This guide book was cheaper than the lonely planet book and contained a map, which was nice. However, the book itself is not that great. There isn't much information and lots of the smaller places to see aren't mentioned, or if they are it is just a very little bit. The major stuff to see is here, and the restaurant descriptions are good. But if your wanting to do something off the beaten path this book will not provide you with the information you need. Sometimes having more than one guide book can be helpful, this would make a good secondary guide book. It isn't all bad, but you'd be better off with the lonely planet book. The map was a nice feature and it did come in handy several times.

My entire family (ages 29-60) just returned from an 8-day vacation to Costa Rica planned on recommendations made by this book. I'm glad to say that every hotel and every restaurant met our expectations. This is a must read for those planning trips to Costa Rica!

We went to Costa Rica to get married in front of the Arenal Volcano and I have to say it was the best vacation of our lives. We lucked out and the volcano erupted just before we said our vows. IT was also one of the clearest days of the year. This book helped us immensely. The map was invaluable. The descriptions of each place were dead on. The writer clearly knows every town intimately and we couldn't believe the amount of detail. We're going back next Christmas and we'll be taking this book along!

This is an extremely exhaustive book and well worth the price. As far as I know, there exists no more comprehensive book on how every muscle interconnects in the human body -- it is truly an encylopedia of the human anatomy.

A few things keep me from giving it a 5 star review.

1: Goldfinger's illustrations are fair, but not masterful, particularly those of the human face.

2: Strangely, there are almost no fully rendered full-body illustrations or even any fully rendered "body part" illustrations -- almost all the good sketches are of isolated body parts alone. For example, there isn't any fully rendered muscular illustration that encompasses both the upper arm AND the lower arm(!) There ARE full body illustrations, but only in a more schematical form.

3: There are no "application" illustrations of the anatomy in case studies such as bending, posing, flexing, etc. Most of the examples are in prone positions.

Granted, much of this information can be taken from any number of other anatomy books, particularly Richer's "Artistic Anatomy," which this book is largely based on and I also highly recommend.

Nevertheless, as a reference guide to the human body, this book has no peer. If you truly want to understand how the muscles of the body interconnect, there is no better alternative. This book is obviously a labour of love.

this text served me extremely well as i learned figure drawing and is the best anatomical reference i have ever seen, a genuine encyclopedia of anatomy. however, artists should be warned that the approach is analytical (anatomy is broken down into its elements) rather than illustrative (anatomy is presented as pictures of different poses). goldfinger (a sculptor) attempts to explain surface form structurally, from the inside out -- starting with individual bones, then joints, then all visible muscles, facial features (eye, mouth, nose, ear), fat pads, surface veins and arteries, skin folds and finally a gallery of "mass conceptions" of the head, hand and full figure as blocks, continuous planes, cylinders, ovoids and photographed models. (some internal musculature is omitted because it does not affect surface form, but there is extensive information and photo documentation on the facial expression of emotions, largely based on the classic research by ekman and friesen.) this "inside out" approach also determines the content of the 1 to 3 page descriptions of each bone and muscle. in the section on muscles, four diagrams show the skeletal muscle attachments, isolated muscle form, form within surrounding muscles, and surface appearance in lean models, usually from two different points of view. schematic diagrams analyze muscle form into its basic shapes, or show the mechanical effects of muscle contraction. the text is often heavy going but presents unusually detailed and clear explanations of muscle attachments, action, form and interaction with other muscles or joints. there is also much information not available anywhere else, and all sex differences in anatomy (for example in the abdominal musculature and hip bones) are described in the text. goldfinger's goal is to provide the artist with the information necessary to identify the bones and muscles contributing to surface form in any model, any physique or any pose, and i have never found it to fail that purpose. for a breezier and visually more attractive approach, simblet's book is preferable.

Obviously, no one book can completely cover the subject of human anatomy, but this is the most complete reference for muscles that I know of. Basically, every muscle has it's own section: a page of illustration & photos, and a page or two of text. As a result, virtually everything about the muslces is clear, and I cannot say this about other books.

