"Days Like This" is the perfect introduction to poetry for a small child. The sketchy, squiggly illustrations are just as captivating as the simple, sweet poems that accompany them. Each illustration tells a story by itself--a refreshing story of the wide, open world--while the poems focus the reader (or listener) to consider a single aspect of that world. The text and the pictures worked so beautifully together that I'm not sure if I can say which was illustrating which. It's a symbiosis I've never experienced in a book of poetry before, but let me assure you, it is thoroughly enjoyable!

This lovely picture book of small poems captivated my youngson. Simon James' pen and watercolor illustrations beautifully setoff a collection of whimsical verse that spans the four seasons. "The Wind came running over the sand, it caught and held me by the hand."

Here in an elegant paperback of modest proportions is a revised edition of the correspondence of two of America's greatest writers, containing a few newly located letters. Edmund Wilson was already an established writer when Nabokov immigrated to this country around 1940, and Wilson's role in introducing Nabokov around and getting him writing assignments and teaching positions in America was crucial to Nabokov at a critical time. The two men write in fascinating manner about literature, life, writing gigs, and life. The correspondence is sad, too, because the two men seem almost willfully to misunderstand each other on such seemingly innnocuous issues as the nature of Russian and English prosody. Also Wilson as an erstwhile Communist was fascinated with Russia, attempted to learn the language, but thought he knew it better than he did, even trying to correct Nabokov who of course was a native speaker, not to mention a great writer, in Russian. Toward the end of their friendship, Wilson published a memoir that revealed his jealousy of Nabokov, and there was a break, only healed when Wilson was near death. Simon Karlinsky has written a wonderful introduction to the correspondence, that may be worth the price of the book in itself. Nabokov thought highly of Karlinsky, and Karlinsky explains the Russian background of early life behind some of the stances of Nabokov that we Americans find it hardest to understand. For example, why did Nabokov refuse any social role to the artist? For writers, for Nabokov or Wilson lovers, and I count myself both, this is an essential and irreplacable book

When two opinionated men with such different tastes as Nabokov and Wilson write letters over a twenty year period, the result is going to be exciting. Their arguing about Faulkner and Norman Douglas or the gender of French nouns gives the friendship a bite. And we also see that each got more than friendship out of the relationship--Wilson got lessons in Russian and Nabokov got a boost into the American literary world. A fascinating read.

Simon Leys usually writes histories, but he created an absolute gem in his only foray into fiction--albeit, historical fiction. Death of Napoleon is a simple and spellbinding must-read, a rare thing of masterful beauty from first page to last.

This book is a little gem that examines the different views of people on life. By concentrating wholly on wars and empires, Napoleon "wasted" his life and remarkable mind without ever experiencing the true humanity of exhistence. Love was a complication for him, not a pleasure. To him, what was most important was to make a name for himself, a name that would shine in the annals of posterity. Ley examines the reprecussions of this want of Napoleon. It leaves the "great little emperor" a broken man, a poor farmer, who has never know real happiness. Ley carries his story with color and fevor. I only wish the novelett was longer.

Since combinatorics is my major, this book fulfills my dream. It contains over 5000 sequences, from famous Fibonacci to notorious 1,3,6,11,17,25,... (Perfect ruler,general term still unknown ), to nonsense 1,11,21,1211,111221,..(every term describe the former term). Nearly every important integer sequence in mathematics get a line here, with references. This is a dream book for combinatorics specialists, a must for high-school teachers while doing some short essays with gifted students, a fun book for mathematics fans, especially those like mathematical games.

This is a compilation of 5488 sequences in more than 8000 references. Each sequence comes with a description, formula, generating function (if known). It is an essential reference book for all researchers in mathematics in general. There are 2 parts, the first part consist of 3 chapters that explain how to 'crack' a sequence and what are the main methods for doing so. The second part is the huge list of all the sequences. The book comes with a diskette and an comprehensive index + complete bibliography. An enthusiastic reader once said that : 'There is the Old Testament, the New Testament and the Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences.'

To put my review into context: I used to be able to write useful Excel macros in the old Excel 4.0 / Excel 95 macro language. I'm not a programmer, and certainly not an advanced macro user, but I could use the old language to do what I needed to do: mostly just speeding or automating routine Excel tasks.

