is faulty because it leaves out information about humanitarian atrocities being commited by the Japanese army. Suggesting that a picture book about one staggering day in the lives of one family is faulty -- because it leaves out the war crimes of the politicians in their country -- is denying the members of this family the right to simply be HUMAN -- to exist as their own people with their own visions and experiances outside of the political mechanics of their country. That is insulting and absolutely ridiculas.

Dark, stark, and unforgettably impactful
"Hiroshima No Pika" is a beautiful book about an ugly topic. The delicate watercolors adorning the pages of this thin volume are heavy with horror, and they give a real, first-person, child's perspective on the unprecedented nightmare that was the bombing of Hiroshima.

I don't like the way that so many reviewers attempt to diminish the power of this book, by placing it in certain contexts which implicitly subtract from its immediacy. Why not at least partly read it as it was intended -- as a testimonial of the confusing, unexpected, heartbreaking experiences of a seven year old girl trying to deal with an atom bomb destroying her hometown, her home, and much of her family? Your heart will break for little Mii, wandering among the ruins, and half-sleeping in a frightened daze for several days on a nearby beach.

Just to make sure that you are prepared for anything, you might want to know that most of the illustrations depict survivors with all their clothes burned off. Most of the book has nude images, so... know your audience! If you plan to share this with particularly immature boys, for example, you might want to be aware of this little fact in advance. The horror of the whole setting is so powerful that many readers will hardly even notice this, but I thought it bore mentioning.

Young readers today overwhelmingly tend to have little or no sense of the range of nuclear weapons, in terms of destructive power. I would like to encourage librarians, parents, or teachers who purchase this excellent book, to explain to their frightened little audiences that this is an account of a particular, specific, historic atomic blast. The power of such weapons today has an exponential range. For example, a small "dirty bomb" could literally constitute a couple of sticks of regular dynamite, combined with a few grams of radioactive strontium 90. At the other end of the spectrum, today's gigantic multi-megaton weapons, particularly those with multiple warheads, could deliver several thousand times as much destructive force as the Hiroshima bomb, in a single nanosecond. If you would like to prepare yourself to better answer such questions on the part of young readers, I would like to encourage you in the strongest imaginable terms to purchase a copy of "The New Nuclear Danger," by the pediatrician and human rights activist Dr. Helen Caldicott. "The New Nuclear Danger" has a really terrific bibliography at the end, including both websites and books.

The majority of people reading this review are likely to be from the USA, so I'd just like to quickly inject here a couple of relevant comments. World War II is an increasingly distant, misty memory for Americans on the whole. I think that this book makes us see how a horrible war can tend to define us, as little as we like to think that this can happen, in the eyes of ourselves and of others. Vietnam clearly engaged America as a divided "society," as opposed to engaging us as a united "nation." People enjoy the memories of the feeling of rebelling against the authority of our government -- hey, the 60s were an exhilarating time to be alive in the USA. Thinking about World War II, instead of Vietnam, can help us to see that, ultimately, the act of coming to terms with the wars we might wage should not be all about their divisive effect upon our own society, so much as it should be about the absolutely hideous, nightmarish, lethal horrors we can unleash upon the members of the societies we are attacking. "Hiroshima No Pika" makes this point both starkly and accessibly, and for this reason, among many others, it should be included in as many public and private collections as possible.

Emotional Journey
This book shows what atrocities of war can do to people, how they can affect innocent lives. Hiroshima No Pika(Hiroshima's Flash) is mostly focused on a child, Mii, and, as we all know, the bombing of Hiroshima in WWII.

The detailed descriptions of people dying all around make this book perhaps not one suited for young audiences. The semi-abstract and disturbing pictures further add to this effect.

Many of the reviews dis this book, claiming that it is "one-sided", and does not tell about some of the horrid things the Japanese did in WWII. Hiroshima No Pika is not about those things---it's purpose is to provide us with a glimpse of what happened that day, the fear, the confusion, and the lingering effects of the radiation. If you want to know about other crimes, I suggest you read another book, there are plenty out there.

A book that should not be at the center of a firestorm
The firestorm of debate over "Hiroshima No Pika" ("The Flash of Hiroshima") is quite interesting. From time to time on the news I have heard stories about the debate in Japan over how World War II is taught in Japanese schools, with regards to the atrocities committed. Certainly, Japan is not alone in having to deal with brutal aspects of its past, but let us just talk about Toshi Maruki's book "Hiroshima No Pika" for a moment, specifically in terms of the other reviews being offered on these pages.

First, this story is not about the victimization of all Japanese because of the bombing of Hiroshima. It is about what happened to the people of Hiroshima. In her "About This Book" comments in the back, Maruki tells us that this fictional story is based on the story of a survivor who tried to escape the Flash carrying her wounded husband upon her back and leading her child by the hand. But that woman also tells of how when she moved to Hokkaido the people there were not sympathetic or kind about her experiences, telling her she was trying to draw upon their pity. It seems to me that this book is clearly intended primarily for a Japanese audience and is in fact provides the sort of confrontation with the past for which other reviewers have called.

