It is quite evident in this latest addition to Palmer's stable of victorian mystery novels that the author enjoys an intimate knowledge of 19th century England in general and Oxford University specifically. Had I not read his Bio I would have believed that William Palmer was a "public school" boy raised in the UK. While somewhat less "bawdy" than his earlier contributions, Palmer nonetheless succeeds in incorporating the Dodgson character in to his standard Dickens/Collins partnership, and in the process delights us with even more details surrounding the "Sherlock Holmes type" of Opium prevalence during the period. All in all, this Christmas release is yet another credit to the numerous kudos earned by Palmer with previous books.

Very amusing. The Dons mentioned in the title, except for one now known MUCH better by his nom de plume, are appropriately corrupt/ineffectual, so gentle reader can safely trust that William J. Palmer has indeed been professing for many years, somehere, per the bio. Inspector Field is his usual gruff efficient sage self & the watch of Wilkie Collins, Cub Novelist, disappears promptly. An apprentice detective named Morse appears. One may predict that he will master his work, someday, plus enjoy his beer, ruefully, all around Oxford. Ellen Ternan, light of the life of late great Dickens, begins to materialize, participating as a character actress playing a lovely Irish barmaid snitch. Will she be ravished? Mr. Dickens is not sure he likes this role, much, but controls his inimitable self, barely. Petty deduction for gratuitous allusion, in French, but a good, even explosive, read.

In 1853 London, Metropolitan Protective Inspector William Field asks Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins to identify the corpse of a white man found in a nearby opium den. The tie that the victim wears tells Wilkie that the dead man is a member of Oxford. Another associate of the two writers, Charles Dodgson recognizes the deceased as a history don at Oxford.

At the urging of Inspector Field, the three associates decide to investigate the murder of the don. Although they have worked previous cases, Dickens, Wilkie, and Dodgson remain writers/wannabe authors playing amateur sleuths. Their actions soon place their very lives and that of Dickens' mistress in danger from an unknown assailant.

The fourth Dickens-Collins Victorian mystery is a clever who-done-it, populated by literary references and their associated footnotes. The story line is fun although the use of Victorian era dialect makes one wonder if Dickens is heading in the direction of Chaucer and Shakespeare, difficult to read without a translator. The plot belongs to the trio of writers as the audience sees a glimpse of them beyond the classroom and outside their novels.

Harriet Klausner

This books is by far the most interesting and detailed biography of the West's most prolific stagecoach bandit. Three nonfiction books about Black Bart, including this one, were published in the 1990s; I've read them all. Collins and Levene put the most effort into researching Charles Boles' life, the men and circumstances involving his capture, conviction, and sentencing, and details of the times. They also try to get inside Boles' head in an effort to explain this obviously intelligent and courageous, but morally flawed, man. However, there are some obvious errors, most notable to me -- geography of Calaveras County, of which I am a resident. At one point the name of a minor character is spelled differently in two adjoining paragraphs. There are enough of these minor errors to cause me to question the accuracy of details that are not found in, or conflict with, other studies of Black Bart.

This is a well researched book. It reads very well. This is not your typical dry history book! I was lucky enough to meet one of the authors (Bill Collins) who was just as fascinating as his book!

Dr. Joe Palmer was one of my English professors at Purdue University. This novel (and the two "sequels") display the same enthusiasm and love of the Victorian era he brought to the classroom. These books provide interesting historical and biographical details, but are by no means too high-brow or scholarly for mystery fans. If you like Anne Perry, you must read Joe Palmer.

William J. Palmer's literary mystery stretches the form without crossing the line. Charles Dickens tackles impressively (readers with ancient leg injuries which occasionally act up may wish to avert their eyes) & swims fairly well under pressure. Wilkie Collins conquers a potentially disastrous case of priggishness & may be making serious advances against chronic foppery. Inspector William Field, Irish Meg Sheehey, & the extravagantly gifted Talley Ho Thompson, some sort of grinning dervish genius pickpocket Robin Hood, but watch your watch, all come to life easily & naturally, unburdened by heavy novelistic responsibilities. Ellen Ternan is only awfully pretty so far, but may turn interesting as she ages up nearer to legal. Read the next one, if you can procure a copy anywhere (Amazon seems out), & there may be a third. Palmer can write, & knows how to drop an occasional pearl of wisdom lightly, without needlessly infuriating his patrons. There is a single profoundly unfortunate multi-layer allusion & one short example of illicit typography, but these petty faults are easily overbalanced by genuinely sane handling of the early death of Dickens' daughter Dora plus the best Victorian wenchfight I have ever read. A bonafide romp. This fun is serious. Buy it.

