No one has done more than Renehan to explore and explain the Byzantine tale of abolitionist John Brown and his idealistic but confused (and sometimes absurd) northeastern bankers. This is a splendid story that, by polishing with his customary narrative excellence, Renehan has turned into a real gem.

THE SECRET SIX does a wonderful job of revealing the tangled web of intrigue that lay behind John Brown's 1859 incursion at Harpers Ferry. This is stunning stuff: six affluent northeasterners, one of them the husband of poetess Julia Ward Howe and another the leading Unitarian minister of his day, financing terrorism in slave states -- and going about it methodically, calmly, and deliberately. What a story. And so well told.

THE SECRET SIX paints a vivid portrait of the northeastern aristocrats who financed John Brown's infamous 1859 misadventure at Harpers Ferry. Renehan's elegant, complelling treatment of true historical facts reads like a novel. All the members of the Six -- Franklin Sanborn, Theodore Parker, Thomas Wentworth Higginson, Samuel Gridley Howe, George Luther Stearns and New York's Gerrit Smith -- are brilliantly sketched by Renehan, who also does a first-rate job rendering the unpredictable and unstable John Brown. Most importantly, Renehan proves expert in unscrambling the many Byzantine intrigues that combine to make up the story of Brown and his often-perplexed benefactors.

This is a terrific novel about the radical abolitionist John Brown. The style of the book is remarkable. Olds writes in short bursts of prose, not more than three or four pages at a time, and from different perspectives: first person, third person, quotes from actual historical documents, and what appears to be an interview with Brown from beyond the grave. The effect is like channel-surfing on cable TV. And it works beautifully--it's an exciting way to write about history for the '90's reader. Olds strips down his language--it reminds me a little of James Ellroy's recent work--but he uses archaic words and sentence structure combined with impressive poetic imagery to achieve a convincing historical density. This book has great resonance. This is a time of intense, moralistic political warfare and this depiction of intense pre-Civil War passions should be disturbingly familiar. Bruce Olds makes us recognize and respect complexity. His final take on John Brown seems to be that he was an unpleasant, possibly insane man who nevertheless knew what the most important moral issue of his time was. Great reading.

An astonishing retelling of the life of John Brown. I selected this book for my book group after having listened to Banks' "Cloudsplitter" on BOT. I had read a few reviews of that book post hoc only to find that many critics cited this text as superior. I would say that the experience of listening, rather than reading, to Banks' book likely boosts my appraisal as I thought it was brilliant in its expanse, detail and imagination. As for Olds' work, it reads as though one is living through the time in a dream-like state. The wickedness and cruelty that is frequently attributed to "historical context" is brought to bear so that it is difficult to fathom how we look back at our American history as somehow noble and founded on justice. As for the man, John Brown, it was a serendipitous reading choice given the current state of world affairs. When resistance is linked to terrorism, the results are necessarily unpredicatable and frightening, regardless of the outcome.

richlvau2 from Grand Haven, MI misses the point when he writes that "the style [of RHH] is very interesting and it is an easy read, but the historical accuracy leaves a lot to be desired. Unfortunately, many will believe it to be "gospel" -(pun intended)"

Olds, by way of a form of literary deconstruction very rarely seen in contemporary fiction, painstakingly blurs the line between accuracy and innacuracy in historical writing. And he is not writing this way because it's the "in thing" to do.

It is also *deceptively* easy to read, with Olds hiding many of his devices from the suspecting eye and the text itself offering a number of simultaneous interpretations.

There is no "gospel" and Olds makes every effort possible to reconstruct the many narratives surrounding John Brown and to prevent any one voice from gaining authority -- especially his own.

I more than highly recommend this book: not only will you view this particular event differently, but you just might call into question the "truth" of other historical figures and events.

(Olds is overdue for a new one, let's hope the luke warm review in the NYTimes didn't blow it!)

I loved this book as a chid, so when I ran across it recently I decided to see how well it would hold up today. I'm happy to say that it was just as fun to read now as it was all those years ago.

As an adult it is not too difficult to figure out the mystery, but it's still a fun story. As a child it was quite exciting and I'm sure that children today will love it as well. Unlike most Bellairs novels, which are usually scary stories of wizards, monsters, and curses, this is a more straightforward mystery centered around the hunt for a hidden treasure, and as such it would be appropriate for children who might be scared by some of Bellairs' other books.

This book captured my thoughts and brain with all the puzzles and mystery in it. I LOVE books that do that!!!!
It is about a boy who is searching for a treasure and has a lot of strange poems to figure out first. I can't remember to much of it, since I read it about one and a half years ago, but he comes across this other guy who is searching for it too. This 'other guy' is the son of Alpheus Winterborn and therefore thinks the treasure should be his. Well I won't give the whole book away, but if you are looking for a suspence, adventure, mystery book that is VERY CLEVERLY put together, read this one.

