The astonishing thing about this book -- and a lot of Henry James's writing -- is his insight into the problems of women. This book deals with the problem of independence and freedom. Most of us, let's admit it, love the idea of being swept off our feet by some competent, assertive male. It's a real turn-on. If you don't believe it, check out how many successful professional women secretly read historical romances by the boxload. The problem comes the next morning when he starts to take control, bit by bit, of your entire life. In this book you have Olive, who is not, I think, a lesbian but someone who is very lonely and doesn't trust men and Verena, who likes men just fine, but is, for the moment anyway, under the spell of Olive and her feminist ideology. Are these our only options? Verena Makes her choice, but James notes that the tears she sheds may not, unhappily, be her last.

Though James is certainly not known for his sense of humor, he displays a keen sense of satire in this novel. The two senses are not identical--many readers expect satire to make them laugh out loud, and those readers will be disappointed in this book. James' satire is more likely to make readers feel uncomfortable. He repeatedly mocks the two main characters and their struggle to control a young woman who hardly seems worth the effort that these two egoists put into her pursuit. James allows Olive Chancellor and Basil Ransom (whose names evoke the satiricomic tradition in which he is writing) to take themselves seriously while allowing the readers to see them as stereotypes. While satire depends on such stereotypes, James' fiction typically delves into the psychological. At times, he is able to keep this balance, but often the tension is too great and the characters seem to fall flat. Verena Tarrant--the object of Olive and Basil's affection--is virtually absent psychologically (as others have noted), but her lack of character is built into the novel. She begins as her father's possession, and the novel hinges on whether Olive or Basil get to own her next. While the novel is certainly not without faults, it is interesting to watch a novelist as self-conscious as James attempt to write a novel of this type. While he wasn't destined to become a comic genius, this novel is a step toward the psychological, satirical and comic success he was to have in a novel such as "The Ambassadors."

This is the high point of the Henry James middle period. I don't think any book so perfectly captures the spirit of a city than The Bostonians does. It's obvious that James is critical of the people of Boston, and has great fun with a great era (spirituality, free love, communal living, feminism, and seances in the post-Civil War America), yet at the same time, I think this is a great description (and a truthful one) of the home of the eban and the cod. The battle between Olive Chancellor and Basil Ransom for the soul of the very confused spiritualist speaker Verena Tarrant (Ah, those Jamesian names again!)is not only powerfully doen, but I think this book has much more humor in it than Portrait of a Lady does. (Although, this does not diminish either work in the least.) I could speak all day about this book, and given a chance I will. But I urge you to take a chance on it. I was Massachusetts born and raised..but out in the Western end of the state, and we tend to feel Bostonians sometimes think a bit too well of themselves. Apparently, over 100 years ago, things were the same. There is so much more to this book, read it, and realize that we, at the beginning of a new millenium, are hardly as progressive or as innovative as we like to think we are.

Of course, the greatest irony of this book comes not within its pages, but when you visit the grave of the James family. Henry James ashes were interred in the ground on the family plot, and now and forever, the family plot looks not upon the city of New York, or the expanses of Europe, but rather, Henry James, for all eternity, is facing th city of Boston. e

This book does a fine job of introducing popular audiences to the long-neglected and much maligned Army of the James. Like most of the Civil War works of Edward Longacre, it is fairly well written, entertaining at times, and heavily focused on prominent personalities (as opposed to the common soldier). Throughout most of the book, readers are treated to a fascinating running narrative on the life of Benjamin Butler, the controversial political general who was the guiding spirit of the Army of the James for much of its existence. Indeed, there is almost as much attention devoted to Butler and his political ambitions as to the tens of thousands of soldiers who fought with the Army of the James.

Overall, this book does a fine job of exploring the origins of the Army of the James, following its often discouraging path through the bold campaign leading up to the battle of Drewry's Bluff, the establishment of a foothold on Bermuda Hundred, and the long seige of Richmond and Petersburg that followed. In this respect, a number of battles and skirmishes that have usually been passed over by other historians are given much-deserved attention. Throughout, the author admirably maintains his sole focus on the Army of the James, even after it was largely absorbed into Grant's forces after mid-June 1864. He also follows the fortunes of those units that were on detached service, such as Kautz's cavalry division and two divisions of the X Corps that were sent to capture Fort Fisher in early 1865.

