My husband and I lived through Hugo also. We stayed in our home, mainly because the news crews chose our little town, 15 miles from the coast, to hole up in. None of us realized the magnitude of this storm until it was too late. We were the lucky ones, we managed to get through that horrible night basically unscathed. Others were not so lucky. I like the focus of the book being on surviving the storm and helping your fellow man, of which we saw a lot of. People would drive by, giving out food and ice and clean water. It made me realize there is still good in the world after all. Of course, a year after the storm we hightailed it up to Canada! I swore never again to go through such an experience. At least up here all we have to deal with is lots of snow!

My wife of 6 months and myself left N.Y. to live in Charleston S.C on June 11th 1989. We never in our young lives ever wish to see a storm of such magnitude.It was a living nightmare , your book was excellent . This storm generated more tornadoes than any other, the air force had clocked speeds of 240mph sustained gust.God bless the ones who were not so fortunate as we were.It was hell for months afterwards. Your book was realistic

My husband and I visited the virgin islands in 1989. After arriving on Saturday morning, a very strong wind and rain storm arrived, called Hurricane Hugo. The trama followed with hollowing winds, trees falling, people scrambling, loss of communication, and lots of confusion. We will never forget this week long vacation at this beatiful island. Your book does not do the storm and damage to visitors, people who reside on the island, people who have businesses on the island, and of course, those who own boats and planes in this island.

This is an interesting translation and I quote from the translator's preface.

I have adopted the twelve syllable metre of rhyming verse, because it is the nearest approach possible to the great original, and carries out the design I had from the first, namely: to render into English the form, as well as, if possible, the spirit of the great French drama.

End of quote.

The story is of court intrigue in Spain in the late seventeenth century but Victor Hugo is writing about human nature in general. Not a pretty sight !

It is strange for the modern reader to be presented with social attitudes of a bygone age and they are rather difficult for us to appreciate but that is, presumably what it was like in those days. How the world has changed !

Rather frustratingly, we do not know the translator's name or when the work was done but I am impressed with his effort.

In my opinion, this is certainly worth reading for it's own sake as well as being an excellent pre-cursor to reading it French.

Please, let me to read the Prologue and argument of the literary work Victor Hugo. Thanks very much.

I totally enjoyed reading Ruy Blas because it dramatically presents a situation that anyone could live. The character Ruy Blas himself and the relationship he has with the Queen, is one of the most realistic ones I have seen in a play. Not only because he is French, Hugo deserves a 5-star rating on this book!

This is a good book. It won the TS Eliot prize. That was surprising, but perhaps not very surprising. It is, after all, a good book. It would be a shame if people were lead to believe there weren't any better books though. Which there are. Lots. But this is still a good book. Maybe worth four stars. Not worth five.

Magnificent poetry. Read it straight through, as a story of the rise and fall of a love affair. The economy of language is truly startling -- Williams tells the whole complex story through little glimpses of his life. He reminds me of Elizabeth Bishop -- if you like her poems, my guess is you'll find Williams a treat.

The poems seem to form a continuous narrative telling the beginning and end of a love affair. If you took away the line breaks it would be a readable story. In fact I think Williams has previously written "poems" that are continuous blocks and is interested in pushing the edge of prose. Anglicisms, such as silver paper and day return and local London references add obscurity for an American reader and detract from an apparent intent to avoid poetic language. For example Trivia is about the way small things can hurt that remind of a lost love. Francis Thompson wrote "the scent of the rose is bitter to him that loved the rose" but Williams wants to avoid things like roses so he brings in names that sound (I think) prosaic and everyday to an English reader.

I would like to read this book since I live within walking distance of Gasparilla Island, But,There is no price displayed.
What will this book cost me?

It's a great book...one of those that you can't put down. "Jose Gaspar" is the fictional account of what may have actually happened to the legendary buccaneer. I liked it because it has all the elements...excitement, romance, courage and drama. A super book to warm up to on a rainy day.

As a Florida resident, I found it intriguing to read about a character from the early days of the peninsula, before it became a part of the United States. The book brings to light the rough and murderous ways of the pirates that once plied the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. The tale is told in an entertaining way which keeps one's attention from start to finish.

If you're looking for a short, concise saxophone primer that's suitable for the novice, this is it. The book is very concise and looks like a brochure (long and narrow). It covers the absolute basics -- buying, assembling, playing, disassembling and cleaning your horn.

It's nothing an advanced player needs to buy. I'm an intermediate player, and there were only a few tidbits (on buying saxophones and sax parts) that I hadn't heard before.

Bottom line: If you're a novice, buy it. If you're not, look elsewhere for additional material.

Even in the unlike case that you've never even hold a sax in your hands and wants to learn to play, this book will guide you from scratch. It deals with every aspect of the instrument, from its history to a synopsis of each of todays renowned brands. You will learn the nuts and bolts in choosing a new or used instrument, how to care and mantain it and which accessories to pick. Advice: it does not cover musical issues, just the very basic fingering, so you'll need some other book also if you want to learn tunes.

