The Dark Man, and Others, was very well written. The context of the book was very intriguing. Each page flows from one to the next calling to the reader to read it. This book tells of the author's struggles to become a well-established writer and is an excellent source of information on Robert. If only it where still in publication then every body would have the opportunity to read it.

We have had 43 presidents and I am sure that a book could have been written with thousands of questions about them, this book only has 101 and I was amazed and how tough they were.

The other books in the series seemed relatively easy compared to these questions. The only thing I saw was that there was no pictures of the presidents and this should be a part of the book.

The book does provide some new material and from the reading I don't think there was a question on each president. Overall another good book to add to the reference library.

"Hawks of Outremer" is an excellent collection of three Robert E. Howard stories of one Cormac Fitzgeoffrey, a half-Norman half-Irish knight in the 13th century Middle East. The beautifully produced 1979 edition published by Donald M. Grant features the title story, "The Blood of Belshazzar" (both appeared in the pulp magazine "Oriental Stories" in 1931) and "The Slave-Princess," left unfinished at Howard's untimely death in 1936 and completed by Richard L. Tierney. These are pretty good stories, satisfyingly grim and bloody tales of adventure. Having spent most of a decade living in the Middle East, including visiting many Crusader sites, I can say that Howard does an entirely convincing job, certainly quite impressive when you consider that he spent almost his entire life in rural Texas (with side-trips to Mexico, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and New Mexico). It is Tierney, in his otherwise useful introduction, who doesn't know that "Outremer" (Outre+Mer= Beyond the Sea) was not a specific "kingdom" but a more general phrase used for the Frankish states in the Levant - the Counties of Tripoli and Edessa, the Principality of Antioch, and the Kingdom of Jerusalem. The title story also contains an interesting portrayal of the great Islamic hero Saladin (Salah al-Din al-Ayyoubi), no doubt influenced by Walter Scott's "The Talisman." Howard's oriental tales, of which these are prime examples, are quite entertaining, accomplished adventure yarns but are overshadowed by his more famous heroic fantasy characters Conan, Kull, Bran and Solomon Kane.

Although this book has a heavily political focus, it is still the best general history of Illinois. I have a colleague that still uses used copies for his Illinois History class.

'In Vitro Percutaneous Absorption' is a collection of papers by various researchers. It provides an insight into the skin absorption research community.

For experimental researchers, 'In Vitro PC' is useful for design and preparation of experiments. It is also useful in revealing common sources of experimental error.

For those not performing in vitro experiments, there are two chapters that are useful for understanding the mechanisms of percutaneous absorption, and how enhansors such as DMSO and azones work (both chapters are first rate). The chapter on the LPL Theory of skin penetration offers a concise, understandable concept of percutaneous absorption. The chapter on penetration enhansors details classes of enhansor chemicals and their mechnism of action. It also addresses synergy between enhansors, and efficy.

For those actively involved in percutaneous research this book will be readily understandable. The authors assume that the reader is familiar with much of the terminology, so those not in their field of study may find some chapters difficult to read.

This edition of "Jewels of Gwahlur," well illustrated by Dean Morrissey, is part of a wonderful series published by Donald M. Grant of deluxe, hardcover editions of Robert E. Howard's original Conan stories. The present volume includes the title story, which first appeared in "Weird Tales" in 1935, and the story fragment titled "Snout in the Dark" which first saw print in 1969 in a rewritten version in the paperback "Conan of Cimmeria" (part of that Lancer series that first introduced so many, me included, to the works of REH). In "Jewels of Gwahlur," a good, exciting story, Conan is a mercenary soldier in Keshan searching for the "Teeth of Gwahlur," the treasure of the lost city of Alkmeenon. Conan fights and overcomes several perils, both natural and supernatural, and in the end finds that some things are more valuable that a casket of jewels. Pretty smart guy, that Conan. I certainly hope that Donald M. Grant has some more Conan books in the works, 11 have been printed so far which means that about 2 or 3 would complete the set. Hopefully someone will also reprint the original stories in paperback (without the "pastiches," thank you) so that a whole new generation of young readers will have a chance to read this great stuff. It is incredible to think that REH's Conan stories have been out of print in paperback for almost twenty years while all kind of modern hack produces one poorly written ripoff novel after another.

