Stephen Minta weaves a modern journey in the footsteps of Byron into an evocation of byron's romantic nature and in the process, creates a useful and idiosyncratic view of the poet. Much as he did in his previous book, "Aguirre", Minta quietly traces his subject's antique journey through the echoes of his own modern one. While not simply a travel book nor yet a biography of Byron, this history is an inventive and skillfull combination of the two, and a useful addition to the already strining bookshelves of admirers of the romantics.

This is many books in one and packed with information but easily digestible - a fascinating combination of Greek history, biography of Byron, and description of the author's own travels through Northern Greece, the Ionian Islands, and Albania. It's helpful in explaining the complexities of the Greek struggle for independence (or ethnic cleansing or civil war) when they spent half their time fighting each other and where neither side was blameless. Byron's character was almost equally complex and interesting. In addition you get for your money an excellent guide to parts of Greece and some insight into the complex and interesting character of Stephen Minto.

While contemporary British society is tautosemus with conservatism and the British state carries the tradition of an imperialist empire, many a British scholar shall honour his country by giving it its fair place as a lamplighter of humanity. Many an English scholar shall be a freethinker and a truth-seeker and a creator and admirer of true beauty. Such was Byron and such, it appears is Stephen Minta. Though not perfectly factually accurate as he might attempt and desire to be, Stephen Minta achieves with precision an intuition into the nature of Byron that most his predecessors have failed to see or altogether denied. Geniuses like Byron do not conform to the average human standard of behaviour, and are so often misinterpreted and misrepresented. Scholars have denied their understanding to Byron's fascination not with the dead classical Greece but with the surviving Greek spirit. It is notable that the current compilation of Byron's "complete" works does not include few final poems that he did write in Greece and that offer closure to the Giaour, Childe Harold and the Isles of Greece. And beyond his intellectual inheritance to Britain and the world, Byron, the lover of freedom and nations, has most amazingly affected the life of Greece and was finally politically successful even despite himself, even beyond his grave and century. The interpretation of Byron presented in this book by Stephen Minta is chasing away shadows of bogusness and don-quixotism that have been tainting Byron's portrayal. A true pleasure to read and a work for which the times are ripe.

This audiobook is an excellent addition to the U.S. history-buff's glove compartment. There are basically four tapes of interviews by Roger Mudd done for the History Channel. Mudd asks questions to the featured historians and they respond with stories and factoids to keep you thinking. I can listen to them many times and still learn things that I didn't catch the last time around. This is also a great way to brush up on your U.S. history while enriching what you already know.

This is the very best audio tape I've ever listened to. While some interviews are better (Stephen Ambrose) than others (Richard White), each one offers important insight and perspective on the most important events of our time. Through the eyes of these men, our nation's history is told so clearly and succinctly, and with such passion, that you can't help but be changed and moved by the experience. I guarantee you'll come away with a better grasp of who we are and where we're headed as a nation.

I would definitely recommend this to anyone interested in energy use in Africa. Good case studies.

En realidad este fue mi primer libro de Stephen King es bastante bueno e interesante, te mantiene siempre alerta, describe muy bien los personajes y el ambiente te da una muy clara idea del lugar y de los hechos, le doy solamente 4 porque en realidad este no es el mejor libro que he leido pero es bastante buena se la recomiendo. Es la historia de una chica que se pierde en el bosque y tiene que tratar de sobre vivir, y durante ese momento le sucede muchas cosas que te mantiene siempre alerta y no sabes que es lo que puede suceder ya que es bastante espontanea, es un libro bastante fresco diria yo.

I have had this book for probably more than a year now. I have spent many hours perusing it ... and many, many more going over the games.

First a word on the quality of this book: It really is superb. A beautiful hard-back, soft pages that are opaque, and a binding that has stood up to being bent in half ... more times than I care to admit.

