Waddesdon Manor: The Heritage Of A Rothschild House is a gorgeous coffee table book, filled cover to cover with fabulous full-color photographs depicting an extraordinary house in the English countryside near London and its 125-year history. Showcasing romantic gardens, a superb private wine cellar, a wondrous aviary and much, much more, Waddesdon Manor is an incredible tour through culture, time, architecture, and interior design. The detailed text, drawing from previously unpublished research, memoirs, family and retainer reminiscences, takes the reader on a step by step tour through rooms and eras alike in this classical volume recommended for students of architectural history.

Ehxileratiing. Captivating. Brilliant. A masterpeice...period.

Lord Dunsany is acknowledged by many, including leading authors (from W.B. Yeats and Lovecraft to top writers of today) as one of the greatest contributors to the field of modern fantasy. Sadly, many of his works have been allowed by publishers to slip out of print and many readers today have never had the chance... This book is one of his best and anyone who enjoys fantastic fiction, myth or legend should try it. The story has such power, is written so lyrically, is woven so richly, that there can be few comparisons. You care about the people, you can see the realms before you. There is depth and complexity, joy and heartbreak, detail and sweeping vision, and a leavening of humour (some supplied by the people of the land but especially by the troll... and no, this is not some stereotypical "bad guy on a bridge"). For style and reach, few can touch Dunsany. Don't miss out - and when you've read this book, try "The Charwoman's Shadow", also reprinted. For something different, there's a whole alternate mythology in "The Complete Pegana" and some truly outstanding short stories in "The Hashish Man" - and keep an eye out for any other Dunsany works. Maybe even write or e-mail a publisher or two to look for more...

I am a fanatic of fantasy, but after reading Lord Dunsany i felt ashamed of never reading more of his works. I read once in a while short stories from him on fantasy compilations, but to be honest i never felt interested. Now i am hooked and have to search for more of his works. The King of Elfland's Daughter is a faery tale as it should be. Lord Dunsany weaves a wonderful story of love that is destined to fail, of never ending sunset lands, of princes on magical quests, of witches and of hunting magical creatures. Every word on this work has a meaning and a lyricism to it that you could almost taste them like in a poem. What really amazed me is the simplicity and shortness of a really epic story, in present times, this one book would have been done in a trilogy. And instead of falling to the temptation of overextending the plot, Dunsany advances masterfully at every chapter, every page is important and you will feel it as your eyes fly across the words. A must have for fantasy lovers everywhere.

When Terry Goodkind's "Soul of the Fire" - part of one of those multi-volume "epic" fantasy series so popular these days - was not yet released, Amazon readers had already posted a few hundred reviews of the book, almost all of which rated it at 5 stars. None of them had read a word of what they were reviewing, but that didn't stop them.

At the time of writing this, there are just a handful of reviews of Dunsany's "The King of Elfland's Daughter", which was first published in 1924 and which is one of the true classic fantasies of all time. And I doubt a great number will follow.

That's fashion for you.

Still, in about twenty or thirty years from now, I very much doubt if a lot of fantasy afficianados will be able to remember Terry Goodkind at all (let alone "Soul of the Fire"). But I do know that they'll remember Dunsany. As they will William Morris, E.R. Eddison, C.S. Lewis, and - of course - J.R.R. Tolkien.

You see, these are the original masters of fantasy. A lot of good - at times great - fantasy has been written since then (writers like Patricia McKillip, Stephen Donaldson, Ursula LeGuin, Guy Gavriel Kay come to mind), but these are the Old Ones. The ones, if you like, Who Knew What They Were Talking About.

To explain (in the case of Dunsany): a few years back, when in Ireland, I tried to visit the Dunsany ancestral home (yes, this is real aristocracy). I remember asking a local farmer for directions; then, after a little searching, I found a secluded gateway. I drove up the lane, crowded with trees, turned right - and there it was. One of the most beautiful and hospitable - and very real - castles you could imagine. And it suddenly dawned on me: if you lived in such a place - if your family had, for generations, lived in such a place, in such a troubled country, with so much pain and turmoil - you probably couldn't help but turn to some sort of fantasy. And that fantasy couldn't help but be more true than what all of us could come up with, munching our microwaved Internet dinners before flickering monitors and filing billion dollar law suits against any company that produces potentially harmful products.