I thought Kull was a great book it had some romance , fighting and it had the best tales. that was probly the best book i have ever read but to be honest i gave 4 stars because it could of had more fighting.

For those interested in Griffin's experiment which became the book, BLACK LIKE ME, Bonazzi's book is an insightful resource. He gives additional sources and background material that describe the influences and personal inner journey that lead him to the BLACK LIKE ME experience and beyond. If you stick with the book to the end you will receive a glimpse into the deeply spiritual orientation which motivated Griffin's life work. This book is an important contribution to the understanding of BLACK LIKE ME, which in itself is significant enough to need re-reading for the 21st century.

"Marchers of Valhalla" is a very interesting collection of 3 of Robert E. Howard's most revealing tales. The best, by far, is "The Grey God Passes," an excellent, brooding re-creation of the battle of Clontarf in 1014 A.D. between Celtic Christian Irish and pagan Vikings. This fine story was unpublished at Howard's death in 1936 and only saw print in 1962. The other two stories, "Marchers of Valhalla" and "The Thunder-Rider" belong to that sub-genre of "racial memory" stories first made prominent by Jack London, a writer that heavily influenced REH. Both feature the typical Howard skill in storytelling, and "Thunder-Rider" in particular offers a special insight into Howard's view of modern life, but they seem to be final drafts that were going to be polished and expanded a little more before being in final form. Still, even lesser Howard is worth reading. In "MofV," crippled Texan James Allison remembers a past life as the warrior Hialmar of the Aesir. In "Thunder-Rider" assimilated Native American James Garfield, also a Texan, undergoes an Indian rite to recall his past life as Iron Heart, a 16th century "Comanche war-hawk." Is Allison speaking for Howard when he says: "I was born out of my time, and even the exploits of this weary age were denied me." Although the stories are very worthwhile, I really don't like the Marcus Boas illustrations in the Donald M. Grant editions (1972, 1979) of this book. They are incredibly garish, lurid and give a very peculiar spin on the text. One makes a Viking queen look like a Times Square hooker!

Robert E. Howard's artful depiction of life on the 'old frontier' begins in 'A Gent from Bear Creek' and continues in 'Mayhem on Bear Creek'. Howard has often been recognized for his creations of Conan and Kull. Now comes another fantastic (and more contemporary) hero in the form of Breckinridge Elkins. In this hilarious collection of seven short stories of the old Southwest, Howard details the larger than life adventures of a character who has the innocence of a Gomer Pyle and the exaggeration of a Munchausen. For example, among his many exploits, Breckinridge Elkins single-handedly defeats a goup of 50+ 'antagonists' in a family fued for a distant uncle, only to discover in the end the distant uncle is no uncle at all (reminiscent of Gilda Radner's 'Never Mind' from SNL). He defeats gang after gang of villanous outlaws and cutthroats, treating injuries severe enough to kill us 'mere mortals' as minor nuisances. You'll need to adjust your frame of reference as if Breckinridge were sending you a series of letters to truly enjoy this book. But once you've adjusted to Howard's 'hillbilly' words and spellings, the book will take off on its own and be over before you know it. Here's a sampling of Howard as he describes Breckinridge's efforts to collect on a debt from 'Old Man Garnett' on behalf of his jailed friend 'Glaze Bannack: "Glaze never could stay out of trouble, not being tactful like me, but he was a purty good sort of hombre. So I headed for Buck Creek and collected the money off of Old Man Garnett, which was somewhat reluctant to give up the dough. In fact he bit me severly in the hind laig whilst I was setting on him prying his fingers loose from that there ten spot, and when I rode off down the road with the dinero, he run into his shack and got his buffalo gun and shot at me till I was clean out of sight. But I ignored his lack of hospitality. I knowed he was too dizzy to shoot straight account of him having accidentally banged his head on a fence post which I happened to have in my hand whilst we was rassling..." Anyway, you get the point. Kick back and enjoy!