I recently bought this book and tape to prepare for my trip to the Basque Country. I read the book a few times and listened to the tape in the background at work and home. For every bit of effort I put into learning Basque, the reward was 100%.

When I got to San Sebastian, I found that people spoke very much like they did on the tapes. Even though I had never studied Basque or Spanish prior to buying the tapes I was able to get around. I was able to ask for directions, greet and introduce myself, and buy food. By the time I arrived, I had heard the tapes so much that little phrases kept popping out.

Having this as a base I was able to begin speaking to people both quicker and at a deeper level. It was amazing how far I could stretch a conversation based on simple grammar and vocabulary.

Once I became to speak some of their language, the Basque people really opened up to me. They really appreciated the effort I made to learn their language. And now is a great time to learn Basque. It is undergoing a revival so both kids and adults are going to school to learn Basque.

This book and tape helped me a lot! Now that I am home I still listen to the tapes to refresh my memory. To the authors I say eskerrik asko!!

I recently bought this book and tape to prepare for my trip to Euskal Herria. I read the book a few times and listened to the tape when I was at work or around the house. For every bit of effort I put into learning, my reward was 100%.

Although I had never studied Spanish or Euskera before, these tapes helped me get by. When I arrived in San Sebastian, I found that the tape was extremely accurate in the way people spoke. I kept popping out little phrases I had memorized from the tape. These helped me with the necessities, like greetings, asking directions, and finding what I needed in San Sebastian.

It's amazing how far I was able to stretch a conversation just by knowing the basics and the functional words. Once I got past the day-to-day survival, I really began to learn the language.

Once I began to learn the language, people opened up to me in a way they never would have to an English- or Spanish-speaker. Euskera is undergoing a huge revival and it is exciting to be a part of that. And the Basque people will love you for showing them the respect to try to learn their language.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who is interested in the language or is planning on visiting Euskal Herria. It will give you the base to begin communicating much sooner and at a deeper level.

Alan King made a very good manual, it is hard to make something like this for the language that is not similar to anything we know, but however it is really easy to learn basque with his book.

The edition of Edward II I read was the New Mermaid Series one, which had a very good and informative introduction, and has the spelling modernized. The spelling modernization extends to place names as well as general terms. I am not sure how I feel about spelling modernization, as it is nice to see how the work was originally spelled, but it made the work very easy to read. The play itself is amazing, very engaging even though it is a history, and is mostly based on things that actually happened. The language is not as flowery as Shakespeare, but is lovely nonetheless. Some of the characters of the play are very fickle, and seem to suddenly change as you read the text of the play. (Queen Isabella goes from devoted and self-sacrificing wife to cunning adulteress.) It makes more sense on stage, and after seeing this play, it was easier to see how good it is.

Marlowe's final play is also his masterpiece. To be sure, the dramatic events in this play really did happen, but Marlowe shows himself at his best when he paints the picture. At first, Marlowe masterfully allows us to detest Edward for undoing all the fine work of his father Edward Longshanks. We also are able to feel sorry for Mortimer and Isabella. (the eventual villains). Isabella feels neglected and Mortimer can not stand to see the fine work of Edward Longshanks undone. Later, we come to have some respect for Edward II when he shows himself to have some of his father's fine qualities and he crushes the first rebellion against him with courage and intelligence. When the second uprising successful, we no longer are lead into any feelings of admiration for Mortimer and Isabella. Once they have power they are more vile and disgusting than Edward II ever was. By Act 5.1, Marlowe gives Edward II moving soliloquies and does not allow our new won pity to slack for a moment. The final scene of this play when Edward II's 17 year old son Edward III flips the tables, crushes his corrupt mother, has Mortimer put to death, and offers prayers to his murdered father is a scene that is almost unsurpassed in literature. To be sure, this did actually happen, but Marlowe not only tells us what happened, but colors it with his superb mastery of the language.

Edward the second, or to give it its full title, 'The troublesome reign and Lamentable death of Edward, the second king of England, with the tragical fall of proud Mortimer', is famous for being an Elizabethan 'Gay play', but this is only one of the subjects contained within the play. Politics, cruelty and the Feudal System are all important themes in this, one of the great masterstrokes of Elizabethan literature. The play itself is a history play, set in the 14th century featuring Edward and his previously basished lover, Gaveston, who returns after the death of Edward's father. This return enrages the barons, who were sworn to Edward's father that Gaveston would never return. This is the catalyst for a plot that races around like a cheetah on speed, culminating in one of the most excruciating deaths ever portrayed on stage. "Shakespeare? Who? Marlowe was far better!"

