Jane Cumberbatch's Pure Style Living

Amazon.com

Books about pared-down minimalist décor--most of them featuring the much-ridiculed all-white-box room with one lonely straight-backed chair in the center--are plentiful. Few people can actually live in those rooms, though, and for those who prefer a little color in their lives, there's Jane Cumberbatch's Pure Style Living.

The first third of the book is dedicated to the "sources" of the author's style: the vibrant yellow-orange of a cut melon, the texture and deep rust of freshly dug red potatoes, the orderly rows of a plowed field, the satisfying sturdiness of a heavy, purely functional piece of furniture. Next is a somewhat ephemerally organized section called "Live," in which Cumberbatch's ideas of the simple life are fleshed out with huge photographs of simple and practical kitchen gardens, bedrooms, autumn picnic spreads, slipcovered sofas, and distraction-free home office spaces. There are a few easy projects, like making a table runner or a bulletin board, planting bulbs, canning marmalade, or whipping up a raspberry fool (the author is British and so are the recipes). A breezy bit about al fresco dining is particularly inspiring. The final third of the book, "Directory," is, essentially, a well-designed version of that literary masterpiece known as the IKEA summer catalog, lacking only the prices. It's a guilty pleasure, perhaps, to leaf through the pages and pages of essential items--good sherry in the pantry, vintage watering can in the garden, cork flooring in the workroom--but a pleasure nonetheless. --Liana Fredley

Book Description

Jane Cumberbatch's vision is for a more balanced and simple, natural, and focused way of life. Jane Cumberbatch's Pure Style Living is a book about how to make the home a more sensual and practical environment in which to life, from choosing colors for walls to cooking a simple supper with fresh ingredients. The book is packed with affordable, inspiring, and achievable ideas that will help you to make the most of your home, even on the tightest budget. There is also a substantial visual directory and a list of suppliers to help you put together all the elements needed to create the Pure Style look.

Customer Reviews:

OK for a Browse.......2005-04-07

Liberal use of white space and highlighted key words try to lend weight to the flimsy text of this lifestyle book. Unfortunately there is barely enough content for a series of newspaper columns.
The photos are first rate, but don't rescue the book.
Example: Under SEASONAL PRODUCE, the author says "Buy fresh produce locally and in season for better taste and texture." The illustrations filling most of that page are a series of colorful photos of tomatoes, cabbage, mushrooms, etc.
The interior shots and garden scenes would fit very well in a book on English country homes. These are lovely.
Tacked on at the end is a page with 13 recipes. Another appendix includes 13 pages of address for buying linens, accessories, lighting, etc. Only in a few places in the book are project instructions included (table runner, felt and ribbon bulletin board, comforter cover).
Mostly the text is banal and Martha Stewart has nothing to fear from this author.

Down-to-Earth Living Style.......2002-08-09

"What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?"
~W.H. Davies

Jane Cumberbatch has a vision for a simpler existence that is more balanced and natural. She enjoys making her home more sensual, while also encouraging a practical environment in which you can really live. She is the mother of three children who thinks of her home as the heart of her daily life. To her, it is a place where she can connect with her real self.

The ideas in this book are affordable and there are a few moments of pure inspiration.

The contents include:

Recipes
Sources
Living
Nature
Scents
Texture
Eating
Architecture
Function
Order
Fabrics
Color
Work
Gardening
Playing
Washing
Sleeping
Flooring
Painting

This book is more about living simply than creating complicated projects. This is a book about how to make a home more stylish, sensual and peaceful.

There are useful ideas like how you can grow your own produce, recycle items you would normally throw away or how to use fewer chemicals and maybe even make your own compost heap.

I found the text inspirational and thought provoking in many ways. It is creative and evokes a feeling of crisp ideas, nostalgic memories from childhood and an awakening to the senses. Pictures of hanging clothes on a clothesline or sweeping a porch barefoot almost make you long for simpler times.

The pictures pour themselves over the pages with sheer beauty. This is a book you will want to sit and read while comfortably snuggling on your couch (which you wish looked like the pink one on page 190 where a child is peacefully sleeping) with a down comforter and a cup of tea. The pictures are interspersed with text in the first section. This is a combination of visual and intellectual appeal which I found to be almost unique in its form.

There are cute ideas like a bowl of soup decorated with a heart crouton and herbs which I really thought was delightfully fun. The pictures of making a raspberry fool look absolutely sinfully delicious. You just want to put a spoonful of raspberries in your mouth or enjoy the process of folding berries into cream.

