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This book is an excellent choice for its price if you are interested in greek history. This historical period is not so 'glorious' compared with the previous classic greek periods and hence not my favorite one. I have not read more than 10 books about the hellenistic age and thus I can not claim there are not better books. Yet, I found the book interesting, well documented, and well written.
It's sad to see that some people vote 1 or 2 for a good book just because it uses the name 'macedonia'. When it refers to ancient greece, slavs vote it with 1. When it refers to the modern slavic state, greeks vote it with 1.
This makes it really difficult for the rest of us to select a book! Please stop it now.
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The title of the book is "How MIDI Works" but the first three chapters barely mention MIDI as the system requirements of computers are explained. Eventually, when we get to Chapter 4, we see a discussion of "Multiport MIDI Devices". However, even at this point, MIDI has not even been defined. Only when we get to Chapter 9 do we start to see a definition and a real discussion of the MIDI interface and its data and control formats. However, I still have not found a concise summary of the MIDI format as it is sprinkled throughout the book but never really summarized. I would expect a book with this title to function well as a reference source for MIDI information. I looked for MIDI in the index but found there is no index!
It appears that the title of the book should have been "How to Build a PC-based Recording Studio" since that is what the book actually attempts to deliver. MIDI is just one technology that gets discussed among all the other ins and outs of putting together a PC-based audio system. I'll need to look elsewhere for a good reference on MIDI.
Also, it's already seriously outdated as far as system specs, software, etc...
One more complaint: This book is full of blatant advertisments for the author's other business ventures as well as the music school where he teaches, and also for Gigasampler/Studio which is mentioned SEVERAL (I mean SEVERAL) times in every chapter and shown in nearly all diagrams, and even goes as far as having an entire chapter dedicated to Gigasampler/Studio. If you were a complete newbie reading this, you would be convinced that having Gigasampler was the only way you could make music on your computer.
But, I'd say that the information is mostly straight forward, easy to understand and finally when it gets into actually talking about MIDI, has some good info. This book had potential, but the little things really add up to make it sub-par in my opinion.
I'd give it 2.5 stars if I had the option.
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To make his claim to royal descent even more ridiculous, Michael has added the completely fake genealogy of the Holy Blood, Holy Grail book to his book, thus claiming descent through the Guises and the Merovingians from Jesus Christ himself! This claim is completely absurd.
However, if you do not mind about historic accuracy, the book is quite pleasantly written and it is clear that the author loves Scotland. Besides the silly genealogy stuff, it contains a series of biografies of Scottish Kings.
Forgotten Monarchy is a minutely detailed reacessment of the history of Scotland and the emergence of the Royal Scottish family. We have all heard the old adage that history is written by the victors, well, here in Prince Michael`s book are told the details concealed by the English who wrote the victor`s history we were all taught in school. One of these surprising details is the revelation that the Stewart dynasty did not become extinct as the textbooks would have us believe.
Not just dry stories here, the details have modern significance and particularly relevant to a Scotland recently voting to have their own Parlament , not had since 1707.
Of major importence to the book is the detailing of Westminster`s conspiracy against the Stewarts in exile. Included are documents that prove that Bonnie Prince Charlie had prodigy, and they were recognised as such by governments and Royal families of Europe throughout the 19th century.
In places, Forgotten Monarchy reads like a mystery, it has everything you could want in a good mystery, conspiracy in high places, destruction of documents, attempted political assassinations. It all sounds unnervingly very modern but this conspiracy started in the 18th century and has continued to this day, fairly successfully I might add.
There are those who have publicly maintained that the claims of Prince Michael and his family are all fantasy, made up of whole cloth. If they have the courage to actually check out the documentation presented in this book they just might change their tune.
Finally, Forgotten Monarchy is an engaging story of a 17 year old man raised in Belgium who moved to Scotland in 1976 becau! se he felt that his destiny lay there in the land of his forebeares.
The last 22 years have been quite an experience for Michael Stewart, for most Scots as well as the rest of us in the english speaking world, had no idea the Stewart family had survived in exile.
Shortly after arriving in Scotland, young Prince Michael paid a visit to Lord Lovat, who also had no knowledge of the Stewarts in exile. When the Lord Lovat realised who this young man at his door was, he asked "What on earth are you doing here?"
The 17 year old`s reply is best told in his own words; "I could think of no better reply than to quote the well remembered words of Prince Charles Edward, and answered..........I am come home"
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