The Time Machine, by H.G. Wells is a classic science fiction/fantasy novel. It is based in England around the late 1800's and also thousands of years into the future. It is an epic tale of a journey through time. Every one of the Time Traveler's friends and colleagues doubted him. They didn't believe that he had gone into the future. But he did. He visited a gentle breed called the Eloi. They were all alike. They dressed the same, walked the same, looked the same, and even reacted to life's conflicts in the same way. These identical "people" served him gratefully, giving him all the fruit he could ever want. He tried to learn the Eloi language, but their short attention spans caused him to not learn very much. The Time Traveler began to dream as to why this race of people was so alike. He couldn't figure it out. He decided that he had found himself in a utopian society, where neither reason nor strength was needed. He didn't find the real reason out, until he had discovered his time machine to be missing. Night fell and all he could do was search. When he found it he also discovered a horrifying secret about the reason as to why the Eloi were so perfect. It was a terrible secret, one that you will only know if you read this book. Believe me, it's quite a twist. All in all, I would have to recommend this book to anyone. It has elements of every genre in it: horror, science fiction, fantasy, drama, and comedy. It is just a really well rounded book that all can enjoy.

OK, we've all seen at least one of the movie versions of H.G. Well's The Time Machine, but none of them truly compare with the oringinal Sci-Fi classic. The book tells the story of the Time Traveler's journey nearly a million years into the future and the very unexpected and disturbing society he finds there. The Time Traveler formulates various theories based on what he observes of the society, which each, in turn, prove to be oh, so wrong! [Warning: mild spoiler] In the end, his realization of the future is especially terrifying considering it is the result of our current social structure (or H.G. Well's, anyway).

I especially recommend this book for those of us with short attention spans - it's only 140 pages (and that's the large print version). But don't get the wrong idea, this book still has more depth and creativity than most 500 page books i've read and is a great read, even compared with today's science fiction standards.

This book has to be considered a classic considering it spawned a whole genre of time traveling books, movies, and tv shows whcih imitated it. Get a hold of a copy and read it today!

Leave it to H.G. Wells to come up with a book on time traveling into the future and leaving us, the readers, totally captivated. What a visionary. The movie, which I have seen many times, did a great job of keeping to the original storyline. If you have not seen it, please do so. Amazing film.

What I love about the book is how much further Wells went with the story. Towards the end of the book, our weary time traveller proceeds further into the future to actually witness our earth and sun dying. The barren lands growing cold. Life at its final stages. How utterly eerie yet thrilling all at the same time. Wells describes the sequences so vividly. Who would not do the same if a time machine was made available to them?

For you first time readers, enjoy. It is a terrific ride.

This is Dickens' tale (and some would say lecture) about selfishness. Dickens' presents characters that embody different aspects of this vice, from the hypocrisy of Pecksniff and Mrs Gamp, to the thoughtlessness of young Martin Chuzzlewit and Mercy Pecksniff, the suspiciousness of old Martin Chuzzlewit, to the vengefulness of Charity Pecksniff, from the villainy of Jonas Chuzzlewit, to the duplicity of Tigg Montague. But Dickens doesn't stop here: the book also explores this theme on the larger institutional and national scales, as well. The American detour can be seen as a condemnation of the hypocrisy of the U-nited States of the early 1800's. And the Life Assurance Co scam is clearly an indictment of selfishness when its ambitions grow to encompass those beyond one's immediate circle. To his credit, Dickens doesn't lay these latter evils at the abstract feet of 'countries' and 'companies', but shows that even in these suprapersonal entities, the original sin lies with individuals.

With this novel, Dickens left behind the shallow characters that sometimes marred his early works, and developed full-fledged people. Pecksniff and his daughters are marvelous creations that make one cringe with embarassment while laughing at their incredible selfishness. Tom Pinch is another character in a distinguished line of "too good to be true" Dickensian personalities, but he is shown to suffer and grow into a believable human being. The American episodes are biting in their satire, but overall they are on the money. Dickens' contempt for American armchair philosophers and "freedom-loving" slave owners fueled some of his most pointed social commentary. As always, there is a happy ending, but the plot is more complex than anything Dickens had written before. I have read Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickleby, The Old Curiousity Shop, and Barnaby Rudge, and Martin Chuzzlewit ranks right up there with his best.

