Jim Paul, The Rune Poem (Chronicle, 1996)

Another translation of the Rune Poem, this one rather nicely illustrated, in a mass-market height hardback from Chronicle Books. Paul adds nothing to Rune Poem scholarship, nor does he shed new light, but I doubt that was the intention with this book; it seemed more aimed at exposing the poem to those who had never seen it before, while showing those who wanted to do further research the avenues with which to do so (he refers repeatedly to Maureen Halsall's critical study often in this text). Good if you're interested and don't already have a copy, and can usually be had cheap; if you already own a translation of the Rune Poem or any of the critical works on the subject, you can pass on this safely. ***

This is neither an expose nor a ballyhoo (despite the subtitle, "Talent On Loan From God", which is a phrase Limbaugh often applies to himself) but is straightforward account of an intelligent but aimless man who eventually wanders into the role of the biggest thing in talk radio.

If it has a fault it's that it's too dry, but you'll find a lot of interesting events that foreshadow his future career as the right's spokesman. For instance, how he was fired from his DJ job for contantly playing the Rolling Stones'"Under My Thumb", probably the most misogynistic rock song of all time.

To start off, the editors of this book must have been asleep when it crossed their desks: the numerous erros in spelling and grammar interrupt a generally lucid writing style. Being in the field, I know that economists are not the most skilled writers, but I place all the blame at the doorstep of the publishing house. And the errors extend even to charts and graphs.

That said, the book is fairly good at getting its point across. While the authors' stance on capitalism-vs-communism is clear, they generally let the facts speak for themselves and are evenhanded in their treatment of the opposing theories.

A good, introductory post-mortem of Soviet and early transitional Russian policy.

Jewett's chapters examine a Christian context of 11 movies of the '80s, offering a fresh look at both the movies and New Testament theology. Clint Eastwood is the basis for a chaper on vengence while racial reconcilation is equated with the Jews and Gentiles in "Grand Canyon." The selection of movies is great in Jewett's book (Star Wars, Amadeus, Ordinary People, and Dead Poet's Society) but the relativism to the scriptures he choses is often weak and farfetched. This is a book to start one thinking about movies already seen, a starting point for discussion as the credits roll, but not great book for independent examination. A fine effort, but at times it just misses.

This is a pretty cool salsa book as salsa is the best dance of all. It's best for review after having actual lessons at the Bullring in Melbourne.Hmmmm. It's really confusing for a total beginner. But for me hehe, this book is fantastic.

Despite this books 600+ pages, it's probably the most non-technical computer book I've ever read. It's clearly geared towards the "just opened the box" set, but, lets face it, not many people fall into that category with Win 98 nowadays. Anytime there's ever any mention of anything that seems technical, such as the Windows registery, the author simply says "this is technical, don't mess with it."

If you have absolutely no computing experience whatsoever, consider this book. If you want something with any real meat, look elsewhere.

This AD&D supplement provides some general information for running a role playing campaign in one of the most interesting areas of the forgotten realms. However, the book lacks a certain focus. The illustrations are pretty poor, yet there's quite a lot of useful knowledge on the area within.

Mr. Kluge has written many novels but this is apparently the first in this area. It concerns the relationship between a journalist and the white officers and black enlisted men of the 25th Cavalry from fighting the Apaches in Arizona to the Spanish-American War in the Philippines. African-American military fiction is rare and this is a good "read." I know at least one character that of an angry black officer who defects to the Filipino side is based on an actual historical person

This book gave me a good general impression about the Seychelles before and during my trip. It doesn't describe themes deeply. It's ok for a reference guide, but won't tell you about prices, tips, restaurants, hotels. However, the map is very useful. I'd suggest Lonely Planet series for deeper perspective.

Paul Hancock's entry into the Great Lakes shipwreck genre is a very nicely produced book with many dramatic photos and a high level overview of a small sampling of accidents. The book is a good coffee table style book for the casually interested, but will disappoint those already acquainted with the genre or those looking for a more comprehensive and accurate reference. Despite the lavish production, the book is poorly researched, relying solely upon the secondary resources of a single archive. Subsequent errors in photo identification and historical fact abound, such as the misidentification of the schooner Northwest and the outright fabrication of the loss of the sidewheeler Planet, while details concerning the losses of several others vessels are grossly inaccurate. The book contributes no new information to the historical record and is simply an unchecked rehash of the (sometimes erroneous) work of previous researchers. The book is solely for the entertainment of the casual enthusiast and is a blatantly commercial effort bearing a striking similarity to the now out of print book Wrecks and Rescues of the Great Lakes by James Barry. Of the small sampling of Great Lakes wrecks considered, nearly all have already been written about extensively by previous authors, usually with greater historical accuracy. If you are seriously interested in the history of Great Lakes shipwrecks, this is a good book to skip. However, if you are looking for a coffee table book with large, dramatic photos of Great Lakes ships and shipwrecks, this is an excellent volume.