A new and fresh look at the world around us with a twist. Osguards seamlessly binds science fiction, history, and the events of today into a believable and quick paced tale of good and evil. The detailed story line kept me hooked from the beginning--I can't wait for the sequels!!

Petteway sets up a detailed system of inter-galactic intrigue, politics, and history. His background in international studies and history make for a believable yet other-worldly tale that has strong elements of both science fiction and seemingly real Earth history. I hear this is the first in a series, and I can't wait to read the next one!

Great plot, with vivid explainations of events.

This book is about a business that, for the most part, no longer exists - the business of collecting animals for display in zoos. Wildlife conservation has changed a lot since then so the kind of expedition that Gerald Durrell and his companion, John, undertook in 1953, described in this book, just could not happen now.

Gerald describes how he and John spent several months in Cameroon collecting a variety of animals, birds and reptiles and some of the adventures they had, including the triumphs and disappointments. He acknowledges right at the beginning that the expedition may seem more exciting than it really was, because all the boring aspects have been omitted. Even so, there were enough exciting moments to fill this book.

He describes some of the local people, who he mostly got on well with - but of course he did have some problems and we are told about these. He describes some of the creatures he collected, and the disappointment when some died or escaped.

My favorite (both at school and now) was a chimpanzee that had already been domesticated. Gerald was asked to look after him before he could be shipped to London. This was no ordinary chimpanzee, as he not only enjoyed smoking cigarettes but was able to light his own using either matches or lighter, and also displayed other characteristics more normally associated with people than with chimpanzees. Always remember that this was 1953.

This is a highly entertaining book, which I first read at school, where it was compulsory reading - and it was the only such book that I enjoyed. I still enjoyed it when I read it again recently, after discovering (to my surprise) that it is still available in the UK.

Gerald Durrell spent most of his life collecting interesting animal specimens and Durrell is an interesting human specimen himself. His well chronicled life (mostly chronicled by Durrell) begins with the hilarious, and very succesfull, "My family and Other Animals". It is ably followed up with the equally hilarious "Birds, Beasts and Relatives". Both books are full of tales from the Durrell family's years on the Greek Island of Corfu, pre WWII. Little Gerry dives right into the flora and fauna of the island, including its human fauna. I own very few nonfiction books with such a plethora of memorable characters. Now, of course, we get to the volume in question. It is plenty good, and worth multiple readings over years, as is "A Zoo In My Luggage" and several other books detailing trips to collect animals. A word of warning, don't go nuts and buy all the zillion Durrell titles. Some of them are out of print for a reason and were most likely dashed off by Durrell to finance a collecting trip or two. If you read a sampling of Amazon.com reviews you will sniff these out and avoid wasting you hard earned lucre. And please, get "My Familiy and Other Animals and "Birds, Beasts and Relatives" right now, if you dont have them already.

Durrell's descriptions are so enthralling, I actually read the entire book in one night. If you like books about animals, such as the All Creatures series, you must read this book. I first read this book when I was 10, and this was probably the first adult book I read. The way Durrell describes the catching of animals and the way he captures each character's essence is incredible. You will fall in love with this book. I strongly recommend it.

Its a great book! Its simple and with lots of graphics! Best for those who doesn't like lengthy paragraphs. It uses cartoon to introduce the basics of developing a marketing plan.

Its a great book! Its simple and with lots of graphics! Best for those who doesn't like lengthy paragraphs. It uses cartoon to introduce the basics of developing a marketing plan

Its a great book! Its simple and with lots of graphics! Best for those who doesn't like lengthy paragraphs. It uses cartoon to introduce the basics of developing a marketing plan

I was not able to fit polymer chem into my schedule at University, so I bought this book after graduating. This book is extremely organized and provides a lot of examples. The first of three sections provides a great introduction with the focus on definitions and structure. This is accomplished with very little reference to reactions.
The next two sections, which are titled vinyl and nonvinyl polymers respectively, address reaction mechanisms and kinetics. This layout allowed for smooth transitions between sections and concepts were introduced and reinforced smoothly.
The other thing I liked about it, is the continuous reinforcement of nomenclature...every time a name was used a corresponding structure was on that same page.

This textbook does an excellent job of going over the basics of polmer chemistry. There are insightful questions at the end of chapters that make students think and the book goes over the material in such a way that a background in organic chemistry is not necessary. If you need to learn about polymer chemistry on your own, this book is an excellent purchase.

"Polymer Chemistry: An Introduction" is an excellent text for an upper division undergraduate or graduate level course in polymer chemistry. The book is also enjoyable to read for scientists and engineers in the polymer and materials fields. The content is logically organized, there is fairly in-depth discussion of mechanisms of polymerization reactions and of the origins of stereoregularity in polymers, and the problems at the end of each chapter are more than adequate for reviewing the subject matter. Professor Stevens clearly introduces the reader to the subject of polymer chemistry, relating the physical properties of macromolecular materials to polymer orientation, microstructure, stereochemistry and chemical composition. He also provides an enormous amount of information on the history of polymers in a fashion that effectively reinforces the important concepts being described. I find myself referring to this text far more frequently than the other polymer texts on my bookshelves.