I have the AFI's 1931-1940 Catalogs set. I have also been an AFI member for 4 years. The catalogs are for any serious film buff! You can literally find any American actor or actress in movies you never knew that person played in. The researchers have watched the films or read the production notes and found so many unbilled extras that later became famous. I look forward to the volumes 1941-1950 which I just ordered. The wealth of knowledge is AMAZING!

This AFI Catalog is an absolute must for the serious film student, movie buff or collector. The first two volumes contain an alphabetical listing of every single feature film produced in the United States from 1931-1940. All the information you could need to know is given for each film. Everything is included: production dates, studio, director, producer, cinematographer, screenwriter, the entire cast, a brief synopsis of the film, production notes, genre, subjects and more. Nothing is left out. The third volume contains an extremely extensive index. Every personality, studio, subject and even shooting location is methodically indexed. It costs a pretty penny but is well worth it. It is truly one of a kind. Nothing else comes close!

This is the most complete Royal Commemorative book I have yet to come across. It shows color and black and white photos of Royal Commemorative collectables past and present. With descriptive information and value. I am a avid collector and I consider this book to be my Bible. A must have for anyone who collects or is simply interested in the British Monarchy.

If you have any interest in the Royal Family, in history, or in items commemorating significant events relating to the Royal Family, then this is a book you simply can't do without. Whether you're a collector, an enthusiast, or simply curious about the vast spectrum of items available, you will find this book a sheer delight. Color plates and an extensive black & white collector and price guide make this book invaluable for collectors, appraisers, or anyone interested in the growing fascination with the Royal Family - and the investment opportunities associated with commemorative items. Doug Flynn and Alan Bolton have set a benchmark that others will struggle to ever improve upon. Highly recommended.

I was stuck in the airport waiting for a flight. I picked up King's book and was hysterical laughing outloud!! It kept me entertained throughout!!! I highly recommend it. It's entertaining, cleverly written, and fast moving!

Alan King has had such an interesting life which he shares with his readers! The book is a Winner!

I thoroughly enjoyed your book - It should be made into a movie. People haven't changed - America is so naive about these conspiracies that you briefly identified toward the end of your book. I know we could add a hundred more examples - KAL 007, Flight 800 etc. We don't believe anything we hear on TV news - except the stock market quotes and the temperature. "The Name of the King" is a good book-

Look out, Tom Clancy. - Aloysius P. Sharon is at your 6:00 o'clock position and he's closing fast!

Sharon's "Name of the King," like a Tom Clancy novel, is fast-paced as well as technically and historically accurate. I think it is a masterful weave of fact and supposition into a web guaranteed to snare but then reward the most intelligent and demanding reader.

Set in New York City but involving fascinating locations in Europe and the Middle East, "Name of the King" blends a deadly serious perspective of a seasoned warrior (Israeli general?) with the lighthearted humor of a young, brash fighter pilot. You'll read about a municipal sanitation department worker who is propelled by a series of bizarre circumstances into the forefront of international intrigue. This unlikely hero ultimately becomes embattled with a monetary policy kingpin and a still-at-large Nazi death-camp monster.

I read a lot but have little time for fiction. Nonetheless, I took a chance on "Name of the King," and I am glad I did. In fact, I could hardly put it down. I read it in two sittings on consecutive days, the day it arrived and the following day.

For an absolutely engrossing view of the hidden world of high finance, political corruption, and international intrigue - as well as a short but hilarious excursion into the bowels of the New York City sanitation department - I give five stars to, and heartily recommend, "Name of the King."...

Alan Bliss's Introduction to Old English Metre first appeared in justified 12-pitch Courier back in '76 and remains the standard study on the subject. In Finn and Hengest, Bliss is somewhat more than an editor and Tolkien somewhat less than an author. According to Bliss's preface, his having given a paper on the implications of historical comparison between Beowulf and the Finnsburg fragment, he was advised that Tolkien had anticipated his conclusions decades before, and he then proceeded to get permission to edit Tolkien's lecture notes on the topic, which were in various states of development.

What results, though bound to be tough sledding for all but the very most scholarly of readers, is a window on a past that is far more remote from our contemporary situation than imperial Rome or 5th-century Athens, even though less distant in time: namely, the period immediately preceding the Anglo-Saxon invasion of Britain. This was a time of blood feuds between pagan proto-Viking tribes in the wake of the Roman's empire's all-but-forgotten withdrawal from northern Europe, a time when noble ideals could result in bestial atrocities, from which in turn could result tragedies that Aeschylus might have telescoped for the dramatic stage.

