At the end of the first season of Powell's "monumental" novel, A Dance to the Music of Time, I stated that each book was getting better. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy At Lady Molly's very much, and I'm going to try to pin it down. I believe the main reason is that Jenkins reverts back to his observer role, whereas he had finally become much more of an active character in the last book. Herein, everything revolves around Widmerpool's strange engagement to a woman much older than him (and much more eccentric, if more of a "class" with their compatriots than Widmerpool). I am starting to fear that Widmerpool may be the single most important character in the novel, boding ill for my enjoyment.

The problem is that Powell's humor centering around Widmerpool is akin to the humor of Seinfeld. Like the characters of that show, Widmerpool is often sailing amongst the people around him, steadfast in his selfishness, and then has a bowl of sugar unexpectedly dumped on his head. While you do not feel sorry for him--he is, after all, quite a butt in his egotistical way--the manner by which he gets his comeuppance does not put the other characters in all that favorable a light either.

Truth to be told, I was much more interested in Jenkins, newly ensconced in the world of British cinema screenplay writing, and engaged by the end of the book. Unlike his romance with Jean Duport, his wooing of Isobel Tolland occurs entirely offstage, and one wonders at whether it was a thing born of love or of that endlessly ticking biological clock. Stringham and Templar, so important at the beginning of Powell's narrative, are little more than quick asides here.

Now that I'm a third of the way through the Dance, I'm committed to finishing its steps. I only hope that this current turn was simply a miscue on the part of my partner, Mr. Powell, and not a headlong fall into the bandstand.

To be honest, I did not like this book. The printing was filled with errors which really irritates me. I expected the book to spend significant time discussing David Koresh and the events which led to the fire at Waco. However this book spend the bulk of its pages discussing everything that happened before David Koresh. It comes off as a very dry read. The history which led up to David Koresh really is not that interesting. The only good points this book receives from me is for the few pages in which Koresh is actually discussed. Pass this book up unless you want to read up on the history of the Seven Day Adventists.

Anthony O'Hear goes to work with the idea that human beings has a nature, but that they also, to a certain extent, can act unrestricted of this biological nature. But like so many with the same starting-point he fails to show what he means by both the biological restraint and the moral freedom. His examples of instinct in people designed to prove our biological background are nothing but silly. A man responding to insult is one example. But everybody knows that there are many different ways of reacting to insults, from turning the other cheek to killing. So where is the instinct? The other examples are equally silly (A man responding to invasion of his territory and a mother - why leave out the father? - defending her child). ....

Saint Vladimir's Seminary Press is a very odd institution. Associated with St. Vladimir's Seminary, the chief seminary of the Orthodox Church in America, it produces an extensive catalogues of books about Orthodox history and the Orthodox Fathers. Thus far, the good part.
The annoying attribute of the catalogue, however, is that SVS Press seems to feel the necessity to aim for a broad audience. Thus, for example, the recent new biography of St. Gregory the Theologian (as the Orthodox have always called him) is entitled _St. Gregory of Nazianzus_ (as the Roman Catholics and the Protestants, when they have noticed him, have called him).
Thus, too, the present tome, which is on thre subject of three of the central figures in the Orthodox theological tradition: the Cappadocian Fathers St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory the Theologian, and St. Gregory of Nyssa. Its author is listed on the spine, on the front cover, on the back cover, and on the title page simply as "Anthony Meredith." However, on the bibliographical page, one encounters a copyright statement in the name of "Anthony Meredith, S.J."
The problem here is that several of the SVS Press books on topics such as this one are written by Protestants and Latins (usually Jesuits). When it comes to a topic such as the theology of the Cappadocians, whose legacy is perhaps the chief distinction between Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism, to have the text be written by a Jesuit is to court distortion and uncomprehension.
This book demonstrates both. So, for example, one repeatedly reads of the Holy Spirit proceeding "from the Father through the Son." This is contrary to Christ's explicit teaching in the New Testament, where He refers to the Holy Spirit "Who proceeds from the Father." (John 15:26) It also contradicts the Nicene Creed, which, relying directly on the Holy Scriptures, also refers to "the Holy Spirit ... Who proceeds from the Father." The Roman Catholics in A.D. 1009 made "and the Son" a dogmatic addition to the Creed, thus separating themselves from the Orthodox Tradition of, e.g., the Cappadocian Fathers who did so much to establish Nicene orthodoxy as Orthodoxy.
This distortion runs through the book in other terms, too. Thus, for example, at page 104 one "learns" that "homoousios" (Greek for "of one essence") in the Creed "very clearly meant that whatever was affirmed about the Father must also be affirmed about the Son." However, this is precisely the Augustinian error that led to the Latins' interlineation of A.D. 1009. The Father has the unique quality within the Godhead of being that from which the others originate; this emphatically is _not_ to be affirmed about the Son. If one does not hold, as St. Basil affirms in _Against Eunomius_ (see page 105!!), that each of the three Persons shares the same essence but has a different characteristic (the Father as source, the Son as only-begotten of the source, the Spirit as only processor from the source), one ends in a Triniatrian muddle. Anyone who knows the slightest thing about the Cappadocians and their Orthodox successors knows this. (Cf. St. Gregory the Theologian's poem "On the Holy Spirit" in the collection of his poems, _On God and Man_.) To refuse to see the implications for the _filioque_ controversy is to expose oneself as a Latin partisan -- and an enemy of the Cappadocians, the subjects of the book! (Indeed, the material on page 106 offers all the proof that one needs that the Cappadocians never would have accepted the absurd _filioque_.)
On page 110, the author refers to "the Western form of the Nicene Creed." However, since that "form" was adopted in the 11th century, it is no more a "form" of the Nicene Creed than Christianity is a "form" of Judaism.
Also appallingly arrogant is the author's criticism of St. Basil at pages 116-117 for not displaying an appreciation of "art for art's sake." Really, the subjects here are three monastic saints, not some dilettante Borgia pope. What connection appreciation of secular art has to _theosis_, I do not understand. Perhaps the author should have approached these great churchmen with the idea of learning from them, not of criticizing them from a completely secular, culturally and religiously foreign perspective. I wish that SVS Press would more carefully assign and edit the texts it publishes. This one is a fair source of information on these saints for people already familiar with the Tradition; for others, it is more apt to be a pitfall than an aid.

