The Vicomte De Bragelonne is another masterpiece by Dumas. Although not as captivating as the first two books in his series (The Three Musketerrs and Twenty Years After), VDB certainly has its moments. VDB is followed by Louise de la Valliere and finally the series ends with the story of the Man in the Iron Mask. This book starts of rather slowly compared to the others and certainly is not as captivating albeit it is a good read. The ending is a little weak too. The middle is simply a page turner. Adventure after adventure. This book sets up the plot for the last two in the series (all three were really one book entitled Ten Years Later). The Musketeers (d'Artagnan, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis) could not be more different in this book. They are taking diffent sides of the governmental rift as Louis XIV finally makes his rise to power. I recommend this book. END

This book, like all of Dumas' other works, is excellent and should be read by all. It's not as action packed, I admit, as the other Musketeer books, however, I find it equally captivating. I think the interaction of the four friends(d'Artagnan, Athos, Porthos and Aramis),and how they deal and act with one another at this point in their lives is very interesting. If you get this book, you better make sure you have close on hand the next two(Louise de Valliere and The Man in the Iron Mask)because it ends abbrutly, leading you in to the next book. But it's definately a must have.

First of all, the most common way to get the whole series is with 5 separate and distinct books. They are (in order): The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After, The Vicomte De Bragelonne, Louise De LA Valliere, and The Man in the Iron Mask.

I don't think I need to tell people about the story, but I will. The action and dialogue in the Dumas' stories rivals anything written since. Especially the dialogue. If Dumas were alive today he'd be writing for TV and movies, his dialogue is as fast and witty as anything around.

There are many different printed versions of these stories around. If you pick and choose at random from different publishers, you may miss parts of the stories, have overlaps, or run into major editing. Just look at the versions of the 'Man in the Iron Mask' and see the different page count. At my local library I found two books that said 'Complete and Unabridged,' only one had 10 less chapters than the other.

So, sticking to one publisher increases your chances of getting the whole story. These Oxford World Classic editions are excellent. They do have all five books. They don't cut anything out. They use one of the standard translations (I'm not sure if there has been a new translation in the last 100 years). And they are newly printed. Some publishers versions look like photocopies of old printings and are pathetic.

For the most part, this is a highly entertaining account of an all-too-human composer. The story appeals to musicians and non-musicians alike. My only problem with the book was the trips to Germany. I found this section of the book to be dry. I felt like this section was mostly devoted to relating who were the best players in the orchestra, and how the rehearsals went. Although some of that information would be of much use when doing a research paper, it wasn't especially interesting to me. Besides that, though, the book was a great read. Some of his anecdotes will remain in my memory for years to come. "The Last Chapter of All" was particularly engrossing. Berlioz most certainly was someone who experienced every extreme of emotion!

Although I cannot comment on the translation (for I have nothing to compare it to), the notes made by Ernest Newman are often pertinent and interesting.

Overall, I recommend this book. I feel that we can all identify will Berlioz to some extent. This book pretty much had it all. It had thoughtful commentary, poignant experiences, unrequited love, and humorous anecdotes.

The inimitable Hector Berlioz was a prolific writer (perhaps he missed his true calling). His memoirs are an irresistible and captivating read, giving us an all too brief window into his life-long struggles, both personally and professionally. Cairns did a bang-up job at translation (no real complaints here) and the Everyman's edition is splendidly printed.

Anyone familiar with the works of Oscar Wilde will of course know where the "take-off" above comes from. And how trenchantly - even scathingly - funny that particular work is, even to the point where some folks have fun citing extended passages at will, out loud, just for the "yuks" it contains. Well, add "The Memoirs of Hector Berlioz" to that short list.

I am now barely 100 pages into this screamer, after having recently concluded reading the magisterial and sympathetic two-volume biography of Berlioz by David Cairns (who also provides the perfect translation of these Memoirs). Frankly, I wasn't sure that I could handle "yet more Berlioz" so soon after finishing the Cairns volumes (although Cairns provided plenty of justification, in terms of his ability to pinpoint Berlioz's scathing wit).

I shouldn't have worried.

Berlioz is certainly famous among music lovers, and musicians and composers, for a long list of "firsts": The first to take the proto-Romantic beginnings started so auspiciously by Beethoven to new heights, the first to expand the size (and instruments) of the classical orchestra to something closely resembling today's symphony orchestra, the first to write a detailed study on the uses of the instruments in the orchestra, including the effects of venue acoustics on the orchestra's sound... It's a long list, and this is just a part of it.