This book has virtually EVERY SINGLE GAME that the great Reshevsky ever played. Now Reshevsky is a true giant in American chess. He was one of the top players in this country from probably the late 1920's almost to the end of the 20th Century. He won the U.S. Championship many times ... and more tournaments than I care to count.

This book is as lovingly and painstakingly done as any I have ever seen. (Period!!! Unbelievable accuracy ... I have found no errors in this book - despite about 50 spot checks of various games.) You get the complete score of each game, as well as a lot of useful information that other books and databases leave out. (Like exact dates - not just the year. Plus round number, things of that sort.) You almost always get a cross-table for each event as well. (Its great fun to see who played in what event. Many of the people are the legends of chess; far too many are no longer with us.)

You also get quite a bit of biographical data. There is a lot of info here, enough for any chess hound or Reshevsky fan. There are nearly 2000 chess games, (1768); and much more useful features. You can find anything very easily the author has provided indexes by opponents, openings, and ECO code. Over 400 pages of interesting material.

What are the drawbacks to this book? Its pretty expensive, you could buy a dozen used books for what this one tome costs. It is also dense, I would have liked to see much more biographical data and info and stories on some of the individual tournaments. The large majority of the games are NOT annotated. Many of the notes are those that were lifted from various periodicals of the time when the games were played. (I would have liked to see the author at least take a stab at annotating a few games!)

OK ... so what's the bottom line here? Its a simple question: "If I have the money to spend, should I buy this book?" I think the answer is a resounding YES!! Why? I will give you a few reasons: # 1.) If you are a Reshevsky fan like me ... I saw him play in many U.S. Championships ... then you definitely want this book. # 2.) If you are a fan of the game and chess in general, then this is a great book. # 3.) Much of the material in here ... and the games themselves ... would have been surely lost to the sands of time without this book. # 4.) This is NOT a beginner's book ... but any beginner could surely benefit from a diligent study of this great Master's games. He was good in the opening, great in the middle-game, and simply fantastic in most endings!!! # 5.) Looking for a ... RESOURCE BOOK??? Put this on your shelf. There is more reference material here than you could ever use, and more chess games than most small {personal chess} libraries offer!! # 6.) Any serious student of chess history would kill to own this book. # 7.) Any student who wanted to see and be able to study LOTS of different openings, and ... the way they really work in master practice, could use this book. I could go on, but by now, I trust you will get the point.

A large and hefty book that should last a chess lifetime. But I am an odd bird and love books, and never give one away or sell one ... ESPECIALY chess books!

I'm not much one for your popular novels, preferring the classics to the bestellers. But with Steven King I always make an exception, for even when the plots are stretched, the terror minimal and the story implausible, the strength and depth of his characters cannot be doubted. King can write any character- men and women, children and adults, as if he was in them. From the diabolical Annie Wilkes in Misery to drunk dreamer Jack Torrance in The Shining, King always creates memorable characters, and his new novel, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, is no exception. The short novella centers in the mind of it's single character, Trisha, a nine year old girl lost in the wilderness of Maine, dealing with her own physical struggles and emotional fears as she fights to survive. She pushes through the book driven by her love for Red Sox pitcher Tom Gordon, even as she is haunted by the caustic shadows of the invisable force she feels is watching her. As her will to live falters, so too does her belief in god, and as the manefestations of her fears enter reality, so too does her belief in God. As the Gordon of her dreams walks with her he becomes her savior, the nightmare force of the forest become her satan, and God, who "always come in during the ninth inning" as Gordon puts it, becoms her own self-determination. The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon is a fascinating and enjoyable read, through it may not chill you as some of Kings other books. But as for literary value, it surpasses many of his other books, and is definately a good buy.