Which is not to say that what emerges from a close reading is presented in this way. These are classroom lecture notes, which assume a working knowledge of Old English and a general knowledge of its surviving written records, literary and prosaic (not that this is a hard-and-fast distinction in the surviving Old English documents from our present-day perspective). Nevertheless, what emerges is none the less affecting for the lack of melodramatic treatment, which would only distort and misrepresent the actual lives that were lived and remembered more than a millennium and a half ago, in the northwest corner of the European mainland which now comprises Denmark, Holland, Belgium and parts of Germany and France; nor do the scholarly technicalities detract from realization of the fragility of our links with people whose struggle for gentility in the midst of savagery differed from our own not in kind but only as a matter of degree.

And yet, if we can find our way to a sense of familial kinship with these stiff-necked, fur-clad barbarians, how should we despair of understanding each other?

This fascinating and informative book is crammed with all manner of information on the artistic vision, political struggles and plain hard work that went into the creation of the Sistine Chapel. Right up front you learn that Michelangelo did not paint that enormous ceiling lying flat on his back, but did so standing upright, painting above his head. You also learn that he did not want the job, seeing himself as not much of a painter and aching to get back to sculpting. The difficult technique of fresco painting is gone into in detail, giving the reader a glimpse of the monumental effort behind this masterpiece. The key characters in the book are, of course, the rugged rough Michelangelo and the urbane Warrior Pope, Julius II. This is art history vibrant with biography and background and makes for good story-telling.

Ahhh.....remember Charlton Heston as Michelangelo- all alone, on his back- painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel? Well, in this very informative and enjoyable book, Ross King quickly clears up those two major misconceptions. Michelangelo was not on his back: the scaffolding was placed 7 feet below the ceiling. Michelangelo painted while standing, reaching overhead, with his back arched. And, he had plenty of help in his glorious enterprise. Michelangelo took on the project with a great deal of reluctance. What he had really been excited to do was the job Pope Julius II had originally had in mind: the sculpting of the Pope's burial tomb. For Michelangelo considered himself to be a sculptor rather than a painter. Though originally trained, in his early teens, as a painter, he had devoted himself almost entirely to sculpting in the nearly 20 year period which had elapsed between his training and receiving the summons from Pope Julius II to begin work on the Sistine Chapel. Additionally, Michelangelo had never before painted a fresco, which is a very tricky process involving painting on wet plaster. (He had once started preparatory work on a fresco project where he was supposed to go "head to head" with Leonardo. Alas, that project never came to pass!) So, Michelangelo did what any sensible person would do...he hired as assistants artists who had prior experience doing frescoes. Thus begins the fascinating tale of the four year project. Along the way we learn of Renaissance rivalries- Michelangelo had once taunted Leonardo da Vinci in public for having failed in his attempt to cast a giant bronze equestrian statue in Milan. Leonardo gave as good as he got: "He claimed that sculptors, covered in marble dust, looked like bakers, and that their homes were both noisy and filthy, in contrast to the more elegant abodes of painters." There was also the rivalry between Raphael and Michelangelo. The two artists couldn't have been more different- Raphael, handsome, charming, well-mannered and sociable (and a notorious connoisseur of beautiful women); Michelangelo- squat nosed and surly, pathologically suspicious, seemingly uninterested in anything unrelated to his art. Raphael was at work on a fresco in the Pope's library, in another section of the Vatican, at the same time Michelangelo was working on the Sistine Chapel. One of the most interesting parts of the book occurs when the ceiling is halfway completed. All the scaffolding was removed so that the Pope could examine the work to date. This was also the first time that Michelangelo could get an idea of how the ceiling would look from the floor of the chapel. He is said to have been shocked at how small his figures looked, and when he started work on the second half of the ceiling he decreased the number of figures portrayed but increased their size by an average of four feet. It is also said that at this time Raphael, realizing how much more public and prestigious the Sistine Chapel project was than his own assignment in the Pope's library, lobbied to be allowed to do the second half of the ceiling. Of course, that never came to pass. Mr. King manages to incorporate an amazing amount of material into such a relatively small book: We learn about the complexities of fresco painting, especially on a concave surface; what materials the pigments were made of and the processes involved in making them; Michelangelo's lack of interest in adding realistic landscapes to the backgrounds of his compositions (he considered landscape painting to be an inferior form of art); his sense of humor- in one of the tableaus he has a character "making the fig" at another character (an Italian equivalent of giving someone the finger). The author also shows us the difficult relationships Michelangelo had with his father and brothers (they were always hitting him up for money or trying to get him to use his influence to get them jobs, etc.). And, as a change-of-pace, punctuating the entire book we have Pope Julius II going out on various military campaigns to punish wayward Italian city-states (and dragging along his reluctant cardinals)! Somehow, Mr. King manages to weave all this together into a seamless, smoothly flowing narrative. This is an excellent book, both educational and entertaining!