There is also information on bones, facial expression, and drawings that simplify the structure of the body. However, I reccomend the book mainly because of how well it covers muslces. This is an especially nice reference if you can also study a real skeleton and live models

This is a very detailed account of the military and - to a lesser extent - political maneuverings of the Franco-Prussian War. Given the detail and the heavy footnoting, it is a surprisingly brisk read, though I do have one suggestion to assist future readers: photocopy the various pages that have maps on them so you can easily refer to them as you read on. Since I hadn't thought of this idea while reading the book, I found myself holding two or even three such pages open with the fingers of my left hand while reading battle descriptions many, many pages later.

One disappointment was in the very brief epilogue. The author discusses how the speed of the Prussian victory raised the stakes for all European powers, Germany in particular, but the author does not really discuss the aftermath of the war in France or explain how France formed a post-war government given the fractious way it had fought the war. Every history needs to stop at some point, of course, but a brief explanation of France's recovery seems in order.

Michael Howard utilizes the Franco-Prussian War as a case study to illustrate Germany's military dilemma of the mid-19th to mid-20th Centuries. On the one hand, Prussia employed every means at its disposal--military/industrial technology, professional military training and education, and rapid mobilization and deployment-- to set the president and become Europe's greatest military power. On the other hand, the recently united Germany's victory over France would create a fervor of nationalism and militarism that would transcend two world wars in the 20th Century in what Howard refers to as "a disaster: for herself and for the entire world" (p. 456). Howard incorporates the classic old style military history approach. The author describes the political atmosphere, causes, troop movements, weapons, strategy & tactics, battles and leaders that are common fare for this genre. To a lesser degree, Howard describes the affect the war had on society especially the Paris Commune that rose after the fighting subsided and the "precarious" peace that followed (p. 455). Throughout, Howard stresses the technological aspects of the conflict, especially the role of railroads. Even Howard admits the vast array of archival material that emerged from this war is too much for any one historian to master. He carefully selects and synthesizes primary sources from both sides of the conflict yet tends to lean more towards German language sources. Among these, Howard also consults diaries and memoirs from the major actors such as Bismarck and Moltke. Howard also credits the work of Emil Daniels who published a definitive one-volume history of the Franco-Prussian War in 1929. The social aspect of Howard's thesis pales in comparison with the military historical narrative. Much of Howard's contentions are found between the lines; a technique favored by some and shunned by other historians. Also, any treatment of vast units and their commanders describing intricate troop movements and tactics should include an order of battle in an appendix. The absence of an order of battle is a major weakness of this book. Finally, what maps are provided, are just those: maps. They show no movement of troops, offensive or defensive positions or tactics utilized, another major flaw. Howard utilizes the top-down approach to military history to great affect. The strength lies in the compare and contrasting of preliminary preparations of both countries and the political/military leadership that implemented policy. Although Howard makes the French deficiencies obvious and outlines the command faults on both sides, he does it with a sympathetic approach for the realities of the nature of war. This objective style is a major strength of the book. For the Franco-Prussian War, Michael Howard's book remains the top-dog!

Concise, clear, to the point, unbiased account of a very complicated subject.
You must understand the difficult internal political climate of France at the time to get the grip of some of the consequences of it, the author puts that in perspective brilliantly.
For the Germans (hard to believe mind!) IT WAS A PURE DEFENSIVE preemptive strike... (Sounds bloody actual is'nt it).
One of the best XIX'th Military History Books around.

Is George Eliot the world's greatest novelist? There's certainly an argument to be made, based on her classics Middlemarch and Daniel Deronda, which feature characters as complex and vividly, bafflingly alive as those of Shakespeare.

Yet today she seems curiously unread and under-appreciated, certainly in comparison to her contemporary, Charles Dickens. This has long mystified me, but perhaps I've found the solution in Mill on the Floss.

Seemingly the best known of her books, Mill on the Floss is certainly the one most frequently taught in high schools and colleges. And it's probably enough to guarantee that most students forced through it or its Cliff Notes won't bother with her again.

Not that it's a bad book. If you like Eliot, you'll find plenty of her riveting, obsessive characterization and dramatic psychology here. But along with these come a fractured, frustrating structure, a dearth of narrative drive, and endless passages of phonetic, "naturalistic" rural accents. Not to mention an ending so out of left field it seems to belong to an entirely different story. Unlike Middlemarch and Daniel Deronda, or even early but more successful novels like Adam Bede, Mill on the Floss is work, and its rewards are more modest.