I believe that Steven King went out in a entirely differnt limb on the book 'The Girl Who loved Tom Gordon'. It is beyond his normal supernatural thrillers. Even though it deals with an issue that has been replayed many times...the story of someone lost in the woods and their quest to find rescue, it is still filled with action and suspense which makes you want to continue. The only piece involved in the book which botherd me throughout the novel was his characterization of Trisha (the main character). She is supposed to be a 9 year old girl. Although the knolege she has in the situations she is presented with do not account for a nine year old. That is in no way a reason not to read the book. It just is a part that I found oddly made and if she had been older than possibly the book would have been more realistic. He also seems to try to make it like a non-fiction book mixed with one supernatural "thing" that occures throught the book, which doesnt really go together but it at least throws in some extra intrest to the reader. I would recommend this book since it isnt that long especailly for a King novel and it is well written even if its a story that has a predictable ending.

I read the book, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King. I enjoyed this book and its many twists and turns. This book has very vivid details which make you feel as if you are Trisha, lost in the woods with a creature you made up out of your own personal fears. Although the fears of Trisha McFarland may not be your own, you absorb her pain because of the way the author portrays her fears. One of my favorite details is,"She could hear the sough of the wind through the big old west-countrey pines, she could hear the sqwuak of a jay and the far-off hammering of a wood pecker digging his mid-morning snack out of a hollow tree, she could hear a couple of freshley arrived mosquitoes(they were buzzing around both ears now)but no humans."(p.g 28) Another breath taking moment in this book is, ""The world is a worse-case scenario and I'm afraid all you sense is true," said the buzzing wasp-voice. Its claws raked slowly down the side of its head, goring through its insect flesh and revealing the shining bone beneath.(p.g 145)
I think this books theme was very clear. Although this book can be seen in many different ways, about a girl lost in the woods, creatures in the woods, or a girls obsession with a base ball player; I believe that the theme of the book and the message the author was trying to get across was to never give up and to keep the important things in life close to you. He shows this by again and again putting Trisha through horrible situations, although because of her strong love and compassion for Tom Gordon her life time idol, she chose not to let go so she could one day meet him.
This is one of my favorite books I have ever read. It is breath taking and chill giving. I reccomend this book to every one. It is something that will keep you on the edge with suspense, but at the same time teach you the true meaning of hope.

This book reminded me a lot of Moorcock's Elric series. It's extremely brief, the characters are lifeless, the world is poorly described, and it takes itself way too seriously.

The protagonist, Paul Formain, is so cold and lifeless that he makes Elric seem emotional by comparison.

One expects a sci-fi novel to have lifeless and cliched characters, but there's usually a cool interesting scientific idea to counter the lack of character development and story. Necromancer has neither. In fact, it's more of a fantasy story than true sci-fi. The characters have magical abilities which are never explained in any kind of logical or scientific way.

Now I have no problem with fantasy, but as a fantasy novel Necromancer doesn't hold up either. A fantasy story should have interesting characters and a well developed fantasy world. Necromancer has none of this.

I really have nothing good to say about this book.

Alright.....the book starts off around the main character of Paul. Paul has just gotten a job in a mining company, and on the first day, he ends up losing his arm. Now during this time period, humans have the ability to regrow limbs and other body parts. However, the graft for a new arm has failed on three different times for Paul. As a result, he is being seen by various pyschologists.

One day, Paul finds out that it is possible to grow a new arm under the "Alternate Laws" described by the Chantry Guild. The Chantry Guild has the motto "DESTRUCT" and was founded by one William Blunt. Walter Blunt has a vision of the future that will include the destruction of all technology, and a main player in this future is Paul. Paul must then make decisions in regards to his future in the Chantry Guild to determine the future outcome of the human race. Paul's decisons will lead society down a path of his choice.

This novel is fairly complex to follow at times, but should be an easy read that can be finished quickly. There is not a lot of character development except for a few main participants. Further character complexes could have been useful in determining the ending and what will happen. But not enough information is dealt with these characters who will be important in the future human society. It is an average read that could have been spiced up a bit to make it further entertaining and interesting.

