Friedman and Harrison did an excellent job in this book. The story arc covers nothing less than 300 or so years in the Trek universe. The co-authors go behind the story of the original Trek episode "Where No Man Has Gone Before" and present the story of the S.S. Valiant and what happened to it, its captain, and its crew beyond the galactic barrier. It also delves into the cause of Gary Mitchell's (Captain Kirk's crewman) transformation into a psychotic superman. Then, the main part of the book, set on the U.S.S Stargazer with Jean-Luc Picard as the second officer, seeks to expand on those stories a bit, and adds the problems of a new and violent alien race, descendents of the survivors of the Valiant who seem somewhat suspicious, a sneak attack that leaves Picard in command with an untrusting crew. The authors do a good job in presenting Picard as an imperfect person, devising imperfect solutions to difficult problems. Some may be offended because the Picard of TNG is not presented in this story, but how can he? If the story takes place when he is younger, you have to expect that he is not as wise as he is during TNG and that he might make some errors in judgment. Not to mention the fact that the authors also have to maintain continuity with what we learned in TNG -- that Picard did not receive a command posting for his efforts with the Stargazer in this story, because he was first office under Jack Crusher later in his tenure on the Stargazer, where yet again, he was forced to take command. This is a very good story, because it shows the very human and fallible face of Picard in his early life, which only makes us appreciate the character all the more in his later life. Picard is, in the end, like any one of us, trying to do what is right in an imperfect world with imperfect people. The only complaint I have was that I wished the Nuyyad race had been given a face and a reasoning behind their attacks.

What an interesting book. I truly enjoyed reading this one and let me tell you why.

We start out reading as to what happened to the U.S.S.Valiant and her crew... of course we all know what hapened when Kirk and his crew found that bouy with the warning. Well this gets into more detail as to what happened and the crew's struggle to survive. Captain Carlos Tarasco's decision to destroy the Valiant. Now, some might say this is a little like the Gary Mitchell episode but we have the same author and he is giving us a little more background. Now that ends Book 1 and we now proceed to Book 2.

Now, this is where the meat of the story is. We have a good look into the making of Jean-Luc Picard Number Two on the U.S.S. Stargazer. We have Starfleet sending the Stargazer to the galactic barrier to investigate a new threat to the Federation, aliens called the Nuyyad.

Starfleet gets this information via a couple of descendants from the ill-fated Valiant crew. The Stargazer picks up one of the survivors at Starbase 209 and her name is Santana. Now comes the interesting play... can the crew trust this newly found person? Capt. Ruhalter puts Picard in the position to find out... much to the dismay of the XO Leach. We find the making of Picard's character here... the Capt. grooming a younger officer... and the insecurity of the junior officer in his convictions. But, alas, as the Stargazer passes through the barrier the Capt dies and the XO is in a deep coma. Now we see true character of Picard begin to blossom. Jean-Luc finds that he is the highest ranking officer after crossing the galactic barrier. The Stargazer picked up a Kelvan prior to crossing the barrier to help fight the newly found Nuyyad as they have had prior knowledge of the Nuyyad's ship design and fighting capabilities.

We find out that the Magnians (Valiant descendants) distrust the Kelvans. Not only that but most of the Stargazer crew distrusts the Magnians. So Picard is now trying to get the crew behind him as well as he can... but we have saboteur aboard.

So we have the rather unorthodox but clever Picard trying to hold all of this together. He tells Capt. Ruhalter that Santana can be trusted over the objection of the XO. Next Picard takes the Stargazer to the Magnians' homeworld instead of back through the barrier and home jeopardizing the crew and the ability to warn Starfleet.

Knowing that a trap was set after getting to Magnia, Picard still trusted the Magnians and beamed aboard several more from the planet and gave them access to strategic systems and allowed their mental powers to be enhanced. Picard also removed the safeguards from the phaser technology... taking out a single enemy installation.

All of this interplays with the making of the character of what we know to be Captain Jean-Luc Picard.