Not knowing where it came from, it's easy for us to try to decide what good fantasy is - it seems we don't even need to read to book to review it - but we might do well do realise, every now and then, that some of it was written with a far greater perspective than we could aspire to.

In the end, "The King of Elfland's Daughter" is one of the masterpieces of early fantasy. It takes a little getting used to - like Henry James, for example - but if you like fantasy fiction at all, you must read this book. It is one of the very few fantasy books that if worth just about any price you pay for it.

One final remark: an absolutely excellent collection of Dunsany's shorter fiction was recently published by Victor Gollancz under the title "Time And The Gods" (Fantasy Masterworks Series). As far as I know, this has not been published in the US, but you should be able to get it from Amazon.co.uk. Buy it immediately; these stories will probably be out of print again very soon.

Thirteen at dinner is an excellent book that young adults and adults would especially enjoy. I found it hard to put this book down. It is about the famous detective Hercule Poirot (a very popular character in the Agatha Christie series) who helps his friend Detective Japp on a very strange murder case. It seems that the wealthy Lord Edgware of well-known Regent Gate has been murdered and all evidence is apparently pointing to his wife, actress Jane Wilkinson. Poirot sets out to find out what has happened and finds the surprising truth. He asks himself questions (Who suppressed the letter? What induced Lord Edgware to change his mind about divorce? Who rang Jane Wilkinson up while at dinner at Chiswick?), which help him solve this and all of his cases. In the last few pages, Poirot describes step by step what really has happened. The resolution is both surprising and clever. Agatha Christie has done a great job both making the plot interesting and making people love and look up to the amazing Hercule Poirot. His character has obviously been thought out carefully as was the rest of the book. This book really shows the genius on Christie's part, and I have no idea how she came up with this smart and well put together plot. This book has made me want to read all of her books about Hercule Poirot. I also thought it was smart to make Poirot's assistant, Captain Hastings, the main voice. This made Poirot seem much more mysterious since the reader doesn't know what is going on inside his head. I would recommend this book to anybody who even just likes mysteries because it is one of the better books I have ever read.

Agatha Christie, one of if not the worlds best mystery writers did it again with her wonderful mystery "13 At Dinner", it was great. What is even better about this is that it is on an audio cassette so you can listen to it almost everywhere.

This is a great story! Agatha Cristie who has often been dubbed the "Queen of Mystery" uses one of her best characters, Hercule Poirot who closes this suspenseful case in a great way, in this great mystery. You can try to solve this mystery but believe me it's hard to figure out, but Hercule Poirot does it!

The epitome of an Agatha Christie mystery and one of her five finest books. Hercule Poirot is at his most brilliant, along with sidekick Arthur "Dr. Watson" Hastings and a colorful assortment of suspects. An excellent choice as a first Christie book -- or as a second, or a third....

.R.R. Tolkien continues The Lord of the Rings with triumph and imagination once again. Sheer brilliance mixed with an epic storyline. Middle-Earth is once again filled with enchanting landscapes, an assortment of creatures and a sense of danger and evil all around. But the second part of LOTR is still not perfect. The Two Towers continues right where the first part left off. Hobbits Frodo and Sam leave the Fellowship and trek to Mordor alone, being followed by a creepy critter. Merry and Pippin have been caught by Uruk-Hai warriors and Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli travel to Rohan to speak to the King Theoden. After Gandalf makes a stunning return, the four adventurers convince the troubled King of Rohan to prepare for war, as Saruman is ready to attack with his army of Uruk-Hai. The people of Rohan head to the fortress of Helm's Deep, confronting the evil Uruk-Hai. ... The Two Towers has it's many moments, but the same problem of FotR plagues the second part: Tolkien has a bit too many unessesary sub-plots and dialogue. Of what could be the perfect novels, they are sometimes clogged with un-needed elements that would've just made the story flow smoother. However, I'd say that The Two Towers has a sharper narrative than the more episodic Fellowship of the Ring did. With all of it's glorious mountains, fields, rivers and forests, and the different varieties of creatures running around, the main reason these books are so great are because of the characters. Gandalf's booming directing or Sam's hearty nature, the characters are the most memorable elements of Lord of the Rings. It only is better with the more three-dimension Gollum. The Two Towers succeeds where Fellowship of the Ring somewhat lacked, even though they sometimes contain the same problem. However, this is a fantastic adventure book, filled with action and suspense, imagination and flair. The climactic battle is unforgettable. And do please check out Peter Jackson's 'The Two Towers' film that's now in theaters. Fantastic.

