Rick Bass's little oil book, originally published in 1989, is a good read for those who know something about oil production. But it is dated, very badly, by recent developments in the energy sector. One of his "notes" -- page 19 of the SMU edition -- states "I hate coal." This goes to two pages of nonsense written by someone years ago, like me, that could not have anticipated the significance of coalbed methane.

If you read this book, realise it is from a well-head mentality. This oil genius probably has never spent a day underground or a minute to understand why we must mine coal. Perhaps he could run his word processor off the crude pumped into a generator adjacent to his office. That's a patent I'd like to see.

Oddly enough, I was far from home doing field work in North Georgia when I found Oil Notes in a little bookstore. I am a geologist. However, unlike Rick Bass my job was to look for fresh drinking water, not oil. I found time to read his book between logging boreholes and setting wells. By the time I was finished I (with the book) I had a renewed interest and spirit in my profession and in the environment around me. Rick Bass found a way to express in words, the excitement and passions associated with being a field geologist, environmentalist and a man in love.

Oil Notes is a fantastic book, and Rick Bass is an equally outstanding author. I have since read everyone of his books. He vividly defines his feelings and passions in everything he writes about, be it drilling for oil or studing wolves.

Oil notes struck me not so much as a description of a mans first job and all it entails, but rather a young man beginning his adult life who was open to any and evry new expieriene life through at him. His optimism shown through in that he loved his work and he always felt something better was just around the corner. Underneath it all was also a man coming to grips with how to handle relationships, both personal and professional. He showed his failings as well as his triumhs. To me it is an adult version of a seperate peace. This is a writer that I will read for a long time because as he ages he will describe lifes changes with the same brilliance he has described his lifes beginning.

Hundreds of brief, clearly written essays provide fascinating inside information on the Age of Elizabeth. The dictionary includes extensive information on the leading political, literary and religious figures and families of Great Britain. The author wisely recognizes that Britain did not exist in a vacuum, and so he has been careful to include European leaders and their complex interrelationships with Britain. Readers who have mistakenly assumed that the ill-fated invasion by the Spanish Armada was a single spectacular disaster, will learn that it actually involved a long series of ocean battles between the British fleet and the Spanish forces led by the reluctant Duke of Medina. Elizabeth I, William Shakespeare, Sir Walter Raleigh, Sir Francis Bacon, and Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester are presented in the context of their families and the social matrix of the period. Less well known figures discussed include the unfortunate Amy Dudley, and Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox. Many illustrations enliven the text. Battles, plots and rebellions, religious controversies, finance, treaties, art, architecture, literature and drama all are covered in this surprisingly comprehensive work. Readers who are not quite sure what function the Star Chamber served will find enlightenment here. Useful tables such as the dating of Shakespeare's works and charts for the genealogies of the Houses of Lancaster, York, and Stuart, as well as the Habsburgs and the Bourbons are extremely welcome. Appendices list historical fiction of the period, motion pictures, and sound recordings of Elizabethan music, providing a multidimensional approach to those seeking a balanced picture of the age. Appendix 7 provides a list of web sites devoted to Elizabethan and Tudor culture. These include sites that provide primary source materials, images of ships, persons, and fashions. Readers will be made aware of major internet resources: The English Heritage Web Site, the Folger Shakespeare Library Web Site, and even a site devoted to the Wars of the Roses. An extensive bibliography lists recent works on the Elizabethans and all aspects of their lives and culture. The book is indexed and articles are cross-referenced. A series of maps and a chronology will be most welcome to students of the period. John A. Wagner and the editors at Oryx have prepared a fine one-volume reference work that is sure to be a welcome addition to schools, and to public and academic libraries.

This book is fun to read, or to just pull off the shelf when something requires looking up. The scope of the topics is quite helpful. There are entries on Queen Elizabeth herself, subjects like her portraiture, various players at court, important families like the Howards, Dudleys and Seymours, as well as entries on political, cultural and religious issues. Where else can you look up why transubstantion was so important to the religious squabbles of the time, and learn about the sisters of William Cecil's wife. (The three women were the most educated in England.) The book also conveys a great deal of information visually with particulary explanatory maps of Elizabethan England (find out how far it is from Sussex to Warwick to Northumberland, for example,) and Elizabethan London (find out how far it was from Whitehall to the Globe Theater,) impressive pictures of characters like Essex, Nicholas Bacon and Throckmorton, and tables which show who held which post in privy council when (as well as explanations of what those posts meant.) The genealogical charts, of the Tudors, Stuarts, Greys, Howards, Valois and Hapsburg cannot fail to interest. (One error I caught though: the French King Henry IV's first wife, Margaux, was not the mother of Louis XIII, but that's not so relevant for the Elizabethan period.) There are also entries and illustrations of royal castles and properties of the time, as well as appendixes of Tudor related fiction, films and websites. There's also a heck of a bibliography. All in all a handy dandy reference book, visually appealing and informative, and entertaining taboot.