Longacre devotes a modest amount of attention to the somewhat unique make up of this army. It always had a strong component of African-American soldiers in its ranks, and also is notable for being led by a majority of civilian volunteer officers. This led to tensions and dissentions at the highest levels, particularly with career officers like William "Baldy" Smith vying for leadership.

Missing from the book are the finely detailed accounts of the battles fought by the Army of the James. At most, Longacre provides the reader with an overview of these battles, tracing the movement of divisions and brigades, but only providing quick summaries of combat and casualties. In this author's opinion, the book suffers at many points from a lack of decent maps to better illustrate unit movements and battles. Those seeking a more detailed understanding of battles will have to turn elsewhere. For example, Robertson's excellent study of Drewry's Bluff titled BACKDOOR TO RICHMOND.

While it is true that the Army of the James was created in the Spring of 1864, this reader would have appreciated more information about the experiences of the various units and generals that joined the Army of the James prior to this year.

In the end, the reader may have mixed feelings about Longacre's sympathetic treatment of Butler. History has not been kind to this personality, and maybe for good reason. There is little doubt, however, that one will come to better appreciate the vital contributions and many sacrifices offered by the men who served in the Army of the James in the last year and a half of the Civil War.

Flannery takes a myriad of information and transforms it into an incredibly interesting work. I have only once before been so drawn in by a book of such histrionic magnitude. The subject itself needs no attraction; however, Flannery keeps the eyes wide open from page to page, chapter to chapter. I highly recommend this book to anyone having an interest in W.B. Yeats or theatre itself. It tells an interesting tale of much of Irish--as well as English and French--drama, poetry, and its' theatres.

I found the diagnostic (on disk) as well as the text of the book very useful in exploring careers in business. Clearly it deals with only part of what you need to know about yourself to chart your career - your interests. But you ignore these at great peril to your happiness and your success, so it is a great place to start. Jump in and do the diagnostic, otherwise you may be deterred getting started. Much of the latter part of the book was very well written. The early chapters are a bit slow.

Perhaps the person who gave this book one star is not really among the intended audience. The insights are based on a high-achieving and high-profile group: business executives and students that the authors have encountered at Harvard Business School. This sample is not your typical slice of the population, which is what makes their analysis so good. They have analyzed this very high-achieving and intelligent group to find out what motivates them and what interests them. If you find yourself at a crossroads in your career, questioning how you got where you are or why you do what you do, the tools for self-analysis provided here may be very useful.

While there was some redundancy, I have found this to be typical of books of this type in which not all sections are applicable to every reader. It is also not really appropriate to read it through beginning to end in the manner of a novel; if you do, you'll be reading a lot of variations of the same themes. Focus on the parts that are relevent based on the included profiling tool and your own self understanding. It was helpful to me in recognizing career paths I may not have considered, and also in affirming strategies for success that I had formulated on my own but not tested. If you want to avoid simply falling into a career that may or may not be what you want, this book can help you better consider what will make you happy and what your real goals are, without too simplistic an approach.

I read this books three years ago, and it still is the basis for how I approach not only my career but every single project I get on as a consultant. This books focuses on self-diagnosis of one's skills as it relates to the business world (whether you are above/below average in the quants area, creative area, etc.) and essentially reveals what your core strengths are vis-a-vis the universe of other business-people (over 5,000 or so high achieving MBAs and executives). I have since focused on taking on work that capitalizes on these core strengths and the results have been amazing. It's like reviewing a diet program three years after you experienced it -- if I still think it is great, there must be a reason. Buy the book. It may be the only one you need.

Was there any American more European than Henry James? "The Ambassadors" begins in England and takes place mostly in Paris, and even though most of its characters are American, it is only referentially concerned with its author's native country. At the same time, the novel is not about Americans frivolously sowing their wild oats in exotic ancestral lands, but rather how they use their new settings to break away from restrictive American traditions and conventions and redefine their values and standards of living.

The main character is a late-middle-aged widower named Lambert Strether who edits a local periodical in the town of Woollett, Massachussetts, and is a sort of factotum for a wealthy industrialist's widow named Mrs. Newsome, a woman he may possibly marry. Strether's latest assignment from Mrs. Newsome is to go to Paris to convince her son, Chad, to give up what she assumes is a hedonistic lifestyle and return to Woollett to marry a proper, respectable young lady, his brother-in-law's sister to be specific. There is a greater ulterior motive, too -- the prosperity of the family business relies on Chad's presence.

