King's work is largely a response to the most famous work on the subject of the Donner Party, Stewart's "Ordeal by Hunger." King's book focuses on details of the tragic story, and leaves the reader with a depth of knowledge on the subject. More casual readers may wish that King had provided a chronological overview of the events. This work seems to be aimed at readers already familiar with the basics of the Donner Party story, and criticizes Stewart's work on so many occasions, it is hard to see the work as anything but an effort to correct Stewart's errors.

I had the opportunity to know Joe King and know the accuracy of his work and the tenacity of his searches. My family traveled to California in 1846 and were rescueres of the Donner survivors. Joe received hundreds of personal and family letters and diary entrys from living family decendents and opened new ground in this story. Most of the previous works were penned shortly after the Donner Tragedy and were very pointed in that they tried to soften some of the controversy. Many of the survivors were still living and no one wanted to talk about the gastly events at Truckee Lake. Joe King sought out the facts from family members like myself, the Donner/Houghtons, the Breens and Reid decendents. His work was reviewed by the true historians and deemed to be one of great accuracy without the myth that surrounded this topic for a century.

As a person fascinated in western history, I can say without reservation that this is the best book I have read on the Donner Party tragedy. Not only has the author given us the interesting tale of the Donner Party saga, and he has done that well, but he has also related the moral and ethical dilemnas to our own times and our own perspectives. I could not put this book down!

Unfortunately, I read Le Fanu's Uncle Silas before picking up The Wyvern Mystery. Although I enjoyed The Wyvern Mystery, I felt it was not as well written and plotted as Uncle Silas. At one point, you seem to reach the climax as 'the old soldier' becomes very nasty indeed; but then she all but disappears from the book. The ending was predictable - you could see it coming from a mile off. Overall, the book was entertaining, but I would recommend Uncle Silas over this story any day.

J. Sheridan LeFanu is not as difficult to get into as other Gothic fiction authors are. I would definitely recommend the 'Wyvern Mystery' to anyone looking at beginning to read Gothic fiction. I would recommend to anyone, however, as a very well-rounded book. The storyline takes many exciting twists and turns, though LeFanu's slow and detailed style may find little friendliness from modern readers. Those who appreciate detail will find his intricate portraits both refreshing and beautiful. Many times I found myself smiling at the believable and realistic depictions of emotion or character traits. LeFanu definitely shows that he is not an amatuer and demands attention from modern readers. He is widely unread, but his great talents at storytelling deserve attention. The 'mystery' of the Wyvern Mystery centers around a young couple's troubles due to elopement, financial problems, and the hero's dark past that comes back to haunt them both. All this and a happy ending. I implore you to resurrect this wonderful old mystery.

LeFanu's "Wyvern Mystery" is a classic example of a Gothic mystery. During the 1860's, Gothic mysteries and horror novels were popular. Although LeFanu is not as "up there " as such notable Gothic novelists as Bram Stroker or Mary Shelley, LeFanu creates a chilling and suspenseful thriller. The tale has the typical features one finds in Gothic novels- a beautiful heroine who is in danger, a mysterious family secret, a haunted mansion, prophetic dreams, appropriate dark atmosphere and as added bonus LeFanu created a "sub-human " character who has been damaged in her past and has now become a monster out for revenge. At time reminiscent of Jane Eyre, Wyvern mystery is a must have for mystery fans of the genre. PBS broadcasted a screen adaptation on their Mystery Series. Also I recommend all other LeFanu novels and also the Gothic mystery "Lady Audley's Secret ". Enjoy.

This book has it right. A very good sample of the kinds of problems seen in a statics course. All the problems are worked out with written solutions. I found a copy at a local library. If this book was in print I would buy it.

I will only say this...I would not sell my 2 volumes for a thousand dollars. I hope that these books are someday back in print as they are the ULTIMATE guides to learning, understanding and mastering this material. A MUST HAVE!.

"Aboman's Guide to Wilderness Schools" provides a seemingly comprehensive "brochure tour" of schools that offer Native American/primitive skills/outdoor survival type classes in the US. Many, but by no means all, of these schools can trace their lineage to one of two schools - Tom Brown's Tracker School (in the East) and B.O.S.S. (west of the Mississippi), both of which are included in this guide.

The limitation of this guide is that none of the information seems to be experiential, but rather limited to materials provided by each school. This would be akin to taking a vacation based on a brochure, rather than a travel guide of someone who actually has been there. Unless your criteria is strictly geographic you would have to do a bit more research to narrow down the search. Still, this is a good start for someone searching for this type of school as you can get a feel for each school's unique focus (some focus more on primitive skills (i.e. bowdrill, natural shelters); others on plants, tracking, philosophy, etc.).

If this guide can be revised on a regular basis, it will make it THE definative guide. Nicely done.

I just finished Abomans book and must say it was very informative. My wife and I plan on traveling and believe me, this will be the most important book we bring with us. He gives all the information you need from the wherabouts of the schools, the qualification of the teacher, the price of the school, and the expected techniques and skills obtained. I recommend this book to anyone interested in expanding their outdoor survival skills.

Fitzmyer, once again produces a herculian work for the serious New Testament student. His work invites one to grapple with the text in a mature fashion, once again, a well done accomplishment.

