Like the other three Holmes novels, this book is a masterpiece. Sure, it is old (over 100 years, in fact) but, being Holmes, it will always be as fresh and exciting as it was the day it was released. Although all the Holmes stories are great, and you will have a good time reading any of them, I reccommend reading the books in chronological order (this can be conveniently done with the omnibus The Complete Sherlock Holmes), it will only serve to make you like the stories even more.

Anyways, this is the second Holmes story, and it is a page-turner, full of suspense. Also, it delivers the kind of intrigue and "how did he know that! " disbelief that only a Sherlock Holmes story can generate. It is because of this, and the stunning detail in which he is described throughout the 60 Holmes stories, that the hardcore readers of the Holmes stories cannont alltogether accept him as fictional. No character in the history of fiction has ever been more real to his readers, and none ever will be. Many Holmes fans have been known to feel remorse, even sadness upon visiting the Rickenback Fall (where Doyle originally tried to kill Holmes). That may sound fanciful, but indulge yourself in the 60 Holmes stories (including this one-one of the best) and see if you fall into that category.

As the second full-length story of Doyle's Holmes series, this book is a classic. It lacks the landmark status of A Study in Scarlet and the overall drama of The Hound of the Baskervilles, but nevertheless is a must-read for all Holmes fans and is strongly recommended to fans of detective fiction. The crime scene is a classic -- "Watson, when you have eliminated all other possibilities, the remaining possibility, no matter how seemingly improbable, is nevertheless likely".... or something like that.

While A Study in Scarlet deals rather unmercifully with the Mormon colony in Utah, A Sign of Four presents what would now be considered a strikingly politically incorrect perspective on India. It's an historically interesting British viewpoint from late in the last century.

Whether you read a public copy or get it from the University of Virginia on-line archive, I strongly recommend A Sign of Four. It's a quick read, and certainly a better option for spare time than Holmes' seven percent solution.

A classic Holmes novel, this book is perhaps one of Sherlock's most puzzling mysteries. As told by Dr. Watson, this mystery may have been one of Holmes's toughest cases yet.

As Sherlock is injecting cocaine into his blood system, he sits down with placid relief, until there is a knock at the door. In enters the beautiful Mary Morstan, whom Watson immediately takes a fancy to. While Watson observes her beauty, Holmes observes her problem. It seems that she is a rather middle-class woman, with style and father in the military, who is currently stationed in India. He had recently wrote to her saying that he would come to visit. However, he never showed up when she went to pick him up. That was ten years ago. But starting six years ago, four years after his disappearance, Miss Morstan had been receiving mysterious packages containing pearls of great value, one a year. Having been contacted by her mysterious complimentor, should she go and meet him? Or should she stay home? The truth lies with in the book.

This book is a triumph for the celebrated novelist Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and I believe that many people would enjoy this book. Just to be specific, it would mainly be for people who are in the age group of around: 13 or older, and also those who are fond of the mystery novels and thrillers and anyone who could use a good book.

Huck Finn, I could take or leave. Conn Yankee is among my favorit e classics. Joan of Arc---better than other interpretations of
warrior women. I recommend this collection and "Damsel in the Rough" by Ann M. Tempesta.

for fans who wish there were another Huck Finn or Tom Sawyer, you will find Mark Twain's 'joan of arc' just as beautifully written as his more famous 'prince an the pauper' and 'connecticut yankee'. for catholics, 'joan of arc' is even more of a must read, a stunning proof how this great saint has captured the hearts of so many, regardless of their skepticism or creed. Library of America editions are beautifully bound, lightweight, and readable. here they contain the two most famous of his non-mississippi writings with a gem most of us never knew existed. a keepsake for the decades.

This collection contains my 2 childhood and all-time Twain favorites - Prince & Pauper, and Connecticut Yankee - and added the magical ingredient of a historical romance I never knew Twain had written - Joan of Arc. Now that I have read this as well, I see that it may be even better than the other two!

