The final installment in R.A. Salvatore's Spearweilder series, "The Dragonslayer's Return" is, like its predecessors, a good read that sometimes flirts with greatness, but never really lives up to its potential. In fact, as a conclusion to a trilogy, it is somewhat disappointing, although without completely destroying the series.

Obviously Drizzt Do'Urden creator R.A. Salvatore is deeply connected to these books, and feels very strongly about the subject matter. Again we join Gary (named after Salvatore's own brother, presumably) from Real-earth, and his wife Diane (named after Salvatore's own wife), as they embark upon a journey to the realm of Faerie (a shallow version of Middle-earth, essentially) to destroy once and for all the wicked witch who terrorizes the land. What ensues are a lot of heavy-handed war sequences and some smaller battles that are overflowing with Salvatore's zesty action descriptions. Though action is certainly one of Salvatore's strengths, he often gets carried away, and this is particularly true in "The Dragonslayer's Return." The repetitive nature of these action setpieces leads, sooner or later, to boredom, and skimming ahead to read the inevitable outcome.

Most disappointing, though, is the series conclusion, which doesn't pack as much punch as you might wish (and bears an uncanny similarity to a certain sequence in the film, "Conan the Destroyer"). Salvatore seems almost rushed to deliver an ending as well, and deprives his readers of what could be a more emotional farewell between the residents of Real-earth and their Faerie pals. Like a Hollywood film, it seems that once the action is finished, the story races toward a finale, therefore depriving itself of slower, more character-driven moments. This is a great loss to the series - though not a completely crippling one, by any means.

Though Salvatore uses these books to get a bit preachy at times, his messages are generally worthy ones, and his themes mostly adhere to those embraced by his obvious mentor, J.R.R. Tolkien. The characters are vivid and colorful (though, strangely, Real-earth natives Gary and Diane are perhaps the least interesting), and the humor is generally right on the mark. Again, though, Salvatore tries in vain to balance light-hearted fun with the horrors of war and violence, and though the other two volumes in the series suffered similar difficulties, "The Dragonslayer's Return" is the biggest offender. It's a tough balancing act to be sure, and Salvatore, at least during this stage in his career, just wasn't up to the task.

All quibbles aside, "The Dragonslayer's Return" is, like its forebears, a fast read, and though it has its lulls, it's still a good sword 'n sorcery novel, sure to retain the fans of the previous tomes. It just gets a bit too self-important sometimes, and never really makes the most of its winning premise. Still, I can't help but recommend it to the world's dreamers, who will almost surely find something to like here.

This entire Series is a little juvenile. I read this book and the other tow in the trilogy (The Woods Out Back and The Dragons Dagger) and they were all good. This is an easy read which is part of the reason that I don't think that this is Salvatore's best work. I got the feeling that this might have been one of his earlier attempts before he found his real writing niche. I love all of Salvatore's boooks and am now about 4 books from reading them all. This Particular book and series has great characters. I liked the Leprechan especially. There was a lot of good comedy and there were several fights but these weren't as Dynamic as, say, the Dark Elf books by Salvatore. All in all though this book has a good story, be it predictable at times. I did enjoy this book because the basic premice of the books was good. Somewhat like the Fionavar Tapestry by Guy Gavriel Kay who is also a very good writer. This book and this series (Becuase you might as well read the whole series) are worth the time and this would be a good one to read to your kids at night. I hope this helps.

This book is not worth purchasing if you have any knowledge whatsoever of the hotel industry. It attempts to cover too many topics in too little space and fails to penetrate the surface of any given issue. I think that it is probably too much to ask that an in depth analysis of an industry as diverse and complex as the hotel industry be compiled into a single volume.

A good book...But needs an updated version....1993 is a long time ago

I used Schaum's Oulines to study for my accounting CLEP test, preparing for my MBA program. The Financial and Managerial Accounting titles were excellent. I have also used them to supplement my MBA texts in Operations Management and Financial Management. Overall, the series is lucid and easy to follow. I was expecting this title to follow suit.

Unfortunately, it did not.

The exposition is shoddy at best. Though I could solve the problems as they were given, I found myself struggling to understand economics. Since I was studying to CLEP test out of my prerequisite Micro and Macro Econ, I was concerned. After a few weeks, I purchased Harper Collins' College Outlines' Intro to Economics, and was pleasantly surprised to find that I could understand economics.

I am an old beginner in Economics. I just wanted to study to prepare my CMA certificate. Schaum's series are very popular in Korea, and maybe in the United States also for their selected many problems. That's why I chose this book for my preparation in Economics exam. Economics is very broad and practical studies. This book is written in 1995, 5 years ago from now. Someone feels it is too old to study. But I don't think so, because how much change in 5 years in Economics. The economy of a society is changing a lot in 5 years evidently but the Economics cannot be changed a lot in 5 years even in these E-days! I graduated from school longtime ago, and sometimes I was stupid in my school days because I just studied the text only without so many problems. I am now sure that the problem-driven study is the best way to conquer the complex theory. Good luck to you, and hope to find this book to help your understanding the Economics theory and extend to your real life.

