A valuable reference tool for Sunday School teachers or any student of the intertwined political and religious events in first century Palestine. The book spans the period beginning with Herod the Great and ending with the destruction of the Jewish nation by the Romans. It is facinating to see how Herod changes loyalties among wives, benefactors, and potential succesors as often as he changes sandals. Connolly also gives us much detail about the rulers who followed Herod. This book is written from a secular perspective, but students of the Bible will gain insights into the political events surrounding the lives of Jesus and his followers. One can find heavenly humor in the irony that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, within sight of of a mountaintop fortress Herod built only a few miles to the South. Those interested in the history, geography, and topography of this period will not be disappointed. I purchased my first copy in Jerusalem to help me locate ancient places within the modern setting. Connolly's descriptions of seiges at Jerusalem and Masada give a clear picture of weapons and tactics of a Roman army. The illustrations are very detailed and a few are a bit gory. The vocabulary, complexity of sentences and assumed level of knowledge make this book more suited to adult readers. I've given several to fellow teachers. A 9 - 12 year-old might enjoy the pictures, but very few will comprehend all the nuances.

How I wish this book or ones like it were available to me as a textbook when I was in school. It certainly kept my interest piqued and explained it simply to the average reader not only through the verbage but with helpful informative illustrations.
I hope not only the Sunday school teachers mentioned in the aforementioned review before mine, but teachers in the school system consider this book a supplement to their textbooks. Use it for enrichment, folks!
I find it most beneficial to picture the scenario in my mind and here it was all spelled out and illustrated right before my very eyes. I cannot say enough about this book! I am sure if those students who dislike or did not understand history had more books available in this manner, there would be less students who "did not understand" the history lesson.
I am a librarian and I purchased it for the library in which I am employed. We received it afew days ago. What a worthwhile investment!!!
I could go "on and on" as I finished the book less than fifteen minutes ago. I could not put it down. Peruse a copy, yourself, and you will be glad that you did!

I read Tarot professionally and have studied it for 32 years. I also collect decks and have over 200 different ones...so far. While I do not use this deck, it is one that stands out in my mind and I like it quite a lot. The bright sunset colors the artist used and the subtle black outlines of the pictures lend a stained glass look to the cards. There is a lot of turquoise, purple, magenta, and bright pink in these cards that one doesn't often see in the more common or popular decks. I go back and forth in my mind trying to decide if it is cloying or a fantasy touch of innovation. Some of the characters have a Botticelli look to them. Most of the men have long hair and a medieval look, but inexplicably the Emperor seems to have just come from the barber. There are far too many cherubs on these cards to suit my taste and they don't seem to have much rhyme or reason to them, just popping in there where you don't expect them, like leaning over the scaffold on the Hanged Man card, sticking up out of the goblet on the Ace of Cups, or four of the chubby little rascals flying around the solar disk on The Sun card, but I'm sure others will enjoy them. The illustrations are for the most part quite striking and always positive. The pips are all illustrated as well as the major arcana. There is a Judeo-Christian thread of symbolism but it is not overwhelming. The more traditional Death and Devil cards have been changed into Transition and Materialism, respectively. The Fool, dressed in magenta and pink stands at a purple crossroad with a tuquoise sea and white chalk cliffs in the distance with a Spuds MacKenzie look-alike at his feet, the symbol being changed it seems from the more traditional carefree naivte to cautious contemplation of the road not taken, but still the artwork is GOOD and all of the cards are engaging. I really love the suit of Wands which features oak staves complete with green oak leaves and sometimes acorns. The artist and the designer have given refreshingly new viewpoints while also maintaining imagery that will be familiar to those experienced with Tarot. The very fact of the different imagery encourages study and meditation. All in all this is a most worthy deck.

Totally different from the original Rider-Waite. The color picutre has bring you to the more spirtual. Enjoy! I would recommand to use the Connolly Tarot Deck to bring your journey.

I've been reading Tarot for over 30 years and since the early 90's I have insisted that all of my students use this deck. The illustrations are richly detailed without being "noisy". The colors give strong vibrational input and the images are not so overly "styled" as to be useless. I know some Pagans will hesitate because of some of the Christian images, but within the context of a primarily Judeo-Christian culture, I find them useful and descriptive of most of the "seeking" public. The fact that the "Devil" is now "Materialism", and "Death" is "Transformation", makes them particularly useful in reading for the public. I've seen clients nearly faint at the sight of either card and it can be nearly impossible to convince some of them that they aren't doomed or cursed. Overall, I find this the most useable deck for teaching and reading.

