Historical fiction, particularly from classical times or earlier, can either be great or believable; I'm not certain it can be both. To make a story entertaining, it must be comprehensible to modern readers, couched in impossibly modern motives. Robert Graves's Claudius complained about this in reference to an assessment of Livy's histories (meant to be understood as an inside joke, as Graves was happily doing the same thing). No matter what period Vidal inhabits, his narrative figures have a modern, cynical eye, informed by ages of experience that the originals could not have enjoyed.

This engaging story is based on a coincidence of history -- that in one lifetime of travel, one man could have met Zoroaster, Socrates, Democritus, Confucius, and the Buddha. THE Buddha. Persian ambassador Cyrus Spitama does this -- it's a lot of shoe leather, but barely possible -- and combines this epic journey with a pesonal search for the origins of the world. At the end, he comes up empty (as we all must), but still feisty: still Vidal's standard narrative persona (Charlie Schuyler), but a bit tougher.

A lot of the book uses Cyrus's Persian/Greek viewpoint (he's mixed blood) to skewer the Age of Pericles. I enjoyed the hell out of that, since I've always been unimpressed by the Greek ideal. It sounded nice, sparked a lot of clever talk, but lasted only a lifetime in its purest form before it was snuffed out. But we're still talking about it, so there must have been something there. At least Vidal gives us an alternative story of that perilous time.

This is one of my favorite books that I re-read from time to time I have learned a great deal of history from this book, as Mr Vidal makes history come alive. Ultimately a book on "who we are/where did we come from?" Cyrus, the narrator feels like us all. By the way, it has some of the funniest lines i have ever read in a novel, as only Gore can do!

Having read it many years ago, I bought this book as a gift fora friend in the hospital... Just for fun, I opened it up to peruse it a bit. And then I became totally engrossed and read it again cover to cover. THat is the test of a great book: you can read it again and again and see more each time.

Of all of Vidal's novels, this one has the most ideas: the main character (a Persian ambassador to Athens who despises what he hears Herodotus reading) recounts his meetings with the creators of the several great cosmological systems, that is, monotheism, hinduism, and confucianism, all of whom may have lived within one person's lifetime. These are some of the principal systems that have undergirded world civilisations ever since. Vidal recounts them with fascination and acid wit.

But that is not all. At the core of the book is a portrayal of court life at the high noon of the Persian empire, a hotbed of intrigue, fellowship, and sex. You learn about subject Babylon, Xerxes' alcoholism, and the governance via eunichs from the inner chambers of the queen's harem. What is most original is that Vidal sets Persian civilisation in stark contrast to the more primitive Greeks, who were enjoying their own golden (Periklean) age. This neatly turns our Western self image of Greek glory on its head, and is hilarious as well as effective satire (though Vidal is so subtle that I may be misreading him here).

Highly recommended, the best historical novel I ever read.

"Dance" is a monster of a project; 12 novels that feature a small core of characters that appear in each book and approximately 400 lessor characters that appear and disappear and sometimes reappear years (and books) later.

The first movement consists of three social novels and tells the story of Nicholas (Nick) Jenkins' life from his last year at school in the early 1920s (probably Eaton) to his life as a writer living in London and working in the art publishing industry around 1930.

Powell's style is very dated and ponderous, major world events get a sentence or two while a particular dinner or party might get three chapters. The really amazing thing is that if you stick with him, the series starts to work. The characters become very real, and despite the highly stratified nature of upper class English society he describes, you find them sympathetic and interesting.

A major plus point here is the wonderful true-life ambiguity of everyone. There no black and white heroes or villains in these novels, even the dreaded Kennith Windmerpool emerges as a real human being, with real concerns and triumphs and failures. Nick starts disliking him, never really warms to him, but like us, grows to respect his drive and ambition. Nick, like many a narrator, emerges as a somewhat passive observant young man although not without resources and a strong sex drive!

No way is this series of novels for everyone, but if you like good description, some very sly English humour, and believable developed characters in your books, then give it a shot. There are also some excellent resources on the Net that identify the "real" people the characters are based upon. Be warned, if you complete the first movement of the dance, you're committed to read the next three.