In Paris, Strether finds that Chad has surrounded himself with a more stimulating group of friends, including a mousy aspiring painter named John Little Bilham, and that he is in love with an older, married woman named Madame de Vionnet. Providing companionship and counsel to Strether in Paris are his old friend, a retired businessman named Waymarsh, and a woman he met in England, named Maria Gostrey, who happens to be an old schoolmate of the Madame's. When it appears that Strether is failing in his mission to influence Chad, Mrs. Newsome dispatches her daughter and son-in-law, Jim and Sarah (Newsome) Pocock, and Jim's marriageable sister Mamie, to Paris to apply pressure. Ultimately, Strether, realizing that he's blown his chances with Mrs. Newsome and that Chad has the right idea anyway, finds himself enjoying the carefree life in Paris, which has liberated him from his lonely, stifling existence in Woollett.

Not having cared much for James's previous work "The Wings of the Dove," I felt something click with "The Ambassadors." Maybe it's because I found the story a little more absorbing and could empathize with Strether; maybe it's because my reading skills are maturing and I'm learning to appreciate James's dense, oblique prose style. I realize now that, for all the inherent difficulty in his writing, literature took a giant step forward with Henry James; if the Novel is, as he claimed, "the most independent, most elastic, most prodigious of literary forms," it takes a writer like James to show us how.

This is a novel about a man named Strether, who is as obviously an alter ego of Henry James as Ralph Touchett is of Mr. James in Portrait of A Lady or, to jump continents and switch authors, the main character in Remembrance of Things Past is of Proust. Strether is in Paris to retrieve his (hopefully?) future son-in-law Chad from the wiles of the City of Light and return him to New England so that Strether can marry, settle down and pass his waning years in Puritan New England (New England was still Puritan at the time.). At least, that's the plan. But once Strether arrives, something happens to him, and that mysterious something is what makes this work great. One could easily sum it up and say that Strether becomes enraptured by beauty, and one would be quite right. But to do so would be to miss the point....What is beauty? This is the question the novel essentially asks, all plotting and sub-plotting (and plenty of it) aside. Strether's paralysis because of his inability to grasp what is holding him there and why he becomes one of the greatest procrastinators in English literature (not excepting a certain Danish prince) is the great theme around which all else revolves. Strether is essentially a sensitive, cultured man with hyper-refined sensibilities. Alighting in Paris from the drab New England factory town awakens things in him that can only be perceived through the mind's eye of such a man. He is a sort of Geiger counter which registers things missed by others not so equipped (i.e., the rest of the characters.) "Strether had not for years so rich a consciousness of time-a bag of gold into which he constantly dipped for a handful." Ch.6 The beginning of Ch. 16 has a beautifully succinct line of his predicament, "How could he wish it to be lucid for others, for any one, that he, for the hour, saw reasons enough in the mere way the bright, clean, ordered water-side life came in at the open window?" Reasons, that is, to stay in beloved Paris. The denouement of the struggle between this sensibility and his deeply engrained New England morality becomes really beside the point. All the tergiversations and multiple reflections and subtle dialogue that convey the consciousness of a great soul constitute the book's undisputed prominence. I came away from the novel asking myself anew the question raised by Plato and other great philosophers and artists throughout history: What is beauty? What is the mysterious hold it has on us? And why do those who feel its power most acutely, such as Strether, suffer the most?

The prose is certainly difficult, but the extra attention it requires from the reader yields benefits: the slightest nuance in the narrative registers. And, as in all late James, these subtle hints and nuances are of the essence.

I was rather surprised as to how funny it often was. But, as with many great comedies - "Twelfth Night", "Don Quixote" - there is a profound sadness under the surface. There is a passage near the beginning where Strether looks back on the disappointments of his life, and, in particular, his failure to communicate with or understand his son, who is now dead. This passage affected me so deeply, that I had to read it a few times before progressing with the rest of the novel.

Strether becomes increasingly aware that life has passed him by, and that in the course of it all, he has missed something: but what it is he has missed he can not specify. He urges the young people around him to live, but his instructions on how to do so are necessarily vague. Eventually, he has to to reject the narrow puritanical code which has fettered his life, but remains to the end a quixotic figure, clinging on to his moral integrity even when all around him appear to lose theirs. The closing episodes of this novel are as moving as anything I have read.