The magnificence of Rob Inglis' dramatization, both with respect to its place in the Tolkien Legend and in comparision to the present state of the spoken theatre, is quite simply ineffible. Here presented is THE ONLY completely unabriged reading of the Lord of the Rings to be found, and to commuters like me, it represents a long awaited opportunity to become aquianted with the work of a genius without fear of losing precious shards of his masterpiece to the whim of an editor. Worth every moment of the 20 hour listening time, from the endearing character voices to the hearty singing of songs and chanting of poetry that is sure to linger in your mind throughout the day. A purely wonderful experience for both Tolkien Veterans and the uninitiated alike.

What happens when destiny breaks up the fellowship?

You will find out when you read the Two Towers.
In this second part, the deeds of all the members of the company after the Fellowship was broken, are told.

Frodo and his inseperable Sam sneak away towards Mordor, while Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas have to change their plans when they discover that Pippin and Merry have been kidnapped by orcs. These decisions that they make, take each character on its own path and the events that take place in this book really help in developing the complete tale.

The whole story really takes shape in it. Loads of things start happening, and many different characters take center stage. There is a lot more action, and the plot takes a few unexpected twists.

Unlike the first part (The Fellowship of the Ring), this second book actually does have a season finale ending! so make sure you have the Return of the King (3rd part) close by, because you will want to start reading it straight away!

What can be better than reading the three greatest books--"The Fellowship of the Ring," "The Two Towers," and "The Return of the King"--ever written? Having a leather-bound volume with all three together is better. If you are a fan of the books or you have a loved one that is, this is the best edition to own. It has a big fold-out map in the back for reference, all the references you can think of, and a really neat red leather cover. I have had this edition for 20 years and it's still in excellent condition. Well worth the cost.

Outside of The Bible, The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien is simply the best book written in all of time. On a scale of 1 - 10 it is a 100. Nothing in any genre has ever been written better. Originally designed as a six-book, three-volume work, the wonderful people at Houghton Mifflin Company have published the books in an awesome one-volume, leather-bound collector's edition for easy reading (and many re-readings). I am only sixteen, but I am constantly reading, and let me tell you now that nobody beats Tolkien; and nothing beats The Lord of the Rings! Read this book and join the largest group of fans to ever walk the earth.

The story is just as beautiful as it was years ago when I read it for the first time. It needs no further review.

For those who are looking for an attractive, permanent edition, this is it. The fifty Alan Lee paintings are gorgeous, and the more you look at them the more you realize how carefully Lee put them together to remain faithful to the vision and the detail of the text. It's obvious he loved the books as much as the rest of us do. A keeper.

I am not one who usually buys books-on-tape (or CD as in this case) but I have long wanted to obtain the Lord of the Rings so as to hear this incredible story over and over. After having read it several times, my book is in tatters and so I searched for an unabridged audio recording. Many of those that I have seen claim to be "unabridged" but the fact is that they are not complete! They give parts of the books in full but leave out many sections or chapters. This set by Rob Inglis is COMPLETE!!! It is very well read with no drastic voicing of characters. Characters are easily distinguished and thoroughly enjoyable. This set is not full of sound effects and music, so if you are looking for that this is not for you. However, I personally prefer the fact that this is not an over-production and is rather quite focussed on what I wanted in the first place, the characters and the story. Inglis does a marvelous job and I am very happy with this set. Again, not to harp on it but, this is a "complete" package well worth the money!!!