For me, the most impressive aspect of Anthony Powell's *Dance to the Music of Time* series is not the hilarious comedy, not the dazzling style of writing, not even the epic scope of this series of 12 novels covering upper class life in England from the 1920s to the '70s. For me it is the astounding *reality* of the characters, both major and minor, who populate these novels. They become real people that you actually know, and their triumphial, absurd or tragic progression through this series is the most compelling and moving reading that I have experiencened in modern literature. Anybody interested in post-war fiction must read this magnificent series of novels.

I have read this series several times since I first saw it by accident in the late 1970s on university library bookshelves. I was first struck by the serpentine sentences, the erudition of the protagonist, and his elite circle in society and acquaintance with the arts. It is a relatively light approach to the world in which characters intertwine to a comic degree over time, and the protagonist is mysterious and impassive, and never really in any physical, psychological or financial danger. These are novels in which it is very easy to become engrossed in the wonderful detail, the vivid characterizations of the arts and publishing demi-monde, the quirks of military life, the naifs of left-wing politics, and the amazing eccentricities of practically everyone with whom the unknowable protagonist and narrator meets.

Anyone who loves these books would also cherish the eleven volume series, "Strangers and Brothers" by C.P. Snow - which covers the same period of time, is also told in the first person, but is a more serious series in which faux pas cause lost jobs or spouses, rather than pots of sugar dumped on one's head at a dinner party!

I HATE self-help books, except for their humor potential... as in, making fun of them. This book was recommended to me by my brand new "friend"... my therapist. God, it feels funny to even utter the words "my therapist." I borrowed the book from the library last night, and started reading it at about 11:00 p.m. I literally could not put it down... and finished at about 12:30. Today, I'm ordering my own copy from Amazon, and I'm going to let everyone in my office borrow it too. I think that EVERYONE should be REQUIRED to read this book once in their lives... you don't have to buy into it, but you should at least read it. Thank you, Anthony Robbins.

I gave this book a 9/10 mark simply because when you're done, you'd hope there were more to read. I actually knew Anthony Robbins before reading this book. And I have also read some of his other books before this one as well. But if you wonder who this guy is or if you don't want to spend bucks on something you may be skeptic of, you ought to try this book out. It's a 100-page-or-so book that's filled with simple but worth-reading "techniques" on how to turn your life around in various areas. Just think about what you could be passing by not buying this book (and it's at such a low-price anyway). I definitely recommend it to any self-help/improvement fanatic.

This book is full of inspiration. If you've been having trouble motivating yourself, this is the book to read. Anthony Robbins gives interesting stories that make you want to get started right away improving your life. If others can do it, so can you. Easy to read but extremely moving. I liked it so much I bought copies for all of my friends who are in a rut. This one will get you up and moving!

Although Monty Python's Flying Circus is still the most celebrated British comedy TV series to hit the states, I've yet to see any other BBC show match 'Are You Being Served?' as the funniest. The 'Inside Story' companion book is a helpful guide for American fans of this landmark BBC sitcom.

'AYBS?' has many of the distinctions that make it a notable TV show. It boasts both a black-and-white episode (the pilot) and a 'lost' episode. It's been made into a feature film and a stage play. There's a spinoff series, 'Are You Being Served? Again', known as 'Grace and Favour' in the UK. An Australian version of the series was produced, as well as a pilot for an American rendition that never saw release. These little factoids and many other things are in the book for the fan's reference.

Also given are very brief synopses of the episodes, as well as mini-bios of the show's main characters and the actors who portray them. There's Mrs. Slocombe's (Molly Sugden) discussions about her... pet cat, Capt. Peacock's (Frank Thornton) marital woes, the biting wit of Mr. Lucas (Trevor Bannister), and other details. Then there's John Inman and his effeminate and flamboyant portrayal of Mr. Humphries, the quintessential "campy over-the-top allegedly gay" character. A good portion of Inman's bio talks about the controversy regarding Humphries's implied homosexuality. As for Mr. Humphries himself, he has stated many times on the show that he's "neither one way nor the other"...

