Our first introduction to the Hawaiian Islands was in the early 1980's; since then we have been conducting research on the islands of Hawai'i and Kauai. Our long association with Hawai'i prompted us to develop a course: The Natural History of Hawai'i; taught by Jamie Deneris, Ph.D., College of Marin, Kentfield, California, and myself, Neil Marshall, Ph.D. College of Notre Dame, Belmont, California. This is a course that includes island biogeography, evolutionary biology, and the geology of oceanic islands. Our text is John Culliney's book, Islands in a Far Sea. This is a wonderfully, scholarly, but eminently readable book. It captures the essence of the geologic and biologic evolution of the Hawaiian Islands, presents the key points of island biogeography, and finally the impact of human activity. A fine book; this needs to be reprinted in a new edition.

When Edgar Allen Poe died in Baltimore in l849, John G. Morris was already one of that city's prominent men. His "Lutherville Female Seminary," a pioneer educational insitution in this country exclusively for women, was to open just five years later.. As the Civil War loomed on the horizon, Morris was a Union man in a Southern city. He used to run to the train station to wave flags and shout "Hurrah" at Union troops passing through Maryland . A Lutheran Pastor and much more, Morris helped found Baltimore's world famous Peabody Institute and achieved world class recognition as an entomologist. Like many l9th century clergymen, he saw himself as a shaper of culture and destiny for his country and his city. His relationship with the Smithsonian Institute in Washington was just one of his many cultural and patriotic achievements. If "What is Past is Prologue," Dr. Kurtz has given us a valuable insight into 21st century America in his well-written biography of John G. Morris.

I have read many books on spiritualism, new age beliefs, ancient practices, etc., and this is one of the few book that I have read from cover to cover without mixing in other books to hold my interest. It pulled me in and took me on an amazing journey with Little Horse... a soulful, heartfelt journey that mesmerized me, touched my heart and brought tears to my eyes. The pages are filled with my notations and underscores. Her telling of the story honors the sacredness of the ancient traditions and beliefs. I will read it again and again with the knowing that, each time, something beautiful will touch my heart as I am ready to receive its wisdom. At times I felt like a voyeur reading a secret diary because of Barbara's amazing honesty and depth of sharing. It is not a book you skim or read haphazardly. Do yourself a favor and make a cup of tea, curl up in your favorite chair and immerse yourself in the journey. This story is better than any romance novel I've ever read. It touched my heart and my soul. Thank you, Ten White Bears and Medicine Horse. Once again you have reminded me that the Great Spirit provides our relationships only so that those involved can increase their knowledge of their relatedness to all things and their awareness of the Mystery. The only relationship that lasts forever is the one we have with the Great Spriit. This is the road of life.

THIS BOOK is a monster and I mean that in a good way! I don't know about you, but there have been hundreds of times when you just don't remember or wish you had the MAN pages for Linux printed out. Sometimes using MAN to get info about a command doesn't work... By this I mean it's 2 o'clock in the morning and you just can't get the damn thing sorted out and you realize you've been reading the same chunk of screen for the past half hour and your eyes feel like they've been dipped in Ajax. Well, I don't know about you, but the old fashioned paper and ink just seem to give you you more information! This is not just the man pages though, it lists the file hierarchies, ASCII codes and in fact everything you need to know about fiddling with the system. At almost 2000 pages, this excellently typesetted book is a great addition to your Linux library. It is rated a "must have" Sections I USER COMMANDS II SYSTEM CALLS III LIBRARY FUNCTIONS IV SPECIAL FILES V FILE FORMATS VI GAMES VII MISCELLANEOUS VIII ADMINISTRATION AND PRIVILEGED COMMANDS IX KERNEL REFERENCE GUIDE

Charles Wyatt's book is something to be read aloud. These superbly crafted stories are both absorbing and lyrical; there's nothing flimsy or gimmicky about them. "Ghosts" and "Listening to Mozart" were especially well done--deep but not without comical flavor. Wyatt's character never takes himself too seriously--he intuitively seems to understand that the biggest events in life happen regardless of his plans. I sincerely hope that Wyatt writes another book.

THE CONCEPCION; A SPANISH GALLEON SUNK ON THE SILVER SHOALS OFF THE DOMINICAN REPUBLC, FOUND BY BURT WEBER, AND SALVAGED. GOLD, SILVER, WELL WRITTEN, INTERESTING, ONE MAN'S QUEST REALZED, PROBLEMS OVERCOME, GOOD TALE. ALL THE INGREDIENTS.

I had to read this book when I was doing a paper for school and at first I thought that this was boring but as I got into the book the life of Malcolm X was very intregueing. I enjoyed learning about this facinating man. Read ths book-it is very good.

John D. Nesbitt is one amazing writer! His protagonist Owen Felver is an honest man, kind and thoughtful.The story unfolds with grace and ease. I haven't read to many books like this, where I would forget I was reading at times. Very vivid, with a clarity that is hard to believe. If you only read one western this year, this is it. Outstanding!

This is the first volume in the 9 volume sweeping family saga, and it sets the high watermark. In many ways I think it is the best, most especially the final chapter, when one era segues into the next, as generational change occurs.

It is probably a particular type of reader who enjoys fiction which examines the drawing room manners and social mores of upper middle class England (the professional class, as opposed to manufacturing/merchant class or aristocracy). I love it, especially when it is delivered with an archly raised eyebrow which questions the assumptions and mores, the hypocrisies of the time. All the better if it can lead you to question the same characteristics of your own time. That is achieved in Galsworthy, in much the same way as Trollope achieved in his Barchester Chronicles in an earlier era.

The writing is not without humour, mostly of an ironic kind. The older generation Forsytes, steadfast in their belief in themselves find it almost inconceivable when one amongst their number has the termerity to die!

Anyone who thrives on a diet of Trollope, Thackeray, Austen, and anyone who has enjoyed Ian McEwan's more contemporary novel, Atonement should enjoy this. Lovers of the British TV 'costume drama' - think The Cazalets, Love In A Cold Climate, The Way We Live Now - for example, should likewise consider reading Galsworthy.

Try to imagine that someone captured all the stars in the sky, molded them into straining human and animal shapes and then sealed them beneath a glistening coat of spring rain. If you can fix that image in your mind you have some slight idea of the power of the sculpture of Luis Jimenez. This artist uses materials that you'd expect to see gracing the clear-coated skins of street rods to make amazing sculptures of men and women who work hard for a living, play hard for life and face Death like a long-lost lover. In his book "Man on Fire" you see a collection of the various stages of the ideas that have sprung from this creative man's mind. It is fascinating to see the pencil drawing receive color, then go on to a maquette and finally a finished sculpture that more often than not looks like liquid fire trapped momentarily in solid form. It is equally fascinating to see and read about what inspired Mr. Jimenez to combine such diverse influences to create uniquely new works. Having seen several of Mr. Jimenez's pieces in person, I can say that the pictures in this book pale in comparison to the real pieces but then a pale reflection of near-perfection is still near perfection. I'd recommend this book and this artist to anyone interested in something beyond the usual and I look forward to seeing more of his work in the future.