from the reviews ofHENRY JAMES AND HOMO-EROTIC DESIREEdited by John R. BradleyBradley declares at the outset that the contributors to Henry James and Homo-Erotic Desire make no attempt to identify James as a gay novelist, much less claim him as a gay icon for our time. Rather, they attempt to explore homo-eroticism in both his life and works as a legitimate area of inquiry, one that has not yet been sufficiently examined by Jamesean critics . . . . Certainly the book appears at a time when the image of James as a repressed, asexual author living only for his art seems untenable, and a new image is taking its place . . . . These essays mark an important paradigm shift in James studies and reveal a rich dimension to James¹s life and writing that has too long been ignored.Mark Eaton, THE BOSTON BOOK REVIEW (12/98)Until recently, Henry James's homo-eroticism was regarded as mainly a fantasy ideal ­ nothing nastily physical to disturb the dignity of literature. In reaction, queer critics have tended to presume the obverse of that: James was tormented and therefore secretive about a love which he couldn¹t properly express, in his life or his writing. John R. Bradley, introducing Henry James and Homo-Erotic Desire, proposes a third account: James loved boys sexually and sometimes physically, but, like any conservative Victorian gentleman, believed it was not the kind of thing one talked about. . . . For Bradley, this amounts to a welcome opportunity to retrieve James¹s self-composure, together with scholarship and common sense. For myself, I¹ve always found James¹s fastidious prose hard to get on with: this book makes him more approachable and engaging.Alan Sinfield, GAY TIMES (4/99)Bradley is right to sacrifice consistency to variety, to allow each argument to stand or fall on the merits . . . . The contributors to Henry James and Homo-Erotic Desireopt . . . for conservative methods, relying on biography, homosexual codes and common good sense to substantiate James¹s same-sex yearnings.Wendy Graham, THE HENRY JAMES REVIEW (3/99)Few writers have put the closet to better literary uses than Henry James. . . . The contributors to the volume agree that James¹s writing is premised on the rejection of compulsory heterosexuality. They observe that James also attempts to define lesbianism and male homosexuality as minority sexual identities ­ a process ongoing through the course of his career.Richard Dellamora, 19TH-CENTURY LITERATURE (3/99)

Coming out of RazorBlade Press, Hideous Progeny is one monstrously beautiful anthology that explores the world as it would have been if Dr. Victor Frankenstein's gruesome experiments had not gone awry. Writers such as Tim Lebbon, Peter Crowther, Steven Volk, Steve Rasnic Tem, and Rhys Hughes (to name just a few) each donate a small literary organ to the mix, and everything is skilfully stitched together into a marvellous book by first-time editor Brian Willis.

Cosmetically, the book is a two-face: while cover design by Chris Nurse is nothing short of outstanding, the internal layout is not without blemish. For example, outside margins are too wide, story titles are not always at the same height in the page, and the author's name is italicised in some but not all of the instances. Another gripe I have is that page numbers on the right-hand pages are left-aligned; plus, headers have no indication about the stories presented below them: these will give you a bad time if you want to riffle through the book to look up a specific something. There are a few extra typesetting warts and moles as well, as I noticed some characters showing up in a different size than the rest of the text, uneven spacing between words, typos derived from bad OCR, and so on. I sincerely encourage RazorBlade Press to pay more attention to internal design in the future, and run a few spell checks as well. Still, don't let appearances fool you, because the writing on these pages is top-notch.

In the whole, I was not in the least disappointed by Hideous Progeny while expecting quality work. Many short stories surprised me by their original angles, and all are very well written. The subjects are quite varied too, although some do overlap a little - it seems inevitable given the limitations inherent to their collective premise. I have my favourites, of course: Peter Crowther's piece is shocking yet touching at the same time, and the idea behind "Mad Jack" is a simple but nevertheless brilliant one. "The Banker of Ingolstadt" is perhaps the funniest in the book, and I found Steven Volk's "Blitzenstein" to rank among the best.

Whatever shortcomings the book has, they're quickly overwhelmed by the superb fiction it it, not to mention a downright gorgeous cover. For £6.99, it's well worth getting Hideous Progeny: not only will you be adding a fine specimen of a book to your library, you'll also be helping small press business to thrive. Because I want to see more from RazorBlade Press. Oh yeah.

The book brings to light many issues that need to be explored. I have decided to explore further ideas within Megatrons, cyclotrons for my local thesis. This book is highly recommended for a serious understanding of high powered microwaves, I am looking forward to the paperback edition.

I have read this book to my children many times. I can't believe it's out of print. It is one of my all time favorites (of which there are few). It's a wonderful story of true friendship.

John Gardner's screenplay approach to writing novels pays off. This is his first novel based on the screenplay of a Bond film and he seems to have found his niche even though some of these events are a retelling from Ian Fleming's novel "Live and Let Die" with the same character being mangled again! However, this novel is based on Richard Maibaum and Michael G. Wilson's story for Timothy Dalton's James Bond in LICENCE TO KILL. It remarkably makes for an interesting read from an otherwise unsatisfactory film adding detail to scenes and venturing inside the head of the main character exploring his feelings and motivations. For John Gardner this is pretty inspiring stuff.