Martin Chuzzlewit gets its start much like any other Dickens novel--we are introduced to the rather blase main characters and the amusing minor characters, and Dickens slowly--and I mean slooowly--weaves the web of his drama. We meet the Chuzzlewit brothers, Mr Pecksniff and his daughters, and (among others) the lovable Tom Pinch, who is utterly devoted to Mr Pecksniff. "Another middle-period Victorian comedy of manners," we presume, and read a few pages at a time, until BAM! the novel kicks into high gear. I won't spoil the unforgettable final half of the novel for you, but suffice it to say that I read it ALL in one day, spellbound. Any would-be author of pageturners could learn a lot from the story of Jonas Chuzzlewit, masterfully spun by the greatest novelist in the Englsih language. Enjoy it, one and all!

This debut novel finds its essence in a postmodern distortion of time, space and characterization. The title characters, Martin and John, appear as different people in different situations in each chapter of the book, forcing the reader to re-evaluate his/her notions of personal identity. In one chapter, Martin and John may be a happy, newly-established couple living fabulously in New York City; in another, they remain together tenuously while struggling with life in a small desert town. There is an underlying continuity, however, and the end result is a compelling statement about human character and the myriad facets of our personalities. Peck's brutal honesty and perfectly-crafted descriptions can make the reader wince with empathy and well with emotion. This is a triumphant book, to be read and shared as widely as possible.

The first time I came across this book was its chinese version, which I bought for its attractive book cover. It was difficult for me to follow the stories at first, because it isn't a conventional type of fiction, but a group of stories all with the characters named John and Martin.

But I was gripped as I read on. The stories are naturalistic and dark. I don't know how much they reflect the truth (I'm a girl, so what do I know?) but they feel real and it's really moving, esp. the part about lover dying of AIDS. I love this book, and I lent it to a friend (who is also a girl) and she liked it too.

Of course it is not sitcom, but it is not boring. Most of the book is about the not so happy parts of life, but the people are not feeling miserable about themselves.

Martin and John is an extraordinary novel. Thank god we have people like Dale Peck around. He is an honest and brilliant writer. Thank you Dale for saying what needs to be said.

I have read or reviewed several texts and articles in the areaof analog circuit design, and find this book inadequate for severalreasons. Firstly, the section on Op Amp compensation is full of design procedures which are inherently erroneous and in many ways counter-intuitive. The procedure requires many iterations and can create instabilites (right half plane poles) using the provided equations depending on the open loop gain designed. Specifically, these errors are derived from the approximate equation (5.70) for the location of the dominant pole. This equation and the approximation depend strongly on the gain and device parameters used. All these approximate equations must be used with caution and checked for validity. For a more careful treatment I suggest the book "Design of Analog Cmos Integrated Circuits" (McGraw-Hill Series in Electrical and Computer Engineering. Electronics and Vlsi Circuits) by Behzad Razavi. But this book does have some uses (eg, the noise analysis and system level A/D conversion sections).

First used in graduate level analog ic design course. Good in covering current, practical MOS circuit topologies, however, lacks in clear explanations. Lacks good examples. Lacks interactive design aspect. Would need to supplement this book with a book such as Microelectronic Circuits or Analysis and Design of Analog Integrated Circuits for missing components or explanations if you really want to LEARN how to design analog ic's.

In my opinon, this is one of the better books on analog circuit design available for practicing engineers. I disagree with the reviews that state that there is not enough emphasis on rigorous calculations. Analog design is an iterative art, not a theoretical science. In short, straight forward algorithms to develop complex analog circuits don't exist - at least not in a form that would allow timely completion of robust designs. Analog design is a highly intuitive process that works best when simple hand calculations, which indicate the magnitude and direction of first (and sometimes second) order transistor effects, are combined with complex computer simulations which prove out detailed functionality over the required operating conditions.

This book accomplishes its purposes superbly by providing many different circuit topologies and describing their advantages and disadvantages based on straightforward design principles. Those who have difficulty dealing with mathematical uncertainty are not likely to develop into good analog designers and should probably stick to designing digital circuitry, which can be approached in a much more systematic fashion. But those who's livelihood's depend on inventing timely solutions to analog IC design conundrums will find themselves referring to this book time and time again.

My one complaint with this book is the price, approximately 3 times what I would consider fair market value. Nevertheless books of this caliber are rare and the price did not ultimately dissuade me from grudgingly coughing up the purchase price.

