You've seen those wonderful grained picture frames or pieces offurniture in the shops for thousands, but never went to a classbecause it was too expensive or none was offered in your area. This book is the answer to your prayers! It is filled with loads of photos of antiques and furniture, etc. that have been decorated with vinegar glazes or with handsome primative-style murals. It is also one of the few books that even reveals how to do smoke graining...the whispy finish on many an old rocking horse or on furniture and smalls. Just add this to your shelf which should also include THE ART OF FAUX by Finkelstein, PROFESSIONAL PAINTED FINISHES by Marx, and DECORATIVE FURNITURE FINISHES WITH VINEGAR PAINT by Russell. All are well worth the investment. Happy Painting!

These authors are among the best at recreating the look of old painted furniture/folk art. Very clear pictures are helpful. Also, they use an easy recipe (basically, vinegar, honey and pigment) which is easy to concoct for new users, unlike mesy oil based potions or those horribly complex formulae or lousy British-based ingredients which noone has ever heard of or found. For as cloise to instant gratification as you can get, this is the book to order for all beginners and intermediate grainers. (Advanced finishers can write heir own book.....) Enjoy!!

This book does the best job I know of showing wood graining, vinegar paint finishes, and Rufus Porter style landscape painting that I know of, and is also very sound on marbleizing. The illustrations and photo gallery are the best I have seen in any book anywhere. It has a narrow focus on doing Early American style furniture, but if you have any interest in this area you need to have this book. 7 stars!

This book is an outstanding reference for the primary care pediatrician in office practice. It is much better oriented to day-to-day pediatrics than Nelson's and its imitators. The CD-ROM is very useful and easy to navigate. As a bonus, the CD-ROM contains all of the excellent illustrations for Zitelli & Davis' superb Atlas of Pediatric Physical Diagnosis.

This book is an outstanding reference for the primary care pediatrician in office practice. It is much better oriented to day-to-day pediatrics than Nelson's and its imitators. The CD-ROM is very useful and easy to navigate. As a bonus, the CD-ROM contains all of the excellent illustrations for Zitelli & Davis' superb Atlas of Pediatric Physical Diagnosis.

This book was a great reference in residency and now in practice

The Library of America is one of the best organizations. Here at last are both novels, his interesting autobiography, and Mont St Michel all under one roof.

"Democracy" is one of the best political novels of all time and speaking as a denizen of the nation's capital, very little has changed. Esther is attempt deal with the "woman question." Clearly the inspiration of both books is Mrs. Henry Adams. Known as "Voltaire in petticoats" (Henry James), she later tragically took her own life following a period of depression. The death of his wife led to Henry Adams' retirement from public life. This subject is covered in Ernest Samuels' wonderful biography (which I also recommend).

I suggest a look at his biography since the subject of Marion Clover Adams is avoided entirely in "The Education of Henry Adams." Henry Adams may not discuss his wife, but he does touch on nearly everything else of importance in his autobiography. "Growing up Adams," life in Europe with Garibaldi's forces, life at the British legation in London during the Civil War are all addressed. The best and probably the most key chapter in the book is the one entitled "The Virgin and Dynamo." Adams uses the 1876 cenntenial fair as a departure to meditate of the impact of the industrial revolution. Adams believed with the growth of technology that man would somehow outgrow the simple humanity of the Middle Ages (it would have been interesting if Adams had lived long enough to meet someone like Carl Jung to see what he would have to say on this subject!). One of the foremost historians (the Library of America has also issued the history of Jefferson and Madison's Administrations, which is a classic), Adams became interested in the Middle Ages and his survey of the two great cathedrals of France Chartes and Mont St. Michel is the final book in the volume. I cannot recommend this book too highly, it is a must for all fans of Henry Adams and those who would like to experience him for the first time.

While Adams novels (Democracy and Esther) may be lightweight, the other two works included in this volume are two of the best non-fiction American books ever. Adams has the kind of intellect that seems capable of encompassing everything. Like Joseph Campbell or Harold Bloom, Adams often leaves the reader in awe of how much he knows and how he is able to make the connections that so clearly illuminate everything he touches upon. This is one of my favorite volumes in the Library of America series, and I know that anyone who appreciates intelligence, wit, and charm in a writer will enjoy reading it.