Then there are ideas for scenting your bedlinen with fragrances or protecting your clothes with natural cedarwood blocks. There is a visual directory of ideas. The last section compliments the first as it gives you ideas on the materials needed to achieve the natural atmosphere described in the first section.

There are ideas for building a fire on a damp blustery day or how to bring nature into your home to increase tactile sensations.

While the ideas in "play" are not necessarily that original, you may have forgotten how as a child you carved out potato art to make potato prints. There is a cute way to decorate a tree with heart shaped pastry.

To find the recipes you have to turn to page 393 where you can find "mini" recipes for Chestnut soup, roast chicken with lemon and herb butter, chicken stock, sautéed carrots, mince pies, chocolate truffles, orange and almond cake and heart-shaped biscuits.

After reading this book I had this almost ecstatic feeling of just peaceful oneness with the earth and home. My thought it is due to the combination of visual and intellectual appeal.

A treat for the senses! Highly recommended for new home makers or for anyone who wants to immerse themselves in dreams, thoughts and creative ideas for a few hours. Another idea would be to read this book out in the sun with the breeze blowing through your hair.

A free-flowing book of inspirational ideas. It is brilliant in its simplicity!

~TheRebeccaReview.com

Great photos, silly text.......2002-02-12

This looked very tasty and the photos are indeed quite lovely. Unfortunately, there is not an original idea in this entire book. The author sets herself up as the next Martha Stewart but she just hasn't got it. Take this excerpt on serving raspberry fool "Spoon it into small wine glasses or secondhand 1930s ice cream glasses." Yuck! They HAVE to be secondhand, and 1930s, not '40s. The whole tone of the book is ignorant and twee.

Pure Style revival in a bigger format.......2002-01-18

Jane's "Pure Style" and "Pure Style Outdoors" are some of my favorites books.

They are part of my special selection of books because they are wonderful books. Beyond the beautiful pictures we find great ideas and a really innovative approuch for home decoration.

For years I've considered Pure Style my best acquisition, because of the way it mixes home design with life style and also by the way Jane invites us to pay more attention to how we live and to the beauty of simple things.

Pure Style Living is just like it's older brothers, but bigger and heavier, and gives a sense of deja vu.

I adore Jane's work, and I'm sure she can make a better job. But PS Living is just a big clone of her first book! It's worth, but there's nothing new!

A Definite Must Have!.......2001-08-30

I've been a fan of Jane's since Pure Style and was eagerly awaiting by Amazon delivery of her new Pure Style Living. I was not disappointed. While this may be marketed as a home design text, it is really a philosophy of contemporary living combining gracious style with a remembrance of all those things that make you feel warm, cozy and comfortable. Her approach to living is fresh and her ideas can easily be incorporated into your everyday life - they are simple and affordable and a welcome change to a contemporary world full of just "too much stuff." I'd definitely love to have lunch with Jane!

Book Description

Discover the keys to a successful relationship in this easy-to-follow guide designed to bring balance, harmony and romance into your life. Fun graphics and simple drawings to instruct & inspire.

Book Description

Quality users' guides help photographers get the most from their photo equipment. Magic Lantern Guides have sewn bindings and laminated covers for long life. Softbound. 5 x 7-1/2". Approximately 176 pp., fully illustrated in color and black and white.

Customer Reviews:

Essential equipment for Elan II owners........2001-08-03

The most important part of photography is knowing your camera. This is far more informative than the basic manual that you receive when you buy a camera. It teaches you how to use the camera, and teaches a lot of concepts of photography as well. It also covers lenses and speedlites. It is a great resource for someone that is considering buying the camera.

Excellent resource for beginners and intermediates.......2001-02-27

The book does an excellent job of providing the amateur / intermediate photographer with the necessary knowledge to take fantastic photos. The camera is quite powerful and the book helps the user leverage its capabilities far better than the original manuals.

Better than the Canon manual..........2000-10-30

If you are new to 35mm photography or just new to cameras with automated features this book gives much better explantations of the camera's features than the Canon manual. I keep the book with me whenever I'm using the camera, at least until I get thoroughly familiar wtih it.

spend your money on something else.......2000-10-23

not that helpful... u shouuld buy a photography book for the how to's not this one.

Lantern Guide for EOS not illuminating.......2000-05-08

While the guide is more useful than the included Canon instruction manual, it is a substandard users guide. Filled with marketing hype -- not enough practical examples of how each camera function works for my needs. No index (which in my book, is mandatory) makes the guide hard to use. A table that lists which features are avaialble in each mode would have been very useful and easy to do, but is not included. So, overall, three stars for trying -- and for adding to the meager user information provided by Canon.

