History Books

The book is not difficult and it is not complex, but it is dense in the sense it is packed with so much insight and value. I started out putting post-its on the pages I thought I would want to refer to again later, but had to stop when it became clear I was "post-itting" (if that is not a word, it certainly should be) just about every other page.

This book is unsurpassed in analyzing China's impact on the world. Through real world examples, it captures just how different China is in its business conduct just how strange a trading partner China is, and how it resembles no other great power. Kynge beautifully weaves China's contradictions into a tapestry that allows us to understand it, as best as is possible.

Though this book is in many ways a "big-think" book, it is nonetheless absolutely relevant to those doing business in or with China. It provides the best macroeconomic analysis of China I have yet seen and, by doing so, it provides invaluable knowledge of how to adjust/position your business to compete.

Must-read if you want to learn more about China's recent economic growth. Kynge's anecdotal style really brings home the reality of China's economic boom that you only hear in the abstract in the US media.

Writing this in 2008, May, I have to say that I enjoyed the book, it left me with an idea of China's position in the world, but also on how few I know about such a great and big country. It states facts, and very little opinions, and some of the facts are individual stories from which you have to draw your own conclusions.

Anyway, as a big country, I finish the book feeling the need to read and know way more about China, geography, history, different peoples; but if books sizes relate to the country size and history, we may talk thousands of pages!

The book suffer the couple of years since the edition, and one misses more actual stories and references to recent news.

James Kynge, in his book China Shakes the World, states that a key question is whether or not the Western world will be able to "accommodate the manifestations of extreme strengths and profound weaknesses that are emanating from China." This 2006 Financial Times Business Book of the Year is an interesting and informative read. It provides snapshots of some of the effects that China's economic development has had around the world.

Throughout his book Kynge seeks to capture the impact of China's rise by examining its effect on a variety industries in places such as Dortmund, Germany; Prato, Italy; and Rockford, Illinois. He discusses the global evolution of Chinese companies from steel production to high fashion.

In addition to detailing the success stories of industries and rags-to-riches entrepreneurs, Kynge also examines a number of challenges that may impede China's future development. One of these challenges is the cutthroat domestic competition in manufacturing and the piracy associated with it. Kynge also highlights a number of the stark environmental problems facing China as a result of its rapid industrialization. On the whole, China Shakes the World provides a balanced account of many of China's strengths and weaknesses.

In preparation for a business trip to China, the first book I read was China Shakes the World by James Kynge. Mr. Kynge is a journalist with over twenty years of experience in Asia. The book is an easy read covering a number of current topics: Piracy, Environmental Concerns, Technology, Communism and the China/U.S. Relationship. The book offers a balanced look at China showing both the opportunity and challenges the country faces. No conclusions are drawn about the future, but the book is a good high-level look across the many facets of China.

Substance: If you type in the chapter titles from the book into youtube, you'll find many lectures which more or less constitute the content of this book.

Material: the cover is its own dustjacket, it folds unto itself to provide pseudo cover flaps, the pages are unevenly cut in the "custom-bound" look that makes the page ends opposite the spine resemble a Richter Scale reading.

Content and Dimensions: At 128 pgs, the small book dimensions and the already available digital video resources available on the internet, Zizek's Violence does not have a great deal more to offer to either the neophyte or the acquainted student. Right for the price, but then again, not enough new to justify the monies of most whom are interested in Zizek's thought.