Mill on the Floss seems to rate the academic attention because of its autobiographical elements, perhaps for its dazzling heroine, rather than its overall quality. So don't let an underwhelmed response to this fascinating if flawed book keep you from the rest of her amazing work -- she might be the best novelist out there.

Few females were writing fiction in those days, but it says a good thing about Great Britain that most of them were British. Mary Ann Evans, the real name of "George Eliot", was an enlightened and socially conscious woman, who wrote a story about the Torvill family, from the standpoint of Maggie, a young girl with a sharp mind, struggling to be herself in a world which was hard for that kind of person. The central theme is perhaps her struggle between family loyalty and independent spirit, as revealed through her relationship with his beloved, but tough, brother. The book is long and evocative, painting with acuteness the social surroundings in which the story develops. And the development intertwines many messages and situations, always revealing Maggie's inner self. One important characteristic of the book is that it is difficult to classify, since it contains features of Romanticism and Realism; social narrative and a glimpse into what psyichological literature would be in the Twentieth century.

In THE MILL ON THE FLOSS George Eliot provides an insightful and intelligent story depicting rural Victorian society. Set in the parish of St. Ogg's, Maggie and Tom Tulliver endure childhood and young adulthood while experiencing the harsh realities of poverty, devotion, love, and societal reputation. I emphasized greatly with Maggie as I have experienced some of her own lived experiences. I truly loved every chapter of this book and didn't want it to end. It is indeed very rare that I have this type of reaction to a book. Although this book was published during the Victorian era, it's amazing how Eliot's prose flows virtually unobstructed. The reader is given a rare glimpse into rural life during the 19th century and is treated to how strictly structured society was then. I am now a fan of Eliot and look forward to reading her other novels.

Bottom line: THE MILL ON THE FLOSS is an excellent novel. Enjoy!

So much credit and legitimacy has been lauded this tale over the years that it has tended to be taken as truth.....and no further from the truth could it be. It was written very close to the end of Eliot Ness's life when he was little more than a boozy has-been who would "weave" his tales for anyone who would listen. Usually this was done in some tavern where Ness would corner some sucker for the free drinks that went with his storytelling. A writer by the name of Oscar Fraley saw the chance of big bucks and sure success by putting some of this into print and there you have the reason for this rag to even exist. The TRUE story of Al Capone and the Chicago mob of the prohibition era is MUCH better reading than this tale form some drunk's bleary imagination. Do yourself a favor.....get ahold of and READ the Capone biography by John Kobler. You will get the TRUE story of Capone's rise and fall(which has much more to do with the IRS than with Elliot Ness)and none of the "bologna" that makes up this tall tale. The true story is plenty TALL itself.

I've read this book and I think that Elliot Ness did exaggerate a bit. Yes, he may have been in the team set out to capture Capone, he may even have been the group leader but in the book he does exaggerate his bravery and the risks he took. I would not recommend this book if you don't like reading lies.

This book is one of the few accounts we have of the '20s gangster era. The book recounts Eliot Ness's experiences as the leader of a team of nine men who were assigned the job of cutting off Al Capone's main sourse of income-illgeal booze. Ness and his team were part of a two pronged attact to get Capone. While agent Frank Wilson gathered evidence to convict Capone of tax evaison, Ness and his team raided stills and breweries that provided Capone with income to bribe police and newsmen. The book recounts the selection of the team and their early failures and successes. When Ness made a raid he often informed the media to show that some lawmen were honest and as a result he has been called a glory hound. The book tells of their many raids and some insight on the Chicago mob. The book has been accused of exaggerating but much in the book has be varified and Ness WAS celebrated as a hero in the New York Times when Capone was convicted. Ness died before this book was published and is not responsible for the Eliot Ness legend. When we needed lawmen to set the example Ness did the job he was called to do, and moved on.

This book is HORRIBLY written. The book jumps around, as everyone else has said, and is just very poorly written--the characters are flat and boring, the dialog is not believable, etc. A INFINITELY better book for teens on this subject is "When is Perfect, Perfect Enough?" by Nancy Rue.

Jessica barely eats and admires her thin body, but then she ends up in hospital. Can she see the danger signs before it is too late? Samantha is always in control - including what she puts into her body - sometimes she cuts herself and feels better, but for how long? Phoebe overeats because she wants to be thin - can her new doctor help her? Hannah eats until she feels the pain go away and then purges all the pain. Will she get the helps she needs? Four girls with four serious issues with food - will they be able to help themselves get better?