I recomend it 100%!

I loved this book, it's fun to read and the characters are welldeveloped and very interesting! The Anthony Monday character featuredin this story is not quite as good as the Johny Dixon character in some of John Bellair's other books (like the Curse of the Blue Figurine) but he is still enjoyable. This book has great action (floods, struggles on rooftops), and is appropriate and entertaining for ALL ages! This book might look like a childeren's book (what with it's large type and all) but I'm 15 and i still love it!

John Brown is an antislavery cursader who is secretly plotting an assult and is waiting for the right time to excecute it. He asks his fifteen year old daughter Annie, form her beautiful home in Maine, to come help on the Kennedy Farm in Virgina over the summer. Annie obeys her father's wish hoping to make ammends with him and helps keep the farm in order by keeping her main job as the lookout for strangers. Annie is astonished that he asked her instead of her four other brothers and sisters. Mine Eyes Have Seen by Ann Rinaldi is a great historical fiction book that should be read by students all over the world. Although the book was confusing at tiimes the true story of John Brown is a graet learning experience for young teens. It took me a few chapters to get into the book but overall it was still worth it to have read it all. If teachers are looking for a great learning experience for their students I would recogmend this book.

This story is about the daughter of the famous John Brown and her summer she spent being his lookout on the farm he rented in Maryland. John Brown is famous for his fighting against slavery, but sometimes he goes too far. Some of his sons have refused to join him in Maryland after their experiences in his Kansas expedition. But others go along, including Annie and her sister-in-law Martha. Marth cleans the house and cooks while Annie keeps watch on the porch all day, making sure no one passing by becomes aware of the men stashed upstairs in the house. Annie's love Dauphin Thompson comes along with his brother, along with another pair of brothers and some other men. The men become restless over the days, waiting for the raid on Harper's Ferry to happen. As the raid gets pushed back farther and farther, Dauphin pushes Annie away. The ending is sad, but the story awesome. You really should read this book.

Mine eyes have seen is a great book.It a young girl named Annie Brown. She is the daughter of the famous John Brown. She goes with her father to the Kennedy farm where they call themselves the Smith's. Annie's father is planning a raid on Harpers fairy.
To show people what slavery is all about.While she is there
her father assignes her to the porch where she is supposed to ward off any suspicise guests.She comes to love the people her father is hiding at the farm.This book is from the point of view of Annie Brown. She was the only person alive to tell the
story off what happened before the raid. You won't want to put this book down you will instantly fall inlove with Annie.This is one of the best books I have ever read. I recomend this book to kids betweem the ages off 11and13.

maybe, just maybe, if the world was as cliched as Mr. Brown portrays it in his book--"on the ball," "True to his form," "never in a million years" "Rome wasn't built in a day" yawwwwnnn.... this might have been a better read. But it wasn't. The plot was well thought out, no question. And the characters are real and likeable. But he takes the cowards way out at times with his research (an entire brewery is constructed with no details) (a 20-something cia agent is top-drawer with no history) etc., and his dialogue is flat and uninspiring. They don't seem to understand the proper use of contractions, pronouns, or implied meaning. Ex: Brown tells us in one passage "the young, red-haired man said, laughingly, "not a chance," holding back a chuckle....a better writer, which Brown may one day turn out to be but isn't, sadly, yet, might have allowed us to infer that the character was laughing, rather than simply telling us. A word of advice to the author from an avid reader and constant consumer: get a thesaurus, quit the cliches, and work on the dialogue

Countdown to Atlanta was an awesome read. Obviously a young writer, but the plot was well conceived and the research was splendid. I hope to see more from John Randall Brown in the future.

Countdown to Atlanta left me shivering. The plot was so believable and I felt like I actually knew the characters. Kudos to John Randall Brown. I can't wait to read his next book. By the way, I'm never drinking a new beer before it's been tested

. . . to really achieve its full potential, this play needs to be acted out on stage. Still, highly excellent, involving twins, cross-dressing, love tangles, sword-fighting, secret marriages, music, disguises, mistaken identities, high speech, and lowbrow humour.

The entire play takes place in Illyria. In the main plot, Orsino is in love with Olivia, who unfortunately does not return his feelings. Viola is shipwrecked on the Illyrian coast, and dressed as a boy, comes to serve in Orsino's court, where she of course falls in love with Orsino. Meanwhile, in Olivia's court, some of her courtiers plan a cruel--but funny--practical joke against her pompous steward Malvolio. There is also a third plot later on involving Viola's twin brother Sebastian, who has been shipwrecked likewise. Naturally things get quite confusing, but, true to Shakespeare's comedic style, everything gets worked out in the end.