The United States government has devoted much time, energy, and money to develop ever more dangerous and destructive biological weapons. Dr. Horowitz's book is convincing. He has researched all that is available to the general public concerning the origins of AIDS and Ebola. The ring of truth reverberates throughout this book. Those of us who "know" how this government works, also know that Dr. Horowitz has hit the gold vein. Many people prefer to keep their heads in the sand. If, however, you are interested in learning the truth beyond the governmental press release, then this is your cup of tea. If you prefer to remain ignorant, avoid this book at all costs! Dr. Horowitz doesn't pull any punches. He names those who are involved, including Dr. Gallo.

This book will shock you and make you research more about the consequences of biologicals manufactured and unleashed. The author has gathered a lot of material and evidence indicating that "AIDS" and Gulf War Syndrome have been deliberately unleashed, with "AIDS" appearing first and introduced into select communtities of White educated young gay men, beginning in New York and New Jersey in 1978, supported by documentations presented by Dr. Alan Cantwell Jr., MD, ally of Dr. Horowitz. You can do further research by reading Dr. Cantwell's books, 'Aids And the Doctors of Death' and 'Queer Blood'. Dr. Horowitz does not mince words when he points to the direction of our very own military "adventures" which have sought to develop biologicals which would be refractory to the human auto-immune system, eg., "AIDS"$$, or as Dr. Eva Sneed puts it, 'Some Call It AIDS, I call It Murder', see book! Well, if this review is not censored, then consider yourself lucky to have this vital info regarding the "NEW ORDER" and its most hidden objectives, which is Malthusian in scope, to drastically and severely reduce human populations on planet Earth. You donot hve to wait to hear any of this seemingly "outlandish" stuff on the Art Bell show, just BUY THIS BOOK right now, and order several for your friends, too, and they won't ever think of being complacent in light of Horowitz's incredible book! Isn't this what "glasnost" should be about in this Democratic Republic, and getting truth revealed......eventually!

I was so lucky to get a copy of Emerging Viruses in August 1996 at a time when I was investigating the real origin of HIV viruses. After reading previous books by other authors, I still had major doubts about the possibility of man-made viruses and the implications of their intentional spreading through vaccines in the USA and Africa but this book definitely brought me the facts, the names, the motives,the references and articles, in brief, the evidence for this most tragic and satanic case. Moreover, this book was for me a jewel to discover much more about many other State and World crimes and the who ? how ? why ? Its reading really was a tremendous trigger to understand the world we live in. Since August 1996, I have bought about 1500 other books, about 200 in English and over 1000 in French, either difficult to find (in France ! ), Christian books or ancient books of the 19th century about History, esoterism, especially the history of a web of secret societies leading the world since the French Revolution (and before...). I had the opportunity to talk with Leonard Horowitz and to translate his conference on the subject of Emerging Viruses into French when he came to Paris.The book has now been available in French since January 1999 and is also being spread in France; when I had the opportunity to recommend it in a meeting in Paris near a bookstore which had twelve copies, more than 20 people bought it or ordered it : everything was sold in a matter of minutes. I am most thankful to the author for he made me understand why such a crime against humanity (aids) had happened, which has transformed me by the Grace of the Lord from an atheist to an evangelical Christian. I strongly recommend this book to anyone in search of Truth. You will never see aids and its 15 million dead people the same way again. Reading Emerging Viruses was for me like an initiation to pass through the fake world looking-glass in order to discover the reality of past, present and future.This book is just a wonderful lamp, beside the Holy Bible in our chaotic world and its implications could bring you dozens of precious friends around the globe and even save your life. Watch out for the next flu pandemic from Hong-Kong or Beijing or the next Ebola outbreak and think twice - and read Emerging Viruses again ! - before getting any government immunization shot for very powerful wicked men think six billion people are too many for the planet and it looks as though they are ready to kill more millions of them whatever their race, country, social standing or faith !...

This exciting little board book introduces the alphabet to infants in a humorous game of tag, "a told b, and b told c, I'll meet you at the top of the coconut tree. Whee! Said d to e f g, I'll beat you to the top of the coconut tree." The entire lowercase alphabet makes it to the top of the coconut tree and "chicka chicka boom boom," they all fall down! Colorful and eye-catching, the artwork bewitches little ones, while the sing-songy prose encourages listening and learning. Birth and up.