if you have the time to follow Zizek's lectures on youtube, on Liberalism, Euthansia of Tolerant Reason after Kant, Marxism in the Streets, Truth,Sam Harris,procedural Toilets; there is a lot duplicated, duplicitous in this nifty little paper-back, you can read it while listening to AC-DC, also from his "In Defense of Lost Causes".
Yes Zizek forgot how violent Rock n'Roll is,how it and continuously assaults our senses and sensibilities for decades now,so was the Seventies carpet bombing of Cambodia, (Kissinger had a hand in that;well they will name a library after you Henry, dont worry); but Zizek covers topicalities interestingly, perceptively; Paris Riots,("We are Here") Katrina, Middle East,Intifada, with nice reflections of context on colonialism and Israel,"Who wants two states?", cites the "Jerusalem Chalk Circle"(a twist on Brecht with another twist on King Solomon)one cannot divide in two without killing something) time of things,of nation-building; and if sovereignties came too late, what the Ruling Classes of Globe require now is for acceptance of its Rule to an extent; to be respectable,to have violence without violence;de-caffeinated, war without war, (Colin Powell),but just for things to go on as they are requires violence everyday, every minute, so Zizek says; and there are some provisos indicated by Zizek,with the help of Badiou,"we live in a worldless culture" events are not deposited in consciousness as before;events are filtered through a hermeneutical sieve of interpreted reality, Lacanian Lenses all are utilized,all the time to gauge the states of desire, what we buy, what gives us pleasure;bouts with Fukuyama, "ends of",Sam Harris; Zizek loves to name drop, but he simply explains it and puts it all in a useful exciting context, as liberalism today, what is it, who practices it, what do they want? with spokespeople-writers and court jestors as NYT(Mr.Glib) Friedman,"there are simply problems to solve. . ."no classes, no poverty, no conflicts; "liberal fascist",Zizek calls them as Peter Sloterdijk, typically the designation is extreme but Zizek wants to you to get off yer butts and think a little bit, before you plug in your IPOD to Zone out for the day.Walter Benjamin and Paul Klee's "Angelus. . . " is here he thought about violence, and the divine violence,as in "Psycho", Arbogast on the stairs,it just happens; that the imperfections of capitalism and greed, exploitation, torture and coercion, the IRS processes, are sometimes too much, we need relief, well humanity does at some point, "divine violence" is not necessary it simply is there, like the Hurricane called Katrina, showed how the USA still philosophicaly is an Old World power, in that it couldn;t provide basic sustaining lifeforms for its taxpaying citizens,racism was central to that; just allowed people to die in water, squalor.Europe as well is still very Old World order, can it solve its problems of violence, as the Paris Riots,there were racist violence ten years ago; the youth merely wanting to know if they are part of society, can you give us a Job?, or do we live in poverty our entire existence, Sarkozky really doesn't care, it would tarnish his star status, the French Ruling elites need entertainment; and divine violence?, sans-culottes,the French Revolution an event beyond what it actually is, perhaps Beethoven's entire work would have takened a different turn, been less powerful, more woosee, if it never happened, so violence, spills spirals over into the future, like the Cultural Revolution,the last one to study; where China now props up Bill Gates and Western Capital, saving it, Freddie Mac, and Frannie needs bucks the 12$$ Trillion in its mortgages, need leveling out,propping up, curious how violence works into the future, Zizek has the interests to follow these conceptual trajectories , with Hegel in the Wings for assistance;we need to be violent so the people are not,there is systemic violence, and mythic one, all never really admitted, there is more violence happening everyday than we actually see just in order to keep things as they are.. . . from not getting worse, what do we know,"What do you know. . . ?" as the CIA Agent(Cliff Robertson) tells Robert Redford at the end of "The Day of the Condor".

The information in this book should be in every Art History 101 text book, but unfortunately it isn't! It does read like a good text book and there are lots of illustrations (although there could be lots more). Chadwick is in expert in her field. Anyone interested in Art History should know what this book covers...

I was very pleased to see the GREAT condition that this book was in. It looked BRAND NEW. Thank you for the great product at such a low price!

This book does conatain some truly valuable information, unfortunately it is also full of so much useless information that you become completely overwhelmed.

It's a good book with plenty of definitions and references. If you want to know about the History of Art and the Cultures that go along with it, I suggest this book.

Of course, I am a college student at an Art school and so I didn't have much of a choice as it is a required reading for one of my classes.

it was a good product and i was happy with the purchase.it came on time.

Fabulous recipes new and old, so many wonderful ideas to stir the senses and keep you begging for more. A great reference guide, my only complaint is that it is too heavy.

This is a fresh and definitive history of graphic design. It's a huge book filled with a unique collection of images to define each movement. So if you're like me you can use it as a great resource for inspiration.

A beautiful treatise on graphic design. Eskilson has a knack for revealing novel and interesting connections to world history. A great new college textbook, but also a delightful read.

