I read this book from start to finish in one day. I could not put it down and really enjoyed the constant intrigue and excitment. It really grabs you from the start. You will surely enjoy it!

The two books of the "Steam House" series: "The Demon of Cawnpore" and "Tigers and Traitors", are set in the British Indian Empire following the Great Mutiny. The centerpiece of the entire series is Behemoth, a massive steam powered locomotive resembling an elephant pulling two luxury railway-like cars behind it. Would be considered a perfect example of the 'steampunk' genre if written today. The story follows the travels of some British officers across the Indian subcontinent and the various sights they see and the fights they have. Some of Verne's best work, and prophetic if one believes this to be a vision of RVs to come.

I like its clear organization which makes the book easy to understand. Its headings are focused and consistent with teaching the important academic skills necessary for college students to be successful in the study of college history. The sections on the net and databases are invaluable. If students wish to do well in their history courses, this is the book for them.

This series of comic strips is a light-hearted look at life as a 20-something "office lady" in Japan.

While the girls are pre-occupied with enjoying life, their parents are worried about obtaining the best possible husband-provider, their bosses are worried about them falling asleep on the job after playing too many computer games the night before, and their easily-dumped boyfriends are all-too often confused and manipulated. It's like a less ... focused comic version of "Sex And The City".

The 5-volume bilingual collection has the original Japanese to help those wishing to learn, but it's a fun read in any event.

Too bad Kodansha don't plan on continuing the series after the 5th volume.

Open this book and enter a world where needlecraft is an artform. Little imagination is required to envoke grandma's dining room or parlor, complete with doilies on every table. Look in her workbasket and you might find this book, full of pictures and suggestions on how to use the designs. A warning to novices, this is not a how-to get started; this is for the experienced needlewoman.

I have made a memory about "Jules Lequier et l'énigme de FAIRE". I am a french student of philosophy in Rennes, Britanny. I have also worked on Lequier's papers in Rennes with the help of André Clair (the french éditor of Lequier's papers).

HER HUSBAND HAD VANISHED
He left no trace - except a pregnant bride. A year later, Fritzi Fitzgerald's search for him leads to a remote Alaskan village, and when a man carrying his ID is murdered, Fritzi stands accused.

A STRANGER APPEARED
He came from the snow-swept tundra - a swarthy, denim-clad dream man with raven hair and eyes like the coasts of white wolves shining in darkness. He claimed he was Fritzi's husband - and alibi.

A STALKER WAS WATCHING
Sharing a snowed-in cabin with her closemouthed rescuer, Fritzi sensed he was connected to her missing spouse. But when the lights went out and eyes followed her in the dark - would Nathan Lafarge protect her and her son?

This absolutely fascinating and rivetingly true story is perhaps the only verified account of paranormal activities ever photographically documented with clear, crisp images. But...these images were taken by Ted's mind...and he was never in view of the objedts that came out on the film! Written by psychotherapist Dr. Jule Eisenbud, M.D., the book details the incredible events which occurred between Dr. Eisenbud and his patient, a Chicago hotel doorman named Ted Serios over a period of several years. What makes the story very believable are several facts - Firstly, Ted Serios was an alcoholic with a penchant for bar brawling, comfortable as a hotel doorman and not in any way a person seeking a new career; secondly, he was a very reluctant patient and was never a publicity seeker; and thirdly, he dissapeared abruptly one day and was never seen again by Dr. Eisenbud, ending the scientific experiments forever. If Serios was a true publicity hound or trying to create a "Vegas Lounge Act", he would have gladly stayed with the exposure Dr. Eisenbud was giving him. and Dr. Eisenbud himself comes across as a serious and dour scientific investigator in no way trying to sensationalize his amazing find.