But Berlioz was also a brilliant writer. Inter alia, his "feuilletons" (music & arts criticism for the cultural journals of his time) and his "Evenings in the Orchestra" (including several of his better feuilletons) showed both his brilliance as a writer on the arts and his scathing wit. And that wit comes across as well in his Memoirs, as can be evidenced by this example on his very first page:

"Needless to say, I was brought up in the Catholic and Apostolic Church of Rome. This charming religion (so attractive since it gave up burning people) was for seven whole years the joy of my life, and although we have long since fallen out I have always kept most tender memories of it. Indeed, such is its appeal for me that had I the misfortune to be born into the bosom of one of those schisms ponderously hatched by Luther or Calvin I should undoubtedly abjured it the moment I was able..."

It gets even better later on, and the Memoirs are very well served by Cairns's idiomatic translation that so perfectly captures the trenchantly ascerbic writing qualities of which Berlioz was so capable. (Apparently, earlier translations, whether due to "bowdlerization" or simple lack of supporting documents, did not succeed to the same degree in capturing all of these qualities.)

Berlioz started these Memoirs while in his mid-40's and while in London for performances of his works and finding himself with some spare time. From then until the end of his life two decades later, he would add to them, with the express requirement that they be published posthumously. There is no need to "wonder why" at this requirement: He had something to say about nearly everything and everybody in the world of music and culture of his time, and wasn't afraid to "name names." And good for him!

I hope to have more (but not too much more) to say about these alternately hilarious and moving Memoirs once I've finished them. In the meantime, I hope that these brief comments serve to whet your appetite for one of the best books ever written about music by a musician. And a suitably famous one at that. This hardcover version is inexpensive and beautifully bound; a worthwhile addition to every music lover's library.

Dumas is deservedly famous for his intricate and engrossing novels, and The Three Musketeers is certainly no exception. As far as classics go, this one is among the most fun that you'll ever read.

The novel follows the protagonist D'Artagnan as he tries to join the French king's elite bodyguard unit, the Musketeers. D'Artagnan befriends three current Musketeers (Porthos, Athos and Aramis) and what follows is a fast-paced literary romp as the four friends share a series of swashbuckling adventures in 17th century France. The plot is full of twists and turns but is cleverly developed and believable. Dumas expertly develops the characters, engaging the reader as the characters experience war, love and just about everything in between.

The edition I'm reviewing (the Illustrated Junior Library version) is highly abridged (300 pages vs over 600 pages) and has many beautiful illustrations, making an already fun novel even more accessible for young readers.

The story starts out with a young naive Gascon by the name D'artagnan who goes to seek his fortune with the King's Musketeers. On his journey to Paris he has a tangle with a man named Rochefort whom D'artagnan chases throughout the book, along with his female companion Milady, a woman of pure evil.

He meets the Three Musketeers and they don't get off to such a great beginning as he finds himself preparing to fight a duel with all three of them. Eventually D'artagnan wins over Athos, Porthos, and Aramis and together the four set off on adventures to protect their majesty the queen (Anne of Austria) against the bad intentions of the cardinal.

It's all intigue and romance and swashbuckling! I loved it all, every sentence. And i love how M. Dumas twists history to his own literary devices.

I played hooky to finish reading this book!

THere is a reason that classics are regarded as classics: they are timeless and very fun to read, often more fun than you would imagine. THis is a long book, 900 pages in the French version, but I sliced through so fast that I was sorry when it ended.

The plot outline is simple. The four musketeers - for there really are four - want to help the queen in her love for Lord Buckingham of England. All the rest is intrigue and adventure related to that. But the episodes are so funny, the chemistry between the characters so subtle and realistic, that it makes for a truly great read. Indeed, the characters of the musketeers are so well drawn, their inter-relations so complex, that a film or even a miniseries simply cannot do it justice. The glimpses at historical personnages is also fascinating, from Richelieu to Louis XIII. Finally, you get a flavor for the Paris of that epoch, just after the religious wars.

Highly recommended.

