Attacks: ROMMEL

Customer Reviews:

Which way to the enemy?.......2007-09-17

The principal players of the Second World War paid their dues in the First, and Erwin Rommel was no exception. The man who would later become "the Desert Fox" and win worldwide acclaim as one of the greatest generals of all time began his combat career as a young lieutenant in the army of Wilhelm II, indistinguishable from thousands of others who crossed the French or Belgian frontier in 1914. Four years later he was one of the most decorated soldiers in the Imperial Army, holder of the "Pour le Merite" (the highest Prussian award for bravery) and a firm believer that "positional [i.e. trench] warfare" was for fools. His credo could be summed up in the old Prussian maxim: "Never ask how strong the enemy is, only where he is -- and march to the sound of guns."

Rommel published ATTACKS in 1937, when he was a lieutenant-colonel in the Reichsheer and commandant of the military academy in Weiner Neustadt. At the time he was already famous in the German army for his 1914 - 1918 exploits, but ATTACKS brought him international acclaim, at least in military circles. In Germany the book made him quite wealthy, and in a sense one can see why: compared to the turgid, half-mystical reminiscences of some of his contemporaries, ATTACKS is entirely without introspection. It is simply a recounting of the innumerable small-unit actions in which Rommel participated in during the Great War. The book's methodical, matter-of-fact style reflects the personality of its author, who was not inclined to philosophizing. The "whys" and "wherefores" of war mattered to him not at all. Unlike Ernst Juenger, who also won the Pour le Merite and wrote postwar accounts of his exploits (THE STORM OF STEEL, COPSE 125, WAR AS AN INWARD EXPERIENCE) Rommel wasn't interested in the "inward experience", just the fighting. He was a soldier's soldier.

During the War, Rommel served extensively in France, Rumania and Italy, and ATTACKS recounts in great detail his many offensive exploits, where he distinguished himself not merely with his aggressive style but by his habit (repeated in World War II) of leading from the front. Utterly fearless, possessing unlimited physical stamina and seemingly immune to pain (his gunshot wounds are described merely as events, like losing the sole of a shoe; the only thing that seems to have caused him real discomfort in the whole war was getting a foot smashed by a boulder in the mountains) Rommel was the ideal junior officer under any conditions, and was rightly worshipped by his men - another trait he enjoyed in the '39 - 45 war. He was further distinguished by his nobility and chivalry, qualities which are more responsible than his military genius for making him beloved among his former enemies. Today, Rommel is the only one of the myriad generals who achieved fame in Nazi Germany who is officially honored by the present day German government.

The strength of ATTACKS lies not merely in the nature of what is being described (battle and more battle) but in the fact that Rommel has no artistic pretentions: he simply records what happened without sentimentalizing or succumbing to the Germanic curse of using 1,000 words when two hundred would suffice. This, however, is also the book's great weakness: all these skirmishes, raids, marches, countermarches, midnight conferences, attacks, retirements, hand-grenade fights, machine-gun duels, artillery bombardments, and climbs up mountain slopes in the rain, snow and blazing sun begin to wear down the reader over time. If it is possible for combat to be monotonous, Rommel occasionally manages to make it so, if only by the staggering amount of it he actually experienced. If Juenger was often turgid and romantic, he was also willing to discuss the lighter side of war - the pranks, the drinking, the philosophical bull-sessions and the endless war against rats, boredom and Prussian discipline. Such humanistic moments would have been welcome in ATTACKS, but Rommel was not inclined to dwell on them. (The closest thing he displays to a sense of humor is contemptuous jokes at the expense of the French and the Italians, neither of whom seem to have impressed him with their soldierly ability.)

So, if you are looking for a pure combat memior, penned by one of the greatest soldiers ever, ATTACKS is the very definition of the bill. But if you want a look "under the helmet" into the mind and soul of a great fighting man, I would suggest supplementing ATTACKS with Juenger's more layered STORM OF STEEL. After all, nothing is more Prussian than obtaining a "total view" of a military situation!