This book is a true classic,and it`s popularity is enormous.
And why,you could easily understand when you read it. I would be surprised if there exists any person who hasn`t heard of "The Lord of the Rings" or J.R.R.Tolkien.
The plot is a true classic,which has inspired a huge number of other books and movies (among them Star Wars and The Wheel of Time). 19 rings were once made. Nine for the mortal men,seven for the dwarf kings,and three for the elven kings. But the Dark Lord Sauron also created his own ring - The Lord of the Rings,whose power will make good into evil because of temptation!
The nine mortal men where once mighty kings,but became Sauron`s servants by temptation.
Sauron was finally defeated by a human named Isildur(though his spirit continued living in the shadows),but then he also became evil when he took the ring. Later,the ring took his own life and he dropped it into the river,where it remained undiscovered for 3000 years.
Thousands of years later,the hobbits (a kind of small people) wants to live in peace,and having nothing to worry about. One of the older hobbits,Bilbo Baggins,cheated himself the almighty ring from a creature named Gollum,and suddenly,the servants of the dark lord finds out where the ring is. Bilbo leaves the ring to his relative Frodo. The wizard Gandalf decides that the ring has to be destroyed - that`s the only way to defeat Sauron forever. Frodo later becomes the leader for The Fellowship of the Ring,which consists of four hobbits (Frodo,Sam,Merry and Pippin),the wizard Gandalf,the two humans Aragorn (or Strider)and Boromir,the elve Legolas and the dwarf Gimli.
And I think most of you recognize those characters,so I don`t have to explain in detail who they are. The fellowship is now thrown into a fantastic adventure,where they have to meet a thousand dangers on their way to Mount Doom.
What amazes me mostly with this book is how complex the world is. And imagine Tolkien has found out all of it himself!He really must have had a lot of fantasies!But this isn`t just some wild imaginations - because the world feels so complex,it is so real you can believe it really has existed. He creates detailed cultures for each of the people in his Middle Earth,like comparisons between different religions today. Over all,the world is similar to the medieval Europe,but with fantasy creatures like dragons as well.
As Tolkien was an expert of Nordic mythology,he also figured out the names like Frodo,Bilbo and Gandalf very easily. And The Middle Earth is actually an english translation from the Swedish Midgard,which was the place where the humans lived in the nordic mythology. That could be interesing to know.
Many people claims the book is too short - and sometimes,I do agree. A hundred pages more would not have been a bad idea.
Over all,this is a difficult book to review,because there is always something that remains incomplete.
Now the book has been made into a film,which is one of the most popular today,but before you see the film,I recommend you to read the book. It`s not enough having seen just the film and skip the book. You have to read it to really understand the whole complexity of Tolkien`s world.
The three books are all in all like one great adventure,but this is my favorite,because it is the most classical and introduces us to the Middle Earth.

Lord of the Rings is truly monumental fiction. I've read fantasy from many, many different authors, including Terry Brooks, Piers Anthony, Stephen R. Donaldson, Terry Goodkind, Robert Jordan, to name only a few, and I have come to the conclusion that every fantasy author in the last fifty years has borrowed from Tolkein to one extent or another.

The basic plot of the book is fairly simple. Frodo Baggins is a hobbit who inherits a Ring of Power form his uncle Bilbo Baggins. At first glance, the Ring seems to be a good thing, posessing the power to turn its wearer invisible (a power which saved uncle Bilbo several times during his own adventure, chronicled in The Hobbit). However, the wizard Gandalf learns that the Ring is in fact the One Ring, created millenia ago by the evil Dark Lord Sauron, and removed from his posession by thr forces of good. Sauron was weakened by his loss, but now he has recovered strength and wants his Ring back. Once he gets it, he will have the power to conquer the world. The only way to keep the Ring from his grasp is to destroy it, and this can only be done by casting the Ring into the fires of Mount Doom, where it was originally created. Naturally, Mount Doom lies in the very heart of Sauron's realm in Mordor, so the quest is fraught with peril. Frodo and his faithful servant Sam, along with others, take on the task of the destruction of the Ring and the salvation of Middle-Earth. Fellowship of the Ring chronicles the first part of this story, which concludes with The Two Towers and Return of the King.

If that was all there was to this book, it would be mo more than a first-rate work of fantasy. But, what lifts this book out of the realm of "fantasy" and into the realm of classic literature is the backstory. Lord of the Rings is essentially the conclusion of an incredible mythology that stretches back for over 7,000 Years of the Sun, and for who knows how many millenia before that. Tolkein worked on this mythology for several decades before Lord of the Rings was published, and references to it are sprinkled liberally throughout. The language and songs of the Elves are the best example of this, but there are many others.

The pace of the book does slow a little in places, but that is only becuase several long expository sections are essential to give the reader the full story behind the Ring and how it made its journey from the hand of Sauron to the posession of Frodo. But, the book nevertheless has the power to draw you in. I've read this book over 20 times since I first discovered it in the early 1980's, and I still have not gotten tired of the wonder of this book.

