Britain by Britrail 1999 seems to me to be a welcome addition to the field of travel books.

As we all know, the train has all but disappeared from the travel scene in the USA; in the United Kingdom, however, the train is alive and well. In using this book, you come away with the impression that not only is the train a viable alternative to other forms of intra-Britain travel, but it the preferred way to go in most instances.

Following an introductory chapter giving lots of valuable information on train travel in Britain, the rest of the book is divided into chapters by country by "base city". For each base city reachable by nonstop flights from the USA, the book provides some very useful information about the airport of arrival, including the location and hours of things like the banks or foreign exchange counters, baggage storage facilities, and most importantly, the different means of transportation between the airport and the center of town (time, cost, etc.) In point of fact, the entire cost of the book can well be amortised by using public transit, rail link, or shuttle service rather than taxis.

The heart of the book is found in the sections about rail travel, and the rail stations which the tourist is likely to use. If one is the type of traveler who needs very precise and specific directions to find things, this book does it all for you. Detailed information for each station is provided, including the location of the tourist office (if there is one), the currency exchange facilities, the location of baggage lockers and/or baggage check room, where to have one's Britrail pass validated, etc.

Furthermore, the author suggests, for each base city, a brief description of the major places to be visited, as well as a certain number of one-day sidetrips to points of interest easily reachable by train from the base city.

Finally, the book provides train schedules for trains between different base cities. While these are, of course, subject to change over time, they do provide useful information for the traveler, in particular the length of any given trip (in hours and minutes).

A useful book for anyone planning a trip to Britain.

I truly enjoyed and constantly used the 16th edition, 1996-97. I used it constantly, and it never let me down. The discriptions of areas to see were lucid and enjoyable. Never missed a train, and only bought the newer edition in case the time tables had changed. Now I shall have to compare time tables, and if the same, or almost the same, I shall take the old tried and true edition back to Britain with me. This newer edition would give me a hernia if I have to carry it about with me.

Another Xcellent collection of Martin's early short stories. "This Tower of Ashes" was George's choice 4 his best short story, 1nce upon a time; U may agree with him; it's very vivid & very moving. "The Lonely Songs of Laren Door" also has that wonderful, moody, romantic atmosphere of so much of George's early work. "Men of Graywater Station" (written with Howard Waldrop) is an above-average space thriller. "Night Shift" shows the flip-side of Martin's moody/romantic visions -- it's a very gritty, down-2-earth story about working on a future loading dock, comparing spaceships 2 long-distance trucking; definitely something different 4 George; U'll like it. "For a Single Yesterday" was also a personal favorite of George's, but 4 me it just misses; it Cms dry, nothing special. "And Seven Times Never Kill Man" is a routine space adventure. A couple others R merely average, nothing 2 get Xcited about. But the best stuff here is some of George's best work.

"The Lonely Songs of Laren Dorr" was stirring and wonderful and is representative of this book as a whole. There are some real gems here if you can find this book. "Greywater Station" will please any science fiction story enthusiast. The Runners is a dark and disturbing story...I too am afraid of this Fat, Disgusting, Smiling and terrifying girl who haunts the man no matter where he runs....

Buy This Book if you can find it, Its expensive but worth every cent...

This version of legends is divided into three parts, if you search for Robert Silverberg you can find it in one volume for about the same price, so that you get all three parts together for about a third of the price
As to the book,I can only review the second part (I made the mistake of ordering legends 2 thinking that it was all 11 stories, but it was really just three.) The three stories that were in it were:Debt of Bones by Terry Goodkind
The Hedge Knight by George R.R. Martin
and Runner of Pern, by Anne McCaffrey
Of the three I read, The Hedge Knight was definitely the best, it has alot of action and the grimly real, but exciting story that only Martin can provide. It is set in the Seven Kingdoms of Martin's excellent series, A Song of Ice and Fire.
Debt of Bones was good, and it showed me what type of a writer Goodkind is,(I haven't read anything by him but that, but it got me interested and I bought the first book in his series, The Sword Of Truth.
Runner of Pern was probably the one I least liked, I knew nothing about Anne McCaffrey, and it was okay, but not nearly as good as The Hedge Knight.
Be sure to buy the edition with all 11 stories, I have just ordered the full edition, Most all of the writers in the 11 stories, I have read before and it is interesting to have a short work to read by them, about a different part of their world. This will also help you get aquainted with writers you havn't read before, see their writing style, and decide if you want to read more of them.