Great Book.......2007-07-30

I have no complaints. In response to another review, German troops, specifically those under Rommel's command, are made to look far more competent than most troops of other nationalities Rommel encountered because by all accounts they were. Rommel's men wouldn't have surrendered in the thousands to 3 officers, nor been so lax in sentry and recon duty. When he encounters worthy foes he gives credit where it is due, in one case calling them "men in every way" to paraphrase. But the aggressive fighting spirit and competence of Rommel's men is shown time and time again. Volunteering to run out on a bridge under enemy fire and chop wires leading to bombs with a hand axe (for all that Sergeant knew the wires could have been electric and the bombs could have gone the second he got near one), swim a freezing cold, rapidly moving river alone to infiltrate enemy lines etc, this is what his men would do for him.

The tone is largely a matter of interpretation, I believe that at the time and place the book was written it was not so much braggadocio as it was lack of false modesty, and rightful pride in his and his men's accomplishments. In America many will interpret this as shameless bragging.

I see nothing wrong with the lessons of building fortifications to prevent casualties and conducting constant reconnaissance. However those are not by any means the only lessons in the book. Rommel's use of "supple infantry tactics" against often numerically far superior, and firepower-superior (though as mentioned before inferior in competence, aggression, and bravery) enemies, and his use of diversions, sneak attacks and generally concealed movements are timeless applied lessons of warfare straight out of Sun Tzu's "Art of War".

His use of overwhelming concentrations of pinning fire, combined with the above, helped him limit casualties while flanking the enemy and capturing prisoners in the many thousands in total. He scarcely lost a battle even though he often didn't have the support of artillery during an attack due to materiale shortages. He was a very aggressive commander who always took the initiative when given the chance, something that paid off time and time again. He wasn't incautious, he simply knew an opportunity when he saw one, and was bold enough to exploit these situations.

Rommel's Book.......2006-10-23

Ever since I saw the Movie "Patton" where George C. Scott's Patton reads Rommels book and wins his battle with the Afrika Korps I always wanted to read this book.

I thought it would be a primer on Armor Tactics but it is Rommel's Memoir of his experiences as a Junior officer in WWI primarily on the Balkan Front. One thing one notices that is reflective of the later Desert Fox is that Rommel does not like to send his troops into deadly "Over the Top" frontal assaults into enemy machine guns unless there is no other alternative. He always seeks to outflank or manuver into the enemy's rear.

Though I found his style of writing to be rather dry(at least as translated into English) it is a textbook application of small unit infantry tactics complete with handwritten diagrams and maps. Young officers and NCO's would do well to read and learn like Patton from Rommel's Book.

Also recommended Desmond Young's "The Desert Fox".

Infanteri grieft an.......2006-08-11

For many years I have been looking for an original copy of Infanterie Grieft an without success. This is a satisfactory rewrite.

Outstanding book.......2006-07-17

Rommel writes of his experiences in WWI fighting primarily in Rumania and what is now northern Italy. In each chapter, he details a specific operation, the problems they faced and how he solved them. He uses the stories to show how a commander should deal with certain common situations. For his leadership he won the "Blue Max" not bad for a junior officer! The illustrationa are quite helpful as the descriptions he gives are very detailed. It's probably the finest military book I have ever read, well worth the price. A fine book by a true leader...

Buy it!

Average customer rating:

Rommel's Tribute to the German Soldier
...and so does Rommel!
Unexpected Memoirs
Service before self...
Rommel - the origin of 'JUST DO IT'

Infantry Attacks
Erwin Rommel
Manufacturer: Greenhill Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Military & Spies | Professionals & Academics | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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The Rommel Papers (Da Capo Paperback)
Attacks: ROMMEL
Rommel and his Art of War (Greenhill Military Paperbacks.)
Panzer Leader
Lost Victories: The War Memoirs of Hitler's Most Brilliant General

ASIN: 1853677078

Book Description

Field Marshal Erwin Rommel exerted an almost hypnotic influence not only over his own troops but also over the Allied soldiers of the Eighth Army in the Second World War. Even when the legend surrounding his invincibility was overturned at El Alamein, the aura surrounding Rommel himself remained unsullied. As a leader of a small unit in the First World War, he proved himself an aggressive and versatile commander, with a reputation for using the battleground terrain to his own advantage, for gathering intelligence, and for seeking out and exploiting enemy weaknesses. Rommel graphically describes his own achievements, and those of his units, in the swift-moving battles on the Western Front, in the ensuing trench warfare, in the 1917 campaign in Romania, and in the pursuit across the Tagliamento and Piave rivers. This classic account seeks out the basis of his astonishing leadership skills, providing an indispensable guide to the art of war written by one of its greatest exponents.