"Beauty is the greatest of human powers. All autocratic unbridled power with nothing to counterbalance it, leads to abuse, mad excess. Despotism is power gone mad. In women, despotism takes the form of satisfying their whims". This remark engulfs Balzac's opera: To collate the audience with the obliterating debauchery society of 18th century France. Lisbeth Fischer aka Cousin Bette lurks in every chapter as a concealed beast coveting her prey (The house of Hulot) under the same roof. Perhaps Balzac's major achievement in this master piece, is to portrait a flauntering society feigned by its ostentatious opulence but immerse on a licentious and decadent life. "The savage has feelings... only the civilized man has feelings and ideas." Balzac seems to banter at Parisians with this idea: how civilized, civilized society can be. I strongly recommend this book if you intend to follow De Laclos work in Les Liasions Dangereuses. As an amateur reader I founded the characters difficult to identify at the beginning, however is an strategy smartly set by Balzac and very much appreciated as soon as you start to realize and pace through the richness of the narration.

This is a remarkable book, setting the template for Flaubert and Zola's respective journeys into the sordid human psyche.

Lisbeth is a peasant girl from Alsace, bitter at her cousin Adeline's preferential treatment during their childhood. Vindictive Bette decides to cut the family from its wealth, as well as to debase her family personally. It's not difficult when Adeline's husband Hector becomes so weak-kneed over a pretty face that he would compromise his family if it came to a choice between sex and relatives. Lisbeth maneuvers skilfully, befriending Madame Marneffe, an unhappily married woman with numerous lovers who only wants to see her sickly husband made a manager of his governmental department. Installed in this household as a spy for hector (who is smitten with Marneffe), Lisbeth works toward an alliance with Marneffe, on one side to destroy the Hulot's, on the other to gain the love of Count Steinbock, to whom Lisbeth is a benefactress.

I saw a feminist agenda in this novel. Consider: Whereas Hector Hulot is not frowned upon for his numerous infidelities, and indeed feels no guilt even though his longsuffering wife turns a blind eye, when Adeline, in trying to save her family, attempts to seduce a wealthy perfumer named Crevel, she fears dishonor for herself, and feels immeasurable guilt over the infidelity she never even commits. Could Balzac be commenting on the fact that both women and men should be allowed their indiscretions? Call it immaterial. Also, the female characters are by and large either intelligent and conniving (Madame Marneffe, Lisbeth), or beautiful and virtuous (Adeline, Hortense). The men are scandalously disloyal (Steinbock, Hector), or inneffectual and dissolute (Monsieur Marneffe, Crevel). A fresh perspective...from a male author. Great in every way, even if quite convoluted.

When I described my fascination with Balzac to a pal of mine, I said, "yeah, it is all about disillusioned and cynical people" and he replied: "I am already disillusioned and cynical, so why should I read it?"

Why indeed. This is indispuably one of the best of Balzac's novels, with clearly drawn characters and grim lives in an inexorable descent to self-destruction, which are the classic Balzac themes. It explores the life of a libertine as he ruins himself and his family for the sake of pursuing pretty girls. Unbekonst to him, he gets help from Bette, a cousin full of secret hatreds and bent on vengence. It is very sad to read. One minor character even commits suicide by repeatedly smashing his head into a nail, his only means to finish himself off he could find in his jail cell.

So why read it? Well, again, it is for the wider social portraits that you can find, which are offered almost as an aside. Balzac in one section explains the politics behind the statues you see all over Paris, which is fascinating. You also learn of the career of courtisans, as they use their sex to advance themselves. The book is simply full of these thngs, in addition to the psychology of the many interesting main characters.

Also unusual for Balzac is the coherency of the story, which does not degenerate into ramblings like many of his other novels as they weave the tapestry of his Comedie Humaine like so many threads, that is, as vehicles in his vast project to fully portray an entire society with characters re-appearing in different situations and venues throughout his interrelated novels. The characters stand on their own here and are more clearly drawn. Hence, it is a great intro to Balzac and may get you hooked for more, that is, if you are masochistic enough to subject yourself to it!

Warmly recommended.