Average customer rating:
I Don't Want to Be Out Here Any More Than You Do, Beetle Bailey

Manufacturer: Tempo
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000CSYSQC

Average customer rating:
I Don't Want to Be Out Here Any More Than You Do, Beetle Bailey #4

Manufacturer: Tempo Book 5348
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000CZ3F2I

Average customer rating:

An excellent collection of older Beetle strips

Who can get enough of Beetle Bailey?

I don't want to be out here any more than you do, Beetle Bailey (Tempo books, 5348)
Mort Walker
Manufacturer: Grosset & Dunlap
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Drawing | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0006C0EPI

Customer Reviews:

An excellent collection of older Beetle strips.......2000-08-19

Older Beetle Bailey is better Beetle Bailey as this collection of strips shows.

Who can get enough of Beetle Bailey?.......2000-03-31

Here he is again, the infamous Beetle Bailey. Fill out your collection.

I Don't Want to Be Out Here Any More Than You Do, Beetle Bailey

Average customer rating:

I Don't Want to Be Out Here Any More Than You Do, Beetle Bailey

Manufacturer: Tempo
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000DEMMZE

Book Description

Co-Winner of the 2004 Colorado Endowment for the Humanities Publication Prize

High Altitude Energy: A History of Fossil Fuel in Colorado is a timely, articulate history of coal, coke, oil, gas, and oil shale extraction and production in Colorado. Scamehorn examines the origin, evolution, and aspects of the social and economic impact of these industries in Colorado. He treats each of the fuel sources separately from their discoveries and initial production in the nineteenth century to the energy crisis of the 1970's, through the 1980's, and up to the present energy concerns. In detailing the state's long history of fossil fuel production, Scamehorn thoroughly dissects the arguments and conclusions of the domestic energy shortages made during the decades since the Second World War. Today's readers-faced with either ever increasing energy costs or controversial plans to drill in national wildlife refuges-will be impressed by the timeliness of Scamehorn's analysis of the failure of the U.S. government to achieve energy independence.

Average customer rating:

If you buy one baby name book -this is it!!

Something to think about

Not impressed

Not quite what I expected

WAY TOO COMPLICATED!!

The Perfect Baby Name: Finding the Name that Sounds Just Right
Whitney Walker , and Eric Reyes
Manufacturer: Berkley Trade
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Baby Names | Pregnancy & Childbirth | Women's Health | Personal Health | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
General | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
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The Baby Name Wizard: A Magical Method for Finding the Perfect Name for Your Baby

Beyond Jennifer & Jason, Madison & Montana, Revised and Updated: What to Name Your Baby Now

Best Baby Name Book In The Whole World

75,000+ Baby Names for the 21st Century

Cool Names: for Babies

ASIN: 0425202658

Book Description

Learn to listen for the ideal name!

The Perfect Baby Name is the first book of its kind-providing parents with a creative approach to selecting first and middle names that sound good with readers' surnames. A good combination of names is pleasing to the ear, easy to remember, and can help a child be popular and successful in life.

Utilizing the techniques found in poetry and phonetics, parents will discover how to examine a surname by the sum of its parts-and match it with the perfect first name. With this unique new method, parents can choose the baby name that everyone is looking for: the perfect one!

Here's how it works with the surname Green:

Break down the sounds: G, R, long E, and N. These are the four different sounds (or phonemes) in that name. Now refer to those four different lists in the back of the book.

The G list has names like Hugo and Morgan...

The R list has Rex and Aurora...

The E (long) list, Eli and Alicia...

The N list, Nathaniel and Lindy...

All of these names sound good with the surname Green, so now it's just a matter of personal preference. Readers can scan the lists for the name they like best and choose the perfect match!

Customer Reviews:

If you buy one baby name book -this is it!! .......2007-03-31

With all the on-line resources finding a baby name was soooo overwhelming. This book broke down into simple guidelines what makes a name sound good with your last name -or at least sound better than other names. You don't need an alliteration -Jennifer Aniston was one example. I started going through the guidelines and found that almost all of my friends and family had followed these rules/guidelines without knowing them. It was a great way to help us wade through the tons of names out there!!

Something to think about.......2007-02-13

Although we didn't end up choosing a name directly from the book, the book helped point out a few things to think about while selecting a name. It gave great lists of names for specific sounds that we might have been going for. I thought it was useful, and we bought it for naming our second child which was definitely harder for us.

Not impressed.......2006-09-01

I was unable to read this book past her premise- make sure there is alliteration in your baby's name. What? I don't think that alliteration is necessary to make a nice sounding name, Whitney Walker! I guess it is nice to be memorable but frankly, I am more concerned about the cadence of a name (and how it flows with the last name) and the "feel" of a name than alliteration. Scrap this book and try The Baby Name Wizard by Laura Wattenberg first.