John Wagner's Historical Dictionary Of The Elizabethan World: Britain, Ireland, Europe, And America is an impressive work of comprehensive scholarship and an essential, core title for any personal, academic, or public library Elizabethan studies reference collection. This exceptional, highly recommended encyclopedic dictionary is enhanced for students and scholars with a bibliography, index, and appendices devoted to genealogies; Elizabethan Archbishops of Canterbury and York, and the Roman Catholic Popes; European Monarchs in the Sixteenth Century; Selected Historical Fiction with Tudor and Elizabethan Characters and Settings; Selected motion Pictures with Tudor and Elizabethan Characters and Settings; Selected Sound Recordings of Tudor and Elizabethan Music; and Selected Web Sites for Tudor and Elizabethan Topics.

Calling this book "The Little Web Cam Book" is a bit of a misnomer. The book is huge, totaling 356 pages including the index. It is crammed full of useful information, lists of webcam sites, and places where one can download everything you need except a camera.

This is a great book! Ms Parker's writing style makes it seem like she is right there with you, explaining each portion. More advanced users will know which parts to skip over, and most chapters stand on their own, so you don't have to read every word to make sense of later chapters.

This was good for me, since I was not the least bit interested in reading about the screen savers or how to make a photo my background. This part seemed to drag out, but that is from the viewpoint of an expert; if you have never done those things, you might need to spend the time reading about them. For that reason, the book spends quite a bit on the basics of these ideas. So if you still have the same background picture on your desktop that came with it, check out this portion of the book.

Other chapters cover tips for setting up the cam and choosing the best spots for broadcasting. If you want to start another "cat-cam" or other pet-related site, it is worth reading her tips on how to make it exciting for your viewers even when the animals don't feel like being photographed. There are also some other considerations you might want to read about before you invite anyone and everyone into your home or office through a live webcam.

Another section tells about how to use the still pictures you can capture with a cam to make GIF animations. This could be for fun, e-mail, or for your web page. The author also goes into creating and editing movies and how to insert GIF animations and movies into web pages. This could save you from tons of angry e-mail when your dog refuses to go near the webcam once it's live.

There is a chapter on troubleshooting problems and it seems to be rather complete. Just about every problem I can imagine occuring is listed here with possible solutions and resources.

I expected a list of other people who have webcam, but a nice feature I didn't expect was interviews with some of the pioneers and leaders in webcamming. This turned out to be quite a treat.

Supplementary information in the book about videoconferencing was great. I didn't expect to find it here either; the author could have written that separately and she and the publisher could have made a lot more money selling it as another book. They didn't, so I think a "hats off" is in order. Thanks!

One of the most popular Internet activities to make a splash on our screens recently has been that of "webcamming." Just about anyone can now set up a suitable camera, including a video camera, and publish nearly real-time audio and video clips online for a variety of purposes for profit, fun, and pleasure. Elisabeth Parker has written The Little Web Cam Book to give members of the online community some real insight into how they can make creative use of this latest Web craze.

Webcamming has really taken off during the last two years. Schools, businesses, companies, corporations, and news reporting services have gone online to provide a number of essential services such as news and weather reporting, online education, building security, Webcasting, Webconferencing, and the monitoring of children at home and in daycare facilities. Imagine if you will, being able to log on the Internet and check up on your kids at home or as they are being cared for by others from the comfort of your office! Other family members will be able to keep in touch hundreds or thousands of miles away! Hobbyists have also provided some thoughtful uses as well, such as wiring homes, offices, and other sites with cameras to provide all sorts of intriguing, but sometimes highly suspect video coverage!

Webcamming has certainly made an impact on our society and Elisabeth Parker will walk her readers through the steps necessary to give them the opportunity experience this exciting technology firsthand. She makes a number of solid recommendations for buying cameras, software, and services, helping her readers to make the better choices and help them save time and money in the process. Many of the programs she reviews in the book are available online for immediate trial use. Buying, installation, and detailed operating instructions are provided to get readers up and running in the shortest amount of time. I can hardly wait to join in the fun myself!

