The best all-around medical emergency book has got to be this one. It dispels any medical myths you might have, and it will help you identify what is really wrong with you, instead of worrying about what it might be.

Just about every common medical emergency is in there, from the correct way to treat a nosebleed, to how to figure out if your child has appendicitis, to knowing when back pain is serious. I wouldn't go on a family vacation without it, and it personifies my motto: "Always Be Prepared."

This book should be on everyone's shelf. At Home, at work, in a restaurant- even in every taxi in America. Bravo Dr. Fischer- and thank you for putting out this outstanding little book.

I concur with the excellent synopsis given by the previous reviewer and can only add that Howell has the rare and welcome gift of being able to produce sound scholarship, meticulously documented from the primary sources, that is accessible to the general reader as well as the academic audience for whom the book is primarily intended. This book, while remaining free from tiresome jargon, nevertheless places the subject within current academic discussion very well. She provides a model that I hope will be emulated by future scholars.

Son of the troubled King John, Henry III inherited his father's impoverished kingdom when he was but nine years of age. At 28, Henry married Eleanor of Provence in Canterbury Cathedral on January 14, 1236. The match with the twelve-year-old daughter of Raymond Bergengar, count of Provence was intended to forge an alliance that would protect the southern part of Henry's Angevin empire. Eleanor had never met her bridegroom nor had she ever visited England prior to her marriage.

Howell's biography of Eleanor of Provence looks at both the public and private aspects of Eleanor's life offering new insights into 13th century English history. Although it began as a dynastic match, Henry found in Eleanor a loving and supportive wife. She bore him nine children of whom four survived to adulthood. Yet in spite of the strength of their family life, Eleanor is remembered as one of the most despised of the English queens; in 1236 Londoners mobbed her barge and drove her to flee to the bishop of London's palace of St. Paul's. As she grows from child to woman we see Eleanor use the available avenues of power-patronage, arranged marriages, and ceremonial events- to benefit her family and her loyal corps of retainers who, throughout her life, formed the base of Eleanor's political strength. Indeed it was family relationships that were to be both the strength and weakness of Eleanor's queenship. Her devotion to her family and her single minded efforts to promote her foreign-born Savoyard relations put her at odds with the English nobility and eventually with her husband's family, all of whom were in competition for lands, titles, and lucrative marriages. As Howell comments, Eleanor "made intercession an art." However, throughout their marriage, Eleanor's support and connections to the French monarchy remained a key factor in Henry's ability to hold on to his throne. Howell gives a full picture of Eleanor of Provence; a woman of culture, complexity, loyalty and intelligence; but one unloved by her subjects. I would highly recommend it.

This is a beautifully designed book. As to what's inside: It contains what too many of her biographers are either too dishonest, too ignorant, or, too afraid to include, i.e. her belief in God and her understanding that her country and her country's people had a unique place and a unique role in carrying out God's plan. Elizabeth I had a complete understanding. It's difficult to write off her accomplishments in learning at such a young age as being merely the result of having royal tutors helping her along. This is what many biographers try to do. There's never been an over-supply of young genius in royal families in any era. More attention, as well, should be paid to her reading. Reading great books has never been a guarantee of anything regarding somebody's understanding of themselves and the world, but it is, without exception, a key ingredient in the education (self-education or otherwise) of everybody who eventually DOES attain a real understanding of themselves and the world. Elizabeth's understanding may have even gone beyond herself and the world around her... These writings are not ideal as a window into her, but there is enough here to work up an impression above the words, and, coupled with a good biography such as the one by Paul Johnson the picture can become very complete.

Queen Elizabeth I of England has had hundreds of books written *about* her, but very few of them allow us to hear what she has to say in her own words. I found this an accessible, well-edited collection, not of *all* her words, but of a very good sample. It includes all of the speeches, prayers and poems she wrote that are available from reliable contemporary sources (as with all famous people, things have been attributed to her that she never wrote). It also includes -- and this is my favorite part -- a selection of her letters; sometimes the replies are also included, as with a series of angry letters she exchanged with King James of Scotland (all the while addressing him as "my right dear brother and cousin"). The documents range from formal speeches to Parliament to the occasional playful, teasing or personal note, such as the one she wrote to Lord Leicester in the Netherlands that begins, "Rob, I am afraid you will suppose by my wandering writings that a midsummer moon hath taken large possession of my brains..." Spelling and punctuation have been modernized, and unusual words have been footnoted, but the words are otherwise unaltered, and the texts are presented in full, sometimes in several versions where they differ significantly. I did find that a basic knowledge of the outline of the events of her life is immensely helpful in understanding who she is addressing and why, which is often mentioned only briefly in the notes. There is a certain amount of theorizing in the book's Preface about the "strategic gendering of Elizabeth's self-representation" -- but the texts really speak for themselves. This is a rare chance to see historical material that's often hard to locate, and an enjoyable chance to be "inside the head" of a fascinating historical person.

Many details, not revealed or available from other sources, bring to life Elizabeth's Court. Great detail in the logistics need to move Elizabeth's court during progress are revealed. Places historical events into the everyday existance of the time. A must for the Elizabethan historian.

This book gives a deep insight into the protocols and systems required in the 16th century to maintain the monarchy in a position of strength while still governing a somewhat turbulent nation.Good research brings life to places, people and events.The wider political problems of Elizabeths reign rightly take second place to the general day to day requirements of a the Tudor nobility to sustain the rigours of court functions by laying heavy demands upon local landowners and their like.A book for those with both a deep and those with a more peripheral interest in Elizabethan history

In depicting the deep meaning of a man¡¯s struggle with society and himself, Professor Kaufman leads us to a world in which a person and an engine share the same characteristics. In us, putting parts of an engine together seems to be feasible, yet to pick our mental piece up and squeeze them back to their previous shape sounds more difficult. A successfully portrayed protagonist, Vinnie Buscemi drives an image into our mind to show what a logical assassin looks like. Among friendship, women and satisfaction of career, he feels tired and fails to arrange them well. When starting to make a fantastic implication of how we judge ourselves and how we treat others, Kaufman has answered many unreachable questions and meanwhile leaves many still beyond our understanding.