Not quite what I expected.......2006-02-23

This book was good...in that I understood her point. Some names just roll off your tongue and others you stumble over. But I found the endless lists hard to follow after a while. I guess I was expecting a more detailed formula and not just sounding out my own last name.

WAY TOO COMPLICATED!!.......2006-01-31

I guess the other people who reviewed this book paid far more attention in English class than I did. I find this book's instructions difficult and time consuming. It seems like you have to do an awful lot of work on the different sounds, syllables and stresses in your last name before you can begin to look for a first name. Then comes trying to find a middle name that fits into the phonetics and poetry rules the book tells you to follow. WAY TO DIFFICULT! Just give me an old fashioned baby name book any day.

Average customer rating:

I wouldn't name my dog anything from this book.
Not a typical name book.
Not the Same Old Stuff
Unusual
If you enjoy name books, you'll like this

Just the Perfect Name
Yvonne de La Paix
Manufacturer: Signet
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

General | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books

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Accessories:

Braun IRT 4020 ThermoScan Ear Thermometer

ASIN: 0451205316
Release Date: 2002-06-04

Book Description

With more than 20,000 culturally diverse names, their origins, a pronunciation guide, meanings, tips, and trivia, this is the hippest, most comprehensive baby name book on the market.

Customer Reviews:

I wouldn't name my dog anything from this book........2007-01-30

This may be the perfect book if you want your kid to be picked on and teased mercilessly. They say it builds character. However if you'd perfer not to have your children curse your name even after you've gone skip this piece of trash. If you want a book with normal names in it definitely skip this. example from the k in girls koruna, kosma, ksena, kuma, kuni, kupona, kura, kuri, kyla, kymberley, kyo, kyra, kyrie, kristine, krystal. Just a little example of the normality of the names.

Not a typical name book........2005-12-02

Like a previous reviewer, I have loaned this book out and not had it returned - people who have it don't like to let it go. Rather than a simple list of names and variations, this book goes to a lot of effort to explain language variations and histories for a lot of common, and unusual, names. The advice on creating new names is unlike anything I have ever read in any other name book. The downside of this book is that if you buy one copy, you'll no doubt be buying more if you make the mistake of lending it out ;)

Not the Same Old Stuff.......2003-10-25

I have lent and LOST 3 copies of this book to the borrowers! Interesting names abound...the "usual" ones are there too, but De La Paix even gives unexpected foreign variations of THOSE, so your kid won't be the 6th Ashley or 4th Sam in class! Some light-hearted trivia about many names; hints on how to create an original. Cool African tribal, Asian, Native American, Celtic, Gaelic names; learn "June" or "May" in 15 languages! It'd be 5 stars if it had 40,000 instead of 30,000 names --- couldn't get enough.

Unusual.......2003-01-07

If you are looking for names that are different or ethnically oriented, this book offers plenty of choices. If you are looking for ordinary or old-fashioned, there is a list that is repeated frequently. I, personally, didn't find this book useful.

If you enjoy name books, you'll like this.......2002-07-06

I love names, and I'm always looking for books on the subject. This book has the right amount of both boys and girls names. Just The Perfect Name is the perfect book for someone trying to come up with the right name for their baby, or for someone who simply enjoys names, like I do.

Candlelight Ecstasy Romance Series, No. 274 Thru 276: With All My Heart; Just Call My Name; The Perfect Affair

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Candlelight Ecstasy Romance Series, No. 274 Thru 276: With All My Heart; Just Call My Name; The Perfect Affair
Emma; Bernard, Dorothy A.; Patrick, Lynn Merritt
Manufacturer: Dell Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000X1SQMK

Book Description

Unlike Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Gen. William T. Sherman, whose controversial Civil War-era reputations persist today, Maj. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan has been largely untouched by controversy. In Little Phil, historian Eric J. Wittenberg reassesses the war record of a man long considered one of the Union Armyâ€™s greatest generals.

From his earliest days at West Point, Phil Sheridan refused to play by the rules. He was fortunate to receive merely a suspension, rather than expulsion, when as a cadet he charged a superior officer with a bayonet. Although he achieved fame as a cavalryman late in the Civil War, Sheridan actually began the conflict as an infantry commander and initially knew little of the mounted service. In his first effort as a cavalry commander with the Army of the Potomac in the spring of 1864, he gave a performance that Wittenberg argues has long been overrated. Later that year in the Shenandoah Valley, where Sheridan secured his legendary reputation, he benefited greatly from the tactical ability of his subordinates and from his huge manpower advantage against the beleaguered Confederate troops of Lt. Gen. Jubal Early.