This book offers a very good referance when used together with a text book on chemistry. I used it with "Chemistry the easy way". It explains in more detail all the facts that textbooks seem to cover much to quickly. I highly reccommend it for anyone studying chemistry individually, or in school.

This is a good book filled with lots of basic information. If you are new to corrections, or are just learning about the subject area, then this is a good starting point. More advanced readers, such as those with extensive legal experience, will want a book with more punch. But as an introductory book this is a good one. I require it in my Correctional Law class.

This book gives an interesting and factual account of the life of Daniel Boone and his adventures in the wilderness. The information in this book is written in a way thats easy to understand. It keeps you interested all the way through. You will learn about the many close encounters Boone has with death. This book also tells about Boone's life with the Indians in captivity. Their are many pictures in this book that help to give you a better picture of what is going on. The book begins by describing Boone's parents and early life. Here I learned many things I didn't know about Boone. Then the book tells of Boone's life after his marraige to Rebecca Bryan, and their settlement in Kentucky. It is here that you will read about Boone's expeditions with his fellow settlers and their deadly encounters with the Indians. One interesting story the book tells is how Boone rescues two of his daughters from Indian captivity. The book then tells of Boone's life after he moves away from Kentucky. Finally it tells of his tragic death from acute indigestion caused by eating too many sweat potatoes. Their are so many interesting things you will read about in this book. For example, it tells of Boone's son and his friend being skinned alive slowly by Indians. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading about US explorers, or adventures in the forests. It is also a great book for book reports and projects because it has excellent pictures and key facts. In the back of the book their is even a timeline summarizing Boone's life. Anyone interested should definitely read this book!

Here's a grim little tale set in the World of Greyhawk - you may have always thought of gargoyles as sinister, deadly adversaries, but what do you do when one stalks you, wakes you, and begs you help him recover his stolen wings? This is one of my all-time favorite adventures to entice novices into the game - a wonderful story for levels 1-4.

I have made four trips to Australia using various versions of this guide. You have to remember that it started off as a backpacker's/ alternative travel guide and has kept the strengths (in depth coverage of offthe beaten track areas) as well as the weaknesses (concentrates on low end travellers) of that approach. It needs to be not just revised and updated but also completely rewritten from scratch. The book is also geared to the traveller who is already in Australia. For example, it is extremely sparing in giving out email addresses and, after all these editions, still does not give the Australian postcodes for places. In its attempt to cover the entire country, it has also gotten very bulky and inconvenient.

I like Lonely Planet and its guides, but I think that it is time for them to either abandon or change the focus of this country-wide guide. In the meantime, I am relying on their series of Australian State guides for my next trip.

CHECKED IN THE STAFF WERE AMAZING VERY HELPFULL POLITE AND READY TO SERVE YOU AND FULL OF HELPFULL KNOWLEDGE ON ALL THE LOCAL TOURS IN THE AREA AS WELL AS OTHER TOURS IN AUSTRALIA CLEAN AND VERY AFFORDABLE GAMES ROOM TV/CABLE SWIMMING POOL THE BEST THING ABOUT THE HOSTEL IS THAT IT WAS ONLY FIVE MINSTO THE CITY AND THEY GAVE YOU A FREE MEAL EVERY NIGHT AT A RESTURANT COME NIGHT CLUB VERY GOOD PLACE GO AND HAVE A LOOK OR JUST PHONE THEM ON (07)40410249 FROM TWO HAPPY POMMS BACKPACKING AROUND THE WORLD MY RATING FOR THE PLACE IS 5 STARS

Because Australia is so big.. and there is just so much to see no single book can possibly cover the whole country. That's why lonely planet has published so many titles pertaining to this country.

I think the intention of this book is to give insight into what is available where... then select the relevant lonely planet guide for the area that most interests you.

A lot of people don't know what is where in Aus, as an outline to learn... I think this book serves anyone very very well.

It's much cheaper to buy this book.. and choose where you want to find out more about... than buying the complete series of lonely planet guides in the Australia range.

The title is something of a misnomer because only six countries are presented (Germany, France, Italy, UK, Spain and The Netherlands. Europe is after all slightly bigger. The section on Germany is split in two, East and West, which is not bad, but the information on the former East Germany is by now pretty much out of date. The book is easily read and contains useful information but a little too much of the old stereotyping.

This is a rather dense book and spents more time on Linked Lists than any other Data Structures in Java books I have seen on the market.