Were it not for the digressions into post-modernist chic, I might be able to give a more resounding endorsement. Nevertheless, Levy did successfully acquaint the reader with the common court precedents for blasphemy in British law, while furnishing modern examples such as the 1976 blasphemy trial of a homosexual poet. Though the traditional branding, mutilation, and execution of blasphemers has stopped in modern-day Britain, Levy points out that the Anglican Church has argued for an extension of the outmoded blasphemy laws to other religions in the wake of the Rushdie affair. Rather than forego the Church of England's privileged status altogether, the Archbishop of Canterbury proposed the use of government coercion to protect all flights of lunatic fancy from their deserved ridicule. Needless to say, the lack of separation of Church and State in Europe, and the diluted freedom of speech provided by speech codes (e.g. laws against the expression of unpopular speech, such as Holocaust denial) surely constitute an important area of debate as far as the limitations of freedom. At present, the only US equivalent I can think of is the attempts to mold hate crimes legislation. Though certainly justice demands proper sanctions for those who violate the rights of others, this acts to punish criminals on the basis of their beliefs rather than actions. What next? Love crimes legislation that reduce a person's sentence if the jury thought they were acting for a more socially acceptable cause?

I assume from the first reviewer of this book that he hates to admit that evil has been done in the name of Christianity. He has a hard time seeing it done today, because we have a seperation of church and state. Look, this book may come as a shock to many Christian readers, but these are facts we can't deny. For example, America is a beautiful country, but in our history there is racism (KKK), the Civil War and the brutal murder of gay student, Matt Shepard. The same goes true for any other organization/country. What ever has done good, has done bad too.

This book provides a very detailed, factual account of people being killed in the name of Christianity from it's inception up to the present. You read about mennonites (anabaptists) getting executed by Protestants and Catholics, Jews being stripped of their Civil Rights, and everyone else who didn't take Jesus as their saviour. It is truly sick and stupid that the laws in those days prosecuted someone just because of a difference of opinion, espeically religious. How gruesome and brutal were Christians to people who differed with them on an opinion? Well, picture you are a Muslim, and preaching the Koran on the streets of England. First the government burns your books, since they are not pro-Christian. Second, you get whipped over 300 times until you have no flesh on your body. Third offense, you will get your tongue cut off, a "B" burned into your skin for "blasphemer", exiled or executed. Isn't that a good reason, and why our founding fathers established a seperation between church and state?

This is a good book, though very long. But, hey it's a history book, right?

This book is good for the inspiration for anyone who want's to build a log home. It is lacking in photographs, no colour in the book. Before you start though, buy as many back issues of "Muir's Original Log Homes magazine" as you can afford, latest issues being the best. And there is a couple of good books on building with logs that you should buy. These will help you prevent some very costly mistakes.

This was a great book of one family's learning experience in log home building. Williams shows you how to build your own log home from his experiences for very little. It was great to know it can be done! I liked his floor plan and am using a similar plan for our home.

He explained everything in enough detail you would only really need this book to build the same home he built. All the way down to the kitchen cupboards.

I was disappointed with this book. Most of the designs are variations on one style of wire-wrapped cabuchon, and I thought they were rather gawdy and dated. The designs were probably innovative and stylish in 1995, but they aren't anything like current trends in wirework.

Specialized designs, mostly with twisted gold wire. Designs range from wire-wrapped cabochons to airy pearl drop earrings and chain-link bracelets. Easy to follow, step-by-step instructions with photos or illustrations allow anyone with minimal experience to follow thru and create a beautiful piece of jewelry. Twelve designs are included in this book, some with variations on a theme. Basic techniques and tool information start off the book. Wire gauges and wire-wrap sources are also included.

This book is not for a complete beginner but rather for someone who has worked with wire before. Wire wrapping cabs has been one of the things that I struggled with until I got this book and then all of a sudden I got "IT". This book has some wonderful projects using some common sized stones available through many mail-order sources. The back of the book has a section on planning your own projects. I find that I can't read this book before bed because it makes me want to get up and get to work on one project or another.

As a die hard Redskins fan, I was very sorry to see this excellent concept so badly muffed. The idea behind this book is to cash in on the Washington Post vault, providing great photos and articles combined with new pieces by long-time Skins beat reporters to tie it all together. Sadly, whoever edited and proofread this thing reeeally dropped the ball. Sentences at the bottom of the page are repeated at the top of the next, photographs are mislabeled, pieces of sentences are missing, words are chopped off in the middle. Probably still of some value for the die hard Skins fan, but a real black eye for the Washington Post. If their newspaper were produced as shoddily, Richard Nixon would have finished his second term.

Yes, there are some typos and such in the early chapters but the book isn't as lousy as described in the 2-star review. Most of the problems are hyphen-ated words that are not at the end of a page or line. It is like the typeset was changed but the book was not reproofed.

