tom of finland is a demonstration and if you re intrested in gay-art you must have this book as soon as you can ....so this masculity is supported by heavenly drawings

"The art of Touko Laaksonen (1920 ­ 1991), famous throughout the world as Tom of Finland, has had an incredible and defining impact upon the culture at large ­ an impact that arguably exceeds that of any other artist working in the latter half of the 20th century. It is perhaps even more remarkable that Tom of Finland was not a traditional fine artist ­ his work was most commonly regarded as gay pornography, and rightly so. Yet it is art that not only had a tremendous impact upon the emerging gay culture worldwide but whose erotic and emotional power remains unabated to this day. For millions of fans throughout the world, as well as those unfamiliar with Tom of Finland¹s art, this book brings uncommon insight into a decidedly uncommon body of work." - text excerpt from Stonewall Inn

If you love Tom of Finland, you will absolutely love this book. Seemingly hundreds of his prints, even such rarities from his early work, grace this book and give it a flavor that seems to be lacking from other pictorials. This book is utterly delightful and insightful as to the man himself. It was wonderful and I'd recommend it to anyone. Five stars all the way!

This is a thorough, wide-ranging, scholarly work - a useful and insightful review that stretches over a millenium in time. Although the book charts the course in history of this geographically and culturally linked collection of peoples, it still emphasises the individuality of each. I hadn't realised just how complex a relationship of inter-dependence and rivalry existed between these nations for so long. Among the more fascinating discussions in the book, I would list: church-state relations especially in the period following the reformation, the impact of the industrial revolution and the development of the welfare state, the period leading up to the second world war and the relationship between the various countries and the major powers during the war (i.e. Finland with Russia, Denmark with Germany, etc.) and the historical contribution of each nation to the arts and sciences. One small criticism: I would have liked to have seen some maps in the book - my knowledge of Scandinavia is not so extensive that I could picture the geographical relationship of the many places mentioned. I especially found the early part of the book very heavy going, and difficult to follow the many movements of people that were detailed.

The author does an excellent job of covering Scandinavia during the war years. His use of information from Eisenhowers private papers brings a whole new dimension to understanding what was going on in each country. I was not aware that near the end of the war Ike had a serious plan to liberate the Norwegian Allies from the NAZIS, by first liberating Denmark, then proceeding overland across Sweden. (I wonder if he would have given the job to Patton?)

In reading this book it becomes very apparent at how much the state-church relation influenced much of Scandinavia, and also it's people. It was also incredibly interesting to read about how the countries of Denmark, Sweden and Norway kept separating, and uniting. For anyone who is interested in Scandinavian history, that delves way beneath the surface, look no further, TK Derry writes a book that can't be ignored.

This is a truly fascinating book about Finland and her high-wire act guarding her independence in the shadow of the Soviet Union.

The author spent several years in the U.S. Embassy in Helsinki during the seventies and eighties, and experienced many of the crises first hand, and had access to the main players in the Finnish government and media. This made it possible for him to research the previous crises, prior to his arrival in Helsinki around 1976.

The most important example was the "Note Crisis" around 1961-62, when the Soviet Union appeared to turn the screws on Finland quite a few turns. Living in Sweden at the time, I felt the fear emating from this incident, and seeing it described and analyzed by an insider was fascinating. The author is fluent in Finnish, unlike most diplomats posted to Finland (except, of course, the Russians, who made a career out of managing the Finland relationship).

The only problem is that the book sometimes presupposes more knowledge than that which the average reader is likely to possess. I would recommend the book, but also that the reader arm himself with a map of the area, and a pencil, and that he make a list of the many abbreviations as they occur.

nils@codeart.com

"This book is a big piece of me," says ex-U. S. Consul General James Ford Cooper, referring to ON THE FINLAND WATCH, which happens to contain deeply penetrating insights about the Cold War.

Cooper examines in detail Cold War policies, which he feels succeeded in balancing many delicate vital interests, in particular Finland's success in maintaining its independence from the Soviet Union. He puts into historical perspective the difficult relationship between two such neighboring states, while introducing colorful statesmen, such as the long-time uncanny Finnish President Urho Kekkonen, who "tried to shape publc opinion 180 degrees."