The wry sense of humor characteristic of Twain definitely is most in evidence in CT Yankee. All 3 of these works deliver Twain's wide understanding of human nature in different times and sociological conditions, and his admiration of human nobility and greatness of heart in adversity. Joan of Arc unquestionably is the most inspiring of these tales, being the story of the greatest hero (or heroine). The Prince and the Pauper, however, remains a jewel of an adventure story, which any child can identify with, and learn from.

It is a collection to keep forever, and re-read frequently.

This book can be tough going at times -- over 600 pages of text alone, densely written, finely detailed, full of endless descriptions of how early pianos were built in the great days of Cristoferi and Silbermann. Then why read this book? Because it is, simply, fascinating. There are chapters on the role of the piano in the works of Jane Austen, the piano as an aid to courtship, on Beethoven's paean to his Broadwood, on the quest for "brilliant but not difficult" music, long descriptions of 19th century mechanical devices of pianistic torture -- there is a great deal of interesting esoterica here, and much to learn. The book is a classic, and I'm glad it's on my bookshelf.

If you love music, especially that of the piano, then you should definitely make room on your musical bookshelf for this wonderful and comprehensive book. The author, Arthur Loesser, was a well-known concert pianist who was also a gifted writer, critic and annotator--shades of that earlier duallist, Berlioz! This dandy, thick book, detailing the history of keyboards, also includes many of the personalities involved in music-making through the centuries. The hard-cover edition--originally published in 1954--is long out of print, making this trade-paper version even more welcome. Once it's yours, you'll be in possession of nearly everything you ever wanted to know about these keyboard instruments--and then some! And, once you begin reading, you'll find it difficult to put it aside, even for a moment.

Each major country had its own beginnings with music and the keyboards that brought that music to life. This book is, therefore, a geographical as well as a musical tour. Beginning in about the mid-1500s and continuing to more recent times, Loesser informs us of the musical progression in Germany, Austria, England, France, and finally the US. Whether you begin with the English in the 1500s or the Germans in the 1600s or the French in the 1700s, you'll be intrigued by the variety of instruments unveiled in these pages for your delectation, as well as his humorous side trips into more human endeavors. (There's an entire chapter [Section Three, Chapter Eighteen] on the use of music in the novels of Jane Austen, for example.)

Loesser skillfully utilizes his dry and frequently wry wit in detailing the history and usage of keyboard instruments, as well as those who merely were the players of them. It's quite obvious that, to Mr. Loesser, the instruments themselves were the more worthy, and he skillfully educates the reader in the evolution of today's piano, including the advantage gained by the availability of steel framing.

There are many types of keyboard instruments, some more well-known than others, but none are slighted in this comprehensive retrospective. In addition, social history is also brought into prominence, as well as those artisans who have moved us with their performances.

Another bravura performance from this noted musician.

When it comes to the history of the piano, if it's not in this book, you don't need to know it. Loesser writes this "biography" of the piano with accuracy, detail, plenty of anecdotes, good judgment, and an abundance of humor. You'll be hooked after a few lively chapters--even if you thought you had only a passing interest the pianoforte.

"Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes" was the fourth Holmes book and the second collection of short stories. Originally published in the Strand Magazine as "Adventures of Sherlock Holmes," it took the name "Memoirs" when published in book form, because the first collection had pre-empted the title "Adventures."

"Memoirs" consists of eleven short stories, none of which are as good as the stories in the first collection. In fact, several stories appear to be reworkings of stories from the original "Adventures." "The Stockbroker's Clerk" is a rehash of the plot of "The Red Headed League." "The Gloria Scott" seems to borrow heavily from "The Boscombe Valley Mystery." "The Greek Interpreter" replays "The Engineer's Thumb." "The Yellow Face" harks back to "A Scandal in Bohemia." In "Bohemia," Holmes was stymied, and in "Yellow Face" he again goes badly astray.

Obviously Doyle was growing weary of Holmes. So weary, in fact, that he killed Holmes off in "The Final Problem." Holmes fans everywhere would rejoice when Doyle resurrected their hero in "The Return of Sherlock Holmes," and Holmes went on to further, and better adventures. Mediocre Holmes is still far better than most detective fiction.

