More a biography and canonization of Edward Jenner than a comprehensive examination of the eradication of smallpox, _The Eradication of Smallpox; Edward Jenner and The First and Only Eradication of a Human Infectious Disease_ is, nevertheless, a useful text and a pleasant read.

While Herve Bazin does apply necessary attention to the various factors that lent themselves to the development of a smallpox vaccine and the eventual elimination of the disease from humanity, the book places heavy emphasis on the contribution of Edward Jenner to the process. There can be no doubt that Jenner's contribution was significant and should in no way be dismissed. In this regard, _The Eradication of Smallpox_ is a thorough examination of his life and influence. The work by other's to achieve the only instance of the complete eradication of a human infectious disease could, however, have been treated more fully.

_The Eradication of Smallpox_ is worth picking up if only for its discussion of Jenner's life, an important component of the history of smallpox. A more complete study of smallpox, however, would require further reading.

Behind David Lean's directorial masterpiece 'Lawrence of Arabia' (1962) lay a series of attempts to film T. E. Lawrence's life, most of them centred around the abridged version of 'Seven Pillars of Wisdom', known as 'Revolt in the Desert.' Chief amongst the filmmakers eager to produce this epic was the great Alexander Korda, who bought the rights to both books and also to several biographies that contained their material. Korda was asked by Lawrence himself not to make the film while he was alive. Five months later, Lawrence was killed in a motorbike accident and Korda began his preparations. Locations were scouted, scripts were drafted, and several actors were tested to play the lead. Walter Hudd (who had played the Lawrence-based character Private Meek in 'Too True to be Good') and Leslie Howard were the favourites, although Cary Grant and Laurence Olivier were also considered. The Foreign Office thwarted Korda at every turn, protesting that it would be ill advised to show the Turks in an unfavourable light with the ongoing political unrest in the East. After a dozen attempts to make the film, Korda let it slide. This book is tripartite: part one sketches a brief history of the attempts to film 'Lawrence of Arabia' and includes pictures of all the key players. The second part is an interview given by Leslie Howard on how he would play Lawrence; and thirdly, the final script (1938) of the Korda epic is reproduced. While it is a laudable piece of work, the book fails to hang together and emerges as two articles and a film script that are linked by the same subject, but have no cohesion. Part One is far too brief for the reader to gain an understanding of the forces arrayed against Korda and his project, and it would benefit from more research and more expansion on the views of the various directors and actors engaged for the film in its different stages. Part Two is simply the Howard interview with no editorial comment offered. Part Three, the script, also has no analysis. This is surprising, as it is rich in allusion and with peculiar sequences that (to modern eyes) detract from the overall pacing of the film. It relies heavily on 'Seven Pillars' for dialogue and description, with little or no modification. To those who are acquainted with the Robert Bolt script of the Lean film, the Korda Lawrence is but a pale shadow: eloquent passivity rather than "nothing is written" man of action; cold detachment rather than anger and angst in crucial scenes (Tafileh, the Turkish hospital); the smug imperialist rather than the tortured anti-imperialist. Korda's Lawrence was intended to be heroic, a ( ) puff-piece with a serious bite, but looking at the script today, he seems shallow, self-important and obnoxious. The real Lawrence evaded any attempt to capture him by constant shifts in personality, presenting a different face to each person he met. It would appear that the celluloid Lawrence of Korda's vision was the same; and, as such, defeated him wholly.

Gained quite a lump sum of information reading the book.

i used this book for a research i was conducting on shakers. it gave me introductory information on shakers' life. it is a good book to start with; have a GENERAL IDEA of the subject "SHAKERS".

This book is full of many statements concerning acts of the law. If one wishes to read about such things, this is the book for you. If you are not interested in things such as courts, judges and gavels I suggest that you buy another book, not this one.The author uses too many complex words and ends up losing the reader in a sea of nonsense arguements. In the future, I suggest the author include more short stories and funny "law" anecdotes in order to make the book a bit more fun to read.

I can't believe I bought this calendar. Who comes up with these lyrics? I mean, come on. The only lyric that might have been actually misheard by anyone who listens to music could possibly be the title, "Scuse Me While I Kiss This Guy". Don't waste your money on this.

When would it be time for Gavin to finally write a new book with new illustrations? The four were each written on a period of years: 1995 - 1998. My 2001 calendar didn't have many new entries, most of them were from "He's Got The Whole...", and a handful from his other books. Think CLEAN humor, people.

Could be a definete miss.