Ted Serios was brought to the attention of Dr. Eisenbud by someone who heard of Ted's incredibly spooky gift of producing photographic images with his brain. Dozens of examples of the photos are in the hard-cover book. Among the most amazing shots are three that will forever remain embedded in my mind - one, a "photo" of a building as taken by Ted's mind set in the 19th century next to a modern one produced traditionally of the same building. You can clearly see the modifications made over the years from one photo to another; two, several pictures of cities which have never been successfully identified as anywhere on Earth (!); and three, a photo of the backs of what appear to be American Revolutionary War-era soldiers climbing an incline or hill. All of Ted's pictures were produced under highly scientific conditions with the subjects requested in advance. Eastman-Kodak and Polaroid representatives were present during many of the experiments to load cameras and ensure against trickery. In one series of experiments, camera company representative handed Ted a series of sealed cameras which they loaded, and Ted was then placed nude in a room devoid of all furntiture. he was still able to produce his "mind" pictures on film!

For those interested in the paranormal and X-files fans, I highly recommend they obtain and read this facinating and eerie book. Ted Serios was so special, so unique, that no one, even Dr. Eisenbud, had time to fully comprehend Ted's gift before he dissapeared forever - a truly unique mind found and lost.

Wow -- great book. The author goes to a very eminent psychiatrist for emotional and marital problems. At first it seems the doctor is just "controlling," demeaning, and manipulating her life. He also starts giving her the barbituate Sodium Amytal during office visits, which he claims will help her remember past hurts.
After 18 years and $100,000 of treatment, she comes out of an Amytal session earlier than expected with the doctor raping her. How will this life-long intimidated woman respond, especially when a number of those she turns to are sure she must have imagined or "dreamed" the rape, and an equal number are afraid to cross the famous psychiatrist?
A compelling story of a woman whose early life history set her up for continuing domination and abuse by the psychiatrist she turned to for help.

The Hobbit' is a lightly-written fairy-tale of Hobbit Bilbo Baggins' journey to the Dwarven home. It includes elves, a wizard, and wonderfully odd characters such as Tom Bombadil and the River's Daughter. Bilbo is caught up in a strange adventure with a troupe of dwarves and a wizard. The tone of 'The Hobbit' is very different from the rest of the series; it is an adult story written as a children's story. Bilbo awakens one morning to an old man blowing smoke rings outside of his 'hole in the ground'. This old man rested on a staff and wore a pointed blue hat, and his beard hung nearly to his waist. It seems the old wizard, Gandalf, has chosen Bilbo as the fourteenth man to accompany a troup of thirteen dwarves. Thirteen is an unlucky number, and in any case they needed a good burglar. That Bilbo never considered himself a burglar, and in fact had never burgled, bothered the wizard not in the slightest.

I think that part of the success of 'The Hobbit' can be attributed to its 'moral' about war (which I can't explain further until you've read the book, and then you won't need me to). But it is also an engaging story of a middle-aged nobody's coming-of-age. Bilbo passes through fire, literally, and emerges, if not a hero, than at least a story-teller.

Overall I think this is a great book and I recommend it to anyone who is interested in a good read. Other good books are Paul Omeziri's Descent into Illusion and L ARon Hubbard's Battleship Earth.

"The Hobbit or There and Back Again" is the first story of Middle-Earth that was ever read by the masses, and it remains a beloved favorite due to Tolkien's exceptional writing, lovable characters, and the fantastic, complicated world with its unlikely hero, a tiny fuzzy-footed hobbit.

Bilbo Baggins lives a pleasantly stodgy and dull life in the Shire, in a luxurious hole under a hill. ("It was a hobbit hole, and that means comfort") His life is completely turned upside-down by the arrival of the wizard Gandalf and thirteen dwarves. The dwarves, led by the exiled king-in-waiting Thorin Oakenshield, want to regain the Lonely Mountain (and a lot of treasure) from the dragon Smaug, who drove out the dwarves long ago. Why do they want Bilbo? Because Gandalf has told them that he'd make a good burglar.

So before Bilbo is entirely sure what is going on, he is being swept off on a very unrespectable adventure. Bilbo and the Dwarves battle goblins and spiders, are nearly eaten twice, are captured and Bilbo is forced to riddle with the treacherous, withered Gollum. But even after these obstacles, the dragon Smaug is still in the Lonely Mountain, and Bilbo is not entirely sure what to do...