Holmes fans everywhere should also rejoice at the BDD publication of the BBC radio plays starring Clive Merrison and Michael Williams. Merrison and Williams make the best Holmes-Watson team since the Rathbone-Bruce collaboration. The production values for the BBC plays are excellent, far better than the production values of the 30's and 40's, when Rathbone and Bruce portrayed the crimefighting duo.

The BDD publication consists of three volumes, each volume containing two cassettes, and each cassette containing two plays. The eleven short stories of "Memoirs" does not quite fill the twelve play capacity of the cassettes. BDD solves the problem by borrowing "The Second Stain" from "The Return of Sherlock Holmes."

This is the perfect follow up to Klinger's annotated "Adventures of Sherlock Holmes." It is exhaustively researched, beautifully printed, and tastefully illustrated. The scope of the annotations are awesome, and truly enhance the appreciation of the Sherlock Holmes stories. Both die-hard fans and casual readers will absolutely love this book!

What a wonderful surprise it was to come across Leslie Klinger's outstanding annotated versions of the Sherlock Holmes stories on Amazon! Klinger's notes are extremely helpful and informative (not to mention entertaining), and the copious illustrations by Paget are a great addition as well. This (and the other volumes, of which Adventures, Hound of the Baskervilles, and Study in Scarlet have been published to date) are a worthy successor to William Baring-Gould's justly acclaimed annotated Holmes from years back, and are, in opinion, a better value and more enjoyable read than the rather dry Oxford editions.

If you are new to Sherlock Holmes, this may not be the most economical way to pick up all of Conan Doyle's work. But if you are a long-time Holmes fan, or just want to experience the Holmes stories in a deeper and more informed way, I can think of no better purchase than this. Very highly recommended!!!

Buyer beware!! This audio contains only 4 or the original 13 stories contained in the Case Book of Sherlock Holmes. Clearly it is an abridgement. !!

"The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes" was Doyle's last collection of short stories on the great detective. The stories may not have been uniformly as good as the earlier Holmes stories, and some of the plots may have been derivative, but they still entertain.

"The Three Garridebs" rehashed the plot of "The Red Headed League". "The Creeping Man" turned in a creepy tale whose premise has been disproved by later science. "The Veiled Lodger" was not even a mystery.

The rest of the stories were much better. "The Blanched Soldier" presented a conundrum which Holmes solved without visiting the scene. "The Sussex Vampire" had a perfectly natural explanation. "The Lion's Mane" involved violent death, but was there a crime? Holmes worked for an unnamed "Illustrious Client", but you should be able to figure out who it was. We meet Holmes' page, Billy, for the first and last time in "The Mazarin Stone". We meet international intrigue in "Shoscombe Old Place" and an arrogant murderer in "The Retired Colourman". My favorite story of the lot is "The Problem of Thor Bridge", where Holmes clears a young lady of murder in the face of almost overwhelming evidence of guilt.

Here we are again with the omniscient Holmes and incredulous Watson exploring mysteries as inscrutable as ever before. These stories are, as a previous reviewer has noted, on the darker side of things, no doubt as a resullt of WWI, in which Doyle lost his son. One even takes place, for the most part, in America, of all places!-There's always this comfortable, almost fairy tale sense in all of the Holmes' stories of this magic Victorian nightworld which Holmes and Watson float above in their upper middle class ease, and which we know (except in one story not in this book) that all will be well with the two friends in the end. Even when we know we are being duped, as when cigar ashes or some other peculiar evidence appears and Holmes announces "Surely you've read my monograph on the subject," and proceeds to expound upon their significance to the case, we are still pleased, like an opium smoker taking another drag from his pipe and drifting back to Xanadu. Like all Holmes' stories, these are bound to keep you turning the pages, as well as to enchant you thus.-Doyle's stories are so enchanting, in fact, that in the most recent issue of the New York Review of Books it is revealed that most Taiwanese believed that they were true and that London was a cobblestoned city perpetually inundated in fog!-A very nice compilation, indeed, with all the original drawings from The Strand.