I read Legends in one piece, so please bear with me reviewing here. Legends (and Far Horizons) as well, were a brilliant move. Short stories about the worlds you know and love, in one book with yet unexplored worlds... it's awesome, both from the fan's and the publisher's point of view.

The quality of the stories was high. King's story was beautiful and enchanting, I am not a great fan of Pratchett, though, Feist and Goodkind's stories were entertaining enough, if not a little predictable.

I felt myself also highly attracted to Williams' story for some reason. And I havent even read the series. Still gotta find the first book somewhere. :)
Jordan's story, as a WOT fan, was nice enough. It was nice to be back in the WOT world again (this was during the wait for book 9). For me, it grabbed hold and didnt let go. Although I agree that it might be a little vague and incomprehensible for the people who are not familiar with the Wheel of Time.
The big thing about Legends though, has got to be the Hedge Knight. It got me to reading Martin's work, and it had got me to favoring Martin above Jordan as soon as I was done with the series.

Legends did what it was made for - introduce fans into worlds they havent explored yet, and show them a little bit more of the worlds they know and love. So yes, Legends was brilliant.

Wow.

My dad got me this as a gift a few years ago, and i have been consistently re-reading it since. All of the stories are masterpieces, even more so in that they are all less than a few hundred pages, yet still present a rich, textured world, unique to each story. This book has led me to 5 different series, 3of which i have completed again and again (I just can't seem to find the rest of the other 2). All of the stories are exquisite.

New Spring, by Robert Jordan, last story in the book, has affected me the most. It was one of the last stories I read, not just for being last, but I have read the 7000+ page series again and again in the last few years.

I have not read the Memory, Sorrow and Thorn series, but the story by Tad Williams is very complex; it took me a few readings to get the full plot. A great older read.

The Earthsea story isn't really connected to the other books, but they are good. And Ms. Le Guin has also written a few kids books.

The Hedge Knight, by George R.R. Martin, is most likely my favorite story. I haven't gotten around to reading the series yet, but it's on my list. Wonderful storytelling and action.

King, as always, is absolutely stunning. Leaving no violence or sex out, this serves as a wonderful intro or stand-alone. The Little Sisters of Eluria is a #1 first story choice.

The Feist story was a bit wierd, and kind of unfufilled. The Seventh Shrine was the last story I read. I think i was a bit put off by its length. It was worth the time, and i still have yet to pick up a book of the series.

And I won't settle for subliminal messages: BUY AND READ THE BOOK! NOW!!

Oops, I seem to have left out the Card story. It is funny, and linked to a wonderful series whose depth so far is rarely equaled in my reprtoire. The Ender series, also by the same author, is much more famous, and about par, on a totally different subject. a very funny yarn, when the rest of the series is slightly more somber.

I'm sorry, I love a LOT of George's work, & I was a BIG fan of his early days during the 70s, but there's only 1 moment of magic in this whole novel -- that's in an early scene where the narrator pulls down, looks thru & Dscribes the 5 albums released by the Nazgul. This scene only lasts a few pages, but it's filled with a kind of magic, mood & vision the rest of this book just doesn't have. Some of the characters R fun people 2 follow, but the cloak-&-dagger/occult plot doesn't help. The band rehearsal & concert scenes R pretty strong, almost as if U were there in-person, but what's going on BHIND those scenes is nothing new or even 2 Xciting. I miss the fresh flavor & vivid moods of George's work from the mid-70s....

