This is a wonderfully written text. I was forced to read it for a class and ended up keeping it because it was a steady/easy read with more then enough information then was needed for class work. Lewis does a great job of convening a lot of the trials and tribulations of Mary. Highly suggested if you have a class and need something to study up on, have a report on Mary, or just want a book that talks about Mary, Queen of Scots without the tone of a boring history teacher.

This book is short, but packed full of information. I would not recommend it for anyone unfamiliar with Mary Queen of Scots, however, as it demands a basic historical knowledge from the reader, in order for it to be appreciated. If you've an idea of what Mary was about, though, and want to learn more about this turning point in her life, I would definately suggest this book as a good place to start. Lewis accurately portrays all sides of the event, including those which have little historical evidence to support them.

I thought this novel was very interesting. It was an Italian tale written by an English authoress, who did a very fine job of it. Unfortunately, this book is not as recognized as some of Mary Shelley's other work, but hopefully it will be soon.

This book is exactly what you'd expect from a book purchased at a gift shop at the Grand Canyon, bland.

It is by no-means in-depth and spends more time describing the antiques that Colter decorated her buildings with than with her life. Colter was a fascinating woman and I would have liked to learn more about her than this book provided.

Being as how Colter isn't exactly someone you're likely to read more than one book about, I would recommend purchasing something with more pictures and information than this one, which is more just a basic outline.

"Builder upon the Red Earth" is not the slick tome of expensive color photographs and analytical drawings that Mary Colter's unique contribution to Twentieth Century American Architecture deserves. However, this essentially biographical book is the only one in print showing pictures and telling the history of Mary Colters extrodinary talent.It is not clear if Mary Colter's obscurity is due to the fact that she was a woman practicing architecture in a time when the field was dominated by men or if the remote Southwestern locations of her most interesting works kept them hidden form view, but it is high time more people took a serious look at her work. Colter's projects, which are "built ruins" foreshadow the work of Western deconstructionist architects like Antoine Predoc or Tom Maine. Showing the work of Colter which is almost 80 years ahead of its time "Builder upon the Red Earth" should be in every young architects library.

Although I agree with the reviewer who says that Mary Colter deserves a far better book, I still highly recommend this one, as at least it fills in a gap that's almost the same size as the canyon where Colter's buildings still stand today. More people should read it so that some will be inspired to write more!

Most of us are familiar with the later story of Mary Queen of Scots and her tragic demise at the hands of Queen Elizabeth. This studiously written book fills in the early details of Mary's life and so forth. Reading like a text book this account is often ponderous but read in small increments it is palatable and worthwhile, especially for those history buffs or students who need minute details of the life of Mary. Often times the reader gets the feeling much of the old accounts are surmised and subject to interpretation. In this case all the facts are carefully documented with footnotes and references used to obtain them. There have been many more interesting accounts of Mary written but how accurate and truthful is a valid question. The precise documentation of this book leaves little doubt as to its validity in this interesting chapter of history.

Mary Queen of Scots is rarely discussed by historians in a dispassionate tone. Either they love her or they hate her. Antonia Frasier is VERY fond of her subject. While she makes good use of sources, she has an annoying habit of blowing off the sources that describe Mary as anything but a delightful, misunderstood monarch who was ahead of her time. This goes for everything from her involvement in the Darnley murder to her looks (god forbid someone say she was anything less than drop dead gorgeous). In some cases explaining away remarks as prejudiced is understandable, but often it is not.

Criticism aside, Frasier delievers a rich narrative of the life of Mary, including her life in France before her personal rule, a side of the queen we rarely hear about. She also displays an impressive understanding of the Scottish court and the Elizabeth's England's relationship to Scotland. She manages to keep her ponderings about Mary's private feelings to a minimum. Although there is some attempts to explain Mary's psychological state, its only done when absolutely needed (after all, if you're reading this there's going to be times when you're mind is screaming "why?" when you read over some of the yutz stuff Mary seems to do).

All in all, "Mary Queen of Scots" is a good read and more importantly, good history.

Mary Stuart, only child of James V of Scotland and Mary of Guise, is a gift to biographers through the ages, not least because her life cleaves so easily into three stages: (1) her brilliant debut in the court of the Valois and her marriage to King Francis II; (2) her journey from Paris to Scotland, where she ruled through a series of misadventures; and (3) her flight to England, where she was captured by her cousin, Queen Elizabeth, and eventually executed as a traitor at Fotheringay. Lady Antonia Fraser made her (now enormous) name in 1969 with this work - and the liveliness of her prose is often credited with a wider revival in narrative biography. What is now lost sight of is that Fraser's biography was, in many respects, revisionist in nature: not least because Fraser, herself a Catholic, was uniquely qualified to present Mary's credentials as Roman martyr, while at the same time unflinching cataloging her many personal failures. Another departure from the heroic tradition is her condemnation of 16th century Scottish nobility for the murderous rabble it truly was - especially the loathsome Bothwell. Finally, as Fraser explains at length, the trumped-up conviction and cruelly botched execution of Mary was nothing short of judicial murder. By the way, the early 1970s film starring Vanessa Redgrave, while excellent as a work of romantic history, is unconnected, and bears little resemblance to the grim contemporary environment as depicted by Fraser.

This book was VERY,VERY DISAPPOINTING!It had only 2 chapters on 30yrs.of being a SLAVE(if you can believe that!) and 13 CHAPTERS
on 4 yrs. in the White House!!
GO FIGURE!!!!! I am SO SORRY I had my daughter get this book for me for Mother's DAY!