If you have read and enjoyed Band of Brothers by Steven Ambrose and/or have seen the HBO mini-series, then this book is a must read! The author, David Kenyon Webster, is one of the "Band of Brothers" and is the main character in episode eight, "The Last Patrol". This book is a fast paced, sometimes humorous, and often moving account of the late Mr. Webster's experiences during WW II. If you can imagine reading "Band of Brothers" had it been wriiten by one of the participants, that will give you an idea of what this book is like. Some elements of the Band of Brothers mini-series were obviously taken directly from Mr. Webster's book, and I thought he should have received more recognition in the credits.
On another note, Mr. Webster could not get this book published while he was alive, because back then, publishers were looking for more "sensational" fictional war novels. What could be more sensational than jumping into France on D-day or jumping into Holland during Operation: Market-Garden? It was not published until 1994 during the revived public interest in WW II triggered by the 50th anniversery of D-Day.
Thank you Mr. Webster - we are in your debt!

"Parachute Infantry", by David Kenyon Webster, sub-titled: "An American Paratrooper's Memoir of D-Day And The Fall Of The Third Reich", Louisiana State University Press, Baton rouge, 1994.

This book was published some fifty years after the events described and some 30 years after the death of the author (1961). However, the personal memories are excellent as is the writing. The book deals with the author's personal experiences in the European Theater of Operations and it seems that he did not record the time in hospital after he was wounded. Webster's leg wound made him miss the Battle of the Bulge, so he simply alludes to that struggle when he returns to his outfit towards the end of the war. He does deal with parachuting into Normandy on D-Day and, at the end of the war, chasing the remains of the German Army into the mountains.

I think that you could almost sense that the Author was recording the more "exciting" days and planning to fill in the more mundane details, such as his weeks in hospital, when he later had time. One thing that did come through, loud and clear, was the enlisted man's disdain for the officer corps in the EOT. Webster's record of occupation duty, directly after the cessation of hostilities, is entertaining. I can just picture him, getting ready for his daily swim in the lake, and wondering where he should "dine" that night. Enjoyable book!

Those of you who have read Stephen Ambrose's book, Band of Brothers, will remember David Kenyon Webster as a passionate and articulate member of Easy Company, the unit also featured in HBO's "Band of Brothers" miniseries. Webster wrote Parachute Infantry shortly after the end of World War II; it languished during the post-war years, when memoirs of regular soldiers were of little interest to publishers.

After Webster's untimely death in 1961 at the age of 39, his widow continued to believe in the manuscript and approached publishers without success. After the late Stephen Ambrose came upon the manuscript while researching Band of Brothers, he recommended it to Louisiana State University Press. Parachute Infantry: An American Paratrooper's Memoir of D-Day and the Fall of the Third Reich, with an introduction by Stephen E. Ambrose, was published by LSU Press in 1994, just in time for the 50th anniversary of D-Day. The book received excellent reviews.

Last year, Webster's widow, the long-time champion of Parachute Infantry, approached Dell Publishing, a division of Random House. Dell was a likely choice: it had published a mass market paperback of Webster's shark book, Myth and Maneater: The Story of the Shark, when the movie "Jaws" was released. She felt that Parachute Infantry could find a wider audience now, given the interest in HBO's "Band of Brothers." Dell was interested, and went back to the original manuscript to produce a revised and expanded edition of the book.

In October 2002, this new edition of Parachute Infantry was published. It features over 100 pages of previously unpublished material, including 20 letters home, and restores some of the grittier language and actual names that were used in Webster's original manuscript.

If you want to know more about the men of Easy Company, as seen through the eyes of one young private, read this book. Webster takes you through training at Toccoa, through jumps on D-Day and in Operation Market Garden in Holland, and to the last days of the war in Germany. It is an excellent companion piece to Band of Brothers (the book or DVD/video), and a powerful, unforgettable book on its own.

Quite good as a detailed examination of the major battles as well as smaller engagements but annoying for the "uninitated" in certain matters. Although there is an Errata page at the back, continual mistakes mean you can't even trust that. The maps of the battles are quite detailed but graphically poor although probably "homemade", and fail to mark all the locations mentioned in the text. (The Borodino 2 page spread has the pages in reverse order.) An overall map showing the locations of the battles would have been helpful - I'm still looking for Mir! The orders of battle are good but it's not clear what all the numbers mean, and the order of battle of the Danish Division is given but not mentioned in the main text. An index to the maps and appendices would have been useful. I suppose these are trivial faults given the enormity of the task.

