Anne Boleyn was accused of essentially the same catalog of crimes used against every powerful woman since (and probably before) Jezebel - sexual infidelity, witchcraft, heresy, capriciousness and foul temper. As Ives explains, she may not have been physically the most beautiful woman at court, but her intellect, sophistication and worldliness (she had served at the Austrian and French courts) made her by far the most attractive. What is incredible about her courtship with Henry is the sheer number of missed chances to get a proper annulment of Hal's earlier marriage to Katharine - which, of course, would have removed the impetus for the English Reformation, and all the carnage that followed. What makes this a great read is Ives' ability to translate renaissance history into modern terms: Anne's rise and fall were inextricably linked to larger political and religious forces in Henry's court: her demise was the direct product of a temporary court alliance between the hard line crypto-Protestants (Thomas Cromwell et. al.) and the equally hard line Catholic sympathizers (Norfolk, plus the former followers of Thomas More). Once Anne was off the scene, they happily returned to their ideological trenches and resumed ploting against each other. Anne's was a vibrant life in a world which punished the vibrant and the intelligent.

I found this an excellent read when I was studying Anne Boleyn. While never becoming too bogged down in details, it tells her story compellingly and with the necessary human touch which makes Anne's story so engrossing.

Focusing on faction as one of the major causes of Anne's downfall, we are taken from her contested date of birth to her final end, through the whims of the king, life at court and her dubious romances. Ives gives the legends a brisk working over and gives the facts clearly with all the available evidence. This is THE book on Anne to read and I strongly recommend it to anyone studying her life.

Scholarly but not stuffy, Eric Ives' book is the best biography by far I have read of Anne Boleyn. It is packed with original research and serious scholarship but at the same time is readable and easy to follow. The average intelligent layperson would enjoy reading this. Ives, Antonia Fraser and Alison Weir are all MUST READS for Tudor scholars and history buffs.

George Armstrong Custer's fabled Fifth Regiment fought with great distinction throughout the American civil war and suffered the third highest total of men killed in the entire Union Calvary. James Henry Avery, a 24 year old farmer from Hopkins, Michigan was on of Custer's feared "Wolverines". He eloquently described his personal war-time experiences in journals and postwar reminiscences, providing uniquely detailed descriptions of Civil War cavalry movements, and presents the only known account addressing the escape of elements of the Fifth Michigan Cavalry on the first day of the Battle of Trevilian Station. Other battles described include Gettysburg, The Wilderness, Yellow Tavern, Haws Shop, Tom's Brook, Cedar Creek, and Trevilian Station. Under Custer's Command: The Civil War Journal Of James Henry Avery provides an astute perspective on the life of a Union cavalryman in the Civil War and is a "must" for all Civil War buffs and civil war studies reference collections.

As editor Eric J. Wittenberg expands his library of Custer-related works, they continue to improve on the already growing collection of first-person accounts of the "Boy General's" Michigan Cavalry. As the preeminent biographer of Brevet Brigadier General James Kidd, Wittenberg provides readers with a sense of "being there," and inescapable feeling that they are sharing a fireside chat with a living, breathing veteran of our own Civil War.

"Under Custer's Command" is sure to please any readers of his previous collections of James Kidd. The latest book, a well-preserved and edited anthology of the personal journals of Sergeant James Henry Avery, an enlisted man who served with Custer during his formative years, continues Wittenberg's efforts to detail the wartime activities of the Michigan 6th Cavalry. One of the most successful mounted commands during the war, the "Wolverine's" received far less acclaim and few of the accolades enjoyed by cavalry units led by men such as Jeb Stuart and Stonewall Jackson.

"Under Custer's Command" is a rare jewel among surviving first-person accounts. The language is frank, yet simple: the work of a man interested less in impressing than in preserving his personal observations of history. Avery's journals offer an invaluable glimpse into the mind and soul of a man fighting for his country, his values, and his family. This wonderful book is a fantastic addition to any serious Civil War Custer library.

This book is the best memoir by an enlisted cavalryman I have ever seen, and I read a lot of Civil War books. At the end of the book, I felt like I had just finished a long conversation with Avery. Buy this book and enjoy it.