Parker's instruction, laced with humor, her own personal interest, and the illustrations of John Grimes makes this book fun, enjoyful, and easy to read. Plenty of creative ideas and resource information is provided - be sure to checkout the list of Webcam sites located at the back of the book! This book serves as an excellent introduction to webcamming and is must reading for anyone interested in learning about this innovative technology and how it can be put to exciting and productive use!

If you want to get going with videoconferencing over Internet, and millions of people will in the next couple of years, this is the book to start with.

Despite Kirkus' lukewarm review, my daughter (age 3, adopted from China) likes this book and asks for it often. I think she likes the dragon pictures. I appreciate the fact that the protagonist is Asian, female, and gutsy.

Not just our son, the whole family loves it. Everything about it. The pictures, the story ( inviting to eat veggies). What a wonderful mind Elizabeth and John have! I read so many books to my son, mostly uncommon and unusual ones, jet this one still stands out.

In this magical story, a tiny girl takes on a great adventure, climbs a web to the moon, and saves the world by befriending the moon dragon.

This book adds both novelty and inspiration to an otherwise dull coffee table or mind. More touristically, this is one of the special books that make you go to the place and find where the interesting buildings not in the travel guides are. The pictures are excellent, not cropping so much as to glamourise rubbish, and not putting things out of context: in short, well edited text and visuals. One note, it has nothing to do with the experience of being in a third world country, but it is for the visual pleasure only.

I own at least a dozen books in which the second word of the Title is "Style", but this is certainly one of the best. Well organized, informative and full of beautiful photographs. Looking through this book you can learn about the Architecture and Design of Myanmar. The book is divided into sections dealing with Religious and Secular Architecture, Early and Modern Architecture and Arts and Crafts. At the end of the book there is a section of Textiles and Costumes, and another entitled the Pagoda Market which shows photographs and gives descriptions of vendors of various types of handicrafts. Thus a cross section of the different aspects of the Myanmar Style are given, without adaptations by Western Interior Decorators. Some "Style" Books are misleading because they show the adaptations, primarily in the West, of Stylistic Elements. While these books are ok, I prefer to see the Style as it actually is in Myanmar, not a Architectural Digest type of interpretation. This book is free from this. The text is concise and informative. Not overloooked should be the quality of the photographs and the paper and printing, which in this case are all excellent. Some other books of this genre are not up to high quality. No worries here however. I highly recommend this book. It will make you want to visit Myanmar, or at least think about redesigning in your home.

Finally, a book on art and design in Myanmar/Burma that does justice to the living traditions as well as the colonial and pre-colonial empires. Superb photography, thoughtful text, and some quirky subjects, too, such as the chapter The Great Pagoda Alley. Enjoyable.

I cannot believe how immature Tom was acting in this book. It really annoyed me the way he kept referring to Elizabeth as 'that other girl' and how he kept assuming that the only reason why she told him that George had come onto her was because she was jealous.

How pathetic - why would Elizabeth be jealous of the relationship Tom had with his father? After all, she was the one that had gone to the effort of reuniting them. Tom is just so ungrateful - if it wasn't for Liz he'd still be stuffing his face at burger joints and wearing jogging bottoms rather than wining and dining at fancy restaurants with that airhead Dana and being able to afford designer clothes now that his father is plying him with money.

I'm so glad that Tom's little world is going to come crashing down around him - he deserves it after that way he's been acting towards Liz.

Meanwhile, Liz is about to become broken-hearted yet again, due to the fact that Gin-Yung has returned from London with devastating news. It is nice to see Liz and Todd back together but, somehow it just doesn't seem the same. I think Liz should keep looking for Mr. Right.

Jessica provides the comedy element to this otherwise depressing storyline with her attempt to be a part of a sexy calender featuring bikini clad girls surrounding Bobby Hornet a sexy singer who just happens to be the judge of the competition. Unfortunately, Jessica who has received blessings from Nick to participate in the calender forget to mention the rather small fact that Bobby is a major part of this shoot.

Will Jessica be able to get away without telling Nick the truth? Will Tom wake up and smell/taste the strong and bitter coffee that seems to be heading in his direction? And more importantly, who will Todd choose - Elizabeth or Gin-Yung?

