This book is great and all, the only problem is, you have to make sure you know the words in shorthand already. This book doesn't waste any time and goes straight to the transcription, but that may not be so good for new users. Other than that, this book is great and really goes indepth with the way to transcipt your shorthand notes.

This book is VERY good for learning Gregg shorthand. It shows the forms clearly and has lists of brief forms. The sentences that are written in shorthand in the front of the book are written in English in the back for easy decoding. It explains shorthand very well, and is an all-around great book for learning to write in shorthand.

Years ago I went to secretarial school and learned shorthand. I use it to this day. It's a wonderful way to take notes when people are talking to you on the phone, reminder notes to do this or that, grocery lists, whatever.

Yes, it takes time, work, and drill to learn shorthand. Yes, it's worth your while! Once you know shorthand, you will never have to hide your gift list again .

Some of Robert Frost's best poetry, woven together with insight and thoughtful comments.

It could be said that art, including poetry, should never be taught, only presented. A sure death knell to reader endeavor is having an artist's work forced on reluctant subjects at very young ages. Frost's universal appeal and critical success made him a favorite of the pedantic, institutional teaching of the 50's and 60's. His late-life ties to Kennedy's Camelot made the situation worse, as increased recognition diverted plaudits askew from the real measure of his work. The negative experience of my own such introduction forced in me a habit of deliberately overlooking celebrated well-knowns for the shadowy lesser-knowns. This practice unearthed for me a few rare delights in reading, music and general discovery. Then, in my late twenties I picked up a copy of the Frost/Untermeyer, The Road Not Taken, read a couple of poems along with some of the commentary and thought well enough of it to actually buy it. I summarily read it cover to cover (something I'd rarely done with books of poetry). There were the same poems again--the ones I'd been lead to read as a youngster...but not quite. Untermeyer teaches, not out of pedantic duty, but as a true friend and scholar of Robert Frost, the man. There may be less skewed critical evaluations of Frost's poetry; but these are usually set apart from the work, and most often geared to literary scholars. In essence, Untermeyer presents rather than evaluates Robert Frost, and does it in the same manner Frost wrote--simple, deliberate, and non-intrusive.
This (an earlier edition of the one offered here) is one of my most treasured books--not so much for the poems within, but for what Louis Untermeyer offers--an access to opportunity missed. Frost 'doubted if [he] should ever come back,' to where the roads diverged; yet, Untermeyer offers us a second chance, and this time (for all who think they know enough of Robert Frost), it may very well make 'all the difference.'

Excellent collection of Frost Poetry. Plus, the analyses by the author are a nice addition.

The title is a little deceptive. In fact, this book is mostly about Chaucer and his era, 220 pages worth. Stevenson gets a fair shake at 106 pages. But Carlyle gets only 12 pages, and Tolstoy only four, and those a rather simplistic critique of his philosophy. So only buy the book if you're interested in the former two writers.

As in most of Chesterton's biographies, the story of the subject's life is of minor interest here, compared to a philosophical and artistic description of the subject's works in the context of his time and "modern times." Chesterton is interested in the writer as a thinker, as a creator, and as a moral agent. In defending Stevenson and Chaucer, he argues for his view of Christianity, poetry, love, and artistic humility. If you want his religious views in a purer form, go to the brilliant Orthodoxy or Everlasting Man. If you want a detailed narration of the lives of the writers in question, look elsewhere. And even for this style of biography, I think his book on Dickens was the best I've read. But I found his opinionated description and defense of Chaucer and his times also very interesting. And while he does not scatter brilliant sayings like rose petals at a wedding, as in his best books, (reading Everlasting Man, I wanted to copy every other sentence) a few blossoms do flutter down, like the following, which also explain Chesterton's method:

"The truly impartial historian is not he who is enthusiastic for neither side in a historical struggle. . .The truly impartial historian is he who is enthusiastic for both sides. He holds in his heart a hundred fanaticisms."

"The greatest poets of the world have a certain serenity, because they have not bothered to invent a small philosophy, but have rather inherited a large philosophy. It is, nine times out of ten, a philosophy which very great men share with very ordinary men. It is therefore not a theory which attracts attention as a theory."

Author, Jesus and the Religions of Man (July 2000)

d.marshall@sun.ac.jp

G.K. Chesterton, best known for his Father Brown detective stories, also stands out as a remarkable literary critic. He is most astute on Stevenson, his greatest influence, rightly seeing him as the first great writer to find beauty in a modern city. A must!

KIDNAPPED is a mazing I wish I could write down every thing about it but this a review so I'll only tell you some of the begaining. A boy Named Davie is an orphan who is on the way to his uncles and he meets him and the uncles a very crule man. when Davie realizes that his life is in Dangered he wants to see a lawyer but first the uncle insist that they go on Covenant (a big sailing ship) and thats when he gets kidnapped its also when the book gets really good!! from there on the book deals with pirates and the sailing open seas its a great book dont miss it!