Cooper reveals how U. S. diplomatic missions fared during his two Helsinki tours, always mindful of the characters he knew personally. He and his wife Magda participated in Nordic society, enrolled their children in Finnish schools and partook in recreational activities, including Cooper's memorable finish in the 13th annual Finlandia ski race.

Such ongoing support and understanding on the part of such a keen career officer may allow the U. S. and its allies to maneuver all the more successfully in the world's ever-changing political landscape.

Ford Cooper's book provides great insight into the Cold War era when tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union were at their peak. He provides an interesting--and mostly sympathetic --perspective on Finland's delicate balancing act between these super powers.

I wanted to learn more about Finnish "attitude" than I could get from History books. This one did the trick. Our Hero is a soldier of the "Winter War"...an assasin, a saboteur...a simple "country boy" of the time. WWII looks verrrrry different from the Finn viewpoint. Americans (like me) will benefit from the perspective of this country off the beaten path, and very much a part of Europe. (Sex...and a lot of things...are different there!) It took a bit of imagination to get the jokes (very tongue-in-cheek) across the Culture gap, but once I did, ithey were good ones! Reminds me a lot of "The World According to Garp," for other-culture, and "Catch-22" for the crazy things that happen in war.

When I heard birds singing outside my window, I realized it was dawn; I had been up all night reading this book! While Blood Sweat & Bears, is entertaining, its also very educational. I learned a great deal about the ordeal the Finns went thru during the war. This is one of those completely captivating books that transports you to the time and place the story is set. I was laughing and almost crying as I went with our Hero on his missions. If you are interested in this subject matter at all; you will not be disappointed in this story.

I found this book extremely interesting and helpfull, as I am writing my thesis about Kurdish immigrants and refugees in Europe. It includes an introductory section about Kurds and their situation in Turkey, Iran and Iraq. The comparison between the two refugee communities in England and Finland was very informative.

The book is defintely worth it! I found it gave me a good theoretical framework for studying the Kurds, as a diaspora.

Although his book covers the Kurdish diaspora in Finland and England, it can be used as a "guide-post" for the study of the Kurds in other parts of the diaspora, as well.

As a sociologist and an avid student of Kurdish studies, I find this piece of work to be a seminal one in the developing field of Kurdish sociology.

There is perhaps no more inspiring moment in Finnish history than when Saint Urho drove out the grasshoppers from Finland, joined by all the people and animals of Finland in yelling "Heinasirkka, heinarsirkka, mene taalta hitteen!" (Please remember than there is a common lying sideways on top of the first "a" in heinasirkka). In "A Tale for Saint Urho's Tay," Ani Rajanen relates the heroic legend of Saint Urho, who stopped the reindeer from wearing out all the trees in Finland and also stopped Lohi the salmon from eating all of the lingonberries, before he did the really great and good something that made him a saint. The story is illustrated by Robert Kilbride.

Rajanen grew up among Finnish Americans on Minnesota's Iron Range and became acquainted with the legend of Saint Urho from its beginning as an American folk attempt to give Finland a patron saint of its own. As everybody in this neck of the woods knows, Saint Urho's Tay (never, ever say Day) is celebrated on March 16th. Any similarity between this legend and those of any other saint celebrated in the merry month of March are purely coincidental and seen by people who probably turn green (in envy) at any hero sturdy enough to spring from a stock that requires the eating of lutefisk.

The book tells a wonderful tale. The use of very few Finnish words allows even children with no tie to Finland to remember at least 1 or 2 finnish words. An annual book that we search for and read every March around the 16th.

But if you happen to be in Finland, the only thing you'll need to sample is the local alcoholic beverages.

I visited this country with my Finnish boyfriend in 2002. THe book was a great help. It helped me decide which tourist spots, shopping areas, historical sites and places of interest to check out. The only part that I didn't like was that it didn't touch too much on the smaller cities of Finland, but in general, it's a good buy. Definitely worth it, but make sure you get "Culture Shock, Guide to Finland" if you do travel to Suomi. Having a cultural view of this beautiful country is important.