Mutiny, sabotage, all around distrust and a common enemy dig deep into well of Jean-Luc Picard's character.

A good fast read and background information. Read it and enjoy.

The Valiant tells the story of Picard taking command of the Stargazer. The story begins with the crew of the Valiant from the original series Star Trek episode "Where No Man Has Gone Before" and fills in information on what happened to that crew. Jump 300 years ahead to the Trek era just preceeding The Next Generation. Decendants of survivors of the Valiant appear to warn the Federation of a potential enemy on the other side of the galatic barrier. The Stargazer and crew are dispatched to see if the threat is real. The ship is attacked and the captain is killed and first officer incapacitated and Picard has to take over. Picard has to deal with a mutiny, a damaged ship, gain trust of the crew he now commands, deal with a Kelvin, and the new threat to the Federation. If you like space battles and action there is plenty in this book. We see characters that first appeared in Friedmans Star Trek book Reunion and their character development in this book helps explain their actions in the previous book. For fans of Star Trek this book is a must.

"The Illustrated Longitude" is an excellent, worthwhile historical account of John Harrison's progression as an instrument maker and legitimate finder of a practical solution to the problem of determining Longitude at Sea.

If you are at all interested in the antecedents of today's accurate timekeeping devices this book is a must. The print quality is very high and the illustrations a wonderful aid to feeling the story unfold. The book does not contain detailed plans of Mr Harrison's chronometers or description of the techniques of celestial navigation, but rather is a brisk, engagingly written account of the origin of the Longitude problem, Mr Harrison's solution and those of his rivals and the political intrigues which delayed full acknowledgement of the merit of the H-1 to H-4 devices.

I bought this book some months after visiting the Old Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England. The ingenious mechanisms at work can keep an observer enthralled for hours. They are also very beautiful. "The Illustrated Longitude" really fills out the significance of the Longitude problem in that era and the career details and challenges overcome by a very clever and self made man.

Having bought and read "Longitude", the only lightly illustrated original hardback version, I wanted to know more about how the actual clocks worked, and I wanted to see them, without making a trans-Atlantic pilgrimage to Greenwich.

Hence, when I saw an illustrated version of "Longitude", I had to buy it. This book contains the original text, with no additions, except for the illustrations. The photographs are beautifully done, as is the printing.

My only hesitation in not awarding the book five stars is that I was hoping for one of two things; either an illustrated version of the original, with a couple of pictures of each chronometer, at a reasonable price, or a more detailed illustrated version, with more information on how the chronometers actually work. What we ended up with is a compromise. Beautiful pictures of the chronometers, but little extra detail of Harrison's marvelous inventions.

Still, an improvement on the original, which is an excellent book, one I have read several times. Highly recommended.

By the way, when I purchased this book, I donated my original version to the library.

I must say I ordered this book because of a review I read, not because I knew Dava Sobel's work or knew the least about clockmaking or sailing. Harrison's ingenuity, the times in which he lived, and the importance of his quest were more appealing to me, and I was not dissapointed. By all this I mean you need not be a sailor or anything to enjoy this fascinating and beautifully illustrated story. (A nice touch of sophistication for the coffee table as well, if you excuse the shallowness of such remark)

I enjoyed this book. The majority of the book focuses on WHH's experience as Govenor of Indiana Territory, and as a commander in the war of 1812. The book was written in the 1930's. As is typical of many biographies of its era, little attention is paid to Harrison's family or his personal life. Some may find that a refreshing change from the psychologically based biographies of today. Others may feel that an important facet is missing.

This book contained everything I could have reasonably hoped to expect from a presidential biography of the subject. Naurally the book tends to gravitate to the early history of Indiana as pertains to Harison, the military acheivements of General Harrison and the Native Americans he encountered. The presidential portion of Harrison's life, I feel was conveyed fully, since this portion of his life was so breif. I particularly appreciated the way the author expanded subjects of American history around Harrison in an effort to better explain the environment and circumstances from which Harrison would have perceived them.