I have no idea what order the Childe Cycle (aka that series with Dorsai) was published in . . . I'm reading them in the order listed on the back of the Final Encyclopedia, which gives this as the first book and so off we go. It's a slim, slight book with a seemingly straightforward plot that starts to go in all kinds of weird areas very quickly, almost too quickly. Paul Formain is a guy with not so good luck who loses his arm and can't have it replaced because none of the grafts will take. But some people tell him he has some ability with the "Alternate Laws" and so the Chantry Guild, led by Walter Blunt, decide to take him in and train them. Little do they know what it leads to. And neither does the reader, apparently. Dickson is too good a writer to not make the book any less than interesting and readable but some of this stuff doesn't seem worked out too well, the Alternate Laws remain kind of a catch-all and after reading the book I still have absolutely no idea what they are supposed to do. Other than Paul, none of the character have anything other than thin personalities (the lady, Kanteele is never developed at all and her at times strange behavior never really explained) and even Paul isn't that interesting since in grand SF hero tradition he mostly reacts to stuff and overcomes obstacles mostly because hey, why not? A lot of stuff happens toward the end that basically serves as a prelude for everything that comes after, which is where this book becomes essential. While if you skipped it, the rest of the Cycle probably makes perfect sense, this lays down the foundations and while not a spectacular book on its own, when fitted in with the rest of the series, it takes on a different resonance altogether. Even with those flaws, Dickson keeps the story moving, his science may not be ready for a doctoral thesis but the philosophy is always interesting (a highlight in most of his books) and the result is never less than entertaining, even if it is far from a masterpiece. Read this only to move on to the next books.

There are so many references and footnotes, half the time I was lost whether I was reading the text or authors notes. The historical stories were ok - again the footnotes and authors descriptions made it very difficult to read. Overall I would not recommend this book to anyone that is not a serious reader. Joe Alaimo

As providing something of a counterpart for same-sex male fiction, drama, and philosophies of Ancient Greece (and other Western eras for toleration/veneration of such love) this occasionally random collection of stories is interesting reading. It's mostly scholarly, historical framework serves the purpose of further exposing the freshness of such a long-running and suprisingly vibrant counterculture as Japanese same-sex relations. Stereotypes of "Samurai," "Kabuki" and "Buddhist monks" unexpectedly receive new meaning. As a student in Japanese Studies I found it interesting that, in light of the popularity of gender studies in academia, this subject has not been given more attention. It's obvious this book intends to be both readable and scholarly; at both of which it, mostly, succeeds.

It is better to divide in two volumes, : i.e. premodern and contemporary Japanese gay literature, since most of westerners don't know Japanese male-love history. Modern anthology of Japanese is easy to read for common Americans, on the other hand, classical one is much difficult for the ignorant.

Off the Record should be relegated to stay off the shelf. This book is a trite and an offensive advertisement for the authors own company the book is filled with conflicts of interest. A self promoting waste of time.

Save your Money - read one of Peter Lynch's books instead.

Utter tripe. Save your money - the 'advice' that Mr. Gordon wants to sell you isn't worth the paper it's printed on. Pick up the Peter Lynch text for some practical advice on wise investing.

Craig Gordon's Off The Record presents the investor's secrets for discovering great stocks which are underrated or misunderstood by the majority of Wall Street investors. Most don't know how to thoroughly research such stocks and by the time knowledge becomes public, it's too late to profit. This provides many practical keys to such initial analysis.

It is good book for someone want learn the basics of JMF. But it doesn't cover some important topic like broadcasting and conferencing. This cover only javax.media. Not good for advanced users.

If you want to learn how to develop applications using JMF don't but this book! If you want to learn how to use EJMF then buy this book. What is EJMF I hear you ask. EJMF is the Essential JMF Toolkit, which most of the examples in this book are based on. Most of what I wanted to learn about JMF is hidden away in EJMF and not explained very well. What a waste of money. Perhaps the authors should bring out another book, EJMF Explained.

Compare core Java media framework ( by author Linden DeCarmo), this book is much better!! It is orgainzed very well and also has something you can search from outside of JMF reference guide. The code is previous and professional!