I've just been to Helsinki for a few days, and although I didn't get the chance to test this book's usefulness in other parts of the country, it certainly proved worth having just for Helsinki. It tells you all the basic stuff, and some of the interesting stuff. I was able to get from the airport by bus and walk to my hotel from the bus station simply by glancing at the book on the flight to Helsinki. Everything is very clear and nicely laid out, and it's a handy size too. I hope I'll return to Finland; this is the first thing I'll pack.

To put my review in the context: I am a 24 year-old Finn, played with computers since early 80's and moved recently to Bay Area. In smaller scale all what this book is about.

Linus starts with shedding some light on his childhood. His first encounters with VIC-20 are interesting read. The second computer he had was a Sinclair QL. It was a very rare computer and didn't have many games or other applications. To use and learn its functions, Linus had to write new programs all by himself. At that time most programming books and magazines focused on games. So before reading this book I had wondered how an earth would some young guy get so interested in operating systems and system tools. I'd guess the experience with QL had a lot to do with it.

The rest of the book is about how the Linux kernel was born and how it grew along with Linus to the popular operating system it is today. This story has been told many many times in different occasions. Here, we get some inside information on what has been Linus's role in the growth of the Linux community. It becomes somewhat clear that Linus is all but a "benevolent dictator" or an idealist. He is a one of the pragmatic and selfish moderators of a vast programming project called Linux. Though he owns the Linux trademark and is the project's public icon, in the end, Linus is just one hacker from Finland. Linus says there is not much sense to compare him to american business emperors like Bill Gates.

Linus talks many times about Finland and how people live there in a non-competitive environment. He vaguely compares this picture to California and the United States with highly commercial and competitive spirit. I found these parts convincing. It makes the reader think what has been the role of the environment in the birth of Linux. In 1991 when Linux was started there were many competing operating systems at the same technical level. After reading this book, I'd guess one of the factors for Linux's success has been the character of Linus in the lead. Linus points many times that he has been the guy others have trusted.

American journalist David Diamond has followed Linus in the making of the book. His notes all around it make undoubtedly the worst part -- excluding hype-quotes on the back cover. Fortunately about 90% of the text is neutral trustworhy stuff by Linus. In contrast, Diamond writes like any american high-tech journalist in a buzzy day. He is unable to put any analysis or interesting information out. Maybe american readers love it but I had to skip most of Diamond's contributions.

And oh, there are parts in the book where Linus presents his interpretation on the meaning of life and stuff like that. Just for fun.

In overall a very readable and interesting book.

The book is fun to read for the easy and informal style in which it is written. It is mostly about *how* Linux came about being what it is today. It is *not* about technical details of Linux, and the few technical things in there are very sketchy. The best part of the book is the honesty with which Linus describes everything.

Linus expresses his (decisive) opinions regarding a whole lot of stuff - Mach microkernel, Java, Netscape-Mozilla project, Apple+SteveJobs, Sun+BillJoy etc. These parts make the book much more interesting. The parts on Open Source philosophy, his employment in a closed source company and commercialization of Linux are very interesting and profound.

David's contributions add chaos to the already discontinuos presentation by Linus and are at best skipped for later reading. David does shed some light on Linus's personal life.

When I first picked up this book, I thought it would just be about the startup and growth of the Linux operating system. Well it was all of that, AND more! This book not only speaks about the making of the greatest open source project ever, it talks about life. It goes into an in depth history of Linus Torvalds from child to present. In between some chapters there are details about some parts of the interview process for the book which somewhat detract from the main point. I would have liked it better if there was another chapter with this devoted entirely to it.

The writing style is very easy to understand. I don't know if thats because I am a nerd or what? But before the talk about the beginnings of Linux there is a page warning you of intermediate geek language, so I suppose non-tech savy people should stay clear. I would recommend this book for anyone interested in computers or wanting to learn more about Linux.

This small book is an easy, engaging read about an often overlooked chapter of WWII. It offers a broad outline of the conlict, and does an adequate job of outlining its causes and the major players involved. Where it really shines, however, is in its use of first hand anecdotes to move the narrative along. Some of the most powerful commentary on war and combat I have ever encountered can be found in these pages.

I would reccommend following up this book with Trotter's "A Frozen Hell", as it offers a signigicantly more thorough investigation of the causes and politcal aspects of the war. Still, "The Winter War" is is an enjoyable, informative work.

