At the moment of his death, Alp, a powerful and cunning Turkish warrior chieftain, is thrust naked, weaponless and horseless into a bewildering world that her perceives as hell. He soon discovers that the hell he inhabits is filled not with demons, but a race of humans known as Galactics from an age far removed from his own. He has been chosen to fight, and perhaps die again, in a vast intergalactic game called Steppe-a strange recreation of his own era where horses are starships, cities are planets and mountains are suns.

Alp has always been a victor in the bloody struggle for survival among his people. Will his barbarian cunning be enough to defeat the intellectual might of the Galactics and by his knowledge of his own time win a place for himself among the stars?

This book is easily findable at used book stores so don't worry about finding it here on amazon. Never before or probably again will I read a book quite like this one. This book is real world history intricatly and intelligently weaved into a future landscape. It cannot be fully explained just how well done this book is. Even if you don't like science fiction and you don't like history. You will still marvel at the skill involved in this book. You will laugh at yourself because you will feel as if you've been tricked into reading a history lesson. But it feels nothing like that. This book is where Anthony truly shines because it took intelligence and a great artistic mind to write this novel. This book is Great!!!!!!!!

This is one of my favorite books because after I finnished it and read the end notes I was facinated with the background. This is a sci-fi recreation of a historical figures life. Just a caution don't try to find out ahead of time who it is just read and then try to see if you can figure out who just from the story (it is accurate in a strange way). This is also a great way to get people who like sci-fi into history or to get a history buff into sci-fi.

This guy seems to have implied that he authored the Shel Silverstein poem "Listen to the Musn'ts" in one of his lectures to a youth event. That's the way it seemed to me.

Nontheless he stands out as a moderate in a sea of right-wing fundamentalists. I credit him with that much.

"We've met the enemy and they are partly right" was a great book.

Mr. Campolo did a decent job with this book. It is a generally thought-provoking and insightful look into accepted Christian behaviors and attitudes. Perfect for book studies, the chapters are easy to discuss out of sequence and are great for one-hour sessions!

I can't imagine any Christian reading this book and not feeling challenged. Campolo does a great job of pointing out the many things that Christians do that almost certainly embarrass God, but he doesn't stop there. Along with showing some ways Christians probably shouldn't act, he gives some very practical guidelines for how we should act. It hits a little close to home sometimes, but who said we're supposed to be comfortable all the time?

I read the first 2 books, and read this one for the sake of finishing the trilogy. I hoped that it would be better, but unfortunately I am disappointed.

Firstly, the writing just doesn't flow. The very opening of the book seems chunky and stilted. It takes quite an effort to read the whole book. Throughout, much of the dialogue seems...weird... just not natural at all. You have this sense that the characters have written their thoughts down and are reciting it.

Though the storyline is on the whole acceptable, I find that much of the book is cluttered with details, details and more details. I find myself flipping over pages, even chapters, at a time, skipping tedious commentary and descriptions to get straight to the action.

Piers Anthony can write better than this. Just look at most of his Xanth novels -- plots flow smoothly, the writing is fluent and fresh, etc. Somehow this one has the feel of being written when half asleep.

I thought that this book was better than the first two. Not that it was written any better, but that it had more interesting things going on in it. I thought that it was interesting how, towards the end, they had to struggle against the goblins and "Adverse Adepts" to get the huge ball of phazite across the curtain.

The twist at the end that leaves Stile in Phaze and puts Blue in Proton wasn't something that I would've suspected.

It wrapped up that part of the series quite nicely.

The book just keeps building and building at a manic pace, to produce one the craziest, most chaotic endings to a book and a series ever. It is really one of Anthony's best series...part of me wishes he'd kept the series to just the first three, but the second "trilogy" was also really good. But if you like adventurous (i.e. creative) fantasy, read this series.... And Sheen has quite a will for a robot.

Probably one of the first examples of journalistic fiction, Defoe's "A Journal of the Plague Year" is a pseudo-eyewitness account of the London plague of 1665. Writing this in 1722, Defoe casts himself into the role of his uncle whom he calls H.F. and who recounts the events in grisly detail but with magnanimous compassion. Aside from the prose, the book has a surprisingly modern edge in the way it combines facts about a sensationally dire historical event with "human interest" stories for personal appeal. It seems so factual that at times it's easy to forget that it's just a fictitious account of a real event.

The plague (H.F. writes) arrives by way of carriers from the European mainland and spreads quickly through the unsanitary, crowded city despite official preventive measures; the symptoms being black bruises, or "tokens," on the victims' bodies, resulting in fever, delirium, and usually death in a matter of days. The public effects of the plague are readily imaginable: dead-carts, mass burial pits, the stench of corpses not yet collected, enforced quarantines, efforts to escape to the countryside, paranoia and superstitions, quacks selling fake cures, etc. Through all these observations, H.F. remains a calm voice of reason in a city overtaken by panic and bedlam. By the time the plague has passed, purged partly by its own self-limiting behavior and partly by the Great Fire of the following year, the (notoriously inaccurate) Bills of Mortality indicate the total death toll to be about 68,000, but the actual number is probably more like 100,000 -- about a fifth of London's population.