When VBA replaced the 4.0 macro language, I tried for years to understand it, but VBA just never clicked with me. I never needed it so badly that I would put myself on a course, or plough through a dense text book, though I did routinely look (without success) for something that would help me to get my head round the format.

Finally I came across this book in a bookstore, and it instantly began to make sense. I started by just looking through the text in the store, and going back to my PC to use what I had learned. By my third time back to the store for more tips, I realized that this was actually what I needed and bought the book. I am now comfortable with the format, and still learning through writing simple VBA's as and when I need them. I attribute this entirely to this book.

I recommend it to anyone who, as I did, just finds the whole VBA format daunting. The book's format is very visual - much more so than other VBA books (including "VBA For Dummies", which I own, but which didn't help me at all). This (visual format) means that each topic is very quick to learn, and you're not left wondering how you can use a particular function. Each function is described in very "bite-sized" sections, mostly two facing pages, and occasionally four. Each two page topic is at most half text, with the rest screen-shots and comments on the screen-shots. It just really works well.

By all means get another VBA macro manual as a reference, but if you really want to get started in the format without also getting put off by it, this book is the only one that I have found that fits the bill.

For some time, I have wanted to program in Visual Basic for Applications as a means to automate Excel 2000/2002. I have looked at many titles in the bookstore by various authors (experts in the field, unquestionably), but none seem targeted to the novice or intermediate user who simply wants to understand the VBA environment and how to benefit from its powerful capabilities. If other books were trying to target such an audience, then they suffered from poor readability and simply too much material. This book instills confidence in novice users as the reader is given very succinct explanations on variables, procedures, subroutines/functions, and, of course, the Excel Object Model. I have not been able to put the book down, practically speaking.

Extremely well organized, with generally very good and detailed graphics. It makes its point in roughly 325 pp. and features an excellent appendix dealing with constants, etc. I believe this book will forever relegate the more pricey books I have on the subject to a shelf in my technical library. The others are authoritative books, to be sure, but I never gained confidence with the format. Reading other sources proved exhausting when compared to this book. As an Excel user who wrote some macros in the Excel 95 version of the software, this book is a welcome addition. The book contains probably a few typos, and perhaps an illustration or two (screen shots of the Excel or VB Editor interface) is unclear or improperly rendered (such as in the section "Remove a Module"). Minor, minor details that won't matter in the overall scheme of things - this book rates very high in my opinion. Another plus: the CD ROM has the sample code used in many sections in the book as well as an "e-version" of the book itself.

First of all, anyone who is remotely interested in this book has a problem. And if that person acknowledges that this problem is an enthusiasts addiction to motorcycles then the low cost and high content of this book delivers. For the motorcycle enthusiast who prefers an unmolested motorcycle as delivered from the factory, this is probably not your cup of tea; but be forwarned, pick this book up and you may join the dark side. For the motorcyclist who can't seem to leave his (or her!) trusty motorcycle well enough alone, this book is a motivational spike that would rate on your Richter scale. Beautifully finished, highly modified motorcycles abound in this color packed hard-bound book; and for less than it costs to change the oil in your bike. All the Japanese manufacturers are represented along with Ducati, Buell, Norton, and two bikes that almost defy the description of "motorcycle"; but I won't spoil the rocket fuelled ending, after all this is a book. The only drawback is that this book leaves the reader wanting more. More detail on each bike, and more bikes to examine in detail. The bottom line is this: if you have ever thought, spoken, or written the word MOTORCYCLE then buy this book. The price is right and the content is phenomenal. Guaranteed!

For the exotic, unusual, or custom sporting motorcycle enthusiast, this book is the BOMB! It is packed full of naked streetfighters, supermotards, competition bikes, and others. Specialist makes like Harris, Martek, and Spondon, plus the usual modified production rides from all over the world grace these pages. Beautiful pictures, specs, and interesting text compliment this awesome hardback. It begins with a brief history of the streetfighter craze and contains nearly all current configurations possible- 2 strokes, 4 strokes, rotarys, turbos, N2O, and even a jet powered trike! If your taste for the ultimate sportbike includes art that strays from the mainstream production models as well as all-out brute force, this book is for you. A bargain at twice the price. Get it, you won't be disappointed. I can't wait for Volume 2!