These two Stevenson novels are a great read for both adults and children and will be well worth your time. If you enjoy going to exotic places and experiencing interesting characters involved in great adventures, this tandem set is for you.

The lesser known of the two novels, "Kidnapped," tells the story of a young lad who is orphaned and sent to live with an uncle he has never seen. The uncle is a treacherous character living in a gothic setting and harboring a deep family secret soon to be revealed to the hapless orphan. A sea and land adventure follow that will keep you turning pages in this classic adventure.

"Treasure Island" is another great adventure that was beautifully rendered in the film with Wallace Beery and Jackie Cooper. As I read the novel after a recent screening of the film, I could hear Wallace Beery in Stevenson's dialogue of Long John Silver.

These novels are often considered to be children's literature because the main characters are children. However, the language makes them more appropriate for readers from adolescence to adulthood.

"Arrrgh. Avast ye maties!"

This book is essentially the story of the fight between good and evil that rages in a man's soul. Jekyl is too weak to keep his evil side under control and tries to destroy it. The results are horrible. I enjoyed reading this book, but I find it fascinating that you rate this as a children's book. The overall content of the book is certainlly acceptible for a child to read, but to suggest that a child would understand the deep moral undertones of this book is ludicrous.

The Dr. ,on a quest for enlightenment, has separated his pure and good self from his evil. This is a story of addiction. The Dr., by accident, creates a drug more dangerous and powerful than any recreational drug from the 20th century. Problems? It can't be duplicated, not even by the Dr., and there is no antidote. Hyde is dying and he's taking the Dr. and the Dr.'s closest friend with him. Stevenson has captured the skin crawling, ugly, sloppy, locked jaw feelings associated with the addiction to drugs/alcohol, addiction to power, addiction to money, addiction to class, and addiction to cruelty throughout the book. This book is as real today as when it was written. You might know, or be, the Dr.

Forget Lana Turner and Ingred Bergman, there are no women in this book. Hydes' housekeeper makes brief appearance but is of no importance to the plot. This is not a childrens book.

this book is one of the most helpful piece of wood broken down and bound together you can ever find on this nice universe. It is very relevent ot the electronics department and after one has finished reading it, not to understand any of the things in it means that that person has a problem!

Arguably one of the best books in the business! The book doesn't expect you to know much besides high school physics and a little calculus. A good starter book for any electrical engineer, it encompasses most standard electronic devices and their circuit applications. A big plus point is the large clear diagrams which link well with the text and clear language. Interested in electronics? This is the book for you!

Probably one of the first examples of journalistic fiction, Defoe's "A Journal of the Plague Year" is a pseudo-eyewitness account of the London plague of 1665. Writing this in 1722, Defoe casts himself into the role of his uncle whom he calls H.F. and who recounts the events in grisly detail but with magnanimous compassion. Aside from the prose, the book has a surprisingly modern edge in the way it combines facts about a sensationally dire historical event with "human interest" stories for personal appeal. It seems so factual that at times it's easy to forget that it's just a fictitious account of a real event.

The plague (H.F. writes) arrives by way of carriers from the European mainland and spreads quickly through the unsanitary, crowded city despite official preventive measures; the symptoms being black bruises, or "tokens," on the victims' bodies, resulting in fever, delirium, and usually death in a matter of days. The public effects of the plague are readily imaginable: dead-carts, mass burial pits, the stench of corpses not yet collected, enforced quarantines, efforts to escape to the countryside, paranoia and superstitions, quacks selling fake cures, etc. Through all these observations, H.F. remains a calm voice of reason in a city overtaken by panic and bedlam. By the time the plague has passed, purged partly by its own self-limiting behavior and partly by the Great Fire of the following year, the (notoriously inaccurate) Bills of Mortality indicate the total death toll to be about 68,000, but the actual number is probably more like 100,000 -- about a fifth of London's population.

Like Defoe's famous survivalist sketch "Robinson Crusoe," the book's palpable moralism is adequately camouflaged by the conviction of its narrative and the humanity of its narrator, a man who, like Crusoe, trusts God's providence to lead him through the hardships, come what may. What I like about this "Journal" is that its theme is more relevant than its narrow, dated subject matter suggests: levelheadedness in the face of catastrophe and the emergence of a stronger and wiser society.