Like Defoe's famous survivalist sketch "Robinson Crusoe," the book's palpable moralism is adequately camouflaged by the conviction of its narrative and the humanity of its narrator, a man who, like Crusoe, trusts God's providence to lead him through the hardships, come what may. What I like about this "Journal" is that its theme is more relevant than its narrow, dated subject matter suggests: levelheadedness in the face of catastrophe and the emergence of a stronger and wiser society.

Daniel Defoe's A Journal of the Plague Year is an interesting volume that blends fact and fiction quite indiscriminately, as the author intended. It is easy to forget it is fiction as it reads as fact (and it seems likely there are enough actual facts strewn throughout as to enhance this perception). Defoe was less concerned about these issues concerning fiction and non-fiction than modern readers and writers and it is fascinating to see an example of the early beginnings of novel writing. The style could frustate some readers (there is virtually no attempt at characters and only small strands of a narrative per se) but the descriptions of a town in crisis were both gripping and fascinating. An unique volume.

When a subject is gruesome it attracts notoriety. Unfortunately, if it is real, it loses it. This story of the the affects of the Plague in London in 1665 should be required reading for all people of all civilized countries. How the Plague started, how its spread was covered up initially and why, how the government was forced to respond, what happened to the economy and the outlying regions - these things could happen any day in any year in any country. Look at the news archives of the spread of SARS, how the government in (I think) Indonesia enacted house quarantines, how the Chinese economy was distablized. This is a very real warning and will not lose its timeliness as long as people build cities and economies. He is not just describing what happened but giving us warning and ideas for how it can be handled better.

When I saw the page I recognized the cover of the book, but I could not believe what people were actually writing about it.

First I want to say that I am an undergraduate biotechnology student. I have a very strong background in biochemistry, cell biology, molecular biology, tissue culture techniques, and immunology; but I have not had any classes dealing with anatomy or physiology since Bio 101 way back when. I have read and am quite comfortable with Alberts Molecular Biology of the Cell and Stryers Biochemistry, and even a handful of primary journal articles, so I do know how to read a textbook.

Now with that out of the way, let me say that this book is completely incomprehensible. It is so full of anatomy and Latin derived words (which it does a poor job at explaining BTW) that I can only assume that it was meant for medical students, and to have physiology an a prerequisite for it, but it doesn't even have an introduction describing the recommended background or whom it is supposed to be for. In fact, most of the book is devoted to the physiology of sensation and movement, not neurobiology. Now if you have the background for it and thats what you are looking for then it is a very thorough text that goes into a lot of depth.

If you are looking to understand the biochemistry or molecular aspects of neurobiology, find another book!

As an undergraduate Psychobiology student, this text served me well in my Neuroscience course. In all honesty I never went. I just read this book. I got excellent marks in the class. As a serious slacker and bibliophile, I recommend this textbook for any like-minded student.

As an undergraduate Neuroscience major I found this textbook to be highly informative and well-written. It was used to a Freshman-level course, and was easy to understand, yet thorough and interesting. The graphics are well done, and the format is better than most textbooks I'm used to. Anyone, even with minimal science experience could dive right in and learn a great deal. It may not be advanced enough, however, for grad or medical students. As a reference it does okay, but there are more-advanced texts which would probably do better. All-in-all it is an excellent book. In-fact, I liked it so much that I didn't sell it back at the end of the semester and keep it on my bookshelf for future reference (and future classes!)

I sat down with The Jenny Muck and (...) was able to put it down. Flowery language. Boring self-indulgent text. Gloating syntax. Dribble drabble.

I clearly identified with the main character Mary, however I also found that I was completely captivated by the Hutterite girl and her relationship with Mary. The story took me back in years to a time when travelling along the Trans Canada highway heading home was a very real situation in the late sixties early seventies, as so many of us have living here in Canada.
It was wonderful to read about a woman searching for herself, and who managed to find a way to be real. The author showed such clarity and soundness in his writing from a woman's perspective,with candor and wonder all rolled together. Thoroughly an enjoyable read!... highly recommended to my
friends and colleagues.
Thank you Wm. Anthony Connolly.

Thank you Anthony Connolly.

Wm Anthony Connolly's "The Jenny Muck" is a thoughtful, adept journey of a woman in mid-life coming to terms with her history. The main character, Mary, takes the reader through all her trials and adventures with warmth and wonder. The book deals with situations everyone can relate to in some way, and the writer accomplishes much in giving the reader little reminders of how precious and pertinent all life experiences are, even the bad ones.

