The Brandenburger Commandos: Germany's Elite Warrior Spies in World War II (Stackpole Military History Series) (Stackpole Military History Series)

Book Description

* Rare look into the secret military operations of Hitler's Germany

* Page-turning narrative detailing the unit's exploits

Before the German blitzkrieg stormed across Europe in 1939-40, a group of elite soldiers prepared the way by seizing bridges and other strategic targets ahead of the attack. In the following years, these warrior-spies, known as the Brandenburgers, operated behind enemy lines around the globe, from Russia and Yugoslavia to Egypt, Iraq, and India--often bending the rules of war while completing their daring covert missions. Trained to be mobile and independent, steeped in foreign languages and customs, and expert in numerous military specialties, the Brandenburgers influenced the world's special forces long after World War II.

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The Brandenburger Commandos: Germany's Elite Warrior Spies in World War II (Stackpole Military History Series) (Stackpole Milita.......2007-01-11

A very good book to add to your WW II collection. Tells the story about a unit's of the German Elite Warrior Spies in WW II, and how they fought for Germany in many parts of the world.

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A Good Introduction to the Old Arabists .......2007-01-20

Arabists, at least the "old" generation, tend not to like this book because they feel that it unfairly stigmatizes them as hopelessly affected with clientitis, diplomats who have "gone native," and who are fundamentally biased towards Israel and out of touch with U.S. interests. Yet in highlighting these Arabists Kaplan provides an excellent introduction to the field: the legendary figures of the U.S. Foreign Service in the Arab world, among them diplomats like Bill Eagleton, Richard Parker, and Hume Horan. Also included are some of the "new" Arabists like Alberto Fernandez, who as of this writing heads up the public diplomacy efforts of the Near East Bureau in the State Department. He's one of the few U.S. government officials whose Arabic is good enough to frequently appear on Al-Jazeera talk shows.

dance of diplomacy.......2006-05-27

I really enjoyed this book, and to interject a rather shallow comment, I quite like its cover design!

Though I am not a serious student of foreign policy or foreign service, I do wonder daily about the present conflicts in the Middle East and how (and why) the U.S. will continue to define itself in relationship with all the seething and churning in that part of the world.

What I really enjoyed most about the book was the diplomatic perspective of Middle Eastern history, which, for me, had something akin to the page-turner effect of a thriller, there was so much intrigue suggested.

Ultimately though, at the end of the book, I was left with my own analogy between diplomacy and dance. It seems that the kind of Western (U.S.) diplomacy critically described in this book is much like Western classical dance - choreographed, predigested, and distant - as opposed to Middle Eastern dance, which is grounded, "tribal," improvised, even carnal, but always inspired by reality rather than romanticism.

Perhaps diplomats should be given dance lessons!

Kaplan and his book.......2006-04-19

The first thing that needs to be said about the book is that Mr. Kaplan is a former Israeli soldier (though he doesn't exactly advertise that fact very often). He doesn't exactly come to the subject with a detached political view.

The book is a thinly veiled attack on a generation of State Department officials who actually cared about the countries they served in. Who valued their cultures and tried to understand the countries.

Kaplan is dismissive of such attitudes. In this book he is dismissive of such attitudes because they clashed with his pro-Israeli political views. But the book is interesting in that when seen in the broader context of Kaplan's more recent works. In his most recent book, "imperial grunts", Kaplan views the entire world beyond "the west" as "injun country". An area similar to the old american west in need of civilization by the US army. In "the coming anarchy", he presents large parts of the world as inhabited by uncivilized peoples whose very existance is a threat to what he calls the west. And in "Warrior Politics", he promotes a pseudo-fascist militarism in place of Jewish/Christian traditional ideas of morality.

Seen in the context of those works, Kaplan's problems with the Arabists is not really that they are anti-Israel, its that the arabists treated arab culture and arab peoples with a level of respect. To Kaplan, such peoples be they in the middle east or Africa are savages without a culture and in need of the firm civlizing hand of a western army rather than the understanding of diplomats. The savages in "Injun country" need to be beaten down and taught how to be little Americans rather than having Americans adopt what he sees as the customs of savages.

The Kaplan mentality is illlustrative of how the US blundered into a disaster in Iraq. While Kaplan glories in the "defeat" of the Arabists and their departure from the scene, the US has paid the price in having lost the very experts who might have made a difference in Iraq.

American Diplomats in the Middle East.......2006-03-08

I approached this book with caution. While I admire Kaplan's writing skills, I consider him -- fairly or unfairly -- as a troglodytic neo-con, one of these people who have a lot more faith in the efficacy of U.S. imposed military solutions to international problems than I do.