Eskilson's New History is a long overdue addition to textbooks on Graphic Design that before now have had to largely suffice with the sporadically updated Meggs' History of Graphic Design. Eloquent and illuminating, Eskison spans the modern age and then goes deep into contemporary design with a fine attention to the artistic and technical developments in the field. Eskilson pays special attention to the challenges and creative solutions that graphic designers have devised with valuable insights into the society that these designs were made for. Eskilson is especially effective in drawing out connections between graphic design and larger world events, such as: the growth of British World War I propaganda posters and their subsequent impact on the raw emotional power of propaganda design, the London Underground on popularizing Modernism, and motion graphics and the blurred boundaries of new digital technologies. One of the great strengths of this text over Meggs' text is the way Eskilson ably links innovations in Modern Art and Architecture with developments in Graphic Design. Too often the history of Graphic Design has been treated as a study that only concerns fellow designers and the interactions between Graphic Design and the Fine Art world have been given short shrift.

While Eskilson is chiefly interested in communicating the broad outlines of Graphic Design History for an undergraduate audience, to call this book a textbook is to do a great disservice to the extraordinary design layout, which can certainly hold its own against any other fine art book stacked up on your coffee table. Yale UP and Eskilson are to be praised for the gorgeous selection of large color reproductions. Don't wait till your professor assigns this book, buy this one just for the pleasure of enjoying a great read and a beautiful design.

This was one of the best business books that I have ever read. It provides a thorough overview of the history of business globalization, yet it is not academic at all. Although it is long and has a few, short dry spots, it is an easy read that is engaging from beginning to end. The lessons from history are very applicable today. I highly recommend the book to anyone that works for a global company or wants to understand the forces of globalization and the impacts on our economy today.

I was almost tempted to give the book a miss after seeing the high ratings that were given by reviewers that seemed to be anti-globalizationists (what an awkward term!)

However, I came across the book at my library and gave it a chance, and I was not disappointed. It is a book that does a creditable job of summing up the ups and downs of the world economy over the past hundred years and more. And it also does a fairly good job of raising some issues and problems with the world economic system, and how the system had evolved to meet those issues and problems. On the whole, I think it's a balanced book, pointing out the critical need for free and integrated markets to raising millions in the world out of poverty, as well as some of the problems facing them.

The only reason why I gave the book a four rather than a five is that it is not an easy read, and it is best read with some thought and analysis on the reader's part. Not necessarily a bad thing, but not something for everyone.

By the way, do ignore those reviews that pretend to tell you what the author was saying in his book. I'm not sure that he's actually saying what they say he is saying.

Read the book for yourself. It's worth the time and effort.

I read books in groups, and bought this one along with David Walsh's "Knowledge and the Wealth of Nations" which I recommend above this one is you are only buying one book. I also read and have reviewed "Global Class Wars" as well as all other books I recommend below.

Although I was less interested in the history, which is very well documented and clearly explained, and more in the lessons for the future, I found two clear bottom lines in this book that are supported by its extensive research:

1) Open societies and open democracies generate more money and more opportunity and more innovation than closed or failed societies; and

2) Keynes was right, there is an urgent vital role for government to play in addressing the social networks, including education, transportation, rules of commerce, and so on, that allow capitalism to work.

The author distinguishes between individual, cooperative, and competitive capitalism, and I found validation in this book for my concept of communal capitalism, a capitalism that is guided by government in avoiding the exportation of jobs, the importation of poverty, and the impoverishment of the middle class.

Unlike David Walsh's book, this book has more of a focus on what is moral and pragmatic, and so I recommend William Greider's "The Soul of Capitalism" as well as John Perkins "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man."

I have a very strong feeling from this book and others, that the era of "out of control" capitalism is drawing to an end. We may even see the end of the corporation as a separate legal personality in the next 12 years. The transparency of information that is available when people attach themselves leech-like to a corporation and hold it accountable (see my review of "No Logo") is creating a powerful antidote against the Enrons and Exxons and Wal-Marts of the world who bribe elites and screw over the publics on both ends. I also see Wall Street losing its ability to "explode the client" (see my review of "Liar's Poker"). A great deal of good will be done in the next quarter century, and it will come from a combination of good government and educated engaged citizens working together across all boundaries.

