These accounts of four western women and how they lived in exotic lands serve best as an introduction, not as a particularly authoritative reference.

Definitely more high-brow than romance novels, if only by virtue of being true personalities, this book is a welcome bit of romantic escapism. Despite the fact that the author clearly admires and reveres these intelligent and adventurous women, the book disappoints on a couple of fronts. The writing (nearly half a century old) is peppered with somewhat embarassing colonial language about native beauty, genetically determined intelligence, and primitive sexiness. No blatant racism here, but plenty of indulgent speculation that comes off poorly today.

I found it annoying that the author used French liberally but without any attempt at translation; this usually appears in quotations and with a disclaimer that the flavor of the original language would be lost in any translation. I disagree: a skilled translator could handle it beautifully.

I personally enjoyed these accounts of the lives of women who ventured beyond the realm of other western women, who supported great men, or who even changed the course of history. But I felt I had received only part of the stories. I have yet to find more writings about these women, but I am sure they are out there. A very entertaining introduction to each subject's life.

God what a beautiful collection of real life stories and ones about women that way up most braggart adventures of men!(and I say that as a guy folks!). I was in a state of awe & envy throughout, fell dangerously in love with 3 out of 4 of the characters and am left disappointed only by my own world in result. This book is highly detailed and revealing of ins and outs of secret minds, hearts, places, women, individuals, religion, history and in many ways is scarily telling about truths of all. Its a gorgeous voyage and I give this book away too often but its one of those you know? Men or women I dare you to call yourself the same by its end!

In 1954 Lesley Blanch, a hard-headed romantic, brought out her affectionate studies of four determined women who followed their dreams Eastward without regard for consequences. Even the demure Aimee, abducted and sold as a slave, doggedly created a life for herself within a Turkish seraglio. Recent muddled books on these women often verge on either the pornographic or the bathetic; Blanch's account was light-hearted; her humor, sympathy, and realism tempered her admiration. This was a best-seller in 1954, and is still immensely readable -- even if Blanch spoke more languages than some annoyed reviewers, and was not suitably PC for 2003. Her autobiography is excellent too.

This is a wonderful book that features excellent, concise information on the science of fish keeping, accompanied by wonderful photographs (this book is published by DK). It is most notable for its large section on tank design, which walks the reader through the design and setup process for 16 different tanks. Each ' with the exception of a couple of community tanks ' is an attempt to reproduce the various natural environments of many popular types of aquarium fish. The wonderful photos of the different tank designs are an inspiration! The genius of this book is that, (unlike the lavish creations of Japanese and German 'natural aquarium' experts, photos of which are often featured in aquarium books invariably making the reader sick with jealousy!), it showcases tank designs that are dramatic and beautiful, and yet also attainable by the average fish enthusiast.

I have a few criticisms of the author's tanks. His choice of silver sand as the substrate for many of these tanks is unusual. I have to wonder how easy it would be to use sand in a tank that utilizes a power filter (as these do). I imagine it would be very hard to prevent the sand from getting stirred up and clouding the water. Same goes for using a vacuum siphon to clear debris from the bottom, which most aquariums require from time to time. I'm not saying it can't be done (I wouldn't know - I've always used gravel, not sand, in my tanks), just that I think a beginner could run into problems here. Similarly, several of the tanks featured in this book feature sandy banks that have been created by just patting the sand and stones into a slope towards the rear or sides of the tank. Ha! In reality, sloping areas of gravel or sand in the aquarium need to be built up and 'buttressed' in sections. If not, they will simply slide downhill very quickly and disappear.

As other Amazon reviewers have already noted, the choice of fishes for the various tanks can be faulted. I couldn't believe it when I saw the combination of various types of gouramis with a group of Tiger barbs 'notorious bullies in the aquarium who would shred the beautiful trailing fins of the gouramis within a few days, stressing out all the inhabitants of the tank, not to mention human onlookers! Also, some of these tanks are stocked with very delicate fish, such as the discus, that should only be kept by very experienced hobbyists. Likewise, the author also features some 'high-maintenance' aquarium plants such as cabomba, without emphasising to novice readers that such plants require very intense lighting if they are to be grown successfully.

Because of these shortcomings, the beginner should most definitely supplement this book with at least one other book that includes more information on problem solving and more detailed descriptions about the fishes themselves. Overall, though, this book is highly informative and a delight to read. I bought a copy of this book about a year ago and have used it over and over again. Buy it!

This book has so much going for it! It is an interesting and invaluable resource, especially for those who are considering the aquarium hobby. What is so great & unique about this book is that it instructs the reader on how to re-create the natural environment of the type of fish he or she may be interested in keeping. There are step-by-step instructions on setting up each tank, all accompanied by full color photographs. The author includes information on what equipment works best in each tank, plant & rock selection, aquascaping, & fish species compatability. I purchased this book several years ago & still enjoy referring to it & reading it. The photos & information contained within are truly inspiring. The concept behind it, recreating the natural aquatic environments of such far-off places as Sumatra, Borneo, & Zaire is what truly makes this book special. Anyone who is interested in the aquarium hobby would benefit from this book. Those that are well on their way may find themselves reconsidering the choice of materials & fish contained in their tanks. This book benefits not only the aquarist, but the fish as well! Order this book if you have not done so, you won't be sorry.

This is a fantastic book that starts with general knowledge and background of different water environments and fish, but doesn't waste half the book on this background information. The majority of the book is devoted to explaining how to set up different sorts of aquariums, with detailed examples of the plants, rocks, gravel, and suitable fish for each variety of tank. It is mostly freshwater, but 3 Brackish-Water, and 3 Marine Aquariums are also included. The end of the book has easy to understand GENERAL information about water chemistry, filtration, heating, plants, feeding, and breeding. The only fault is not enough description about individual fish. But if you buy a companion book that describes different fish in detail, along with this book you will be well on your way to setting up the exact sort of aquarium you would like. Great book for beginners and also intermediates who are looking for new ideas.

Dogs and Puppies

This book is great so you should read it! I liked it because it tells you about dogs and puppies. It's an information book. It tells you how to take care of them. It also tells you about different kinds of dogs.

Clear concise text with beautifully clear photos.There areenough details for a general knowledge and will make you want to digdeeper for more information. An excellent book in a wonderful series.

This illustrated book will give you ten of ideas on how to make coats for your dog, how to make beds and houses for them, necklaces, how to create a card for their birthday and much much more. Step by step projects, are easy to make using not only the patterns from this book, but also your imagination. It shows how to give your dog a bath, nail cut, brush. There are pages with doggy recipes for a special occasion or for every day cooking (they are delicious; I tried them!). It even has horoscope with details on every one, matching personalities, favorite color etc. It's really fun!

A real strength of this book is its broad scope; both in range of species, and in wide range geographically. Within a few pages there will pictures of the vulturine guinea fowl, the white-breasted nuthatch, and a red-throated diver (loon). The pictures are spectacular, whether it is wandering albatross courtship, an upside-down emperor bird-of-paradise, or a common bee-eater offering his mate a dragonfly. A minor annoyance is that the location of the species pictured is not usually listed. The text covers a wide range of species, and focuses on describing the behavior, but not allot of deeper evolutionary discussion. Some researcher names are mentioned, but there are no citations or sources for further reading. I think the book might be considered an informative, coffee-table book.