This is an enjoyable book to read, and the notes are very helpful. However, it is still better as a performance.

"Twelfth Night" is one of the famous romantic comedy written by William Shakespeare. Many critics said, "Twelfth Night" is the masterpiece among his comedy because his fully developed style and insight are in the "Twelfth Night", so it has special value and attractiveness.
There are four main characters in "Twelfth Night" ; Duke Orsino, Olivia, Viola, and
Sebastian. Duke Orsino who lives in Illyria loves Olivia, so every day he send one of
his servant to Olivia's house for proposal of marriage. However, every time Olivia
refuses his proposal for the reason that she lost her brother before long, so she is now
in big sorrow and can not love anyone. One day, Viola comes into Illyria. She and her
twin brother Sebastian are separated in a shipwreck and they are rescued by two
different people in two different place, so they think the other one is dead each other.
Viola disguise as a man and become a servant of Duke Orsino, and then she fall in
love with Duke Orsino. But, Duke Orsino loves Olivia and he send Viola whose new
name as a man is "Cesario" to Olivia for proposal. Unexpectedly, Olivia fall in love with
Cesario!! Therefore, love triangle is formed. In the latter scene, Sebastian also come into
Illyria, so the confusion getting worse. However, in the end, all misunderstandings are
solved and Cesario become Viola, so the four main characters find their love.
There are also four supporting characters in "Twelfth Night" ; Clown, Sir Toby Belch,
Malvolio, and Sir Andrew Aguecheek. They make the readers laugh through their funny
behaviors and comments in subplot.
"Twelfth Night" is very funny story and enjoyable book, so I recommend you.

I didn't read this particular version of Twelfth Night, so I'm rating the plot, not the editing. This book was the first play by Shakespeare that I read, and I loved it! It starts when Viola and her brother, Sebastian, are seperated in a shipwreck. Viola decides to disguise herself as a boy and work for Orsino, the duke. Orsino sends Viola to tell Olivia that he loves her. Viola does what he says, but she wishes she didn't have to, because she has fallen in love with Orsino! Then Olivia falls in love with Viola, thinking that she is a boy. While all this is going on, Andrew Aguecheek is wooing Olivia, who scorns him. Also, Maria, the maid, Sir Toby Belch, Olivia's uncle, and another servant write a letter and put it where Malvolio, a servant, will see it. The letter says that Olivia is in love with Malvolio. Malvolio immediately starts trying to woo Olivia. Maria and Sir Toby pretend to think that he's mad, and lock him up. Meanwhile, Sebastian comes to town with Antonio, the man who saved him from the shipwreck. Antonio gives him his purse and says that he must stay away from the city because he fought against the duke in a war. A few minutes later, Antonio realizes that he needs money for lodgings and goes to find Sebastian. In the city, Viola is being forced to fight Andrew Aguecheek for the right to marry Olivia. Antonio sees the fight and hurries to intervene. Orsino recognizes him and has him arrested. Antonio asks Viola for his purse so that he can pay bail, thinking that she is Sebastian. Viola denies having had a purse. Then Sebastian comes up. Olivia had found him and married him on the spot, and he, deliriously happy, had gone away to give Antonio his purse. On the way, he met Sir Toby and Andrew Aguecheek. When they try to force him to fight, he punches them and goes on. They come up too, bitterly accusing Viola. (No one has seen Sebastian yet.) Then Olivia comes up and speaks to Viola, who denies being her wife. Orsino becomes angry with her, thinking that she has married Olivia, and accuses her of treachery. Just as things are looking bad for Viola, Sebastian reveals himself. Then everyone is happy (since Orsino falls in love with Viola on the spot) except Andrew Aguecheek and Malvolio, who is later set free. The plot of this book is a little hard to understand, but it is halariously funny and makes for happy reading.

This is a great book because it shows you exactly what you need to know. They get to the point effectively with every topic. I like the real world questions being answered. Like client side or server side cursors. And topics on how to write the more efficient rs object. The only problem I have with this book is the writers lack of expertise with other databases. Like MS SQL server, and Sybase SQL server. Getting information on pitfalls with other database platforms would be invaluable. They kind of tickled us with the Oracle info, I want more now.

Awesome book for somebody wanting to learn more about ADO/ASP/Database Interaction. I was dumped into the middle of a project with very little ADO knowledge and this proved extremly helpfull through my journey. I have recommended this to all of my friends interested in the subject and countless others who ask me for good books.. Definitly worth every penny!