Jeffrey Frieden, a Harvard professor specializing in international trade and finance, has written a masterly and comprehensive history of capitalism from 1870 to the present. His history of globalization reminds us that it is not a recent develpment and that its current success is not guaranteed.

The first era of globalization (1870 to 1914) had many of the same characteristics as today's. There was an unprecedented cross-border movement of goods, capital, and labor. (Labor more so in the first era.) During these years huge amounts of capital moved overseas to America, Canada, and Argentina mainly due to the reduced costs of communication and transportation. The technologies driving this globalization were the telegraph and railroads. It was also facilitated by the fact that most currencies were convertible to gold. The investment in the Americas was also followed by a huge immigrant population. In these years, America, Canada, and Argentina had much larger immmigrant populations at the turn of the 20th century than today.

The main thing that distinguishes the present globalization from the first is what happened in between. After the Great Depression and World War II remedies were put into place to mitigate the damaging effects of these economic and social catastrophes. Social benefits such as unions, minimum wage, healthcare and pensions were established as safety nets. In the era between the two globalizations when economies were mostly national the safety nets were part of the social contract between capital and labor.

In 1980, when our current era of globalization begins, capital began to move overseas again in order to find countries with lower labor and social costs. This time, however, labor did not follow. The industrialized countries now have large middle classes with social benefits promised who are not certain about how they are going to be paid. This is causing many in the industrialized world to have second thoughts about our current phase of globalization.

Frieden has a guarded optimism about global capitalism and thinks it is still the best system for distributing wealth. Yet, his last chapter "Global Capitalism Troubled" points to some more clouds on the horizon. There seems to be a growing gap between those who control capital and those who work for a living. People understand that globalization is inevitable but they want a new set of rules to address the growing inequalities.

Frieden is a cheerleader for a more equitable capitalism that can deliver both social benefits and robust economic growth.

Of all the many books that have come out in recent years about global capitalism, finance and economics, this is certainly the worst. The author, a professor of government at Harvard, professes to specialize in international monetary history, but is really what his tenure title says he is, a professor of International Peace. He appears to be trying to reinvent his career by tackling the subject of capitalism but thoroughly lacks understanding of the subject matter, as made evident by his book.

1. The author makes the same mistake that virtually all political science professors do when they write about capitalism: he glorifies the gold standard, he glorifies the Rothschilds and glorifies everything that had nothing to do with the emergence of twentieth century capitalism. The author is using his expertise in international relations to analyze a subject that is really never about governments, or grand alliances or fancy bankers. He thus fails to root the story in the advent of technology, or of business procedures or of the individual investor, but focuses instead of John Foster Dulles and Dean Acheson and Lord Halifax.

2. Wherever the subject matter is strong, the book still fails badly. It does so because political economy is better analyzed by Robert Gilpin and others, whose books are mandatory reading and well written and which do not pretend to sell that subject matter as a study of capitalism.

3. The book's sections are surprisingly badly arranged. Sometimes one feels the author may have a method to the madness but I doubt it after having read it. It is certainly not thematic, or designed to trigger thought or chronological.

4. The book refers to a poem only twice in the 500 pages and it is about the King of Ghana! I mean a professor at Harvard should surely know how to maintain balance in his subject matter. Is that the one poem he could find worth including?

5. Stunning is the lack of understanding of the issues. He describes Britain as fully supportive of free trade mid-19th century but fails to consider how colonialism could be a form of free trade. He describes China Turkey and India as the only failures of the early 20th century without making the same connection with colonialism.

6. Worse is his understanding of the gold standard. He never mentions that that relic was responsible for more misery than anything other than world wars. He fails to consider that since the gold standard was weakened in the Forties, there have been NO PANICS RAVAGING SOCIETY. He is a gold bug.

7. He repeats William Bryan's Cross of Gold speech twice in the narrative with no suggestion that he is even aware his haphazard narrative is repeating the same quote. He also fails to mention that William Bryan was not buried in the election of 1896 but actually came to dominate the 20th century, what with unionism, minimum wages, no gold standard, empowerment of the individual investor and every other idea that Bryan first espoused. TR's and FDR's reforms were nothing if not Bryanism.