Second, with regards to Toshi Maruki in particular, her paintings have included the genocide during the Japanese occupation of Nanking. Obviously she cannot be dismissed as someone who has forgotten the atrocities committed by her nation during the war, whatever general charges you want to make against the Japanese as a people. I am not surprised that the American publishers of this book did not want to do one of Maruki's paintings of Nanking. The debate over Japan coming to terms with its past is worth having, but not over this particular book.

Third, yes this book has an emotional impact. Having your city destroyed in a single flash of light and being thrown into a nightmare of the dead and dying is going to be emotional, especially for an audience that knows all about radiation poisoning. I am part of the generation that had to learn "Duck and Cover" in school, who assumed that one day there would be a World War III and that it was going to be nuclear. Although "The Day After" turned the nuclear nightmare into actual images, the idea of a nuclear holocaust was ingrained in our fiction from "Dr. Strangelove" to "On the Beach" to "Star Trek." The people of Hiroshima are entitled to have their story told and Maruki's paintings do so on their behalf. I do not see anything monumentally wrong with that...

"Hiroshima No Pika" gives young readers a emotional sense of what it was like that day when the Flash came. I think it is inevitable that at some point students would ask why the bomb was dropped. At that point they can be made aware of the reasons. They can learn how Truman decided it would save American lives and end the war, which it certainly did. But it terms of paying back for atrocities committed by the Japanese in China, the Philippines and everywhere during World War II, the line I always heard was that we would not apologize for Hiroshima because the Japanese never apologized for Pearl Harbor. So to suggest the dropping of the atomic bomb was justified by these earlier atrocities seems to me to be obvious revisionist history.

Unfortunately - onesided leaving out facts.
This book is written by a Japanese Author who dwells on the fact that the bombing of Hiroshima was horrific,( yes it's true it was.)

And claims it was unjustified, well unfortunately if we really look at history we will find that the Imperial Japanese army was the instigator of the worst acts of inhumanity ever, 30 million chinese alone were slaughtered over 300,000 helpless women , children and men were tortured , skinned alive and brutalised in ways too crude to mention.

thousands of Europeans were detained in Japan and used as human testtubes for the Japanese doctors to perform live , often painful experiments on and then later were cruelly executed.

The fact that the Japanese ARmy hardly ever took prisoners and did not respect the code of honour outside as it applied to non Japanese, in fact prisoners were only taken if they needed labour or live targets for later bayonet practice.

These horrifying facts and the difficulty of actually invading a Japan that WAS not going to surrender at any cost.

Lead to the descision that something drastic had to be done to STOP the War and the tyranny of the Japanese in the pacific, Without sacrificing hundreds of thousand of allied personnel and millions more of Japanese civilians lives, so the bomb was dropped, and even after the bomb was dropped JApan still refused to surrender, until the second one was dropped thus bringing peace to the Pacific for hundreds of millions once again.

It is sad to see so many talking about the dropping of the bomb as an act of unwarranted aggression by the United States without looking carefully at the continuing inhumane acts that were being committed by the Imperial Japanese Army all throughout asia and the pacificin an effort to demonstrate their racial superiority at that time.

I live in Japan and even to this day Japanese children do not know anything about what their country did to so many nations in and around asia, the Japanese Government recently even went as far as eliminating the real facts referenced in the school textbooks and introduced a watered down version justifying Japans military force and denying that they did anything wrong or inhumane, whilst at the same time amplifying their belief that Japan was an innocent victim of the overly aggressive and inhumane Americans who don't value life.

It's time people made Japan look at the FACTS and stop mollycoddling them as if they were the victims of it all, lets pray for the poor souls that were sacrificed in the bombing in order to establish peace.

And lets make sure that everyone understands what horrendous acts the Japanese Imperial Army committed, and lets use the truth to prevent such further wars based on nationalism and pride and ego from evr happening again.

Peace. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Interesting and Useful
Micheal J. McAfee, the first author, is a long time accquaintance. He has been a curator at the West Point Military Academy Museum for many years. He is a Fellow of the Company of Military Historians, has been at times agovernor of the same, and is internationally known as an expert on theuniforms styled Zouaves, worn by U.S. forces in the Civil War, and based onthose worn by French forces raised in North Africa, which in turn wereinfluenced by the natives of the area and cut in the manner of theirclothing. He is well qualified to cover this subject. The second author J.Phillip Langellier,The author has produced a slew of photo studies withincisive text on the life and times of the U.S. soldier, and his Spanishand Mexican californio predecessors also. His specialty is in gatheringtogether contemporary source material for the illustrations. This methodhas the great virtue of showing what was what and when. But if no photosare available, then something may be omitted. All of these books arevertical studies covering a period of years. Though sometimes theillustrations serve to identify individual items of equipment, these worksare not intended for that purpose. They are not catalogs intended formateriel collectors. They are of such a length and of such a level ofdetail that they will serve the purposes of the general reader with acuriousity about what grandaddy did in WW II or great great great grandaddyin the Civil War and what he looked like and how he lived. This is not tosay that the specialist such as myself cannot find useful nuggets herein. Ican. I use these books in this G.I. series for general surveys of periods Ido not study in detail, such as the Civil War, and the War With Mexico,etc. I have yet to be disappointed with any of them. ... Read more