Indeed, this book ("Lonely Planet West Africa") did a good job in outlining many of the popular tourist attractions that are located in this Sub-Saharan region of Africa. I also appreciated its details on several tourists' trails, accomodations, means of transportation, and so on. However, I was very disappointed to note that (just like the "Lonely Planet Africa on a Shoestring") this book is full of discouraging comments. Some of the phrases Lonely Planet used in this book are quite offensive.
For sure, most foreigners who travel to (West) African countries are not expecting to see a paradise, but that does not mean that there is no better way of presenting real and imaginary negative thoughts. This book is smeared by terms and phrases, which I consider derogatory to both (West) Africa and (West) Africans. As a result of this, I will never recommend it to anyone until there is a change of heart by Lonely Planet in subsequent editions.

I once said I would never buy a Lonely Planet guide again, so disappointed I was with their Iceland and Greenland book which was poorly researched, inaccurate and full of rabid anti-American rhetoric.

For my trip to Ghana, it was, however, a choice of only three books available: a semiprofessional Bradt's Ghana (not a guidebook really, more an amateurish newsletter), supremely boring Rough Guide or Lonely Planet. I bought them all in the name of research.

I would say Lonely Planet is best of them all, although certain chapters preaching about evil ways of Western capitalism still reek of Lonely Planet's self-appointed role of bettering the world. Quite annoying, really, and in many cases hypocritical, coming from a lean-and-mean profit-making publishing house.

Most facts about travel, eating, accommodation, etc are accurate and well-researched, although as usual information to someone with a bit bigger budget is very fragmented.

They could give more information about useful websites for both ticket booking and accommodation.

Overall, if you are only buying one book for West Africa, this is the one. If you can get two - buy the Rough Guide as well: it may be boring and cultural information reads as if it was written by your local tax office, but you will get many additional addresses and phone numbers.

I really enjoyed this book. I feel it is the best written LP I've ever read (and I've read and traveled with many LP titles). I used the Sénégal section and found the hotel listings current and the maps very accurate. I really liked the special boxes with additional information on dangers, scams, and personal safety. I personally witnessed many things that I had read about in this book, making me ready for would be scam artists. One guy approached me and said "Remember me from the hotel lobby?" I had to keep myself from laughing. I replied back "I think so, which hotel?" and he didn't know what to say. With LP West Africa you will be well prepared to travel in one of the hardest places to travel in the world.

NOTE: The book is 4 years old and the region is even more unsafe now then it was 4 years ago. Be careful when traveling there.

All merits of the novel itself aside (and I did enjoy it very much), this edition seems to have been cobbled together either hastily or carelessly. It was full of errors in punctuation and spelling (including inconsistent spelling of characters' names) which I can hardly believe are the author's. It was a disappointment to me, especially given the fine tradition of the Everyman Library.

Also, the notes on the text, as is unfortunately so common, give away major plot points. I would strongly advise anyone reading for pleasure rather than scholarship skip the notes, or read them only once you've finished the book.

That said, Phineas Finn was a wonderful read. I began Trollope with Can You Forgive Her?, and while I did like it, I liked Phineas so much more. Unlike many male novelists of the period (especially those who were, as Trollope, embraced at the time), he demonstrates a sympathy for and understanding of the difficult choices presented to the women of his time, and does not shrink from presenting women who are intelligent, complex, and quite at home in the political world of London. Lady Laura Standish, Miss Violet Effingham, and Madame Max Goesler might each have been the heroines of their own novels--indeed, their complexities and the depths of their emotional and political lives throw Phineas's own lack of depth and complexity into relief. And by that I don't mean that Trollope nodded while writing his hero, but that he rather deftly endowed him with indifferent qualities as compared to the women his life.

I wouldn't give away the ending of the novel, but I confess I was a little disappointed in Phineas's final choice. Trollope was, after all, a Victorian gentleman, and perhaps he must be forgiven for wrapping up his hero's adventures in what seemed to me rather a prosaic way. I have yet to read Phineas Redux, and perhaps that sequel may redeem Mr. Finn yet.

Graham Greene writes in one of his novels of a troubled person who relaxes from work-related stress by reading Anthony Trollope on the weekends. Why? Nothing happens. The writing is peaceful, serene, and very proper.