This book was edited from its original form to accommodate board book standards and objectives - to appeal to newborns, and very young children who are not attentive enough for the full text. "Chicka Chicka abc," is delightfully entertaining for little babies with short attention spans, who enjoy the positive interaction of cooperative play - reading. I do agree that the original edition, "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" is actually more amusing, but is in fact more appropriate for older children, 2 years and older. If you must choose between the two interpretations, purchase the original - it is a scream!

As the parent of two kids, age 2 1/2 and 9 months, who has ready this book about 8000 times, I can safely say this is a baby/toddler classic. The syncopation, the bright letters, the build up to a hysterical ending (well, if you're 2!) all add up to a great experience for a young child.

We've got two versions of the book--the board one, which ends with the letters falling out of the tree, and the regular one, which ends with a climbing up that silly tree again. Although I prefer the regular one -- "l is knotted like a tie!" -- my kids really like the version that ends with a chicka chicka boom BOOM!

Although we've not pushed learning letters on our older child, she can recognize the ones in the pictures. While it remains to be seen whether that has any effect on her academic progress, we've all had a delightful time reading together.

My 15 month old son absolutely loves this book. He brings it to us to read over and over again and repeats "boom" when all of the letters fall down at the end. He also points to the letters and the coconuts to ask what they are. While the book was not a personal favorite of mine at first, once I got into reading the text with rhythm and syncopation and saw how much joy my little guy got from reading it with me, I changed my mind. My husband and I now have this book memorized. Chicka Chicka A B C is a real winner and geared perfectly to toddler "short attention span theatre"!

This book, which is readily found in almost all bookstores locally, is an interesting read for those interested in music. It is very useful reference in that it contains a great deal of information about major rock bands - including long out of print albums and all the tracks on them, chart placings in the UK and US, and infornation on singles released.

Basically, each artist's releases are listed in chronological order with tracks and UK and US peak chart placings (if any - note that a line in the box indicates that the album never got a domestic release in the relevant country). Each artist discussed is summarised through each album and the way in which it fared both critically and commercially. In the list of albums, band line-up changes are mentioned as they occur, though full line-ups are not given for each album to make the book still easier to understand.

The albums are rated on a scale from (*0) - only one case in the whole book - to (*10) for the best albums, but, like so much rock criticism, the ratings are inconsistent and never explained with any clarity whatsoever. This is especially true of later releases by established artists, almost all of which are panned whether there is a good reason or not for doing so.

The guide is very good in that it is very easy to read because of its layout, but, with the exception of a small number of extremely popular artists it neglects the less "rock" styles of popular music such as r and b almost entirely - and because it is British, artists receiving no interest outside the US are left undiscussed. This makes it a bit problematic for a serious study of pop music.

On the whole, a very useful reference work for the student if little more than that.

...Measuring a little over 8 inches wide by 11½ inches long, and 2 inches thick, it has 1109 pages and must weigh two pounds. Not something you want to be reading in bed and doze off. risking a broken nose.

The effort that went into its compilation can only be described as monumental, as it provides single and LP discographies on MANY [but not nearly all] of the North American artists who formed the genre known as R&R, as well as some of those who ensured its continuation in the music scene in the 1970s to 1990s.

Are there faults? Well, as with any endeavour this ambitious, it's going to be difficult to please everyone. First of all, there are some who will wish it came with some sort of Rosetta Stone to help decipher the author's rather unique method of recording various details, rather than the equally-confusing single page headed "How To Read This Book." [It CAN be done - it just takes a little practice]

Secondly, from the point of view of this collector of North American singles hits, it would have been better had the author compiled a North American edition which included only those British and European artists and groups we've at least HEARD about over here. Obviously, that would include those like Abba, The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Dave Clark Five, etc., along with lesser-known but still identifiable artists such as Adam & The Ants, Madness, and Jan-Michel Jarre. They're all in the book.

But there are way too many like Aphex Twin, Apollo 440, Arab Strap, Syd Barrett, Basement Jaxx, Lloyd Cole, dEUS, Fluke, Goldie, Roy Harper, Inspiral Carpets, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Kula Shaker, etc., etc., that precious few on this side of the Atlantic know, let alone collect.

And while literally hundreds of such artists are included -and, I'm sure, are of great benefit to U.K. and European collectors - there are also far too many North American greats omitted. Among these are the likes of Bobby Darin, Gene Pitney, Brenda Lee [all three in the R&R Hall Of Fame in Cleveland], Connie Francis [who SHOULD be], Ivory Joe Hunter, Pat Boone [YES, Pat Boone in spite of the opinions of Rolling Stone and others], Chubby Checker, The Fleetwoods, The Drifters, The Coasters, The Four Seasons - etc., etc. For that reason alone I had to deduct one star.