I first bought this book for the RDS part since I've been working with ADO since it got out. I tought I knew ADO and even though I knew a lot about it, I've learned as much about ADO than about RDS with this book!

Good for any programmers working with ADO, as always, Wrox made it possible for beginners to understand the book and for experienced programmers to learn new stuff.

Another must by Wrox and I'm waiting to get a hand on the "Professional Ado 2.5 Rds Programming With Asp 3.0" that should be coming out soon.

This superb play by Shakespeare somehow reminded me of Antigona, the first play which directly examined the always complex interplay and usual confrontation between political reason and moral reason. This play is an excellent account of the immediately previous and subsequent days of Julius Caesar's assasination by Brutus, his best friend, and other conspirators. Brutus is persuaded by the resentful Cassius that Caesar has betrayed Rome by abandoning the Republic and turning to Dictatorship. Brutus gets to be convinced that, in order to save the Republic, Caesar must be killed. This puts him in a great dilemma, for he loves Caesar and he's his closest friend. Here we see in an acute form the way in which political power gets in conflict with morality and feelings. Friendship, power and betrayal are the basic subjects of this excellent piece of work.

This is certainly one of Shakespeare's greatest works. Every individual character has been perfectly planned before the play was written, and each has his/her own unique characteristics. The plot is well-known, but Shakespeare adds the themes of betrayal, love, and distrust into the mix, making it a nonforgetable story. This is definately a masterpiece to be reread over and over again. LONG LIVE JULIUS CAESAR! GO SM!! WE ARE HIS #1 FANS!!!

A while back, a friend of mine and I decided to pick a Shakespeare play every couple months, read it, then get together and discuss it.

It worked with pretty good results for ROMEO AND JULIET, but then we ran out of gas somewhere in the middle of our next selection, JULIUS CAESAR.

Now that I've finally finished reading the play long after our allotted "couple months," I have to say that the fault (the mutual disinterest that effectively brought our little Shakespeare club to a halt) doesn't lie in the play itself, but rather in my preconceptions of what the play was about.

I can't speak for my friend, but since I took the Cliff Notes route in high school when we were supposed to be reading about Caesar and Brutus and the rest of the treacherous Roman senate (and didn't do a very thorough job at that) I always assumed the play's action revolved around the plot to kill Caesar and culminated with his death scene. I wasn't prepared to find Caesar dead halfway through the play, with two-plus acts remaining. I think I just lost interest once Caesar blurted, "Et tu, Brute?" and slouched over lifeless on the cold marble.

But thankfully I eventually kept going, and discovered what the play is really about: the manipulation of the public that goes on after Caesar's death. The speeches in JULIUS CAESAR, given by those who would take his place, are full of the damage-control, image-making spin that happens everday on our "all news" channels. It's an interesting play, maybe not Shakespeare's best, but one that has certainly has some modern relevance and is worth examining.

Now if my friend and I can just get our club back on its feet. Maybe a comedy next time...

C.I. Scofield's notes are written from a dispensational approach to theology. It is based on a belief in a historical/gramatical approach to the Bible. Many would say it is a system helps make sense out of Scripture. I agree. Understanding the difference between Israel and the Church and that God administered His faith/grace relationship with people differently throughout human history is clearly taught in these wonderful notes. Some of the material is obviously outdated because of new discoveries in archeology and science. However, the basic notes on the biblical covenants and prophesy are as rich today as the day they were written.

This is a wonderful Bible for people who are trying to make sense out of the Bible.

Thank you Dr. Scofield, Oxford Press and Philadelphia College of Bible.

The Old Scofield Study Bible (KJV) is one of a kind. Let me be honest right from the start by saying that God's Word does not make any sense unless it is understood with a dispensational perspective. Anything less than that, and your stuck with a Bible that contradicts itself all over the place. All a believer has to do is allow God's Word to interpret itself, instead of listening to the so-called scholars of higher Christian education. They are the main reason for the Laodicean apostasy we find ourselves in today. Scofield did a good job at letting God's Book speak for itself. I have discovered by experience that most of the study bibles out there on the market today are filled with nothing but the authors private interpretation of the scriptures. What's so difficult about just believing what God's Word says, and not adding your own thoughts to it. The Scofield Study Bible does have it's weaknesses on certain passages, but overall it surpasses any other study bible currently out there. With all due respect, people that haven't discovered this have never really searched and studied the Book "with their hearts" well enough to make any worthwhile comment on the subject. Given the choice, I choose to listen and trust God's Word, and not the liberal Christian scholars. Ahhh, there's nothing like a King James Bible to clear up a college education.