I do want to make one comment on the latest version of the book, however. I've noticed that many people have criticized the maps in the book as too difficult to read. I've looked at some of the newer copies, and I have to agree with this. I would like to point out that the map in these new copies is NOT the original map drawn by Tolkein himself, nor is it the revised map drawn by his son. The older maps are much better drawn, though the text is a little small. Frankly, if the new maps (drawn by Shelly Shapiro) bother you, I would suggest that you prowl through a local used bookstore and pick up an older copy of the trilogy, preferably the beautifully done Ballantine paperbacks of the early-to-mid 1980's. In addition to much better maps, the cover art on those books is beautiful. The one-volume red hardback version is also very nice, and you should be able to find a nice copy of it new.

Books like the Harry Potter series are OK. They are light and enjoyable reading, but 100 years from now, they will be forgotten. Not The Lord of the Rings. It's a major classic of English literature, and it is THE classic of fantasy fiction.

This book is one of a number of Professor Challenger adventures of Sir A. C. Doyle. A noted zoologist (Challenger) has come across evidence that there is a plateau in South America that can be reached from deep in the Amazon rain forest in which prehistoric animals still exist. An expedition of four (Challenger, a sceptical zoologist named Summerlee, a noted hunter (Lord John Roxton), and Edward Malone, a journalist) sets out to verify this report. The arguing and interactions between the academics is interesting in that little seems to have changed in the last 87 years! It should be noted that Doyle isolates the plateau so that there is minimal interaction with the rest of the rain forest (thus, the dinosaurs can't escape). But, why couldn't the ptereodactyls spread out? This story was one of the earliest "Lost World" tales and has been made into a film a number of times. Other stories in this sub-genre owe much to Doyle and Challenger.

Professor George E. Challenger, noted scientist, says dinosaurs are still alive, and he knows where to find them. The scientific community says he's a madman or a fraud, or both. Challenger's only evidence is a bunch of blurry photographs. Fellow scientists say the photos are obviously doctored and the newspapers call it a fantasy. Boiling with rage, Challenger goes into seclusion. Anyone foolish enough to bring up the tender subject around him is liable to end up in the gutter outside his house, with a few extra lumps for the gutter press.

The only reporter brave, or stupid, enough to face the professor's wrath and get the story is Edward Malone, young, intrepid journalist for the Daily Gazette. At a boisterous scientific meeting, Professor Summerlee, a rival scientist, calls Challenger's bluff. Summerlee will return to South America and prove Challenger wrong. The young journalist volunteers to go along. Lord John Roxton, the famous hunter, can't miss an opportunity to return to the jungle and adds his name to expedition. Professor Challenger is happy they are taking him seriously, even if they don't all believe him. But what will they find in South America? A strange, living time capsule from the Jurassic period filled with pterodactyls and stegosaurs? Or will they only find vast tracks of endless jungles and Challenger's daydreams? Either way there will be danger and adventure for all.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote "The Lost World" in 1912 for the Strand magazine, the same magazine that published his Sherlock Holmes stories. It's a great Edwardian science-fiction adventure, although some may not like the British Imperialism and Darwinian racism. Still, in "The Lost World" Conan Doyle lets his hair down a little. Changing narrators from the earnest Doctor John Watson to the rash reporter Edward Malone makes for a big change. There is a good deal more humor. The students in the scientific meetings are forever yelling out jokes at the expense of nutty Professor Challenger. Affairs of the heart play a big role in Malone's life. He matures from a young swain out to impress his girlfriend to more of a wistful man-of-the-world by the end. It is a very different Conan Doyle than some are used to reading. Different, but just as good, maybe, dare I say it, even better.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle created a classic dinosaur adventure story when he wrote The Lost World in 1912. The tale's narrator, Ned Malone is a newspaper reporter who joins an expedition to the wilds of the Amazon to impress his girlfriend. However, he scarcely anticipates the dangers he will confront when the expedition's leader, zoology professor George Challenger takes them to a plateau filled with dinosaurs and ape men.
Doyle's human characters are described much more richly than Michael Crichton's minimally interesting protagonists in Jurassic Park (1990), so the story hinges as much on Challenger's eccentricities as it does on dinosaur attacks or Ned Malone's quest for validation of his masculine bravado. A weakness is the lack of female characters worthy of more than passing note. Ned's fickle and heartless girlfriend makes only brief and displeasing appearances at the beginning and end of the tale. Crichton does no better with females.
Hopp's Dinosaur Wars, published in 2000, does a much better take on genders, giving equal weight to a young male/female pair who brave the dangers of dinosaurs loose in modern-day Montana. It seems that even dinosaur fiction has evolved over the years.

