Alistair Cooke's Letters Home
931776
I first saw Alistair Cooke when he hosted Masterpiece Theater in the 1970s. Each week this avuncular and eloquent gentlemen came into my living room and introduced an episode of I, Claudius. At the time, he'd already met everyone worth knowing: Presidents, Prime Ministers, Kings and Queens, and actors like Charlie Chaplin and Humphrey Bogart. He was one of those people you would love to have come for dinner knowing he'd keep you in the edge of your seat with wonderful stories and anecdotes. These letters from America represents Cooke's impressions on the Nixon, Ford, Carter and Reagan years. His analysis of the machinations of politicians and the passing fads of the era are on target even when explained in a humorous way. Having lived through this tumultuous time, I enjoyed reliving those moments all over again.
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Go write something of him for me to read, Tao Lin, something stupid and beautiful; like him, something pathetic and wanting. I am bored and lonely and I want to remember him in a way that makes my stomach hurt. I want to go back and watch my house burn to the ground and cry, knowing none of it will ever come back. I want to remember the person who punched my beautiful face because he had so much beautiful love for me. I want to know what it feels like to be beautifully alive, to be beautiful and alive and young. Go write something beautiful, stupid. Go to Taipei. Go and try to make a real home for yourself in a place with nothing real to you. Go be beautiful and stupid, explicitly stupid and implicitly beautiful. Go write it down and call it poetry and hide it somewhere in plain site, so beautifully plain. Develop a terrifyingly high tolerance for drugs and a prodigious ability to record and recount the moment-to-moment flow of every single thing that ever passed you by and seemed important. Use small words. Use selfish words. Be alone. Be alone in your selfishness. Your selfishness is beautiful. Your selfishness is him, still living in my heart, still burning me to the ground. Your aloneness is a micro-impression of my displacement, of the distance from my heart to the impossibility of going to some real place, some real home I once imagined with him but forgot. I want your thoughts when you are alone, your reflection in the mirror when you are selfish, when you say, "get out and leave me alone," to those you love the most; I want to see how you alienate them, the beautiful ones, when you slam the bathroom door for no reason and call them stupid, just because you can, just because you like the sound of the word on your tongue. I am a fleeting sensation of awareness; I am a lonely forty-something with a micro-impression of the entire world; I am a fleeting sensation in his awareness but only when you are excruciatingly honest. Bring him back to me, Tao Lin. Make him a brand new technology and give me the first test-drive, speak to me in a language only a scientist will understand; be amazingly detailed. I am studying a brand-new technology; I am on the fringe of having a completely familiar experience that will mean something when it has been made entirely new and beautiful.
2146304
Alistair Cooke at his best.  If you are old enough to remember his early TV program "Omnibus"...even as a child I liked it and this book almost made me nostalgic for things i DON'T remember.  Wonderful look at our country at an important time in history.
132108
Geoffrey Wellums captured my attention.  He made me feel like I was a part of his life and a part of his fighter squadron.  I wish he had said some more about his experiences, which were the personal side of the famous Battle of Britain.  I congratulate him for getting these memories into print, and I hope he can still remember them for a long time to come.
2041924
John Boemans memoirs of Moratai not only touched my heart but brought back so many memories that I also have of similar times and experiences that occurred during my late teen years whilst serving with the RAAF as a wireless telegrapher stationed on Moratai from VE day until long after the wars were over, with almost every armed person including all Americans from units such as Johns Air Force Squadron etc long departed. I was working on duty at the Pitoe Strip during Johns time there, we would have been the same age, now we are both old men but the memories of those sad and lonely days will always linger. Thank you John for helping me relive those days and the times we both were destined to share with those never to be forgotten good mates. Your beautifully written memoirs and priceless photographs took me back in time. Ronald A. Aust Wartime # 450130.
2754028
I am delighted as the editor to make the first volume of Sir Ernest Satow's Japan correspondence (1895-1900) available as part of a project to introduce more of the Satow Papers held in the National Archives of the United Kingdom at Kew, London (ref. PRO 30/33 1-23) to scholars and make them accessible to the general reading public.

Most of the letters in this book are addressed to Satow rather than from him, though he sometimes summarises his answer on the letters themselves. They paint an intriguing and unusual picture in English of the concerns and daily work (staffing problems, trade returns, jurisdiction issues etc.) of British consuls in Japan just before the end the 19th century.