This book looks at the rise and fall of a group of American diplomats who devoted their careers to the difficult job of learning Arabic and living in Arab countries. They came out of the Protestant missionary tradition of the 19th century and they fell in love with their polite, gracious Arab hosts -- to the detriment of U.S. foreign policy in the region in Kaplan's opinion.

As an excellent writer, Kaplan writes a charming story of the Americans who have lived and worked in the Middle East for the last 200 years, but he gets more pointed and pained as he works his way up to the early 1990s and the beginning of the first Gulf War. The downfall of the Arabists was that despite their expertise they saw the Arab world through rose colored glasses and Israel as an unwelcome intruder. Obviously Kaplan is pro-Israeli -- although he doesn't spare them criticism -- and he is patronizing in his characterization of Arabs. In one place, he comments that the Arabists weren't used to dealing with people as smart as themselves -- i.e. the Israelis.

"Clientitis" is of course a common disease of specialists of all ilks, including Arabists. The book is a little misleading as it didn't explore the clientitis among American Jewish diplomats which is probably just as prevalent as a pro-Arab bias of the Arabists. One major, adverse consequence of the fall of the Arabists was, of course, that we had few Arab experts in 2002-2003 while the U.S. was contemplating an invasion of Iraq. Thus a bunch of ignorant idiots seized control of US policy and started a silly and tragic war. Had the Arabists still been influential we would have been a lot wiser.

Smallchief

A Surprisingly Good Read.......2005-11-13

This book was incredibly inspirational in addition to being objective and filled with many interesting stories about Americans serving in the "far flung areas" of the Middle East. The book starts with the humble begginings of US-Arab diplomacy through its roots with Protestent missionaries and ends with the failure of American diplomatic efforts in Iraq pre-1991.

I was truly intrigued by the stories Kaplan describes such as the establishment by Protestant missionaries of AUB in Beirut, the succesful evacuation of Americans from the Beirut embassy during the bloody Lebanese Civil War, the rescue of Eithiopian Jews (Falashas) and their deliverance to Israel, etc.

Kaplan has done a marvelous job and if one was to have a book concerning US diplomacy/diplomats in the Middle East this would be a must have.

The 'Arabick' Interest of the Natural Philosophers in Seventeenth-Century England (Brill's Studies in Intellectual History)

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The 'Arabick' Interest of the Natural Philosophers in Seventeenth-Century England (Brill's Studies in Intellectual History)

Manufacturer: Brill Academic Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 9004098887

Book Description

The medieval concern with Arabic is well established. There was, however, a `second wave' of Arabic interest in seventeenth-century Europe, which is not widely known. The essays in this volume reveal that, contrary to all expectation, the study of Arabic was pursued by a circle of natural philosophers, philologists and theologians in England in close contact with those on the Continent. Arabic was defended as an aid to biblical exegesis and as the key to a `treasure house' of ancient knowledge. It led to the founding of Arabic chairs at Oxford and Cambridge Universities, endowed by archbishops and merchants. Arabic was taught, along with Hebrew, at Westminster school. Immense collections of Arabic manuscripts were acquired both privately and by libraries, such as the Bodleian at Oxford. They were sought after by natural philosophers in their research in observational astronomy or in the reconstruction of Greek mathematics. Arabic was also part of the Anglican interest in Eastern Churches. In addition to the earlier elegant editions of the Medici Press at Rome, bi-lingual texts, grammars, lexicons, and histories, were published by trained Arabists. Forgeries emerged based on Arabo-Latin alchemical texts. Arabic was included in the concern with a universal philosophical language. Arabic subjects featured extensively in the correspondence of the Royal Society. The impact of translated texts extended to the Quakers as well as to individual figures, such as Locke. In short, at a time when least expected, Arabic interest permeated all levels of English society, encompassing subjects which ranged from science, religion, and medicine, to typography and importing garden plants. Fourteen historians from different disciplines examine the extent and sources of this phenomenon. Arabic interest is shown to have been a significant aspect of the rise of Protestant intellectual tradition. It was also a major component of University reforms and of secular academic scholarship at Oxford and Cambridge. Thus the period also marks the institutionalisation of Arabic studies. By identifying many unexpected `Arabick' strands in the complex skein of seventeenth-century English concerns, this volume opens new lines of investigation and challenges some of the accepted historical interpretations of the period. CONTRIBUTORS: Gul A. Russell, Mordechai Feingold, M.B. Hall, Alastair Hamilton, John Harvey, P.M. Holt, J.R. Jones, Raymond Mercier, George Molland, William Newman, Vivian Salmon, Colin Wakefield and Andrew Wear.

