This book is about Queen Victoria's unusual relationship with her highland servant, John Brown. Most are familiar with the story because of the well-received movie, "Mrs. Brown". While the story made a very interesting movie, for most recreational readers the topic doesn't merit a full book. Raymond Lamont-Brown has certainly done excellent research, and I do not doubt that his account of Mr. Brown and his relationship with the queen is as accurate as possible. Unfortunately, oneof Queen Victoria's daughters drastically edited the Queen's personal papers when it came to the topic of Mr. Brown, so much of the historical record is irretrievably lost. Nevertheless, it seems clear that it is unlikely that there was a scandalous relationship and that the Queen simply considered Mr. Brown to be a completely devoted servant . She consequently kept him in constant attendance and was tolerant of his brusque manner. No matter how hard Mr. Lamont-Brown tries to find some actual drama, most of the relationship (and therefore most of the book) revoloved around the mundane routine of the royal household - daily ponyrides, picnics in the Scottish countryside, below-stairs jealousies, etc. Any excitement in the book is the result of speculation, not historical fact. If you have a serious interest in Queen Victoria, you will find this book worthwhile. Otherwise, see the movie.

The release of the well-regarded film _Mrs. Brown_, about Queen Victoria and her gillie John Brown, indicated there was still interest in the story of the Queen and her devoted servant. The full story of their relationship will never be known, but in _John Brown: Queen Victoria's Highland Servant_ (Sutton Publishing), Raymond Lamont-Brown sifts through what can be known to give as good a picture as we are likely to get of the servant beloved by the Queen and detested by so many others. It is a small but successful study of the Queen as honest and loyal, with a love of the outdoors, and with a sense of humor (when will the opposite legend go away?) which Brown must have frequently tickled. They were a good match. He impressed both Albert and the Queen with his knowledge of game and hunting, and a strong friendship grew between the gillie and his Queen. He liked jokes and gossip, and the Queen liked to hear his stories. There are many illustrations here of their familiarity. When the royal family went out on jaunts, John Brown usually brewed the Queen's pot of tea. Early in his service, she remarked that this was "the best cup of tea I ever tasted." "Well, it should be, Ma'am," came Brown's reply. "I put a grand nip o' whisky in it."

There is little doubt that the Queen idealized Brown in a way no one else did, but especially after Albert's death, no one tended her as he did. A courtier wrote, "Others had tended her as their Queen and mistress. John Brown protected her as she was, a poor, broken-hearted bairn who wanted looking after and taking out of herself." Many around the Queen disapproved. Brown took his duties so seriously he would deny even her family access to her. His gruffness with others made few friends. Sent to convey the Queen's invitation to dinner to the Lords-in-Waiting, Brown pushed open the door of the billiard room, eyed the aristocrats, and bawled, "All what's here dines with the Queen." The Prince of Wales particularly disliked him, always referring to "that brute" rather than using his name. He obliterated all the busts and mementoes of Brown after the Queen's death, but he was never able to wipe out the rumors that Brown and the Queen were lovers, or that they had a morganatic marriage, or that Brown was her guide in spiritualism. Such evidence as there is shows that they were nothing but devoted friends as well and mistress and servant. This readable book well illustrates the relationship, with ample quotations from the Queen's diary and from remarks of those who knew both parties well.

Obviously this is not a book that you would sit down and read from one end to the other. What is wonderful about this book becomes clear if you have ever used a search engin looking for information on the Roman Catholic Church. Brother John Raymond uses little icons on the far edge of the page so you can quickly flip through and find a site to explore. I am getting my Masters in Theology and the he has an icon for theology. He also has icons for websites for books, Catholic culture and Liturgy and Prayer to name a few. This is a great book for anyone who surfs the web and is interested in Roman Catholicism.

