I am a 5 handicap and have over 300 instruction books. I read this book and immediately improved my game. It is all about one simple move...how you use the left shoulder. I can't believe everyone doesn't teach this way. What a shame.

He de-mystifies all the complicated swing thoughts that swarm in one's head. Though it does take some time to groove the swing he prescribes, I can feel the positive effects already after one practice session. If nothing else, the backswing is a keeper.

This Engineering and Mathematics major has found "Good Reading" incalculably helpful in furthering the liberal education that I didn't have much time for in college. Highly recommended.

I bought this book as a paperback years ago, lent in out and never got it back. I thought it was out of print and as pleased when I found I could get a recent release in hardbound. It is a great guide to all types of books on mosts subjects from around the world. It first introduced me to Russian literature. If you want a list of books to read to fill in all the gaps of great books you never read, this is the book for you. It is basically of list of recommended reading. The newest edition gives you a list of 100 books to read, books to read after retirement, books to read before you enter college etc. etc. It also gives a brief summary of each book. Supposedly, if one were to read every book listed, one would have the equivalent of several master's degrees. Unless you are an English teacher or major you won't know about many of these books but surprisingly, you will find that you can check off some of the books because your read them in H.S. or college.

When my son and husband chose The Great Adventures of Sherlock Holmes for our monthly book discussion, I was certain I'd be bored senseless but figured it was only fair that they choose some of the titles, too. Far from bored, however, I actually loved the droll accounts of Sherlock's sleuthing talents. In fact, as I read, I could "hear" a radio broadcast of the stories in my head. As it turns out, recordings of the mysteries are available, as are films of the adventures. It will be interesting to see how these compare to the version in my head.

If you are sharing these stories with young readers, you may want to read the first story aloud. This proved helpful to my son, who initially had a little trouble "getting into" the rhythm of the narrative. After "The Solitary Cyclist," however, he was happily on his own. He is now tackling a two-volume collection of Doyle's mysteries.

This book is great. Although there are two other books like this one, I prefer this one the best. My favorite mystery in it is "The Red Headed League." An honorable mention is "The Engineer's Thumb." You won't regret buying this book, so... go ahead!

This is the landmark book of the field Lovejoy single-handedly invented (and of which perhaps he is still the sole master): the history of ideas. He wrote some other essays about different ideas and their histories (one of my favorites is about the concept of the "fortunate fall"), but this is his magnum opus and it reads like a thrilling detective story. He's a sleuth looking underneath the various intellectual currents over a 1500 year period in western thought, finding a culprit lurking in many of the failed philosophies and fashions we think we know -- the idea of the "great chain of being" foisted on us by Plato and his heirs.

The book is worth the first two exhilarating chapters alone. After that, the book can get pretty heavy at times; and Lovejoy's long-thought-train, multi-disciplinary, multi-lingual approach can leave one a little lost in some passages. Keep going to the end, though -- the book gradually builds up to an amazing set of climaxes in the last few chapters. He shows how the various thinkers draw out all of the contradictory implications of the the original idea until the thing peters out into a strewn splatter of waste.

It's funny and thought-provoking, and it will peel your mind like an onion.

Lovejoy was a professor of philosophy at Johns Hopkins University. This book represents an expanded version of a series of lectures given by Lovejoy at Harvard during the second half of the academic year 1932-33. The fact that this book remains in print over 60 years later is testimony to the fact that it has become a classic.

The book concerns the Great Chain of Being, a way of looking at reality that can be traced to Plato and Aristotle. We begin with the supposition that existence is superior to non-existence. A good God, Plato argues, would allow any non-contradictory being to exist. God thus created a Universe full of all possible things. This Lovejoy calls the principle of plenitude, the maximally full World. From Aristotle later writers evolved the idea that changes in Nature were continuous; that "Nature makes no leaps." This became the principle of continuity. Eventually, philsophers would postulate a vast chain of Beings stretching from the perfect (God) to the nearly non-existent (lifeless matter). Mankind was somewhere in the middle of the chain - above the animals (specifically the Ape), but below the Angels.

The principles of continuity and plenitude were integral to the thinking of many philosophers and scientists. Lovejoy traces how numerous thinkers - St. Thomas, Liebniz, and Schelling figure most prominently - wrestled with the implications of plenitude and continuity. Could plenitude explain evil? How could one account for change if God had created the chain at the beginning of History? Lovejoy also traces the fate of two contradictory Platonic conceptions of God. Plato had painted God as an Other-Worldly and self-sufficient being on one hand while also describing how God had manifested his thought in the real world. The chain was God's thought concretely expressed.