Customer Reviews:

Rommel's Tribute to the German Soldier.......2007-09-30

I gave INFANTRY ATTACKS five stars. I thought I knew Rommel, but this book comprised of after-action reports and observations added a lot to my mental picture of him.

He dedicated his writing to the German soldier, the ordinary Landser he led in the Great War. Unlike other war memoirs, Rommel keeps the attention focused upon his men and their achievements under difficult circumstances. He's the kind of officer most soldiers dream of having.

His book is not literature, like Remarque's ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT, but it certainly gives you a detailed view of World War I and how it was conducted. It also shows aspects of Rommel I hadn't really expected to see.

He observes that there are times when you have to dig in and hold fast. There are other times when you should attack and still others when you should defer an attack because of inadequate reserves to exploit a breakthough.

Rommel's ability to size up a situation quickly and react appropriately is what struck me about this work. If you're interested in World War I, Rommel, or military history, you'll enjoy this book. I gave it five stars.

...and so does Rommel!.......2007-09-17

The principal players of the Second World War paid their dues in the First, and Erwin Rommel was no exception. The man who would later become "the Desert Fox" and win worldwide acclaim as one of the greatest generals of all time began his combat career as a young lieutenant in the army of Wilhelm II, indistinguishable from thousands of others who crossed the French or Belgian frontier in 1914. Four years later he was one of the most decorated soldiers in the Imperial Army, holder of the "Pour le Merite" (the highest Prussian award for bravery) and a firm believer that "positional [i.e. trench] warfare" was for fools. His credo could be summed up in the old Prussian maxim: "Never ask how strong the enemy is, only where he is -- and march to the sound of guns."

Rommel published INFANTRY ATTACKS in 1937, when he was a lieutenant-colonel in the Reichsheer and commandant of the military academy in Weiner Neustadt. At the time he was already famous in the German army for his 1914 - 1918 exploits, but INFANTRY ATTACKS brought him international acclaim, at least in military circles. In Germany the book made him quite wealthy, and in a sense one can see why: compared to the turgid, half-mystical reminiscences of some of his contemporaries, INFANTRY ATTACKS is entirely without introspection. It is simply a recounting of the innumerable small-unit actions in which Rommel participated in during the Great War. The book's methodical, matter-of-fact style reflects the personality of its author, who was not inclined to philosophizing. The "whys" and "wherefores" of war mattered to him not at all. Unlike Ernst Juenger, who also won the Pour le Merite and wrote postwar accounts of his exploits (THE STORM OF STEEL, COPSE 125, WAR AS AN INWARD EXPERIENCE) Rommel wasn't interested in the "inward experience", just the fighting. He was a soldier's soldier.

During the War, Rommel served extensively in France, Rumania and Italy, and INFANTRY ATTACKS recounts in great detail his many offensive exploits, where he distinguished himself not merely with his aggressive style but by his habit (repeated in World War II) of leading from the front. Utterly fearless, possessing unlimited physical stamina and seemingly immune to pain (his gunshot wounds are described merely as events, like losing the sole of a shoe; the only thing that seems to have caused him real discomfort in the whole war was getting a foot smashed by a boulder in the mountains) Rommel was the ideal junior officer under any conditions, and was rightly worshipped by his men - another trait he enjoyed in the '39 - 45 war. He was further distinguished by his nobility and chivalry, qualities which are more responsible than his military genius for making him beloved among his former enemies. Today, Rommel is the only one of the myriad generals who achieved fame in Nazi Germany who is officially honored by the present day German government.

The strength of INFANTRY ATTACKS lies not merely in the nature of what is being described (battle and more battle) but in the fact that Rommel has no artistic pretentions: he simply records what happened without sentimentalizing or succumbing to the Germanic curse of using 1,000 words when two hundred would suffice. This, however, is also the book's great weakness: all these skirmishes, raids, marches, countermarches, midnight conferences, attacks, retirements, hand-grenade fights, machine-gun duels, artillery bombardments, and climbs up mountain slopes in the rain, snow and blazing sun begin to wear down the reader over time. If it is possible for combat to be monotonous, Rommel occasionally manages to make it so, if only by the staggering amount of it he actually experienced. If Juenger was often turgid and romantic, he was also willing to discuss the lighter side of war - the pranks, the drinking, the philosophical bull-sessions and the endless war against rats, boredom and Prussian discipline. Such humanistic moments would have been welcome in this book, but Rommel was not inclined to dwell on them. (The closest thing he displays to a sense of humor is contemptuous jokes at the expense of the French and the Italians, neither of whom seem to have impressed him with their soldierly ability.)

