This book is wonderful on so amy levels. First of all, it is a wonderful reference for fencers to see where it all began. It is also a wondeful book of you have a desire to read and want to be able to speak and understand old ELizabethan English. There are also many wonderful woodcuts showing costuming of the period. It is a great book to have in ones library.

This is not a modern re-telling or history book. It's not even re-typed - just a facsimile reprint of three fencing manuals of the Renaissance. If you want to know how it was really done, this is the place. It's real.

But don't assume you'll have an easy read. Saviolo is not writing in his native language, and it shows. He doesn't describe motions very well, and occasionally appears to leave out a foot move in a long sequence. Di Grassi never wrote in English. This manual is a sixteenth century English translation of his Italian manual. People who deride the "negative campaigning" of today will get quite a surprise when they read Silver's virulent contempt for the rapier and the foreigners who teach it.

There is also the language issue. Yes, it's written in English, but sixteenth century English doesn't always mean what you think it does. Saviolo tells you to come on guard with your right wrist against your knee, your right foot against your opponent's right foot, and your point against his face. Obviously, something has been lost in four centuries. In this case, it's the fact that "against" meant "opposite or across from", not "touching". You are now armed against one problem, but it's still not the language you think it is. (Hint: an Oxford English Dictionary is a very useful companion volume.)

Also, don't assume you can do this in modern fencing. The blades were longer and heavier, and they don't work like modern fencing weapons. Furthermore, these are very basic lessons. We know that the advanced moves were jealously guarded, and not written in books.

With all the difficulties, this book remains essential - it's a direct link to the fighting methods of the Elizabethan fencers. Di Grassi is the easiest to follow. Saviolo is particularly helpful for research, because he spends some time explaining why he does things differently form others, thereby documenting both styles and explaining the thinking process of fencing masters. Silver prefers the short sword to the rapier, and shows us that the Renaissance held many different views.

This books stands alone -- there is just no commercially available substitute.

Your stage combat will look better, your re-enactments will be more real, your understanding of the sword will be sharper.

This book is a facsimile of three fencing manuals of the XVI century covering two major traditions: the rapier techniques, mainly italian but also used in Spain and Portugal at the time; and the short-sword techniques, probably british in origin.

The time in which these manuals were published was crucial: there was a gradual transition from the medieval sword techniques to the renaissance rapier ones. At the time (and long afterwards) the french schools of fencing were not existent and the main flow was latin: two of the manuals were written by italians and the swords used in latin countries were rapidly evolving from medieval sword towards the rapier. Those were times of frequent wars and of deadly clashes involving different cultures and ways of fighting. Very different from the later "civilized" duels between long-haired make-uped "gentlemen" which originated the french schools of fencing from which our childish fencing appeared.

This work is the real thing! It shows the experience of three sword masters, in a time where expertise was gained by fighting often and staying alive doing it, and mastery was achieved by recognition from a world where everyone was a swordsman ready to challenge such a person just to get fame.

Forget for a moment modern sword-"play" and read this book about real swordsmanship!

The growth of organometallics is amazing, so we want a systematic book to introduce the developments, and this one is very suitable. Hegedus introduced many new synthetic technology in this book, and they are very useful for chemists research work.

Hegedus has blended theory perfectly with synthetic utility of transition metals. The second addition has a lot more updated, state-of-art examples in synthesis.

Hegedus does an excellent job of outlining the broad field of organometallic chemistry. He covers a vast range of topics, providing the reader with a strong background in the subject area. He utilizes current literature examples to demonstrate the use and importance of the topics presented. Overall, this is a very well written book, and a great reference.

I've read a lot of L'Amour books, and this was one of the better ones. A really great read!

As a brief addendum to my review below, I would like to comment on the best story in this volume: THE GIFT OF COCHISE. This story was made into the screenplay for the John Wayne film HONDO by James E. Grant. It is now widely believed that L'Amour's book HONDO is actually an adaptation of this screenplay and not an original novel. (See discussion in Robert Weinberg's LOUIS L'AMOUR COMPANION.)

For the record, I prefer L'Amour's original to HONDO, both book and movie. Louis' original story is more accurate historically and works better on nearly every level. One significant change in Grant's treatment involves the character of Ed Lowe, the female protagonist's murdered husband. In the original, the Ches (Hondo) Lane character is motivated entirely by a sense of duty toward Ed, and the events of the story revolve entirely around this motivation. I believe Grant deliberately made this change in order to deconstuct Lane's typical L'Amour-hero integrity and create a moral ambiguity in the love story. (He seems to have been fond of moral ambiguities in all his John Wayne scripts.)

