Having only had the book in my possession for an evening so far, I am struck by the range of photographs included in this much-needed collection, but also by the strangely ambivalent accompanying essays, which, admittedly I've only perused. As with many cultural and pseudo-scientific records produced under colonialism, there is much that is problematic with these photographs and more, the person and Empire responsible for their creation. In another review, Dr. Johnston feels that this book will contribute to increased tourism to the "Golden Land". This is exactly the spirit in which some of these photographs were made or reproduced in their contemporary context: to be consumed by inhabitants of the First World. Burma is not a Golden Land and has existed in the Western imagination as an idyllic repository for an "untouched and original" romantic primitivism. This book shows otherwise and in an indirect manner, points to some of the root causes for the genocidal strife encompassing Burma under the brutal State Peace and Development Council and its coetrie of merciless generals. As someone who does extensive collaborative documentary work with children here in the United States and with Karen refugee children on the Thai-Burma border, I'm disappointed by this book's tone and its indistinct or muffled point-of-view. The era of objective scholarship has passed. The images contained here have enormous bearing on both passive spectators in the West and on the ethnic minorities still struggling against cultural exploitation by eager tourists and fighting for political and religious autonomy and liberation from the dictators who inherited the crude construct of imposed nationhood from the departing British colonisers. As you read and examine this book, I urge you to so critically, to search out other information and to educate yourself and in so doing honor the visual memory of the people contained in these pages.

Superb photos, informative text - all in all, a fascinating work and a book which will surely entice many more tourists to the Golden Land....

This book made me want to scream, or cry. The characters are beautifully rendered, and some of them are dispicable people. That's what made it so unenjoyable to read for me.

The heroine, Isabel Archer, begins her adventures with much vitality and promise, yearning to see life and the world and not to settle prematurely into marriage and domesticity. Although James shows she's not perfect -- she's naive and somewhat conceited -- it's still pretty easy to fall in love with her. You look forward to seeing what great things her life will bring.

And then it all falls apart. After 200 pages of building her up, James marries her to a scoundrel and spends the next 300 pages suffocating her, one liberty at a time. Others have described this book as "uplifting" and spoken of Isabel's strength and courage; I honestly can't see what they could mean. I found it genuinely painful to see such a beautiful character destroyed. With all credit to James's writing skills, this book made me miserable. I couldn't wish it on anyone.

this, my first novel by henry james, was recommended to me by a trusted friend privy to my affection for the work of austen, the brontes, wharton, bowen and hall. i must admit to having had reservations about a victorian novel with a female protragonist written by a man, but was pleasantly surprised to find that james had depicted the female perspective, in isabel archer, with notable aplomb. i was a little disappointed that, in spite of the book's length, i felt there was a huge leap from the first half of the book, which firmly establishes the young miss archer as a woman intent to never marry and the second half, which finds her rather abruptly married to the third of three men who have made the appeal to her. still, this is a classic work of literature that deserves all the praise it has received. it is far more dense than works by the aforementioned authors and, as such, makes awful subway reading--unless, of course, your train breaks down and there are no crying children or blaring boom boxes in your car.