This is not a book for someone who is a neophyte to philosophy. However it is an important book, particularly for understanding the intellectual foundations of much scientific and philosophical speculation of the past several hundred years. Lovejoy succeeds in showing how the Great Chain of Being lead to a number of surprising intellectual developments including Romanticism's appreciation for diversity. His writing is very clear. At times the book is amusing and it is always pleasurable to read.

This book is a must have research tool for all serious ACW scholars. Dr. Bergeron's research is up to its usual very fine standards. Perhaps we'll get lucky and he'll do another State! Bravo!

The book contains a short history of each of the individual units and an extensive index. The definative book on Lousiana units during the Civil War.

The border between the United States and Canada is the longest unfortified and unguarded border between two sovereign nations in the world. The relations between the two countries is friendly and the countries are solid allies and trading partners. To travel to and in Canada is a joy and very rewarding (being referred to as 'English' in Quebec province is somewhat unsettling, though). It wasn't always so.

American armies have invaded Canada twice-in the War of the Revolution and the War of 1812, both times for territory and loot, and have met defeat twice in the strategic aims of the invansions. Canandians defended themselves with skill and valor, though most of the credit usually went to the British regular forces which, especially in the War of 1812, robbed Canadian units of the credit due them.

There was a small, completely unprovoked third 'invasion' of Canada in November 1838 when a small number of American 'liberators' (read terrorists) crossed the Canadian frontier to help 'free' Canada 'from the British yoke.' This relatively unknown incident is stirringly retold by Canadian historian Don Graves in this excellent volume which should be read by all interested in the history of the North American continent and hopefully will spark an interest in Canadian military history, which has been largely ignored by most historians. It is a rich history of devotion, valor, and selflessness by a people small in number but who have proven themselves the equal to all, and the superior to many, on the battlefields of the British Commonwealth and Empire.

The author is an excellent storyteller, and his research is flawless and thorough. An authority on the Niagara frontier of the War of 1812, his books are a must for all military history buffs and enthusiasts. He has earned a reputation as the master historian of the small battle, and he certainly demonstrates that in this book.

In the late 1830s, Canada was undergoing tething troubles politically, undoubtedly searching for a national identity within the constraints of British suzerainty. Agressive Americans intent on expansion again thought they could take advantage of this state of affairs and gain some of Canada for the US under the guise of 'freeing' the Canadians. What did happen was a violent incursion onto Canadian territory along the St. Lawrence, the seizure and 'siege' of a windmill along the waterway, and a bloody end to the problem, Canadians and British rallying to drive out the invaders. Royal Navy units were used in the river to bombard the American's position, even engaging in a battle in the river with a steamer the Americans had hijacked.

Royal Marines, British Regulars, and Canadian militia turned out to counter the American 'adventurers, to face a foe better armed than they, and also equipped with artillery. The fighting was intense, sometimes desperate, but the invaders were defeated, and the prisoners taken were subjected to 'Her Majesty's Justice', being confined in the citadel of Fort Henry at Kingston before the final, inevitable disposition of their crimes.

There are detailed appendices in the volume which give lists of those individuals and units that participated in the fighting. The book is also well-illustrated and thoroughly documented. It is a pleasure to read and study and is highly recommended. Although it is from an 'unfashionable' period of military history, it also gives an interesting and uncommon perspective of the American concept of 'Manifest Destiny.' It might also prompt the more thoughtful into a reappraisal of the Texas movement for independence and the other Alamo.

I have studied the Battle of Windmill Point, the central subject of "Guns Across the River", for twenty-five years. I have visited the major landmarks in the event, the windmill, Fort Wellington and Fort Henry in Ontario and Ogdensburg, N.Y. and I have lectured on the incident. I have sifted through several archives in libraries and historical societies and I have found that while Donald E. Graves book has a definite Canadian slant that U.S. readers may find slightly disorienting (Americans are not the heroes in this book) the book engagingly recounts a forgotten 1837 instance of American terrorism visited upon Canadians. While I may quibble with the omission of some details, overall, the events are compellingly told and Graves skillfully integrates their significance into the larger picture.

