Average Rating:

.

A History of Modern Britain

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > History
by: Andrew Marr

May 02, 2008
Once I picked this book up I could not put it down.Memories came spinning back to this fifties boy.I came up through most of these times and so I could relate to this modern history.Andrew Marr has handled the political side very well in this book and has managed to keep his personal views from overspilling into factual happeninings.One thing it did for me was to show that our country is run by legalised liars with huge built in egos , no matter what party or Prime Minister has run Britain.How many times has Britain survived bankruptcy from the failings of all these politicians who treat their position as a career and right with greed being the reward? Why do we have to wait until something is history before we see the true failings and stories.Read ... Read More:

Average Rating:

.

Sniper One: The Blistering True Story of a British Battle Group Under Siege

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > History
by: Dan Mills

May 15, 2008
Absolutely faarking fantastic. Could not leave this book down. 100% guaranteed satisfaction. Take it from me. Don't hesitate. Read this book now.Get yr eyes open. Needs to be made into a film. Total blockbuster. Medals all round. Allamo has nothing on this.

Average Rating:

.

3 Para

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > History
by: Patrick Bishop

June 02, 2008
As a fan of this genre, the facts are totally believable. In fact for me this is the best written book of its type - I read it 2 1/2 days. Theres even the admission that a 'deal' with the enemy took place to preserve life. Great reading for all armchair squaddies and I guess some real ones too. There are some high quality maps included plus many photos to break up the text.
A 'must read' volume.

Average Rating:

.

The Suspicions of Mr Whicher: Or the Murder at Road Hill House

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > History
by: Kate Summerscale

April 07, 2008
If you are fascinated by the hypocrisy of the Victorians, you'll love this book. If you want to read a great murder mystery, you should probably search out a work of fiction instead.

The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher has a wide charter: Tell the story of the murder of three-year-old Saville Kent in his English country home, describe the police investigations, relate the public reaction to the murder and investigations, detail what happened to the characters, help us understand our psychological need to read detective fiction, and provide new insight into the seeds of the crime.

Although the book claims to give us a fiction-like description of the murder and its investigation, Ms. Summerscale's writing isn't quite in the style: She's clearly ... Read More:

Average Rating:

.

A Short History of Nearly Everything

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > History
by: Bill Bryson

June 01, 2004
I've just borrowed this book from my local library on cassette, and can't bear to let it go back without owning it! Bryson's usual humorous, articulate style of writing has won me over yet again. Some might call it "dumbing down", I think it's no crime to have such a wonderful talent for explaining the unimaginable, and Bryson makes all that science stuff accessible and understandable (no mean feat where my arty brain is concerned!)

Once again Amazon's amazing price means that I can add a true classic to my ever growing audio cd collection. Thank you Amazon!

Average Rating:

.

The Art of War

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > History
by: Sun Tzu, Sun Zi

May 01, 2006
I was expecting a huge tome full of Confuscian statements which are allegorical to warfare. What I received was a 69-page book of short instructions which are dirrectly about warfare, but in many cases allegorical to life.

Possibly they're all in some way applicable to the day-to-day, the fighting with fire section does seem a bit specialised, but doubtless the scales will fall from my eyes at some stage and I will be able to use its teachings in buying tangerines from waitrose.

The best thing about the book is the ability to spice up conversation. Never again will I use a hackneyed marketing phrase where something from Sun Tzu will work. Brilliant.

Average Rating:

.

The Audacity of Hope

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > History
by: Barack Obama

February 07, 2008
The coming general election campaign might be a better way of finding out what Barack Obama actually thinks than reading this book.

For a politician, this is a very open and well written book on a number of subjects that matter to us all (in the US or abroad). Chapter by chapter, Obama mixes historical detail, life stories and political issues to try and present an explanation of how we have come to this point in time with sometimes such savage disagreements over how to proceed.

It's at that point I found the book disatisfying. Barack Obama doesn't commit to any policy ideas that really go beyond Democrat platitude: healthcare is good, crime is bad, etc. I can understand that he needed to keep some solid statements back prior to the election (or have them lobbed back ... Read More:

Average Rating:

.

Singled Out: How Two Million Women Survived Without Men After the First World War

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > History
by: Virginia Nicholson

June 05, 2008
This is a fascinating book. I could not put it down. It is so beautifully and accessibly written with such intriguing and poignant real life stories.

Average Rating:

.

Hitler's Empire: Nazi Rule in Occupied Europe (Allen Lane History)

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > History
by: Mark Mazower

June 05, 2008
This is a fascinating book. I could not put it down. It is so beautifully and accessibly written with such intriguing and poignant real life stories.

Average Rating:

.

McMafia: Crime Without Frontiers

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > History
by: Misha Glenny

April 03, 2008
This a frightening but fascinating book, which brings together the keen-eyed journalism Glenny displayed in the 1990s, with a tale of the kind of organised crime that touches us all, whether we know it or not.

Glenny tours the world, and wisely does not try his hand at thriller-writing as he does so. The stories, and their contexts, are fascinating enough to be simply laid out before us. In each case, the most compelling parts are the history and analysis of how that kind of crime took off, in that place and that time. While there are undercurrents that are common throughout, what stands out starkly are the location and era-specific details of the conditions that allow major crime to flourish. I would have liked to have seen something more about how these national and international crime groups link ... Read More: