Welcome to the White Hart, where every Wednesday night features a gathering of scientists, writers, and interested on-lookers who come to drink tepid beer and be regaled by the Tall Tales of one Harry Purvis, a man of uncertain origins, profession, and education, who claims to know so much about so many subjects of scientific interest. These tales were originally published individually, but together they are 'bookended' by "Silence Please" and "The Defenestration of Ermintrude Inch" to create a kind of frame story. Purvis' deadpan declamations of yarns that range from all-too-believable to patently absurd, combined with the fictional Clarke's own pointed comments about the White Hart, its clientele, and Purvis' overall credibility, make this perhaps the funniest science fiction book ever written. Using analogy in place of logic, Purvis posits wildly improbable advances in a number of different directions that in some cases have paralleled actual scientific developments that have taken place in the decades since these stories were written.

More serious-minded fans should take pleasure in the not-always-easy task of finding the precise flaws in Purvis' stories, which usually include just enough hard science to be credible to the casual layman. "The Next Tenants" is the only story in this collection that has any really serious message to it, and while the story is chillingly effective despite its absurdities, this book is really about laughs. From that standpoint, "Moving Spirit" is probably the best, featuring an eccentric millionaire, his illegal distillery, and a hilarious courtroom scene in which Purvis testifies as an expert witness with devastating results.

Despite the occasional slapstick moments, Clarke's humor is generally on the dry side, so this book may not please everyone. There isn't a lot of action in the traditional action/adventure sense, and female characters are usually absent or antagonistic. Still, if you're comfortable in a males-only, scientific atmosphere, there's plenty of good clean fun to be had at the White Hart.

A series of short stories, tales told in a bar (the White Hart) among a group of scientists, writers, and laymen. The central story-teller is one Henry Purvis, an obnoxious fellow with a trick of pausing at the climax for a new draught beer, whom no one has yet managed to prove a liar. He tells almost believable tales of science and wouldn't-it-be-nice science. One learns of a silencer that silences more than guns, a carnivorous orchid with a secret, a ballistic computer with a sense of humour. Much of the delight in the tales arises from the fact that they were written in the 1950's, and it is amazing how much Clarke could see of the future. I suspect Clarke may have felt he'd written himself into a corner, because the series of tales and the book end rather suddenly, with a hint for the future but no real hope that Purvis will be back. A delghtful find, to be read by all who enjoy Clarke, bar stories, science fiction, and humour.

"Tales From the White Heart" brings some true fun into science fiction reading; a break from the deadly serious which is so often the hallmark of sci-fi. Like tall tales of the old west, the stories here are almost believeable, which makes them perfect for the English Pub background. Presented in short-story form, the book makes easy evening reading. I highly recommend "Tales From the White Heart" for both serious and casual sci-fi readers, from adolescent up.

I am not sure whether we learn much about the CRAFT of verse from these lectures. But one thing that we do learn from Borges is what a pleasure it is to be able to find beauty in poetry (and prose). Borges was an amazing man - he was almost seventy when he delivered these six lectures, and he did it without the help of notes since his poor eyesight made it impossible for him to read.

For Borges, poetry is essentially undefinable. It flows like Heraklit's river - the meaning of words shifts with time, and readers' appreciation changes over the years. Poetry as he understands it is a riddle because it is beyond rational understanding; it is 'true' in a higher (magical) sense. And what is true in a higher sense remains unfathomable, a riddle: "we KNOW what poetry is. We know it so well that we cannot define it in other words, even as we cannot define the taste of coffee, the color red or yellow, or the meaning of anger, of love, of hatred, of the sunrise, of the sunset, or of our love for our country. These things are so deep in us that they can be expressed only by those common symbols that we share. So why should we need other words [to define what poetry is]?"(18)

Metaphors, according to Borges, are the core of poetry, closer to the magic source of words than any other artistic means of expression. Metaphors are so powerful because for him "anything suggested is far more effective than anything laid down. Perhaps the human mind has a tendency to deny a statement. Remember what Emerson said: arguments convince nobody. They convince nobody because they are presented as arguments."(31)

My favorite lecture is the fourth, 'Word-Music and Translation.' It is a real gem. I will not quote Borges on how word-music can be rendered in translation; just a short quote to illustrate how magnificently language can be translated by an inspired translator of genius. When Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century translated 'ars longa, vita brevis,' (art is long, life is short) he chose a stunning interpretation with 'the lyf so short, the craft so long to lerne.' Borges comments that here we get "not only the statement but also the very music of wistfulness. We can see that the poet is not merely thinking of the arduous art and of the brevity of life; he is also feeling it. This is given by the apparently invisible, inaudible keyword - the word 'so.' 'The lyf SO short, the craft SO long to lerne.'"(62) One small word, and it makes all the difference.

And since I prefer translations true to the spirit over translations true to the letter, I was pleased to learn from Borges that all through the Middle Ages, people thought of translation not in terms of a literal rendering but in terms of something being re-created.

I do believe that these lectures speak of the wisdom of Borges; not in spite of, but because of the contradictions in the text. Here we meet a man in full; a man who stresses the irrational in poetry and the immediacy of experiencing it, yet proves by his own example how the experience of poetry grows with the plain, rational knowledge about poetry that we gather over the years. Borges is also a man who lives in literature. He finds new beauty in poetry because he continues to change every day. And this is perhaps the most inspiring message of his lectures: people who continue to enjoy changing with the new things they learn 'turn not older with years, but newer every day,' as Emily Dickinson phrased it.

I've long been a fan of Borges the short fiction writer. But this little book has made me an instant fan of Borges the reader and Borges the literary critic. I have to admit that so much of petry mystifies me, but within the pages of this book, I felt as if Borges' insight was finally allowing me to understand poetry in a way I hadn't considered before. Witty, modest and polymathic, Borges shines through the pages of this book. You can read it in an hour, but if you read it for 1 week straight, you still wouldn't be able to appreciate all the gems of wisdom in it. Great stuff!

This would be a strong candidate for the only book you need to read about poetry. Of course, it contains numberous signposts and pointers to other books that you will want to look at right away.

Borges was a great soul and a great mind. We were lucky to have him among us. Even though the book finally concludes that poetry is like time -- we have no problem using either concept until someone tries to make us define them! -- and that Borges can only recognize it when he sees it, he gives invaluable teaching in the art of recognition.

I found this book in a used book store in 1985. After reading it I immediately went about implementing the system defined by Dr. Hobbs. The results were amazing. I started to get high marks in university, I accomplished long term goals and increased my own self esteem.

I continue to follow this system today and I learn more and more about effective time management every year.

I recommend this book most highly to anyone interested in CONTINUOUS self improvement.

Several years ago, I bought about a dozen books on time management and found this and Alan Lakien's books to be the best. Time Power is intense and required several months of part time effort for me to complete. It's truly unfortunate that Mr. Hobbs' book is now out of print. Charles pioneered modern time management theory and practice. All the current time management experts, trainers and consultants derive their core concepts and ideas from Charles Hobbs. This work is a bit out of step with current practices in that we increasingly moving away from paper based systems toward electronic time management products such as MS Outlook. On the other hand, the most important thoughts and ideas presented in this book are timeless. I recently began working with Tony Robbins' "Time of Your Life" CD program which is also quite good.

I read this book in 1996 and forgot how good it is. Rereading it now and recommend it to anyone who is looking to be a better manager of their time and life. This is the classic time managment book, forget Covey, he ripped his ideas off Hobbs. For about $.. (it is in paperback) you can save yourself a bundle. ...

This book originally caught my eye as an addition to another book I read called Edison: A Life of Invention by Paul Israel. I wanted a book that would cover a little more of Edison's personal life, and this book did just that. However, James Newton's close, dedicated friendships with all of these great men of the twentieth century is truly amazing, and I learned more than I would probably learn otherwise about some of these important historical figures.

The entire book is fascinating, and surely different parts will appeal to different readers. I was particularly enchanted with a poignant description of how Charles Lindbergh handled dying as he lay on his deathbed. I was also fascinated with how environmentally conscientious some of these men were, particularly Edison and Lindbergh, but also Ford. For example, Ford was very interested in making automobile parts out of soybeans in order to reduce the need for metal parts. It seems that all of these men had numerous ideas and ideas for inventions that were way ahead of their time - perhaps some of them still are.

Newton's writing is quite good, and I only have one very minor criticism: it seems that he preaches a little bit and dwells on the religious facet of his relationships with these people. Of course, I'm sure this was a very important part of his relationship with these men and their families, but it seems that there is a grand, overarching agenda he has in constantly illustrating their connection to God and religion.

If you are interested in any of these historical figures and their fascinating relationships with each other, this book is definitely the best book you will find on the subject.

This book originally caught my eye as an addition to another book I read called Edison: A Life of Invention by Paul Israel. I wanted a book that would cover a little more of Edison's personal life, and this book did just that. However, James Newton's close, dedicated friendships with all of these great men of the twentieth century is truly amazing, and I learned more than I would probably learn otherwise about some of these important historical figures.

The entire book is fascinating, and surely different parts will appeal to different readers. I was particularly enchanted with a poignant description of how Charles Lindbergh handled dying as he lay on his deathbed. I was also fascinated with how environmentally conscientious some of these men were, particularly Edison and Lindbergh, but also Ford. For example, Ford was very interested in making automobile parts out of soybeans in order to reduce the need for metal parts. It seems that all of these men had numerous ideas and ideas for inventions that were way ahead of their time - perhaps some of them still are.

Newton's writing is quite good, and I only have one very minor criticism: it seems that he preaches a little bit and dwells on the religious facet of his relationships with these people. Of course, I'm sure this was a very important part of his relationship with these men and their families, but it seems that there is a grand, overarching agenda he has in constantly illustrating their connection to God and religion.

If you are interested in any of these historical figures and their fascinating relationships with each other, this book is definitely the best book you will find on the subject.

Now in his 80s, real-estate developer Newton recalls with uncritical admiration five celebrated men with whom he enjoyed almost filial relationships. According to the author, they all shared the same philosophy of life, enouncing business principles in terms of moral precepts. Newton's bonds with Carrel and with the scientist's friend and partner in medical research, Lindbergh, were forged by their common interest in metaphysics. The narrative is studded with anecdotes about the nature of these men: Edison's assertion that his deafness was an asset; Ford's dictum that profit is essential to business vitality; Firestone's advocacy of Japanese-style ``consensus'' management; Carrel's expectation of encountering Aristotle after death; and Lindbergh's revulsion at the destruction wrought by aviation in WW II.

I know a number of people that do not like to read biographies. Whether or not you do read biographies, I have to say that this is the best I have read in the last couple of years. It reads like a novel, nuanced, well-paced and, yes, exciting. It is wonderful to learn how Darwin discovered the Fact of Evolution. Don't miss this one. I wish I could find the first print edition at a decent price. Both volumes are treasures.

When I see a biography that tops out at over 600 pages, I usually give it a pass. I mean, how much do I really want to know about someone - anyone? Also, as far as Darwin goes, I had already read the excellent life by Desmond and Moore. Yet I went through this book avidly, and would have been sorry to see it end - but that I knew volume II was waiting!

I actually only noticed this book because of the laudatory reviews that appeared recently for volume II ("The Power of Place"). Perhaps it is true that I cannot get enough of Darwin, so I was drawn to this as any addict to his fix. But I think that for me the most appealing thing about Charles Darwin is his quintessential Victorianism. He lived and worked in a privileged position in a culture that was as sublimely self-confident as any the world has ever seen, and that, moreover, bestrode that world as none before or since (our blundering and half-hearted imperialism not excepted).

Actually, the Darwin Story is becoming canonical. Our culture is about the clash of narratives as much as anything else. The Free Market opposes the Welfare State, the Promise of Progress is really the Erosion of Identity, and, most shrilly, the Blind Watchmaker threatens to displace the Christian God.

So, I suppose that to read this book is to choose sides. Shame about that, but there it is. Anyway, even if you know the story, this book (and its sequel) will tell it better and deeper. Janet Browne has not only mastered the Darwin materials, but his milieu as well. She seems to have gone far afield in researching the lives of those that impinged on Darwin, just in order to make throwaway statements and large judgments on people who are perhaps bit players in his life. They, of course, have lives of their own, fully lived, and like a novelist, Browne hints at more that she tells. The occasional summarizing aside of some life that glances on Darwin's gives this book a novelistic texture and feel. The author has pulled off the difficult trick of making us feel she is telling a story that she owns.

Browne starts with a leisurely scene-setting that places the Darwins and the Wedgwoods (Charles's paternal and maternal lines) in the Georgian society of the day. She discusses the culture and the family traditions, and places the players in the landscape and houses them grandly. (Very helpful here is a generous genealogy in the front matter.) We see young Charles carefree and out-of-doors, with his loving and indulgent older sisters and his great friend, older brother Erasmus. We see him rather reluctantly growing up, attending Edinburgh University and then Cambridge, where he is unscathed by the official curricula, but emerges with firm friends among some bug-loving students as well as the naturalists on the faculties.

About one-third of this book covers the voyage of the Beagle, the forming event in Darwin's life as a scientist. Of its five years, Darwin spent more than three of them on land, exploring, collecting, and observing all up and down the coasts of South America and, finally, in islands of the Pacific (including, most famously, the Galapagos).