I agree with everything in the previous review, especially the Russell versus Midler versions of the movie. This is a wonderful show, and I am the lucky woman who gets to play Rose in my local theatre's production. I bought this book because Tams-Witmark sends out "sides" for each role -- a small book that includes only the character's lines with just a few words of the cue before. Having the full script is a great help, but be aware that this book is slightly different from the version used by Tams-Witmark. I'm marking the changes in my full script and using it, though, because it's much more convenient.

Do get the memoir Gypsy by Gypsy Rose Lee. It's amazing to see how much of this show was taken directly from the pages of her autobiography. Rose and Herbie were somewhat romanticized in the show, as was Tessie the stripper and many other aspects of the story -- hey this is Broadway! There can't be *too* much misery! But the cow really did come to Rose in a dream and really did get them on the Orpheum Circuit. They really did bleach a gaggle of girls' hair blonde. Both books are great reads.

I am a student in Chicago's New Tuners Workshop, an organization devoted to the writing of new works of musical theatre. In our first year, we are required to read GYPSY. Our artistic director, John Sparks, considers GYPSY to be one of the finest book musicals ever written.

The lead part of the Mama Rose is often considered the musical theatre equivalent of Lady MacBeth or Hedda Gabler. Lucky is the woman who gets to play her. Three women have played her on Broadway: Ethel Merman (in the original production), Angela Lansbury (in a 1970's revival) and Tyne Daly (in a 1990's revival). Lansbury and Daly both won Tony awards for their perfomances. Merman lost in 1960 to Mary Martin in "The Sound Music." She was robbed!

Musical highlights of the show include the character defining "Some People," the desperate "Ev'rything's Coming up Roses" and the tour-de-force finale, "Mama's Turn." A majority of the songs are Mama Rose's, the result, apparently, of Ethel Merman's ego. Nevertheless, it works brilliantly.

If you are looking for a version of this show on video, AVOID the Rosalind Russell version from the early sixties, in favor of the recent Bette Middler version. Not only is the Middler version more faithful to the original play, Bette does her own singing (Lisa Kirk sang for Russell) and her performance rivals Merman's.

If you love musicals, you will love this book. Read it yesterday!

You'll be fascinated, impressed, depressed, and delighted with Arthur's succinct introduction to the people, culture, and history of a small nation so very close to U.S. shores and U.S. history, yet so very far from our thoughts. From the joyful cover image to photos of brightly-painted buses to the clear maps and tips for travelers, Arthur delivers more than promised--as does Haiti herself. You'll come back for more, once you taste this brief introduction to the famed Hotel Oloffson, tap-taps and Vodou, rara and compa and rasin music, Sweet Micky & Boukman Eksperyans & Tabou Combo, the "little church" and "the flood," peasant movements and death squads, creole pigs and deforestation, poverty and structural adjustment, Toussaint Louverture & the slave revolution, the Duvalier dictatorship and the Tonton Macoutes, poetry and paintings. This book came just in time to enlighten & amaze students in my class on the prize-winning works of Haitian-American author Edwidge Danticat. We all give this little book a two-thumbs-up!

Sometimes it's hard to be an American, and to look out at what we've done to the rest of the world.

Haiti will soon be celebrating its bicentennial of independence. As the second-oldest nation in the Western Hemisphere and the black nation with the longest uninterrupted history, it should by rights be rich, educated, forward thinking, and a bright light for the rest of the world. However, imperialist forces from abroad, including France, Britain, and most recently the United States of America, have colored its two centuries. Its people have been harangued by Castro's Cuba, Trujillo's Dominican Republic, Bush and Clinton's USA, and even the wildly corrupt Duvalier administration. Its land is stripped, its resources have been plundered, its cities are grossly overpopulated, and its seas are silted. And yet, somehow, Haiti survives.

In the wake of the 1991 coup that unseated President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and the 1994 US-led UN invasion that restored him to power, much news was made. Haiti was front-page headliner material nearly every day, a prestigious international hot spot. Names were made and broken in political spheres around the Haiti issue. Debate ran high. And then everything just disappeared. Haiti merited a two-paragraph mention on page twelve if the paper needed filler, and then only in large papers that could dedicate themselves to foreign affairs. For most of us, even those of us who maintained our religious interest in the nation, an entire nation may just as well have dropped off the face of the earth.

British activist Charles Arthur, whose other works on Haiti include "A Haitian Anthology: Libète," identifies himself as a "Solidarity Activist." His latest book, "Haiti in Focus," is subtitled "A Guide to the People, Politics, and Culture," and it lives up to that description admirably. For those interested, the available information is brought up to date through the middle of 2001. Arthur details the current political struggles surrounding the election of Aristide to another term in office; he lets us know about the struggle between Protestant missionaries and vodou adherents for control of the site at which the Haitian Revolution began; and he even gives us pointers on how to tour the country.