It is about time that a true scholarly description of this long neglected but fascinating battle has been written. It destroys quite a number of myths! Sheridan was not invincible. The Confederate Cavalry did not die at Yellow Tavern with J.E.B. Stuart (it died at Appomattox with the rest of the ANVa). That Wade Hampton was a capable and perhaps more suitable cavalry commander for that period of the war. I bet that with even numbers that Hampton would have trounced Sheridan. As it was, outnumbered he stopped Sheridan cold and hurt him bad.

The battle is exciting, complex and had Hampton had just a little more strength Sheridan would have been in bad trouble; as it was he was hard pressed to claim any real results.

It is also hoped that this draws more attention to the preservation of this battlefield, which is in pretty good shape- but the bull dozers will come eventually.

This is a book for learning Civil War personalities, style of command, how cavalry fought in the civil war and documents this battle superbly. Well done and well worth the price od admission. I'll be on the outlook for more by Messr Wittenburg.

Phil Sheridan's battle against the Confederates at Trevillian Station is covered in 391 pages with maps, photos, orders of battle, statistics on loses, an excellent bibliography, and index. Author Eric Wittenberg has done an outstanding job of narration, explanation, and interpretation of the battle. (Wittenberg's knowledge of the Union cavalry adds to the book immensely, as does his keen appreciation of the landscape.) This text is a treat for Civil War buffs and would be a great addition to the library of descendants of those on both sides who were participants.

Leifermann is an excellent writer, and his commentary is insightful. This is not your typical Chamber of Commerce, tourist brochure type of guidebook. The book is comprehensive and attractive, chock full of useful information. It contains excellent photography and tell-it-like-it-is descriptions. It has the accurate maps that are a necessity to any adequate guidebook. If you buy only one resource on South Carolina, this book should be it.

In detailing the largest and most significant research study of its type (i.e. The MacArthur Study of Mental Disorder and Violence), Rethinking Risk Assessment describes what is surely to become the seminal work in the area violence and mental illness. The authors point to the methodological flaws in many earlier studies that failed to establish clear links between mental illness and violence. It moves beyond previous studies to point to a clear link between serious mental illness and an increased risk of violence.

Although based upon a North American population (i.e. with its higher societal rates of violence generally) the size of the study, and the relationships it demonstrates suggest that this work has significant implications for other jurisdictions. The book illustrates tools clinicians can use to assist with identification of those with higher for risk of violence.

Although actuarial methods do not offer a panacea for problems associated with risk prediction, they nevertheless provide pointers for increasing the precision with which such assessments can be made. Monahan et. al. acknowledge the limitations of such methods, and point to the complexity of clinical risk assessment for violence potential. The authors also point to the broader contextual, and problematic issues associated with false positives and negatives, in terms of prediction.

Armed with the information contained within this text, clinical staff will have a thorough grounding in the most up to date evidence in the field. This should provide a solid foundation from which staff can approach the complex issue of considering risk assessment generally.

Compiled and edited by Eric Sandweiss (Carmony Associate Professor of History, Indiana University - Bloomington) St. Louis In The Century Of Henry Shaw: A View Beyond The Garden Wall is a collection of essays by notable contributions and was assembled and published in tribute to the 200th anniversary of the birth of philanthropist and entrepreneur Henry Shaw (1800-1889). Touching upon politics, ethnicity, business, literature, and more, these informed and informative treatises offer perspectives upon a thriving cultural center of 19th century America. Enhanced with a number of black-and-white illustrations, St. Louis In The Century Of Henry Shaw is a highly recommended contribution to 19th Century American History Studies reference collections and supplemental reading lists.

This book covers fields of analogue integrated circuit synthesis, IC physical design and constrained optimization. It collects major contributions of UC Berkeley Analog Group for about last 10 years. It brings field of analogue design into a totally new main stream and is still leading the trend. It comprehensively presents the whole developed methodology of mixed-signal circuit design to considerably detail level. For electronic engineer, it is an excellent reference book informing you the current progress in this field and for postgraduate engineering students, it is a very valuable text book. It is so far the best book in this field that collects latest inventions based on those widely published papers.