The Logic of Comparative Social Inquiry, altho two decades old, stands out as fresh and relevant as it has always been for people -- policy makers, involved citizens, as well as researchers, who want to do, make, or understand cross-national comparisons. Although Note: their approach is by no means limited to the comparison of different countries. Comparisons across the 50 U.S. states also benefit from much of what the authors present (not so much about linguistic/foreign language equivalence, which is a different issue with which they deal).

The easiest way to describe the value of Przeworski and Teune's insights is to see how cross-national country studies can be used to emulate the experimenter's scientific approach to finding pattterns. The experimenter can "hold other variables constant" through statistical means or the selection of people or cases to study. When looking at countries (or U.S. states) a selection of "cases" can be fashioned that emulates in different kinds of experimental controls. In particular the authors describe a pair of strategies: The Most Different Nation and the Most Similar Nation strategies.

In the Most Different model the analyst selects cases (countries) which are known to be very different from one another: e.g., Korea, Australia, Germany, Ecuador, South Africa.... This model is best for the generation of hypotheses because one assumes that the variable of interest will vary widely across the different countries. On the other hand the Most Similar model is best for hypothesis testing, and it is here that the "hold constant" idea is seen: Sweden, Norway, Denmark are similar enough on many key variables, so that those variables are in a sense "held constant". Or Australia, New Zealand, Canada, UK -- for linguistic purposes. etc.

These models become even more valuable with the 50 U.S. states because there are many more opportunities to use demographic, economic, and historical variables in the selection of Most Different or Most Similar cases.

The book is well worth the investment of money and time for any who want to use the Nations of the world of the States of U.S. to explore or test questions and hypotheses about processes and linkages that are directly amenable to usual scientific analysis.

This is what you need to read if you want to do quality social research. The authors provide a systemic overview of the possible levels of analysis. To be sure, of all my M.A. Program in Political Science, there is only one book that I marked up, this is it. It is worth the effort.

A reading of Richard Brookhiser's recent (and highly recommended) *America's First Dynasty* sent me back to *Mont Saint Michel and Chartres*, a book I hadn't read in thirty years. I'm glad I returned to it, because a few years have, I trust, put me in a better position to appreciate what's going on in the book.

On one level, the most obvious one, Adam's book is a sometimes idiosyncratic history of Medieval art, literature, and religion that takes as its center of gravity the great Gothic cathedrals of the period--structures that Adams thinks sum up what the middle ages are all about. To read the book on this level alone is fine. It provides intriguing insights into, for example, courtly love and the cult of Mary.

But I now believe that, at a deeper level, the book is disguised autobiography on the one hand and a backhanded history of Adams's own time on the other. An at times overwhelming sense of nostalgia permeates the book. In reading Adams on the 11th century mystics, the debates of the schoolmen, the chansons of the troubadours, and the unified worldview of the middle ages, one can almost hear him sigh with longing to return to a world which, he thinks, was whole, unfractured, and pure--a world, as the medievals themselves would've said, which reflects "integritas." This reveals a great deal about the restless, unquiet nature of Henry Adams the man. But it also reveals the restless, unquiet nature of the modern era which spawned and molded him: the gilded age, the fast-paced first wave of capitalism, secularism, and consumerism, which has no center of gravity, no art, no tradition. And even though we claim to be living in a "postmodern" age, it seems to me that a great deal of the qualities Adams deplored in his own times are still with us and account for our own sense of homelessness.

*Mont Saint Michel and Chartres,* then, is more than a quaint turn-of-the-last-century history. Read correctly, it's also a mirror of our present discontent. Highly recommended.

Twenty years ago, I first read this book and was driven by Adams' compelling study of these two cathedrals to spend a decade studying Medieval and Renaissance literature. Adams at times finds his enthusiasm for his subjects embarrassing, but gives in to it nevertheless and writes a brilliant and joyous paean to these cathedrals and to the spirit that created them. Rereading this book now, twenty years later, I remember the thrill of reading it the first time, and it sparks my own enthusiasm all over again.

It is amazing that the US survived this conflict. The author's clear depiction of the politics and generalship (or lack thereof)leaves you wondering how the US ever made it out of this conflict relatively intact. This work is taken from Henry Adams great history that was originally published around 1890. The chapters relevant to the war of 1812 have been compiled to form a fine and detailed account of the war with Britain and Canada.

My only request for improvement would be the addition of an introduction that gives a clearer picture of the reasons for the conflict.

In the introduction to this superb volume, Col John Elting, who has written his own version of the military history of this forgotten war, which is also a must have, states 'If you read only one history of that war, it still should be Adams!'