SVU #27-29 are my favourites from the series. I found all the characters really touching and believable- Todd, who's being torn in two, Elizabeth, who has to make a sacifice and Gin-Yung, who's having the hardest time of all.. It was great to see Todd and Elizabeth back together again, which was romantic and the bits about Gin-Yung dealing with her fatal illness were very touching. Jessica's parts didn't add much to the story, still they broke it up nicely and left you wondering what was going to happen next between Todd, Elizabeth and Gin-Yung. Don't miss this one if you like SVU!

This is a great book.I love it when Todd and Liz are together.Gin Yung shouldn't go through their way and so are Watts!

John Webster's play "The Duchess of Malfi" is a violent play that presents a dark, disturbing portrait of the human condition. According to the introductory note in the Dover edition, the play was first presented in 1613 or 1614.

The title character is a widow with two brothers: Ferdinand and the Cardinal. In the play's opening act, the brothers try to persuade their sister not to seek a new husband. Her resistance to their wishes sets in motion a chain of secrecy, plotting, and violence.

The relationship between Ferdinand and the Duchess is probably one of the most unsettling brother-sister relationships in literature. The play is full of both onstage killings and great lines. The title character is one of stage history's intriguing female characters; she is a woman whose desires lead her to defy familial pressure. Another fascinating and complex character is Bosola, who early in the play is enlisted to act as a spy. Overall, a compelling and well-written tragedy.

This is a review of the New Mermaids edition of The Duchess of Malfi by John Webster. Elisabeth M. Brennan edits this edition (ISBN: 0393900665.) I mention this incase it is cross-posted under some other editor's edition.

I bought this after reading snippets of it in other books. I do not recall having to learn this in school. Only now do I intend to read "The White Devil" in anticipation of it being encountered in other works.

Well what do you know? This animal is based on a true story of the Duchess of Amalfi. Evidentially there were several books written on this and he picked one for the outline of the play.

This edition is almost as good as taking a class in its self. The introduction gives you a back ground and the basic story that the play was based on. You get some information on John Webster and some of his other plays. There is even a further Reading List. There are even notes on the text and how to read the notes for the different versions of the play its self. By the time you get to the play you are well prepared to read it.

The play its self has stanzas, line numbers and notes to help you through the difficulty of understanding what the words mean in context. It is almost like reading a bible. You soon pickup speed and then actually get intrigued in the writing and story.

Now I desperately want some local theater to present "The duchess of Malfi"

Of the "popular" editions of this play that by John Russell Brown (Revels Student Editions) and Elizabeth Brennan (New Mermaids) are both useful, though it must be said that no edition as yet does adequate justice to Webster's compexity - notably his presentation of Ferdinand. The play is both a tour de force and profoundly searching. It is perhaps the first major feminist play in England, with the Duchess presented as an outstandingly noble even if fallible character, the victim of her two evil "partriarchal" brothers. Of these, her twin brother Ferdinand is among the most intelligently conceived characters to appear on the Jacobean stage. Unknowingly (i.e. in his "unconscious") he is incestuously in love with his sister. Unable to cope with this "taboo" feeling, he tries to "repress" it unsuccessfully, and finally his ... "libido" comes to express itself in a violent wish to destroy her if he cannot ... own her, and he ends up believing himself to be a wolf, attempting to dig up her grave after he has had her killed. Obviously, then, this is a very Freudian work - anticipating Freud's insights brilliantly by some four centuries, and without lapsing into Freud's extravagantly improbable claims about such matters as the Oedipus complex. It is the working of the unconcious, as a reservoir of what we do not understand and cannot control, which is quite central in this play, and Ferdinand's ... confusion is potently contrasted with his sister's openminded, acknowledged and generous ... health. An outstanding play, recommended as among the best of its time (comparable in quality and interest to e.g. *Othello* or *The Changeling*). - Joost Daalder, Professor of English, Flinders University, South Australia

Reason #1 for owning this book: It has pages and pages ofreally wickedly cool beautiful art graphics Reason #2: Organizers andactivists are allowed to copy free of charge said wickedly cool beautiful art graphics Reason #3: Rini Templeton was cool person. Here's a chance to learn something about her. Reason #4: It includes a comprehensive history of social movements in the Southwest and Mexico. Reason #5: It's bilingual. Reason #6: Selling this book is one of the ways I, courtney, make my living. The more of them I sell, the more food I can buy, and the longer I can go on living and writing book reviews when I should be working. I am shameless, I know.