"Phineas Finn" is the second volume in the famous "Palliser" series, and it is a typical Anthony Trollope novel. Trollope's style is so refined and polished that one really doesn't mind reading a 700+ page book just to learn of the commonplace events that serve the purpose of plot and character development in his novels. This book will not give one any great insight into the human mind or soul, but it will entertain with its delightful description of Victorian manners and morals. As seems typical of many 19th century English novels the triumvirate of love, marriage, and money drives the main events of the story. The mating dance of love is primly and at times ironically portrayed as it plays out in drawing rooms, dinner parties, and visits to country estates. Phineas Finn, upon completing his education, is offered the opportunity to run for Parliament, and gets elected. Considerable space in the novel is dedicated to the nuts and bolts of 19th century British politics (a possible drawback for contemporary American readers). Members of the House of Commons serve their districts without compensation. Phineas, alas, is not wealthy. This lack of personal wealth is the catalyst for many of Phineas' subsequent actions. Phineas embarks on a search for love, a suitable wife, and financial means. He is drawn to several women. Mary Flood Jones, Lady Laura Standish, Violet Effingham, and Madame Marie Goesler at different times engage his romantic interest. The most interesting of these women is Marie Goesler, an independently minded widow of means. She is German, her late husband was Austrian, and many of the stuffy Victorian rules about a woman's proper place don't suit her personality. As this is only the second volume of the Palliser series, we will see more of Madame Goesler. She has already enchanted the Duke of Omnium, an elderly nobleman who is Plantagenet Palliser's uncle. Palliser and his wife, Lady Glencora, are the main characters of the series, but only play a minor role in this book.

"Phineas Finn" has the delighful charm of a fine old painting or a piece of carefully preserved antique china. It's light weight, but entertaining. It charms with its grace. The pace is leisurely. Reading this novel is an escape in time to another world. A world apart from cell phones, cable TV, and all the rest of noisy modern life. One can quietly relax while dozing in the twilight of this peaceful book.

PHINEAS FINN is a book of many virtues and one unfortunate flaw. The flaw lies in the ending, of which I can say nothing here without giving away a bit of the plot. Let me just say that the ending is a bit of a "tack on." Trollope himself confessed in his AUTOBIOGRAPHY that he botched the ending, and explains that when he decided to write a second novel starring Phineas Finn, he awkwardly had to correct the mistakes he made in the ending of the previous book.

The virtues of the book lie in part in its presentation of the social complexities of the British upper class in 1860s. While a political history of the period could explain the various ins and outs of the major pieces of legislation dealt with at the time, Trollope shows us how many individuals at the time actually felt about these issues from the inside. In this way, Trollope performs a service that no historian ever could. Virtually all the major political figures of the time, from Gladstone to Disraeli appear under thinly veiled aliases.

But the true heart of the book is Trollope's great characters. I absolutely love Jane Austen. She is one of my two or three favorite writers. But sometimes I find the enormous propriety of her characters to be a tad tiring. In these way her characters, as magnificent as they otherwise might be, sometimes seem a little less than fully human. Trollope's characters, on the other hand, often fail to act with complete propriety. They do improper things, and feel improper emotions. Our hero falls in love with one woman, then another, feels attraction to another, and falls in love with yet another, and in general fails in his role as a great romantic hero. A woman marries someone she doesn't love, yet retains feelings for another, and suffers from the threat of a bad marriage. Another woman is attracted to two men, and must decide which. Two close friends love the same woman. I find all this emotional complexity to be extremely compelling.

Trollope's most compelling and interesting characters are nearly all female. In the book, Lord Chiltern seems cardboardish and unbelievable, the title character likable but not terribly vivid. But whenever Lady Laura, or Madame Goesler, or Violet Effingham take the stage, the novel comes to life. This is not unique to this novel. In nearly all his books, Trollope's most compelling characters are female.

If we could give half stars, I would give this one four and a half stars because of the weak ending. But I will stick with five rather than four, partly because the rest of the book easily makes up for the weakish ending, and one can view the excellent PHINEAS REDUX as the real ending of the novel. Either way, I heartily recommend the novel.

Not much useful, cohesive information here. More like a hodge-podge of scattered "hints". I found it to be of little practical use. Suggest Balena's book on VB 6 instead. Pass on this one!

I found that this book provided a solid understanding of a multitude of areas in VB that have been difficult. It isn't a beginners book (unless you want to use the code straight from the book), but if you have some experience, this book can open whole new areas of VB you never discovered or didn't know how to use. After following a couple chapters, I was able to create ActiveX controls with ease and even enhance my VB interface with wizards, not to mention, improving my error trapping and testing application performance.

Two things you should be aware of before purchasing this book. Some of the code on the disk is incorrect or examples are missing files. This can lead to small headaches when an example they suggest you look at doesn't work. The other is, this book only covers specific topics. Read the TOC listings to see if the book provides you the information on the topic you need. Otherwise, you'll be wasting your time.

Personally I learned more from this book than I did from my course at college. The steps to complete a project are all well laid out and easy to follow. By following the examples in the book you will learn more about Visual Basic than most other books. It is an indispensible refrence for VB6 programmers who will find it usefull after they have read it. The chapters are self-contained so you do not have to read one chapter after another in a specific order. This book is great for all levels of Visual Basic programmers. Buy the book and learn from it!