This volume includes letters to Satow from the Foreign Office, the Tokyo Legation, and the consulates in Kobe, Nagasaki and Hakodate. The next volume(s) when published will include letters from the Yokohama consulate and other correspondence related to the British Court in Japan, letters from the Japanese Foreign Office, fellow envoys, foreign residents etc.

Ian Ruxton, editor of&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Sir-Ernest-Satow-s-Private-Letters-to-W-G-Aston-and-F-V-Dickins-The-Correspondence-of-a-Pioneer-Japanologist-from-1870-to-1918/dp/1435710002/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Sir Ernest Satow's Private Letters to W.G. Aston and F.V. Dickins: The Correspondence of a Pioneer Japanologist from 1870 to 1918</a>,<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/The-Diaries-of-Sir-Ernest-Satow-British-Envoy-in-Peking-1900-06-Vol-1/dp/141168804X/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">The Diaries of Sir Ernest Satow, British Envoy in Peking (1900-06), Vol. 1</a>,<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/The-Semi-Official-Letters-of-British-Envoy-Sir-Ernest-Satow-from-Japan-and-China-1895-1906/dp/1430315024/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">The Semi-Official Letters of British Envoy Sir Ernest Satow from Japan and China (1895-1906)</a>&nbsp;etc. (For a full list click on my name under the book title at the top of this web page.)
1273037
I was delighted to fnd this book on Amazon. I emigrated to US from this area of Scotland 48 years ago.
It reminds me of the expressions my grandparents would say on their farm in Argyll. Neil Munro had a unique style of writing, appealing very much to the country folks.
406783
This is yet another volume of war letters from WWI compiled by Editor Mark Tanner.  In this volume the letters written home by Frederick Muir are published, researched and footnoted in a wonderful manner.  Muir was a soldier; a member of the Australian Imperial Force and upon enlistment was sent to Egypt for further training and of course ended up at Gallipoli.

As those familiar with this aspect of WWI will know, the British (with a lot of help from others) began the campaign on the Gallipoli Peninsula surrounded by a lot of controversy; controversy what continues even to this day.  Was it a disaster as most historians will tell you, or was it a vital move and an important one?  Were there mistakes in leadership in the field and in England?  Did the British Navy perform as it should?  Were conditions of ground troops on the peninsula worse or better (in the trenches) than of those fighting the war in Europe?  Were the Australian solders better equipped, better paid and fed better than their British counterparts?  All interesting stuff here folks.

This collection of letters makes no effort to answer the above questions.  That sort of thing already fills volumes and volumes written by military and political historians.  No, this book consists of the letters written home to one man's family; a man who was there for the initial ground invasion and stayed almost to the eventual evacuation.  Perhaps the letters of this Private will give us better insight than the ramblings of an aged general...?

Frederick Muir was actually quite a good writer.  The editor has stayed true to Muir use of the English language spelling and all.  These letters give us a very good view of just what it was like on the ground during this wretched event in history.  There are no Rambo type stories here nor overly dramatized record of events.  Muir was simply a solder and via his letters he tells his story.

This collection that Tanner has put together in several volumes (other solders, other battles), is one of the best of that genre I have read.  The editor has given us the letters the author wrote in order.  At the end of the letters Tanner has given us some of the best research information I have come across.  He has supplied links to literally hundreds of sites so that the reader is able to follow-up on any aspect of this campaign he or she so desires.  (As stated in the book description - you will NOT be merely sent to Wikipedia which so often happens in other books...for that I was and am grateful).  No, the sites will save the reader many, many hours of digging through obscure sites, of which many will lead you to blank ends.

I strongly suggest that the letters be read one after the other straight through to the end.  At that time start going though the editor's notes; of which here are many, and if so desired, start following the different links provided.  The letters are not long enough to keep going back and forth and the information in the letters is easy to remember as you delve into the notes and foot notes.

Now I am not a professional historian and most certainly am not an expert when it comes to WWI.  No, I am merely a reader of history who has had a fascination with this particular war for the past 55 years.  In this case I also must admit that I lived in and near the site of this battle for a number of years so the story of this young man held special meaning form me.