Roxannes palace is haunted by a ghost. but is the ghost real? Roxanne goes to find the ghost. ( and plays a few tricks on it)! It is a great book. Worth reading!

Roxanne invites her sisters over for a dinner party and theres an uninvited guest... a ghost! It scares everybody out of the palace except Roxanne. So she goes to find that ghost! Roxanne is my favorite princess, if you like princesses you will like it!

I really liked this book!My favourite princess is The Emerald Princess.My favorite part was when Roxanne had found out about the ghost.

...And I'm not kidding.

The Saga of the Jomsvikings is just about the best of the sagas (with the exception of, perhaps, the Laxdale Saga). The action is almost non-stop (once you get through the ponderous, but still interesting, introduction) and gives you a good idea about what the 12th-14th century poets/historians thought 9th-10th century exploits.

The most compelling chapter is chapter 23 where, as stated in the introduction, the author shows us the face of "...Men who know how to die." There is no hyperbole in this statement, and has, I'm sure, been the impetus for more than one writer/screenwriter (insert sly sidewise look toward Michael Crighton here).

This was the first of the Viking sagas I read and I almost didn't make it to the saga part of the book. The introduction reads as a very scholarly, ponderous doctoral thesis (which I think it was). Not knowing what to expect from a Viking saga, wading through this over-written deconstruction was not a promising start. I had visions of the saga itself being much the same--a chore to read rather than a pleasure.

Fortunately I skipped ahead to the actual saga. The translation was bright and crisp, very well done, very readable. The story was excellent. This turned out to be a splendid Viking story that led me into all the others (the Paulson and Magnussen translations are equally good). The Saga of the Jomsvikings was exciting as an adventure story and fascinating as a look at the culture and thought processes of these people at this time (the beheading scene is particularly noteworthy).

A good study in how historical fact becomes transmuted into legend. The scene in which the Jomsvikings face death unflinchingly makes for powerful reading.

A "must-have" for every soccer coach.

This book was a tremedous resource for our team this year. It made the difference in our set pieces and gave the players confidence in executing them. Everytime we were awarded a free kick or corner kick the players truly saw it as an opportunity to score - and very often we did. Easy to understand and useful diagrams.

While soccer is primarily a dynamic sport with ever-changing positions and opportunities, there are moments that can be scripted - dead ball situations. "Soccer Restart Plays" describes in detail how any team can effectively take advantage of these golden moments and create excellent scoring opportunities. Clear diagrams of corner kick, direct and indirect kicks and throw-ins detail actions and responsibilities of key players. I have coached teams that scored twice in the final at the USA Cup on plays from this book! I high recommend it to any serious coach. Scott Lockwood

I first became acquainted and fell in love with the work of F.Scott Fitzgerald when I read a hardback copy of The Great Gatsby in my early 20s. Since then, I have read Tender Is The Night and This Side of Paradise, so when I discovered this collection of stories by my literary hero, I floated up to the cieling. My favorites include The Diamond As Big As The Ritz and Bernice Bobs Her Hair, and anyone who has not already been introduced to Fitzgerald, either in English class at school or while browsing in a local bookstore, it's not too late to change your mind, and it is my sincere hope that you will love this man's work as much as I do!

I was delighted to find out that not only were F. Scott Fitzgerald's short stories being narrated on audio cassette, but that one of the performers was none other than Robert Sean Leonard. Scottie is by far one of my favorite American authors. It takes an incredible talent to condemn the life you live in your literature, and when I think how he strived for excellence but fell victim to society, I can't help but pity him. His writing is so delicious to read as well. He has such wonderful similies and metaphors, and is so descriptive I can taste the wine, feel the rain and see the stars. The Jazz Age is one of my favorite time periods and F. Scott Fitzgerald captures it perfectly. You see the glittering side but then the glitter gets tarnished as it must. What is even better about this audio is that one of the narrators is none other than my favorite actor, Robert Sean Leonard (better known as Neal in Dead Poets Society and Claudio in Much Ado About Nothing among other films). His voice is wonderful to listen to, even if you're not a fan of his acting. It's perfectly clear and flowing and it reminds you of listening to your parents reading you a bedtime story. The tape itself leaves you feeling as if you've been on an emotional rollercoaster. There's a nice beginning, then it peaks with conflict, the resolution, and then the end finishes as calmly as it started. Yet you've gained something from it. Fitzgerald has some incredibly phenomenal themes in his work. The odd part is that I usually don't like getting audio books, but I certainly reccomend this audio of The Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald" It's worth every penny.

Surely an icon in the annals of American literature, F. Scott Fitzgerald produced a body of work which epitomized the Roaring Twenties. It has been said that his dominant influences were "aspiration, literature, Princeton, Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald, and alcohol." Nonetheless, his writing possesses an urgency, a bite, unrivaled by his peers.

Collected in this superb audio are nine of his early stories performed by accomplished actors. Broadway/film actress Blythe Danner reads "Bernice Bobs Her Hair," a narrative inspired by a lengthy letter Fitzgerald wrote to his younger sister, Annabel, in which he offered advice on how she could become popular with boys.