Clearly, this is history written mostly based on the Finnish experience defending their small country from the onslaught of a giant neighbor, a David and Goliath story. Although in this one, Goliath eventually won, it was at such cost that the Germans took careful notes, and is a contributing factor to their eventual decision to invade the Soviet Union in the summer of 1941.

Here is a good primer about the Winter War, the cause and effect, including a general introduction about Field Marshal Carl Gustav Mannerheim, the Finnish CIC, who strange as it may seem, was never a real nationalist and who barely spoke Finnish (he learned the language when he was well past fifty) but instead spoke the great cultural languages of Europe. The book goes on to relate his able leadership, correctly assessing the other side's weaknesses despite the great disparity of strength between the two nations. The centerpiece of the war was the great Finnish victories at Tolvajarvi and Suomussalmi, where in the latter battle, an understrength Finnish division went on to stop and almost completely annihilate one Soviet division in a pincer counter-offensive and dispatching another division sent out to help. Eventually, Soviet losses were staggering (Khrushchev later admitting one million of them lost their lives in this frozen hell) that in Russia, a general was said to have said that they "have won enough territory to bury their dead."

Although Finland eventually ceded 22,000 sq. miles of territory, it is a history of a plucky nation unwilling to submit to the realities of world politics at that time. However, this is still not a definitive work. For example, the actual amount of reparations to the Soviet Union for both the Winter War and the Continuation War was never mentioned, ("it was enormous") and mentioned only that the Finns paid it off eventually (by 1955, an amazing feat in itself which was never mentioned). The sector battles on other fronts was never as detailed as the principal battlefields. The appendices were very helpful nevertheless, and as mentioned before it is a good primer to the Winter War.

I found the topic of the Russo-Finnish war so intriguing that I bought this book as well as the one by William Trotter (the only ones I could find). This book ("The Winter War") was a true pleasure to read, and exceeded my expectations. I was a little nervous when I bought it, given some of the poor reviews given by a few of the previous readers. My only guess is that they were thinking of a different book, or found the reality of the Soviet Union as an aggressor inconsistent with their worldviews. I should have been tipped off when the one reviewer questioned why the Finns didn't give Stalin what he was asking for! I read the entire book in a single day, and can tell you that it is an extremely exciting story. The book mixes actual accounts from those involved throughout the history, which makes it read like a novel. As far as the one reviewer's comments about the editor not having a good command of the English language, I honestly did not find any such problem. I was an English minor in college, and tend to be fairly sensitive to such problems. Rereading the review in question, I suspect that his real issue was with the portrayal of the Soviet Union as the aggressor.

As far as the other book ("A Frozen Hell"), I sent it back for a refund. That book actually portrays Stalin as the victim!

This was written by a history professor, and you can tell. It is about as dry as can be, coldly intellectual. I know it must be accurate, and it is thoroughly researched, but it certainly doesn't "come alive". It's like your usual dry history textbook. If you want just facts, you get them here. If you want interesting reading, find another book! He could have quoted eye witnesses to help interest level - I'm sure there are still a lot of them who would share their perspectives. There is no clue how people reacted or how it changed their daily lives. It's about armies and battles but nothing about real people. History doesn't have to be so dull!

I've read a Spanish edition of this hard to find book.

This is a very interesting book covering the struggle for liberty Finnish people had to fight against the Soviet rolling machine.

A lot of maps and photos help a lot to show the hard conditions in which this war took place. It's amazing to see how heavy outnumbered but very valiant troops resisted and defeated time after time overwhelming enemy forces. Sadly, Finland was finally defeated, but its heroic resistance let them go on existing as a free and independent country. Was it worth? Well, they're still there while the Soviet Union has gone forever.

I missed some more info about orders of battle and foreign voluntary units participation in the Winter War.

I was extremely impressed with this book. It is very detailed and the illustrations of weapons and the detailed maps really added to the text. An absolutely fascinating look at what determined, resourceful people can accomplish in defense of freedom. I would have liked a little more info and/or personal anecdotes from both sides but Russian narratives are no doubt hard to come by. Besides, it takes no great imagination to feel what the poor Russian soldiers went through as they were sent to the slaughter by their idiotic leaders-the tale of fighting men everywhere. If you are looking for a book on the Finnish war, look no further. This is a great example.