Thirdly, there are also annoying little errors, such as appears in the Buddy Holly portion. According to the details listed, with the exception of the first two single releases by Decca in 1956, all other North American releases were on Decca's Coral subsidiary.

In actual fact, Decca muddied the waters back then by alternatingly releasing one single on their Brunswick subsidiary as by The Crickets and another on Coral as by Buddy Holly & The Crickets - sometimes literally within days of one another [e.g., Peggy Sue by Buddy Holly & The Crickets on Coral which made its debut on the North American charts on November 11, 1957, and Oh, Boy by The Crickets which debuted on November 25!] No mention is made of this questionable practice in the blurb above the discography which, to my way of thinking, was one of the reasons Buddy didn't have more Top 40 North American hits than the eight credited to him.

With these limitations would I recommend the book to a North American music fan? In one word - yes. As one reviewer points out, the trivia alone is almost worth the price. However, if your memory is of the North American artists be warned that there are MANY of them missing and that JUST as many are included that will be completely unknown to you.

This is an amazing work - a telephone book of people you might actually want to call, a lost gnostic text to a doomed civilization's pizza delivery places, a total compendium of where all the effort spent in conquering the world went after the fall of the British Empire. God love them, these British folks are serious about that Rock and Roll music!

As for the work itself, it's thorough, fair, and fun to browse through in any time or place. I can become lost for hours, and find myself jonesing for some of the groups Strong knows but about which I've never heard. Some things are a trifle annoying, like which bands are labelled Psychedelic and which are not, but to hell with it; stand back and let the man do his work. I slaver for the second edition of the Pschedelic Discography. When Stong says Great, he means it. The Great Pyramids, the Great War, Great Coats, and Alexander the Great come to mind.

Everyone should have one of these in his or her homes. Or a bottle of Xanax. I'll take the great maroon book with a glass of water before meals and bedtimes.

At least in the West we don't tell people how to think, unlike Catholicism and Communism. Besides what has religion ever done for anyone on this planet anyhow? NOTHING! Fear of going to hell is the only thing which compels people to "believe" in Him. Also what kind of omnipotent God would create Satan? Wouldn't a perfect God know that Lucifer would turn evil before he created him, and shouldn't God be able to destroy him then? It doesn't seem like God is very omnipotent. Why did God have to instruct Noah to build an ark to save everyone, couldn't God have just snapped his fingers and made it happen? And how could Noah fit two of every insect, bird, clam, sperm whale, grizzly bear, polar bear, arctic fox, penguin, and whatnot on this planet into his boat? And how did all these animals find their way to Noah's Ark? And where did all these different races of people come from? Did Noah take a black man, white man, yellow man, red man, or whatever on his boat too? Lastly, what kind of fool would believe the Bible is actually God's word? The bible was written by people, and it's been hacked-up, edited, re-printed, and re-translated countless number of times throughout the ages. Bibles are printed in dirty factories and then later sold for profit at KMart, they didn't come from God.

To quote a certain philospher: "There was a time when religion ruled the world, it was called The Dark Ages."

As a lapsed fundementalist, I read this book with some detatchment yet not without interest. I 100% agree with martin's analyis of Marxism/Leninism which is not dead but has for some time now been operating on a cultural front. Martin's take on the reforms of Vatican II, likewise was enlightening --I had only heard about them through the media. I find nothing controversial about this book. If the Christian faith is true, it is to be expected that duplicity and falsehood and worse come with the territory; was not Judas one of the twelve? If on the other hand there is no God then the Roman Catholic church (heirarchy) is the prize, for as Martin suggests it is the sole organization capable of uniting the world. Consider the example of Auguste Comte, one of the founders of sociology and professed atheist, he promoted 'science' and hated the christian religion yet at the same time, he venerated catholicism. (Dostoyevsky's Grand Inquisitor (the Brother's Karamazov)also comes to mind regarding the Roman Catholicism's unique position in the world. Reading this book has not only, increased my admiration for Pope John Paul II, but I also am thankful for the author.

