This ranks as one of the funniest books ever written, while being at the same time a social history of Malaysia, or Malaya as it was known under British Rule. The first book of the trilogy deals with the last days of British colonialism (hence the title "The Long Day Wanes") through the misadventures of a remittance man named Nabby Adams, a civil servant, his wife, household staff, and local government characters. The second novel follows the civil servant and his failing marriage through the guerilla years in the struggling nation, and the third is The Coming of the Americans. These three events have been a sort of template for late 20th century global affairs. It's a tight trilogy that reflects historical and social changes through its characters in the satirical literary slapstick characteristic of Burgess at his best. If you've never read Burgess, this is the place to start. It will bring you an appreciation of "where he's coming from," literally: it is based upon his experiences as a British Civil Servant in the waning days of the Empire (upon which the sun set 30 June 1997 with the cession of Hong Kong to Red China). This review was originally published in June 1997 and with some site changes, my name got lost and Amazon was unable to transfer the review with my name attached, so this is a reprint of that earlier one.

One thing I have always admired about Anthony Burgess's novels is the compassion that he quietly conveys for his characters. They are all flawed: imperfect archetypes, reluctant saviours, apologetic swearers, gin mixed in with the orange crush. And we recognize ourselves in them all for this essential humanity, their endless struggle or acquiescence, for or against their unlikely fates. Burgess's humour is rueful and sharp: wistful disappointment and calm despair are the backdrop for his characters' heroic protests or desperate affairs.

He also writes with a playfulness and intelligence that shines through every page. Typically, his debt to Joyce and Shakespeare often wanders through his pages like a passing shade.

The Long Day Wanes shows much of Burgess at his best. Its setting in Malaya is a world apart: inner struggles against human desires, social forces against cultural divides. While writing of a world that fast disappears, he tells us a story old as the Malayan jungle.

I found this an absorbing, literary read, and like the other reviewers I first read this while living out East (in the 90s - Hong Kong & S'pore). I am amazed on re-reading it how many of the actions and attitudes of the characters - British, Malay, Indian, Chinese, American - along with so many of the secondary details, were still relevant and recognizable among Easterners and Western expats of today. The main story makes fine reading, too. In fine language, Anthony Burgess (who was a colonial civil servant in Malaya and spoke Malay) describes the last few years of British rule and the troubled handover to independance. There is a lot of enjoyable detail about life in the Malay peninsula at the time - many good scenes and vignettes, but what comes across clearly by the end is the uneasiness and ambiguity felt by Burgess about the future of independant Malaya and Singapore - he is worried about the hatred of the various ethnic communities for each other and the slim hold of British law, also the lack of interest among educated locals (besides the ones with marketable skills and talents who emigrated to new lives and identities in the First World) for anything other than technological development. Many of these concerns have sadly been born out - the split between Malaysia and Singapore, the second class status of the Malays in S'pore, of the Chinese in Malaysia, of the Indians in both places, the soulessness of the modern nightlife of KL and S'pore. Law in Malaysia is today a farce - witnewess the treatment of the politician Anwar, once Prime Minister Mahathir's 2nd-in-command, put in the dock seemingly forever for what was known in Singapore as "the endless buggery trial"; and Singapore under Harry Lee Kuan Yew has an even worse legal system (read Christopher Lingle's account, *Singapore's Authoritarin Capitalism*, or Francis Seow's, *A Dissident in Lee Kuan Yew's Prisons*). But this is a vivid, funny and moving novel above all - perhaps especially so if you have any connection with that part of the world, but of course it works brilliantly also if you're just looking for a good, cracking read. The thing I remember thinking after reading this was how sad it is that so many talented Malaysians and Singaporeans emigrate to other countries to get away from the sad realities at home. Burgess forsaw some of this, as well as much more. This is a classic about Malaya/Singapore the same way Paul Theroux's *Kowloon Tong* so accurately describes Hong Kong at the end (for which it was given the honor of being banned by China). Time for a Tiger!

I found this book full of information without drowning it's readers in useless jargon. Some of the content was covered only briefly, but with some hands on learning and this book, passing the test was a breaze!