I bought this book because I have the beautiful Connolly Tarot deck and I wanted a book with corresponding pictures and symbolism. It does indeed have pictures of the Connolly deck, and the descriptions provided for the minor arcana are great. There is indeed more information here on advanced readings than most people will need. HOWEVER, it does NOT include ANY details on the major arcana or any of the court cards. Apparently you are already supposed to know those, or it's assumed you already have the other Connolly books. This is probably an excellent book for the true Master, but it's not practical for day-to-day readings for the rest of us.

On my shelves I have at least ten different books that give me all the basics for reading the Tarot. The basic spreads, the basic meanings of the majors and minors. However, they go no further. Ms. Connolly has gone further, rather than yet another book for beginners, she has created a book that goes beyond that, letting those who have learned the basics take them that next step.

I use the Connolly Master book as a main reference in deliniating my tarot spreads. The Malkuthian Key are opening the souls Karmic path. It is truly the most informative book I own on Tarot. Verification cards are no longer a mystery and using the Chronicles opens up all the allotted Verification cards. Wow it will blow you away. I have just recently started a tarot club dedicated Dr. Connollys work and we really enjoy using this book as reference in our trade. Elizabeth Summer.

Connoly's book is a good read that is quick and filled with beautiful illustrations. Details are wonderful, you feel like you are there when you read it. This book guarantees that I will collect the rest in the series.

Michael Huye

Peter Connolloy has again produced a book useful to those engaged in teaching and learning about Roman history. The illustrations are, as usual, both striking and historically accurate.

First and foremost, this isn't scholarly work, an academic won't find anything new here (apart from the fantastic illustrations professor connolly usually give us). He reconstructs(with a good degree of imagination) the life of a legionary in the Dacian campaign...the illustrations even depict the dreaded Dacian Falx (a sort of two handed scythe/sword, famous for severing limbs) and the added roman protections for the right arm and greaves for the legs (like in the Adamklissi monument) that they used in this campaign, he also paint legionaries wearing several kinds of armor, not just the lorica segmentata (as it is usually known today). This little volume have a second part named "the cavalryman".

Anyone who's looking for an introduction or great art on the subject of the roman army should buy this book, it's perfect for what it was made for...but remember this isn't a scholarly work.

Once again a wonderful litte booklet in addition to Connolly's "The Cavalryman" concerning the life of a soldier in the legions during the time of Trajan. Vividly illustrated in great (and accurate) detail based on archeological finds this book would be enjoyable just for the drawings, but in fact its the story of the life of Tiberius Maximus which draws the attention taken from his gravestone depicting his accomplishments and service in the Roman army. The only complaint that comes to mind is the shortness of the book which could have been very good indeed if it had been fleshed out somehwat.

From Abd al-Rahman III to zygian, this book is a wonderful resource of people and terms regarding ancient and medieval warfare up through the 1500's. It lists battles and wars, heroes, great commanders as well as ordinary fighting men. Some of the more important subjects are detailed in longer, separately boxed articles. The only reason I didn't give it a 5 star rating is due to its lack of illustrations. Otherwise, a great book.

Set in the 1930's in the south of France. An obnoxious, conventional, and relatively wealthy, young Englishman encounters a group of unconventional cosmopolitan artists and bohemians. He disapproves of them at first and then becomes seduced by their life-style. They take his his money and leave him. He degenerates into alcoholism.
It's a mildly entertaining amateurish attempt to imitate early Aldous Huxley, Evelyn Waugh and Norman Douglas. The shadow of Hitler looms. Some of the writing is so clumsy that I wondered if my copy (a Persea 1981 reprint) had proofreader's (really non-proofreader's) errors. For example: "The principle of polite society, that unknown here; people appeared to grudge one of causing pleasure and avoiding pain, seemed second's agreeable intercourse and atone for it with unremitting rudeness." Does that make any sense? I wondered about "mentula moechia." Is there such a Latin word as "mentula?"
The strange thing is that the author was regarded as one of the great literary figures of the century. Why? This was his only novel. His other books were a book telling people how to write books and a book of literary criticism.
Another puzzle is that Cyril Connolly claimed it was rejected for publication because it was considered obscene. People go to bed with people they're not married to, but no details are given of what they do. There isn't a single naughty word. It's implied that some characters are homosexual.
I'm not saying I didn't enjoy it. It has some interesting insights and well-written parts, but why is Connolly considered so great?