In depicting the deep meaning of a man¡¯s struggle with society and himself, Professor Kaufman leads us to a world in which a person and an engine share the same characteristics. In us, putting parts of an engine together seems to be feasible, yet to pick our mental piece up and squeeze them back to their previous shape sounds more difficult. A successfully portrayed protagonist, Vinnie Buscemi drives an image into our mind to show what a logical assassin looks like. Among friendship, women and satisfaction of career, he feels tired and fails to arrange them well. When starting to make a fantastic implication of how we judge ourselves and how we treat others, Kaufman has answered many unreachable questions and meanwhile leaves many still beyond our understanding.

Sir Geoffrey's is a great work, worth every minute spent reading it. One gains an understanding of the times, the society, the national and international politics, the economy, the religious issues -- and the fascinating Tudors and their administrators. A wonderful piece of work. Too bad the publisher Routledge packaged this masterpiece in a miserly volume meanly produced by The Guernsey Press. The type, which looks as though plates were made by photocopying some earlier printing, is like the fine print in a sales document -- so miniscule one must squint even in very good light. On many pages the text flows into the narrow gutters so that one must forcibly press the book open to make out what lies next to the binding. Because of the cheapness of the edition, reading it will be slow going for you, unless you do as I did: Force each two-page spread onto the flat bed of a photocopier, set the enlargement at 120%, and copy the text. Once I did that, the reading went smoothly. Shame on you, Routledge and Guernsey Press, for giving us such a fine work in such a shoddy presentation.

Elton is the most dangerous of historians -- clear, logical and able to charm with his (sometimes) dry wit.

Although fair due is given to all the monarchs:

Henry VII is capable and prudent;

Henry VIII is less capable, less prudent and in above his head;

Edward VI is selfish and malleable (but he was young);

Mary is sincere and narrow (Here Elton makes one of the few unfair statements in the book. He says, truly enough I expect, that during "Bloody Mary's" reign fewer people were killed for the cause of religion or rebellion than under any other Tudor. This ignores the brevity of her reign and makes no allowance for what might have been if Catholicism had been forcibly reintroduced.);

Elizabeth is truly a great ruler;

...the real hero is Thomas Cromwell who, in engineering Henry's divorce, established England as a state ruled by law.

A wonderful book.

This handsome coffee-table book, which covers roughly the sweep from Tahiti to Easter Island, is the work of the photographer son of the writer/painter Barnaby Conrad. The brief text skillfully introduces the islands, incorporating quotations from famous earlier visitors such as Melville, Gauguin, and Robert Louis Stevenson. The photographs are well chosen and provocatively juxtaposed with historical images, including old postcards, portions of maps, and even postage stamps. Unlike many books of this genre, there is an emphasis on portraying the local people in their everyday activities, as well as views of stunning sunsets. Primarily a gift book for those planning a tour and a souvenir to remember it by, this book may be priced beyond the budgets of many libraries.- Harold M. Otness

Bookbag...
A writer and photographer who splits his life between his native California and his adopted homeland of French Polynesia, Winston Conrad has put together a sampler of Pacific paradises. The title - Fabled Isles of the South Seas (dist. by ACCESS Publishers, $49.95) - says it all, or nearly, and Conrad's selection is hard to quarrel with, including as it does Tahiti and its Society Island neighbors, Pitcairn, the Cooks, the Tuamotus, the Marquesas, and Easter Island. Conrad clearly knows the territory, and each of his essays conveys a personal take amplified by extended quotes from eminent literary visitors (Jack London to James Michener). The illustrations include both Conrad's own color photographs and a nice melange of drawings, historical charts, and old prints. It's the grand Pacific tour with an informed guide.

I, too, have had the pleasure of studying with Dr. Horrox; however, I have had the added pleasure of having read this book. Dr. Horrox's choice of essays, her deft handling of the material, and the overall significance of the material is, not unexpectedly, superb.

i must confess that i haven't read this book just YET-- but i have looked for it forever, it seems. the reason i feel that i am justified in reviewing a book i haven't read is that i have had the extraordinary pleasure of getting it, as they say, straight from the horse's mouth. she was one of my professors at summer school in cambridge. her class was entitled life, literature and art 1000-1500 and was probably the most enjoyable class i've ever taken. she would never look at the class (we were warned that she wouldn't) but she would roam back and forth across the front of the room, looking up, looking down, and speaking almost as if to herself of the most fascinating bits of information. while other teachers were dry or commanding or chummy, she was just genuinely informative. she spoke of history as if it were the juiciest gossip that you held your breath to hear more of. if ms. horrox can write half as well as she teaches this book should be one of the greatest reads imaginable for anyone with even the slightest hint of interest on the subject. cheers, ms. horrox.

I'm fortunate in that someone very special recognized my interests this year with a generous gift in Stuart Kirkfield's book.

Wayne, Elser, Howells and Carmichael's books are all tickled to have this new one sitting amongst them on my shelf. Stuart evidently has forgotten more about building and restoration than many of us will learn. But, thanks to his book we're all better makers due to his efforts.

Tight lines,

Gerald

This is a surprisingly insightful, comprehensive book on the subject. Starts with good overview of bamboo fly rod evaluation, and walks the reader through the entire process of stripping, repair, varnishing, and beyond. Also useful to people who aren't interested in restoring fly rods, but do want to learn more about them. Belongs on the book shelf of every fly fisherman!