Read the story and see what you think. It is one of L'amour's best moments as a writer.

Of course, eventually, all of L'amour's great old pulp fiction will see book form and, as a huge Louis fan, I'm glad of it. But if you want to read L'Amour's BEST short fiction, this collection, the first, supervised by the author himself back in '75, is your finest bet!

L'Amour was a better writer in his pulp days than he will ever be given credit for. In fact, as a late purveyor of the pulp western's twilight era, I prefer him to Elmore Leonard, H.A. DeRosso, et al. These men were just self-conscious crime writers (with some hipper-than-thou neo-naturalist brightness and talent) who condescended, for a time, to sell westerns. L'Amour, on the other hand, was a believer! -- and BOY, could he knock off a tale!

Check out the 'slicks' he wrote for COLLIER'S and the SATURDAY EVENING POST-- pure, smart story-telling! (Especially the forgotten 1960 Sackett story "Booty For A Badman.") The ladies will love his excursions into "Ranch Romance" territory-- "One For The Pot" and the title story. There's not a single dud here and the collection would be perfect if it included "Bluff Creek Station" (later collected in THE STRONG SHALL LIVE), my personal choice as L'Amour's greatest short story.

So buy it when you can, especially if you have never read Louis L'Amour! This anthology is a perfect introduction to an American legend.

Al

The combination of compelling anecdotes, history, and practical information will make this classic book stick around a long time. What really got me, is how someone could put so much information and photographs and readable narrative between two covers. Like 50 Classic Climbs, the book is a must have for all riders, skiers and mountaineers, and made the perfect gift for my husband.

Just talking about the beautifully reproduced photographs alone, without the text, this would be an awesome coffee table book. But we like to ride too, and now that we've enjoyed all of the routes in Colorado, we're looking at Mt. Shasta and Alaska.

Wild Snow is the most inspirational, well written, complete book on backcountry skiing I've seen. Each chapter has concise and interesting details on some of the greatest ski descents in North American.

lou dawson's book fills an important need in north american ski mountaineering, in that it both inspires the novice and tantalizes the seasoned outdoor buff. the trail guides in this volume are enough to keep anyone busy for a lifetime of off-piste adventure. we need more books like this.

This book gives you "real" information. There is personal information that we don't even want to discuss with our doctors. The "Marriage Doctor" made it plain for us to love our bodies, love ourselves. Thank you for sharing!

This book has excellent infomation on the intricacies of the female body and her unique anatomy. It teaches women to understand and become comfortable with their bodies. It highlights the special way in which different woman are created and shaped and helps them to love their body shape regardless of the contempory societal views on the female. It identifies unhealthy femine hygiene practices and dicusses the female body in ways that assist in boosting the female self image and esteem. It is an excellent read for women of all sizes, shapes and colors.

This book will open your eyes to help you see yourself in the same light the God sees you.

My review title sums up the overall flavor of the book, that being a "black comedy," but the humor is the result of Stevenson's uncanny ability to weave ever changing plot twists into the overall story itself without ever losing a sense of continuity.

Joseph Finsbury is a character whose heart may be in the right place but his head never is. Constantly preoccupied with trivial intellectual pursuits, he allows his leather business to go heavily into debt to the brink of ruin. Having raised his two nephews, John and Morris, since the death of their father, the news of the loss of their fortune to Joseph Finsbury's malfeasance lays the ground work for all that is to come.

Morris, who is shrewd and extremely self-centered, is given the ailing leather business as consolation. But Morris counts on Joseph winning the tontine to make him whole. A tontine is a scheme where participants pay an equal amount of money into a kitty and the last one living gets it all.

The three are involved in a train wreck and the assumed body of Joseph Fisbury is found by Morris and John who hatch a plan to first hide the body and then ship it back to their home in Bloomsbury, London, where they will pretend Joseph is still alive; which he needs to be to keep their claim to the tontine intact. It is during shipment that its' destination is changed as a sort of practical joke and mayhem ensues shortly thereafter.

The bulk of the story essentially has people coming home and finding a dead man in their house whom they've never seen before, dead or alive, and who definitely wasn't there when they left. The problem then is obvious; What to do with the body? It is here that Stevenson is ulra-creative with the solutions these poor unfortunate souls come up with long before Bernie ever had two losers over for the weekend.

