What it was really like
591358
I am happy that Time-Life didn't dumb this book down for squeamish teenagers or prudish suburban housewives. Life for our ancestors was tough. The historical evidence has been presented in a fair and balanced way, warts & all. This book gives a realistic picture of what life was like, not a Hollywood sanitized version. If our teens knew what life was really like for our ancestors, perhaps they would be more appreciative of the privileged life they have now. I have no problem with my own teenage daughters reading it.

I recommend this book, and series, for anyone interested in history, as a basic introduction, based on sound evidence, with a focus on the life experiences of real people.

Sweyn
Author
<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/The-Rune-Primer-A-Down-to-Earth-Guide-to-the-Runes/dp/1847282466/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">The Rune Primer: A Down to Earth Guide to the Runes</a>
2363682
I enjoyed it very much, it was written so you could really imagine being right there ..  I enjoy versions of real life historical people..
2617770
Loved the book.  Well done by the author.  Explained just enough too not too much of what it was like to work at NL with the crew.
I did not realize there were so many personalities in one office.  A hell of a clash.
If this book brought back memories as a reader, I can only imagine what it was like to have lived it.
I guess the title of the book says it all.
2303301
What can I say?  It was fascinating reading a diary of someone who was actually there.  I had never been able to think about it from this perspective before.  It's the difference between, well, second hand reporting and first hand.  For me, there is a world of difference.
3602562
written from a good point of view and touched on what really went on.
1875917
Almost like real life. Almost real. It feels like it's a real life event, and you are watching someone go through it, not faking it. You'll giggle, you'll augh, and you will weep.
3429906
i gave it four stars because it was different. I mean you still kinda new what was gonna happen. but if felt real, it felt different. plus an average person could kinda relate with some of the things...
2317803
So interesting as it gave a very detail experience of what it was like to be committed to an insane asylum and what atrocities that were happening within the walls. It was interesting to read as a person who works in the mental health systems of the improvements that have been made because someone was brave enough to check and see what was truly happening.
3203918
I felt that this book was real. It showed the real lives, including love and struggle, of Lucy and Desi and all that they endured through their lives together and beyond.
4948402
Even those of us who lived through the exciting times of the fall of communism, and the birth of freedom in eastern Europe sometimes have trouble knowing what it was like on the ground.  This book is a good picture of that life on the ground, both for westerners (such as the author) and for the nationals of those countries.  'Picnic' is both a memoir and a picture of life in formerly communist countries in the 1990s.  The author tells the story in a candid, unembellished, almost mundane way that is riveting in details of everyday life.
3663818
This book was really good.  I really liked the way it was written with the two stories overlapping each other.  I learned alot about the 1893 Worlds Fair.  All the problems they had and then the horrible stories about the murders.  If you are a history buff and also like a good murder story, this is the book for you.  It is a trip into another time which I always find interesting. A visit to a time when women were just beginning to venture out on their own for the first time.  Always before they had to be escorted everywhere they went.  Of course with freedom comes some danger.  The men who worked to put the fair together were interesting and that they were able to do it was nothing short of a miracle.  I tried to imagine how it must have been to see the electric lights and the farris wheel. It must have seemed like a miracle.
A very good read. Enjoyed all of it.
1518664
This book was recommended to me by a political friend who worked on and around Capitol Hill in Tennessee, as did I, and recognized several of the characters.  So much of it is so true, but you still don't get that these people, although they were hungry for power, had a softer and gentler side and were not all bad.  I have not finished the book yet, but it has brought back a lot of memories od my younger days, and I recommend it for people who have been involved in state government on either side of the fence.
2864910
Wow. This book is the real deal. It truly explains what it was like to be there. Dealing with the regs, the FOBITs and the general BS.  Very well done book. I was sweating as I read it and could feel the heat of the Iraqi sun. The back and forth from current to past was well done. Over all a very good book.
3776628
A very interesting account of daily life during the early phoney war period of WW2.  Seen from an Americans point of view so probably missed some of the nuances of British life however I did get a real flavour of what the cities would have felt like and got to hear from some real people actually living through the blitz and others who didn't experience much hardship at all.  A real good read broken up into small "article" style stories that Ernie was sending back to his paper in the US. well worth a read.
2603643
Watching the news coverage of apartheid from the UK in the 80s and 90s, it was hard to get your head round the scale of the issue - there were millions of people affected, and all we ever saw were crowds and protests and the political leaders. This book shows what it was like for ordinary people, including the white South Africans who sleepwalked into the whole situation. It suddenly feels much more real when it's a story about a segregated small town with a ghetto just a few hundred yards up the hill. And the main story - of a social worker trying to deal with the vast inequalities in her neighbourhood - shows how an ordinary person can do extraordinary things when the circumstances demand it. Powerful stuff.
2956904
I would highly recommend this book to anyone.  It was a great read.  There is an awesome feeling to read how people actually felt during that time, rather than just names, numbers, and dates.
1552813
Wonderful book. Felt as though I was truly experiencing what it was like to be living in this era. I learned about the people in this book and what their life experiences were. Learned so much about the people of Poland and their bravery and suffering during  the second world war. I hope others read this book and enjoy it as much as I did