I've seen the movie twice in the first week it was released and have read LOTR several times including once aloud to my teenage sons. Pick this book up along with your own copy of LOTR and begin reading Tolkein aloud to your children. Parents make the best visual companions! Turn off the TV this week and read aloud to your kids. If you've taken them to see "The Fellowship of the Rings" (I would advise children over the age of 10), then read Tolkein to them. Keep Fisher's resource handy as an occasional companion as you read. Most volumes of Tolkein come with maps. This Tolkein visual companion is no different, with the map keyed to the movie. There is a danger in all this though. Your children's imagination sparked by Tolkein's genius descriptive writing will create an even more detailed and wonderful Middle Earth than the blockbuster movie was able to create. Use this visual companion sparingly with your children. Encourage their imagination to fill the big screen of their minds with Tolkein's epic tale. Parents play a key role in all this.

For two books with many more creative ideas for parents, look into "The Family Cloister" and "The Christian Family Toolbox", both by David Robinson and available on Amazon.com.

This is a beautiful visual companion to The Fellowship of the Ring, the first movie in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

All of the major races and many of the major characters are profiled with gorgeous color photographs...many of which I haven't seen in my 2+ years of collecting these photo's on a daily basis.

The first chapter deals with history of the rings and the last alliance of elves and men. Hobbits, Men, Elves, Dwarves, Istari, Orcs, Uruk-Hai, and the Nazgul follow with each profiling major figures and/or locations associated with that particular race.

The book is just what is says, a visual companion. There is very little in the way of textual information...you should buy the Official Movie Guide for that.

All in all, well worth purchasing.

The "Lord of the Rings" movie recently was probably the best movie I've seen, and Jude Fisher's accompanying visual companion is a good piece of work.

It gives a concise, good summary of people, places and different races in Middle-Earth. It'll tell moviegoers background tidbits not in the movie: why Sam is fascinated by Elves, what happened to Frodo's parents, that Legolas is a prince, what Elrond's ancestry is, and Gandalf's true nature.

We are filled in less so on places: Lothlorien itself gets only four paragraphs. Individual species get more space: We hear about the history of the human Men of Middle-Earth, about the habits of the hobbits, and the "leaving these shores" comment about the Elves.

I would like to remind some of the other reviewers that many people -- adults and children -- have not read the books and this book is probably for them. So to give away massive spoilers concerning Moria would be very bad news. (Just as this book doesn't let us know what happens to certain characters) So it's inevitable that some parts of the plot, especially those that hinge the plot, will not be revealed. Some clues about events in "Two Towers" are given -- look carefully. The pictures are very good, very well chosen -- the ones of Frodo and Sam in particular.

Overall, if you have never read the LOTR trilogy (or "Hobbit") then this is definitely the book to pick up. It won't clue you in on every exquisite detail, but it will get rid of much of your confusion.

How the individual owners in major league baseball on a continual basis constantly lose out to the MLB Players Union in the collective bargaining process. This book lucidly details how the owners plans are constantly frustrated by the Union and also the Commisioner of Baseball. Who is the employee of the owners, but until recently had independent powers. This book does not cover the Bud Selig Years as commisioner of Baseball. A must read for the baseball fan who gets frustrated with the work stopages. Another must read book is Marvin Millers' Whole Different Ball Game: A History how the Union taught the players to be discontented about their salaries and the terms of employment. How one man worked tirelessly to make athletes well informed about the business side of baseball and the lies of the owners, in so doing improved the lives of all profesional athletes.

Heylar has written a detailed, sometimes complicated, book that fully explains the state of baseball in 2000. Perhaps, some readers will find the narrative slow and plodding but if you are interested in baseball, the rich detail, of the book, that omits no information that would help explain a particilar point is most welcome.

Heylar weaves the familar of baseball history such as Cobb, Ruth, Mantle, and the major historic games of the sport with the economics that really drove the game but was kept out of sight until Marvin Miller stepped onto the stage of baseball.

The book is valuable and unique because of the coverage of the economic underside of baseball and how the power structure within the game has shifted since the early 1970s.

The book is a must read for someone who is interested in the real "history" of baseball.

After reading this book and reviewing the history of the player/owner relationship it is apparent to even the casual baseball fan how baseball has always been a selfish business instead of the game we all remember as children. Helyar details the labor struggles between the employer and the employee with humor and facts bringing out the bitterness and cynicism which has built up throughout the century. Read it and tell a friend, it will not dissapoint