I found myself laughing several times throughout the book, which is only about 150 pages of text, and always eager to pick it up again to see where poor "Joseph" would end up next and who would get him. This is one of Stevenson's less familiar works but also one of his best. Buy it, read it, tell a friend. You'll be glad you did and so will they.

We don't usually think of RLS as a comic writer, but a story-teller ofswashbuckling romances like Kidnapped and Treasure Island. ButThe Wrong Box is comedy in the grand manner: eccentric characters,a wonderfully convoluted plot, settings that range from railway trainwrecks through moldering houseboats, barrels, boxes, and a grand pianothat have bodies in them (actually, the same body), plus a charming romance. It also contains some of Stevenson's finest descriptive writing -- vivid,dramatic, and funny. Miss Haseltine's description of how she will firethe revolver she bought as self-protection is worth the price of the book.Who can forget a novel in which the young solictor Gideon Forsyth is trying to write an opera in the key of seven sharps called "Orange Pekoe-- Orange Pekoe" while hiding on a houseboat?But no more spoilers, if that was a spoiler. If you read or saw "ColdComfort Farm" by Stella Gibbons -- or even if not -- you'll love "The Wrong Box."Very highly recommended.

[submitted on behalf of G. Franco Mattioli, Milan]

If you have some heart problems, it is better to avoid this book. You might have the same reactions that Rudyard Kipling had on this reading: laugh and fast heart-beating.

Practically it is impossible to touch this subject without been absorbed through the mirror as Alice and in the same time to be happy to be different. Morris Finsbury, the "great Vance", uncle Joseph, Miss Hazeltine, Gideon, the uncle "Wooden Spoon", William Dent, Bloomsbury, Victoria Station, are surely coincidental with your world, parents, neighbors, your TV characters and other people you know. Never a virtual Country (this 18th Century England) was so similar to the Country in which you are leaving now.

But this vivid Victorian picture is penetrating in your mind as ever before.

The other problem you will encounter is that of ever putting this very addicting book down. You will read and read it again to search the hidden treasure left in this Island on which only few elected spirits are claimed to wreck being happy of doing it.

Fans of St. Louis sports will find this a fine keepsake edition recounting tales of record-breaking events in St. Louis sports. This was originally scripted for KFNS Radio as part of a series, using vignettes to consider the personalities and events of fourteen different regional sports. While this holds special interest for Missouri residents, any with an interest in local sports history will find its lively descriptions and black and white photos compelling.

In The 100 Greatest Moments In St. Louis Sports, Hall of Fame journalist Bob Broeg recounts in a descriptive story-telling style the most outstanding, unusual, legendary, and thrilling episodes in fourteen different sports by St. Louis athletes. The individual stories range from 1899 (The Day Old Cy, New Cards Came to Town) to 1969 (Stop-Off to Cooperstown: Carlton's 19-K Game) and range from the comedic to the heroic. The 100 Greatest Moments In St. Louis Sports is highly recommended for anyone who delights in the history of athletic competition and achievement.

The Abhidharmakosa is undoubtedly the most widely studied textbook of Buddhism. It forms one of the five basic textbooks of the Tibetan monastic curriculum, and in Japan it is the traditional way to begin the study of Buddhist philosophy. But it is by no means an easy or simple book. Years are devoted to its study in these countries.

Vasubandhu sifted through the whole mass of Buddhist teachings to produce this "treasury" (kosa) of them. Because of its excellence, it soon eclipsed all its rivals in early India, and has remained a classic for fifteen hundred years. This translation includes Vasubandhu's own detailed commentary, "bhasyam," so it forms a self-contained veritable encyclopedia of Buddhism.

Abhidharma Kosa Bhasyam. By Vasubandhu. Leo M. Pruden's landmark translation of
Vasubandhu's encyclopedic treatment of the
Abhidharma from the French of Louis de La
Vallee Poussin is a stunningly meticulous
work of scholarship. In the marvelous
setting of a high-quality hardcover edition,
it displays Professor Pruden's
uncompromising dedication to bringing a
complete, accurate and well-annotated
rendering of the crown jewel of Abhidharma
compilations into English.