Harrison's prose style is minimalist: the force of a few words.

Faust sold his soul for eternal Knowledge: Harrison's characters sell their souls for a wink from an assistant producer. In "Pretty Girl and Fat Friend," when pickup "auteur" Jerry is beaten to a pulp by two women, he's ashamed enough to tell the cops it was two guys but not ashamed enough to not tap out the same tired messages to a flight attendant as soon as he can walk again.

In the title story, a hunky security guard is so mesmerized by the hazy veil of fame that he'll continue working for the boss who shot him in a desperate publicity stunt. In "The Rocky Hills of Trancas," an ambitious son gradually usurps his wayward father's talent.

Harrison's old standards are here too: "Roller Ball Murder," "The Arsons of Desire," & the great interior monologue, "The Warrior," in which a restless soldier of fortune takes revenge on an outdoor film festival.

Of course, it helps that the reader is familiar with the media-driven world his characters inhabit, but when Harrison starts teasing you with the horrors of our pop culture, then the girders of our emotional structure, like those of the weather tower, become brittle & snap.

Well, "book is a reminder." I guess that's the most that comes to mind about this book. Whether you should purchase this book depends on what you're looking for. I purchased it in preparation for a vacation to Thailand, because I was going to be shopping for Thai style household items and wanted to get informed. Plus, I'm a sucker for a decorating coffee table book that everyone else doesn't already have. I visited the Jim Thompson House while in Bangkok, and so that's why the only thing that now comes to my mind is: the book is a reminder of what I saw.

Tepid impression now, I suppose. The book gives some background on Jim Thompson and how he revived the Thai silk industry, as well as information about the rare antique Thai treasures that he collected in his home, which is now a museum. If you're really interested in this aspect, in particular, this book may be for you. If you're interested in Thai style, I'm not sure I would recommend this book as a starting point. There are other Thai style books that I reach for again and again, while this book sits on a shelf, untouched. It's a nice book, but more of an expensive souvenir.

Although I'm aware of the criticisms of this approach (that you should learn a language through material already acquired in that language) how do you start out if you don't have little or no stuff to start with?

I haven;t referred to the Spanish Memory Book for a few months, yet I clearly remember most of the jingles, the words, and the meanings as well. In addition, I find myself making up my own jingles for Spanish and for other languages.

It is rather easy to dismiss a president who caught pneumonia during his inauguration and dies a month later, the shortest term of office in American history. I would have said I was already able to tick off the salient facts about It is rather easy to dismiss a president who caught pneumonia during his inauguration and dies a month later, the shortest term of office in American history. I would have said I was already able to tick off the salient facts about William Henry Harrison on the fingers of one hand: the first Whig elected to the White House, famous as the general who won the battle of Tippecanoe, his grandson Benjamin was also elected President, he was the first President to die in office, and, of course, serving the shortest amount of time in American history. The only problem with that list is that Harrison did not become a general until after the battle of Tippecanoe and unlike other famous generals who went on to the White House, such as fellow Whig Zachary Taylor (who also died in office) and Ulysses Grant following the Civil War, William Henry Harrison was a career politician with one of the most impressive resumes I have ever seen. Oh, and his fatal pneumonia was the result of a cold caught while doing his customary early-morning shopping in late March, not during the inaugural.

In this volume for the Encyclopedia of Presidents series, Christine Maloney Fitz-Gerald focuses on that length political career, along with its military highlights, since his Presidency is reduced to a few paragraphs describing his illness and the office-seekers who wanted jobs from the new President. William Henry Harrison might be the most forgotten President, but this informative juvenile biography will soon convince you this should not be the case. Given that his father was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, it becomes clear the Harrison were a major political family in this country. As for Harrison's political resume, while he did indeed start out to be a career soldier he resigned from the army to become secretary of the Northwest Territory before going on to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, appointed governor of the Indiana Territory, reelected to the U.S. House, then elected to the Ohio State Senate and then the U.S. Senate from Ohio, before being appointed minister to Columbia. His political career apparently ended by Andrew Jackson's election and the dictates of the "Spoils System," Harrison actively campaigns for the presidency as early as 1835 before joining the Whig Party and being elected in 1840. In the middle of this political career he had time to be a general during the War of 1812, so while he was a soldier, he was also a formidable politicians.

