One of witchcraft's most widely known figures; Doreen Valiente was a close friend of the late Gerald Gardner; generally regarded as the founder of modern Wicca. Initiated by him in the 1950s and for a time High Priestess of his coven; Doreen helped him rewrite his seminal Book of Shadows and establish witchcraft's international reputation. In this intriguing exposé; Doreen provides an insider’s account of the birth and evolution of the contemporary Wicca movement. She recalls her spat with Gardner that eventually split his coven; the controversy surrounding Alex Sanders; "King of the Witches;" and many other witches whom she has known; including “Dafo;†Robert Cochrane; Leslie Roberts; and Sybil Leek. She also describes the clairvoyant communications she received purporting to come from John Brakespeare; an 18th-century witch.
#765909 in Books 2017-03-31 2017-03-23Original language:English 9.30 x 1.70 x 6.30l; #File Name: 0700623825640 pages
Review
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful. May be the best book to start with in the seriesBy Brett L.A very good distillation and condensation of the four volume series. (I think there is a fifth book with charts and tables as well because I have heard the series referred to as 5-volume set; I only have the four books.) There is a lot of detail left out; but knowing what I know now; I think it is better to read this volume first and then expand your knowledge of the battle with the four volume series. The authors have not left out any of the major details so it provides a solid; and at times detailed; overview of the battle. This is not Beevor's Stalingrad or Craig's Enemy at the Gates; however. More of a report than an actioner. Benefits greatly from being able to include Soviet sources.8 of 8 people found the following review helpful. Remarkably compact and informativeBy F. Carol SabinGlantz House new one volume campaign history dedicated to Stalingrad battle incorporates about the same information published in the previous multivolume study on Stalingrad; even in abridged format; it still remains remarkably balanced; compact and informative; thanks to the authors' determination and efforts to make this pivotal battle in world history as accessible as it is essential.Undoubtedly; many details present in the original series of books were sacrificed for the sake of conciseness; but; remarkably; the tome still retains its informative and accessible power. Compared with the five volumes that appeared between 2009 and 2014; the writing seems improved; too; but I believe is still a bit dry for some audiences.The volume is divided in four parts with 20 chapters.In Part one (“The Limits of Maneuver Warfare; 1942â€); the authors after revealing the Opposing forces and their Plans and Preparations; details the preliminary battles and the German advance to the Don and Volga.Part two (“To the Caucasus and the Volgaâ€) covers the initial battles for Stalingrad; the battles for central and southern Stalingrad and final German advances.Part three (“The Encirclement of Sixth Armyâ€) explores the genesis; advent; penetration and encirclement phases of the Operation Uranus.Finally; Part four (“The Death of Sixth Armyâ€) includes the relief attempts; operation Little Saturn and; eventually; the destruction of Paulus’s Army. The “Conclusions†found at the end of this part detail the planning of Operation Uranus; the context of Operation Ring; the cost of battle and a short paragraph about Stalingrad’s place as a turning point in WW II.As usual; the operational level details are impressive; but the authors also discussed the street battles incorporating tactical elements.The book includes over 100 maps/situation maps; plus 30 tables and many Soviet illustrations. Worth mentioning are also the Notes and Selected Bibliography sections; plus the Index.All in all; said; this is a very acceptable single volume account of the Stalingrad campaign to appear in a good long while.If you're as interested in this field as I am; it's a worthwhile addition to your library; in spite of having authors’ previous multivolume study on Stalingrad.I recommend this study for serious students who are accustomed with Glantz’s writing style.9 of 10 people found the following review helpful. AIBy Joseph KeyA little background first. When the first volume Glantz's trilogy came out I was a little surprised; as his specialty has always been forgotten battles. He rarely did accounts of well known battles. And the idea of a trilogy gave me a pause; did this subject really dehenserve a trilogy? But hell it was Glantz and the eastern front; so who's going to look a gift horse in the mouth. The second volume came out shortly after and gave me a little pause. Was it a little too much on the battle in the city? As the gap between the second and third volume began to grow I began to worry. When I became aware of the title END GAME IN STALINGRAD I began to think this book was going to just cover the end in Stalingrad and not the post Stalingrad operations. Then the thunderbolt dropped; when the book came out and the authors announced it wasn't going to be one thick book but two thick books covering just the end in Stalingrad. That was just too much of a good thing as far as I was concerned. I never bothered getting those two volumes.Then came the shocking news that the four volumes were going to be released in a more digestible one volume. I was ecstatic to say the least. Here was the book they should have done to begin with. They've done an excellent job of combining the four books into one. If you liked the previous works you should love this one even more. The book is broken down into four parts with each part covering the territory of one of the four volumes. This book automatically becomes the best one volume account of the great battle for Stalingrad. For those of you disappointed that he didn't get to the post Stalingrad operations you can just get his book AFTER STALINGRAD which deals with that subject and operation Mars.