I wanted to read this book, which actually covers the subject from 1910 to 1948, rather than as the title listed here indicates (1920-1948) because I wanted to know more about the flamboyant and racist Coleman Blease who in the early part of this century was such a prominent figure in South Carolina's politics. This book does tell a lot about Blease and his connection with the mill workers of South Carolina, but I found even more interesting the account of the career of Olin D. Johnston. Those who only watched his career in the U.S. Senate, once he finally got there, on his third attempt, in 1945, may not (as I did not) realize the extraordinary positions he took while Governor from 1935 to 1939--he took over the highway department by force, defying a Supreme Court ruling--and that he ran in 1938 against Cotton Ed Smith on a platform of 100% support for FDR. The racist climate of South Carolina got to him, however, and not till he became more anti-Negro was he finally elected. The book also relates the fascinating account of Peter Richard Moody, a student at Wofford College, and the poem he wrote in 1936 which led the Legislature to order a mental examination of Moody, and the funny account of the result of the mental exam. The book traces the efforts and hopes of the disadvantaged millhands, and amply justifies the title of the work. Anyone interested in Southern politics should read this enlightening and well-researched book. The bibliography alone runs 30 pages, and I found the book unique in its subject. A minor note: a footnote on page 291 says poet Moody became a professor at the U.S. Military Academy, whereas it appears that actually he was at the Air Force Academy.

Fabric of Defeat's title sounds like a downer, but this is an wonderful book that is fun to read. Simon does a particularly good job of talking about race in an industry that was "lily white," as the saying goes. He manages to discuss racist white workers without either apologizing for them or indicting them. Rather he gives texture to their racial ideas, explaining how views of race and class changed in relation to each other as the New Deal broadened the political vision of South Carolina's millworkers. This is a book I would certainly assign to undergraduates.

In The Far Away, the narrator remembers back to when he was 17 --a time of haunting, even now that he is older. As the narrator remembers those days of traveling from New York City to San Francisco to San Diego to Key West and back home again, we are with him on a contemplative journey that is both physical and emotional. This is a book for young adults and adults who wonder if we ever truly leave the past behind, or if we need to.

This is truly a wonderous first novel, magical in both style and content. I have read nothing like it since Thomas Wolfe and his 'Look Homeward Angel.' The writing is lyrical, if not spectacular and the subject matter, one brother's attempt to come to grips with his older brother's mental disabilities, truly touches the heart strings. The emotional themes, the feelings, the utter soul searching presented can be compared to the best works of D.H. Lawrence.

'Bravo' to you, James Simon. You have created a small materpiece. I look forward to seeing other books from you in the future.

This is a fantastic collection of stories that have been a part of the Russian culture for centuries. Anyone growing up in Russia has heard these stories, and now so can you! Kids will appreciate the characters and adventures. Parents will appreciate the values and lessons. Everyone will appreciate the timeless tales of fantasy, magic, and talking animals.

This is a fine introduction to popular Russian fairy tales, including the story of the little snow girl (a childless couple builds a daughter out of snow) and "Frost" (cruel stepmother sends girl out to freeze in the snow, but Frost sees her kindness and spares her-- the nasty stepsisters are not so lucky). The similarity between some of the Russian tales and our own English fairy tales is interesting (why is the stepmother always the evil one?). This introductory collection leaves one wanting to learn more Russian tales.

A must for anybody who loves great cats and art: a book full of stories and especially awesome photos, sketches and paintings of these wonderful creatures. The paintings are so incredibly realistic that at times one has to look closely to make sure it is not just a photo. A definite winner !

They say never judge a book by its cover,well friends you can in this case.A beautiful oil painting of a jaguar on its cover says it all, this is a must have book for any animal lovers specially wild cats, art students and even professional artists. Book is loaded incredible stories and killer artworks of Simon Combes.I enjoyed it every single page and I did not realize that I end up reading the entire book in one sitting.I was so captivated by the stories, and I enjoyed the art work of Simon Combes, well worth the money.