In taking my Bible study very serious, I like to have at my disposal, a Bible that translates well for everyday language. That is why I highly rcommend the Oxford NIV Scofield Study Bible. The NIV version is a translation that is not so high on language that the average reader could not understand it. Instead, its a translation that's readable and because it has been revised and written by scholars and also theologians from all denominations, you have a broad array of language form and appliability to study and meditate on.

this is a comedy only in the sense that the play ends well - ie, noone dies, most everyone is happy. else, there's little humor in this comedy, save for the knave, lucio. like others here have pointed out, this is actually a pretty serious play that takes a pretty hard look at human weakness, particularly lust. there are some fine, impassioned speeches by claudio and his sister, who pleads for his life. worth a read. but don't expect any laughs.

One of Shakespeare's lesser read and lesser performed plays, Measure for Measure profoundly explores the themes of justice and mercy. This exploration compensates for the defects of the play: the unbelievable resolution, the Duke's refusal to interfere early on (which causes pain to the characters), the inconsistency in the application of morality (Isabella considers it wrong for the betrothed Claudio and Juliet to have sex but justifies--and even helps to arrange--it between Angelo and Mariana), and the unexpected suddenness of the Duke's proposal to Isabella. The play seriously weighs the concerns of justice and mercy, and although it ultimately favors mercy, it recognizes the complexity of the issue. How can one practice mercy and yet restrain vice? How can one "hate the sin" yet "love the sinner?" Mercy seems to be the necessary choice over justice because man is too fallen to bear the brunt of justice. "Judge not lest ye be judged. For with what measure you mete," said Christ, "it shall be measured unto you." If you hold a high standard for others (as does Angelo for Claudio) and yet fall short of it yourself, you will be judged by the same standard. Since we seem destined to fall short of righteousness, it is best to practice forgiveness, so that we too may be judged lightly. And yet there is a concern that such practice of forgiveness will lead to a laxity that permits vice to flourish (which is the reason the Duke leaves Angelo in charge in the first place). Though mercy and forgiveness are favored, the arguments in favor of justice are not simply dismissed.

Quote: "Condemn the fault, and not the actor of it?
Why, every fault's condemned ere it be done.
Mine were the very cipher of a function,
To fine the faults whose fine stands in record,
And let go by the actor." (II.ii.38-42)

Measure for Measure is seldom read, and not often performed in the United States. Why? Although many of Shakespeare's plays deal bluntly with sexual issues, Measure for Measure does so in an unusually ugly and disgusting way for Shakespeare. This play is probably best suited for adults, as a result.

I see Measure for Measure as closest to The Merchant of Venice in its themes. Of the two plays, I prefer Measure for Measure for its unremitting look at the arbitrariness of laws, public hypocrisy and private venality, support for virtue, and encouragement of tempering public justice with common sense and mercy.

The play opens with Duke Vincentio turning over his authority to his deputy, Angelo. But while the duke says he is leaving for Poland, he in fact remains in Vienna posing as a friar. Angelo begins meting out justice according to the letter of the law. His first act is to condemn Claudio to death for impregnating Juliet. The two are willing to marry, but Angelo is not interested in finding a solution. In despair, Claudio gets word to his sister, the beautiful Isabella, that he is to be executed and prays that she will beg for mercy. Despite knowing that Isabella is a virgin novice who is about to take her vows, Angelo cruelly offers to release Claudio of Isabella will make herself sexually available to Angelo. The Duke works his influence behind the scenes to help create justice.

Although this play is a "comedy" in Shakespearean terms, the tension throughout is much more like a tragedy. In fact, there are powerful scenes where Shakespeare draws on foolish servants of the law to make his points clear. These serve a similar role of lessening the darkness to that of the gravediggers in Hamlet.

One of the things I like best about Measure for Measure is that the resolution is kept hidden better than in most of the comedies. As a result, the heavy and rising tension is only relieved right at the end. The relief you will feel at the end of act five will be very great, if you are like me.

After you read this play, I suggest that you compare Isabella and Portia. Why did Shakespeare choose two such strong women to be placed at the center of establishing justice? Could it have anything to do with wanting to establish the rightness of the heart? If you think so, reflect that both Isabella and Portia are tough in demanding that what is right be done. After you finish thinking about those two characters, you may also enjoy comparing King Lear and Claudio. What was their fault? What was their salvation? Why? What point is Shakespeare making? Finally, think about Angelo. Is he the norm or the exception in society? What makes someone act like Angelo does here? What is a person naturally going to do in his situation?

Look for fairness in all that you say and do!