No comments about Celtic Gold/Voyage Around Ireland.

No comments about Tourist and Motoring Atlas: Great Britain & Ireland (Road Atlas).

No comments about Ireland for Kids (For Kids).

5 comments about Soviets: Pictures from the End of the U.S.S.R..

1. Having traveled in Russia during the Soviet era, I believe that Sherbell, in words and images, has captured the essence of the latter stages of the Empire. The picures and text show a deep understanding and appreciation of the problems of the Soviet system. More importantly, the beauty, humanity and resiience of the Russian people come shining through. It is a terrific photo book.



2. One can always tell looking at a book if the photographer was just a "tourist" in the area, on a brief assignment from a magazine, or if he really "lived" in the story and made it part of his life. There have been numerous failed attempts by western photographers to capture this period of history. Shepard Sherbell's book is different. He obviously not only put his heart into every image, he made this work a part of his life, spending several years in Moscow and in different Soviet republics before, during and after the USSR fell apart. His photographs speak about the human spirit, the dignity of the people, their feelings and day to day worries. It is well balanced.
   But for someone unfamiliar with the subject the advise is - don't try to "consume" all the images at once. The material is too rich. One has to sink into the book little by little, explore it and revisit it again and again.



3. Sherbell is a master of his craft. He takes the reader on a virtual tour of the former Soviet Union. This talented photographer manages to convey the personality and texture of a complex country and period of history with sensitivity and wit.

   "Soviets" is a book that is best savoured one page at a time. The photographs are matched only by the text which, unlike many photography books, adds another level to the work. This is a book that could be placed in the history section of any library as easily as photography.




4. Whether or not you ever visited the Soviet Union in its dying days, Shepard Sherbell's photographs will grab you. His images of that moribund nation reveal the darkest secrets of the U.S.S.R. Those of us who lived through those final moments will recognize the chilling faces of a great power in demise. The crumbling buildings, cracking monuments and crushed spirits of a once-mighty state are beautifully portrayed in this book. It's an eyewitness to a land of infinite impossibilities.

   Make no mistake: THE SOVIETS is not another collection of snapshots from Red Square and the Bolshoi Theater. Instead, its pages are populated with glimpses into the real life of that now-extinct country. Unless you'd lived there, this is a side of the Soviet Union you probably never saw.

   Brace yourself.




5. The pictures are elegant even if the subject isn't. Very beautiful book. Know that the book is not intended to show you all aspects of life in Soviet Russia. It focuses more on the downside of life.

No comments about The Secret Places of the West Cork Coast.

1 comments about Claws of the Crab: Georgia and Armenia in Crisis.

1. Book Review

   Brook, Stephen. Claws of the Crab: Georgia and Armenia in Crisis. Sinclair-Stevenson, 1992.

   This is another treasure of a book about the Caucasus that I unearthed from the bowels of the Wandsworth Public Library system in south London. Only one other person had borrowed it, back in September 1999 when I was working in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi. Reading this book, I discovered that Stephen Brook had got there before me when all the exciting stuff was happening at the start of the nineties. Independence from the Soviet Union, the overthrow of the tyrannical president Zviad Gamsakhurdia and the battles for Nagorno Karabakh - Brook was there or thereabouts. Studiedly sympathetic to the Armenians and guardedly admiring of the Georgians, Claws of the Crab is a rare eyewitness account of many of the events that made independent Georgia and Armenia what they are today. Suffice to say that there's been remarkably little change since the book's completion in 1992.

No comments about Discover the Essence of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.

No comments about Keep One Suitcase Empty: The Bargain Shopper's Guide to the Best Factory Outlets in England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.

No comments about Nordic Landscapes: Region and Belonging on the Northern Edge of Europe.

5 comments about Spy on the Roof of the World.

1. As a Indian I was naturaly drawn to read an account of a brit mountaineer who was engaged in a spying operation for the Indian army...

   The feat of endurance is graphically elucidated by the author and is replete with descriptions of the freezing cold and the hardy spirit of the mountain people




2. This book goes into the period just after the Chinese 'liberation' of Tibet and the war with India due to their land grabbing.
   The author has written out of personal experience, and his lack of writing skills must be excused. Sometimes the narrative might get kinda boring, but the work has to be read as a historical gem rather than an interesting story.
   Goes into good detail about the crimes committed by the Chinese against the Tibetans.
   A very good read.



3. A truly amazing story with right dosage of travelogue, high altitude mountaineering, History of India, Nepal, China & Tibet's along with the behind the scenes patriotism of Indian army and of self centered Nehru & Menon. A must read for who truly believe in the cause of Tibet's Liberation!



4. This is the best book I have ever read, on any topic. My husband and I had to move to a new house with two extra bedrooms and a finished basement - just so we could accomodate all our books. So I don't say lightly that this is the best book I have ever read.
   
   This is a great survival story, but, more than that, it is an amazing human drama. Other reviewers have done an excellent job of describing the plot, so I'll just say that Sydney Wignall's writing is clear, detailed, and emotionally charged. This book is amazingly powerful.
   
   Read this book!



5. I read this book sometime ago and was thrilled and captivated by it! I could not put it down. It was so unusual and so interesting - a view point of the Chinese by a Scotsman (who worked as a spy for the Indian army that he loved and respected, in addition to climbing the treacherous Gurla Mandhata, which had been his lifelong mountaineering ambition as a member of the Scottish Himalayan Club) who suffered being captured, imprisoned and tortured by them. All of this and subtly funny throughout! I could not put the book down until I had finished reading all of it! Tellingly, this adventure cured the author of his mountaineering passion.
   
   I highly for recommend it as a movie worth producing by Hollywood or Bollywood - within the next 5 years. I predict that this will be a blockbuster unlike any other!