As a definite Elting fan, that is enough for me to buy, read, and use the book. It should also be enough for any historian/reader to buy this volume.

An extract of the much larger A History of the United States during the Administrations of Jefferson and Madison published almost a century ago, this history of a war the United States almost lost was originally published by the Infantry Journal at Fort Benning, GA. It was, and still is, the best one volume history of that war.

Adams had access to US Government papers and spent almost three years in European archives, many of those references now unfortunately lost because of two world wars. What he gives you is both the military and diplomatic side, and also some interesting views of the events interaction with the larger 'disagreement' going on at the time in Europe centering around Napoleon, Emperor of the French.

What you see is what you get. It is a great story, boldly and accurately told that has stood the test of time. It is highly recommended, and the introduction by Col Elting neatly says it all. The best purely military history is Col Elting's Amateurs! To Arms. Taken together they are incredible-two books you will never forget and will read and reread.

Matthew Henry outdoes himself with this book. One of the worlds famous authors of various commentaries, Mr. Henry brings to life the true meaning of the scriptures. His articulation puts the verses of the New Testament into everyday household words that makes it easy for anyone between the ages of 8-80 to understand. This powerful adaptation will send chills down your spine as he brings the text to life!

A neglected comic masterpiece that deserves to be rediscovered, "Esther" features an inspired premise as its plot: a young, free-thinking socialite falls desperately in love with an Episcopal minister. The result is a free-for-all clash of intellects, a confrontation between faith and reason, and the inevitable battle of the sexes.

The marvels of Adams's novel are his remarkably nuanced and fully realized characters. Esther, the free-thinker, wants to share her lover's faith and "is trying to get it by reason"--but doesn't initially understand that a person "can never reason yourself into it." Mr. Hazard, the minister, is confident that he will "succeed in drawing her into the fold, because his lifelong faith, that all human energies belonged to the church, was on trial, and, if it broke down in a test so supreme as that of marriage, the blow would go far to prostrate him forever." Esther's principles of independence and self-education collide with Hazard's desire to steer her into submission as his wife and fellow believer.

But my favorite character is relegated to a supporting role: Catherine, a recent transplant from the frontiers of Colorado, befriends Esther and dazzles New York society with her innocence, naivete, and sincerity. It's never really quite clear, however, whether her simplicity is the genuine article or just a show mocking the pretensions of her admirers. As one of the intellectuals who lightheartedly teases her wonders, there was "a little doubt whether she was making fun of him or he of her, and she never left him in perfect security on this point."

The novel sparkles with banter and quarrels, jokes and ripostes, but any attempt to reproduce the humor in a short review would fall flat: Adams's witticisms are dependent upon context and character. Still, I caught myself laughing out loud often at the book's cleverness and hilarity.

Some quotations from Adam Starchild's wonderful afterword to this book are appropriate:

"Children today are starved for the image of real heroes. Celebrities are not the same thing as heroes. Heroes existed way before celebrities ever did, even though celebrities now outshine heroes in children's consciousness."

"Worshiping celebrities leaves children with a distinctly empty feeling -- it doesn't teach that they'll have to make sacrifices if they want to achieve anything worthwhile. No- talents become celebrities all the time. The result is that people don't seem to care about achievement or talent -- fame is the only objective."

"... Despite immense differences in cultures, heroes around the world generally share a number of traits that instruct and inspire people. A hero does something worth talking about, but a hero goes beyond mere fame or celebrity. The hero lives a life worthy of imitation. If they serve only their own fame, they may be celebrities but not heroes. Heroes are catalysts for change. They create new possibilities. They have a vision, and the skill and charm to implement their vision."

"Heroes may also be fictional. Children may identify with a character because of the values projected. People tend to grow to be like the people that they admire, but if a child never has any heroes what images will he copy? Adults need heroes too, but the need is even more urgent for children because they don't know how to think abstractly. But they can imagine what their hero would do in the circumstances, and it gives them a useful reference point to build abstract thinking skills."

At last, John Curry has a book in print worthy of his art. Ms. Junker has suceeded in paying a noble yet sadly overdue tribute to this unique and often neglected artist. Curry's paintings capture the emotion and natural force of American scenes in a way that was very much his own. Works like "Tornado over Kansas" and the scene of John Brown in "A Tragic Prelude" embody some of the greatest expressions of conflict to be found in American art.