I have owned and read several times the David and Charles publication of this book (as a Pan Books paperback) since it first appeared in 1969.
It is an outstanding work written by a distinguished mechanical engineer very familiar with his subject. In clear language which even the non-technical should understand, the design and workings of the steam locomotive in Britain is made clear. Much of it is applicable in its fundamentals to steam locomotives anywhere in the world. It is definitely not a hagiography of some enthusiasts favorite designs but an objective account of the continued and successful development of the steam locomotive to the much improved state it reached after about 50 year's development in the 20th century. There is a rare but proper examination of compounding, superheat, boilers, cylinders, valve gear, and adhesion and many other relevant subjects. Also of experiments with ultra-high pressure and steam turbines and the author shows how the final designs tended to gell around a certain relatively simple but effective and efficient conformity in both Britain and the USA. Unusually there is a proper emphasis on maintenance and its costs, a subject often neglected.
I thoroughly recommend this book especially to provide the reader with a useful reference for a clesr understanding.
My own copy is now falling apart and I would be glad to find a robust hardcover edition.

I sat down at 8:00 last evening and finished this book in 2 1/2 hours, it was so fascinating and exciting! Mo Anthoine is a wonderful man who cares more about friendship and fellowship on a climb than he does about conquering the mountain. This ethos makes him most admirable. But, Mo Anthoine is more than admirable. His climbing exploits are riveting. Moreover, as a movie climbing double, camera man, and stunt man for movies like *The Mission*, and as the inventor and producer of much climbing equipment, we see Anthoine as a kind of mountaineering Michaelangelo, a true Renaissance man. The book's title, *Feeding the Rat*, refers to a phrase Anthoine uses to describe the mixture of pleasure and fear and pain that is fed in the climber, a feeding he can't get enough of.

The book's author, A. Alvarez, writes beautifully, giving his readers a loving portrait of Mo Anthoine, a visceral sense of being on a variety of climbs, and much sound and accesible philosophical material to think about.

Alfred Dodd has written perhaps the finest book on Francis Bacon while solving the mystery of Shakespeare's identity with rare combination of historical truth and placing it inside the narrative of a story. Dodd's penetrating insights and research leave most other Bacon biographers way behind. Partly due to the fact that Dodd himself was a Master Free- Mason the general public will have a unique glimpse and understanding of the ways of Freemasonry and it's influence throughout Bacon's life and how it saturates the Shakespeare Sonnets and Plays. The novice student to the more advanced researcher will profit greatly in absorbing the facts surrounding Bacon's mysterious birth , his relation to Queen Elizabeth, his passion and guidance to advance England thru education, sparking the English Renaissance and formulating a greater vocabulary for the English language, encouraging the New World settlements, overcoming numerous enemies like his cousin Cecil, and Coke the crooked lawyer, it's all revealed in this wonderful book. By the time one finishes reading it you will have not only a greater awareness of one of the world's greatest genuises and his selfless service to humanity and it's future but a deeper wisdom into the Shakespeare authorship issue. . Alfred Dodd has left us a great treasure chest for all to partake in.

This book is a great read! I was first exposed to it as a graduate student at University of Iowa. The book helps to confirm that theory should not be divorced from history. After all, music theory can be thought of as the history of musical ideas.

I found it very enjoyable to read about some of the teachings (and learnings!) of Bach, Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, and Schubert. The history, criticism, and reprints of some of the masters' handwritten exercises were most informative.

Arranged alphabetically by the individual being quoted, each entry in Great Jewish Quotations: By Jews And About Jews is explicitly annotated, indicating the source and date of the quotation, and where appropriate, explaining its context. Culled from a vast array of sources, written and spoken, this exhaustive and monumental work contains the words of Jews and non-Jews on matters relating to Judaism and the Jewish people. Great Jewish Quotations is an invaluable and handy resource book for writers, public speakers, students, and non-specialist general readers seeking an apt illustration to give better expression to a thought, communique, presentation, or speech.