So, if you are looking for a pure combat memior, penned by one of the greatest soldiers ever, INFANTRY ATTACKS is the very definition of the bill. But if you want a look "under the helmet" into the mind and soul of a great fighting man, I would suggest supplementing ATTACKS with Juenger's more layered STORM OF STEEL. After all, nothing is more Prussian than obtaining a "total view" of a military situation!

(Note: INFANTRY ATTACKS was published in Germany as INFANTERIE GRIEFT AN; in English this was originally translated as "ATTACKS" and under that title was published during WW 2. ATTACKS is also for sale on Amazon, but ATTACKS and INFANTRY ATTACKS are the exact same book, though they have different forwards and the translation slightly differs; so if you already have the one, there is no need to buy the other)

Unexpected Memoirs.......2007-02-20

This book chronicles Rommel's career as an infrantry officer of a Wurttemburg mountain brigade. Ends at the beginning of 1918 in Italy, well before the end of the war. Often displays the equipment inferiority of Germany's foes, mainly Romania and Italy. The French, whom Rommel also fights, are much better armed and led than the others, although the Germans, Rommel included, believe themselves to be superior. Interesting for its portrayal of fighting in the Vosges, a very quiet section of the western front.

Service before self..........2007-01-06

This book shows the ingenuity of Erwin Rommel, with a wonderfully done intro by his son. With Erwin's devotion to his troops, its easy to see why he became the "desert fox". His service shows not only his character, but his sense of direction. Had the Allies had this general on their side in either world war, a swifter end would have been reached.

Rommel - the origin of 'JUST DO IT'.......2000-02-02

I imagine a good business lecturer would translate lessons from this book into 'Rommel on Business'. However, for me, it will suffice to say that Rommel writes an exciting account of the terrible and sometimes gruesome conditions of war in World War One. His clear examples of 'leadership by example', and 'be a bold risk taker' would seem self-confidence overblown, were it not for the historical reality of his successes in the battles named. There is also an element here and there of the blind nationalism that would lead him and many of his fellow officers into the follow-on fiasco a mere 20+ years later. A 'must read' for modern military historians and Rommel fans.

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Attacks
Erwin Rommel
Manufacturer: Athena Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000M0ZLKW

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INFANTRY ATTACKS
E. ROMMEL
Manufacturer: WRENS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000S9RCTK

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Infantry Attacks
Erwin Rommel
Manufacturer: Washington the Infantry Journal
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000J45PT8

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Infantry Attacks
Erwin; General Field Marshal Rommel
Manufacturer: The Infantry Journal
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OBGOZU

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Infantry Attacks
Erwin Rommel
Manufacturer: Stoddart
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000PS6UTM

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Infanty Attacks
Rommel, Erwin
Manufacturer: Office of Alien Property
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000K7UBDY

Documents in World History, Volume I: The Great Tradition: From Ancient Times to 1500 (4th Edition)
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Deeply, deeply disappointed

Documents in World History, Volume I: The Great Tradition: From Ancient Times to 1500 (4th Edition)
Peter Stearns , Erwin P. Grieshaber , and Stephen S. Gosch
Manufacturer: Longman
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

Documents in World History, Volume II: The Modern Centuries: From 1500 to the Present (4th Edition)

World History in Brief: Major Patterns of Change and Continuity, Volume I (to 1450) (6th Edition) (MyHistoryLab Series)

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World Civilizations: Volume I: To 1700

Advanced Placement Edition - World Civilizations: The Global Experience

ASIN: 0321330544

Book Description

Considerably revised, this edition of Documents in World History gives professors a large variety of primary sources from all areas of the world.

The book retains its global emphasis and includes more primary sources that balance social and cultural history with standard selections, political coverage, and fuller coverage of Africa and the Middle East, including Persia. Several individual passages have been replaced or augmented to provide greater richness and interest. Materials on social issues have also been augmented.