It seems quite appropriate that praise from Stephen King can be found on the back of this book. Like many of King's better novels, the "Rag", doesn't seem like a horror novel at the start. Instead, we are given an engaging mystery set in a real-life setting. But as you continue to turn the pages, you begin to get the sense that something is definitely not right, and eventually, we encounter the supernatural.

I highly recommend this book, but as I write this review, the question I ask myself is, "Exactly *whom* would I recommend it to?" When I first picked up the Rag, I was dubious. Of course I loved Song of Ice and Fire, and I found myself quite impressed with most of Martin's horror and sci-fi works as well... But I didn't have much confidence in an out-of-print horror book with a hippie/seventies/classic rock setting.

Fortunately, I read it anyway, or I would have missed out on one fabulous book.
But will YOU like it?
-If you occasionally find yourself enjoying episodes of VH1's Behind The Music, or the movie Almost Famous, you will appreciate Martin's meticulous attention to the music industry.
-If you are a fan of Stephen King, The Rag will make you feel right at home.
-And, if you've enjoyed any of Martin's other writings, you're sure to approve of his style here as well.

The bottom-line is, this is one book that truly doesn't deserve to be out-of-print, and thanks to Martin's rocketing popularity- it soon won't be. As soon as you can, give it a try!

If a person can read this book without expecting it to be a Song of Ice and Fire Book, they will enhoy it. For some reason people i talk to that have read this book will say its not what they have come to expect from G. R. R. Martin! Well Duh! it was written 13 years before Game of Thrones and is about A rock band The Nazgul. So no, its not about winning the crown of the 7 kingdoms. It is however a facinating character driven story of a journalist/ex hippie trying to solve a ritualist murder of a music promoter of a band that has not played since their lead singer was assasinated on stage. G.R.R tells the story is an interesting way, as we follow Sandy the journalist around trying to get to the bottom of the mystery while finding out who he himself really is while visting his old hippie friends and seeing how time has altered their lives.

Buy this book, put on some good music and enjoy the ride...

(and for those of you that still want A game of Thrones...There is some supernatural elements in this book)

It is no doubt MLK's speeches are great and did alot
to shape American thinking. Unfortunately, I can only
play the first 2 CDs on my CD player. I have a friend
who has a CD player that can play all of them. Apparently
it has something to do with the index numbering on each
CD. Instead of each CD starting at 1 it starts where the previous CD left off. I wouldn't take a chance that this
product won't play in your CD player. I think it is very
unfortunate that I paid so much for the complete set of speeches
and I can't listen to most of it.
I WOULD WAIT UNTIL THE NEXT VERSION COMES OUT THAT CORRECTS THIS
FLAW.
It would have been also nice to have some text to accompany the
audio CDs.

An outstanding history of the Civil Rights movement through the most famous speeches of MLK. I particularly enjoyed his final speech which we hear words from but was full of inspiration and foresight as to what would become of America and its black citizens and their victory in the struggle for freedom.
A must for every buddding philosopher, peace activist and politician.

Reviewer: Mark Lamendola,... author of over 3500 articles.

Inspiring, informative, and soul-stirring, this tape brings to life the original recordings of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Having grown up in the era of the Vietnam war and civil rights demonstrations, I got this tape thinking it would help me remember some of the key issues of the time and compare them to where we are now.

What I was not expecting was the emotional and spiritual journey this tape took me on--it was a journey at a speed that made me look for my seat belt.

Let me interject a personal note here. I am not an African American. I am not black, but neither am I white. My family name is an "Americanized" version of a Sicilian name. While my family did not emerge from slavery on southern plantations, it did emerge from near slave conditions in Sicily. I would also like to note that Sicily was invaded by the African Moors, as is evident by the curly hair and nose structure of modern Sicilians--and by the fact we get sickle cell anemia (whites do not get this disease).