Alfred Smith, a professor of medieval history at the University of Kent, provides us with a masterful biography of Alfred the Great. Smith's biography is a radical departure from the traditional view of Alfred as a neurotic invalid who remained piously illiterate until he was almost 40. Alfred's life is thoroughly examined to reveal a man of great physical stamina who had been a scholar all his life and who used his intellectual abilities, military prowess and administrative skills to change the course of English history prior to the Norman Conquest. This beautifully written biography examines Alfred's writings and charters, the Anglo Saxon Chronicle, and Asser's biography of Alfred (which Smith believes was a medieval forgery). This biography should be added to the library of historians, students and lovers of medieval history!

I highly recommend this book!

This 4-vol. set includes 2 volumes of narratives in Arikara with interlinear translation and two volumes of freer translation of the texts. A set of two audio cassettes is also available from University of Nebraska Press (and presumably from Amazon.com if you ask about it). _Traditional Narratives_ is really almost beyond criticism or praise. What Parks has done here is not just to present scholars and American Indians with a gold mine of Plains Indian traditional culture. He has given us and the Arikaras by far the most substantial, most accurate, and easily accessible collection of material in the Arikara language by some of its last fully fluent custodians (all of the informants for _Traditional Narratives_ are now deceased). For linguists, this is the largest corpus we will ever have of a beautiful and amazingly intricate language, now, like many other American Indian languages, edging toward extinction.

My B.A. degree dealt with the growth and development of Scottish Gaelic society and culture, and I used no book more than this one. It is challenging and accessible, and provides many reference materials such as chronological and geaneological tables. The bibilography is also outstanding. The book has been described as a 'galloping, rip-roaring' work and I wholly agree. Its greatest strength is its presentation of detailed arguements in a way which both makes a coherent point and invites further study. More than a survey, but not a specialist-only text by any means. Its counterpart for Irish history would be "The Course of Irish History" edited by T.W. Moody and F.X. Martin (Dublin: Mercier) 1994. Both are invaluable.

Susan Rabiner could've written a 150-page book for folks interested in writing general non-fiction book proposals. Instead, she focused on her area of expertise: "serious" nonfiction. Don't be insulted if your work isn't "serious." Not everyone writes for the socially and morally conscious planet.

Nonetheless, even if you're writing The Great All-American Cookbook, please read the first 137 pages, which provide an excellent overview of how to compile a first-rate book proposal. In particular, Susan gives away the Big Five Questions that most editors have in mind when viewing a proposal:
1. What's this book about?
2. What's the book's thesis?
3. Why are you the person to write this book?
4. Why is now the time to publish this book?
5. Who makes up the core audience for this book?

Cowabunga, I'd pay big bucks just to have these questions!

Susan also invites us behind the dark curtain of publishing, and explains how book proposals are dealt with editorially. This is extremely helpful, because it allows the reader to view the psychology of a typical senior editor who is on the lookout for the Great American Book that will launch them into the publisher's suite on Fifth Avenue.

I strongly urge you to buy this book, along with Jeff Herman's Write the Perfect Book Proposal: 10 That Sold and Why. Both provide all one truly needs to generate a superior nonfiction book proposal. Susan's approach gives the reader/writer the pertinent questions to ask and answer, in long, narrative format. Jeff's gives the nuts and bolts approach, using real-world examples that include excellent formats and styles.

Neither Susan's nor Jeff's book is adequate alone. Please buy both and read them entirely. Don't be put off with Susan's using "blah blah blah" 30 times in her book. She's just cutting corners and trying to make her points without getting too detailed.

Speaking of cutting corners: Susan should be ashamed of herself for all the errors in her book. Errors of this frequency and magnitude point to an egregious laziness that one should not accept in an editor/agent.

That said, I'm still grateful for Susan's hard work and expertise, and for sharing both with us.

Ah, now for you folks who wish to write "serious" nonfiction: this is the book-proposal guide for you, even if it is in narrative format, i.e. no really good examples of style, format of book proposals. Susan does delve into the mechanics of how to write that "serious" nonfiction book, using several short examples.Unless you majored in Comparative Literature in college, you might have a little trouble getting through it, but do give it your best effort. You won't be disappointed.