Eating disorders are one of the scariest things you can deal with - either for yourself, or watching someone else goes through it. This book is brilliant because it loos at four of the most "common" forms of eating disorder and shows how it destroys the lives of the people suffering from them. If you have never known anyone with an eating disorder, or if you want someone to know about eating disorders then get them to read this book. Boys who have girlfriends/sisters/friends with eating disorders (or who they suspect have an eating dsorder)should check this book out because it goes to show how even the smallest joke can lead to a teenager starving herself to death (or eating too much instead).

I have to add one word of warning though - as other reviewers have pointed out this book is not the best written. The style of jumping between characters after a short time is distracting and frustrating at times as it can be hard to keep who is who straight in the beginning - but it does get better, don't get frustrated and give up. This is one of the most emotional books that I have read in the past six months, and I recommend it highly.

This was such I good book! I have read it 3 times myself, and my friends are constantly wanting to borrow it. I would recommend this for anyone! Even guys should read this it coudl help them understand what women go through! I think everyone should read this book!!

There are few books that can be safely called classics--and out of those, fewer are as deserving of the term as Djuna Barnes' 'Nightwood'. Elegant and mesmerizing, difficult and beautiful, it is a measured and balanced work of art.

Another reviewer said this wasn't a 'celebration of lesbian love'--this much is true. What makes this book truly remarkable is that it *doesn't* set any boundaries--hearts are fickle, hearts are cruel, and every character in the novel is inflicted with his/her own brand of emotional anxiety. Barnes makes no distinction between 'lesbian' love and any other--it is as normal, and as abnormal, as any other human affection. That alone makes this book a classic (but of course, the writing too is intoxicating). In fact, what is truly surprising (to me, at least!) is that despite her exquisite elegance, Djuna Barnes manages to take such a no-nonsense approach to human emotions. She never seeks to simplify anything--and makes her work difficult for the reader in the most rewarding of ways. (I mean that she doesn't let us get away with pre-conceptions or romantic illusions. She manages to make the imperfect reality as arresting as the myth of perfection.) Most of us, in our lives, don't *really* know what we're doing, or what we feel. Barnes makes her characters real by putting them through the same confusing maelstrom of experiences--where one emotion often morphs into another--love into indifference, respect into insecurity, and so on. There are no answers--there is only endurance--endurance of others, endurance of ourselves.

I don't want to be more specific and give out details of the plot. This book has to be experienced to be believed...

I enjoyed the review by Eric Karl Anderson. But I'd like to add a few things about Anderson's identity interpretation on the five characters that thread 'Nightwood' and its meanings. In the introduction of the book T.S Eliot wrote a preface which prepared the readers from possible misunderstandings for Djuna Barnes brilliant story written in prose was a work of 'creative imagination' and not 'philosophical treatise'. I read it twice, the second time believing it to be a different book. From the beginning Barnes persuades the reader to dislike Robin for her strangeness; living but not present, a turmoil in the cold that disrupted the farse of other characters reality when she touched their lives. Robin and Doctor. Matthew are antagonists. They represent opposite dimensions of the self. The Doctor, although a brilliant mind, accurate in understanding the misery of Man is never the less a failure, in bondage with humility and the truth. In the end he curses Robin for existing; having transformed also him, Nora, Felix and Jenny into doomed creatures in a mysterious and horrific sense of how small their lifes became. In the chapter Go Down, Matthew, the Doctor and Nora could not hold a conversation. They spoke to the readers, not listening to each other. Their lives like a ring closing in their personal pain, existing only in the past, like dummies tragically possessed by death. Robin killed what they proclaimed as birthright, symbolically how she killed son Guido, who prayed to the Virgin by calling the statue Mamma. Loved the last chapter. I, that despised Robins personal distinction of morality was able to finally understand her. Her nature made her different; nor human nor a beast. A creature like the night that drifted 'sonambule' through life. No other human soul could be so free, so they love her but it's not Robin they want, but who she is. The misery in understanding it was not in reach. Djuna Barnes also tells a parallel tale of obsession for an image of love. Robin is that woman like an iman, possessed with a childs memory, but that causes a certain attraction to fear. In 'Bow Down' the writer evoked that it was easier to love a lion for its tamer. The story, and finally Robin were irresistable to my imagination. There is a tempting invitation from the writer to participate for the lonely souls (they become) speak to us, and Robin unaltered by their existance leaves us (readers) out. The book is brilliant. Like many readers have stated, it is a very hard book to fully comprehend in its various contexts. I advice those to wait for an appropriate moment in their lives to read this book. It answers many questions if we search, and dig between words and the quality of a genuine thinker, such as Djuna Barnes.