Deadlock: The Inside Story of America's Closest Election is a workmanlike and emotionless recollection of the events surrounding the most controversial election of the past 100 years. It is a well organized, easy to follow and not visibly biased view of the relevant events leading up to and following the November 7 Presidential election. Seemingly accurate and double checked to a fault, reading this book left me with the impression that I had just read an excellent 275 page newspaper article and not much more. With almost no humor, lacking any sidebar comments, it is a book Joe Friday would be proud to call his own. While I am a Texan and Bush supporter, I much preferred Jake Tapper's Down & Dirty: The Plot to Steal the Presidency. I guess this means that like most people, when push comes to shove, I'd rather be entertained than informed. I do regret this intellectual weakness and like some of the votes in Florida I may change. But probably not in the next 36 days.

Two things struck me while reading this book, the first is that I doubt there is a book out there that is truly balanced and not somewhat biased. The second thing was that Gore really got the shaft, not so much by the recount wars, but by the election official that came up with the Butterfly Ballot. In the history of the USA this decision ranks up there with new Coke and the XFL, what a mistake. As far as the reporting in the book it was not bad for a review of all the articles they had in the paper, but it did not really dig into the particular issues very deeply. I wanted more detail and behind the scenes with both the candidates. I also wanted more details on the court cases; I felt like the sky-high overview of the issues of the cases did not do such an important issue justice.

In reading the book I think a little bit of a democratic bias comes out, just a little, but enough to notice. I also thought it interesting that they had far more details of the Gore group then the Bush camp, it follows the perception that the Post is somewhat liberal in its views. The book is an overview that came out almost 10 minutes after Gore hung up the phone on the second concession call so there are a few more details out now that they did not get in the book. Overall it is a good effort and a readable book, but not the end all be all on the subject.

I personally think the Washington Post and NY Times are liberal rags that are generally not worth the paper they are printed on. However, in fairness, when they do well I think they should be commended. I read the NY Times "36 Days" and still think that book was not worth the paper it was printed on. It was nothing more than a reprint of their articles.

Conversely, though, Deadlock was a well-written book. Two passages are worth noting. The first is about the book itself. About one-third of the way into the first chapter the book says: "These are the ... decisions, alliances, power plays, snap judgments and personality flaws revealed when a flukishly close election is played out for staggering high stakes. Both sides were nimble and brilliant and occasionally shady; both sides were also capable of miscalculations, divisions and blame. The best and worst of politics were on displayed in those 36 days, and both sides trafficked in each. This is how it happened." Although the Post endorsed Al Gore (no surprise) they tried to be equal in their appraisal of how the two campaigns sought resolution in their favor.

As for the two sides' strategy one only has to look within the first three pages of Chapter 2 where the Post records that the Democrats enlisted the services of three authors who wrote "The Recount Primer". The book reads: "Anyone who read and heeded the booklet could predict how the two sides would play America's closest president election -- at least in the broad outlines. Gore would gamble; Bush would stall. Gore would preach a doctrine of uncounted ballots; Bush would extol the dependability of machines. Gore needed more: more counting, more examination, more weighing and pondering of more ballots. Bush needed it over while he was still ahead." The only trouble for the Gore forces with this gospel was that the Republicans knew the same gospel. The book attempted to show how the two sides played out the roles assigned them.

For a behind the scenes objective look at the two sides, I think the Post did a very decent job. This could have been a... job on the Republicans and conservatives, but generally it was not (though I expected it). It could have been a... job on the Democrats and liberals, but it was not (nor did I expect it). I am not accustomed to this degree of fairness from the liberal Washington Post nor do I expect to see it very often in the future.

Many, many thanks to the reviewer from Dublin. For future ex-pats from US (and other countries), does anyone have any recommendations?

This book would be valuable for someone moving from the U.K. to Ireland, especially if he/she is retiring and has money to invest. It provides facts and advice that I believe to be accurate in that context. The information is much less useful for those moving from other countries. There is a presumption that one understands U.K. culture and law, and only needs to have Irish differences pointed out. The bias toward England is not obvious from the promotional material. Potential expats from the U.S. etc should look elsewhere.