Customer Reviews:

Deeply, deeply disappointed.......2006-03-08

This book represents the nadir of world history: wide-ranging, superficially impressive, and totally devoid of real scholarship. "Documents in World History" seemed like an excellent resource for a world history course. However, it is written by people who are obviously unqualified.

For a good compendium of primary documents for a world history course, I would recommend "World History" by Howard Spodek (the accompanying supplements, listed on the publisher's website, are promising as well).

The first things which surprised me was the poor production quality of this book. For the ridiculous price, one would expect at least a few color photos. But beautiful artwork is rendered in stale, pixellated black and white. I imagine this book was published more for the sake of profit than scholarship.

The authors of "Documents in World History" fail utterly to show which documents are important, and which are just curiosities. The entry for Cyrus the Great fails to show this king's mythical status in Iran and even in Greece, which idolized Cyrus despite his attempts (and those of his descendants) to conquer Greece.

The sections on China are pathetic. The authors do not have any understanding of Confucianism or Chinese literature.

The greatest writer in the Chinese language, Su Shi, has only one poem in this collection. Yet that gives the authors an opportunity to display their total ignorance of China, its language, and even the fact that Chinese people have a surname and a given name. Su Shi has his name misspelled as "Sushi". Another important writer, Bai Juyi, has his name morphed into Bo Zhuyi, which can be quite confusing because "Ju" and "Zhu" are totally different in Chinese. This may seem like nitpicking, but imagine if the authors had misspelled the names of Shakespeare AND Dickens because they couldn't tell the difference between the letters "z" and "k".

Documents in World History, Volume I: From Ancient Times to 1500 (2nd Edition)

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Documents in World History, Volume I: From Ancient Times to 1500 (2nd Edition)

Manufacturer: Addison-Wesley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

Documents in World History, Volume II: The Modern Centuries: From 1500 to the Present (4th Edition)
Elements of Writing: Fifth Course
Essentials of Health and Wellness
Prentice Hall Literature - Platinum
English Workshop: 5th Course

ASIN: 0321038568

Documents in World History, Volume I: The Great Tradition: From Ancient Times to 1500 (4th Edition)

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Documents in World History, Volume I: The Great Tradition: From Ancient Times to 1500 (4th Edition)
Peter Stearns|Erwin P. Grieshaber|Stephen S. Gosch
Manufacturer: Longman
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OU8KYE

Amazon.com

"Nobody has done more in the way of enlightened prediction than Arthur C. Clarke," wrote Isaac Asimov, no slouch in that department himself. And indeed, this collection of Clarke's essays contains an astonishing amount of prophecy, in everything from space exploration to computer technology. Clarke, probably best known as the author of 2001: A Space Odyssey, is one of the most prolific science authors of the 20th century, even though his science fiction works got all the glory. His expertise in tracking scientific innovation and his predilection for far-flung adventure are well represented here. Reading these articles illuminates the enormous amount of research that good science fiction writers do in the course of learning their craft. The collection spans more than 60 years of Clarke's musings. Highlights include essays on undersea and lunar living, working with Stanley Kubrick on the movie version of 2001, and tributes to his favorite authors--Lord Dunsany, Robert Bloch, and Isaac Asimov, especially. Clarke gives each essay a context, and he good-naturedly points out his old errors and failed predictions. Clarke is a fascinating person, a man of great depth and passion, and fans of his science fiction will be pleasantly surprised that his straightforward, bemused style comes through in his nonfiction as well. --Therese Littleton

Book Description

Arthur C. Clarke is one of this century's most visionary and versatile thinkers.In the crowning achievement of his extraordinary career, Clarke has collected his ground-breaking non-fiction pieces into one volume.Charting an exceptional career of over six decades, the essays in Greetings, Carbon-Based Bipeds! reveal Clarke's piercing mind and lively wit as well as the march of science through our modern age. AUTHORBIO: Sir Arthur C. Clarke, CBE was born in England in 1917 and has lived in Sri Lanka since 1956.He is the author of such bestselling books as 2001: A Space Odyssey, Childhoods End and Rendezvous with Rama.