Sheridan was ultimately rewarded for numerous acts of insubordination against his superiors throughout the war, while he punished similar traits in his own officers. Further, in his combat reports and postwar writings, he often manipulated facts to show himself in the best possible light, ensuring an exalted place in history. Thus, Sheridan successfully foisted his own version of history on the American public. This controversial new study challenges the existing literature on Phil Sheridan and adds valuable insight to our understanding of this famous, but altogether fallible, warrior.

Customer Reviews:

Short Critical Assessment of Sheridan .......2005-05-17

Wittenburg writes a very compact critical book on the military skills and ethics of Phil Sheridan. The author writes in a concise fashion presenting factual detail centering on the most important moments of Sheridan's career. After a review of Sheridan's early career including the near bayoneting of a senior classman at West Point, the author spends virtually the remainder of the book on Sheridan Civil War career offering rather severe critiques of Sheridan's military ability as a cavalry leader and tactician, as an unfair supervisor of subordinates, his inability to follow orders, his inability to tell the truth abut early forays and his failure to recognize the contributions of subordinates. Although this does appear to be pretty harsh treatment of Sheridan, Wittenburg presents the information in a flowing economic narrative that sets up the final chapter's evaluation as a virtual summary of points categorically describing Sheridan's weaknesses. The author virtually starts with Sheridan's failure not to bring on an engagement at the battle of Perryville, to his inability to follows Meade's directions to open the road to Spotsylvania to his possible bypass of Grant's original orders for him to join Sherman. The author notes thst Sheridan's typical veteran post Civil war memoir glories in abundant hyperbole that speaks of frequent victories over southern horsemen. Sheridan's most interesting conflicts are personal with Crook, Averell and of course the cataclysmic collision with General Warren at Five Forks. However, in spite of the numerous criticisms, Wittenburg acknowledges that in the final theater during and after Five Forks, Sheridan was relentless in pursuit of Lee's retreating army earning accolades. And perhaps this last phase balances the book in that although Sheridan had his faults and ego, he had a certain ruthless drive that could truly make war hell for his his opposition in the valley or Indians and he could apply total war when the end was near. Grant's respect for Sheridan at the end seems to be at its zenith when he tells Sheridan that he may sack Warren with total authority and discretion. Of course Sheridan sacks Warren most likely without facts or reason but more so for perception and past negatives that Meade did not hold Warren accountable. Sheridan and Warren are perhaps the most interesting pair in conflict during the Civil War other than Jefferson C. Davis and William Nelson where the former assassinated the latter. Wittenburg's critiques may be controversial but they are well presented and many are well proven. But the debate is still on in the end because Grant has full confidence in Sheridan and with Sheridan brimming with confidence and his well-supported cavalry force, he literally pulls the plug on Lee's valiant and hopeless attempts at escape. A well-written book with controversy but the best part is that the book challenges your thought professionally leaving room for argument.

Challenges the existing literature on Sheridan.......2005-04-17

Little Phil: A Reassessment Of The Civil War Leadership Of Gen. Philip H. Sheridan by civil war historian Eric J. Wittenberg is a 272 page examination of the legendary Union Army general. This controversial study challenges the existing literature on Sheridan arguing that his war record has been commonly overrated. Informed and informative reading which is confidently recommended to Civil War buffs and academia alike, Little Phil is a provocative, iconoclastic, well written study that will enrich and enhance our understanding of one of the Union Army's most famous yet fallible officers.