I thought this book explained physics concepts in a way that was clear and understandable. I liked the fact that there were numerous examples throughout the text, a generous use of helpful illustrations and also a wide variety of problems (some very challenging) that helped me to prepare for exams. I also found the Student Solutions Manual (which works through selected problems) to be a great help. I think it is safe to say that physics is one of the most difficult subjects to learn (it made my Calculus II class seem like a walk in the park) and that succeeding in a physics class requires many, many hours of dedication and hard work. There is no shortcut to mastering this subject, and unfortunately, there is also no such thing as a text (no matter how excellent) that can make physics "easy" to learn. Of course, there were times when certain concepts in the text were not clear to me, and that's when I saw my instructor for help. Overall, I thought that this was a fine text that helped me to see that while learning physics is rigorous, it can also be a lot of fun!

The humor is enjoyable, but sometimes he is at his best when he is serious, such as the chapter on "Mirth Ministry."

I got to know many things about Mobius and his works from this book. For example, what cause him to think about the famous Mobius function and Mobius inversion formula. Also, there are facts that support J.B. Listing(1808-1882) as the first inventor of the Mobius Band. In the first half of 19-th century, many leading mathematicians made a living as astronomers, because mathematics at that time had not been accepted as an independent scientific field!

The role of mathematics at Oxford during the first eight centuries of its existence is defined by a curve with steep slopes in both directions. At times the level of rigor in the examinations was slightly more difficult than "How many letters are there in your name?". Yet, over the years, some very capable people have either taught or been educated there.
The historical context of England over the centuries provides an interesting backdrop to what occurred at the university. Through a civil war and other political contests for power, the society altering features of the industrial revolution and the creation and subsequent dissolution of a mighty empire, the university has survived. However, the changes have been as profound to the university as they have been to the surrounding society. Although two of the editors are currently at Oxford, the treatment here is not in any way biased or hyped. The changes and the reasons for them are put down with the dispassionate accuracy of a historian.
As mathematics became a more significant tool in the management of society, the quality of mathematical training has been modified to suit. Long standing institutions are often criticized as being adaptability challenged. While partly true, the events described here clearly demonstrate that universities can and do change. Any history of a university is ultimately a series of mini-biographies of the people who made things happen. The sections that described some of the personalities of those who served as professors or other ranking officials was the most interesting aspect of the book.
With a history that is staid, learned and sometimes stodgy and other times colorful, Oxford has survived and thrived through incredible changes. No doubt the next few centuries will bring even more interesting and exciting challenges in the arenas of mathematics and human existence. Hopefully, the book describing the next eight hundred years will be as good as this one.

Depardon's style in this book is quite different from that exhibitted in previous works by him. Earlier works resemble HCB or Erwitt. This books style is closer to De Kryzer.

A palimpsest is a parchment that has been inscribed several times such that the previous texts are incompletely erased and thus still partially legible. Similarly, the chemistry of modern cells contains vestiges of the history of this chemistry. Many biological cofactors contain RNA fragments that play no role in the chemical reactivity of the cofactor in the contemporary world. Can compute distances between homologous proteins. In the absence of dated fossils, such molecular clocks to give a chronological date to divergence of archaebacteria, eubacteria and eukaryotes. To reconstruct the protogenome of the last common ancestor of these groups, get sequence data for proteins performing analogous functions in the three kingdoms. Results show that the most recent common ancestor of archaebacteria, eubacteria and eukaryotes required a high fidelity genome of a fairly good size. Certain enzymes in the protogenome suggest that it lived in an environment where molecular oxygen was available.

Irish revolutionnaries in Dublin. They try to invest the city. We follow a group of them in a bank. And a young woman trapped in the "lavatories" (in english in the text) fiancée of an english captain... A story of innocent people who tempted to enter the history. Written in a fresh and joyful language.

For more information this book is a part of another which title is "the private diary of Sally Mara" which is really worthwhile to read.

If you dont like to struggle with homeworks and your professor assigns homeworks out of the textbook, that's an oasis on your desert!!

Hey, this is a must for student! As a student, where can you buy a teacher's manual? Of course, it is not a complete solutions manual!

This book is xtremely helpful for a physics class. I got an A because I studied it. It will guide you to understand the very essential materials and think technically. Well, this may not be good for a physics major but definitely a must for those who need physics as a tool!!!