For those who are unfamiliar with the
significance of the Abhidharma, it is the
systematic delineation of Buddhist
philosophical tenets. In aggregate, it forms
one of the three collections comprising the
three-fold Buddhist canon known as the
Tripitaka. The importance of this work of
Vasubandhu lies a) in its encyclopedic
completeness; and b) in its exposition of
the common philosophical ground shared by
both the Southern and Northern traditions of
Buddhism. It is a work which, though
dedicated primarily to material most readily
associated with the fundamental teachings of
Southern-tradition Buddhism, has always been
held in the highest esteem in Chinese and
Tibetan traditions as well.

This work is graced by a 60-page
introduction to Abhidharma written by
Professor Pruden entitled The Abhidharma:
The Origins, Growth and Development of a
Literary Tradition. That is then followed by
de La Vallee Poussin's own 50-page
introduction to Vasubandhu's work. Each
volume is preceded by an extremely detailed
table of contents, totaling 30 pages in all.
The final volume includes a carefully
compiled 50-page index to the entire work.
Each chapter includes copious annotation in
the form of end notes. Given this sterling
approach to presentation and annotation,
this four-volume edition constitutes a
veritable encyclopedia of abhidharma tenets.
To help the reader better understand the
construction of Vasubandhu's work, I present
here the basic breakdown of its
construction:

Chapter One: The Dhaatus
Chapter Two: The Indriyas
Chapter Three: The World
Chapter Four: Karma
Chapter Five: The Latent Defilements
Chapter Six: The Path and the Saints
Chapter Seven: The Knowledges
Chapter Eight: The Absorptions
Chapter Nine: Refutation of the Pudgala

Ideally, this work should abide on the shelf
of every serious English-speaking Buddhist
as a counter-weight to the foolish notion
that "just-sitting" will somehow bring about
true liberation. The Buddha himself insisted
that the two provisions of: a) merit; and
b) wisdom are essential to any meaningful
advancement along the path to enlightenment.
This work contributes a solid foundation
stone to the edifice of wisdom which each
practitioner must endeavor to construct. Its
utility as a foundation is equally valuable
whether that construction eventually
expresses a Southern-tradition or Northern-
tradition architecture.

The expense of this work ($300), while not
at all unreasonable given the extravagance
of the meticulous four-volume hard-cover
edition, may place this work beyond the
grasp of many struggling Dharma students.
At the very least, however, every Dharma
center could acquire a single copy as a non-
circulating library reference. It is
difficult to overestimate the value of this
work in clarifying the meaning of
fundamental Buddhist philosophical tenets.
For the translator, it is an invaluable
reference work which serves well in the
correct translation of abstruse technical
terms which might otherwise be distorted by
over-reliance upon the Tibetan- or Chinese-
language renderings of such terms.

In short, the presence of this marvelous
compendium of Abhidharma in such a fine
English edition is a cause for celebration
in every tradition of Western Buddhism.

I have read this book both before and after Sept. 11... It is well written and moves along at a good clip, but it really does not seem to present a true or valid picture of the Mujahadeen or the situation in Afghanistan, even at the time it was written.

Assuming Palmer actually was in Afghanistan and actually met some of the people he talks about, all the book can be viewed as is a well meaning fairy tail about the brave and chivalrous fighters against the Soviets. One doubts that any of the incidents in the book really took place, or if they did, that they were described acurately.

Reading other books about the war in Afghanistan makes it pretty clear that the anti-soviet fighters were formidable, but hardly chivalrous or even civilized in any sense that we in the west would understand.

If read as a Sufi allegory, it is quite valuable and illuminating, hence the 5 stars. But anyone wanting a true view of the fighting in Afghanistan would be better served with any of a number of books written by authors such as Larry P. Goodson, Jason Elliot, Eric Newby, Artem Borovik or a host of others.

A must-read for anyone who seeks exposure to deep insights into the culture, as well as aspects that go beyond culture. Another, related, book that comes to mind is Kara Kush by Idries Shah.

Anyone interested in the History,Ethnology and culture of Afghanistan will be immensely satisfied.Dupree's fine-toothed research covers every square inch of this tragic yet fascinating country.From Alexander the great's classic Central Asian campaigns up to the post Soviet invasion era.

"Afghanistan" gives the reader a complete insight in life in Afghanistan from the Stone-age until the Russian Invasion. Dupee go's in extreme detail about all aspects of Afghanistan's society and "illustrates" them with many stories which makes the book fasinating from the first page to the end. He presents the reader Afghanistan historicly, geographicly and demographicly. The index in the back of the book, makes it to a most complete reference source. After reading this book you know more about Afghanistan than many Afghanies!

(Please feel free to correct my english) Jeroen van Dijk