It is very interesting to get an insight into a life of a single black man around the turn of the century. But it sure was boring to read. I you are interested in the topic, read it - but make sure you have a pillow near by becuase you will be snoring.

Sometimes one learns more about history by accident, and it tells its own tale reluctantly if we are receptive to listening. Essentially, that is what happened to Dr. Nick Salvatore one day while digging in the archives of the Harvard Library. What he uncovered led him on a journey of discovery that he had not anticipated, but by which he became completely engaged for the next several years. Salvatore, a professor at Cornell's School of Industrial and Labor Relations, offers us a biography of a rather reluctant and seemingly unlikely subject, Amos Webber, a free African-American man who lived, worked, and journalled in 19th century New England.
Webber was a keen observer of people, politics, and the African American condition before, during, and after the American Civil War right up until his death in 1904. His penned thoughts on the Reconstruction era offer an important insight into the African American point of view during a seminal period in their journey towards freedom and equality. Through Amos Webber's writings one can sense the optimism, feel the despair and disappointment, and his continued commitment to furthering the causes of personal agency, self-determination, suffrage, equality, and the nurturing of a strong African-American Community. These are the very currents which resonate so strongly throughout his journals and which allow the reader to obtain a more insightful glimpse into the world of Amos Webber and his worldview throughout his life.
Historical biography is a difficult subject to master when the author does not have the benefit of previous scholars' interpretations as a foundation to build upon; much less when the subject of that biography has been dead for over ninety years, has no known family members or contemporaries to interview, and who's only personal affects extant are a sparsely personal, albeit meticulously kept, series of journals with which to begin working. That is precisely what Salvatore accomplished with this work. Because of his background as a social historian Salvatore was predisposed to looking at what lay between the lines; what was unsaid, and adding sufficient social context to make it an important work in the fields of: African American History, Political History, Labor History, and Urban History of the 19th century.
Salvatore succeeds in this endeavor in a way that is both historically informative and personally poignant by offering a thematic continuity to Webber's life, speaking specifically to his life, and on a larger scale to the free, northern, urban, African-American experience en mass. To illustrate his thesis, Salvatore explores such themes as: the individual as a part of the community; urban space and identity in the 19th century; the vantage of a free African-American on the issue of slavery and self-determination; and the role of Institutions and social movements in the African-American community in the 19th century. These thematic vehicles enable the reader to consider the richness and depth of the subject and elicit empathy for what so often has gone unrecognized in the general understanding of 19th century African American history.
To illustrate these varying themes, bringing to life Webber's career as a soldier, citizen and "activist," Salvatore enlists a mélange of additional outside sources such as: census records, demographic studies, newspaper extracts, the discussion of the Abolition movement; regimental histories from the Civil War, church records, and minutes from the meetings of fraternal organizations. All work in concert to aide him in contextualizing the life of his subject in a way that makes Webber's individual journal entries even more poignant than they might otherwise seem. As readers, we are offered an intimate picture of Webber's life and the African American community of Worchester, Massachusetts during the 19th century, by examining the social and political interests of the man and of his community.
Salvatore's style, while at times tersely laden with discussion of the social climate and interests of Amos Webber, none-the-less, offers a very thoroughly constructed, eloquently written, and sensitively handled biography. However, one area of weakness in Salvatore's work, whether it was due to a lack of source material, a lack of interest, or a deliberate oversight, is that there is little discussion devoted to Amos Webber's family relationships, or lack thereof. While Webber did not write about his family in his own journals, neither did Salvatore make an effort to go beyond that to investigate the matter. This reviewer finds that, while every other aspect of Webber's life was given due and thorough attention, the author would have better served his reader by giving some additional information about Webber's extended family. In the 19th century one's relationship with his or her family was a primary focus for every American.
"We've All Got History. ...It's there. You just got to look for it," a quote which Salvatore attributes to Ellen L. Hazard, a descendant of a friend and compatriot of Amos Webber's, is a hauntingly prophetic and poignant comment that encapsulates the very process by which Nick Salvatore approached Amos Webber's life. He took the skeleton of Webber's personal journal and successfully fleshed it out to encompass an entire social-cultural movement, allowing the reader to see the world as Webber himself saw it and adding a background to help better understand the importance of the role of individuals, great and small, during a time that was formative for the African-American community. We've All Got History... is very rich in detail and life, a biography that will stand as an important work in the genre of historical biography.

with all of the analyses offered in the book it is surprising that none of them seem right. this book's redeeming points have nothing to do with the subject. one of these points is learning how to approach a work of art that you know nothing about.