Another neat addition is the glossary of British terms- the slang and vernacular commonly heard on the show. It's good to have when you're watching the show on the west end of the pond and you're not quite sure what a "till", an "electric fire", or "sacking" is. Unfortunately, not all of the various terms heard on the show are defined. I'm still trying to figure out what an "argybargy" (I think that's how it's spelled) is. And just what is a "bloody palaver" (spelling again) anyway? Can anybody help me out on these ones?

'Late!

'AYBS?' has many of the distinctions that make it a notable TV show. It boasts both a black-and-white episode (the pilot) and a 'lost' episode. It's been made into a feature film and a stage play. There's a spinoff series, 'Are You Being Served? Again', known as 'Grace and Favour' in the UK. An Australian version of the series was produced, as well as a pilot for an American rendition that never saw release. These little factoids and many other things are in the book for the fan's reference.

Also given are very brief synopses of the episodes, as well as mini-bios of the show's main characters and the actors who portray them. There's Mrs. Slocombe's (Molly Sugden) discussions about her... pet cat, Capt. Peacock's (Frank Thornton) marital woes, the biting wit of Mr. Lucas (Trevor Bannister), and other details. Then there's John Inman and his effeminate and flamboyant portrayal of Mr. Humphries, the quintessential "campy over-the-top allegedly gay" character. A good portion of Inman's bio talks about the controversy regarding Humphries's implied homosexuality. As for Mr. Humphries himself, he has stated many times on the show that he's "neither one way nor the other"...

Another neat addition is the glossary of British terms- the slang and vernacular commonly heard on the show. It's good to have when you're watching the show on the west end of the pond and you're not quite sure what a "till", an "electric fire", or "sacking" is. Unfortunately, not all of the various terms heard on the show are defined. I'm still trying to figure out what an "argybargy" (I think that's how it's spelled) is. And just what is a "bloody palaver" (spelling again) anyway? Can anybody help me out on these ones?

Fans of this long-running series and mainstay on American public television will appreciate this excellent reference guide to the actors and episodes. The book is 212 pages and is full of color and black and white photos. All the leading actors are featured in mini bios (there is 8 pages of text along with several pages of photos on John Inman, alone) as well as short bios on supporting actors such as Arthur English (Mr. Harman). Info on the chief writers Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft, a brief history of the series, behind-the scenes look at the taping of the shows, AYBS trivia, and a glossary of "Briticisms" are also included. The most valuable section of this book, however, is the lists with plot details on every episode of the ten-season series. The information on each episode includes a list of the extras, the date it first aired, trivia (in most cases), plot description and rating on a one to four-star scale. I am not sure how the ratings were ascertained, as they often differ from how I judge the shows, but it is fun to watch an episode and then check the guide to see what they thought of the show. Keep this book handy whenever you enter the world of Grace Brothers.

Cyrano de Bergerac, the character, the play, the legacy, is a timeless literary herald due to its theme. Existence in a contrived reality constitutes a standard motif of Romanticism. Literature itself is able to assume the bittersweet but themed predictability that concrete reality lacks. It pretends no circumstance is too outrageous or too wonderful, seamlessly binding the ruthlessly sinister and the impossibly good. A contrived existence in literature can be interpreted as a dream world in which the character chooses to envelop himself, blocking out society's standards and inverting the impossible. This shadow often sadly results in the opposite of the character's original intentions because it is surreal. The main use of this method by Cyrano is in writing sonnets for Christian's dictation to Roxane. In an abstract way, Cyrano vents his own feelings, but credits his the resulting glory to a handsome protégé. A secondary example is the finality in Roxane's tragic statement upon realizing that it was the dying Cyrano she loved, and not Christian. "I never loved but one man in my life, and I have lost him twice". She has finally allowed the vale of deception to be lifted, finding in its place a life misspent. Not unlike a certain Shakespearean character of the same era, she realizes herself to be a woman who has loved not wisely but well. Shaped by a theme of false reality's ultimately unhappy demise, the play is an extraordinary work magnifying life's complications.

