Powell is one of the truly great writers of the second half of the 20th century. His 12 volume Dance to the Music of Time is a monument of British literature.
This is a lesser book, but still great. No one writes what the English like to call Comedy of Manners like Powell.
His command of the language makes anything he writes a joy to read.

It is regrettable that Anthony Powell's splendid satire "Afternoon Men" is out of print. I learned of Anthony Powell's work through his obituary in The New York Times in March, 2000. Mr. Powell (the name rhymes with "Lowell") had been highly regarded as a brilliant author by such literary giants as Evelyn Waugh, a fastidious and snobbish critic who seldom had a kind word for any writer. Since I admire Waugh's work, and since he had read and enjoyed Mr. Powell's novels, I immediately read "Afternoon Men," a shorter work and, I might add, an excellent introduction to his vast literary output. "Afternoon Men" deals with a group of rather seedy eccentrics in Bohemian London during the time between the World Wars. It is peopled with those characters so beloved by readers of Waugh and Kingsley Amis: the bored, intellectually witty survivors in a new society, surviving through alcohol and shakey friendships with often disreputable people. Mr. Powell's satire is razor sharp, but not cruel, particularly when he chronicles the pathetic and disastrous love affairs of these vulnerable people. His dialogue is beautifully developed, especially in the several alcoholic party scenes that were a major part of this generation. The character of Fotheringham, for example, is a beautifully delineated eccentric who appears throughout the book and whose dialogue is tight, witty, and hysterically funny.(Fotheringham's dialogue was quoted by The New York Times in Powell's obituary.) Yet Mr. Powell captures, with a few literary strokes, the inner pathos of Fotheringham's character. The story is told through the person of William Atwater; the book is more of a character study of Atwater's friends and their foibles, eccentricities, amorous needs, and survival instincts. Anglophiles who read 20th century British satire will probably want to search for this out-of-print book in second-hand book stores or in libraries. I found a dusty copy on the top shelf of my local library that had not been checked out since 1949. Perhaps Little, Brown and Company will sense a renaissance of Powell's work and reissue this book. At any rate, I am about to embark on the adventure of reading Anthony Powell's masterpiece, "A Dance to the Music of Time," a six-novel, satirical saga of British life in the 20th century.

As a bilingual and second language teacher, I found this to be an excellent text for my students as they learned English. The pictures are fantastic! The students love searching through the intricate drawings, labeling items and just having fun looking at the anthill as viewed by Anthony Ant and friends. We sang the words together, with the students shouting out the chorus as they became more and more proficient. This is also an excellent book for children just learning to read, a fun book for parents and children to read together. The illustations are excellent. The words are catchy and easy enought for beginners. We always used this book in conjunction with a science unit on ants. As part of the project we set up our own ant hill in the classroom to tie in with the adventures of Anthony Ant. As a teacher and partent I highly recommend this book. I am now looking for a new copy to purchase to share with my students who are preparing to be teachers.

We had great fun with this clever, imaginative book. First we sang the verses in this book to the tune of 'When Johnny Comes Marching Home'. Then we tried to guess what's under the flaps, which is an exercise in imagination and rhyming. Then, each page includes a maze, and a search for Anthony Ant. This is repeated from 1 to 10 ants, so it's a counting book as well. It takes a while to go through all this, but it's well worth the time. We all fell in love with this book. I recommend this book for all ages. Let's hope this book gets published again. Until then, be sure to check it out of your library.

I first purchased Mr. Bourie's annual book many years ago, andlook forward to each new and expanded edition of his work. He tellsyou practically everything you need to know about casino gaming, then describes the basic offerings of every casino in the country, and then provides coupons that will save you hundreds of dollars when you visit many of the casinos listed. What else could you ask for? Any casino player who doesn't purchase this book every year is missing the boat!

Like to gamble? Me too! This guide tells you where all the casinos are in the good old USA. There are maps, plus detailed city maps of Las Vegas, Tunica, Biloxi, and others. It has strategy tables for blackjack and coupons for various discounts and freebies. You'll find me at a video poker machine--see you there! Good Luck!

