My review of this book is, sadly, mixed. First, I must say, I intend to reread it soon, it's the best Latin Literary History I know of, and there are many useful features including a cookbook format and many appendices of terms. However, the book is also a bit of a hash. When I read the foreword apparatus by the editor I realized that we were not to have a properly edited book. This book was translated and re-hashed around by a committee. Two scholars adapted it for the American readership, so the gushy editor tells us. We were not given anywhere near enough information about what was done by whom on what principles. There was no translator's statement. I could not detect the original author's voice. I fear the editorial team did not take its work seriously enough. All through the book there were repetitions, inconsistencies, as though different people were responsible for different sections which were later assembled and inadequately edited. Three examples. 1) Nowhere in the book is the crucial term latifundium defined. 2) in one place the term floruit is used, in another place "flourishing", and nowhere is it defined. It was made to sound like 60, when surely it is 40. 3) We are not given Ambrose's full name nor his death date. Surely we know them. Whereas this information was standardly given for the other church fathers. I could go on and on. If you think these are trivial examples, then this book is for you. What this book needed above all was a better editor. What it really needed above all was the sifting and sorting by a single grand mind. And perhaps that is what Gian Biagio Conte is. But perhaps his work has been layered over by these other American minds. There were in fact many times while reading that I felt swept up with the superior insights of the book into this literature. Of course, the history of Rome is a bitter one. I hate its trajectory. And its literature is as derivative as European ones. Rome is the first humanistic culture, based on the mishmash of archaic, classic, and hellenistic greek, mixed with some native forms. All this the book shows, though more in brilliant flashes than in grand sweep. I wish the bones of the scholarship had been presented more. It's important to know who has said what about what. Conte does mention the problems. But I had this sense, beyond the cookbook hash, that there were white spaces that were not being discussed. In the end I suspect Conte has been done a disservice that I only hope can be corrected for round two.

Gian Biagio Conte's 'Letteratura Latina' is a work of brilliance that will probably stand as the foremost catalogue and compendium of Latin Literary History for a long time, and I cannot imagine what scholar(s) possess the right mixture of insight and brevity to replace it. Conte's treatment of Latin Literature is honest, intensely informative, void of pretention and, much to the anticipated surprise of lay readers, rather engaging in the contemporary Johns Hopkins English translation. The simultaneous yet uncompromised treatment of Roman politics, poetry, law, literature, art and history is certain to interest readers of all disciplines.

Real-life anecdotes from a criminal defense lawyer. As a third-year law student, it made me alternately hopeful and cynical about the profession I'm about to enter. Some of the stories are downright laugh-out-loud funny, some show you the way justice can be done, some show you how justice is (sadly) often ignored. (The coin-flip story is particularly horrifying, although there's no doubt in my mind that it's absolutely true.) Everyone will be entertained by this book, as Matthews' style is more storyteller than legalese, but it will hit home with lawyers, and defense lawyers in particular.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book of short stories. I bought 2 of these books as gifts for lawyers. It also makes a great gift for paralegals and legal secretaries.

This is a great book once you get into it. The first part is a little boring but keep reading, it gets really good, adventurous and on the edge of your seat with suspense. You become very close to the characteurs and find links to our society we live in today. It's a great book for older teens

Incredible book... All the young people would love to have a friend like king. A must to read

Although this book was originally published in 1989, its lessons are equally applicable to the modern-day business world.

In my mind, three principles stood out:

1) The importance of clear and concise communication to subordinates

2) The importance of being unconstrained by rigid rules and organizational norms, in preference of overriding principles and prejudices

3) The importance of leading for the long-term, rather than being motivated by short-term gain

Literary teaching how to deal with human trends and desires, this books brings one of the most important perspective to those who are facing,or just about to face, a leadership position: What makes people happy, and as a consequence more productive in their work, achiving above average results.

Joe Alicea talks to you like you're sharing coffee with him in a New York deli. His direct tone and many first hand experiences deliver the messge that everyone needs to lead. People can practice subordinate leadership or peer leadership just as easily as the typical superior leadership. Joe Alicea tells of his military experiences, educational environments, and even leadership as a hotel customer. This is a great book for all types of military education programs as well as anyone entering the work world.