One of the most notable things about Harrison is that he actively campaigned for the presidency, actually trying to get the Whig nomination in 1836 before being elected four years later. Most readers have probably heard of the "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too" slogan, but Fitz-Gerald goes into considerably more detail about the 1840 campaign and the book is illustrated with several choice examples of political broadsides, cartoons, and such from that period. While there is an early photograph of Tyler, the book does not include one of Harrison, although I understand he was the first sitting president to have his picture taken; however, I have yet to stumble across it. This is an informative volume that will allow young readers assigned to research this forgotten President to learn a lot more than they will ever find out about him in their history textbook.

Rollerball is a collection of short stories by the author William Harrison. After reading this book, the only story that really stood out for me was "Roller Ball Murder" which the movie Rollerball was based on. The movie is fairly true to the short story but is only 15 pages long and really only touches on part of what the movie was about. I found all of the other stories fairly dry and uninteresting and reading this will add nothing to what the original movie had.

Harrison is a master storyteller, & his hallmarks are bizarre premises or characters driven to do bizarre things & a terse & spartan writing style. "Roller Ball Murder" had the bizarre premise & was Harrison's most commercial success. The original story is a first-person narrative of a panic-stricken sports hero, watching his sport become increasingly cruel & barbaric.

"The Warrior" is an interior monologue (told as if the reader were sitting next to the narrator) of a restless soldier of fortune, who, without a war to fight, decides to take on that conspicuous example of cosmopolitan excess, an international film festival ("Christ, some show."). The narrator of "The Good Ship Erasmus" smuggles cigarettes on a quit-smoking cruise; like Kafka's Hunter Gracchus, he is destined to cruise forever.

Harrison's characters are sometimes on the verge of breakdowns: a fireman thinks he's causing fires so he can rescue lost loves; a weather forecaster thinks he causes the weather. This is an early collection of Harrison's stories, published while he was still teaching writing, something, as he wrote in the Preface, he could never again do with "a straight face."

The presentation of "inside the criminal process" and subsequent lines of historic accuracy were in my assessment very good. However I found that several "key players" had not been mentioned, nor had many "victims". I was privvy to the inside workings of the "M.I.C." group that brought a $500,000.000 lawsuit against the federal government. "Maturo vs. F.B.I." It seems odd to me that one of the "accused" was entirely omitted from inclusion in this book. There were many innocent victims of this scandalous impropriety. Did the author have a complete knowledge of all the players? I think not, or he chose not to devuldge this info. The players I refer to are; "Sam Maturo", president of "Maturo Image Corporation", "Mike Tusivitch" lead council for the judiciary, "Mickey Rooney and wife", "Charlton Heston" and a score of other involved players. Were they too insignificant to mention? or were they part of the nucleus of the "abscam perps"?. We may never know the truth of the extent of involvment these people had, but it is interesting that their involvement was not noted in this book. My overall opinion of the book is rated #3, due largely to the problem with "omission of information". The overall presentation and readability was "good" however I found myself drowned in a mix of names and identities that had no past in 1980, or present-tense activities of where these persons are now. If this author wanted to associate us with the congruency of facts about the"abscam", he should have presented it in a more "time-line oriented" fashion, rather than multiple referencing and "association by name". It was difficult to follow in terms of "real crimes". The taste left in my mouth was one of "incompletion", as was the follow-up of the lives of those involved. In my estimate, If I had no knowledge of the "Reason for abscam" prior to my reading of this book, I would be left in a state of confusion as to the revelence of its impact on our society, which is what the purpose of this book was supposed to accomplish. It did not inform me to my satisfaction, but did give information revelant to SOME of the persons involved.