This slim, easy-to-read book is deceptively clear. It focuses on what Haiti is today, and on the forces that have made it so. Arthur posits no blame for what's happened to the country; yet observant reading serves to point out several recurrent patterns. Currently, the United States has been trying to micromanage the Haitian economy to the advantage of America, and indeed has been using the Monroe Doctrine as an excuse to do so for some time. This has been happening in force through the last century, though it can be traced overtly to 1862, when the US recognized the country's sovereignty, and more covertly back to Haitian independence, when the US refused to recognize a free black nation.

America is not alone in this treatment, however. Britain immediately recognized Haiti's independence, but apparently only for political advantage and access to the profitable plantations. When the plantation economy went the way of all flesh, Britain appears to have just walked away. France held recognition for ransom, offering it only when Haiti paid massive war indemnities that left the country in financial ruin from which it hasn't fully recovered. The United Nations and the Organization of American States have consistently tried to co-opt Haiti's foreign policy and dictate domestic positions, and the European Union, primarily under pressure from France, is now trying to horn in on Haitian self-determination. As Arthur explains, Haiti remains a small force, battered on all sides by winds it cannot satisfactorily resist.

The country is also riven internally. Though all involved want the country to flourish and thrive, wildly dissimilar ideas persist as to what would make this happen. Christian missionaries, primarily Catholic and Evangelical Protestant, have brought their faith to the country, but even Jesus Himself hasn't preserved the country. Aristide and his coalition have concrete ideas for how to use the government to resolve problems, but his plans are controversial and have stirred up strong negative feelings. Education is usually severely inadequate because of the lack of skilled teachers, disagreements over the importance of French, and the high cost of schooling in a poor nation. Meanwhile, poverty is swelling, illiteracy remains rampant, and nothing is being done about it.

However, in Arthur's estimation, Haiti remains a culturally vibrant land, a noble nation resisting the homogeneity of Western-styled "globalization." The native art, music, and religion of the land are the most African in the Western Hemisphere, and are a celebration of life in the face of poverty. A full-color photo spread in the middle of the book shows the beauty that accrues to everything in the country-the way a tap-tap driver will paint rainbows on the side of his vehicle; the way rara musicians will dance down the street during a festival. Though this is a country damaged and struggling, Arthur makes plain, this is not a country to give up on, not a country to permit to die.

This book is detailed enough to appeal to those intimately interested in Haiti, either those who appreciate the whole nation or those interested in one or two aspects. At the same time, it's clear enough in style and structure to reach out to readers who are being newly introduced to Haiti, and to those who know only the horror stories that recur in motion pictures and the news. Though it will date quickly, for the moment it stands as a strong primer for the condition that is Haiti and a land working for healing in a world that only wants to use it as a tool.

If you're interested in the art, religion, or culture of Haiti, this book is fabulous! It shows clear links between Catholic and Vodou imagery and themes, and the art is inspiring. The color photos are rich & wonderful, and consistent enough to provide a clear understanding of Haitian and Vodou artistic/spiritual traditions. In this case, a picture (or pictures in this book anyway) are worth more than 1000 words. If you're interested in Vodou and/or folk arts of the Caribbean, this book is a worthwhile purchase.

This book displays the wonderful art and tradition of Haitian sequined prayer flags. The layout of the book with it's full color reproductions is very well done. The text of the book beautifully describes the history and aspects of vodou religeon, in a way that speaks to all people who are touched by art and culture. I highly recomend this book especially to those interested in folk art and Haitian culture.

Although this book was written in 1935, this book is still a primary referrence book for practicing mineral processing engineers. An effort was made a few years ago by the Society of Mining Engineering to replace this autoritive document (Weiss etal) but this volume by Taggart remains irreplaceable. Its certainly not a book for the casual reader but as a referrence text, it is outstanding.

Taggart's Handbook of Mineral Dressing is a must have book for anyone interested in the early methods employed for mineral recovery. It is also an excellent source book for old mining camp and ghost town seekers that may wish to delve further into the uses of some of the equipment they might find at old mills. Packed full of detailed descriptions of flowsheets and equipment, this book opens a fascinating window into the history of mineral processing. Also of use to the modern extractive metallurgist, as much of the information contained within is timeless as to its usefulness.