I don't know of any endeavor on Earth that can succeed to its fullest without "People Leadership." Even a one-man-band needs to exercise and depends on people leadership for success. The one-man-band musician relies on the craftsmanship of his instruments' manufacturers. He expects the bass drum to be tight, the cymbals to ring and the trumpets to hit the high notes. He especially expects that quality begets quality. When he ordered his intricate set of instruments, he had a sense of confidence in the manufacturers' ability to deliver a well-made suite of magnificent harmony makers, not independent noisemakers. Deep in the musician's mind was the confidence that someone at the factory was responsible for providing the guidance, example, learning, mentoring and standards by which quality instruments are made. Without really knowing how to define his hopes, the musician was truly expecting people leadership at the factories. You see -- the musician knows that an instrument needs a well-motivated artist to create it. He also knows that his audience expects to see a well-motivated artist playing the instrument. Is the musician exercising "people leadership" when he's standing on a street corner entertaining the audiences that parade past him? Yes, he is! If he's practiced and prepared himself for his moments at that street corner, if he's studied and mastered a variety of music and is intent on sharing what he's learned with the audiences, if he delivers his best performance regardless of any payments or accolades he may receive and finally, if he can walk away proud of his work; then he's practiced People Leadership. Is that all? What about the audience, don't they practice people leadership? They do if they acknowledge the efforts of the musician. Acknowledgement is not necessarily what they might drop in the musician's hat and then simply walk away. Applause, a "thank you," a smile; respect for craftsmanship and artistry. That's People Leadership too. Managers come from schools; leaders come from the trenches. CEO's, and mail clerks, pilots and bus drivers, generals and corporals -- you -- need to exercise People Leadership; it helps you and everyone around you move towards success. I hope you enjoy my book and then spread the word. Thank you, Joe Alicea.

Alfonso X is greatly depicted as a man of much intelligence and prose while leading his country to great European power. O' Callaghan has a wealth of knowledge of the subject matter, and I recommend this book to anybody interested in medieveal literary and political figuers of Europe.

Provides a nice overview of this many-faceted ruler

This is typical of the work Neil Chambers writes. He has collated a vast amount of information that is totally useless to anybody, bar those that really care. I think that he should spend more time researching subjects of a more interesting nature. The author needs to get a life and soon.

A thoroughly well thought out articulate book with all the relevant information to give you a good understanding of the titled subject. I recommend a long slow read to enable all the details content to be absorbed. Well done to the editor in collating all the relevant facts neede to complete this project.

This is a very old but still very well written biography. Its greatest strenth is the fact that George Q.Cannon met Joseph Smith and knew people who had known him most of his life. You can sense that Cannon had a deep respect and love for Joseph Smith. Of course this love and respect that Cannon had also leads to bias. Cannon does not speak much about controversial subjects in the life of Joseph Smith. There have been better biographies written about Joseph Smith since this one. Such as No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith by Fawn Brodie, this biography of course has a skeptical bias and is not always historically accurate. The most fair biography of Joseph Smith is "Joseph Smith the First Mormon" by Donna Hill. However the best biographies of Joseph Smith are still to come. But any serious person who wants to study the life of Joseph Smith must look at this one by George Q. Cannon.

This biography on the Prophet Joseph is the best biography written. President Cannon knew the Prophet personally which adds to his insights. With the exception of the biograpy by his mother, all other biogrpahies are repeats of President Cannon's.

The Dinosaur Interplanetary Gazette likes this book! BUT there are not enough dinosaur riddles! See our review at www.users.interport.net/~dinosaur/books.htm

Since I love to cook, I enjoyed this one:

"What mysterious thing did the scientist see in the skillet?"

An unidentified frying object!

If you know a child who will enjoy this type of humor, they will enjoy this book.

Rebecca@SeasonedwithLove.com

The great experience of the old time radio adventure shows was that you listened and let your own imagination carry you through a story. With Mr. Albee's powerful from-the-heart words, you have the unique experience of reading and letting your own imagination paint the chapters of a love story. This is a book of poetry and the cover notes talk about "torching" the heart. Most of the thirty six poems do exactly that - torch the heart: you can't read them without your insides becoming inflamed with some kind of emotion. If anyone ever questioned a man's ability to express joy or hurt, Mr. Albee leaves no doubt. A reader will have no trouble finding one or more poems that will "hit the mark," to be read over and over and over (or to be passed on to someone special). I never thought I would recommend a poetry book, but I do recommend this one.

There are all forms of poetry and Albee uses some, abuses others, ignores some, enhances others, refusing to be locked into any set-schemes - but who cares. When you start reading this gem, emotion overshadows all other concerns. Free style: yes. Metered: yes. Elegiac: not in the strict sense of the poetic definition (alternating hexameter and pentameter lines) but most surely in the moods expressed. And that's when you can't help but care - a story unfolds and grips you and then lets you decide how it eventually ends - in despair or hope. That answer may depend on whether you ever loved.