Most readers and performers are probably more familiar with the translation of Cyrano by Brian Hooker. Hooker's translation has much to recommend it but it fails to capture the poetic power, whimsy or grace of Rostand's play. I feel the Burgess translation better represents Cyrano to a modern reader. One previous reviewer suggested that there was something almost absurd about Cyrano as he is portrayed by Rostand. Burgess himself had qualms about translating the play into rhyme. But this convention is powerful because it suggests that the men and women of Cyrano's dramatic world (even the lackwits) were impressed by cleverness, grace and beauty. It is set out in the play that Roxanne is one of the literary precieuse. The type of cleverness that Cyrano portrays in rhyme would appeal to her. At the same time, Cyrano is not a fop but a man of action whose mind is not stilled even by combat. Also this translation shows that Christian's "military wit" was something Cyrano could appreciate for its poetic appropriateness as well as for its courage. I think in some ways Cyrano's chivalry and heroism, as well as the more unrealistic elements of the play, are actually made more vivid and convincing by the use of rhyme. Burgess transports us to Rostand's imagined world of poetry and chivalry directly. . . and does not relent for a moment in portraying it. I think the real Hercule Savinien Cyrano de Bergerac would have appreciated the flair of it all. And if you don't buy that?-- Well, the fight scenes are STILL cool. Happy reading.

This is the best play-book-poetry every written. I sat down, started reading, and didn't get up until I was finished, which was quite a while since when I got to the end I was crying so hard I could barely read. Anyone who doesn't understand Cyrano isn't a poet or an author, OR a dreamer. This is the classic tale of one who finds himself unworthy, but who will settle for NO LESS than true love-- that, and many, many other things it would take hours to expound upon. Truly, the greatest work of all time.

As the first Xanth book I ever read (I was 8 years old at the time), Ogre, Ogre holds a special place in my heart. I was hooked on the hilarious use of puns, which to me is what *makes* the book, and the series. Speaking as a long-time fantasy fan, the book has a cute plot (a bone-crunching ogre looking after luscious females?), lots of laughs, and still manages to pull off a decent fantasy story.... That's got to be good!

Smash is lovable. It's these types of books that make me always doubt whether it's real or not...scary... Anyway, I always rate Anthony's books a 5 star. But in Xanth (my fave series) the style of writing is a lot better in the first trilogy of 9 or so then in the later parts of the series, while the later part of the series all have better plots. It's a balance. I still like the idea of magic being so close yet inacessible because I don't believe hard enough... Read the whole series (in order). If not the whole series, then start reading with A Spell for Chameleon and stop when you feel like it (not in the middle of a book, of course, the endings are always great.) Anthony Rocks!

I had a strange experience with this book. One of the other reviewers stopped reading Xanth after this book, and I almost did too. Yet it was my dad's favorite. I asked him why, and he rattled off about ten reasons, none of which I remembered reading. That was really weird; normally I have good memory and reading comprehension. I quit reading Xanth for a while, getting more interested in Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker stuff, and after I got through with that I decided to re-read the first four Xanths because they were so much fun. I got to this one, read it again, and loved it. I concluded that this was because it is hard to see an ogre as a human being, and therefore I, as a human being, had a hard time putting myself into it. I was a bit nettled at the concept of blanket trees too. So what's so great about this book? Well, you realize that the Good Magician Humfrey's answers ALWAYS make sense, but you don't realize that they do until they do, giving the querent greater satisfaction. This book is hilarious. It has some great fights, like Smash Ogre vs. the Gap Dragon, and Smash vs. another ogre, and Smash vs. demon. Smash runs into an Eye Queue (IQ) vine and becomes smart. He regards it as a curse, as ogres are proud of their stupidity. Ogres are also soulless, emotionless creatures, and Smash is not; over the course of the adventure he becomes more and more humanlike until he falls in love at the end. I don't know if this is realistic, but all through the story he thinks of himself as an ogre; no identity crisis in contrast to Bink in Xanth 1 or Dor in Xanth 3. His adventure triggers new feelings, which at first he doesn't understand, and eventually becomes comfortable with the idea of being a soulful human being while maintaining the ability to bash someone's brain in at need. My original dislike for this story was due to the fact that it was too dark and serious although humorous, but the second time through I came to appreciate that quality.

This is the first Ken Follett book I ever read and found it really enjoyable. It had all the elements a good read has - action, sex, exciting characters, suspense, etc... I can't wait to read more of his titles.