When Darwin got home his troubles began. All the glorious collecting and larking about of his school days and the grand adventure on the Beagle were over. Those experiences drew on his enthusiasm, energy, and growing expertise in zoology and geology. Now, back home, he had to make something of himself, he had to secure an identity. Could he use the physical materials he had gathered and his position in society to do it? Darwin's real story begins when he steps off the dock after five years away from home.

Browne tells this life in a quietly gripping way. The vast amount of material that she had to integrate does not get in the way of the tale, but allows her to tell it seamlessly. She never lets the narrative bog down in irrelevancies, but always paints a full picture of the scene, giving its human, intellectual and social components their due.

The story of Charles Darwin is really the story of an idea. Darwin was the central figure, but Hooker, Wallace, Lyell, Huxley, and many others had important parts to play. But in the progress of abstract ideas the personal is important: a strong motivation for Darwin's secrecy with his thoughts on evolution was to avoid distressing his wife Emma, a fervent believer in a Heaven where she would be reunited with those siblings and children so cruelly taken from her. Browne always shows this human side to science, shows that science is a quite human endeavor. And in this volume she takes the story up to 1856, as Darwin finally decides to take the plunge, after a dozen years of doubts and obsessive preparations.

Now, he will write a book....

After he writes that book, Darwin's life is never the same. Actually, after that, nobody's life is the same. Big drama is coming up in volume II, so why bother with this book? It is entertaining and brilliantly done, but is just prologue, right?

I disagree. In fact, if you just glance through "The Origin of Species" you will see that Darwin put most of his life up to that point into his book. And his later life was built firmly on the foundation of his earlier: he made the friends and formed the ideas that were to become central in the controversies over natural selection. Themes have been stated and developed. Volume II will develop them further, and introduce new matter, but does not tell a separate story.

The pleasure continues in the second volume, which is just out from Knopf. The reviews have been uniformly terrific, which will not surprise anyone who has read this volume.

I thought this was a really good book. I learned a lot about what life was like for Black people 50 years ago.It was really hard. They couldn't go to school or become doctors . When they were sick they couldn't go to hospitals. I didn't know about blood types until I read this book.

This is the kind of book that should be in the hands of every young man in America. Drew overcame the odds and didn't complain. He just did it and lives were saved.My wife bought several copies of this book and gave it to all the boys in our son's scout troop.

My science club read this last week. I was surprised at how primitive medicine was just a few short years ago.

Reading about Dr. Drew and all the challenges he had to face made me more determined than ever to become a doctor.

Almost nothing can be said about the Thousand Nights and One Night, except what is obvious to anyone who understands its substance. It is one of the truly essential pieces of world culture, and probably the most extensive universe of stories in history.

Something must be said, however, for those who are NOT aware of the extent of this work. This is not the simple batch of a dozen or so stories -- Aladdin, Ali Baba, Sinbad, and the like -- that most people think it is. This is over 2400 pages of narrative, comprising close on 100 stories -- some of which are themselves as long as novels, and many of which contain smaller stories within themselves. The stories range from the profoundly epic to the delightfully whimsical, and there is variation in mood and length throughout the series that it not only serves as a collection of discrete stories but functions as a unified whole.

As such, the attempt to read the Thousand Nights and One Night in its entirety can not be a halfhearted one. The reader must be prepared to invest considerable time in the reading. The rewards, however, are incalculable. The complete experience has few parallels in fiction, because few works of such volume possess such unity. Reading moves from the hasty and immediate to the comfortable and regular. The difference is akin to that between listening to a 3-minute pop song and listening to a 30-minute symphony. The individual stories fade into memory, retaining their own identities but also falling into place within the whole.

I will not attempt to address the individual stories themselves in any detail. Suffice it to say that they narrate love, lust, sex, war, peace, contemplation, action, commerce, politics, art, science, and many other things, in the spheres of the supernatural and the mundane. The Thousand Nights and One Night is a virtually complete panorama of human existence, with each story a component scene.

I will, though, address the issue of translation. I have perused other editions of the tales in varying degrees (although this is the only one I have read completely). In the first place, any translation which omits some stories is not worth consideration. Although there is some controversy over whether Richard Burton (the first to translate the tales into English) corrupted the original text and inserted spurious parts, there is nothing to be gained by being persnickety in this regard. This edition contains more tales than most others I have seen, and therefore is more likely to contain the "right" tales somewhere inside. On a less abstract level, this text is simply more fun to read than most others, and, as mentioned, there is more of that fun text to be read.