I've been play (or struggling) with the sax for 10+ years. Wish I had bought this book 10 years ago. "Secrets from the Temple" might have been a better name. Everything you wanted to know but didn't know who to ask.

At times this lovely book gets a little slow, but the more than sufficient cast photos and full libretto make up for the lacking of quantity...I only wish Eddie had written this one after "The Concert." The comments would have been limitless. Did we HEAR Lea Salonga? Genius...pure genius.

It has evrything! (except not a lot about how they started working on french Les Mis.) It has a lot of pictures, full libretto, awards, where its been, cast recordings, and a whole bunch of other stuff!

Hugo Dixon describes virtually every aspect of finance that the average individual needs to know to live in the world and survive, and he does it in such a way that even the most uninitiated can understand. This is truly a one of a kind book. I know of no other that covers the range in such an elementary manner. I constantly refer to it in addition to my more advanced books on finance.

I have been a 'student' of finance and investment for nearly 30 years. This book simply explains the foundations of finance and then applies it to the business and investment world. There are some problems to solve that bring the principles to life. Explanations are balanced and point out both sides to controversial issues or theories. A reading elevates you to the 'expert class'. I recommend it to anyone interested in finance and investment.

Even though I have not finished the book as of yet, I thought I'd still comment. Obviously with Russian you are forced to learn almost twice the amount as compared to an alternative European language due to the fact that you have to grasp the intracies of the Cyrillic alphabet. Once you've translated a word from Russian to English, the meaning could still be unknown. Anyway, the author realises this and has spent a fair deal of time on making the alphabet clear, and the first few chapters are dedicated to giving you a thorough understanding of it, including some basic rules, and of course letter pronunciations. The imitated pronunciation, which is present in all of Hugo's language books, is once more very helpful. Once you start repeating certain words with the pronunciation guidelines, you realise that what you're saying does sound like authentic Russian, or at least if you have heard Russian before anyway. Personally I may find it easier because I possess books by the same publisher in Swedish and Spanish, but even so, the explanations are clear and comprehensive. It's the little additions, like idiosyncracies and other tidbits which supplement your understanding. For example at the back of the book the author has included a section on how Russian handwriting is done, showing you how some of the alphabet changes when written rather than printed. Unfortunately the version I bought was without the cassettes which come with the book, and I feel that these would greatly assist me in learning the language. The cassettes do a lot for giving the student a real 'feel' for the sound of the language. If you are prepared to do a little bit of work and revision, you can easily master the basics of the language. I do and will continue to use Hugo's language courses exclusively. (And not just because they are nicely colour-coded...)

This course is an excellent value. It has four cassettes with very good audio quality. The book in combination with the cassettes helps you see how the words are written as well as how they are pronounced. It would be nice if there were more repetition with the tapes -- but considering the price you are getting a lot for your money. I have also purchased Pimsleur tapes which are excellent but which are very expensive. This course also provides grammar and pronunciation rules that are very helpful and which make this course better in some ways than Pimsleur because many of the sounds in Russian are very subtle and are difficult to pick up when only listening to audio tapes. I highly recommend this Hugo course. I would also supplement it with other materials like Pimsleur.

Three months after starting this course I went to live in Moscow. I bought food, travelled on public transport, had simple conversations with strangers, read newspaper headlines, spoke to my neighbours and went out to nightclubs.

I've read a lot of Russian language course books and this is easily, easily the best value.

To improve your Russian after this book - there's one 'Verbs of Motion for Intermediate Students of Russian', which is also fantastic. Also buy Offord's guide to Russian grammar if you're going to Russia. There are also a couple of great books published by Strathclyde University's Professor of Russian, do check these out. Don't buy any textbooks written by a Russian (unless it's from MGU), they're all terrible!

Alfred Metraux's study of Haitian vaudou is as comprehensive as one can imagine an outsider can achieve. The book covers the history, social framework, gods, spirits, and loa, rituals, magic, and what The Church thinks. There are antecdotal stories that illustrate the powers and beliefs of vaudou practitioners. Metraux's direct observations are ususally imparted without condescension. I found the writing to be scholarly as well as approachable and entertaining. An excellent resource for those interested in this misunderstood Creole religion.

The most carefully researched and authentic scholarly book on
Voodoo. Reads very well--good in-depth coverage.

If you want to learn something about Voodoo, then start with Alfred Metraux's "Voodoo in Haiti". It's the most straight down the line, objective, anthropological study of voodoo that one can find. Often, better editions of the book are accompanied by Metraux's photography, which in itself tells one a great deal about this religion. Factual evidence is the priority here and for that reason alone, it's a respectable book that doesn't tell any lies. Metraux is the classic 'outsider' who is looking in at Voodoo, and his viewpoint is never marred by Western conceits or judgements. "Voodoo in Haiti" firmly puts Voodoo in its place alongside every other religion in the world: it has value, merits, problems and practices. Most importantly of all, Metraux does not once mention "Live and Let Die".

The photos and content is very good but in several instances the most relevant models are not mentioned or illustrated. i.e. Matchless G50,M.V. Agusta 750s. Ducati 750SS roundcase. It seems that the authors preferences, easy of access to a machine (for photos) or conveniences are sometimes sacrificed for the important item. In general it is a very good general info book. Shows some really strange machines.