Customer Reviews:

It's by Arthur Clarke. Of course it's great.......2005-06-30

I have long been aware that Arthur C. Clarke gave the world the concepts of an orbiting manned space station and geosynchronous satellites. Even so, I could not suppress a rush of adrenalin on reading his 1945 paper, "Can rocket stations give worldwide radio coverage?" in which those forecasts of today were first made. And I laughed out loud at his 1999 comment on his 1948 short story, The Sentinal, "Although the BBC gave it thumbs-down, I still think it would be a great idea for a movie." In case anyone is unaware of it, The Sentinal was the story that became 2001 -- A Space Odyssey.
On the possibility of an alien species viewing humans as vermin to be exterminated, Clarke writes, "I do not believe that any culture can advance for more than a few centuries at a time on a technological front alone. Morals and ethics must not lag behind science, otherwise the social system will breed poisons that will cause its certain destruction. I believe therefore that with superhuman knowledge must go equally great compassion and tolerance." In other words, before an intelligent species can achieve any kind of interstellar capacity, it will either outgrow the Religious Right mentality, or it will exterminate itself.
An observation Clarke made in an essay first published in 1991 falls somewhere between profound and self-evident, yet to this day even many non-fundamentalists have not grasped it: "The greatest tragedy in mankind's entire history may be the hijacking of morality by religion. However valuable -- even necessary -- that may have been in enforcing good behavior on primitive peoples, yet their association now is counterproductive. Yet at the very moment when they should be decoupled, sanctimonious nitwits are calling for a return to morals based on superstition."
This progression of essays from 1934 to 1998 reveals more about Clarke himself than could be derived from an autobiography, and for that reason, while it falls short of being his best work, or even his best nonfiction, it is invaluable to a person seeking that specific information.

Readable Book, Pretentious Title.......2005-03-18

This is a book of collected essays of Clarke, edited by Ian T. Macauley. The essays cover the period 1934 to 1998. Some of the essays are preceded by a freshly added introductory note.

I didn't like the title of the book. It sounds pretentious.

The book is divided into seven parts, all appropriately titled and dated. Part I - Rockets and Radars - covers the 30's and 40's. Part II - Beneath the Seas of Ceylon - covers the 50's. Part III - Kubrick and Cape Kennedy - covers the 60's and the making of 2001 a Space Odyssey. Part IV - Tomorrow's Worlds - covers the 70's. Part V - Stay of Execution - covers the 80's. Part VI - Countdown to 2000 - covers the 90's and is the longest part of the book. Part VII is titled Postscript: 2000 and Beyond. The book ends with a bibliography, an index and bios of the author and the editor.

Arthur C. Clarke is a prolific author, both of science fact and science fiction and both these fields, he has produced quality stuff. The best and most significant of his short non-fiction has already been collected in several books like Profiles of the Future, Voices from the Sky, 1984: Spring, etc. This book presents his short non-fiction that had not been previously collected. After reading the book, it becomes evident why. Most of the essays here are either too short to be informative or the topic is too slight to be of significance. The best essays here are obituaries to Clarke's contemporary scientists, writers and friends like Carl Sagan, Isaac Asimov, etc. This doesn't mean that the book is boring, which it is not for the most part. But vintage Clarke it is not.

The book would be very useful to completionists - those who collect Clarke's writings. Another useful feature of the book is index. I hate it when I come across non-fiction books that do not have an index

