The author is faced with the difficult task of showing that T.E. Lawrence embellished his own deeds without taking away from what he did accomplish. While the myths about the man are interesting (the classic Lawrence of Arabia movie) the real story is far more interesting. A great book.

At 350 pages the book has shrunk by half from the earlier edition. This version is also very heavily illustrated with just about every page containing at least one of the following: photograph, painting, map, or some other illustration of imperial memorabilia. Covering over 400 years of British rule across six continents and geographically covering half the globe, this book is a testament to an empire like no other the world has ever seen. That the British empire played a significant role in world history is beyond dispute; James says "what matters most today is that the British empire transformed the world...the present day demography, economy and political life of North America and much of Asia, the Middle East, Africa and the Pacific owes much to former British rule and influence".

With such an opinion on the importance of Britain, it may be difficult for James to maintain balance. To his credit he does so admirably. He acknowledges that the experience of empire changed the British character - "it encouraged a sense of superiority [and] also fostered racial arrogance". This, he says, was tempered in that "deeply rooted liberal and evangelical ideals produced a powerful sense of imperial duty and mission". Ah!, the benevolent colonists and missionaries, but what of rapacious conquerors? James concedes that while the empire exhibited "a moral sense and flexibility" of the British people there was also "ruthlessness and rapacity". He is quick to soften this blow to British sensibilities by saying that "Britain's empire was a moral force and one for the good". Even it's demise was handled with grace, a function of the gentility and sagacity of Britain's leaders, rather than as a response to the demand for independence from it's subjects. That seems to be how James sees it. "It was Attlee, Macleod and Macmillan who were, I believe the real heroes of imperial retreat which they handled with considerable political adroitness. Unlike France's, Portugal's, or Russia's, Britain's empire did not dissolve in tears".

While James occassionally falls off the balance beam, landing heavily on the side of the 'positive' morality of empire rather than the evil that men do in the name of God, King and country, he concentrates hard on not slipping on another tricky exercise. "I have been as careful as possible to sidestep the quagmire of post imperial guilt, that peculiar angst which has troubled the British and American intelligentsia for the past 30 or so years". Perhaps this is why Mr James seems a little piqued with former subjects apparent ungratefulness with history, especially since they are the direct beneficiaries. "The years which saw the dissolution of the empire witnessed the last great migrations it had made possible. From 1948 onwards large numbers of West Indians, Indians, and Pakistanis and smaller numbers of West Africans, Maltese and Cypriots settled in Britain". James states that the UK has been multiracial since 1970 and "for this reason alone, it is worth looking at the making and nature of empire"...his exasperation with attempts to multiculturalize history coming through..."the moreso since it's history and that of it's creators is being excised from school syllabuses".

It's interesting how multiculturalism affects texts in the UK - excising that deemed offensive - while the same forces here seek inclusion of all other histories. It's sterilized or diluted history; either way it's manufactured history. Whether we agree or disagree with James view, we should applaud attempts at opinionated history - it's the only kind that remains readable.

Spiceland and Sepe's "Intermediate Accounting II" is written in familiar language. It is not a struggle to understand the concepts, because you don't need to deceifer the language. The book and related materials teach why methods are used to enable the student to learn how and when to use different methods of accounting. I rated it a 4 because I did not recieve the CD's that are supposed to come with it. By itself, the book should be a sufficient learning tool.

For many people, the name W.R. Grace is connected with lawsuits and legal nightmares. But, for a true look at the birth of this amazing enterprise, one should read "The Story of W.R.Grace". Apart from the civil actions that Grace has confronted in the past 50 years(which you will not read about in this book), the company and its fascinating founder, William R. Grace, hold a rich history and an incredible story of rags to riches.

As a young Irish boy, W.R. Grace came to America with a dream of wealth and commerce tied with a honest and sound approach to business. At a time when America's industrial revolution was booming and business pratices were not as regulated as they are today, Grace came forward with a honest and upfront approach that would change the face of America Commerce and would launch Grace into the spotlight, good and bad, for years to come. A must read for anyone in business!

In the past, we could use Chicago or Philadelphia as models of the urban reality; however, the United States is rapidly becoming a more racially and ethnically diverse nation. The model of this current reality is Los Angeles. "Prismatic Metropolis: Inequality in Los Angeles" addresses questions of how race and ethnicity, space, gender and group identities and attitudes are linked in complex ways that result in divergent opportunities in the population. The editors (Lawrence D. Bobo, Melvin L. Oliver, James H. Johnson Jr. and Abel Valenzuela Jr.) and a distinguished group of younger scholars cover demographic transitions, economic restructuring, residential segregation, and the interplay of group identity, attitudes, and the dynamics of workplace interactions. "Prismatic Metropolis" is an essential starting place for understanding urban society in the 21st Century.