Hitler makes a pact with the devil for world domination. Excellent premise. It's the execution that's lacking. The first few chapters are great. Hitler is the main character. The author did his historical research.

After Hitler commits suicide (which is not a spoiler because it's historical fact) the novel shifts to four treasure hunters. They are a likable bunch.

However, the reader is left with a question: What does this all have to do with Hitler? We are finally told that in the last chapter.

The last chapter is rushed and far-fetched. It is a shame because the story was very enjoyable. This book can be read in a day or two.

Yes, this story is entertaining but the ending has absolutely no bite.

This essentially reprints Fantastic Four issue #s 1, 83 and 203. Kraft's commentary between the stories is sophomoric and obviously talks down to the reader. While it was my first chance to read issues 83 and 203, I found it otherwise bland and not very insightful

Flora of the Arabian Peninsula and Socotra looks briefly at the geology and climate; then spends the vast majority of the book going through a taxonomic delineation, species by species of all plant life; and finally ends with maps indicating distribution of every species mentioned in the book. It has information on every species that a botanist in this region of the world would want to study.

But it is just really dry. Scholastic texts can be much more interesting, with better writing and more informative pictures. These pictures are black and whites drawings of parts of plants. The writing describes alternate leaves and lobes and how many sepals a plant has. Unless you have vast training in botany, you'll have no idea what the plant actually looks like. The Table of Contents listed by ... and in the text is misleading- of 550 pages, only 30 deal with the topography and climate. Of those, the section on the History of Botanical Exploration is one paragraph; the section on Conservation is five- two of the more promising sections.

There are many interesting plants in this region. Qat is a mild stimulant considered a Class A drug in America, legal in Britain, and chewed by all Yemeni men and half of the Yemeni women for a few hours every day. You can't be Yemeni and not be involved with it. But there's no listing for it in the Index; presumably it's under it's scientific name. Suqutra is an amazing island, isolated for millions of years from the rest of the world and therefore exhibiting classic botanical gigantisism due to the absence of predators. (The correct name of the island is Suqutra; the authors of the text use the Western name, Socotra.) It has umbrella trees, trees that look like giant carrots, and actual cucumber trees- trees that have become cucumbers. But without knowing the scientific names, you can't find them in this book. There is no listing of all species by area, so it is hard to find the Suqutri specimens. Once you do find them, the description is so dry you would know nothing of their magnificence. And the pictures show such small parts of the plants that you wouldn't be able to even recognize it as the wondrous organism it is.

The book is basically a missed opportunity. But it's a handy and encompassing text for someone within this specific field who's willing to pay for it.

This book develops a great understanding of post Cold War global security and its affects. It filled in many questions that I had concerning global secuirty in today's age. I definately recommend this read.

I think many of the things printed in that book are incorrect. Haiti is a country with a rich history,one, that we as haitians are very proud of. Ms Anthony is following the same path the people who said that AIDS originated in Haiti followed in the early 80's. Before I finish, I would like to let Ms Anthony know that , I lived in Haiti for the most part of my life , I've been living in the US for over a decade and it's more acceptable for two people to live together whithout being married here than it is in Haiti. Believe it or not we have values.

I bought this book to help me as I spent the year studying abroad. The nice part was that there is a small overview of the history and atmosphere of the region, so you could pick and choose your travels carefully. However, with the exception of a substantial vocabular section, there was no information about French culture, customs or travel. Also, there should have been information on the various travel deals in France. The prices will change, but at least the readers would know enough to ask for them. There were only 3 people listed as the authors, and I get the feeling that they did not visit every place mentioned. If they did, they did not spend enough time in each spot to give an accurate portrayal. I assume they asked people who had been there their opinions and used them without fact checking. Many of the places described would be uninteresting to the average traveller. A lot of the cities are typical college towns. Good for being with people your own age, but bad for culture and history. Once you've seen one, you've seen them all. Several of the most spectacular French sites are left out completely (like Carcassonne). Also, they left out places and foods that are very famous regionally (no mention of tarte flambées anywhere in the Alsace chapter, for instance). Like in the 'Hanging Out in Europe' guide, this one is prone to false information and spelling mistakes. Flip through it and decide for yourself if the information is really necessary or if you could do a lot better on your own.