This is a small book packed with illustrations, paintings and sculptures by the late activist/artist Rini Templeton. If you were involved in any of the "struggles" of the past in the southwest you've probably seen her work. Her art is about the people and the causes she championed. Her art is the type used for picket signs, newsletters, announcements, posters and illustrations for various books both known and unknown. She did the illustrations for John Nichols, "The Milagro Beanfield War" which was later turned into a movie. Her works are not just plain black and white line drawings as mnay of her sculptures are exquisite, as are her color prints. She traveled extensively and her works document the various struggles that took place during the turbulent 60's and it's aftermath up until her untimely death in 1986. She died at age 51 and one can only wonder what she may have accomplished had she lived a full life. She probably did more in her short life than most do who live to be 80. She created art and participated in many activites in Cuba, Mexico and the US, particularly the southwest. Her drawings are mostly black ink, woodcuts and silkscreens that are exceptionally powerful and very moving. There is some text in the book but so little that it can be read in one sitting. At the end of the book there are remembrances by her friends who honor her with stories about her life. The text accompaying the drawings explains(not needed) the particulars of the struggle she was illustrating. An inspirational artist who dedicated her life and art to the people she must have so loved. She even went as far as to encourage the reproduction of her works for any "just cause". This is an excellent book for anyone interested in art, college students or people involved in social change and activism. Currently her works are used in immigrants rights issues. Her art is available and lives on to continue the struggle. Her last graphic works were done for two books entitled "Tlatelolco Mi Amor" and "Como Quieres" both by Daniel Molina. The bilingual nature of the book is super and layed out as such that if you have trouble with a word in either language you can gain easy reference by looking at the more familiar language. The text is side by side in Spanish and English. A very interesting person but one can only wonder what works she could have produced had she chose a more commercial path. Her works live amongst us as the issues she championed continue, the times have changed but some things remain the same. Her spirit lives on wherever there is life and struggle.

Doing a review of Keats' work is impossible, his merit has already been established, his work is mastery. Now the question is this, is the book well done? For a small sample of the genius's work, this is a great edition, for a more experienced poet, this one isn't for you. The poetry is genius, the book is not great.

Doing a review of someone like Frost, Keats, Rilke, or Shakespeare is like reviewing the Bible, it is impossible. It has already been established that this man's poetry is mastery. Now the question is thus, what book should you purchase? If you want a small taste of his work at a good price, this is it. With this small, under $... edition, you can decide if you want to purchase anymore of his books. I say it is a great book for a poetry shelf in anyone's library.

What a wonderful anthology of John Keats' poetry. The selections in this book range from his well known and loved pieces like "Lamia" and " To Autumn" to less familliar but still gracefully written "On the Sea" and "To Leigh Hunt, Esq." The timeline in the front of the book is helpful, giving an overview of what the world was like in Keats' short lifespan. Many critics wonder what he would've accomplished had he lived longer, and by reading this collection of his poems, one can only image the brilliant works he might have given us to further his powerful legacy.

J.E. Neale, Elizabeth I's most famous modern biographer, is not an author who is easy to read for the modern scholar or anybody who regards the Virgin Queen as anything short of a goddess. His style of history has vanished, I'm glad to say. His worship of Elizabeth and his nationalistic biases make this a very tough read and not a very worthwhile one. Anne Somerset's modern biography would be a better use of the reader's time.

Although hardly a year goes by without someone new coming up with another biography on Queen Elizabeth I, this probably is the best of the lot. Many of the subsequent volumes that have appeared after Neale generally owe him a debt of gratitude at least for assembling the basic facts of the life of the Virgin Queen.

Elizabeth's life has been told many times, her parents, Henry VIII and Anne Bolyn's ill-fated marriage, imprisionment during the reigns of both siblings, Thomas Seymour (whose sister replaced her mother in Henry's bed-would any soap opera try this plot twist?), Thomas Wyatt, William Cecil, Robert Dudley, Mary Queen of Scotts, the Spanish Armada, Shakespeare, and Gloriana. What Neale does quite well is to provide some real insight into the life of this the best of Britain's rulers and to place her actions in context. Some might think that Neale's treatment is too positive, I think the tone of the book is consistent with the greatness of this woman who, unlike her modern day namesake, ruled as well as reigned.

After having read everything I could get my hands on about Elizabethan England reading this book was very refreshing. Delving into the social and political realm of Queen Regina is what this book is all about. Well written and easy to read it gives a new perspective on the trials and tribulations of a very courageous and smart lady.