I always start with reading a MCSE for dummies when I am preparing for an exam. This one is the best so far and after taking the exam I can say that this book is all you need.
I used other materials as well because there were some objectives that I did not have experience with.
I scored 790 and that was more than I expected.

As a Microsoft Instructor, I recommend this book to all of my students. It cuts through the fluff and crud that Microsoft usually tacks on to the courses and gets to the meat and potatoes of what Active Directory is all about. Several students have used this besides my class and have blown the test away. Check out the author's exam tips to save yourself some headaches.

Heard any of these lately:
"It's too late."
"I don't have time."
"It's her fault."
"I don't think it's worth it."
"I own it."
"I can't help myself."
Excuses, excuses, that somewhere along the way, we have used them. It is time that as men we stop making excuses and remove them from our vocabulary. It seems that when we are confronted with something we don't like or someone points out the real truth about us our response is an excuse, we don't accept the blame because we are men. But in reality because we are men we should accept the responsibility of our past, present and future actions.
Author Tony Evans says all the excuses in the world don't change the fact that God has given men certain responsibilities in the home, church, and community, and the only way they can fulfill them is to stop rationalizing and turn to God for what they need.
Nearly every excuse a man can utter about something he addresses each of them throughout the 18 chapters. Evans pretty much hits them all on the head with chapters on feeling worthless, allowing for immorality, clock-punching, playing the lone ranger, business as usual, etc.
In addition to being inclusive on the subject, Evans keeps the tone and vocabulary that have made him a popular speaker for Promise Keeper events and on a daily radio program broadcast worldwide from Dallas where he serves as senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship. He also speaks regularly at crusades, conventions, and Bible conferences around the globe. He doesn't care what race or nationality a man may be, what he cares about are the issues that affect every man.
In the middle of the book, he speaks of the life-changing purpose God had in mind when He commanded fathers to instruct their children. Evans believes in discipline for children ("Whom the Lord loveth, he skins alive" is the Evans rendering of Hebrews 12:6), and he recalls his own father's rigorous discipline. He credits his love for Jesus Christ today to being accountable as a youth to his father at home. He's not hanging out on the corner in Baltimore where he grew up.
Evans' knowledge of the Bible and his ability to relate points to Scripture in colorful language explain his great appeal as a speaker. He draws from the lives of Moses, Jonah, Nehemiah, Peter, David, and a host of other biblical men to make his points. Unlike a lot of preachers who expound on specific sins and then give a general altar call at the end, Evans gives just as much attention to helping men let God empower them so they can move forward and accomplish more than they ever imagined. He makes clear that he has a big vision because he believes in a "big God."
And after sharing this vision, he helps men develop one for their own lives. He urges all men to develop a Vision Statement for their home and family with five specific areas of responsibility: Spiritual, Recreational, Financial, Educational and Community. Not a bombastic know-it-all, Evans uses a lot of illustrations about himself and his family that make clear he practices what he preaches.
This book No More Excuses will apply to the men who attend this retreat. While this retreat is a time for men to gather together it is also a time for us to stop making excuses and get on with the mission God has instilled in us all.

Portions of the review are from Jack Watkins who reviews books from his home in Baltimore, MD.

Tony Evans does a marvelous job of explaining to men the pitfalls that we face day in, day out. His writing is very down-to-earth, and he does a great job of making Scripture references come alive with his interpretations of Scripture in today's world. I highly recommend this as a book for men's group discussions. My accountability group has been using it for our discussions. This is a very easy read.

This book truly takes God's calling of spiritual leadership and integrity of manhood to the level that it needs to be! T.Evans gets a slow start but gets up to speed as stays there as he takes you "to the hoop" with biblical examples and practical applications of changing your life for God and your family. From dealing with the past and bad examples to lust and homosexuality, this book keep me wanting to read more that my men's group had scheduled for that week :-). If you are a man, you must read this book.

Rebecca Ramirez is having a slumber party. Her parents allow her only to invite eight guests. The next day she loses her party invitations and some more very important items for the party. Nancy, her friend, was willing to help her, along with Bess and George too. Some sneaky things go on before the party and during it.
Usually first books are not as good as the rest of a series, but this one seems to be very good. Actually it is the best one I read so far.