The story/diary it self I found wasn't written very good.However I found Ms.Keckley's relationship with Mrs.Mary Todd Lincoln and her family intersting.
She gave some insightfll thoughts about Mary and Abraham that was quite a treat to read.

I got a copy of this book from a book fair not on purpose. As a non-native English learner, what strikes me is the ability of Keckley to express rich emotions in very simple words and sentences. I always like reading first person narratives, fictions or true stories, but seldom find one as captivating as this. A five-star from me and it's a pity she didn't seem
to have written other books.

Elizabeth Jane Howard's career as a novelist has been long and distinguished. Her autobiography is due to be published in 2002. "The Long View" is one of her early novels, dating from 1956.

The author adopts an unusual construction for her narrative. It might be called chronology in reverse. Instead of tracing the development of a relationship between husband and wife over a period of twenty-four years, Miss Howard begins in the present and reverts, stage by stage, to the time of the first meeting.

No novelist known to me is as skilled as Miss Howard at dissecting and displaying the myriad flickerings and quiverings of people's thought and emotions in dialogue with themselves and in interaction with each other. Admiration of this skill is more likely to command your attention in this book than are the appeals of suspense, plot development and setting.

In five parts, going from 1950-1926, "The Long View" propels its reader backwards in the life of its protagonist. By unlayering five separate years, inspecting the acute social habits of English middle-class life, Howard discovers the events and personalities that form Antonia Fleming's destiny. Exceptional accomplishment here is the use of total narrative reverse to effect a compelling, onward flow. Disconnected time sections shift from Antonia's mature to early womanhood. As with any archaeological survey, only by arriving at the last passage can you reconstruct Antonia in full. Throughout, a sound of voices brilliantly veins the novel. Eavesdropping, the reader attends. Listens to Antonia, who thinks, aloud or in reflection. Meanwhile, surrounding characters reveal themselves - in recalled, internal, and spoken dialogue. And we find their perfected self-absorption leaves small heart room for others. At Part I, the final chronological section, Howard underlines the cumulative effect of this on the protagonist by subtacting her given name. Here narrative and dialogue refer to "she" or "Mrs. Fleming." It is during this part of her life that she learns to dine alone: "My life, she thought, and sat down to it. With this apparent end, the larger story begins. The remaining four parts excavate Mrs. Fleming's life, the consistently poignant details of its unrewarded hope and emotional solitude. With no formal education, put forward by none, Antonia possesses unsophisticated passions, honesty, and kindness. These will always be of some use, to someone. Conrad Fleming weds her both for a "hint" of beauty and an "unfinished quality." He hopes this guarantees him the lifetime diversion of perfecting her. Still a girl, Antonia discovers her mother employs her as screen to casual infidelities; her father, as sole repository and scapegoat for his bitterest disappointments. Antonia becomes natural attraction to the callous predator. In later life, even her own grown children will find her useful. To love and be guileless is a fine thing, but worldly unwise. Updating the long tradition of English women novelists headed by Jane Austen, Howard examines the observant innocent, whose superiority in the moral scale now wins her nothing at all. Except the privilege of perceiving her own life in round, living it on her terms: the solitary dinner is on the table, and she sits down to it.

I was very surprised when I ordered this book and found out that yes, indeed, it was merely a very tiny portion of what I had expected. I suppose I should have known from the price, but the description (at least at that time) did not make it clear that it wasn't the entire dictionary.

While this may be a very thorough source for the words it covers, it should be noted in the basic information that this is ONLY 128 pages of a 15,000 page work. The description above is very misleading.

itz a dictionary. what more can i say

Mary Heather Elizabeth Livingstone is a child star from the very beginning, but the pressure of being on the stage gives her a craving for chocolate covered cherries--a whole box per night, which she keeps under her pillow. She becomes too heavy for her parts, and falls from grace, growing up to be an overweight but content woman, even without being a star. At last, she goes back to the stage, to rave reviews.

It is not clear to me what the author is trying to say in this book. Is it that it's okay to be overweight, and that you can still be content? If so, there is no commentary on the crass behavior and shallowness of the world of show business. Young children 5 and under don't usually have the framework to judge the behavior of characters in books, and may instead simply imitate that behavior.

Another complaint I had is that the appearance of the chocolate covered cherries every night is not explained. Mary H. E. is not old enough to pull that off without help, and what is to be said of someone who would enter into that kind of arrangement with this child? Perhaps this is too literal, but the road to eating disorders is paved with good intentions.

The art and surface story are pleasant enough, and I appreciate the message of accepting yourself as you are, but I was not inspired by this book.

A very colorful story embellishing a few known facts. The inaccuracies regarding Edward Courtenay, the Earl of Devonshire are disturbing.

A very colorful story that embellishes a few facts. The inaccuracies regarding Edward Courtenay, the Earl of Devonshire are disturbing.

This book takes a rather casual tack with history -- putting likely thoughts into historical personage's minds -- but detailed and exacting footnotes reassure the reader that there is some scholarship to be had here. This book covers the history of the Tudor family from 1536 to 1558, from the death of Catherine of Aragon and the execution of Anne Bolyen to the ascention of her daughter Elizabeth I to the throne.

In those twenty-two years, England would have two kings, two queens, major shifts in religion and politics, five royal marriages, royal scandals beyond counting, births, deaths, literally hundreds of executions for heresy and treason, and in the middle of it all, a Princess fearing for her life, locked up in stone towers and seduced by a dashing rogue.

And it's all true!

(And what was so wrong with the Courtney information that one reviewer felt compelled to disclaim it twice?)