8. Why would a book mention so much about Rothschild's and their family in the US without mentioning Jacob Schiff, or detailing JP Morgan, or RObert Lehman or Albert Gordon. I mean the author simply has no balance on the subject matter because he knows so little about it.

9. Finally, it is not clear what Jeffrey Frieden is doing at Harvard. Such poorly researched fare is common to COlumbia Business School and its Dean Glenn Hubbard, or to the Hoover Institution or some place like that. Harvard on the other hand puts out more balanced and far more thoughtful pieces.

BAD BOOK THAT MUST BE AVOIDED.

Lost Christianities is a casual introduction to early Christian history and the academic study of the New Testament. Bart Ehrman describes the beliefs and texts of several competing Christian groups. The Gnostics, Ebionites, Marcionities, and proto-orthodox (Dr. Ehrman's name for the group that came to dominate by the fourth century) receive the most attention.

The author was the Religious Studies chair at UNC and the publisher is Oxford University Press, but everything between the copyright page and the bibliography of this book reads like a popular press title. Accessibility is emphasized everywhere with frequent storytelling and even definitions big words in parentheses. Anything technical is banished to a further reading entry in an endnote. This, however, means the search for the reasoning behind some of Dr. Ehrman's more puzzling claims must be undertaken at a library.

The book is loosely organized into three sections. The first describes ancient texts and includes stories about the discovery of some and the forgery of others. The second describes a diverse array of Christian sects. The final tells how the proto-orthodox responded to other groups and how the New Testament canon became standardized. In all three sections, this book is easy, informative, and occasionally even convincing.

Ehrman's "Lost Christianities" is a valuable resource that is at its best when offering translations and summaries of actual early Christian texts, revealing a fascinating diversity of views within the early Church. The history of early Christian disputes and how they led to Rome's dominance, and the destruction of alternative paths, is highly readable and engaging.

The book's main weakness is not so much its secularism, but its surprisingly constricted approach to interpretation. Ehrman tends to adhere to literalism in his analysis, which leads him into some blind alleys. One example: in discussing the references to the author of the Coptic Gospel of Thomas as Jesus' twin, Ehrman wonders if this implies the mother of Jesus gave birth to Joseph's son at the same time as she delivered Jesus, and points to Greek mythology in which Hercules the son of Zeus had a mortal twin. Very literalistic. But I recently read an analysis which put forth the view that in referring to Thomas as Jesus' twin, the meaning (or at least a meaning) is that humanity is/can be the "twin" of the son of God, if we (humanity) will step up and claim our true natures. This esoteric interpretation has basis in Gnostic theology, and it's surprising that Ehrman doesn't even mention it.

Ehrman also repeatedly refers to many ancient gospels as "forgeries." I think that term would have been better reserved for medieval or modern hoaxes (of which there are many). Yes, we know that many gospels, maybe all, both canonical and otherwise, were not actually written by the apostles themselves. But if an unknown scribe collected the oral traditional associated with an apostle and then produced a work under the apostle's name, it seems that labeling it as "fraudulent" or a "forgery" is not really appropriate and, in fact, somewhat misleading.

Bart Ehrman has made a living treading the treacherous territories of New Testament scholarship. Very few things--except perhaps politics--can make more people agitated and angry the way discussion on religion does. Ehrman navigates this forest with aplomb. He makes no secret that he sees things a certain way, and he seems to have no qualms about laying out his evidence.

Lost Christianities is something of a companion volume to Lost Scriptures in that they both aim to elucidate the beliefs of many early groups of Christians. In this book, Ehrman shows how different early "Christians" were from Christianity today--and how different from each other. His writing style is clear and fascinating, and it truly does justice to his topic. I have read other books of his, and I have yet to be disappointed.

Excellent book from a very smart scholar. I have enjoyed his books and lectures - some sanity among the crazy fundies out there!

This book is an excellent introduction to the characters referred to so often on the subject of early Christianity and exactly what role they played and what position they took. For readers who would like some famous names fleshed out a bit, like Eusebius, Irenaeus, Ignatious of Antioch, Marcion, Polycarp, Tertullian and others, this is a very engaging way to learn more about why these names are so important in the early decades and centuries as they themselves are writing about the lively early christian world of conflicting doctrines and theologies.