I bought this reprint because of the James Montgomery Flagg illustrations, but I enjoyed the story a great deal. Emma is a "drummer" in her mid-30s, an agent to retail stores throughout the Midwest of the T. A. Buck Featherloom Petticoat Company. She's a woman in what was, before the Great War, decidedly a man's world, but she beats most of them at it all hollow. She's claimed to be the first businesswoman in American literature and she serves as a mouthpiece for Ferber's feminist politics and her Progressive attitude toward the commercial world. This was the first of three collections (all made up of stories serialized in magazines) and they were immensely popular in their day -- especially with women, though Theodore Roosevelt was a fan. too. In fact, Emma was Ferber's first real hit and paved the way for her prolific later career. The style, of course, tends somewhat to effusive overwriting, but you get the same in almost any popular literature written at the turn of the century. Good stuff!

this is a very instering thing.

I love this author

John Russell wrote this "biography" while Francis Bacon was very much alive and tends to emphasize the influences on Bacon's work more from an environmental standpoint than an art historian view. But to jump into Bacon's raucous life "in medias res" is a gift that now can be savoured, like picking the grapes off the vines that in years to come will become a fine vintage wine. A diversion, and only in black and white reproductions, but a rather important comment in retrospect.

Like many biographies, Russell's work concentrates more on the man's times than on the man himself. While we learn a lot about what was going on around Bacon, what he himself experienced is left unexplored. Granted, Bacon made gathering biographical information very difficult, but I would have appreciated more insightful analysis of Bacon's life and its connections to his work. Overall it is a very good introduction to Bacon's career and total output, and includes a huge number of pictures that make the book extremely valuable as a reference. Unfortunately though, while there are many color reproductions, they are outnumbered by black and white ones that take away from truly experiencing the power of Bacon's work.

Well i really think that Francis Bacon is a great artist. I just stratid reading about his art work and he has so many goos drawings like Henrretta Moraes, and his selft portrait. They are veri nice drawings.So i really think his greatt.

Get the printed version (excellent!) instead. This high-tech version is underwhelming, especially for the cost. It apparently has the same content as the standard text, but the interface looks like it was written for a computer running Windows 95.

The book is especially good to understand the mechanisms of Cell Biology. The beauty of the book is that it does not look at Cell Biology purely from the aspect of a cell and it's organelles but goes a step further to give a clear picture of how cell organelles and their components function in a cell and how it is impossible to study the cell without it's amalgamation with molecular biology. The chapters on DNA replication and RNA transcription are very lucid. Signal transduction is also very comprehensively explored. The book has kept abreast with latest studies and makes it an especially useful text for 1st year Masters/Ph.D students

What is the point of this book? Gods from past and present real life religions are written up with combat stats. Why?

The purpose of writing up religions for role playing games is so that players can use those religions for their characters. Gods should not be "monsters" to fight with, so their combat stats are totally unnecessary.

When you discuss religions, even relgions that are essentially dead, you are discussing people's cultural heritage, and mythology that shapes their world view. It is insulting to write up these religions in a ignorant and wildly inaccurate way. It is even worse when you do this with religions such as Hinduism that millions of people believe in. If they had of written up Yaweh as having 400 hit points and the powers of a 20th level mage, and Jesus as a "Lesser god," with some kind of write up about how he is the god of healing, it would be obvious how strange and offensive this is.

If you want to use historical religions in your campaign, then go to the library and learn about them. If you want to use fictional ones, then make them up. Either way, this book is not useful.

While this book doesn't serve much purpose in most campaigns, it's still a good book to get. The reason I say it doesn't serve much purpose is because most campaigns don't use our world's mythology as a basis for the gods.

On the other hand, it's a good book, because it let's a DM see exactly how he/she should write up gods he/she creates. It also is a good referance for learning who the gods are throughout mythology.

While some might insist that it is somewhat insulting to faiths of the world, one should look at it not for the statistics that it gives, but what the D&D world/campaign was trying to do. The people at TSR, when they were fun and enjoyable under the guidance of Gary Gygax one of the best writers in the world of gaming...wanted...IMO...to show what deities were like in this world and how they might interact with the fantasy world of gaming, giving examples of how war gods, love goddesses, and those like can mean for the player characters. THIS IS NOT suppose to be a tell all on all the cultures and religions of the world. Hardly. If you want that, I would suggest you read the works of Joseph Campbell. If you want to look for something real quick to see how it might fit in to your campaign, this is for you. I love it myself.