Author J.R.R. Tolkien had been crafting his mythos of Elves, Dwarves, Wizards and Men for years before writing "The Hobbit," but "The Hobbit" is the first story that people had the opportunity to read. It began as a line scrawled on a sheet of blank paper, and then into a bedtime story for his children. And even though it's overshadowed by "Lord of the Rings" and "Silmarillion," this book is an essential link. It's definitely sillier and lighter, but it provides the springboard for a lot of the stuff in "Lord of the Rings" -- especially the magical Ring that Bilbo finds in Gollum's cavern.

The concept of hobbits started in this book -- the quintessential peaceful "wee" people, based on British countryfolk, with simple pleasures and unexpected depths of strength and resourcefulness. And, of course, fuzz on their large feet. Tolkien's Elves are a little more ethereal and less dignified, and his dwarves are a bit more comical and less grim. But Elrond hints at the full majesty of the Elves, and Thorin Oakenshield is still the most dignified, proud and impressively flawed dwarf there is. The last chapters of the book hint at the epic majesty of "Lord of the Rings," and some of the same victory/loss themes. And of course, the idea that even little people -- like a hobbit or a bird -- can change the world.

Tolkien's writing is quick and light, while providing sufficient detail to let you picture what's going on. The dialogue is less influenced by Old English, and the pace is a lot faster (not surprising, since it was originally read to his kids before bedtime). Bilbo is a likable little guy -- he seems to be the last person whom you'd expect to be a courageous hero, but he shows incredibly strength and smarts when he's under pressure. Supporting characters like Thorin, Bard the Guardsman-turned-King, the king of the wood-elves, and even Smaug himself are never cookie-cutter, but multidimensional and immensely interesting to read about.

"The Hobbit" was written for children, but adults can appreciate and enjoy it just as much. So read this book, then scoop up "The Fellowship of the Ring" and continue reading. A timeless treasure and classic.

Because of Tolkien's reputation as a master story-teller, I began reading this book with absurdly high expectations. The slow beginning confirmed my suspicions that such high expectations could not possibly be realistic, and I prepared myself to be gloriously disappointed. Quite honestly, by the end of the first chapter I shared the opinion of the protagonist, the hobbit: I was rather unenthusiastic, and doubtful that the "adventure" which lay ahead could truly be as exciting as it promised to be.

But Tolkien rarely disappoints. Within pages, along with our hobbit hero, Bilbo Baggins, I found myself launched into the famous fantasy world that is the product of Tolkien's imagination, a world of never-ending adventure, mystery and magic. As I joined the hobbit on his remarkable quest to defeat the dragon Smaug and reconquer the dwarves long-lost treasure, I met a wonderful array of friends and foes - wizards, dwarves, elves, trolls, goblins, and a myriad of other fantastic creatures - and my imagination and interest never waned.

By the end of the hobbit's adventure, like Bilbo, I was thoroughly satisfied. At the conclusion, the wizard Gandalf remarks to the hobbit: "My dear Bilbo! Something is the matter with you! You are not the hobbit that you were." Yet it was not only the hobbit that had changed as a result of this adventure. As a reader, I had to confess that I too had changed. My initial lack of enthusiasm had entirely vanished. I had participated in the hobbit's adventures, and like him, returned the better for it. Tolkien's imaginative world is a world so vivid, that you cannot fail to return to the real world a changed person. His descriptive abilities cannot fail to imprint his imaginary world in your memory. This story is not deep, but it is delightful and unforgettable. And like the hobbit, you will return to life the better having read it.

What's more, you can go "there and back again" again, and again, because the joy of this fantastic adventure won't quickly wear off. For all ages, this book is eminently readable and re-readable, and belongs on every bookshelf. Don't miss it, because you will miss one of the most enchanting escapes that literature has to offer.