Butler's stodgily paced and, at times, slow moving novel is perhaps less compelling now that it once was; yet still presents an interesting picture of the paradoxes and hypocrises of Victorian society. Butler does not, as once reviewer claims, employ the "straw man" to defame Christianity. What the author does (and sadly that reviewer seems to have missed it) is demonstrate Christianity's place in justifying elite conceptions of their own purity and morality. Ernest Pontifex's quasi-puritan parents believe themselves to be the very picture of piety - when in actuality they are emotionally cruel and questionably Christian-like towards their own kin. Really, these characters, who are so imbued by their own sense of righteousness to ably examine their own lives, are a metaphor for all of Victorian society. Perhaps this metaphoric critique, no doubt very biting in its time, has lost its edge in a time of less subtle criticism. Still, worth the time to read if you're interested in the changes in both English society (and self-image) and modern literature at the turn of the century. Usually classified as a "modern" novel, it more aptly lies somewhere in between.

The Way of All Flesh covers six generations of strife in the Pontifex family, and spans a period from 1750 to 1880. However, the bulk of the story concerns the life of Ernest Pontifex, from about age 5 up to age 28, and describes his unsatisfactory relations with his parents, his school, his church, his wife, and his friends. Sometimes we feel sorry for Ernest, because many of his problems are caused by unbelievably cruel or thoughtless people, and sometimes we're furious with him, because he himself is the author of at least half of his troubles, but either way his misfortunes make him stronger and move him steadily along the path to maturity. Throughout, the book remains an easy read, although the writing is very witty and often rewards close examination.

Even today, 100 years after the book's publication, a reader finds many things to identify with. Anyone who felt unjustly treated by his or her parents or teachers will find much to sympathize with here. Anyone who has wrestled with the conflict between Reason and Faith will find much to think about here. Given how much change the last century has seen, it's surprising how many of the issues still seem fresh and relevant, and the book definitely makes you think about them. It is easy to see how many people have described reading The Way of All Flesh as a turning point in their lives.

A point worth keeping in mind: the characters are all described from Ernest's point of view. Several clues tell us that Ernest exaggerates the cruelty of various characters - some of whom seem evil beyond belief, and I think it's quite clear that, at these points, we're supposed to smile at Ernest - not shake our heads at the author. This is most obvious with Ernest's schoolmaster, Dr. Skinner, whom Ernest consistently sees as a pompous fool, but who we also know is very popular with the best students, and who shows other signs of being a much better man than Ernest believes him to be.

The footnotes in my edition (Penguin Classics 1986) are very skimpy, focusing on comparing elements from Ernest's fictional life to Samuel Butler's real one. The failure of the notes to translate passages in French or Latin, or to explain very contemporary references, is inexcusable. (E.g. but for the recent controversy over his Beatification, we'd have no clue that "Pio Nono" was Pope Pius IX.) Hoggart's introduction (1966) is decent but a bit dated, not having weathered as well as the book itself!

It's a hoot to read the clipped, sullen dismissals of this book by readers from Topeka to Boston. They obviously hate Butler's novel, and for good reason: the mealymouthed, Christian, moneygrubbing Victorian family on which he spits with such accuracy moved west in the course of the twentieth century. It is now only rarely to be found in England; its true home is...Topeka...and Boston...and a thousand other American whited sepulchres. One reviewer whines that this is the "irrelevant" story of "an average middle-class man from an average middle-class family." What an interesting form of "irrelevance"!

In fact, the novel is brilliant and has endured surprisingly well. To see its relevance, all you need do is move its setting 3.000 miles to the West.

This module was definitely a waste of money. An obvious attempt to abuse Forgotten Realms players. This series and the Adventures with Volo series were a good example of why TSR was failing. Novice DMs could write a better adventure. I will say that the premise is an excellent idea (too bad they didn't put any work into it :(

The majority of the adventure details the overland trek to get to the tomb. Unfortunatly it is not well developed and I would have done better rolling encounters off a wandering monster table! Once you get into the tomb you get this wierd feeling. DID I PAY FOR THIS? WHERE IS THE ADVENTURE! The tomb turns out to be horribly short, and the ending leads into the next module badly. You can't roleplay a month of searching to no avail; players won't stand for that. So I had to tell them once they got back to Shadowdale that a month goes by and then they have this dream. Hmmmm...lame

But just wait if you play the next adventure it gets much much worse. Uhhhh :(

The Advedture was well presented and easy to follow. From a Dm's point of view the module is easy fit into most campaigns based in the Forgotten Realms. Players who have not had much/any experience, as well as seasoned players will find this module and it's companion modules challenging and fun.

