This is certainly not one of the more insightful books on the subject, and is unfortunately attuned only to those topics of influence that have been better covered elsewhere. For the beginner, esp. those who do not have access to the better studies, this book is not without value. Somewhat recommended.

Malevole, the title character of Marston's masterpiece, has good reason to be a malcontent: he is the disguised, deposed rightful ruler of Genoa. The play is a collection of intrigues, questions as to who knows what about whom, and disguises. It is a great joy to read and one of my favorite pieces of Renaissance literature.

The New Mermaid edition is very nice, with a good introduction, but the language has been modernized more than in most editions.

Nice quick review. With excellent tables. Good value.

This "coffee table book" is a must for every Panama Hat lover. The exotic and beautiful photographs only enhance and clarify the well written text. From the forward by Brent Black (leading world authority on Panama Hats - hand-woven in Ecuador!) through the chapters on Montecristi woven fino hats, onto the Cuenca hat story and ending with a list of retailers specializing in this unique product - this book answers most, if not all, questions about this legendary hat.

I think this is wonderful book. It helps to more easily let you understand with big pictures to show what everything is. Also it has wonderful descriptions and design. It is also very updated.

Fifth in the Crowner John de Wolfe series, this book details life in 1194 A.D., including, as always, a glossary at the beginning. In addition to reality of sights, sounds and smells, the author ensures the reader's sympathy with the all too human Crowner, despite his moral failings, as he pursues justice. Enjoy a fascinating mystery as you increase your knowledge of medieval times.

This book is the perfect accompaniment to classroom instruction. The authors make the concepts clear and easy to understand through concise explanations of all the important cases and trends. Extremely handy when preparing for an exam!

Favier successfully depicts one of the geatest examples of the French Gothic style. The history of the Cathederial is well represented, and the pictures are breath-taking. Chartres is an amazing church, and this book brings back all that I learned there when I lived in Paris. I suggest this book to all fans of art, architecture, or people who love beuty.

The 1884 edition -- the last one -- includes 60,000+ blazons of English, Scots, Welsh, and Irish arms. There are no illustrations except for the royal family and incidental examples in the glossary of heraldic terminology. A straight-forward reference work which assumes the reader's ability to convert text into a mental image, but this could not otherwise have been squeezed into 1,185 double-column pages! The perfect companion to _Burke's Peerage_ and _Burke's Landed Gentry._ Not cheap, but still a bargain.

At First glance Burkes offers a great insight into the lives of our British ancestors and as such has been most helpful in providing direction for further research.This would have been vastly improved had I received Vol I and Vol II of the set. I can only hope that vol I will show up at my doorstep in the near future.

The General Armory of England..,London, 1883 mentiones "Silvester, Yardley, Baronet.. and Sylvester or Silvester, Armor/Crest "a tree vert., crow..., together with Earl of Derby.. Please help with information: Where can I get a family tree of these Silvesters, or who may be addressed for exact information? Is there an official society which I possibly can involve? It supposedly should be my fathers line. My mother, Grace Thorpe, whom my father has married Aug. 26th. 1939 in New York City, was a descendend from Lord Pell of the Manor of Pelham. Same question, can I get a family tree? Who is to be contacted? Again, please do not be angry with me for making this anusual approach. Thank You very much indeed and in advance for any valuable information. P.S. My father, William G. von Sylvester, US-Citizen, was well known to Mr. Peter ffrench-Hodges, in the 70ies member of the British Tourist Authority in London. How can I find out wether he is still allive? Hans-Peter Wenzl-Sylvester, Freystr. 2 D.80802 Munich, Germany

I kept waiting for this book to get boring. It has all the potential to be boring. But it's not. It's an excellent introduction to the history of the West. I learned little tidbits about all sorts of varied subjects - Native American tribes, government, the history of the USGS. Stegner does get a little too wrapped up in the details at a couple points, especially when he gets into all the wrangling in Congress over Powell's various ventures, but in general it's an excellent book.

This classic work is a penetrating and insightful study of the public career of Maj. John Wesley Powell, from the beginning of the Powell Survey, which most famously had Powell and his men descend for the first time by anyone the Colorado River, to his eventual ouster from the Geological Survey. Stegner does a magnificent job of detailing both the myriad accomplishments by Powell in his remarkable career as public servant, but the philosophy and ideas that undergirded his work. Most readers at the end will conclude that the history of the United States might have proceeded differently had his profound insights into the nature of the American West been heeded.

Stegner writes in a lucid, clear, frequently exciting prose style. Although his history is solid, his writing is somewhat more. For example, at one point Stegner writes of one person who was more than a little deluded about the nature of the West: "The yeasty schemes stirring in Adams' head must have generated gases to cloud his eyesight." Especially in context a brilliant sentence, and not of the quality one anticipates in a historical work, especially one that deals at length with questions of public policy. The volume also contains an Introduction by Stegner's mentor and teacher Bernard DeVoto, an essay that contains in a few pages the heart of DeVoto's own understanding of the West, and which alone would be worth the cost of the volume.

Stegner does an excellent job of relating Powell's own insights and visions to those of others of the day. He contrasts Powell's philosophy with the desires and urges of the people who were rushing to obtain land in the West, and the politicians who were trying to lure them there. He points up similarities and differences in his way of looking at things, from those stoutly opposed to his views, and those in some degree sympathetic to him, like Charles King and the oddly omnipresent Henry Adams. From the earliest pages of the book to the very end, Stegner brings up Adams again and again, which is somewhat unexpected since Adams is not an essential participant in this story.

I have only two complaints with the book, one stylistic and the other substantive. The book contains a few maps but no photographs, and this book would have profited greatly from a number of illustrations. He refers to many, many visual things: vistas, rivers, people, paintings of the West, photographs of the West, maps, Indians, and locales, and at least a few photographs or illustrations would have greatly enhanced the book.

The second complaint is more serious. Stegner is completely unsympathetic to the attacks of Edward D. Cope on Othniel C. Marsh and, primarily by association, Powell. The Cope-Marsh controversy was, as Stegner quite rightly points out, the most destructive scientific controversy in United States history, and one that does absolutely no credit to either major participant. My complaint with Stegner's account is that he makes Cope sound more than a little psychotic, and his complaints more symptoms of mental illness and irrational hatred than anything generated by reasonable causes. Cope's hatred of Marsh was not rational, but neither was it baseless. Cope had indeed suffered grievously at the hands of Marsh, who had used his own considerable political power to prevent Cope from obtaining additional fossil samples. In this Powell was not completely innocent. I believe that anyone studying the Cope-Marsh controversy in greater detail will find Cope and not Marsh to be the more sympathetic figure, and certainly the more likable. The careers of both Cope and Marsh were destroyed by their controversy, but so also was that that of Powell greatly diminished. I can understand why Stegner is so unsympathetic to Cope, while at the same time believing that he overlooks the justness of many of Cope's complaints.

This book written in 1954 not only captures the story of this remarkable man, Major John W. Powell, but also discusses and reflects on the challenges of too many people living in the Western desert. As a resident of a now "drought impacted state" the wisdom of Powell's ideas and the lack of implementation of those ideas are represented in the chaos local and state governments are facing as they attempt to keep lawns green, golf courses open, and drinking water available for all of the "new" residences of the state. I only hope that some of this generations politicians pay attention to Powell's "topographical" analysis and begin shaping more effective land and water policy for the West. A terrific read with many classic Stegner quotes.