First, I should tell you what Nightwood isn't. It's not acelebration of love between women, or of the glamour of Paris, or ofmodernism's traditionally spare aesthetic. It is, however, a wonderful book, which will probably try your patience but will repay your efforts with the pleasure of reading some of the most wonderful writing to have been produced this century. Djuna Barnes, born in the US, spent some twenty years in Europe, during which she wrote innovative journalism, a novel (Ryder), short stories, poetry and plays, and, slowly, the autobiographical fictional narrative that was finally published as Nightwood in 1936. The novel was hard to place, and finally published by no less of a modernist luminary than T.S. Eliot, then working at Faber and Faber.

Barnes' novel chronicles a love affair between two women: Nora Flood, the sometime "puritan," and Robin Vote, a cipher-like "somnambule" -- sleepwalker -- who roams the streets of Paris looking for -- well, it's not quite clear, but it's a fruitless quest she's on. Nora finds herself roaming the streets too, looking for Robin, but, like most of the characters of the novel, she bumps up against Dr Matthew O'Connor instead. O'Connor, an unlicensed doctor from the Barbary Coast, dominates much of the novel with his astounding barrage of anecdote, offering a stream of stories that all point, ultimately, to the sublime misery of romantic obsession. The love story (if it can even be called that) is framed by the history of Felix Volkbein, a self-styled Baron who marries Robin early on, and whose family tree provides the structure on which the rest of this dawdling narrative hangs.

But nothing I say here can give you a sense of Barnes' dense, lyrical prose, and quite amazingly complex and beautiful writing: you simply have to puzzle over the book yourself to experience perhaps the most idiosyncratic novel produced by an American writer between the wars. It's a dark, melancholy story, with much detailed description of the decaying expatriate lifestyle Barnes herself (sometimes) enjoyed. The final chapter of the book has been regarded as controversial, opaque, and/or vaguely pornographic: Eliot wanted to exclude it when the novel was first published. It might certainly surprise you, and perhaps dismay you if you want to see all threads neatly tied together at the end. But I've read this book several times, and have never regretted it for a moment.

What's most impressive about Erin (and it shows in the book, the movie, in real life) is that she hasn't forgotten who she was or where she came from. Sure, she's outwardly flashy, but she's also a true role model in an age where most celebs are an example of how NOT to be. Take It From Me explains why Erin is Erin; where she learned to be such a caring global thinker. This book masterfully explores how Erin worked hard for what's she become and was granted very little. And it does so in a spirtually-uplifting fashion.

Cheers to Erin Brockovich! It was great to hear the real-life stories behind the Hollywood hype ... but the biggest surprise was that the truth was often more interesting and dramatic than the dramatization. Brockovich offers concrete advice to others trying to improve their lives -- she's a role model and inspiration to people everywhere.

Erin Brockovich and I had several things in common. We were both blonde law professionals making our way in Southern California. For those reasons I have watched Erin's story unfurl with interest.

I first thought her "a brilliant woman trapped in a trailer trash body". Erin, a caterpillar, of sorts, has morphed into a butterfly. I have not changed my opinion in that regard, and as time marches on I hold Erin with increasing regard.

Now comes her book, "Take It from Me: Life's a Struggle but You Can Win". What better person to write such a book, but the queen of struggle, Erin Brockovich. Did you see the movie staring Julie Roberts?

When it comes to overcoming adversity, Erin is the expert. She lived every day of her life fighting the current. And now she has written a self-help, self-fulfilling, and all empowering book. I came away from her book thinking that I could have done more with my life. After reading this book I now feel inspired to do more with my life.

One review said that the book was a "pretty quick read". A straightforward assessment, but, according to her book, those three words sum up what Erin Brockovich is really all about. A simple, unpretentious woman, whose kind and moderate nature is both quick to forgive and forget. I enjoyed this book. I think you will too.

