Learn with Bruce (Edukator Audio Books) Bruce Dickinson Having already released nine 'Best Of' albums, Iron Maiden have been forced to seek other avenues through which to exploit the rich resources of their back catalogue. A contributory factor in this decision seems to be a general feeling in the band that the puns of their previous compilations could not be bettered. (See: Live after Death, A Real Live One, Maid-en Japan, etc). Instead they are aiming to tap into the educational market with a series of pre-GCSE study-aids entitled Learn with Bruce.  The series is intended for use alongside traditional teaching methods, and attempts to portray the conflicts and conquests of our ancestors via the words and music of various Maiden classics. The double-cassette box-set is divided into historical epochs, each of which is gloriously brought to life by Bruce Dickinson's vivid and articulate lyrics. Cassette 1, which covers prehistoric and ancient history, opens with the story of mankind's earliest discovery - as recounted in the epic Quest for Fire.  The opening lines of this song perfectly capture the plight of Neanderthal man: "In a time when dinosaurs ruled the earth / When the land was swamp and caves were home / Man's prized possesion was fire..." Later we are treated to a grim, but highly informative account of the bloodlust of Egyptian emperors (Powerslave), and Mongolian Warlords (Ghengis Khan). The familiar themes of antiquity are then taken up in the Ides of March, Flight of Icarus, and throughout the many movements of Alexandra the Great. The second side begins with the arrival of Nordic raiders upon the shores of Briton, the historical repercussions of which are explored in the song Invaders. "Axes grind and maces clash as wounded fighters fall to the ground," explains Bruce, "severed limbs and fatal woundings, bloody corpses lay all around". From Viking longboats we move into a wider examination of the history of sea-faring with Ghost of the Navigator and Rime of the Ancient Mariner.  Next a moving and insightful discussion of the colonisation of America is presented in Run to the Hills, whilst the first-person narrative of The Trooper provides a chilling glimpse of the reality of Napoleonic warfare. This cassette ends, fittingly, with Mother Russia, leaving us with a sorrowful lament for the Czarist legacy. The third tape takes us into the modern age, which in Bruce's case means WWII. We learn about the effectiveness of submarine combat during the mid stages of the war (Run Silent, Run Deep), the desperate scramble for air-superiority in the Battle for Britain (Aces High), and the adversity faced by paratroopers doing missions in the Bavarian Alps (Where Eagles Dare). We are then given a harrowing and supposedly first-hand account of a bombing run over Dresden (Tailgunner). Bruce follows this up with a moral warning (The Aftermath, Fortunes of War) to remind students that although it's quite normal to be obsessed with warfare in all its historical varieties - even to the point of making a career out of singing about it - we should also bear in mind its negative aspects. Finally, side 4 consists of a series of questions and discussion subjects set by Bruce to encourage further learning. There is also a fun musical quiz to test student's memory and observation.