Levi is on the level of Agrippa in historical importance, and while not always practical, his influence cannot be underrated. THis is one of his most important works and is a MUST for any serious occultist.

"The History of Magic" is a splendid literary work that unviels the shadowed predecessors of today's "Aquarian Lodge of Gnostic Anthropology". This book is a must for those who are serious enough to find it necessary to put together the pieces of the puzzling situation that we find ourselves in today, as students of occultism. Levi's knowledge is awe inspiring, as only a Master of the Universal Lodge of Intitiates could give.
When one reads this book, one may see the reason why so many esoteric schools and lodges, that have their historical roots upon the doctrine of the path of the Greater Mysteries, have now fallen into degeneration and black magick. It is clear to us, why there are so few institutions that remain untainted, giving freely the universal doctrine of all ages. The book that Eliphas Levi wrote, shows how the western tradition (GNOSIS in its true form)has developed throughout the many cultures, teachers, psuedo-esotericists, inquisitions, etc...
This is a must read for the student of occult arts...
To find out more about Eliphas Levi, and Gnosis, see gnosticinstitute.org

The Invasion of the Sea is unusual for its time in its political complexity and temporal setting, looking ahead to the 1930s. Indigenous customs and colonial opportunism clash as plans are made to irrigate the Sahara desert, opening the inland to new commerce and ports for the French navy. Verne's writing is modern in his immersion in multiple points of view, opening from the native perspective, then shifting to that of the French colonists. Verne had no illusions about the overseas power plays of his own country.
Verne makes clear how the respective sides view the situation; the West seeks to remake nature to its advantage, while the East has adapted to their surroundings. The West wants to change the land, failing to realize that the desert
is home to the tribes of Bedouins. Flooding the land and changing its fundamental purpose becomes the ultimate form of imperialism. While recognizing its political shortcomings, Verne still valorizes the heroic aspect of the human attempt to
harness nature.
The first half of the book establishes the region and the dimensions of the conflict, comparing the different cultures of the Arabs and the Europeans. During the last half, Verne foreshadows the final outcome as nature asserts its own primacy over human plans. A monstrous earthquake shifts the land, allowing the sea to flood the Sahara, overwhelming even the designs of the French. The characters in The Invasion of the Sea are men (and an Arab woman) in action--bandits, French soldiers and an engineers--but the novel is not as exciting as the general reader might hope.
The translation by Edward Baxter is ideal; he fluently transfers Verne's French into readable, contemporary English. All of the 43 engravings and photographs from the original French edition are included, bringing to life the scenery and action of the story in the context of their time. For years it has seemed that this novel could not be more timely, considering confrontations between Arabs and the West, yet its appearance in English comes at a historical moment whose aptness could not be exceeded. While scarcely a lost masterpiece, The Invasion of the Sea is a worthy and important addition to the Verne canon and science fiction literature.

Invasion Of The Sea is the first English edition of a novel written in 1904 by Jules Verne, best know for his classics "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" and "Around the World in 80 Days." Meticulously translated from the original French by Edward Baxter, Invasion of the Sea is an engaging novel that takes serious look at political and imperial struggles in North Africa. When a canal is proposed to create a sea in the Sahara Desert, the way of life of the Islamic tribes living there becomes threatened, and they declare war to protect their lands, prompting a cataclysmic struggle that only natural forces can surpass. A thought-provoking and serious tale, Invasion Of The Sea is recommended for Jules Verne enthusiasts.

Basically a comparative compendium of several of the classic grimoires, it is quite reasonable as a sort of primer for those with an interest in the style of magic written about 5 centuries or so ago. I do not expect most modern wiccans would care for the attitudes and methods represented, but whether they like it or not, it is how magic was done and still is done by some.

Due to the rather comparative nature of the work, it was necessary for Waite to be rather sketchy in his examination of the grimoires. That is quite forgivable. He made no claim that he was including the ancient texts word for word, or even complete instruction from them.

As a sort of sampler, it is quite excellent. A person interested in the darker sides of magic can use this book to find what they might be looking for and then seek the actual text Waite quoted from in his excerpts. The older the better, since the modern reprints sometimes have left out bits the publishers feared might be "objectionable".