If this era is of interest to you then I highly recommend this work and the other volumes Tanner has produced...you will learn much.

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks
2538842
Enjoyed this lovely book of correspondences. Great insight. Touching ending too. The characters created more seemed real than I've read lately. Thank you.
3391345
As with all of Marsden's book, this was intriguing andbrilliant.  I am 22, however I still enjoy all his books that aremeant for teenagers, especially the "Tomorrow" series.  The reason I am posting this review is because I would love to correspond with someone and discuss the ending to "Letters from the Inside".  Anyone who has read it will know how frustrating the ending is and at the moment I can only speculate with myself as to what exactly happened. Please write! Thanks!  END
737497
Dear Nina! I just finished reading your book "Forty Autumns". This is a magnificent documentary novel about the tragedy of your people, their courage and a large family that has preserved the mutual love and mutual help of three generations and love to each other for 40 difficult years. What you said is true. Diring two years (1956-57 years), I served in the Soviet occupation forces as a soldier, but traveled a lot in East Germany. It was a hard time for the German people. I have forever remembered their optimism and moral beauty. Later, in the 1990s, period of economic crise, I received a large amount of humanitarian aid from the residents of Memmingen for my charity organization (Taganka Children's Fund) in the Tagansky district of Moscow. Unfortunately, our authorities have forgotten about this period of Western assistance, but not ordinary people! The driver of one of the cars, Michael Mnch, has became forever my friend. Until now, he is remembered by the families of single mothers in the Taganska district. Thank you for the harsh truth about your great people! Sincerely yours, - Vladimir Shepelin, October 25, 2017. Moscow.
4741915
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings wrote a book of love, Southern cookery, and humor. It opens with the quote, "To preserve discipline in our armed forces, I demand CROSS CREEK be banned in or near any encampment." (Apparently, the description of fabulous foods was destroying morale.) The book closes with the quote, "Better a dinner of herbs where love is." What comes between is a broad variety of dishes and stories that delight the palate and the soul.

The recipe for watermelon cake is missing several letters/words/instructions. (Any Floridian will tell you of books and papers lost to the appetites of our sacred palmetto bugs.) The instructions on turtle eggs include proper collection to conserve the species. (Collection is now banned due to people abusing this harvest.) And the mystery of Minorcan Gopher Stew is answered by a preceding historical account and the hint that one must cut away the shell of the gopher. (Gopher tortoise is a threatened species.)

It is not just a cookbook; it is a wonderfully written window on a world not so long ago in years, but ages ago in tradition.
3522537
This is a personal experience of a resident of Oahu on the Lanikai side of the island during the Japanese attack on 12/7/1941.  Daily letters for a month giving us all a close up view of life in Hawaii at the early part of the war.  This is a caring compilation of letters by her granddaughter which were written to her son on the mainland in college.  A worthwhile historical read.  I loved it.
4890979
This is a teenagers recollections of the helicopter war in Vietnam.  Most of it is reconstructions of letters and tapes he sent home to his folks. I'm trying to think of a kind word to say about it, but I can't.
4480415
While I have enjoyed this collection of letters and I know I don't know how the letters were selected and what letters were still available, and what ones weren't or just didn't exist anymore (plus you can't include them all) I wonder about the letters that seem to be missing. No letters after Churchill's death? No letters about the engagement and wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana? Maybe there weren't any. But the Queen Mother did seem to write so many notes and letters to so many people about so many other events, that it seems odd that events like these weren't written about in letters to someone. But all in all I have enjoyed this book. It did help that I had read his biography of the Queen Mother when it came out so that many of the letters fit into a time line.
1697497
I love ALL of your books but this series is my favourite and i have an idea for a book  DIARY OF A NOOBISH ALEX  hope it gets turned into a book thanks :)
228199
These letters and this correspondence are fascinating for those who (as I did) learned to cook from Julia's master works and her television shows. But they reflect on so much more than that.  The perspective of these families and these women on Joe McCarthy, Eisenhower, Nixon, Adlai Stevenson, and John Kennedy, plus the work of their spouses is a perspective I have not been privy to elsewhere. Spending time, taking time, to share the journey from concept to publication of a seminal cookbook was an eye opener too. Enjoy this book as I did.