I found it useful and enjoyable to have Ehrman's companion book to this one, "Lost Sciptures", as a handy reference that added another very rich dimension to the experience. Being able to actually read the scripture to which the ancient fathers were referring brings this book to life.

We bought this as part of our homeschooling and my kids are really interested in it.

Good book full of interesting information. A nice book for kids to go to to look stuff up. We love these sorts of books. Great for a homeschool household.

Heather mama of 5

I originally borrowed this book when I was looking for a history reference book to use with my seven year old. I enjoyed it so much that I had to purchase my own copy. Though I bought it to use for homeschooling my son, I enjoyed the book so much I was up nights reading it. The pictures are great, the layout is easy to follow and reference, and the content is inclusive without being complex or boring. I would highly recommend it as a great history timeline reference either for studying, reading, or browsing.

We use this book almost daily in our home school. It is full of extremely detailed illustrations that can be graphic (a pile of human heads)but will draw children's attention even if they can't read the words. My kids were amazed when we bought a picture book with real photographs of Egypt and they were able to match up the original photos with the art in the Usborne book. Lots of information that tends to be a little too fragmented so you will need to supplement with other books to get a fuller picture of "World History" even for your kids.

As secular Jewish parents homeschooling our daughter, while living and travelling aboard a sailboat, my wife and I were initially quite thrilled at finding this book. Its brightly colored detailed illustrations accompanying bite-sized chunks of historical information seemed to be just the right sort of introduction to world history for a six year old. That is, until we have received the book and read it.

We were initially a bit surprised to find the table of contents without a single mention of Jews or Judaism. We proceeded to search the book and finally, in a chapter called "Nomads in the Desert", found one page devoted to an illustration of the Solomon's Temple, along with six drawings and twelve sentences dealing with the "Israelites". Providing very little content or context, the chapter is concluded by stating "...Israel rebelled and its people were taken away, never to return" There is not a single word on Judaism, or a single connection made to the subsequent history of the Jewish people, both in the Middle East and the Diaspora. In fact, the words "Jewish" or "Jew", the modern terms for the "Israelite", are almost entirely excluded from the book. The chapter also includes an italicised "footnote" stating that "Many of these people and places are mentioned in the Old Testament", a historical understatement bordering on vicious irony.

Incidentally, the preceeding chapter is entitled "Canaanites and Philistines", and draws a clear entymological connection between the Philistines-Pelest-Palestine (ignoring the fact that the region was named Palestine much later, only after the Romans invaded, specifically to destroy any connection between the land and the rebellious Israelites)

Moving on, we looked at Egypt. Any mention of Jewish slaves building the pyramids? No. Any mention of the Exodus, Moses, the revelation of Torah and the Ten Commandments on Mt. Sinai? Nope again. A very surprising omission, indeed, given the fact that the main religious and cultural thrust of the book is concentrated on the Mosaic religions, for which Judaism is the base.

Moving on to Rome. One mention of Jews here, in connection with a rebellion and the Dead Sea scrolls (Chapter "Romans and Barbarians" (!?!)). Again, no connecion is made to the Israelites or Judeans, who were the same people. The very next illustration deals with the Christians. The caption reads "Some people in Palestine followed a religious leader called Jesus. They were known as Christians because he was called Christ, the Messiah, and met secretly in catacombs." Any mention that Christ was a Jew, as were most of his early followers? Incidentally, Christians were forced to meet in catacombs much later and in a different place altogehter, in Rome, to be precise.

And that is the first and last time the Jews are mentioned in this book. Life in the diaspora, persecutions in Europe during the dark ages? The Crusaders, who systematically slaughtered the entire Jewish population of the Holy Land "...felt they must go and fight to protect (it)" Spanish Inquisition, which was chiefly aimed at Maranos, the Iberian Jews forced to convert to Catholicism? It is described as hunting "...anyone who was not a good Catholic" Expulsion of Jews and Muslims from the Iberian peninsula by the Catholic Kings Isabel and Ferdinand in 1492? Not a mention. Great Sephardic centers of culture and learning? Nada.