Guess the author wouldn't like Patton either........2004-09-16

OK, to believe this "reassessment" of Phil Sheridan, we must believe that the general fooled Union leaders Lincoln, Grant, Sherman, and Halleck, and Civil War writers from Bruce Catton and Fletcher Pratt to James McPherson and Shelby Foote (as well as British military authors such as Jackson's biograper, G.F.R. Henderson). Not to mention scores of non-coms who fought under Sheridan."It might be worth making a fight if Grant were their commander. But not against this man". So was the report of Napoleon III's troops after Sheridan led a movement after the war along the Rio Grande to block French forces occupying Mexico. Bismarck also praised Sheridan upon the latter's counsel in the Franco-Prussian war.You do not need to dislike an unadmiring book to be shocked how author Eric Wittenberg relies selectively and heavily on prejudiced and "hurt" sources, as well as taking exclusively critical but minor remarks from favorable Sheridan biographers.For example, sources for Wittenberg's "reassessment" include rebel General Jubal Early and guerilla Colonel Mosby, and Union General George Crook (whose claim to credit for the decisive move at Fishers Hill on his own came AFTER a falling-out with Sheridan over American Indian policies AND after Crook was heavily criticized for the Union near-loss at Cedar Creek.) Wittenberg fails also to remember that commanders base their decision partly on the input of lieutenants. Whatever Crook's contribution to victory was at Fisher's Hill, it was Sheridan's decision after meeting with his division leaders. Wittenberg even tries to deny Sheridan his widely-received credit for his amazing victory at Missionary Ridge by favoring another Brigadier's claim of capturing the enemy's cannons. Yet Sheridan was seen celebrating his charge by straddling one of the cannons in victory before continuing on as the only commander to pursue the retreating enemy. Wittenberg does not note that Sheridan was in this pursuit when he said the guns were "recaptured". And although most historians credit Sheridan for this win (including those mentioned above), Wittenberg is only able to footnote one magazine article.But in many matters like these, Wittenberg outrageously resorts to calling Sheridan a liar even when he does no better than show them to be one man's word vs. another.But it is obvious from the number of pages on Sheridan's supposed insubordination and harshness that these are Wittenberg's biggest criteria for generalship. Insubordination? Harshness? Hmmm... sounds like another general. His name was PATTON. One must wonder than how Blood-n-Guts would fare in a Wittenberg "reassessment."Regarding Wittenberg's biggest Sheridan victim, Governeur Warren, the latter General had let down both Grant and Meade and was previously considered for dismissal. Mainly, he was Sheridan's opposite in personal leadership and drive and played second-guesser at critical moments. He was not seen by Sheridan on the field at crucial moments ("By God, THAT's what I want to see! General officers at the front!" he cried, seeing Joshua Chamberlin.). As Bruce Catton observed, the real mistake was that other men lacking Sheridan's leadership were not cashiered earlier. In comparison to the ink spent on these subjects, Wittenberg greatly understates Sheridan's victories early in the war, mentioning Booneville without obererving that Sheridan clinched victory over the rebels forces with a 90-man rear charge. And though Sheridan outnumbered the rebels in the Shenandoah Valley, he bested the military maxim that attacks on an entrenched foe should be with a 3:1 advantage. His masterly use of combined arms is cited by the US Chief Military History office.INCREDIBLY, Wittenberg faults Sheridan's use of cavalry as a separate fighting arm, yet many consider it to have been the precedent for freewheeling armored strikes. Again Sheridan was like Patton, who wrote: "Good tactics can save even the worst strategy."

Stick to Law Mr Wittenberg.......2004-02-15

I found lawyer Eric Wittenberg's book on General Sheridan entitled "Little Phil" just appalling and frightening, that this book was even published and author is considered a noteworthy Civil War historian. Once again we have a non-military historian or professional trying to view the profession of arms through some ridiculous method or process, this time applying law as in a legal case. As a three-decade veteran of the military, I was shocked by the lack of general military knowledge, which is such a current fade of historians who are not in the same class as "SLAM" Marshall, John S. D. Eisenhower, Trevor DuPuy or even Stephen Ambrose, who got things wrong and crossed the integrity line, but most of his books are doctrinally accurate. Wittenberg's understanding of combat, war, the dynamics of changing tactical application, the levels of war and so much more, is dreadful. Saying that according to Dennis Hart Mahan that cavalry operations should be conducted by some military tactical manual and not change and adapt with the real-world fact of combat is so ignoramus that it would haunt any combat veteran. To say that cavalry was not to "fight battles" is so absurd, because, guess what? It was happening! They were fighting cavalry against cavalry battles as nations had since the Crusades and Ghenus Kahn and Napoleon. Mahan, according to Wittenberg, should run out at Haw's Shop and announce, "Stop! This is not in my book, you are not following my manual."
The author needs to stick with law, because he is no historian and lacks the training. To measure Sheridan like he was a race horse with a tally sheet is pathetic. What Wittenberg fails to see, that through Sheridan's aggressive operations, win or lose, he ripped the initiative from the Confederate cavalry and they had to fight him on his terms. There has never been a military leader who has not exaggerated or misused his reports to a degree, made tactical or operational mistakes, including Washington and Frederick the Great, and though winning the battle as Sheridan did at 3rd Winchester, the execution was flawed. Mr. Wittenberg's concept of war is to be a clean, gentleman's contest with no hurt feelings, fair rules and clear winners. Who cares if Sheridan fires a couple of officers in the heat of battle. He is the commander and lives are at stake. War is not a popularity context.
There are so many errors, flaws and ignorant comments, one-sided bias and just immature criticisms of Sheridan in this book that I could not finish it; the first time in my reading career. One example, in Wittenberg's assessment of the Overland Campaign he faults Sheridan for failing to link up with General David Hunter at Charlottesville and escort Hunter's army to join General Meade. This did not happen of course, but in Wittenberg's litany of Sheridan's failures he fails to address the fact that Hunter was defeated at Lynchburg and retreated west back into the Shenandoah Valley. Even if Sheridan would have gained Charlottesville, Hunter never made it. This is extremely prejudicial history for even a lawyer.
The scholarship is so bad, that Mr. Roy Morris and other biographers should share in the royalties of the dozen of so books sold. Where does one go to claim a refund?