My one real displeasure in the reading was noting Waite's comment on the formula referred to as "The Composition of Death", where he mentions that it appears to him that the formula would result in a liquid rather than a powder. This indicated that he settled for available english translation of the time and did not bother to check the older versions. If he had, he would have known that the formula in the english version was incomplete.

That small displeasure was more than balanced by his reminder to readers that while in modern times the sacrifice of a lamb or goat to get parchment may seem bloodthirsty, it was an everyday occurrence since paper was not actually available when many of the old grimoires were written. The only way you could get a guaranteed clean sheet of parchment was to make it yourself, since some parchment dealers would wash writing off used parchment and sell it as new.

A classic in it's own way and always a refreshing read free of the "politically correct" viewpoint that seems to have become popular to impose over such works.

While I would not recommend it alone without additional reading from the original texts he quotes, it's quite reasonably well done.

If you like to dabble in Black Magic or Ceremonial Magic this book is for you.

This book is excellent in the ceremonial arts as well as the black arts. It teaches the summoning of demons and the bindings of them as well as a few works of hatred meaning hexes. Even though there not really hexes more like love spells and sex magic. But, believe me works in the book are very powerful. I wouldn't suggest this to a beginner.

This book gives a logical delineation of the human Astral Principal (Body) and also its relationship to the Earth's Astral Light. I'd recommend it to anyone who wishes for some original research in the area, together with a plausible hypothesis. Certainly better then much New Age claptrap - i.e. material that would rather teach you how to 'Astral Project' instead of imparting a fuller vision of what you truly are.

This book is a classic, written in the 1920s, but still valid today. The astral plane is talked about and lectured on in New Age groups everywhere. It is a feature of teachings in the modern Wiccan movement and most occult schools of today. However, the ideas of the astral world were first put forward as a result of the late 19th century Spiritualist and Theosophical groups. There were many well-reasoned books written by early theosophical society members, notably by Leadbeater and Besant, but others too. Arthur Powell has done us all a great service by collecting many of the published tales and insights and putting them into this volume. It is well written, and contains most of what is still current knowledge on this subject. The astral plane is where we go in dreams, and also in life after death. There are all kinds of stories about ghosts and spirits nowadays which can be explained using material from this book. The book explains the Christian Heaven, Purgatory and Hell realms as being various astral worlds. It also describes the American Indian's Summerland. I've seen many books relating astral experiences, but Powell's book is often used as the definitive text.

Like the reader from California, I, too, thought I could obtain all the information I needed by reading newer, more modern books. I was mistaken. These old Theosophical texts contain important information that is ignored in contemporary books on the subtle bodies and metaphysics in general. Powell sifted through the voluminous literature available to him at the time and organized it in a fashion which reads clearly and logically. Especially important is his book "The Causal Body and the Ego" - material which is of central concern to any explorer of the subtle bodies - and which is rarely even mentioned in works by modern authors.

i just bought it today and it is pretty good.i had a little hard time understanding the meanings but that is becuase i am a beginner and i have not had much experience. but for the most part its pretty good. the art on it is ok. its nothing too special but i would recomend it.

I like this deck a lot - it's the standard Rider-Waite-Smith deck, sized down to 'pocket size'. I usually carry it in my pouch for use in in-situ readings.

The two drawbacks I see in this deck are :

- The little white book isnt the same size as in the miniature deck (which is rather small).

- The cardbox isnt glued well and is a bit larger than the cards, so it's ruined quickly.

I'm using the Rider-Waite deck for over a year now, and have met two problems with the standard size during that time.

First, the deck in a box (and, at least in Israel, it's a bit hard to find a reasonable sized tarot box) is not easy to carry - it's a bit too big.

Second, many people find the cards a bit too big to be easily shuffle, especially women - there's a reason for regular playing cards being smaller than regular tarot cards.

And yes, I know there's a tradeoff between card size and details, which is why I prefer to use the regular size deck at home, but when I take the deck with me the combination wins.