This is the sequel to the Book, "Passion and Proud
Hearts". Both are fast paced.

Shotter provides a concise and up-to-date (at the time, bearing in mind it is nearly a decade old now) look at the Fall of the Roman Republic that is invaluable to any student of the period. Indeed it is useful as a general guide to the general reader. Commencing with an explanation of the governemnt of Rome and detailing the concept of the res publica he makes it clear that the republic was divided amongst what he terms the 'aristocratic class' and the plebian. He makes the sweeping statement that the downfall of the republic was caused by the growth of empire and talks of the Social War, the Gracchi and enfranchisement, sweeping on through Marius' reforms to construct a professional standing army to the inevitable conflict between military brilliance as shown under Sulla and oligarchic steadiness as employed by the Senate. A chapter on Pompey focuses on Cicero and Clodius' involvement in the Bona Dea in 61 and Shotter concludes with three chapters on the first triumvirate between Caesar, Pompey and Crassus, Caesar's dictatorship and the second triumvirate of Octavian, Anthony and Lepidus culminating in the battle of Actium in 31. He confirms that this battle is the decisive watershed in the move from republic to empire - though a modern-designated pivotal piece of history. In some respects this admission leads us to realise that whilst modern scholarship neatly splits the Roman domination of the Mediterranean into Republic and Empire, for Rome itself there would have been no such distinction. Indeed, one could argue that the premise of the book is indeed artificial by nature. However, it does allow Shotter to boundary his period of Roman history to 31 and discuss more fundamentally the nature of political power of the time and its shift from oligarchy to principate.
This concise yet fluid discussion on the shift in Rome's power is worth reading as both a general introduction and a more interesting discussion on the nature of political power.

The book is not an ornate description of the late middle ages. Rather it attempts to seive data into an outline of what life might have been at the time. At times the data, which should have taken the form of footnotes, becomes the body of the text. Fortunately, this does not happen often. The "Plague" section is a bit amiss with outstreached consequences of the plague, but is nonetheless revealing: I, for one, learned that there were 3 kinds of plagues, the bubonic, pneumonic and septicemic rather than a single sweeping disease. Aberth contends that the Plague claimed more victims than the standard 1/3 demographic decline figure. All in all there is plenty here for a medievalist to keep themselves entertained. I would also recomend, perhaps, reading this in conjunction w/ the video series written and hosted by Simon Schama "A History of Britain".

Janetmae's first book is a delight on several levels. In Haven or Hex, the reader is able to glimpse the simple lifestyle of a time gone by in Amish Lancaster, Pennsylvania. At the same time, Janetmae's life story shines a spotlight on the loss of that lifestyle due to the growth of tourism in this small town in the 1950's. Haven or Hex will transport you to a different time, a different culture, and a different way of life. It's thoroughly engrossing!

The storyline is intricate and descriptive, I got right into the plot and couldn't put the book down. see the Horseshoes and Nuclear Weapons Home Page for excerpts and quotes from other reviewers.

My impression is that this book is clear in its explanations, but also it gives a clear idea on the 80/20 rule. Furthermore, it amazes librarians explaining them how a library and library science can be focused on the basis of bussiness administration. I have used it to teach my pupils at the Universidad del Museo Social Argentino, library statistics and translated them the valuable principles of Ranganhatan. In some respects these books has treated in advance the subject of 80/20 rule first the Richar Koch who has devoted a whole book on this topic.

F.W.Lancaster is a true pioneer in Information Science. He is in my opinion at least among the top ten along with persons such as Eugene Garfield and Patrick Wilson. And in a way he is broader than they are. This book represents in my view the state of the art of a core area in information science today. This does not mean, that I am not critical of it. I have written a long review of this book in the Journal of Documentation, June 1999, vol. 55, no. 3, pp. 345-351. In this review I outline how research in this field can be improved. But I believe it will take a long time before we can replace this book with a better one.

I used this book for a graduate information science course. The book helped me to understand how to form online search strategies and evaluate the results of those searches. I also learned how NOT to form searches. However, the vocabulary used was more complex than it needed to be. The diagrams used to show the flow of information from person to person in an institution, plus the flow of information from print and online resources were hard to follow and understand sometimes. The authors did a good job of predicting trends in the field of library and information science for the end of the 1990s. Many of the predictions have come to pass even as I write this today. I understand that the book was published in 1993. But since technology changes so rapidly and people in the industry are always searching for something "faster, cheaper, better," I think the book requires an update with clearer diagrams, simpler language, and a continued analysis of how trends in the information technology industry afffect the search for that information.

In THE KEY, artist and schoolteacher Kristie Matthews yearns for a simpler life. The day she moves into her new apartment, she sustains a dog bite necessitating a trip to the emergency room. Jon Clarke Griffin, who is at the farm to visit his friend, Jake, takes her to the hospital. While she is in the Emergency Room, a stranger hands her a key telling her to keep it for him but to tell no one she has it. She ends up befriending the elderly stranger as he is hospitalized recovering from a heart attack. She has no idea she is putting herself in danger as well. Meanwhile Kristie breaks off the relationship with her lawyer boyfriend, Todd Reasoner and soon thereafter begins seeing Clarke Griffin. Soon a series of peculiar events including a break-ins, make Kristie wonder what she has gotten herself into.

The three books in this series, set on the Zook's Amish farm, each have an element of suspense in addition to the romance. Each story is told in first-person from the heroine's point of view. Gayle Roper is a master at storytelling! I also heartily recommend THE DOCUMENT and THE DECISION as well as THE KEY - it's been a long time since I read all three books in a series back-to-back, but I really couldn't put these down.

Sir Walter Maltravers is haunted by the memory of his failure during the fall of Constantinople, and by his failure at the Battle of Towton. Despite his wealth, his beautiful wife, and the holy Lacrima Christi--a ruby said to have been formed from the blood of Jesus--he lives in agony and in guilt. When he is found dead and his jewel is stolen, Kathryn Swinbrooke is called in to administer the King's justice.

Danger, more murder, and more locked room mysteries confront Kathryn as she investigates. Maltravers was killed in the middle of a maze to which only he knew the secret. The jewel was kept in a locked room in a guarded monastery. A thief vanishs from a locked church. It seems that perhaps the avenging angels truly have stepped in. Certainly all of the suspects have alibies that cannot be shaken. Yet Kathryn diagnoses murder, not God's justice. She's determined to unravel the maze of death and murder and find the killer hiding in its depths.

Author C. L. Grace makes the middle ages come alive. Set during the English War of the Roses, A MAZE OF MURDERS convincingly describes English justice of the time, the (mixed) role of women, contemporary medicine, and the ambiguous nature of justice in a time when patriotism and treason are distinguishable only after a battle is fought and lost. Kathryn's dogged determination to solve a host of locked room mysteries is admirable and sympathetic.

I would have preferred to see better motivation for the final murder--which seems to exist only to give Kathryn the final clues she needs to the solution. Also, I suspect that Kathryn's mild flirtation with her fiance, Colum Murtagh, is intended to humanize Kathryn. Instead, it seemed cloying, distracting from the murder without adding anything to the story. Notwithstanding these flaws, A MAZE OF MURDER makes enjoyable reading.