Erin has received a number of awards for her work. To mention a few: "Consumer Advocate of the Year" - Consumer Attorneys of California,"Profile in Courage" Award from Santa Clara County Trial Lawyers Association, "Justice Armand Arabian Law and Media Award - San Fernando Valley Bar,"Champion of Justice" Award from the Civil Justice Foundation of ATLA, President's Award - Oregon Trial Lawyers Association, and many many more.

My only minor complaint about this book is the somewhat ponderous middle section devoted to Mattias' wife's letters as she slides deeper and deeper into depression. I think the author probably did that on purpose, but after the very lively first hundred pages that snag the reader into a terrific story about the world of libraries and archives, it was somewhat of a dramatic change to be stuck in the middle. I enjoyed the meta-critical style of this book -- stories about stories woven into other stories: T.S. Eliot's letters, his wife's mental breakdown, Mattias' wife's breakdown and her letters, etc... I'm surprised that people called this book pretentious -- clearly Cooley is a sharp reader of Eliot's. Unless it's really overdone, I hardly ever complain that a book is TOO literary -- I feel lucky enough that she includes some of his finest poems like The Four Quartets. The judith section, though ponderous, is haunting. She can't get beyond the fact that the Holocaust happened and people did not want to acknowledge it. Because of her background and her poetic sensibility, she just can't get over it. The character's are tightly drawn and convincing. The main characters struggle to express his emotions brings back shades of The Remains of the Day. I don't want to spoil the ending, so I hope these brief comments are enough to get you to read this fine book. I read it all in one night.

Martha Cooley's beautiful first novel, The Archivist combines T.S. Eliot, jazz and the Holocaust in a wonderfully assured manner.

The Archivist opens in the 1970s and tells the story of Matthias Lane, a lapsed Protestant in his early 60s. Outwardly, Matthias seems to be the perfect archivist; he is both orderly and reclusive. Working at a mid-sized American library, Matthias' days are routine until a young poet named Roberta Spire asks for access to restricted material.

The restricted material Roberta wishes to access are letters from T.S. Eliot to an American woman and they have been sealed from the public until the year 2020. Roberta, however, is sure those letters contain the answer to the mystery of why Eliot converted from Protestantism to Anglo-Catholicism as well as why he rejected his emotionally unstable wife, Vivienne. Roberta, whose parents escaped Nazi Germany and later converted to Christianity, reminds Matthias of his own wife, Judith, a Jew who became obsessed with the Holocaust during the days following World War II.

The relationship between Matthias and Judith forms the heart of the novel and their marriage contains many elements of the Eliot's own failed union. Cooley echoes Arthur Miller's play, Broken Glass and its character of Sylvia Gellburg in that Judith's preoccupation with the Holocaust becomes more than just a preoccupation, it becomes the trigger, along with her interfaith marriage to Matthias, that leads to her degeneration into psychosis and eventual institutionalization.

Despite their religious differences, Matthias and Judith are drawn together by a mutual love for poetry and jazz. They are a happy couple until the war intervenes. Judith then falls into a deep depression that Matthias can neither understand nor feel himself.

The rift between Matthias and Judith only widens as she becomes more and more absorbed in her own Judaism. Just before her institutionalization, Judith becomes obsessed with the idea of tikkum olam (healing the world) as the only possible reparation for the ramifications of the Holocaust's evil.

Although this is primarily Matthias' story, we do get a look at the world through Judith's eyes through a series of her hospital diary entries. In the hands of a lesser writer, this could have been jarring and distracting, but Cooley handles it like a master. Furthermore, her portrait of Judith is so real and powerful that her diary soon becomes all-absorbing.

There are many novels that contain characters who eventually unravel and descend into a world of madness. Many of these novels are well-written while others tend to veer off into melodrama. This one could have been one of the more melodramatic ones had Cooley not characterized Judith so well. As it is, we cannot fail to feel her pain and empathize with her plight.

This is a book of several disparate themes, of stories within stories, but Cooley ties them all together. Matthias, with Roberta as his catalyst, is finally able to perform an especially symbolic act of atonement and reparation.

A Brooklynite, Cooley is particularly adept at portraying her setting. We get a real sense of New York City, and especially Brooklyn, in this novel. The characterizations of the minor characters, too, especially, Len and Carol, Judith's adoptive parents and both jazz aficionados, are particularly poignant and true-to-life.