I've read almost all of Ken Follett's books and would rate this as his second best, behind Pillars of the Earth, and right up there with Eye of the Needle. It has the usual stock elements found in any thriller: an admirable hero, a despicable villain, a vulnerable but brave young girl, but infuses them with real humanity and builds to a crackling and suspenseful climax. As in other Follett books, he makes the conflict many-layered: The hero (Major Van Damme) wants to apprehend the villain (Alex Wolf) not only because it can have an effect on the progress of the second World War in Egypt, but because they have a past together, and because the girl he is falling in love with has been used as "bait" for Wolf. Shades of Alfred Hitchcock's Notorious.

What I like about Follett's best work is that it really delivers the suspense and resolves the story in an incredibly satisfying way. Like many spy novels, there are contrived situations, but he "gets you to turn over the next page" (Ian Fleming's goal as author of the James Bond books) so eagerly that you just want to see how it ends. His female characters are far from cardboard as well: both of them are fully realized. And, best of all, he makes everyone vulnerable; he knows that we can identify with characters that have strengths and weaknesses, instead of the usual cast of robots exchanging gunfire from speeding cars.

This is the first novel I have read by Ken Follett and I am about to start Eye of the Needle. This book was fast-paced, exciting and well written. It had everything you need. A good story, action, adventure, style, and beautiful woman. Please read this book.

Fire your Exchange Consultants. Save the fees and buy this book.

I wanted web access for our Exchange users. Consultants replied that's it's very complicated due to our network topology, must study w/ care...blah blah, will cost$$$..blah blah..there are consequences if we..blah..blah

I bought this book and followed the 20 pages w/step-by-step screenshots to build the service in 3 hours.

No more blah-blahs.

The authors wrote in a straight forward way that makes everything easy to do. I'll use this tome as my Exchange reference. I have many Exchange books. Most are useless and serve as door stoppers.

This one is a keeper. I wish I had it sooner.

Real hands-on stuff in this Bible. Absolute must-have for all Exchange Admins!!!! This is a BARGAIN!!!

This book is extremely good in that it covers in clear and easy-to-read text pretty much everything you could want to do with your Exchange server. It's well laid out and I'm currently using it to study for my final MCP as part of my MCSE.

Lots of content (> 1000 pages), well written, examples and diagrams where appropriate... what more can you say?

If you use Exchange 5.5 or are thinking of doing so, then you could do a heck of a lot worse than get a copy.

I put it on my bedside table and cringed every time I looked at it... 'I have to read THIS! ' I continued to ignore the huge tome for a few days, but it was there staring at me every time I reached to switch my alarm to snooze. I had no option, I resolved to begin my 900 page quest later that day.

If there was an 'Exchange Oscar' ceremony then Anthony Steven would win Best Supporting Mail. He managed to make a very dry subject into an entertaining and informative read. This book is not for someone who *just* wants to pass the MCSE elective exam; this is a book designed to help people who are actually designing/implementing/running Exchange in the real world. Buy it!

Creating a depiction of what the future can hold is a task that Aldous Huxley tackled in his 1932 published book, Brave New World. It tells the story of two main characters, Bernard Marx and John ?the Savage.? The rebellious Marx is filled with an inner hatred towards the Utopian society. John is an outsider with many dissimilar views on Utopia. Both live in a controlled world that divides humans into a caste system. The story begins 632 years after the brave new world (Utopia) has existed. Babies are born in test tubes, a person?s future is determined before birth, the state police control the people?s freedom, Soma is a substance that prevents the people from opening their mind, and the new world is ruled by dictators called World Controllers. Huxley enlightens the reader with a curiosity for the new world but does not give Marx or John the influence to change Utopia into democracy (or sanity). Marx is merely a thinker; he does not show any action towards his belief on society. I believe the intensity of the climax would be greater if Marx took initiative with John to spread the word of freedom and democracy. Although John tries to teach society of open-mindedness, he fails and ends up being in the hands of the people. The novel would serve a better purpose in change than in persistence.
With the climax not being fulfilled to my expectations, Huxley does create a forecast when writing about the topic of overpopulation. This is only one example in the novel where Huxley is picked out as a predictor and makes me speculate where our society could be headed. In the 1930?s economists were afraid that the population of life on earth was outgrowing the availability of natural resources (Paul, Warren. Brave New World-Cliff Notes). Huxley foretold this bold statement. In his novel, the depiction of the state police keeping track of how many infants were born and the plan of social role before birth, was comparable to the problem raised in the 1930?s. Issues like overpopulation and human restrictions add great curiosity to the story, making Huxley brilliant at his work. He leaves you wondering what this world may come to if our freedom is ruled by a higher dictatorship. I recommend this novel to anyone seeking a possible outlook on the future of our society.