Time was when you could ask three questions of science/nature writing: Is it important? Does it matter? Would anything change if the reverse conclusions were reached? The answer had better be "yes" to at least one question. Of course, the answers to those questions when asked about A Rum Affair are "No," "No," and "No.'
One thing was determined, however, and that was that a book can be written about anything---the spare change in your pocket, the color of dirt, whatever. It seems curiously reversed that I paid money to read this book when someone should have paid me a hefty sum to read it. Just awful.

I am really quite puzzled as to just why the author wrote this book. By his own admission Sabbagh isn't a scientist, and by his writing it is apparent that he doesn't understand Botany, Botanists or Biogeography. In spite of this he has chosen to write about all three. The story is a rather sad little affair which could be interpreted in a number of ways. In one a botanist is suspected of fraud by members of the scientific establishment, the case is investigated, the suspect records are quietly dropped from publication, and everyone eventually retires and dies. It is clear that Sabbagh, for reasons that escape me, would rather that there had been a public trial, with any guilty parties being tarred, feathered & ridden on a rail. Since this DIDN'T happen when anyone involved was alive, Sabbagh sets out to do it to the dead. Starting by gaining access to a manuscript whose author had specifically requested should remain sealed (there are some weird aspects of class struggle throughout this book by the way, Sabbagh boasts that since he is "a Kingsman" -a graduate of King's College Cambridge- the widow of his hero is confident that the ms will be "in safe hands" -false hope as it turns out.) Sabbagh sets out to develop a case against his villain, John Harrison. This "case" is based in part on excerpts from the sealed manuscript by the book's hero, John Raven, in part on wild speculation, and in large part on every bit of gossip, hearsay and innuendo that Sabbagh seems to have dug up. It is clear from the outset that there were people -especially particularly well-connected people in the British scientific aristocracy- who didn't like John Harrison. It also seems likely that Harrison wasn't particularly likable in general. Whether this dislike could have engendered the sort of plot that Sabbagh suggests seems somewhat far-fetched, and is based here on second and third hand gossip & sometimes ludicrous "reading between the lines" of selected letters. While there is clearly the POSSIBILITY of fraud in the behaviour of "villain" Harrison, what also emerges is that both the "hero" John Raven and the author are what I was raised to call "cads". By Sabbagh's own account Raven gets access to Harrison's study sites on false pretexts, in spite of repeated sensible warnings that the study area is remote & inhospitable Raven shows up without food or camping supplies -and manages to burn down his tent! (Sabbagh has previously suggested that Harrison is being obnoxious by telling Raven to bring supplies, but he automatically forgives his hero when he fails to follow either courtesy or caution). Raven then spends less than three days on an island where the Villain has been working for many field seasons, decides that some specimens of rare plants have been literally "planted" and then leaves to write a report which goes nowhere. Another interpretation of the whole affair is that Harrison was hounded by people who didn't like him, investigated by a talented amateur (Raven may have been a cad, but he was certainly talented) who failed to turn up much serious evidence of fraud (Raven mis-identifies a key species of plant in the course of his investigation). Faced with at best a verdict of "not proven" the establishment does the sensible thing and drops the whole matter. There it would (and should) have remained except for the energies of Mr. Sabbagh. We read this sort of book for the same reason we slow down at car-wrecks or scan the front pages of the tabloids. This is a sick entertainment that ennobles nobody.

The merest possibility that a geographic botanist would actually falsify a discovery and violate the sanctity of the British scientific aristocracy is not only enough excitement for one book, but plenty for a sensational story. However, you might have to be an unabashed fan of all things Anglo like myself; also perhaps a talented amateur horticulturist who thrills to the details of the growing conditions necessary for the disputed "discoveries" of J. Heslop Harrison (the names of the characters alone make this a fun read). Sabbagh navigates the touchy territory of real peoples' reputations with great subtlety and renders a fascinating picture of the British universities, their scientists and personalities. Of course there is no silly confrontation scene! All the drama is handled with typical British restraint, which makes the book and this true story all the more enthralling for the right type of reader.