Gods & Goddesses In The Daily Life Of The Ancient Egyptians introduces a fine two volume series for ages 9 and older which provides an appealing survey of ancient Egyptian life and culture. Large, striking color photos and drawings bring early Egyptian culture to life in a title which is packed with explorations through photos and artifacts.

This book was written in 1947 when Indiana was a very different place. Yet this book endures as a compelling and sometimes critical look at important people, times, and events in Indiana's history.

Martin tells about Indiana's beginnings: How people came to settle here, what those people were like. He shows how the Civil War played out in Indiana, where every fourth-grade student is now told that "brother fought against brother." He describes the poverty of Indiana farm life and how natural gas made many men wealthy, both in the late 1800s. He tells of the "golden years" in the early 1900s, as cities began to rise. And he explains the troubled years of the 1930s and 1940s, which were fresh in the memories of this book's first audience.

Martin's most compelling writing, however, is reserved for his portraits of colorful Indiana men: Hoosier poet James Whitcomb Riley, socialist leader Eugene V. Debs, infamous Klansman D. C. Stephenson, and others. The story of Debs is the best part of the book. Martin clearly sympathized with Debs, who championed the worker from his Terre Haute home and, later, from the Presidentail campaign trail and, finally, from prison. Debs's story is all the more interesting to me because I lived in Terre Haute for several years in the 1990s. My apartment was a mile or so north of Debs's home on Eighth Street, which still stands as a historical site. I can imagine the physical setting of Debs's Terre Haute activism as Martin relates it. But it is difficult for me to imagine the spirit of the city in those days, if nothing else because the city's current sleepiness stands in such stark contrast.

This review is very simple. If you're looking at this page, BUY THIS BOOK!!! I am a steel historian and I've had this book for about 7 years. I refer to it at least 2-3 times per month. Even if you're just curious about Carnegie, Frick, Schwab or the other personalities, this is the book for you. If you're interested in the business building aspects, this is the book for you. If you're interested in history at all, buy this book. Without a doubt this is the best book on the Carnegie Steel Company. If you read any book about the steel industry, make sure this is the one.

Jim Klotz has written an outstanding book on international sales contracts. The book clearly discusses all contractual aspects involved in an international sale of goods, from trade, pricing, delivery and payment terms to the relevant Rules (ICC, CISG, etc.). Most impressively, the book contains a sample of almost every contract clause and explains what it does for (or to) both buyer and seller. While written by an international lawyer for lawyers, the lay reader will find the book extremely useful in understanding how to contract with foreign buyers or sellers. I highly recommend Klotz's International Sales Agreements.

This beautiful picture book is a real treat for any admirer, young or old, of nature and the work of John James Audubon. From first page to last, it is a tribute to an extraordinary man who had a passion for America's wilderness, as well as to the wilderness itself. Robert Burleigh tells the story of the pioneering environmentalist through an imaginary rhyming letter to his father, with accompanying excerpts from Audubon's journals. Wendell Minor, a renowned jacket artist and distinguished picture book illustrator, enlivens the text with some of his finest work, which is complemented by a few of Audubon's original paintings. Mr. Minor portrays the curious woodsman as he rambles through sun-dappled forests, investigates a cormorant's nest on the side of a rocky cliff, and admires the untamed spirit of a temporarily captive hawk. Later on, the story's tone changes from carefree revelry to a heartfelt plea for wilderness preservation, as Audubon mourns the loss of the woodlands and the birds he holds so dear. While holding a dying pigeon in his hands he remarks: "And as I watched it die I knew/The world I love is passing too. And I must paint it all because/We need this memory of what was. . ." These inspiring words are accompanied by some poignant pictures of a flock of now-extinct passenger pigeons--once the most populous bird in the world--streaming across the sky, and a once-mighty forest reduced to stumps. There is a hopeful note in the story, as well: "But listen, now, from every tree/I hear them calling out to me: The crow's ka-kow, the lark's ti-ti/The warbler and the chickadee." In order to preserve nature, we must first appreciate even the smallest aspects of it, from the the mighty bald eagle to the tiny chickadee. The book leaves one with a sense of hope about the conservation movement and a refreshed passion for the outdoors, especially birds, which are so plentiful and so striking in this country. With his paintings Mr. Minor has skillfully captured the personality of the man and the beauty of the birds he loved, and Mr. Burleigh has brought poetic words to help us remember Audubon not just as the vanguard in the American conservation movement, a mere icon of history books, but as a true woodsman who loved this country and its wilderness with his whole heart. INTO THE WOODS makes a lovely gift for any aspiring naturalist of age 8 to a lifelong birder of age 80. Pick up a copy for the child in your life and one for yourself. Also be sure to check out another new picture book, RACHEL: THE STORY OF RACHEL CARSON, which, like INTO THE WOODS, tells the story of a pioneering American environmentalist and is wonderfully illustrated by Wendell Minor.