Italian-Americans, who make up 6% of the USA population also underwent an era of extreme prejudice and discrimination--as did African-Americans, who make up 13% of the American population.

Some people malign Dr. King as "that nigger who riled up all the niggers." Others said he was moving too fast. Others said he was asking for too much. And on and on. What these people fail to realize is Dr. King wasn't riling up anybody. He was not an agitator. He made a call to love. When you listen to his speeches, this all becomes very clear. I am not comparing King the Man to Christ the Lord, but to condemn his call to love does compare him to Christ and does condemn both King the man and Christ the Lord. To my mind, that is hypocritical and presumptuous.

In his speeches, Dr. King presented such concepts as:

*African-American slaves are not rightful property and never were. These people were kidnapped from their homes in the area of the Gold Coast.

*The Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 declared all men (grammatical convention makes the pronoun gender-neutral in this context) equal. Yet, 100 years later, American people of color had actually moved backwards in relation to "white people." King presented incontrovertible evidence of the nullification of the Emancipation Proclamation and the abandonment of law and order that allowed suppression and oppression of an entire race of people.

*The segregation movement was part of a "divide and conquer" strategy to keep poor whites--especially poor Southern whites in their place by creating an even lower class.

*As a unit, African-Americans have more wealth than most countries--including France!

*No violent uprising has ever succeeded, unless it had the support of the general population. African-Americans did not have, and could not possibly have, such support in the USA.

*A violent uprising by African-Americans could never come to any possible good. At the outset, it would increase fear and mistrust. The government would be duty-bound to squash it, and had the power to do so. Violent uprisers would have to defeat the local police, then the county police, then the state police, then the state militia, then the National Guard, then the US Armed Forces--not exactly the recipe for success.
But non-violent action could succeed. This is what Dr. King espoused.

Dr. King said two conditions existed:
1. Power without love--this characterized the white system .
2. Love without power--this characterized the black community.

His goal was to combine power with love--not for black people, but for the brotherhood of mankind. His vision was that people would be judged by their character, not by the color of their skin.

This tape concludes with an incredibly moving speech, given to an audience of 10,000 in Tennessee. ...

It was Dr. King's last speech, given the day before a killer stopped Dr. King's campaign of love and brotherhood by severing Dr. King's spine just below his chin.

The Ink Drinker is about a vampire who has suffered from liver problems for twenty years, so he can't drink blood. Instead he drinks ink, not from a bottle, but letters from books. The Ink Drinker is interesting, weird, drinks books, floats, and is smart. My favorite part was when the ink drinker came in the bookstore and started drinking the letters from books I recommend this book because it is surprising. It is surprising because the ink drinker comes in the bookstore and starts drinking books and because of the part at the end where the boys too starts drinking books.

I thought this book was wonderful and filled with well thought ideas. It had a very suprising plot, but I have one complaint. The idea of an ink drinker instead of a vampire suprised me, but when I read the book I was disappointed at the fact that it had the same characteristics as a blood~sucking vampire.

The Ink Drinker is a delightfully told tale from a French author. Indeed, the author's notes about himself in the back pages of the book are nearly as entertaining as the book itself. The story concerns a boy who spends his boring days in his father's bookshop, until one day a strange and mysterious man appears (he looks a little like Nosferatu)and begins sucking the ink from the volumes. The story is clever and it is fun to look at the untranslated French words that pop up in the illustrations. The reading level is put at 9-12 but I would stick toward the bottom of that rating guideline or even a little lower. Would also be a fun book to read aloud to the little ones. Could become a family favorite and handed down classic. Enjoy!

George Martin was the producer of the greatest pop group in history. His contributions to shaping the sound of the Beatles can not be minimalized. A breezy and interesting book by a person who was with them during their entire recording career. I would recommend this book to any Beatle fan.

