I am a bit obsessed with reading about other faiths than my own, and reading about the amish rates up there. There's not a lot of non-fiction about them, fir obvious reasons, so I was very happy to find this book.

Unfortunately, I wasn't happy to actually read the book.

the overarching theme of the book, to me, is "poor ira". Gah, nothing I hate to read about more than the self-serving martyr sydrome. In Ira's case, its "poor Ira I have a family who loves me and wants me ti be happy". Oh, poor baby! ira never once explains why he's so unhppy; just vaguely explains that deep down he knows he won't fit in. even as he's proposing marriage to an amish girl, he claims he knows it won't work. how selfish. ira leaves four times before finally leaving the fifth and final time; how much hell do you think he brought his parents who only wanted what was best for him?

I can't begin to imagine how difficult it must be ti giveup everything - its why I am so disappointed with this book. If only I got some sense of what the author was feeling, instead of the constant excuses for his failures thriughout his early life.

I have a love / hate relationship with Gregory's books.

I have always been fascinated with history - especially British history - and her books made me obsessed. Because of her books, I've spent hundreds of hours doing research, basically fact finding every book I've read of hers, and loving every minute of it. And boring my husband to pieces as I babble to him about the descrepances.

But that's exactly the fun of her books - you know the history is crap, and sometimes downright completely made up, but I've accepted that and can enjoy her books for what they are - a light, enjoyable, romp

I first read this book many years ago - before I joined goodreads, I believe - and read the first few in the series. Back then I was really into mysteries, legal thrillers, crime dramas, etc. I read so many of them I got sick of the genre and haven't read a single similar book in probably close to 15 years.

Recently I've been kind of "stuck" - can't get into any books - so I've been rereading the Wagons West series and decided maybe what I needed was to try a different genre again, so I requested this one from the library.

I did enjoy it - but I'm still burnt out on the genre. I was bored throughout most of the book. Of course the book is dated, too, with outdated technology especially, and I remembered who the murderer was the mystery part of the book wasn't a mystery to me.

I do recommend the book to those who do enjoy the crime / legal dramas

Boy, times have changed since this book was written!

This is another reread for me, and another one that I was pretty bored with. The technology has changed so much, and at first it was laughable, and then it just got boring. I was hoping to get back into the series so I'd know what my next dozen books would be (I'm stuck in a rut with my reading right now, having a hard time getting into anything) and I'm just not feeling this one either, though when I first read it years ago, I enjoyed the series. According to goodreads, I reread this one at least once before, in 2009.

Another reread for me.

As I continue to reread this series, more and more I get frustrated with how badly written most of the characters are. Each character only seems to be one thing - either smart, or brave, or heroic (for the men) and the women are all either vain, stupid, or immature (notice a trend here?). In each book in the series, all the military men are perfect, with one token bad guy who always seems to be a spy, and almost always ends up painfully dying in the latter part of the book. And usually the "worst" woman ends up redeeming herself and gets married at the end - with marriage of course being the "only" endgame a woman would ever want.

Arrrg.

I know the books were written a lifetime ago, in a different age, and that the authors are writing about a whole other world, but as a modern woman, it frustrates me to know end that the women in these books are written so flat, so unflatteringly, etc. The lead woman, Cathy Blake, the general's wife, is repeatedly shown to be just so, so incredibly stupid.

I received a copy of this book from paperbackbookswap. I've often gotten it from the library, and actually learned how to knit fair isle from this book years ago. The sweaters are gorgeous & most of them are easy enough for beginner fair isle knitters. My favorite is a sweater that actually uses slipped stitches and fair isle knitting.