The Arabists of Shemlan, V.1: Mecas Memoirs, 1944-78

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The Arabists of Shemlan, V.1: Mecas Memoirs, 1944-78

Manufacturer: Stacey International Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Arabists: The Romance of an American Elite

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The Arabists: The Romance of an American Elite
Robert D. Kaplan
Manufacturer: Free Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000J2EPSC

Eastern Wisdom And Learning: The Study of Arabic in Seventeenth-Century England

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Fascinating history of Arabic studies

Eastern Wisdom And Learning: The Study of Arabic in Seventeenth-Century England
G. J. Toomer
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Book Description

This book narrates the extraordinary growth in the study of Arabic in England from the late sixteenth century, when it was almost non-existent, to the end of the seventeenth. By its high point around 1666, England was pre-eminent among European countries in the study of Arabic. Permanent Chairs of Arabic had been established at Oxford and Cambridge, and specialized presses in Oxford and London had produced Arabic works. The Professor at Oxford, Edward Pococke, was recognized as the foremost scholar in the field in Europe, and a great collection of Arabic manuscripts, begun by Archbishop Laud, was being built up at Oxford. In this masterly and original study, Professor Toomer gives the first detailed account of this process, set against the religious and political background in England and Europe. He shows how trade with the Ottoman Empire and mistrust of Islam influenced the study of Arabic. Finally, he traces the course and causes of the drastic decline in Arabic studies towards the end of the century.

Customer Reviews:

Fascinating history of Arabic studies.......2003-08-12

Toomer has written a fascinating account of the start of Arabic studies in England, including a good overview of the state of Arabic studies throughout Europe until the end of the seventeenth century. English studies are traced through from their individualist start, through a mainstream, largely driven by bishops Ussher (he who computed the 4004 BC creation date, one of the most brilliant scholars of his day) and Laud (Chancellor of Oxford University), through Pococke's career to Arabic studies' decline as the eighteenth century approached.

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The Waters of Babylon: A Novel About Lawrence After Arabia

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Awful
Smut Has a New Name.
What A Joke!
Sensitive and sympathetic account
NOT the Lawrence I know!

The Waters of Babylon: A Novel About Lawrence After Arabia
David Stevens
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Book Description

A brilliantly imagined and elegantly written novel that speculates on the enigmatic life of the legendary T. E. Lawrence following his retreat from celebrity as "Lawrence of Arabia," The Waters of Babylon focuses on the story of Lawrence's life after Arabia -- although in fully creating its character, the narrative ranges from his childhood as a troubled boy and youth, to his first adventures in the Middle East, through his years in India and his final days at Clouds Hill. Peopling his story with some of the great figures of the twentieth century, author David Stevens has created a challenging portrait of a man who gave up fame to pursue his ideals.

For decades, the story of T. E. Lawrence has been shrouded in the trappings of modern mythology -- thanks in great part to his immortalization on film as a charismatic, larger-than-life figure -- and for all intents and purposes his life ended at a point of glory and celebrity. As depicted in David Stevens's novel, however, the reality was far different from the myth.

In fact, following his brief but shining moment in the spotlight of public consciousness, Lawrence attempted a retreat into anonymity, abandoning his celebrity and joining the Royal Air Force -- not as a ranking officer, as would have been his due, but as a regular airman, an erk. This much of Lawrence's story David Stevens knows to be fact, because Stevens's father spent time in the Air Force with Lawrence (whom he disliked). Using his father's recollections as a springboard, and employing extensive research, Stevens has crafted an amazingly rich and detailed novel about the life Lawrence may very well have led during his years as a soldier, and after.

The novel begins with Lawrence, who has reinvented himself as T. E. Shaw, headed back to the part of the world in which he had initially gained recognition and notoriety. With his return comes a flood of memories and associations, some of them sweet, many of them painful. As he adjusts to his new life as an ordinary airman in the RAF, he gradually surrenders his privacy, and a bond develops between him and the other men. An odd kind of love/hate relationship even arises between Lawrence and another of his bunkmates, a loner named Slaney.

Over the course of the novel, which carries the reader all the way to Lawrence's death, we learn much of the background for this enigmatic man's behavior, including details of his upbringing (by a harsh, religiously fanatical, unforgiving mother) and of his romantic experiences (mostly furtive and unacknowledged longings after men, although one proves the exception and becomes the basis for his fantasies).