Nafziger's massive tome on Napoleon's ill-fated Russian campaign of 1812 has many important and postive points that makes the book a must to include in a Napoleonic library. The most useful aspects are the orders of battle, and the combat descriptions of the numerous tactical confrontations. So, for "raw" information presented, the book rates "5 stars." Less useful are the less-than-professionally done maps, which are difficult to read and the graphics not very pleasing to the eye. If you can get by these detriments, the maps can be useful. Even less reader-friendly is some of the author's prose, which can be accounted for since this was Nafziger's first "major" work." All the aforementioned, however, is good when compared to the horrendously condescending and insulting "Introduction" penned by the vitriolic David Chandler. Why the publisher, or the author, thought that having this "intro" and Chandler's name on the cover would help the sales of this book is a complete mystery. Chandler has the audacity, as the writer of an introduction for another person's book, to insult the author by calling into question Nafziger's research and conclusions, and then Chandler ends his diatribe by saying that if Nafziger does not agree with him (Chandler), then Chandler begrudgingly admits that this is Nafziger's right! There is no rating possible that can properly convey the total worthlessness of this Chandlerian tripe, which unmistakably conveys the idea that David Chandler believes that he and he alone is the sole fountainhead of knowledge concerning this fascinating period of history. I am hopeful that Mr Nafziger will some day have the opportunity to remove from future reprintings of this book the offensive rantings of one incredibly over-rated and egocentric English historian.

I enjoy this book very much. So many maps and OBs. This is like a paradise for every wargamer! Nafziger is OK. He does not present the French as the cute and neat boys, and the Russians as the ugly ones. I recommend this book for you.

La Reine Margot was, in my opinion, a pretty good story. There is lots of deception on the part of the Queen de Medicis, one of the more fascinating characters in the story. The book gives a glimpse of France during the Huguenot/Catholic struggle for power. The beginning is slow, but the story is good. I found it difficult (not being familiar with the history) to learn the characters' names. The first chapter is particularly trying, but I pressed on and the book seemed to ease up a LOT and give way to a story of plotted murders, backstabbing, a little superstition/witchcraft, and many close calls. La Reine Margot wasn't nearly as good as The Count of Monte Cristo (if you have not read this, it is definitely a page turner!), but it was a good story that gives a little insight into history while livening it up with Dumas's sword-fighting, heroic style. Notice that I tend to be a little harsh by granting it three stars, but this is only because The Count of Monte Cristo was truly his best work and must be set apart from his others.

This is a Historical novel that takes place in France, in the XVIth century. There's a very very bad black widow -as a matter of fact, black mother as well this is Catherine of Médicis-, a beautiful and amorous young queen married to somebody she does not love but with whom she forms an alliance just in order not to be a widow herself and go to a convent, a romantic heroe, his true friend -who sometimes loves him a little bit too much and a bunch of intriguers. Alexandre Dumas, in his newspaper serial style - this novel was first published that way-, interweave different stories aboiding boring descriptions and getting to the point: quick dialogue, short chapters, attractive characters, and everything to catch you from the first page, which he achieves. It really is a page turner, with several love stories that never goes with marriage and several marriages that never goes with love but with alliances. I have read that some United States reviewers are a bit confused because of the historical part and that's a problem unless you know European History or have a book with comments and notes. If you end the book and want to know what happened afterwards, read British Enciclopedia or something like that, because all characters are historical, even the Romantic hero La Mole and his friend. To those that have seen the 1990s French movie, you have the advantage of imagining the whole story with the beautiful faces of Isabelle Adjani and Vincent Perez, and the great soundtrack and spectacular staging from his director, which reminds of an opera. To those who doesn't I'd say go to your videoclub and try to find it!! It's not a substitute but a perfect complement.

This is a lesser known Dumas novel than, say, the Count of Monte Christo. But it is just as good as the others he did: vivid personalities, attention to detail, and fabulously intricate plots. It tells the story of Margot and her marriage to the King of Navarre, an ambitious Hugenot in constant danger of assassination. With the backdrop of the religious wars, she finds love in a knight that she attempts to cloister from the dangers of court intrigue. It ends in tragedy, hope, and the promise of further adventure.

Based on available historical sources at the time and embellished with Dumas' unique sense of drama, it is a spectacular read, full of danger, sudden developments, and psychological depth. While it may not be as deep as Stendhal's best works, it is absolutely first rate as a historical novel, a genre that Dumas helped to develop. It stimulates the reader's desire to plung more deeply into French history as well.

High recommendation.