I read a review someone gave of this book that said Brave New World is "boring" and "absurdly weak." The review stated that "the general portrait of the future is very brief and full of lacunes, [and] one of the characters spent the entire book just quoting Shakespeare." I disagree strongly with this view. I did not find this book to be at all boring; in fact, I thought it was extremely well composed and amazingly detailed in its view of a dystopian future. The above mentioned reviewer's statement that The Savage quotes Shakespeare too much is absurd. Huxley cleverly uses Shakespeare's writing to show the distinct difference between our society today (or how it was in the 1930's, rather) and this anti-utopia that he has created. Shakespeare is known as the greatest writer of all time in the English language for a reason: he wrote about the nature and lives of people in such a way that we can all relate to it. Shakespeare so gracefully characterized human nature; the point that Huxley is trying to make with Shakespeare is that this "Brave New World" has been so dehumanized that they can no longer even relate to basic universal truths such as love, jealousy and unhappiness. It is an extremely powerful way of making his point about his dystopian society. While Huxley's character development is not his strong point, the picture that he paints of a future society is frightening. Ignore the reviewer I referred to. Read this book.

Brave New World is truly a science fiction classic. Its predictions about genetic manipulation applied for "humanity's benefit" really posses that powerfull vision that is an integral part of good science fiction, this in contrast to the now popular "fantastical" science fiction that lacks the science part at all. Just think that this book was written well before the atomic era, and yet how much the author has already anticipated. Simply awesome....

You know how lots of books you read when you were a kid are still absolutely great the second time around? Well, this isn't one of them. I read it for the first time when I was maybe 14 and loved it, but since then have moved on to more involved fantasy. This book should have been extended to a short series maybe - then Anthony might have developed his characters more thoroughly and, as another reviewer pointed out, had them use their gifts more. And the ending seemed like so much proselytizing - yes, I believe the Holocaust was horrible and of course I don't like to see a dead deer in the street, but I also don't need to have that preached at me when I'm reading a fantasy novel. Aren't they called fantasy because they're an escape from the real world? Oh, and I think Piers Anthony should keep his Author's Notes to himself. Some of us I think would like his writing better if he didn't feel the need to be so explicit about his motives. When he writes about the q! ! uestion of getting paid on this - the collaboration with a dead teenager - well, sure, we know authors like to get paid. But when he puts it in the author's note, it's, like, cry me a river! The boy is dead! You're alive! And all you're worrying about is getting paid?! And I'm sure his collaborator's family loved reading that. All in all, an average book. Save your time and go read something like Ann Marston's Rune Blade trilogy.

For people reading this review I will not tell you the story line of the book but I will say that if you like fantasies and fiction stories this would be a good book to read. This book is about 4 people who are each from different worlds and brought to one world to fight an evil scorcer to keep balance on all worlds. The book keeps you wanting to read more to see what happens to the four because they are always in trouble. The ending to me was not that great but that's me. I'm a person who thinks that the last guy the main characters fight, in these kind of books, should be the most challenging enemy of them all. Although the ending was not that great to me, the rest of the book is great and I recomend you to read this book.

It's a good book to begin with. It has an original storyline and an ending with a statement on morals that I personally believe or at least, would like to believe. Before I read Through the Ice I had read many other Peirs Anthony novels but was hesitant to read a collaboration. When I read it I was pleasantly suprised at the freshness of the writing. I'm dying to reveal the other reason why I liked this book, but I feel it would ruin it for others. Suffice to say I think that what Anthony did in writing this book is one of the nicest and most touching things I've ever known anyone to do. A good story in itself. After I read this book I felt better about people and life in general. Not saying it's a masterpiece or anything but it's quite good and I can't think of anything really wrong with it which is all I ask of any book. Five stars is my score and I'm sticking to it.