Too one-sided.......2003-05-31

As another reviewer said, this book makes some good points, but ultimately is too one-sided. Phil Sheridan's image may be more untarnished than it should be, but if the author wanted to bring it into proper perspective, he could've accomplished that simply by giving us an honest, reasonable portrait, pointing out the shortcomings that others have tended to gloss over. Instead he has given us a diatribe. The author is an attorney, and I happen to be a judge. When a lawyer refuses to admit that his opponent has ANY evidence or legal authority in his favor, when it is obvious that he does have some, I tend to look more askance at that lawyer's entire argument. I had the same reaction reading this book. Instead of being content to bring Sheridan's lofty reputation back down to earth where it belongs, he "trashes" him, and thereby weakens the force of his argument. Had Wittenberg simply argued that Sheridan was not as good - even not nearly as good - a general as he is commonly thought to have been, one might be readily inclined to agree. But he essentially argues that Sheridan was a bad general, and the evidence does not support that argument. Those who like so-called "advocacy history" may enjoy this book; those who believe that historians should simply attempt to present what they believe to be the truth, without having an axe to grind, will likely not.

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Kirchenreform und Hochmittelalter 1046 - 1215.
Hermann Jakobs
Manufacturer: Oldenbourg
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 3486497146

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A Future Classic of Nature Literature

Praise for A Wing in the Door

Fine new Milkweed title.

Strong story compromised by some inaccuracies.

A Wing in the Door: Life with a Red-Tailed Hawk (World As Home, The)
Peri Phillips McQuay
Manufacturer: Milkweed Editions
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1571312390

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At home from Panama to the Arctic, red-tailed hawks are a common sight in the skies of North America. But because red-tails are understandably shy of humans, they are usually a distant sight, and few people get the opportunity to observe the raptors up close for more than a fleeting second.

Peri McQuay, a Canadian writer and naturalist, is one of those few. Called on to help raise a young red-tail that had been taken from the wild early and trained--but only partly--by a would-be falconer, she embarked upon what she clearly considers to be the adventure of a lifetime. Warned that Merak, the young bird, might have imprinted on humans and therefore likely could not fend for herself, McQuay spent the next several seasons encouraging Merak to find a home for herself in the world to which she belonged, probing the depths of raptor psychology in an attempt to help Merak learn to hunt, find a mate, and return to the wild state that was her birthright.

The experiment, as McQuay writes in this thoughtful memoir, had mixed results. Her portrait of Merak is sympathetic, affectionate, and full of surprises (among them the humorous revelation that a bird of prey and a cat can arrive at an accommodation, and even live in peace), if tinged with sorrow for what has become of so much of the wild. McQuay's affecting tale of "the gift of this pitiably damaged yet magnificent hawk" will inspire any student of wild birds. --Gregory McNamee

Book Description

Illegally plucked from her nest when only a month old to be trained for falconry, Merak is two when finally released. She isn’t used to foraging for herself, however, and wanders into a nearby town. As Peri McQuay quickly learns, this human-imprinted hawk is not quite ready for the wild. As Merak’s caretakers, the McQuays try to coax the bird to independence. In journal form, Peri McQuay writes about her life with Merak, relating the hawk’s antics — chasing a garden hose that looks like a snake, rearing up to magnificent size to threaten a house cat — and her difficulties. McQuay becomes increasingly attached even as she hopes that Merak will become fully wild again. This unusual book about a little-known topic testifies to the powerful connections between humans and animals.