Michelangelo & the Pope's Ceiling by Ross King tells the story of four years, 1508-1512, in the life of three larger than life personalities: Michelangelo, Pope Julius II, and Raphael. Mr. King's latest nonfiction historical "thriller" is, however, more than a story of the four years that Michelangelo spent laboring over the twelve thousand square feet of the vast ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. In Mr. King's able hands it becomes an early 16th century soap opera, starring Michelangelo, Pope Julius II, and Raphael, and featuring all the intrigue, passion, violence, and pettiness of a Sopranos' episode. What's so astonishing is that all that is told actually happened -- it's history.
Ross King's gift is his ability to bring us, his readers, back through the maze of time and lead us to an understanding of all that coalesced -- politically, socially, and artistically -- to create great art, great history and, for us, great reading.
According to King:
"Pope Julius II was not a man one wished to offend.... A sturdily built sixty-three-year old with snow-white hair and a ruddy face, he was known as il papa terrible , the 'dreadful' or 'terrifying' pope.... His violent rages, in which he punched underlings or thrashed them with his stick were legendary.... In body and soul he had the nature of a giant. Everything about him is on a magnified scale, both his undertakings and passions."
Michelangelo and Raphael as portrayed by King:
"Almost as renowned for his moody temper and aloof, suspicious nature as he was for his amazing skill with the hammer and chisel, Michelangelo could be arrogant, insolent, and impulsive....If Michelangelo was slovenly and, at times, melancholy and antisocial, Raphael was, by contrast, the perfect gentleman. Contemporaries fell over themselves to praise his polite manner, his gentle disposition, his generosity toward others....Raphael's appealing personality were accompanied by his good looks: a long neck, oval face, large eyes, and olive skin -- handsome, delicate features that further made him the antithesis of the flat-nosed, jug-eared Michelangelo."
The stories of these three men during this extraordinary four year period and the art they produced is the story embodied in Michelangelo & the Pope's Ceiling. The confrontations between Julius II and Michelangelo are legendary. "The major problem seems to have been that Michelangelo and Julius were remarkably alike in temperament. Michelangelo was one of the few people in Rome who refused to cringe before Julius."
For almost the entire four years Michelangelo was shadowed by the brilliant young painter Raphael, who was working in fresco on the neighboring Papal apartments. This rivalry the Pope seemed to enjoy and encourage. To help us better understand the friction between these two great artists King introduces us to Edmund Burke's treatise on the sublime and the beautiful:
"For Burke, those things we call beautiful have the properties of smoothness, delicacy, softness of color, and elegance of movement. The sublime, on the other hand, comprehends the vast, the obscure, the powerful, the rugged, the difficult -- attributes which produce in the spectator a kind of astonished wonder and even terror. For the people of Rome in 1511, Raphael was beautiful but Michelangelo sublime."
For me, reading a book like Michelangelo & the Pope's Ceiling is the way to read history. Mr. King transported me back to those four years during which Michelangelo and Raphael created art both beautiful and sublime. I was there with and among the players, engrossed in the anecdotes King skillfully wove into his narrative. This is history -- up close and personal -- and yet far, far away from the pain, anguish, anger and turmoil that pervaded so much of the lives of Michelangelo, Pope Julius II, and Raphael. As I read, I learned, I felt, and I understood. Isn't that what reading is all about? I certainly could not ask for anything more.

Unlike most "religious" category books, this book lacks the preachy quality that causes most readers to not absorb the text. This book insightfully breaks down barriers between different religious beliefs and simply brings forth the universal belief in a higher power. The people that Larry King and Rabbi Katsof chose to interview are made more personable and are made more tangible through their everyday prayers, which are similar to ours, and their quest to be closer to God. This book would make a fabulous holiday gift that is sure to please a recipient of any religious background.