http://ahmedakhan.journalspace.com

Essential.......2002-03-16

Before Carl Sagan (whom, one learns, was himself turned on to science through the words of Sir Arthur), Arthur C. Clarke, in addition to being one of the world's leading and best science fiction writers, was perhaps the most important, and most widely read, science writers of the 20th century. He published several books that are classics in the field of astronomy and physics, such as Interplanetary Flight (the volume that turned on Sagan), The Exploration of Space (the first English language boook to lay out the basic principles, and Clarke's first successful publication), The Promise of Space, Voices From The Sky, Profiles of The Future, and many, many others. Unfortunately, due to the somewhat ephermal nature of these works - as opposed to his science fiction - most of them have been out of print for many years. This is a shame, as Clarke's writing brilliance, smooth of prose, elegant wit, and wry sense of humor come through just as clearly in his non-fiction as in his fiction. He has that great talent of explaining difficult concepts in simple fashion, through analogy, metaphor, and other practible devices, while still remaining informative and literate, and without resorting to condescending. Thankfully, this book has solved much of our problems. Many of Sir Arthur's best and most invigorating essays, covering a nearly 60-year period, are reproduced here, in permanent form - and what a beautiful volume it is, too. A lot of the writing focuses on scientific topics, yes - particularly astronomy and physics - but a good deal of the book deals not with science, but with a variety of other subjects. These include Clarke's numerous postings to the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society, Royal Astronomical Society, and various magazines; personal reminisces (including several documentary-style writings on his scuba diving adventures - unlike many reviewers, who have commented that these essays seemed boring to them, I found them quite a good and fun read, and they led me to decide to go back and read some of Clarke's entire books on this subject, long ignored by me for this same oversight); forwards to books by other people; reviews (it is interesting to see how Clarke views certain classic science fiction movies and books, as well as his fellow science fiction authors and scientific colleagues - many of whom are mentioned, and recounted in loving detail (the book includes tributes to Robert A. Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, Carl Sagan, Stanley Kubrick, Willy Ley, Jack Williamson, Robert Bloch, among others... in addition to many mentions of other such notables as Ray Bradbury, Stephen Hawking, Werner van Braun, and many others) speeches, television appearances, etc. Most all of these are informative, many of them entertaining, and all of them readable. Better selections could perhaps have been made, it is true: I would rather have seen more of his incredible 1960's essays from Voices From The Sky and Profiles of The Future (several of which, for instance, describe a future computer network - the internet - before Clarke could possibly have known...) in place of some of the earliest essays in this book, which mostly consist of Clarke's postings to the Journal, and are thus rather vengeful and out of character attacks on various peoples. Still, one cannot go wrong with this book. Of particular interest to ACC fans (who will already have much - though by no means all - of this material, it also includes a lot of autobiographical information on Clarke - and background on the essays - in the form of introductions the the various sections, quite a few pictures of the man (there's an insert in the middle of the book), afterwards, and an extensive About The Author section. In the final analysis, I would reccommend unceasingly this book to anyone who is into Clarke's factual writing, or science writing in general, as well as to anybody who loves his fiction and would like to try some of his non-fiction out. This is a good - though perhaps not the best (I would still reccommend Profiles of The Future as the best starting point for ACC's non-fiction works) - place to start, and a nice companion volume to his recently released collection of short fiction, The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke. It's a fine place to start for his non-fiction in general. However, don't take it as the final word on his science writing, as it doesn't focus specifically on that, and many of his best science articles were left out of this book. If you enjoy this book, and you want to read more of his scientifically oriented stuff, I unceasingly reccommend Profiles of The Future (recently re-published in a beautiful, lavish new updated volume) and The Promise of Space (if you can find it - an out of print masterpiece)... and perhaps Ascent To Orbit: A Scientific Autobiography if you want something a bit more technical.

This books comes highly reccommended from me to all carbon-based bipeds.

Fleecing Carbon-Based Bipeds..........2001-09-17

I have avoided reviewing this massive failure for quite a while, since Sir Arthur was one of my childhood heroes. I still recall the thrill when I found some paperback collections of his short stories at a local drug store in the early 1950s... here was a science fiction writer who knew science and also knew the future of mankind lay in space exploration!

Well, my idol soon developed feet of clay, so to speak. Becoming a physics major, I soon discovered Clarke's actual knowledge of physics was nothing to write home about. And as the 1960s wore on, into the 1970s, and then the 1980s, I found him more and more frequently lending his name to unworthy but presumably profitable undertakings in which he himself all-too-obviously had no involvement whatsoever, including an increasingly unreadable and apparently interminable series of "novels."

The present anthology is almost all clay, and endlessly padded and repetitive clay at that. There is no visible editing, and misprints are everywhere (my favorite is "brass bar" where Clarke wrote "brass bra"! You can bet that he never read, or reread, a word of the text printed here.) Most vexing is that the entire tome is a shameless and absolutely relentless display of egotism and name-dropping that makes Forrest J. Ackerman look humble! Many of the contributions are brief notes or tributes dashed off hastily on various occasions and quite unworthy of being preserved in this way. Inspirational evocations of the wonders of the space frontier are cheek-by-jowl with unreadably dull travelogues and tediously written, utterly trivial underwater "adventures".