Daniel Defoe's A Journal of the Plague Year is an interesting volume that blends fact and fiction quite indiscriminately, as the author intended. It is easy to forget it is fiction as it reads as fact (and it seems likely there are enough actual facts strewn throughout as to enhance this perception). Defoe was less concerned about these issues concerning fiction and non-fiction than modern readers and writers and it is fascinating to see an example of the early beginnings of novel writing. The style could frustate some readers (there is virtually no attempt at characters and only small strands of a narrative per se) but the descriptions of a town in crisis were both gripping and fascinating. An unique volume.

When a subject is gruesome it attracts notoriety. Unfortunately, if it is real, it loses it. This story of the the affects of the Plague in London in 1665 should be required reading for all people of all civilized countries. How the Plague started, how its spread was covered up initially and why, how the government was forced to respond, what happened to the economy and the outlying regions - these things could happen any day in any year in any country. Look at the news archives of the spread of SARS, how the government in (I think) Indonesia enacted house quarantines, how the Chinese economy was distablized. This is a very real warning and will not lose its timeliness as long as people build cities and economies. He is not just describing what happened but giving us warning and ideas for how it can be handled better.

IF you love action packed eciting books you should read Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. This thriller made me want to turn the page every second. It takes place in a very old town in London. It is about a kind doctor named Henry Jekyll. He creates a potion that turned him into a destructive crazy person named Edward Hyde. Not one single person in the small town expects the truth, that it's Dr.Henry Jekyll. What do you think the towns people will do when they find out it's Henry? You'll have to read the rest of this fantastic,and exciting book. If you like this book I recommoned you read "Kidnapped" also by robert Louis Stevenson!

If you love action packed book you should read Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson.It's about a kind docter named Henry Jekyll,he makes a potiont that turns him into the weirdist scareist creature. No one expects it's the kind Dr.Jekyll.This story takes place in London.I think this is the greatest book of the year, because of all the exitment and action in it. If you liked this book I think you should read kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson.

If you like exciting books you will love Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson! The story takes place in olden day London. Dr. Henry Jekyll is a kind and caring person. Mr. Edward Hyde is a destructive crazed lunatic! With this distructive creature on the loose no one suspects that this monster is really their loving Dr. Jekyll. It was very a exciting book I couldn't wait to turn the page. If you like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde you would also like Kidnapped also by Robert Louis Stevenson.

This is a short and sweet introduction to St. Louis Cemetery # 1 in New Orleans. Although this is the type of book you can read at home it becomes much more relevent if you take it along with you and read it as you tour this cemetery. Very interesting information.

I rated it four stars rather than five because Robert Florence wrote another book called New Orleans Cemeteries. Much of the introduction of this book is almost word for word in the New Orleans Cemeteries. That made it redundant for those of us who have read the larger, more complete book about all the cemeteries in NO.

I enjoyed this book. It was filled with a lot of good information. The authors appreciation of cemeteries and their buildings and history shows in this writing. I particularly like that there are stories of some of the people buried in this cemetery. I would have liked to see more of that (Another reason for the four rating.)

Overall, I'd buy this book again and take it with me on my tour of this cemetery.

As a New Orleans native, I always enjoy playing tourist without having to risk my life to take in some of the wonderful buildings and architecture of my hometown. This simple but entertaining book takes you on a short (and I do mean short) tour of St. Louis Cemetery #1, the city's oldest (and also one of the most dangerous to visit) cemeteries. To outsiders, N.O.'s rows and rows of mausoleum walls is quite impressive. Thanks to New Orleans being seriously below sea level, above-ground burials have been a necessary part of death. This book explains all the mystery and even highlights some famous resting residents of the cemetery, such as Marie Laveau and Homer Plessy (of the famed Plessy v. Ferguson case). The author also reminds us that playing tourist in this cemetery can assure you might not come out of it. On the closing page, the author has reprinted the plaque from the Archidiocese explaining the lack of security in the cemetery and the dangers of touring alone. Group cemetery tours in New Orleans are abundant, so cemetery-sight-seeing alone is never a good idea. The book explains that as people leave N.O. for safer surroundings, they are also leaving the cemetery to fall into disrepair and decay. Many crypts are in terrible condition, some nearly destroyed by vandals and the elements. The book has a very poetic overtone to it, and you can feel the author's interest and intrigue with St. Louis Cemetery #1. I only gave it 4 stars because I believe the book could have been longer without sacrificing the rich tone it has. Excellent book, and the bibliography lists other great titles if you just can't get enough of the strage lure of the New Orleans cemeteries and their haunting architecture.

I recently toured St. Louis Cemetery #1 with Robert Florence as the guide and was very impressed with his knowledge, not only of this graveyard, but of New Orleans in general. I purchased this book the next day at the Garden District Bookstore, famous as Ann Rice's neighborhood bookstore, and read the entire thing on the plane while flying home. The history of the cemetery and how it fits in with the history of New Orleans is just fascinating and written in a manner that makes for pleasant, easy reading.