This is an excellent reference for someone who wants to know about any brand of motorcycle. There's something in there on all of them!

I like everything about the book. The photography is great and there's some really good background information, too. My criticism of the book lies in the selection of the particular bikes that have any meaningful coverage devoted to them. Certain marques are overly represented where others are ignored or get very light coverage. Too many Ducatis, for example, and not enough early Kawasakis. Too many Ariels and not enough bikes from companies like Benelli, a company that sold zillions of lightweights. The other thing is the specific bikes chosen to represent certain companies. I would like to have seen a little more thought given to those that were the most significant models.

That's my only real criticism. The authors' interests were reflected in this book.

But again, in summary, it's the most complete work of its type I have ever seen, and I have spent many hours enjoying it. It's also nice to have whenever anyone talks about a particular bike-- you can look it up in the book and in many cases, find a picture.

This book is an unbeatable resource for tracing the history of motorcycle and scooter brands and models. Over 1000 are photographically illustrated with notes, and a directory covers every known motorcycle brand and model, listed alphabetically under country of origin. Whether your interest is in classic models, racing motorcycles, or stylish new machines, you will find them all here.

"Before the automobile there was the motorcycle. And even after . . . the motorcycle put the world on wheels." Automobiles were made for the rich until Henry Ford came along. For everyone else, the motorcycle was the thing.

The first part of the book features wonderful photographs (always a side view, and sometimes front and back as well; for racing machines there are usually racing views; and mechanical views where innovations occur) along with brief descriptions of the manufacturer and model. Here are some of the motorcycles featured: Adler MB200; AJS Model D; Aprilia RSV 250; Ardie TM500; Ariel Square-Four; Armstrong MT 500; Ascott-Pullin 500cc; and Autoped (a motorized child's scooter) -- and those are just in the A's.

Motorcycles with two pages of coverage include the Bimota TESI 1D; BMW R32; Harley-Davidson JD28; Henderson; Hilderbrand & Wolfmuller; Honda CB750; Indian Scout; Kawasaki ZZ-R 1100; Norton Manx; and Triumph Speed Twin.

My favorite profile was of a reconstruction of the original Daimer Einspur, the first motorcycle.

Other motorcycles that received one page of coverage included: ABC, Ace, Adler MB200, Ariel Square-Four, BMW Rennsport, BMW R1100GS, Brough Superior Dream, BSA Bantam, BSA Gold Star DBD34, Buell S2-Thunderbolt, DKW SS250, Excelsior Auto-Cycle Model K, Honda 50 Super Cub, Indian Single, Kawasaki Z1, Laverda Jota, Megola Racing Model, MV Agusta 350 GP, MZ RE125, Ner-a-Car Model C, NSU Kompressor, Pope, Rokon Trail-Breaker, Scott 3 3/4, Sunbeam Model 90, Suzuki GT 750, Triumph 3TA, Vespa 150, Vincent-HRD Series C Black Shadow, and Werner.

Just to show you the kind of detail available to you, let me share the one-quarter page listing for the Zundapp GS125. This machine had a capacity of 124cc, and power output of 18bhp@7,900 rpm. It weighed 100 kg, and the estimated top speed was 65 mph. "The letters GS stand for Gelande Sport -- Gelande meaning 'terrains.'" This bike was a favorite in Enduro-type events in the U.S. in the 1970s. This machine had good off-road capabilities with fair speed when necessary, in a form that was legal for on the road as well. Enhanced versions of the 1972 bike photographed "won the world 125cc Motocross Championship in 1973 and 1974." The photograph notes that the Zundapp engine was also sold to other manufacturers, and points out the high-level exhaust system and the head lights.

The directory is a real treasure trove of information. Did you know that Bulgaria, Ireland, Israel, Romania, South Africa, and South Korea have each had one motorcycle brand?

Here is a listing for an early U.K. bike: "Silva 1919-20 Early scooter with front-wheel drive provided by a 118 cc atmospheric-inlet-valve Wall Auto Wheel." Also, if a designer left one manufacturer for another, that is noted. So you can see the development of one person's work, as well as that of a firm.

Clearly, a limitation of any work like this one is the availability of models to photograph. Mr. Wilson was fortunate to have the assistance of The Motorcycle Heritage Museum in Westerville, Ohio for this purpose. But you may be disappointed because your favorite model is not here. That is an unavoidable weakness. You don't see all the old automobile models when you visit the Henry Ford Museum in Greenfield Village either.

I am very impressed with what has been accomplished in this book. It is hard to imagine doing more in a volume of this size, and at this price level. I encourage you to give the book to your friends who love motorcycles.

After you have finished enjoying the book for the first of many times, I suggest that you review the development of motorcycles. Has your own riding taken advantage of all of those advances? Perhaps you need more than one motorcycle so you can engage in a fuller range of activities. Here's a good place to start thinking about what your next motorcycle will be.

If you love Harley-Davidsons, I also recommend Mr. Wilson's outstanding book, The Ultimate Harley-Davidson.

Enjoy the freedom of the open road!