Although The Archivist is a book that deals with an extremely serious theme, Cooley does relieve its intensity and bleakness with light touches of humor. That she is able to do so in a way that is both realistic and effective is a testament to her power as a writer. One of the most poignant of these masterful touches occurs when Judith drags the hospital's Christmas tree outside and burns it.

"Come now," says her therapist. "None of the other Jews here burned down the Christmas tree."

Judith's response is both comic and tragic and perfectly in keeping with her character. "None of the other Jews here," she says, "had matches."

I stayed up late enraptured by the discovery of this marvelous first novel. Complex , literary, it revolves around Matthias, the archivist of literary documents at a prestigious university library. He is the gatekeeper of letters written by T.S. Eliot to a woman who he loved for most of his life, Emily Hale, and then spurned after his religious conversion to the Anglican Church. These letters are the bequest of Hale to the library, not to be opened until the year 2020, to scholars. Into Matt's life comes Roberta, a poet, who is obsessed with seeing the letters as a way to understand her own religious identity. Interwoven with the story of Eliot's relationship with his wife Vivienne, committed to a mental institution by Eliot, is the story of Matt's marriage to the dark, unfathomable Judith who is also a poet. Eliot's life is the 'stillpoint of the turning world' upon which the lives of Matt, Judith and Roberta balance as each of them comes to terms with hidden secrets, revelation, religious identity, faith, solitude, obsession and the spiritual vacuum created by the aftermath of WWII and the Holocauset. This book is multi-textured; a delicate tapestry of meaning is woven. It's finely crafted like a beautiful symphony as themes, exposition and resolution are spun by the author. And when all is finally woven together magic occurs, and the reader learns something valuable about his or her own life. Any reader can ask for nothing more sublime from an author than this.

This is the best and most unbiased history of King Philip's war. Leach wrote the book; Morrison only wrote the two-page introduction. Leach tends to be a little "politically correct" but in generally he gives us an unbiased history. This is an interesting book and I've just finished rereading after a 10-year gap. It is still interesting.

This was an amazing war between Puritans, who were would poorly equipped in nearly every way, against Indians who would were born and raised in warfare. For many months the Whites lost virtually all the battles. King Philips' war was one of desperate sieges of tiny garrisons and ambushes of those Whites trying to rescue those besieged.

Just when you think the Whites are about to get the upper hand, the Indians attack new targets and the Whites are losing again. The most amazing thing is that the colonists had not one English soldier or ship to help them. They raised and equipped their own little militia companies. Unlike some other Indian wars that only had a few battles, this little war had dozens if not hundreds of little battles.

The Indian was as well armed with flintlocks, as was the White. In this war, the Indian was far superior in tactics and he was never beaten when he could fight his guerrilla style warfare. This was the Indians' last chance to push the White man into the sea. Providence (Rhode Island) was nearly destroyed and the Indian raided the towns adjacent to Boston. Town after town was destroyed.

I think this book is a little superior to Schultz's "King Philip's War," which is a little bit too PC. But both are well worth reading.

Of all the accounts of KPW, this is by far the best. Though not as detailed as others, I found this gave an excellent birds-eye view of the war.

I part with the other reviewers in the analysis of Leach's objectivity. Most of the KPW authors of the last forty years appear to hate the Puritans as much as the KPW authors of the 1920s and earlier hated the First Nations.

Leach's work, I think, holds a good balance. He clearly acknowledges English arrogance, stupidity, all-out barbarism, and total failure in the area of evangelism, without making ridiculous leaps about English psychology.

It's an outstanding work.

If there is solid criticism of Leach and Morison, let it be founded on fact, not based on bias. In these days of political correctness, anything that shows settlers as good and Native Americans as less than perfect is derided as inaccurate. In fact, there were wonderful cases of heroism and despicable acts of barbaric cruelty on both sides of this fight, and this book presents them better than any book I've ever seen. I'm puzzled by those who feel it's pro-English; some of the most disgusting portrayals are of English leaders. I believe King Philip's War set the tone for European-Indian relationships for centuries. This book does a superb job of documenting the cultural chasms that brought about this tragedy. The truth can be uncomfortable for supporters of either side, but we should seek the truth, even when it upsets us, and apply the lessons of history to our day.