We really tried to like this book. The illustrations are colorful and detailed and we will probably continue using it, but will have to heavily supplement the content with other materials. I do not want to speculate on the reasons why the publishers chose to omit one of the most important portions of world history. I would like to think it was just a mistake that will be addressed in a future edition.

I had low expectations for this book, but once I got into to it, it is a pretty good read. Clearly the start of a new series from him, with lots of possibilities in the future books.

A fun read for a light weekend.

If you are a David Weber fan you will love this book.
If you aren't a fan you will still love this book!
I have already ordered the next book.

This book reads a lot like heirs of empire, but I think it is a worth while read. i enjoyed it.

I literally devoured this book over a weekend. I thought the premise was unique enough to grab my attention and the characters really popped off the pages. That in particular is the reason I read Weber. Being a stand-alone, it's not quite as daunting to pick up "Reef" as it is one of the Honor Harrington or War God books and it is still a good example of Webers writing.

/Off Armageddon Reef/ contains a patchwork of previous themes in other books by David Weber. The Terran Federation comes from his /Starfire/ collaborations with Steve White, the alien menace that wipes out humanity and the one world which it misses is from his /Fifth Imperium/ (Dahak?), the method of FTL world spanning religion come from the /Honorverse/ and the artificial repressive religion also comes from /Starfire/.

The plot is this: Nimue Alban of the Terran Federation Navy makes less than a thousand years after she died against the Gbaba in a final stand to protect Earth. She's on Safehold, a planet that the TF's Operation Ark settled so that humanity can rise back up and destroy the Gbaba, however the colony's administrators created a false repressive religion in order to stagnate all thought and innovation. Nimue wakes up as a PICA, a cybernetic avatar that holds consciousness during the middle of the 9th Century of God. Nimue begins her quest to revive humanity's spirit from its shackles by aiding the Kingdom of Charis (after a quick sex change for her PICA due to women being of a lesser status on the feudal Safehold) as 'Merlin Athrawes', saving Crown Prince Cayleb from an assassination attempt by the ruler of neighboring Emerald, Nahrmahn. To disguise his truly superhuman powers, 'Merlin' is called a /seijin/ a kinda mystic warrior-monk. To help the rather innovative maritime Charis against Mother Church 'Merlin' introduces new innovations for ships and weapons allowing Charis which already controls the seas of Safehold (Charis is rather similar to the British Empire and China, economically since all of Safehold relies on it goods) to repel an attempt by the Church's corrupt puppet masters, the 'Group of Four' to destroy Charis.

People who haven't read any of the series mentioned above will probably see this book as very original, admittedly some of it is, like the PICA, which bothers me, if the Federation could make these, why didn't they make copies of their greatest admirals or scientists? Since Weber doesn't use the PICA except as a way for the heroine (another Weber staple) to be able to save Safehold from stagnation I choose to believe PICAs to be extremely hard to make. Despite the corrupt self-serving Church that the colony administrators set up and made themselves 'Archangels' /Off Armageddon Reef/ is not anti-religious or anti-Catholic even if the equivalent of the Protestants/Lutherans are the good guys unlike Eric Flint's /1632/. Several members of the laity (both 'good' and 'bad') speak of not the Church being corrupt, but the /men/ running it to be corrupt. The naval battles were a nice break after Weber's /Honor Harrington/ space operas. Another plus is that Nimue/Merlin isn't in love with Old Earth tacticians unlike many other of Weber's characters. There is one scene with that's kinda awkward funny involving 'Merlin' in a rugby (which on Safehold is nothing like Terran rugby, it's played in the water and the players are all naked) game, PICAs are literally fully functional and 'Merlin' still has Nimue's arousal by buff naked men, so 'he' has to keep the towel around 'his' waist until he can shut off the arousal feature.

For those just starting Weber, this will most likely seem very good, those have read all his other works will most likely feel a nagging sense of deja vu. Maybe I'm just a romantic, but I enjoy reading about civilization pulling itself back up from crushing defeat. Despite its faults /Off Armageddon Reef/ was enjoyable for me and I'm looking forward to reading /By Schism Rent Asunder/.