This is truely the worst adventure I have had the misfortune of playing! This adventure(the second module in "The Sword of the Dales" trilogy) is just terrible! The whole series is designed badly; there is just no substance to the adventure. As I said about the first adventure the premise is good just not developed.

The module details the players journey towards the ruins of an old mage tower that they are drawn to by dreams that a spirit trapped in the sword is creating. Sounds intriguing right? Sorry the tower consists of about three rooms that didn't bring out a sparkle in my players' eyes! The final encounter is setup horribly and it is the foundation of the entire book. My players laughed when I implied that they might want to touch skulls sitting on coffins. Exact words "What, do you think we're stupid."

The adventure did have one bright spot, a forest gnome village and an NPC called Madarn. The village was well designed except I somewhat doubt that a village of gnomes even forest gnomes would survive in Spiderhaunt Woods.

If you have decided to play this adventure then you should play the last one "The Return of Randal Morn" it is a little better.

The secret of Spiderhaunt is the second in the sword of the dales trilogy. Its a shame that it is out of print, because its pretty fun. If you can, try to get a hold of all three in this trilogy, because it is a good start to a Forgotten realms campaighn to new and old players alike

This excellent starting module (levels 1-4) for the Forgotten Realms is quite rare... 1995 was when TSR was at the height of its financial troubles, and the print run was shamefully small. When Randal Morn delved into the Tomb of Shraevyn, seeking the dreaded Sword of the Dales, everyone feared that he would become the invincible ruler of Daggerdale. But, since he never returned, and the tomb is rumored to be filled with treasures and dark intrigue, it's perfectly natural that the PCs would want to follow in his footsteps! What they'll find, though, will horrify them, and either make them stronger, or give them good reason to roll those attribute dice again... ;)

This book was a BIG disappointment. I was seduced by a TV show that featured the author demonstrating her technique, but when I got the book in hand, I realized it's all bark and no bite.

First of all, EVERY OTHER PAGE is an illustration. (Low-quality, I might add.) So, you aren't buying a book with a lot of information, because all that space is wasted on cartoons. Second, Ms. Butler doesn't bring anything new to the table. She reiterates the standard of dog training: be kind and consistent. I agree with that, but in order to work, the actual training CANNOT be done in one hour. (If you believe that, I have some diet pills that will help you lose about 50 pounds in one weekend.)

Maybe some people will find this book useful, but I don't think it covers anything thoroughly. There are a lot of other dog-training manuals out there that leave this title in the dust.

Being a dog-lover, I looked forward to a solid training program to bond with my pet. Although the book contains some good information, it could easily fit in a 1 page magazine article. Please save your money.

My wife has had an affection for animals her whole life. After we got married, I learned that we were going to have a permanent resident which required a tremendous amount of care and attention. This was not something that I had expected or ever dreamed of. This so called beautiful, one-of-a-kind Irish Setter named Casey was not what I had expected during my courtship. Casey always required attention. So much attention that whenever anyone came to visit, she would jump on them immediately when they walked in the door, try to sit on their lap and if that didn't work, constantly nuzzle our guest's hand or leg til she was petted (just to mention one irritation of many). We were forever pulling her away when company came and locking her up afraid that her enthusiasm would turn into a scratch or bite on some unsuspecting relative! I knew something was wrong, but I couldn't make my wife realize this was excessive and had to stop. She began to see the light soon after the dog ate up our expensive furniture throughout our new condominium. This book has made a significant difference in my life and probably saved my marriage. Not only does the dog no longer chew up our possesions, but her behavior is totally socially acceptable in all environments including with children and even with different types of animals. Oh yes, I've saved a fortune on shoes and socks too! I have never reviewed a book before but can endorse this book without reservation, Ms Butler should receive a commendation from our condiminium association for helping us to keep Casey from destroying our whole building! This book works!!