"In Valerio's hand, Anita Garibaldi emerges as the courageous but vulnerable woman from southern Brazil, whose singular and precious spirit was caught in the times. 'Anita Garibaldi' is a romance discovered in history's embrace. Valerio creates the Brazilian ethos in its emerald presence as the brillian nerve in Garibaldi's brave but short time. This biography has a texture like a Renoir film, broad and expansive, swimming alog in voluble seas."

--A. Weaver, Simmons College

"Anthony Valerio's genre-crossing biography provides unique insight into Anita Garibaldi's short, glorious life. Valerio writes with a novelist's dedication to character and an historian's dedication to the past."

Janet R. Jacobson, Director, Center for Research on Women, Barnard College

I highly recommend this book to those who are not familiar with Anthony de Mello, and to his fans and critics. The editor provides an excellent introduction to help us to have a better understanding and appreciation for de Mello's numerous writings. The selections give us a potential experience of personal awakening or freeing encounter with "God" or the Self of self. I hope there'll be an audio book edition with excerpts of deMello's retreat talks so that his mellow voice and hearty laughter can be captured while we read his writings. (Please cf. my review for Walking on Water for more background.)

De Mello is a spiritual master and is the most insightful of the "self-help" authors that I have read.His books, especially this one, are easy to read and are a source of enlightenment and awakening for life and happiness.This book will help you to reexamine your life and the spirituality of it.A MUST-READ!

Tony Robbins covers in detail his extensive steps for creating change! Great tape for creating more change in any area of your life.

Any Anthony Robbins book, cassette, CD or other publications are well worth looking into. If you want to change your life, set life-changing goals and learn to live with passion, you must begin reading his books or listening to his tapes!

I must agree with the other reader who insisted you ignore the Kirkus review. I found this book to be incredibly moving and fascinating in its exploration, not of various conspiracy theories (as the Kirkus reviewer wrongly says), but of the different ways the Kennedy assasination myth affects Americans, even those of us who were not alive when it happened.

As far as I'm concerned, who ever wrote the Kirkus review above is even more of a hack than the worst potboiler scribblers, of which Mr. Thomas is definitely not one. Come to think of it, who else but the lowliest hack would review for Kirkus? Forget the dumb, ad hominem Kirkus attack and read the book. It's well worth your time.

Robin Blake's Anthony Van Dyck could also have been featured in our arts section but is a powerful biographical sketch which should not be missed by any interested in biographical history. Van Dyck was a portrait painter who saw his own works passed over in favor of his contemporaries, although they were compared to Titian and Rubens. Blake examines Van Dyck's life and art with an eye to revealing the underlying influences on his works; in the process imparting a fine bit of history. Recommended for any student of portraiture.

Diane C. Donovan Reviewer

This is by far the best bio on van Dyck in print today. I purchased it a year ago, from Amazon UK, and am very glad to see it available in the States. If you have the catalog from either the recent show in London or the Washington DC show from '90, use the images from that to go with Robin's text and you're in for a real treat. Bravo Robin!

Sentiment and emotion ride the waves with scholarly precision as Flinn pens the book Dean Koontz wishes he could write but knows he can't. Masterfully ignoring the conventions of the techno-thriller, this book steps boldly where Tom Clancy fears to tread. If you liked "The Bridges of Madison County" or "Trade and Tariff Policy in the Weimar Republic," this is the book for you.

In clear prose, with a distinctive, piercing style, the author addresses the subject and exposes its surfaces and depths. Anyone interested in these poets should be sure to purchase a copy

I found some new information in this book... In situation when the topic like this (arms trade) is not so popular and very hard to find an information about arms transfers at the beginning of this century, this book looks very useful and informative... While there are some mistakes anyway book looks very fine and mistakes not so important... I'd like to recommend for those peoples who interested in military and politic history...

Very interesting and useful for researchers and historians... I found some new information in this book... In situation when the topic like this (arms trade) is not so popular and very hard to find an information about arms transfers at the beginning of this century, this book looks very useful and informative... While there are some mistakes anyway book looks very fine and mistakes not so important... I'd like to recommend for those peoples who interested in military and politic history...