An absolutely brilliant book, indeed! It is written with a lot of intellectual vigour, Settis' knowledge of the subject is breathtaking, but what is by far the most impressing feature of this book is the author's ability to connect very different fields of academic research: sociology, history, philology. It is an absolute must for all students and scholars of arts, a true example how a detailed analysis of a single painting reveals to us much about the era it was painted in, as well as about the times when its meaning was attempted to be deciphered. We learn here much about the Italian Rennaisance, Giorgione and his contemporaries, but also about centuries which came after -- what they did with his paintings and how they tried to adjust their meanings to their contemporary tastes and preferences. A real diamond.

"Lady Luck, Where Art Thou?" is a compelling first work by a man who has obviously "been there". The polish is lacking, and the editing could have been better, but Mr. Carcione tells a good tale.

Honor among thieves is the main theme here. The four men involved go to unusual extremes to try and help each other out, from jail breaks, to not "talking" at trial, to sharing of money from their heists, to finding "Jobs" when one of them is in need of money. The background of this friendship is missing, with only a couple clues pointing to a mafia related past. Mr. Carcione would have done well to examine this relationship between the four, to help us understand why these men would risk their lives and freedom to help each other out.

As the title proclaims, this story is about four thieves whose luck has run out. Mr. Carcione tells the story in a fast paced whirlwind of activity, only slowing down when detailing the activity of his own trial that sent him to Leavenworth. It is a short and entertaining read that this reviewer would like to see as a portion of the overall story that Mr. Carcione could tell us. Let's find out why these men turned to a life of crime, what brought them together, where the mafia relates, and why their bond is thicker then glue. This will show us Mr. Carcione's talents. We know he can tell a story, but can he develop a story?

This is a book about a group of gay and lesbian friends who decide to retire and buy houses near each other in an exclusive Florida community. You get a chance to see how older members of the "family" adjust to living together and to trying to mix in with the rest of the neighborhood. There is a twist ending to one of the relationships that lingers with you. This just isn't what you expected to happen. It's hard to get into the book though because there isn't a lot to relate to in the characters. A longer book might have done the story more justice.

the book is a fantastic starting guide for someone who is concerned with the problems of growth and development. the entire book focusses on the basic differenece between growth and development looking at the practical aspects of growth and development by focussing on countries which started with the processes of higher economic growth but could not move towards sustainable development. the practical examples of countries like chile, india, china etc. makes the entire book a case study in itself. also the book very succintly deals with the various theories of development. the auothor's array in microeconomics and macroeconomics shows in their analyses. the concept of economic growth and inequality is dealt with in most practical aaspect. the book draws lessons for developing countries which seem equally relevant evn today.

No one writes a better battle scene than R.A. Salvatore, which is where this adaptation of a screenplay to a short-lived TV series shines. Tarzan moves and fights with all comers with almost preternatural grace. As Salvatore fans have come to love with the Drizzt novels, Tarzan continually engages in a savage ballet at least every thirty pages. Unfortunately, that's about all the free reign Salvatore has in this book. He seemed limited by the fact Tarzan must win with all his helpless, and continually in-the-way, friends completely intact, and this steals a large amount of the suspense. In Salvatore's own worlds, he is free to take the characters where they take him. Here Tarzan and his friends need to get from preordained point A to B knowing that only a finite number of written pages are keeping them from the inevitable ending. If you've read the Drizzt novels, the Corona tales, the Cleric Quintet and Salvatore's various but scattered trilogies, this book is more of the swashbuckling style but without the characterization. If this is your first Salvatore book though, it may hold your attention, but you're missing out.

The Parkin book is dumb down but so much so that you dont understand Microeconomics the way you'll need to if you plan on taking advanced theory, money and banking, etc.

I prefer McConnell Brue who has been the staple and bible of Microeconomics for years!

Smart universities choose McConnell Brue and dumb ones like Micro econ at Rice seem to choose Parkin.

Parkin's text was designed for the beginning economics student. Those who state that the text is not rigorous enough should understand the text was not written for the advanced student. Those who complain that the text is replete with explanations of basic topics do not understand that beginning students need reaffirmation of presented concepts. Parkin's text strives to appeal to the broad base of students without the dilution that seems to occur when a text is written with "non-majors" in mind. I read several introductory texts before adopting the Parkin text for my advanced placement class. I chose the Parkin text because it provided the optimum mix of rigor and explanation, without sacrificing analysis (within a mathematical context) for a purely verbal approach.

I have used Parkin as an auxilliary source for my micro 102 classes for years. His examples are products that can be related to by 19-year-olds, AND he does not use wheat or other perfectly competitive products to exemplify a downward sloping demand curve! Many other do, which causes great confusion among the students. What is wrong with careful, thoughtful, comprehensive explanations of concepts that are difficult for first time micro students? He covers several complicated topics that are left out of the more highly rated texts by Mankiw and others. I am wondering if we are even rating the same book...I give it the maximum rating!