Still, there is a lot of good information in the book. I think it covers items that Loverro's book (very good as well) ignored or glossed over-- how Gibbs wanted to sign and trade Riggo and how Joe Jacoby ended up sticking around in that first camp. The Times summary makes it sound like Gibbs and Beathard were geniuses building a team. This book shows that they were also lucky geniuses. If you are a Skins fan, you should own this book.

I see there is also a newer edition out with the Synder years (ugh).

I found this book in the library when looking for information on the 1931 film Dracula, and was rewarded with all the material I wanted. The bulk of the book is about portrayals of Dracula on stage, screen, and in literature; although there are a couple of early chapters on the historical fact behind the legends they add little to what is generally known about Vlad the impaler, and make no attempt to trace vampire legends any earlier. Although one of the chapters is titled "The Ancestors of Dracula", this chapter is about literary ancestors of Bram Stoker's character. The main limitation to this book is that its publication date precedes much of the more recent interest in vampires, probably spawned by the success of Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire. No mention is made of vampiric representations or appearances in the visual arts or music--an updating of the book might well cover the several versions of Dracula that have been done as operas or ballet. But as a reference to various media presentations of the Count up to 1975, this is fairly good.

"Faces in the Crowd" provides an interesting look at crime and law enforcement in 1880's New York, but the author failed to properly research how the telephone system worked at that time. If he had, he'd have realized that it is preposterous to think it would have been possible to "tap" 8,000 telephone lines, let alone monitor them all.

This volume is far from the author's best work. It was, in fact, a disappointing read. In some places, it was simply inaccurate. In others, the author made statements that needed support - but he declined to use either end notes or foot notes, so we the readers can't check. I believe he wrote this book for casual readers, not serious readers or students.

I have given several of Marshall's Yellowthread Street Hong Kong police procedurals 5 stars, and deservedly so, for they mix suspense, mystery, and zany humor in wonderful combinations. This time, however, Marshall has strayed into the King-Koontz genre, and has failed---dismally.
As usual, there are three plots, one involving Detective Chief Inspector Feiffer, one with his deputy, Christopher O'Yee, and one with Detectives Phil Auden and Bill Spencer. All 3 threaten the lives of these police officers more than in other Marshall books. But really! Is a bomb going to do away with Auden and Spencer? I doubt it. And is O'Yee going to be murdered by somnambulist thugs? Of course not. And is Feiffer going to die in some supernatural way? No way.
The bomb plot, in particular, is massively overwritten, with the same sub-basement slime, bomb wires, and tension between Auden and Spencer repeated ad nauseum. The O'Yee plot is interesting, but O'Yee's repeated failure to get help---even though help surrounds him outside the police station and below, in the sub-basement---strains credibility.
And as for the supernatural plot, well I'm not of Asian descent, nor have I travelled much in that part of the world, but I don't find it believable at all. A crime wave caused by an eighty-year old man using magical powers is just too much.
I hope Marshall returns from left field in the next Yellowthread Street book I read, for I am fond of his characters and their travails. But this book is only a nightmare.

It is the final weeks of the ninety-nine year lease that Great Britain has had on Hong Kong before it is returned to China. For the Yellowthread Street Police Station, the countdown to the transition has not changed a thing. They are very busy working on various police assignments. ...... Detective Chief Inspector Harry Feiffer dreads his task of uncovering a murderer who scares his victims into ripping their own eyes out of their sockets. Corpses have been found everywhere on the island. Detective Senior Inspector Christopher Kwan O'Yee struggles with a visiting group of six crazed but armed demons, who nonchalantly stick a sharp knife into the law enforcement officer's desk as their calling card. Detective Inspectors Phil Auden and Bill Spencer are trying to unclog the plumbing that must have been put in the building during Confucius' time. However, instead of clearing the line, the pair uncover a World war II aerial bomb that could go off any minute. This is only the beginning of the new day. ...... The sixteenth Yellowthread Street mystery is a humorous police procedural that has a lot of activity going on at the same time (like a real police station would have). Several of the subplots are very interesting and all the Hong Kong law enforcement official are fun to read about. However, a primary story line never surfaces, leaving readers a bit disconnected with the overall humorous mishaps confronting the local Hong Kong police force. Those fans of Mr. Marshall who enjoy his surreal comic writing style will want to read this novel; however those who want a suspense-laden mystery as well should pass on this book and go to one of his previous Ye llowthread tales that combine the sublime with a charged suspenseful mystery. .....Harriet Klausner

Marshall jumps from character to character so quickly in this book that it's quite confusing to follow. One creepy criminal is throwing spoiled fruit juice bombs into people's cars in Manila Bay, meanwhile a "cockfight" is disrupted by gunshots. The way the entire plot unravels is quite unbelievable, but for people who like to read books where the bodies stack up (unfortunately, sometimes, that's me), it's a fairly good read.

I used this book for my physics class, and I thought it contained good problems for practice. It was very understandable, but i would not use it as a study guide. It definately lacks the explanation a first time physics student would need, especially since physics IS very confusing. use this book with other, more explanatory books.