Malachi Martin's work is a veritable "tour de force." With authority (he was one of the world's foremost Vatican Scholars), skill and erudtion he meticulously traces the geopolitical ambitions of Rome from beginning, i.e. Christ's alleged comments to Peter that upon him the church would be built, to end where the Vatican winds up in charge of the One World Government. Martin posits that anyone who was under the age of 70 at the time this book was written would be alive to see the day when the nation-state, as we know it, would cease to exist.

What will be most surprising to most readers is how intimately involved the Papacy is in world politics, all for the purpose of establishing the Catholic Church as the One World Government. (See Revelation 13, 17).

Whether or not Pope John Paul II turns out to be the eventual ruler of the One World Order is irrelevant. Dr. Martin's book goes into exhaustive detail how this Pope, more than any of his predecessors in this century, has worked feverishly to keep the Vatican on the world stage as a major player. Karol Woytila has had a clear-eyed view of what the church's role should be in world affairs dating back to the time when he was a priest during the Second World War working undercover for the US Government. He learned well at the feet of the master in this regard; Stephen Cardinal Wysinzski took the young cleric under his wing during the formative years of his priesthood, and the account of his tutelage of Woytila is spellbinding.

Readers will be fascinated to learn just how much the Vatican was behind the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe, and just how closely the US and Vatican work on foreign policy issues.

This book could very well be subtitled "Prophecy Made Clear by Modern Events." John Paul II is the "Servant of the Grand Design;" papal hegemonist ambitions are in plain view. A blockbuster!!

....

This play can be read as anti-semitic. In fact, it's pretty hard to defend it from such charges. Shylock is a pretty rotten character and the fact that he is jewish is difficult to overlook (particularly since the other characters mention it on pretty much EVERY page). However, I think it is important to mention that the "heroes" of this play do not necessarily have to be interpreted as heroes. They are by no means perfect and there are many subtle (and some not-so-subtle) instances within the text in which their biases against ANYONE unlike them is illustrated. If one reads the play this way, then Shylock becomes more of a tragic figure rather than an absolutely heartless villain. I don't know. My feelings about this are mixed. There are a few funny parts of this play and the language is, as always, beautiful. The theme of putting a price on human beings is one which has been explored numerous times since. Overall, it is enjoyable, but perhaps not so much so as some of the other comedies. Do not read this play without having read a few others by Shakespeare first. It is an excellent play, but not his best and not his most enjoyable either.

This is a wonderful play - and unless you have seen it or read it you don't know it at all. That's because everything the popular culture tells us about this play is false (for example; how many of you think this play is about a merchant named Shylock? ;-)

The Merchant of Venice is a lively and happy morality tale. Good triumphs over bad - charity over greed - love over hate.
There is fine comedy. Portia is one of Shakespeare's greatest women (and he ennobled women more than any playwright in history). There are moments of empathy and pain with all the major characters. There is great humanity and earthiness in this play. These things are what elevate Shakespeare over any other playwright in English history.

Plays should be seen - not read. I recommend you see this play (if you can find a theater with the courage and skill to do it). But if it is not playing in your area this season - buy the book and read it.

After reading most of the other reviews here, I am fully aware that most of the reviewers didn't read carefully enough (or watch carefully enough if they saw the play.) Now, I'm not saying its not open for different interpretations, but there is one thing I would really like to get straight.

I read MoV for a Bar Mitzvah project on Anti-Semitism. Naturally, my sympathies went to Shylock. However, even if i were Christian, i still would've favored Shylock. What many people believe is that Shylock is a cold hearted ruthless person and only wanted to get back at Antonio because Antonio was a Christian.

Not true. Shylock specifically says something along the lines off, "Why should I lend money to you? You spit on me, and call me a Jewish dog!" I'm not saying that Shylock was a good guy, but I am saying that he is not the villain.

In fact, the "Merchant of Venice," in this story is actually Shylock, not Antonio, contrary to popular belief. My thoughts on the story was that Shylock requested a pound of Antonio's flesh because he did not trust Antonio. Who would trust someone that spat on him? The fact is, Antonio doesn't pay him back in the end.

Now, there's always something else we have to put into consideration. Would the judge had given the "spill one ounce of Christian blood" verdict at the end if Shylock were not a Jew?

This is the mark of a great play. A play that really gets you thinking. But I encourage you, I beg of you, that when you read it or see it, please do not hold Shylock up to being a cold hearted villain. Hold Antonio up to that image. (joking, of course, Antonio's not a bad guy, he's just not a good guy.)

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.