For every music lover, its history is part of the pleasure. As we'll enter soon in the 21st Century, one must absolutely read the story of the man who, with The Beatles, changed the second half of the 20th century in helping them composed the most important opus of its time. This is a book about music, about people making music, this is a book about Sir George Martin, a humble man, a musician who was able to recognize that those youngs guys from Liverpool would, with a little help, change the course of music history and rise popular music to a higher livel, equal to the one normally reserved to the so-called "serious music". His life, his love, his work... Our pleasure.

And my greatest honour was to have my personal copy of this book autographed by Sir George Martin himself at EMI Abbey Road Studios in London...

This book as the answer. It was written by their producer who sometimes had to work from insane directions. The Bealtes were not the only ones working hard on thier songs. George Martin contributed to the group as well. The parts on the early days are fascinating too. The chapter on the making of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is hysterical. By early days, I mean his early days as a producer of comedy records, and when he first started working with the Beatles. He has an interesting perspective on them, and their music. It never becomes more of a musical study then his story, which is a definite plus. This is worth reading.

For fans of pop music history, and especially for those interested in recording science, this book is a must read. George Martin, the Beatles' producer, tells the detailed account of how the group's most famous album was created, from the beginning creative germs to the cover art.

For those in the recording industry, Martin's detailed explanations of how he created some of the now-famous effects on that album, at a time when recording science was still somewhat primitive, is quite interesting.

If you don't like the Beatles' music, you probably won't be able to sit through the sometimes technical recording talk, but anyone for whom the Beatles marked the culture of their youth should find it fascinating.

An excellent account of the making of the greatest rock'n'roll album ever produced: Sgt Pepper, written by the man who put it together. There's been a lot of claptrap about who, if anyone, could be considered "the fifth Beatle". I say it's George Martin. Why? The Beatles are about music, and outside of the four, no one had a hand with their material as Martin did. If you loved the Sgt Pepper album, you'll like this book.

It is a well accepted fact that two of the best produced pop/rock albums to date are Sgt. Peppers and Pet Shop. The reason for owning this album is to gain an inside look into the master mind of one of these most important albums. It may be true that our recording equipment has improved our flexability but nothing can replace a truly great producer and great musicianship. George Martin is one of the truly great hero's of our ART and this book gives us a wonderful look into one of his master pieces. I am a big Beatles fan but this book is really directed to producers rather than The Beatles fan base...and I love it. This book has become very hard to get a hold of but it is a MUST HAVE for the library of every producer.

"Dying of the Light" was George R.R. Martin's first novel, and it certainly shows. He is very ambitious in this initial attempt and the results are mixed. The book is usually catalogued as Science Fiction, but it hardly feels like it. Sure, there is a glimpse of a history of human expansion into other galaxies and even 'Old Terra' is mentioned, but it is a mere background to set the story, not a relevant ingredient. Even when Martin uses scientific aspects ( technological applications ) throughout the book it is in a rather superficial and somehow 'pulp' way; Martin is more interested in the landscapes and in his characters.

As I said, the book feels over ambitious, the length being to short to be able to develop in a proper way the complex cornucopia of names, places, languages and customs that Martin set to create. The drive of the plot depends entirely in the amusing planet Worlorn, a once bright world where for a decade a 'Festival Of the Worlds' was held, but which now is turning dark, little by little leaving the sun than once brightened it. Worlorn is now almost unpopulated but the past glory of its cities still remains and is the stage for a story which moves around a past romance and the traditions of war-like people called Kavalar.

Martin tries hard to make his characters be as 'flesh and bone' as possible but in my opinion he only partially achieves it: At the end of book the Kavalar characters seem much more interesting than the main ones, Dirk and Gwen (although probably that was all along Martin's final intention).

Don't expect a fast paced adventure; Sometimes the story drags with seemingly no apparent direction but Martin is building tension towards a quite philosophical finale when the experiences on this planet have transformed the main character's views on life

It is in the impressive set of vistas from Worlorn that we get the best parts of the novel. The exquisite description of each abandoned city and its secrets already shows the magnificent talent that Martin will develop fully in his most successful saga: 'The Song of Ice and Fire'.