Customer Reviews:

A Future Classic of Nature Literature.......2001-10-24

The fact that Milkweed Press has wisely chosen to reprint Peri Phillips McQuay's A Wing in the Door: Adventures with a Red-Tail Hawk (originally published in Canada in 1993), bespeaks its enduring value, and I think helps ensure its survival into the future as a classic of nature literature. Like another great Canadian nature writer, Farley Mowat (Never Cry Wolf), Peri Mcquay explores the relation between human and wild with wisdom, intelligence, and spirit. McQuay adds to these qualities a remarkably poetic prose which deeply involves the reader in the inner experience of her story-- which is also the story of Merak the hawk, who becomes movingly real to us through the pages of this wonderful book. 'A Wing in the Door' is even more convincing and enriching because it includes not only the human-imprinted hawk and her caretakers who are attempting to help her live as close to the wild as possible, but much of the other wildlife surrounding them as well. The world of 'A Wing in the Door' is broad, rich, and varied, as well as exciting and deeply poetic. To quote from a moment in the book when the author is enjoying watching Merak in flight: 'To fly through the wings of a hawk is like flying through a kite, only far better." As a scholar and teacher of nature literature and editor of two books on naturalist John Burroughs, I find this book a treasure, one that I hope to use in the classroom.

Praise for A Wing in the Door.......2001-08-07

Toronto Globe and Mail, June 23, 2001: "In the style of Jane Goodall and other...animal behaviourists, there's a magnificent tenderness in these narratives--emphatically not to be confused with sentimentality....[A] rare and enlightened witness to the truth of non-human nature."

Washington Post Book World, April 22, 2001: "McQuay knows her land, knows its inhabitants, both plant and the animal, like a first language. Because of this she has written a compelling tale about wild places and wild and half-wild creatures and what it feels like to be around them that rings with authenticity."

Fine new Milkweed title........2001-08-02

This gentle, closely-observed, radiant work explores new territory in the genre of writing about animals. The red-tailed hawk, Merak, never gets more than a wing in the door, literally. She is neither reared nor rehabilitated in the McQuay house. She is brought to them Ñ on their 800 acre conservation area in Ontario Ñ by the local rehabilitator to be released back into the wild. It is only almost as the door to the cage is being opened that the McQuays find out that the hawk may be human imprinted, and thus Merak may be within the circle of their lives for the rest of her own. This book, like a crafted journal, tells the story of several years of Merak's life interwoven with the lives of the people who choose to feed her (mice and rats and muskrats) and look out after her. It is always the hawk who is the focus. Merak is neither wild nor domesticated, but lives in that space where more and more nonhuman creatures will be found, as human existence encroaches upon the natural states necessary for animals to be completely themselves. McQuay is all too aware of the losses that Merak must live with, and records them with the clarity and honesty available to someone who lives amidst such hard lessons.

Strong story compromised by some inaccuracies........2001-05-10

Take a strong premise-the observations and interactions of a human family with a partially tamed Red-tailed Hawk, evocative, often lyrical writing, add some anthropomorphism and a few factual errors, and you have A Wing in the Door. I really wanted to like this book more than I did. Like Marie Winn's Red-tails in Love, it covers a subject very near to my heart, humans and their relationship to birds of prey (I teach environmental education using non-releasable hawks, and one of the birds I use is a big female Red-tailed Hawk). The opportunity to interest a wider audience in the "personal" lives of these birds could be a valuable asset in promoting greater understanding of and appreciation for not just the subject species, but all wildlife and the environment in general. To do that effectively, anthropomorphism is a legitimate tool to make the birds seem more human and give them recognizable character traits to which the reader can relate. However, you shouldn't go too far. Too often, I thought, Ms. McQuay ascribed feelings, motivations, and premeditation to the bird's actions that I felt were a stretch. She addressed this issue in an opening note, explaining her use of anthropomorphism as a conscious, necessary antidote to the alternative worldview that we humans are somehow above other animals. I agree, in principal, up to a point, but felt that the author went too far in many cases, thus undermining the non-fiction objectivity of her narrative. In a similar vein, there were some inaccuracies, mainly having to do with aging and plumage characteristics. Early on, she discusses the bird's age when it came to her family, spring of the year following the year it hatched. The bird still has the brown and gray banded tail typical of an immature redtail, as it is coming up on its first molt. Yet, the bird is called a two year-old in the text (it is, in fact, just coming up on one year). I found this confusion about the bird's age as the years cycle throughout the narrative a bit distracting. The process of molting (shedding old feathers and growing in new ones) was often described as being uncomfortable for the bird, with allusions to ill-temper and bad behavior related to being thus indisposed. In my experience and from everything I have read, I have never seen reference to molt being a particularly discomforting process, any more than is the shedding of our hair. Out with the old, in with the new. Molt does change the bird's energetic requirements, but doesn't seem to actually cause them pain. These and similar problems with raptor biology aside, there is much to enjoy in A Wing in the Door. I welcome the effort to interest the general public in some of the fascinating details of the lives of raptorial birds. In the end, the author spins a pretty good tale about her experiences. For myself, I would have liked it better with a little more about the bird and a little less of the human.

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