This is an excellent college level text.I particularly like the detailed "real world" drafting problems for the students. Also it has a very good apppendix. It is comprehensive enough that we use it in three different courses here at Vincennes University.

I have had this book in my drafting library for some time now. I am always using it and recommending it. The book is laid out so that you can go from beginning drafting up through advanced. It not only says what the standards are, but walks you through drafting technology so that you understand why they are like they are. I believe that anyone that is going to be doing drafting should have this in their library.

This book is loaded with technical information for the dratsman and designer. A must have for anyone who is in the mechanical technology field.

This text was the basic drafting manual that I used during my technical education; its use did not end with school, however, since I refer to it frequently in my occupation. It tells everything that needs to be explained and described in the general drawing problems that might be encountered in industrial practice. It contains excellent descriptions and illustrations for: Drawing Threads, Fasteners & Springs Geometric Constructions Clear, Concise instructions in using Drafting Instruments, (before the time of Computer Aided Drafting & Desing, in any case). An Excellent overview of the Industrial Design & Development Process, (which I wish my supervisors would read). Sectional Drawing. This book is to drafting what Machinery's Handbook, of the Industrial Press, is to the metal working industries. There are a variety of Drafting Textbooks available, but none are incrementally better, let alone drasticaly better.

The story is pretty good but unfortunately it becomes to obvious early on who commited the murders. The writing style is by someone who tries to be too eloquent (he's a Professor of English) and it did not match the genre of the book. Crime stories are meant to be entertaining and free flowing. His style would be well suited for a piece about Florence and the Medici and not set in modern day life. But a pretty good book none the less.

This is my favorite type of book: a good, solid mystery; set in a beautiful city (Florence); interesting and well-developed characters that you really like; with many allusions to the art world. In short, this book has it all for anyone interested in an absorbing read that has interesting sub-plots. Also in its favor is the fact that all the characters start out in their own seemingly unrelated worlds. But Hill eventually brings them all together in a captivating climax. For lovers of Pears' and Jane Langton's mysteries: get this one and his other Carlo Arbati NOW!

Set in Florence, Italy, THE LAST CASTRATO is a crime novel with a difference. It concerns the experiences of Cordelia Sinclair, a thirty-two year old graduate student in music from Northwestern University in Chicago, who goes to Italy to research a PhD thesis on early opera and, more importantly, to define a new role for her life after a bad marriage. Hill's knowledge of renaissance music and the cult of the castrati is wonderful (he's an English professor in Canada) and it provides the perfect fodder for a plot. THE LAST CASTRATO is an excellent gripping read as well as being -- and this is rare in the genre -- an intellectually stimulating novel that is elegantly written. I look forward to Hill's next novel with real enthusiasm. THE LAST CASTRATO IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

This is a very badly written mystery. The language is tortured, the plot is weak, the characters have no depth. Want some examples- try using the word "effulgent" in a love poem. The main detective intuits the next step (the same way the Profiler does on TV) and goes to the scene of the crime long after ward only to discover the main clue that all of the local police missed. Lastly, a mystery set in Lucca should be filled with details about the beautiful walled Italian city- you better know those details from another source, you won't find them in any depth here.

The overall premise of this book was interesting - an "artful" murder mystery set in Tuscan Italy. Having visited Lucca myself, I was somewhat disppointed to find that relatively little of the flavor of the place came through in the book. Worse, the characters are shallow and stereotyped. The detective intuits his way through virtually every difficulty, using his mind reading powers to solve each problem. While a psychic detective may appeal to some, I find the concept not at all believable. The rest of the characters are poorly developed, shallow stereotypes and the dialogue is childish. The story had potential, but in the end, I would classify this book as "fluff".

This is a great old fashioned mystery in the Agatha Christie mold. There is an interesting, cultivated detective, a pleasant dalliance, and plenty of loopy characters. The murderer and the motive are plausible and all is revealed in the traditional gathering of suspects. Subplots-involving family matters- are quite touching even. A good choice for art lovers and Italophiles. Ciao.

If an author sets his story in one of the most colorful cities in the world, the descriptions had better breathe more than the stale air of guidebooks. And if the author wants his heroine to struggle with the feminine mystique and religious faith, then he's going to show the character development through more than long, long paragraphs of maundering musings. And if the author wants his sensitive Italian detective to be sensitive and Italian, he's going to have to write dialogue without the strong flavor of, perhaps, New Jersey. The saving point of The Last Castrato is its author's ambition.

I haven't read this book yet, but others might also wish to see the more complete collection of mostly more favorable reviews of the hardcover edition. Or you could take the author's invitation and get a 3-chapter sample free on his website.

I don't know him, but wouldn't want a single opinion to make me miss a good read -- if this is one.