Commentaries on Acts produced over the past fifty years have generally been poor. The two that stand out are that of Ernest Haenchen and F.F. Bruce (on the Greek Text). More recently the critical commentary by C.K. Barrett has also appeared in two massive volumes. This commentary by Fitzmyer, an extraordinary Catholic biblical scholar, is excellent for preachers and scholars. It is not that large or technical that it takes forever to find what you are looking for, and yet it is comprehensive enough for juicy and detailed exegesis. Although not as long as his standard commentary on Luke, this is definitely as good as that, if not better. For me, this is the first choice of modern critical commentaries on the book of Acts.

I read this book as someone, relatively new to American politics, and found it extremely helpful. Whereas some US political book only cover certain aspects, Melusky covers everything, and manages to relate it all to each other. Thankfully though, he manages to do that in a non-complicated way.

Now that I am more au fait with the subject, some of this book is too basic, but it is still an excellent tool for reference nonetheless.

Melusky uses a clear, engaging and unbiased conversational tone to explain the basics of the American polical system. Generous use of side bar quotes and discussion of politcal difficulties make it an entertaining and thought provoking book for the novice. It's written for a 101 college course, but my 6th grade gate student, who is interested in law and politics, has enjoyed it. (however, he also enjoyed Moby Dick in the 4th grade too.) If you believe as I do that a book is made by its writing style, this is a great book for the subject.

There are ten chapters as follows: 1. Politics, the Politcal System and You; 2. Foundations of the American Political System (social contrat theroy...); 3. Constitutional Rights and Liberties; 4. Linking Public Officials to the Public: Public Opinion and Voting; 5. Collective Links to Public Officials: Parties and Interest Groups; 6. Elections: Presidential and Congressional; 7. Congress; 8. The American President; 9. The Federal Bureaucracy; and 10.The Federal Court System.

Interesting not for its "facts" - it's a revisionist propaganda piece, reworked in different forms throughout Hoxha's rule - but valuable to scholars and interested persons for that very reason. For those with proper background, the work is interesting for what it does not say, such as Stalin's willingness to let Tito of Yugoslavia "swallow" Albania in return for Tito's loyalty to Moscow. Tito's refusal to accept this bribe helped bring on Moscow's wrath as well as saved Albania and Hoxha. This book is also useful in revealing the mindset of old Communists in Russia and elsewhere who still idealize the Stalin myth.

Enver Hoxha was one of the greatest thinkers and leaders who ever lived. He managed to maintain "cold" wars with the US, USSR, and China at the same time!

It is because of Hoxha's genius that Albania became the paradise it is today.

Everything he ever wrote -- shopping lists, postcards, purge lists, death sentences, should be read by every human being many times.

...The work showes clearly the work of an outstanding writer, thinker and fighter for the victory of socialism. In his work comerade Hoxha explains how all his moves in international relations were to ensure the independence of Albania as well as to ensure the final triumph of socialism in his country for the benefit of his countrymen.

One of the better books that I read about Oracle Application Serve

The authors take a "lets roll up our sleeves and build something" approach to using Oracle web technology, including examples of web application server cartridge apps in PL/SQL, Perl, LiveHTML, and even COBOL! It is a bit frustrating to read all the references to the files on the "CD-ROM", when there is no CD-ROM! On the other hand, the book is very useful toward getting a working app up quickly. Well worth the $, even without the CD-ROM.

Just received and read the book. It succeeds by covering WAS 3.0 and 3rd party cartridges with lots of examples. The demo software comes with WAS 2.1 and 3.0, and not "the collection of software that is provided on the attached CD-ROM". Because there was no CD-ROM attached to the book. Most examples are in print right in the book. This book hits a moving target. WAS from Oracle is already the best, and constantly getting better. The book is also timely since it arrives a month ahead of Oracle's next major release of the Web Dev Ste(mid Mar). The new WDS should have WAS 3.x, and Oracle 8.

This book is not for the serious history buff nor for those who are seeking a macro view of historical events. But what this book does provide is the insite into an individual solder's life during our darkest hour. Other books on the Revolutionary War delve deep into the problems faced by Washington when the initial 6-month enlistments were to expire. Those Continental Troops who did not re-up are now viewed with scorn. However, Joseph was one of those troops who left after his enlistment was up and returned home without regret. The viewpoint from this individual solder provides balance from those Officers who were sustained in relative comfort. However, one has to begin to question some of the stories such as seeing Molly Pitcher in battle and his personal meeting with General Washinton near Yorktown. Regardless of the accuracy of his saga, Yankee Doodle Boy is easy reading and adds a sense of what it was really like to battle fatigue as much as the redcoats.

After reading this book, I know that the best way to learn about something is to get the viewpoint from someone who experienced it. Joseph Plumb Martin was a great writer, and told me what it was like to be an average soldier in Washington's army. He writes in a style that's easy to understand, even for a 7th grader like me, and he has a very good sense of humor. By the time I finished "Yankee Doodle Boy," I could have sworn I was there with Joseph. You can't say that you've read about the American Revolution until you read this book!

History doesn't get much better than hearing it first-hand from someone who lived it. Joseph Plumb Martin has paid us an invaluable service by recounting his seven years of enlistment in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. This is a great book which should be read by all Americans. Highly recommended.