If your daughter likes chapter books and solving puzzles; then this is a great book for her. The characters come to life and have separate personalities. The stories are simple and fun. I finish one and my daughter immediately wants another book. If I get through all the ones I order online then she wants me to re-read them. They have about 8 chapters so I make it last a week with 2 chapters on the last night. I started my daughter out when she was 3, on the old Raggedy Ann and Andy chapter books which are in reprint now. She had a little bit of a hard time going from a book with all pictures to a book where you imagine most of it. The Nancy Drew stories were a little hard to get started on because her complaint was that the pictures (1 or 2 per chapter) are all black and white drawings. I told her that she can look at the cover to see the color picture. Once she heard the first chapter, she didn't care if it had pictures or not. She was hooked. You know I liked these books so well I just bought my daughter's school a set of 10 for their library. They are really good. If you want your child to start early on reading get them started on this series. I hope that one day my daughter will be reading them to me. :o) Enjoy!

If you like mysteries, you will like this book. It's adventerous, a little scary and fun as Nancy tries to figure out who stole the party invitations from Rebecca.

An excellent review of automatic weapons for the technically inclined. There is little or no operational history involved, but this book's detailed development histories of weapons and their ammunition is more comprehensive than anything I've seen since Johnson's books from the '40s. If you are into the details of automatic weapons and the ammunition they fire, you must have this book. If you are looking for operational military history of how these weapons were employed, this is not for you.

This book sets a standard that would be hard to beat. The author knows his subject and the production is superb. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the field covered, and to others as an example of how a book should be look.

This book is a very well written history of large caliber automatic weapons. It gives a good coverage of the mechanisms and characteristics of the weapons, but it's real importance to me is it's well illustrated gallery of the rounds used in the weapons, complete with specifications of the rounds and the weapon and country using them, something that is rare to find in other works.In a library of over 1000 volumes on weaponry, this is one of the most used references I have.

...i have to admit that i was somewhat frustrated with the book's ending. From the very beginning i was expecting Giardina to take Luca's frustrations to a higher level instead of just conveniently blaming all his sexual confusion on his parents. I thought it was really wishful thinking on Giardina's part to have written an ending so perfect and convenient with the two children being punched out to complete the 'awww...' factor. It was such a let down, contradicting the book's earlier, realistic portrayal of human emotions and life in general - The restraining of ones thoughts, the desire to fit in , the inability to address our fears and that nothing turns out the way we want it to. Nevertheless, I was glued to every page, especially the childhood years and i really took a liking to Lou and Bob's relationship. i thought it was really sweet. Anyway, as much as the ending may have been disappointing, I would definitely recommend the book.

The issues of sexual identity are paramount in this quiet, subtle and gorgeously written novel from the master storyteller Anthony Giardina. Class and intimacy, along with the confusion of sexual identity, also wreak frightening confusion in the life of an Italian-American boy growing up in 1960s Massachusetts. 11-year-old Luca Carcera finds his life upended by a series of baffling changes, and the use of the introspective first person narrative is ideal for highlighting his frustration at these changes.

Adult, mature and VERY thought provoking, I was totally entranced by this great novel. Giardina shows fine attention to subtle character development, and can keep the story moving at a very brisk pace. Setting the novel in the early 60's was interesting, where I'm sure the issues of gay family relationships were handled very differently than today.

On finishing this book, I immediately found and read copies of his two earlier novels. We should consider this a testament to this fine writer.

I could write a review about how good I think this book is and how glad I am that somebody finally wrote on this subject, but I will just say that when it seems everyone is black and white minded, after reading this novel, I'm happy to see that not everyone is.

Thank you, Anthony Giardina, for being alive and writing this.

-Thomas Nordlum iftherebethorns@hotmail.com

This book covers all the bases and gives good detail into the techniques, materials, and supplies required in the business of airbrushing nails. Several illustrations help guide you through some of the step-by-step processes. I would recommend this book to anyone who is seriously contemplating running a nail airbrushing business or is a serious hobbyist, even if you already have experience in airbrushing.