"The Jelly-Bean," read by Dylan Baker, takes place in Georgia. Fitzgerald credits his wife for her expertise in helping him write a portion of this tale involving crap shooting, saying "as a Southern girl" she was an expert at this endeavor.

The talented Peter Gallagher reads "Head and Shoulders," the first of Fitzgerald's story to appear in The Saturday Evening Post.

Also found in the collection are "The Diamond As Big As The Ritz," "Dalyrimple Goes Wrong," "The Ice Palace," "Benediction," "The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button," and "May Day."

This is an exemplary combination of memorable prose and oral presentation, a remarkable listening experience.

If you haven't read Malcom Muggeridge, don't give up yet--you may yet do so. Should that happy event occur, you may end up as puzzled as I am that most of Malcom Muggeridge is out of print. A Third Testament, for instance was the accompanying book for a series of films/TV shows written and narrated by Mr. M.M.. You'd think since Little, Brown published the book, and it was owned by Time-Life, which also owned the shows, that ads would be popping up on late night TV for the whole Time-Life Muggeridge collection. Think again. Or you'd think that since Collins Books (now part of HarperCollins) brought out the two volumes of his autobiography, The Chronicles of Wasted Time, to rave reviews on both sides of the Atlantic, that someone might trouble to keep them in print. Think again again.

The reason must be that the author's life was too dull, his writing style too lifeless and dry, his testament (whatever that is) prescribed bedtime reading for insomniacs. His titles notably absent from the bestseller list, he would understandably not be a household name. One wouldn't recognize him as a former editor of the British humour magazine, Punch, or as a player on the BBC's send-up of the news, That Was the Week That Was. But that would explain why his books are so side-splittingly funny. One also wouldn't know that he did the first BBC interview with Mother Teresa, and was profoundly moved by her life, an inspiration evident in A Third Testament. That would explain why his books are so profound. Nor would one know of the awakening in his soul that led him to tirelessly denounce the idiocy of modern life even as Malcom and his wife, Kitty, simplified their own lives to follow a different drummer. That would explain why this book by a late convert to the Catholic Church was reprinted by Plough Publishing and praised by readers of all spiritual stripes. But nothing can explain why these Muggeridge books are all out of print, or keep readers who have tasted one from tracking down them all.

AN AMAZING BOOK! I picked this book up randomly. It was in a forgotten RELIGIOUS section of a city library. Malcolm takes scattered history and complicated theology and reveals what it simply looked like in the lives of these great leaders. Definitely food for the heart and the soul!

Muggeridge has created in this book and in the accompanying video series a humble, honest, and beautiful work of simple yet deeply compelling biography. By focusing on the spiritual journeys of six/seven essential figures (in the video series he covers Augustine, Pascal, Kierkegaard, Blake, Tolstoy, and Boenhoffer, and in the book he adds to this group Dostoyevsky) Muggeridge discovers certain necessities of the spiritual life and illuminates them and brings them into focus. Both the book and the video series are essential to any library collection of contemporary religious thought.

Someone must bring these back into print!

Even for a person with an insufferably short attention span, I was not once bored during this book. It's not a thriller, or anything of the sort, but it managed to truly involve the reader in the author's journey.
The story of an Englishman who is on a trip through Patagonia to collect animals for his own private zoo, this book manages to bring out the animal lover in any reader. The descriptions of the land, the people, and the animals are beautifully crafted in well done, straight forward prose. I highly recommend it.

Durrell is wonderful at describing both animals and people and one gets the feeling one's there, with him, sleeping under a car and trying to keep warm by smoking a cigarrette, or in flight to Jujuy, sitting by a fat and talkative lady, or in Buenos Aires, sorting cars at I don't know how many miles an hour. Absolutely terrific!

To me, Gerald Durrell is the best descriptive writer who has ever lived. His stories of animal collecting trips to such exotic places as Africa, Argentina, Madagascar and more never seize to give me enjoyment. He not only chronicles his trip and the animals which he obtains but he also describes the many exotic and interesting people he meets. His sharp eye for the unusual and the eccentric grant him a place in the list of the best books I have read. This book tells of his trip of Argentina, where he manages to film and obtain myriad varieties of animals. The first half of the book chronicles the author's stay in Buenos Aires and how he manages to film penguins and seals in their natural habitat. Using words aptly and pleasingly, he describes the personalities of particular penguins or seals and through this particular specimen of the species he is studying, he traces the amazing habits of the species. In the second and admittedly more enjoyable half of the book, Durrell writes of his journey to Jujuy where he finds more of the tropical wildlife. Whether it comes to describing the ludicrous circumstances under which he comes to obtain a rare parrot from its naive owner or baiting a vampire bat with his own toe, Durrell does not seize to bring smiles to the faces of readers. Durrell sees the humourous side of life, which is not something which many people are able to do. When the end of the books comes, the reader is overcome by a feeling of wistfulness which cannot be obtained from any other author of this genre.