Henry James has truly outdone himself with this book. While it is no longer my favorite James' novel, I still think it among the best novels written in the English language. The character of Isabel Archer is an indelible part of literature. The story begins with an American woman, left parentless and penniless, being discovered by an expatriate Aunt. The Aunt convinces her to go England with her so that she might meet her cousin, Ralph. Isabel eagerly agrees. She is idealistic and has always wanted to see Europe. Her aunt agrees to pay for the expenditures. Once there, Isabel falls in love with their house, Gardencourt, and grows to enjoy her frail, sweet, ironic, and funny cousin. Before Isabel knows it, she has become ensnared in a one-sided love affair with a handsome English nobleman, Lord Warburton, little knowing what to do. Despite the urgings of her aunt, Isabel rejects his proposal in the desire to wait for something better. Soon, her elderly uncle dies, but not before she charms him with her intelligence and subtle beauty. Ralph insists that his father leave Isabel a substantial fortune, so that she might be able to live as she wishes. When the uncle dies, Isabel is left with 70,000 pounds, or about 200,000 dollars. From here is where the true story begins. I will not reveal more of the plot, which unwinds slowly and with assurance. James, being a master of prose, knows how to manipulate a sentence in a multitude of ways. His lilting, ironic, verbose writing style lends class and charm to Isabel's ultimately tragic tale. Some modern readers aren't able to handle James' subtle style. Unfortunately, many of us have had to fight the effects of shortened attention spans. Reading a slow-paced and brilliantly conceived tale like this will surely help cure short attention spans. Once you begin the story, it grows on you and affects you greatly. James is difficult getting used to, but he grabs you with his excellent descriptions of passionate people. Finally, the brilliance of this book lies in its tragedy. Even though many readers can predict early on where Isabel's confidence and naivete will lead her, James makes the journey bumpy and fascinating. He also slowly injects the story with dread, as we begin to sense the true malevolence of Madame Merle's and Osmond's vicious plans. Their acts are pure Machiavellian glee. Only in the final third of the book does it become clear of the true nature of the scheming M. Merle's plans. James also leaves several important plot points until near the end of the novel. All of this leads to a long, engrossing, and sad story of a young woman "affronting her destiny", as James puts it. Rarely has so romantic or so devastating a book been written. The ending is the final kicker. Unlike the happy ending we suspect, James leaves readers with open interpretations and many possible questions regarding Isabel's TRUE feelings about men. It also most vividly presents her sexual repression and fear that dominate the entire book. James knew the reserves of the time dictated that such topics not be discussed, and he cleverly uses this theme discreetly. However, he also uses it as a sort of indictment on the times, with their lack of passion and sensuality. Many readers expect a conclusion to the story, but, as with real life, stories simply go on. The ending is perhaps the most modern thing about the book. It also makes certain readers know that Isabel's life will never be one of happiness. This is an exquisitely haunting masterpiece.

Probably appropriate for 5-8 yrs. This story is very slow going for 4 year olds, and younger. They'll grow quickly bored, even though the illustrations are very good.

The story centers around two young girls, Sarah and Susan who go to visit their Great-great-aunt Flossie. Aunt Flossie has a large collection of hats and has a mildly amusing, but forgetable story that goes with each hat. She retells a couple of stories to the girls, and they all go out for crab cakes.

There are so many other childrens books that your children will enjoy more, that make this one worth skipping.

I first bought this book as a requirement for an elementary education course. When it was time for me to develop a back pack project (take home activity projects) for my students...this one was soooo easy to use. I made mine a "hatbox project." Since the girls in the story, Sarah and Susan, visit Aunt Flossie and listen to her tell the history of her hats, I had my students take home a hatbox full of art supplies and a hat. Each student had to decorate a hat that represented themselves. Then, they had to write the history of their hats and share it with their classmates. It was a great success!

I am a mother of an 2yr old boy and a 4yr old girl. They both love this story. The audio tape is done very well and it really captures the sounds and emotions of each event Aunt Flossie's recalls. My children have there own tapeplayer and they play it over and over. My husband and I like the music in the story so we don't mind the children's constant replay.

I highly recommend this book to any one who enjoys an great story from a special aunt. I strongly recommend the book and tape for littles ones who love repettion and parents who don't.

This is a game of incredible depth, and without the guide, i would have been lost. After putzing around with monster breeding and training for a bit, i decided to go for the most powerful monster in the game, Darkdrium. I'm still working towards that goal (albiet, not exactly at a break neck pace) and this guide got me there (i'm 3 crosses away from the final mating)... This guide provides valuable insight, breeding charts, and items, although doesn't fully explain some of the spells. All in all, its great.

Great guide exlpains alot about the game.I couldn't have asked for more onfo and that is what made it so great.

I got the game after seeing my friend get the game, I was doing fine but I never realized the full potential breeding possibilites for my monster untill I saw this guide. My friend doesn't have the guide anymore but I used it so much I have many of the combinations memorized!

This is a nice book. I say nice because it does tell you what to do but not how to do it! There are some parts where I was completely stumped, so I bought the book. It still didn't help me so I am going to buy the other one and see how it is.

Even though I needed this book,I think it is not all that needed if you arrange the levels in a good way.You should try the game,as hard as you can to complete it,before you get this book.

Spyro the Dragon, my favorite video game, wouldn't be comleted 100% now if I hadn't gotten this hint guide. It offers amazing detail, wonderful hints, and information on the enemies you will have to defeat.

The book offered good information but really basic information. The book also didn't have any tips for getting started except make a flyer.So i recommend getting another babysitting book.

This book gives you all you need to know about babysitting and is fun to read. I think it is quite descriptive on the processes of first aid and so on. I think everyone will enjoy reading this book, kids who are just starting to babysit or who already babysit but just want to brush up on stuff.

The strength of this book lies in the many beautiful photographs of Elizabeth Taylor from her childhood to recent times. Many of these images will be familiar, and many will not be. By putting rare images in this collection, the author has significantly enhanced its value. I wish the book had added another 100 photographs to the 100 plus, mostly color, ones here.