If you're the type of writer who prefers the bullet-point approach to obtaining useful information, then Jeff's book is more for you, but I urge you to read Susan's, too!

If you prefer to read a narrative description of how to assemble a nonfiction book proposal, then Susan's is more your style, but I urge you to buy Jeff's, too!

SUMMARY:
-First 137 pages excellent for ALL writers of nonfiction book proposals
-Remainder of book in narrative format; good for writers of "serious" nonfiction
-Complement this useful information with Jeff Herman's book, Write the Perfect Book Proposal: 10 Books That Sold and Why
-Blah blah blah isn't a dirty "word"

Susan Rabiner could've written a 150-page book for folks interested in writing general non-fiction book proposals. Instead, she focused on her area of expertise: "serious" nonfiction. Don't be insulted if your work isn't "serious." Not everyone writes for the socially and morally conscious planet.

Nonetheless, if even if you're writing The Great All-American Cookbook, please read the first 137 pages, which provide an excellent overview of how to compile a first-rate book proposal. In particular, Susan gives away the Big Five Questions that most editors have in mind when viewing a proposal:
1. What's this book about?
2. What's the book's thesis?
3. Why are you the person to write this book?
4. Why is now the time to publish this book?
5. Who makes up the core audience for this book?

Cowabunga, I'd pay big bucks just to have these questions!

Susan also invites us behind the dark curtain of publishing, and explains how book proposals are dealt with editorially. This is extremely helpful, because it allows the reader to view the psychology of a typical senior editor who is on the lookout for the Great American Book that will launch them into the publisher's suite on Fifth Avenue.

I strongly urge you to buy this book, along with Jeff Herman's Write the Perfect Book Proposal: 10 That Sold and Why. Both provide all one truly needs to generate a superior nonfiction book proposal. Susan's approach gives the reader/writer the pertinent questions to ask and answer, in long, narrative format. Jeff's gives the nuts and bolts approach, using real-world examples that include excellent formats and styles.

Neither Susan's nor Jeff's book is adequate alone. Please buy both and read them entirely. Don't be put off with Susan's using "blah blah blah" 30 times in her book. She's just cutting corners and trying to make her points without getting too detailed.

Speaking of cutting corners: Susan should be ashamed of herself for all the errors in her book. Errors of this frequency and magnitude point to an egregious laziness that one should not accept in an editor/agent.

That said, I'm still grateful for Susan's hard work and expertise, and for sharing both with us.

Ah, now for you folks who wish to write "serious" nonfiction: this is the book-proposal guide for you, even if it is in narrative format, i.e. no really good examples of style, format of book proposals. Susan does delve into the mechanics of how to write that "serious" nonfiction book, using several short examples.Unless you majored in Comparative Literature in college, you might have a little trouble getting through it, but do give it your best effort. You won't be disappointed.

If you're the type of writer who prefers the bullet-point approach to obtaining useful information, then Jeff's book is more for you, but I urge you to read Susan's, too!

If you prefer to read a narrative description of how to assemble a nonfiction book proposal, then Susan's is more your style, but I urge you to buy Jeff's, too!

SUMMARY:
-First 137 pages excellent for ALL writers of nonfiction book proposals
-Remainder of book in narrative format; good for writers of "serious" nonfiction
-Complement this useful information with Jeff Herman's book, Write the Perfect Book Proposal: 10 Books That Sold and Why
-Blah blah blah isn't a dirty "word"

As both a professional book editor and a professional writer I found this book to be filled with good advice that I can recommend to authors I am working with -- and new insights that as a writer, I found very, very helpful. Especially helpful are the authors' advice about what to expect from the publishing business. Writers: Read this wisdom carefully. Although it may be geared to academics (not the only people capable of writing serious non-fiction) it doesn't matter: the advice applies to anyone involved in the study or practice of a subject or profession who wants to write about it. I think "Miffed" misses the point of the book. In addition, the comment Miffed makes, "Getting it placed on Amazon is marketing genius" indicates that Miffed may not know that much about the publishing business: it doesn't take genius to get "placed" on Amazon -- that's what is so great about Amazon - they list most books that are published because they want to sell them.