This book is essential for all who work in the transgenic and knockout mouse industry. Everything you need to know to begin, maintain, and analyze your transgenic or knockout facility is in this book. I have not required any other refernces to run my facility or perform my experiments. The books cover topics such as setting up the mouse colony, to microinjecting, to in situ hybridization, to preparing any solutions you made need.

The publishers of Horizon are well known for their large format pictoral essays on history and art. Lacey Baldwin Smith's book is a very good example of their work. It is broad in its approach and includes descriptions of the world both inside and outside of Elizabeth I's England. Although few of the plates are in color, the black and white images are large and clear. The etchings and woodcuts lose little for being monochromatic. The author makes good use of first hand accounts and narratives, and supports them with background commentary. These accounts are annotated with the name of the author and work. This is not a scholarly work, but as "coffee table" reading it is quite good. I would recommend it to anyone who would like a good general reading of the Elizabethan era.

That was my impression of the life of the Queen. Very indulgent lifestyle she leads as do her children. Surprised to learn of a different story to Diana's funeral arrangements. That Charles wasn't the supposed "leader" in getting things arranged. Still dissapointed in the Queen for not doing her duty during that time. She seemed jealous of Diana and still seems that way. Disheartened to read that William and Harry distanced themselves from their mother during her relationship with Dodi. Seems Charles didn't have that sort of treatment with his dowdy mistress. So I find that pretty questionable, but who knows. I put it in a category of sensationalism on Lacey's part to try to persuade the reader to find fault in all of Diana's doing. Sad that this sort of criticism still has to happen just to find praise for a very boring, and uninspiring figure and her brood. Her time sitting on the throne is her only 'merit' to her dull reign. She has had to do nothing more and hasn't.

This book was written to celebrate Queen Elizabeth's Golden Jubilee and was written with the cooperation of the palace, so there are no new startling revelations about the Queen. She is a person who has zealously guarded her privacy in spite of having to make rather recent concessions, several in connection with the tragic death of Diana, the Princess of Wales, to the media and the public. In fact, one of the major themes is the Queen's and the Royal Family's relationship with and use of the media. MONARCH tends to start off slowly, filling over 80 pages with information about past monarchs like Queen Victoria, and tends to be pretty plodding and dry in parts. It appears to be written for a British audience and the same book is apparently titled ROYAL in Britain...

This is not your usual tell all from an anonymous source - this is history. While she has little real power, she is a woman who has had a remarkable life and many varied prime ministers from Churchill to Thatcher to Blair - very different people who all came to respect her and I think surprised by her knowledge of the government and country and how it all works. It also provides some insight into her children's lives and how she was as a parent. This is a very enjoyable book to read and a great follow up to Majesty which I also recommend strongly.