The biography is perfectly adequate, but it is too brief to really get into any detail that might expand your knowledge very much beyond what you know already. The best aspects were putting Ms. Taylor's career in perspective. She performed in around 65 films and television movies, a number matched by few actors of her era. She also was one of the few child stars to have an adult film career. Further, she outlived most of the stars she appeared with by many years. Despite ill health and many accidents, she has been the ultimate survivor in the most fickle business we have.

The main story line of the biography is in the transformation of her life and career roles from child, to child actress, to child star, to multiply married person and mother, to adult star, to a celebrity, to an entrepreneur, and then to a social activist for AIDS. Long before Madonna, Ms. Taylor and her advisors were expert at reinventing her in ways that were almost continuously popular with the public.

Today, the world is changing very rapidly and most of us will have many different jobs and careers before we die. After you finish enjoying this book, I urge you to consider what lessons you can draw from Ms. Taylor's career and life that can help you in yours. While many would be thrilled to have some of her fame, few would envy her pain. How came a good balance of life and career be yours? I suggest that you read Anna Quindlen's recent book, A Short Guide to a Happy Life, for more ideas.

Smile, be interesting, be balanced, be careful, and be interested in others!

Christie's account is well-researched and insightful. However, his style is heavy-handed, and he has an accusatory attitude towards Florence Maybrick's lifestyle and personality.

Mary Barton is the first novel of Elizabeth Gaskell, a female writer who left her influence upon other English writers of the 19th century, like, for instance, Charles Dickens. The book is only an average view about Manchester life in the 19th century, focusing its attentions over the extreme poverty of the working class, the first labor conflicts in the pre-dawn of the Industrial Revolution, all this connected with a tender love story between the young Mary Barton and his old time friend Jem Wilson.
In fact, the murder of the young mill owner, Mr. Henry Carson - he too an admirer of Miss Barton - is not well developed and is not the central point of the novel because the reader knows all the time who is the real murderer. So, it's not a surprise at all the ending of the trial and the revelation of the real murderer in the last chapters.
Miss Gaskell has a simple and an almost näive vision of the social problems that harassed the working class in England when the Industrial Revolution started. Even though, we must recognize that she made a good work trying to denounce the insensibility of the English government about the problems of the workers and their families and the inflexibility of the mill owners and other high economic classes to negociate with their subordinates.
Mary Barton is a book that will hold the attencion of the readers, men or women, because Miss Gaskell has an elegant style and really knows how to tell a good story. Another great vintage of this novel are some great characters portrayed with flavour and undeniable charm, like the old and friendly Mr. Job Legh and the hard and anger John Barton, Mary's father.

Gaskell wrote one of the most vivid descriptions of the gap between rich and poor in this novel of the Manchester 'hungry forties'. The plot is driven by the device of a murder of young factory owner's son, but this story line is more an excuse to present the story as a novel (and to serve the demands and expectations of the novel form as it was understood at the time) than it really is the center of the book. The romance and the mystery (although still well-written) are cursory in comparison to the loving detail that Gaskell lavishes on Alice Wilson, the temptation of Esther and all the little points of life in deep poverty.

Worth reading, particularly if you're a fan of the novel (or history) of the period.

Actually I read this book in three days' time (it can be even faster if I don't have to go to school). Anyway, Mrs. Gaskell's depiction of the working class people in Manchester during the 19th century was so vivid that you can just *see* and *feel* how the rich and the poor's lives were like back then by turning the pages. I believe no one who had read this book will not to some extent feel pity for the tragic hero, John Barton, in the story. But aside from this formal social theme being presented in the novel, there is also a very strong sense of religious/moral theme in it (espeically near the end of the story), as well as some drama and romance in it. Definitely worth a read, especially to those who are interested in Victorian Literature.

Even though Quest 64 is a Role Playing game that stresses 3d eye-candy, with no depth of story, plot, and no long lasting appeal (all three are essential, along with others, for a good rpg). The guide has all the information youll need to beat the game rather quickly (u can beat the game in under 10 hours) thats if your lucky to find it used. However the maps could of most certainly been better so it gets four stars in my book.

This was a great book and helped me alot. It gives you where ALL the elements are, which is awesome. This has some in it that I've never seen on _any_ statagy guide before. Only the maps bring down the rank

Overall it was a great book for someone who really likes it like me. The maps could have been better though. But it also showed where to find every spirit so that helped a lot.