I bought this book for my college-age daughter who was spending a semester studying in France. It was her first solo trip and her first time living solo in Europe. She found the book extremely helpful in learning about the culture and bureaucracy of France. There's lots of information on visas, transportation, money, documents, traveling in France and around Europe, and studying abroad. There's also a good chapter on the people of France that helped her understand attitudes and behavior.

It gives very basic information and should be used as a supplemental guide to other books about living abroad.

I purchased a number of worthwhile books to help prepare to move a small Yuppie household across The Pond. In terms of practical matters, Living, Studying and Working (etc.) is clearly the best of all the titles I read. Other books placed so much emphasis on cultural expectations that they completely glossed over the hundreds of complications involved in such a complex transaction. It is this book that convinced my girlfriend (who is French, by the way, and learned quite a bit from this book) and I to postpone our target move date due to the difficulty of securing a work permit/residency, getting a bank account, etc. But it is also this book that shifted my attitude from "what am I getting myself into" to "ok, given preparation, this will work".

This book won't tell you everything (that'd take the fun out of it) but it will tell you lots of little things that really add up. This is one of the books I bought before I moved to France and it definitely helped. There's lots of little details that will make your move and your life in France go smoother. What I liked about it was it covered a wide range of topics, including social differences, taxes, transportation, appartments, etc.

For all those who consider Robespierre the embodiment of "The Terror" and the personification of all the evils of the French Revolution, this book is not for you. David Jordan presents quite a different take on the self-styled "Incorruptible" and although he presents his case well, it's a familiar technique to make a bad guy look good. There's no doubt that the Thermidorians who were responsible for Robespierre's fall from power were as bad as he was and their hands were assuredly covered in blood. However, that certainly doesn't exonerate Robespierre for the outragous excesses that he and his committee were responible for. Robespierre was a man who's idealism ran amok and who lost sight of the reasons to have those ideas in the first place. His "ends justifying the means" mentality purposely and with great malice led France into the abyss in 1794 and the only way to reverse the trend was for his own quick and ruthless demise.
The false historians who made Robespierre into the only monster of this time are certainly misleading and inaccurate. His contemporaries such as Danton, Hebert, Desmoulins and the rest were hypocrites and deservedly suffered the same fate as most in those days: the guillotine. Nonetheless, their devious behavior shouldn't cloud the fact that Robespierre was as guilty as the rest of them and responsible for many innocent deaths all in the name of his so-called virtue. David Jordan may be somewhat correct in his assessment that, at least early on, Robespierre acted merely for the people and was not interested in his own personal power. Unfortunately, as the Terror continued, Robespierre's magnanimous attitude diminished and was replaced by his ever-growing ego and paranoia. For all of Jordan's arguments regarding this man, one simple fact eludes him totally: the Great Terror ended with the execution of Robespierre and his followers. And it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.

This book is the best political biography book I have ever read. When you read this book you feel that you listen and talk to Robesspirre the incorruptable. For any one interested in this great man and the French Revolution this book is the way to start.

One of the finest and most penetrating studies done on the French revolution as a whole and of Robespierre in particular. Too often readers only gleam their impressions of the period from Dickens and Thomas Carlyle. Then there are pseudo-historians like Stanley Loomis and Otto Scott, who instead of trying to interpret history simply make it up instead. It is so refreshing to read a thoughful, unprejudiced book rooted in facts. I can also highly recommend THE KING'S TRIAL by Jordan, one of the single best history books ever penned.

It's an interesting book for someone who aspires to write a novel. But I did not find nearly as much practical advice and instruction as I hoped. For example, there are only a few pages on plotting your novel. Evan Marshall's book on novel-writing, on the other hand, has about 60 pages.

This book is more of a pep talk, a "you can do it" kind of thing. If that's what you're looking for, this is it. But for something to help you get a novel written, I'd look elsewhere. Marshall's, which I mentioned, is a favorite of mine, but there are others, too.

This is not the best writing book for those who have already read such books and for those who are already somewhat expiereinced at writing; That, however, is not who it is targeted at or who it is best for (as the title suggests). It is for people who are interested inwriting but have probably not started--or just not been at it long--who are new to writing books. It is great at providing the basic and practical advice every writer needs in the beginning, and it provides a very important asset for the beginner: motivation.

I've read more than a few good books on writing; several are quite inspirational. The difference here is that this book is practical. I wrote my first novel following the guidelines set forth in Collier and Leighton's book, and I sold it to a major publishing company. Inspiration is great; inspiration plus methodology is better.