Also, it can be plausibly speculated that this translation is particularly likely to have fewer Burton-induced inaccuracies, since it is not in fact a direct translation from Arabic to English. This 4-volume edition is a translation into English, by Powys Mathers, of a French translation, by J. C. Mardrus, of the original Arabic. It is somewhat surprising that an indirect translation such as this should be of such high quality, but I have found it to be so. In particular, this Mardrus & Mathers version includes substantial verse passages (which in other translations are often rendered as prose) and is refreshingly frank in its translation of the more ribald passages (which are numerous).

The Thousand Nights and One Night is not merely a book that can be read; it is a world which can be experienced, and the memories of that experience can mingle almost indistinguishably with memories of reality. Only a work of this size can work on large and small levels, with many intricate details but also many large thematic components. As an added benefit, by the time you have finished reading the fourth volume, your memories of the first will be fading, so you can begin a new reading immediately, and experience the joys of the Thousand Nights and One Night all over again.

The stories contained within are truly wonderful. They oftentimes read with such beauty and vividness that I almost believed I was there! If there's such a thing as a darn-near perfect translation, these books are it imho. Why not introduce your children to the tales of the Arabian nights via these books? I'm no historian, but these tales have a much more authentic feel than others that I encountered as a child. Read a few stories each night, and enjoy the whole series over a period of time! Or dive in and don't surface until you're done!

This is a complete English translation of the Thousand Nights and a Night. Before reading this, I started the Burton translation and never finished it. The language was very awkward, it seemed Burton purposely made it sound antiquated and in the passive voice. Instead of suiting the translation to the preconceptions Europeans had about both old and Eastern writings, Mardrus made a literal translation into French, and Mathers translated that into English. The result is not only a more acurate translation, but it's not the least bit awkward and is a joy to read. This is the only English translation of the book I recommend.

This new edition to mark the 2001 years is virtually identical to the the previous classic edition, with the exception of a new forward by Arthur C. Clarke expressing is sadness of the death of Stanley Kubrick. There are a few new photos previously not published, however room for these new photos are made by omitting previously released photos....SO this new edition MAY be of interest to die hard Kubrick fans who have the older edition.

A must book for those interested in the behind the scenes creative development with plenty of photos and original drawings.

Recently, while at a nearby book store, I picked up a copy of Piers Bizony's 2001: FILIMING THE FUTURE and decided to purchase it. It was not a bad choice. This is a very extensive book on the making of Stanley Kubrick's sci-fi masterpiece. There are dozens of photographs in both color and black and white that show images from the movie as well as a look at the making of it. There are sketches of the spacecraft in the movie, which were drawn up from film stills, as well as pre-production sketches of some of the earlier design models. There is also an interesting introduction by Arthur C. Clarke, who wrote the novel and co-wrote the screenplay. Finally, the text is well detailed and informative. For those of you who do not want to know how the groundbreaking special effects were made, stay away from this book! Model work, live action and stunt work formed the key elements of most of the visual effects work.

The book also discusses about how it was like to work with Stanley Kubrick. Most cast and crew admit that it was difficult but rewarding because Kubrick pushed them to their limit and made them work better. Kubrick did get mad at them, but he rarely yelled at them. He also got respect because he knew what he wanted and would not stop until he got it. Kubrick was also a perfectionist; after his work on Spartacus, he was determined to have full creative control over his movies and worked over every aspect of his films, demanding the absolute best from the people who worked for him. Stressful no doubt. But this is what made Kubrick one of the best and acclaimed filmmakers of all time. His genius and ambition shows in 2001: A Space Odyssey and this book is a superb tribute

I have read many books and chapters on "The Making Of 2001" and this book was by far the most enjoyable and satisfying. Mr. Bizony went to great lengths to get a well rounded account of the movie's production without ever letting the text get overburdened with details. Of course, the ample photographs and sketches make the book worthwhile in themselves. After reading this book, I watched 2001 again with new eyes. I had a much broader appreciation for the technical and artistic achievements of the film.

I saw this book on "Between the Lions" and I loved it, so I bought it. I figured my daughter (then about 18 months) wouldn't have any interest, but I'd keep it until she got older. Boy, was I wrong. She loves it. She loves looking at it by herself and she loves us to read it to her. I'm not a major jazz fan, but the book is impossible to read without feeling the rhythm. The illustrations are fun and the cat looks just like ours!

Picked this book up at the Library after it was featured on PBS's Between The Lions. My son never put the book down, so we bought it. The book is fun, easy to read for children, and the pictures are great. Both my boys have it memorized and read it often.

No doubt about it. A classic that has my three year old now in love with be bop. Beautiful, whimsical paintings and delicious text! A great alternative to usual kid book drivel and TV engineered pap like authur, bernstien bears and disney stuff. Looking for children's literature. You found it.