I cannot say enough about this book. If you are a nail technician, spend the money and purchase this. It is worth every cent. I am constantly referring to this book and it truly covers everything. It covers color theory in depth, procedures, techniques etc. Of course you have to practice, practice, practice, but I feel this book is a must have.

Absolutly incredible!!! If there's a better book on airbrushing nails out there I'd like to see it!!! Super pictures and very detailed!!! I'd recommend it to any nail fans out there!!!

If you have not read any of Anthony Wolf's books, and you are looking for a great book on parenting, you've found it. Wolf's advice is straightforward, logical, and reasonably easy to implement. But if you bought _It's No Fair, Jeremy Spencer Gets to Stay Up All Night_, this one won't teach you much more. _Secrets of Parenting_ borrows heavily from _It's No Fair_, to the point that there's no need for both of them.

The kernel of Wolf's approach toward dealing with children is in handling the I Want You Now personality. His descriptions of typical childhood behavior ring true to anyone who has children. Ever have your child playing quietly in the same room until you pick up the phone, and then s/he needs you to help RIGHT AWAY? Wolf will explain why this happens. Better yet, he'll tell you how to handle this so it won't keep happening.

His advice on handling bad behavior is for you to become a Robo-parent. It completely disconnects the I Want You Now behavior, because it doesn't engage. Robo-parent deals with the child, no muss, ignore the fuss, and very soon your child learns that tantrums and stickiness don't succeed. While I can't always tamp down my emotions to turn into Robo-parent, it's good to have a strategy that WILL WORK.

This book saved my life. Absolutely, hands-down, the best advice ever given. Dr. Wolfe dishes out logical and practical solutions to everyday problems and manages to keep the book funny. It's a quick read and very enlightening.

As the mother of an only child, I sought a lot of advice from parenting books. Many gave a list of do's and don'ts and had some good ideas,but this book has easy, practical advice.

Dr. Wolf's recommended approaches are in line with my personal values, which don't include harsh punishment and spanking.
I was able to decrease my stress in dealing with my child on a day to day basis and now spending time together is more enjoyable because there is practically no fussing.

It's funny to see him try his temper tantrums now, because I can see his frustration when they have no effect on me. As a result, he rarely has one.

I plan to give copies of this book to my friends for Christmas.

I was introduced to the comedy of Charley Chase by a film collector friend of mine back in college and have always appreciated his unique style. Brian Anthony's and Andy Edmond's book does justice to this far underrated and nearly forgotten talent in a way that is readable and as entertaining as Charley himself. In fact, the wealth of material here is so great, one wonders why no one has mined it for a film. In any event, if you're into early film history, or even if you are just curious about a man who was a powerhouse both in front of and behind the camera, you owe it to yourself to check this book out.

I just finished re-reading "Smile When the Raindrops Fall" (third time, I think) and I second the opinions of the other reviewers. Very few authors have ever discussed the films of Charley Chase in print, and nobody has ever delved into the prolific comedian's personal life in so much detail. Brian Anthony and Andy Edmonds have done Mr. Chase proud, amply demonstrating how he created many clever and amusing movies, and how his private life sometimes colored his work. There are many rare and charming photos, including a memorable candid shot from his final days: his camera crew has just presented the new grandfather with "Gramp's Chair." If you've only been casually acquainted with Charley Chase, here's your chance to get to know him. Great reading for movie buffs, and well worth the publisher's price tag.

Until this book appeared, there wasn't much information available on Charley except in Leonard Maltin's book on sound shorts. This great book will illustrates the life of both Charley (Parrott) Chase and his brother James Parrott. Their lives were intertwined, and when one of them had problems it certainly affected the other. While Chase always had a jolly face on, this book illustrates both his triumphs and his failures. Chase worked with many great comics like Charlie Chaplin, Roscoe Arbuckle, Laurel & Hardy, Thelma Todd and the Three Stooges. Chase also directed and/or supervised many good comedies where he did not appear on-screen. There is a very detailed filmography (and musicography) in the back that includes the lyrics to many of the songs that Charley wrote, his many directing credits, and other film appearances. Sure this book is expensive, but if you love silent comedy or early sound shorts you will not be able to stop reading it.