Worst of all, while a young Clarke fought against pseudoscience, an elderly, ailing Clarke has shamelessly and incomprehensibly embraced it and there are some really, really embarrassing testimonials to the wonders of the long-forgotten "cold fusion" and to the "zero-point" variant of perpetual motion.

Finally, I'd like to note that the early Clarke has a lot to say about what it means if world society turns its face from the endless promises of infinity and instead gazes at its navel Eastern style--- it means, he says bluntly, cultural death. The elder Clarke, living in just such a culture, and receiving rich (but token) rewards from it, has fallen strangely silent. Some of Clarke's fellow science fiction writers (virtually none of whom he mentions at all in the course of the book) knew what this meant as early as the 1970s--- see for example fellow British author John Brunner's STAND ON ZANZIBAR, in which the crazed inhabitants of an overpopulated earth tear at one another senselessly in mass-murders of ever-increasing scale, like a hundred rats in a laboratory cage built for three --- and precisely what you read about with ever-increasing frequency and severity in your daily newspapers! Coincidence? This is one science-fictional scenario I desperately wish had remained fictional!

Anyway, save your money, folks. This volume is unworthy of your attention, and quite unworthly of the Arthur C. Clarke we used to know and admire.

Enlightened prediction is the name of the game........2001-01-03

The fiction of Arthur C. Clarke has educated and enlightened multiple generations of readers with works that brought the future to us at an accessible, understandable level. Some of my favorites include Imperial Earth, The Fall of Moondust, and The Fountains of Paradise. And in this year, one must honor the classic "2001: A Space Odyssey."

Neil McAleer's biography of Sir Arthur C. Clarke is perhaps one of the best books to give a full understanding of this most versatile and visionary thinker of the twentieth century; but it is only through reading the non-fiction writings that one truly gets to know what a brilliant visionary that Arthur C. Clarke truly is. He has put out numerous papers, articles and books--but they generally have been out of print for many years--which is what makes this collection of essays so wonderful. Here is a logically organized anthology that brings together diverse areas of thought including science, science fiction, politics and more. It does not strive to be a complete collection, but more an essential sampler serving as a tribute to this most knowledgeable and witty intellect.

If you have not had the joy of reading Arthur C. Clarke's non-fiction, this is a wonderful place to start. If you have not read any in the last decade, this is a nice rememberance. And if you grew up reading his fiction and non-fiction as I have, it makes for a wonderful tribute to a truly phenomenal man.

Perhaps there is hope for the future of mankind?

Greetings, Carbon-based Bipeds!
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Greetings, Carbon-based Bipeds!
Arthur C. Clarke
Manufacturer: Voyager
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000TBKJ56

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Greetings, Carbon-Based Bipeds! : Collected Essays, 1934-1998
Arthur Charles Clarke
Manufacturer: Saint Martin's Press, LLC
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Binding: Hardcover

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General | Reference | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 000224697X

Greetings Carbon Based Bipeds Collected
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Greetings Carbon Based Bipeds Collected
Arthur C Clarke
Manufacturer: St Martins Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OTE58U

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Greetings Carbon Based Bipeds Collected
Arthur C Clarke
Manufacturer: ST MARTINS PRESS @
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Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000N7DO3A

Greetings, Carbon-Based Bipeds!
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Greetings, Carbon-Based Bipeds!
Arthur C. CLARKE
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Press
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Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000UZO0UQ

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Greetings, Carbon-based Bipeds!
Arthur C. Clarke
Manufacturer: Harper Collins
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ASIN: B000OH7LOM

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Greetings, Carbon-Based Bipeds: Collected Essays 1934-1998
Arthur Charles; Macauley, Ian T. Clarke
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Griffin
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Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OTLOB6

Book Description

Protected areas around the globe national parks, wildlife reserves, biosphere reserves will prosper only if they are supported by the public, the private sector, and the full range of government agencies. Yet such support is unlikely unless society appreciates the importance of protected areas to its own interest, and the protected areas are well-managed and contribute to the national welfare in a cost-effective way.

A crucial foundation for success is full cooperation between individuals and institutions. Based on papers presented at the IVth World Congress on National Parks and Protected Areas, Expanding Partnerships in Conservation explores how new and stronger partnerships can be formed between managers of protected areas and other sectors of society. It describes a range of activities currently underway in many parts of the world that are intended to improve conservation efforts at the international, national, and local levels.

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