Part a search for love, part confessional, part detective story, The Waters of Babylon is a fascinating, multilayered portrait of a remarkable, complex man who became a legend in his own lifetime -- and who spent the rest of that life trying to escape his own fame.

Customer Reviews:

Awful.......2005-04-09

This book is an awful mishmash of the author's fantasies and the rumours which surrounded (and continue to surround) T.E. Lawrence during his life and after his early death. The author claims to offer insight into Lawrence's life after Arabia: I can reccommend a far better source of insight (and a far superior book): Lawrence's autobiographical book, The Mint, written during his time in the RAF. If you want the "truth" about Lawrence after Arabia, read what Lawrence had to say!

Smut Has a New Name........2003-09-16

This book is in NO WAY a biographical account of T.E. Lawrence's life. The novel is basically a trashy romance novel, suggesting Lawrence was aroused as a child by his mother's beatings, and that his brother caught him having sexual relations with an Arab boy while bathing in a river.

The thing that bothers me most about this novel is that someone might pick it up and mistake it all for fact. The framework of the story is historically accurate, however the ideas and actions given to this fictitious Lawrence (certainly not the T.E. Lawrence I've spent the last year and a half studying) are the twisted, sick fantasies of David Stevens.

My only consolation is that I believe if the real T.E. Lawrence were alive today and read this book, he would shake his head and laugh.

If nothing else it will at least be an interesting (if not perverse) addition to my collection of T.E. Lawrence books.

What A Joke!.......2001-04-13

This book is nothing but a minimally researched--if at all--set of the author's fantasies. Much of T.E. Lawrence's life, after Arabia, is shrouded in mystery; a book on the reality of this period of Lawrence's life could be valuable. This book, however, is a mishmash of fictitious characters, events and psycho-sexual idiocies, all springing from the author's psyche--not Lawrence's In fact, the Lawrence of this book is as fictitious as many of the other characters in the book. Do not buy..

Sensitive and sympathetic account.......2000-07-01

T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) easily qualifies as one of the more fascinating and controversial military figures in Britain's long history of idiosyncratic soldiers. A junior officer in military intelligence, Lawrence was posted as an advisor to Arab troops fighting to free their lands from Turkish rule as part of World War I. To the surprise of all who encountered the short, shy Englishman with the high squeaky voice, Lawrence became an outstanding strategist. He also campaigned tirelessly for Arab nationalist causes. Victorious in war, he was unsuccessful in securing Arab rights in the face of Franco-British political actions. Frustrated, he spent the rest of his life as an enlisted man under several pseudonyms in the Army and the Royal Air Force. He died in a motorcycle accident in 1935. David Stevens provides a window into the tortured consciousness of the postwar Lawrence-a man haunted by his failure to confront his homosexuality, his inability to atone for his political failures on behalf of Arab causes, and his impotence in overcoming his illegitimacy and difficult childhood. His agony is told through his letters and the narratives of a diverse group of friends and admirers. Stevens is a gifted writer (Breaker Morant and Merlin are on his resume) and he offers a sensitive and sympathetic account of this haunted and unhappy figure. His subject will never be an easy man to define but Stevens has done as fine a job as one could hope for such a complex and private person. Incomplete portrayals of two personalities important to the story (King Feisal and Lawrence's mother) stand out when contrasted with Stevens's well-rounded descriptions of other major, and even most minor, characters. As a novelist, Stevens succeeds where most biographers have failed. Beautifully written, and an interesting story to boot. John R. Vallely, for the Historical Novels Review

NOT the Lawrence I know!.......2000-06-21

This book is NOT about T.E.Lawrence, but about David Stevens himself. The author used Lawrence to make his book popular. What a shame!

Adelard of Bath: an English Scientist and Arabist of the Early Twelfth Century (Warburg Institute Surveys and Texts)

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Adelard of Bath: an English Scientist and Arabist of the Early Twelfth Century (Warburg Institute Surveys and Texts)
Charles Burnett
Manufacturer: The Warburg Institute
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0854810706

Ahmad Hasan Al-Zayyat: An Islamist and Pan-Arabist

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Ahmad Hasan Al-Zayyat: An Islamist and Pan-Arabist
Denis Walker
Manufacturer: Stosius Inc/Advent Books Division
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Customer Reviews:

A wonderful book of short essays........1997-07-26

A wonderful book filled with thousands of tidbits of knowledge. The essays span many different topics, all in Asimov's best form

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