The author of numerous romance-adventures in the 19th century tradition, Haggard turned his hand, at least once, to the older saga tradition of the northern peoples. The result may well have been his best work. Skillfully crafted, this tale proceeds at breakneck pace to unfold the saga-like adventures of the stout Icelandic yeoman, Eric Thorgrimurs' son (surnamed 'Brighteyes' for his most notable trait), as he struggles to win the hand of his beloved, Gudruda the Fair, despite the vigorous opposition of her half-sister, Swanhild the Fatherless (who seeks Eric for her own). Caught between these two beautiful women and faced with the need to overcome the opposition of Gudruda's father, Asmund the Priest (not the Christian sort) and his son, the greedy Bjorn (who would prefer to marry his sister off to a wealthy chieftain in lieu of a liaison with the farmer's son Eric), our hero must prove himself worthy of his destined bride while dodging the snares of those who would unman him. Conspiring with her mysterious mother, Groa the witchwife, Swanhild arranges to have Ospakar Blacktooth, a northern chieftain from Swinefells, pay Asmund's household a visit in order to see and woo Gudruda for himself. This Ospakar and Eric become immediate foes for Ospakar is as ugly and vile as Eric is handsome and honorable. And the tale only accelerates from here. From death-defying feats of derring-do to duels between deadly foemen to treachery and mayhem in blinding blizzards and on the high seas, this is an adventure which, once having grabbed you, will not let you go. Written in an archaic prose, mirroring the old nineteenth century translations of the original Icelandic sagas, and intended to simulate the voice of the old sagas themselves, the power of this narrative is compelling and unrelenting. And yet it is less exhausting than exhilirating as it unfolds the tale of Eric and the two women who loved him -- no matter what the cost. If the tale has a flaw at all it is that the characters are not real in any sense of that word but only larger-than-life actors who strut about upon the stage which Haggard has drawn for us here. At the same time the sensibility offered is one of pure and unmitigated adventure. But it's great fun and marvelous escapist fare. A must for lovers of Norse and viking times.

A must for all Haggard fans, "Eric Brighteyes" is strongly recommended to anyone who enjoys a great tale of heroic endeavour. Perhaps the fastest-paced of all Haggard's many novels, it races from one highspot to another with manly verve and vivid scene-setting. The stalwart Eric and his "thrall" Skallagrim fight back to back against a horde of foes, while two beautiful women vie for Eric's love. The eerie battle at sea is an exciting read in itself, to say nothing of all the rest. Eric is one of the most virile of Haggard's heroes and, like so many of them, is susceptible to earthly temptations and ambitions---unlike Haggard's too often impossibly spiritual females. The reader familiar with Haggard's favourite "archetypes" will recognize in Eric, Skallagrim, Gudruda the Fair, and the wicked Swanhilde the traits of a cast of characters immortalized under other names, in other times and places, in other titles of his famous canon. "Eric Brighteyes" is also distinguished by an interesting author's preface that furnishes some insight into Haggard's imaginative overlay of "high romance" and occult themes on what, in a writer of less lively invention, might have been just a simple adventure story. Both heroes and villains come on strong with splendid confrontational dialogue before coming to blows. A feast for escapists of all ages! Long may it remain in print.

A must read for anyone fascinated by Vikings or anything nordic. This adventure's got everything for you; greed, jealousy, envy, love, betrayal, murder...etc. I couldn't put the book down till I finished it. The hero is every woman's dream, but unfortunatly he croaks at the end. Ahhh, but what an end!!

Given how much my 18-month-old loves "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See" I thought this also would be a great read-aloud book. Wrong! Even though the whole focus of the book is animals making sounds, a large proportion are basically impossible for a human being to imitate: e.g., Hippopotamus, Flamingo, Peacock, Elephant or Walrus. It's a lot easier to just add sound effects to the animals in Brown Bear, almost all of which can be easily imitated.

My 15-month old son whose favorite book has been Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You see? has found a new favorite in Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You hear? He shrieks with delight as he hears us make the animal sounds and sees the colorful illustration, Mr. Carle is so well known for. My question is, What next? When can we expect the next in series of wonderful tales of animals living in perfect harmony, accompanied by the beautiful illustrations??

This is my son Tyler's (17 mos) favorite book. He loves the colorful pictures and loves it even more when Mommy tries to make all the animal noises for him! (Ever try to make a yelping peacock or fluting flamingo noise??) No matter how many times I read this book to him, he wants to hear it just one more time...ok, maybe two...or three... I especially love the fact that it is about more unusual animals - peacock, flamingo, walrus, as opposed to your everyday dog, cat, cow -type animals. I highly recommend this book, it's a must have!