Mr. King delved into the foundation of Spirituality and Religion and made simple an otherwise complex and controversial issue. The book focuses on the individual and his or her communication with God, while setting aside religious beliefs. I would like to recommend to friends who are too formal about prayers and to those who maybe agnostic such as Larry King in his book.

Powerful Prayers is a Must Read Reading Powerful Prayers provides you amazingly simple examples of commuincating with God through personal everyday prayer. It opens the door to an otherwise complex arena of thought. The discussion between Larry King and Rabbi Katsof is sensitive and thought provoking. The interviews add incredible depth to the discussion. They also legitimize informal prayer, and the many different ways people have found to communicate with their respective spiritual beings. I recommend this book to everyone who is open to exlporing their individual communication with God. It is a must read. It has changed my entire understanding or paradigm in regards to my relationship with God outside of a house of worship.

Lord of the Rings reads like one very long book that the reader finds themselves unable to put down. It goes without saying that you must read "The Fellowship of the Ring" and "The Two Towers" before you read this one. This, the third segment, is the climax to what the other two stories built up. This was astonishingly real for a book about wizards, hobbits and elves and I loved it. It is the only book that I have ever found myself crying when it was over. It was a sad sort of ending, (I won't spoil it), but it wasn't because of that. These vivid characters whom I had come to know and love for the months that it took me to go through "The Hobbit" and the other Lord of the Rings books were abandoning me. They would go on with their lives and have glorious new adventures of which I could not be a part of...I miss Sam most of all. The afterward of this book is a gem as well, since you can learn to read and write in Elvish and in runes, and find out histories and afterwards behind the epic. This is a must read for anybody. You are missing out if you do not read this. (And I might add that if you haven't, you are among a shrinking number of people, since the series continues only to grow in popularity.)

Having read all the Lord of the Rings series, we have now come to the end of the road where the destinies of our lead characters are revealed.

The battle of Gondor is vividly narrated & you feel the fear, pain & sadness of each character. Likewise, you witness Frodo & Sam's difficulties & sacrifices away from the battle field but fighting their greatest battle inside the tower where the evil Sauron resides.

All stories come to an end & it is expected to be of a happy ending. However, successful as they may be in their quest, the story does not end there. Instead, their lives has just begun for a new age.

I am certain, after having read this book, you cannot stop thinking what would happen next to Frodo Baggins while the rest of the hobbits are happily residing in the Shire. All I can do is wish him the best on his next journey.

The Return of the King, by J.R.R Tolkien, is a wonderfully written book concluding the three part trilogy of The Lord of the Rings. This book takes place in the world of Middle Earth, during the Third Age (there are 4 Ages in this book). The book starts out with Gandalf and Pippin riding towards Gondor and Minas Tirith. When they arrive, they find that the Grand Steward, Denthor, morning the death of Boromir, his oldest son, and trying to figure out what to do about the impending attack from Mordor. Meanwhile, Frodo has been captured and Sam goes into the land of Mordor to save him. After the rescue, they run into Gollum, and he tells them he will help them to the Crack of Doom and destroying the Rings. They begin the journey, but soon they realize that Frodo is getting weaker because the Ring is getting stronger. At the same time, in the land of Rohan, the Riders of Rohan are mustering to help Gondor in the desperate struggle. Along with them is Merry, who helps them. In the land of Rohan, Aragon is now revealed to be the heir of a great power. He goes into the land of the dead, (No, NOT MORDOR!) There, he gathers an army of dead, now, he is revealed to be the King of Gondor! Back in Gondor, all the forces are colliding, the forces of Mordor, led by the King of the Ringwraiths (Given power by Sauron, the lord of Mordor and the true owner of the Ring), the Riders of Rohan, led by Theoden King, the Men of Gondor, led by Gandalf, and the army of the Dead, led by Aragon. Who will prevail? Back in Mordor, Sam, Frodo, and Gollum are making progress towards the Crack. Will they make it in time and save the day? The writing style of Tolkien is WONDERFUL. Many fantasy novels are based on this trilogy, as is The Chronicles of Narnia. " There were long hairy breeches of some unclean beast-fell, and a tunic of dirty leather. He drew them on. Over the tunic went a coat of stout ring-mail, short for a full-sized orc, too long for Frodo and heavy. About it he clasped a belt, at which there hung a short sheath holding a broad-bladed stabbing sword." This book is AMAZING!!! The trilogy is well written, and I was brought into this trilogy, that I thought that I was actually IN Middle Earth!!!!! If I could give a higher rating of this book, I would give it 2 thumbs up and 100 stars!!!!!