I became a fan of George Martin when I read "The Hedge Knight" in Legends and from there I went straight to a "Game of Thrones." Eager for more of his work, I was browsing in my university's library and came across "Dying of the Light".

I was amazed at the beauty of the writing, the vividness of the imagery, and the originality of the story. I would like to see more stories about the "manrealm" and especially the Kavalaar people (how about some "teyn" poetry?)

I would give this book five stars except the ending was too sad. Actually, it was so sad I've been up late every night for the past week thinking about it. Also, no one I know has ever even heard of George Martin, let alone this book, so I have no one to talk to. "Dying of the Light" is full of dark and lonely imagery, and even though it has made me feel depressed, it is a wonderful story.

(I would have liked to see Garse and Dirk become teyns!)

4 me, the best science fiction novel EVER. DYING OF THE LIGHT (originally called AFTER THE FESTIVAL in its 1st appearance in 1977 in Analog magazine) echoes many of George R.R. Martin's early themes -- lost love, devotion, romantic fantasy vs. grim reality, dark & moody settings, finding heroism within yrself, etc. DOTL also shares the same setting & background of many of Martin's early short stories, which will add 2 Njoyment of the novel 4 his fans. Wonderful setting, marvelous characters, great hand-to-hand combat & fierce emotions among believable characters, & a gorgeous heroic ending. George shoulda kept writing like this. Other great early stuff by Martin: WINDHAVEN (with Lisa Tuttle), the short-story collections SANDKINGS, A SONG FOR LYA, SONGS OF STARS AND SHADOWS and NIGHTFLYERS, and parts of THE ARMAGGEDDON RAG. I wish he'd written a couple more SF novels B4 moving 2 TV & what he calls "the big fat fantasy novels" he's writing now. I've bn a Martin fan since '74 -- glad some other folks finally caught on. But I find his early stuff has a romantic sense of mood, vision & soul that his newer work lacks....

Some wonderful and successful writers gather their thoughts in this book to bear light on the magic of Tolkien's writing. Being a fan myself, I enjoyed the individual tales of discovering "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" for the first time. I related to the same sense of awe and dread, of wonder and inspiration. Surely, Tolkien has inspired many.

Unfortunately, the praise gets to be redundant and--may I say it?--almost hollow, without the balance of some thoughtful criticism. Personally, I wouldn't have much negative to say regarding Tolkien's work, but I found very little that was genuinely fresh or enlightening in this collection of "meditations." I did discover an interest in some of the authors included (not a bad reason for their involvement in the project) and in earlier 20th century writers that I have never familiarized myself with. Lord Dunsany, E.R. Eddison, Fritz Leiber, and Mervyn Peake are only a few of the old standbys mentioned repeatedly.

Although interesting, a quick read, and well-written, this collection might best serve those curious in unearthing the inspiration beneath some of their favorite authors. I was hoping for something with more vitality, but overall I'd recommend the book.

MEDITATIONS ON MIDDLE EARTH is a collection of essays focusing on J.R.R. Tolkien's works, especially the Middle Earth saga. Some of the more renowned fantasy authors of today evaluate the series that made fantasy a household name. Surprisingly, though everyone agrees that Professor Tolkien opened up the genre to the middle class, not all of the contributors are fans of the actual novels. Insightful and entertaining, each essay is well written with the writer's particular spin. However, this anthology will be loved by those readers analyzing the various cultures in a way that cultural anthropologists would envy or by those fans who cherish Beowulf, which Tolkien felt is the forefather of the genre.

Harriet Klausner

I borrowed this book from the library and enjoyed it so much I asked for it for Christmas (and got it). The different authors writing about the influence LOTR had on their lives reminded me of the first time I read the story and the effect it had on me. The drawings that illustrated the book were very well done. I think this should be in every fan's collection and is a must for anyone contemplating following in Tolkien's footsteps and writing a fantasy novel.