A refreshingly broad examination of world thought. Phillips does a fine job of tending both to the needs and dispositions of the Western reader without diluting any of the non-Western material. A nice break away from the normally Western-dominated bias found in texbooks of this sort.

Bill Jones and his many fine companions have compiled a truly noteworthy collection of stories, reviews, columns and more. I spent hours and hours poring over this distinguished work.

A great simple book with clear graphics and a lift up on each page. Milly searches a house looking for a monster, but instead finds animals under blankets etc. - the flaps reveal what the monster really is each time. Needless to say she does find her monster in the end. Each page also has four common elements (e.g. a spider) for the child to look for. Excellent

Dr. Bonevac is brilliant...period.

Through the many letters reprinted in this volume, Robert Phillips allows us a glimpse into the world of a writer, who for most of his career suffered the indignity of indifference and the bitterness of rejection; only within the past two decades has Goyen's work received much critical attention. The book is divided into 7 sections, beginning with 1932, when Goyen recieved his B.A. in Literature from Rice Institute, until 1983, when the author died of lymphoma. Each section contains a chronology of letters that at first glance reads like a travelogue, a reflection of Goyen's inability to reconcile with the idea of place. Many of the pages reveal how he would settle somewhere new, begin to write, start to feel hemmed in, and move to another destination. Still, even when in California or New York, he never lost touch with those he most cared for, and he always considered Texas his home. The lyricism that echoes throughout his fiction and poetry is also heard amidst his letters. There are passionate notes to Katherine Anne Porter, whith whom he reportedly had a two-year relationship, comments to novelist Daniel Stern made during the time that Goyen was his editor at McGraw-Hill, as well as evidence of both the creative euphoria and crippling depression that he experienced throughout his life. Due to an estrangement over the publication of his masterpiece, The House of Breath (1950), there is not much correspondence with family members, but perhaps that is just as well since Phillips' aim was to focus on "letters about his writing, the writing of others, and art and literature in general " (xii) . The result then, is an autobiographical picture never before seen within the modest amount of Goyen scholarship that currently exists. We learn of an early military experience that almost cost him his sanity, his resentment at being called a Southern writer, and the writers he considered most influential, including Eliot, Pound, Frost, Welty, Porter, and Flaubert. Robert Phillips has done an amazing job in editing this epistolary volume. He offers us Wiliiam Goyen as friend, lover, and writer, whose raw, human vision is made clearer through his own words. This is an indispensable source for anyone wishing to learn more about a man whose importance to the canon of modern American literature has yet to be realized.

No one paints aviation sunsets like this man! Classic aircraft, biplanes, WW II fighters all the way to rocket planes. A great collection from the same artist who brought you the July '97 classic aircraft postage stamp collection. Bill Phillips' work is entertaining for the aviation enthusiast/perfectionist, as well as being satisfying fine art. Painting is his calling and he is faithful with his gift. The text stops short of explaining some of the most significant, and encouraging, aspects of Bill's biography.Closely examine his signature and you'll discover the driving force that sustains Bill and his work. This is a wonderful book that would have rated a 10 if the art was not split across the page gutters. As is the price is right, but I'd gladly have paid another $20 to have a larger book with the images on one page. It violates every user-friendly layout rule of coffee table art books- but this is NOT the fault of the artist! Don't get me wrong, I'm still happy to have this book. But it could have been even better. J. Campbell Martin

Edward Parks has done a masterful job of interpreting the art of Bill Phillips. Mr. Parks was a fighter pilot (P-39's) in New Guinea at the start of WWII and after the war became a nationally recognized writer for the National Geographic and later, for the Smithsonian Institute. His first hand knowledge of flying combined with an incredible gift for prose makes "The Glory of Flight" a perfect match between artist and writer. Bill Phillips is undoubtedly America's premier aviation artist. His ability to capture the experience of seeing the world from aloft is truly inspiring. "The Glory of Flight" is a must for any aviation enthusiast. The title says it all!

Bill Phillips is a superb landscape artist who captures aircraft in moments of aviation history on the richest backgrounds imaginable. I was priviledged to attend his showing of major works in the National Air & Space Museum in September, 1987; and have been an avid collector since

For the past 20 years, I have been looking for a book that describes uniforms and equipments used by the Chinese Armies during WW II. This book is the one I have waited for. It is precious because I know it is impossible for a Chinese author to write a book as such without any political overtone, and I was wondering why would anyone else have the interest. This book is smartly titled "Chinese Civil War Armies", not "Chinese World War II Armies" to reflect the internal conflict within the country during that time. The detail description of the uniforms and equipments, as well as the historical accounts are execellent. The color plates are unprecedented. My only criticisms are 1. There is no glossary for all the tranlated Chinese terms mentioned in the book. 2. The text and the related pictures are far apart. I congradulate the author, Mr. Jowett, for the monumental book.

Growing up in the late forties, as a child, I vaguely remember hearing about McCarthy and the Great Debate about "Who Lost China." Well, I can tell you that with no hesitation. Chaing Kai Shek lost China when he invaded Manchuria in 1945 but he made a long run at the pole and almost grabbed the prize. If it had not been for the Japanese invasion he probably would have finished off the Reds and taken over the whole country.
I knew the story of Chaing and Mao and Chou En Lai but nothing about the warlord period before 1930.
As an adult I have read some widely in recent years about the post 1940 period but admit much ignorance about the early days from 1911 to then. Well, since ignorance is curable but stupidity is not, and I am not stupid, I have been able to satisfy my curiousity with this volume and dispelled as much ignorance as I wanted to.
So if you want a detailed history of this period, go elsewhere, if you want excellent illustrations of what the various contenders for the rule of China looked like and a quick overview of what they did, then this is for you.
Many volumes in this publisher's ouevre are lacking in depth or in scholarship. The series began years ago as an aid to the makers of military minitures but in the last 15 years has improved considerably where the latest volumes could claim space on a public library shelf. This is one of those.
My curiosity is satisfied. Yours might be also.

The subtitle to Van Dulken's "Inventing the 20th Century" is "100 inventions that shaped the world." True, the airplane, jet engine, automatic transmission, and microchip, among others, certainly have changed the world. But I find it hard to accept that Silly Putty and the Slinky fall into that category. His 100 inventions include many other inventions of questionable worth and pedigree, including several British ones that few Americans would recognize. In many instances the inventions cited by patents were not the ones that turned into the products that we are now familiar with, and his discriptions were often difficult to follow, in part because the auther writes more like a patent attorney than a historian or storyteller. The stories of many of the most significant inventions were already well known to me ---- their stories have been better told in other books, articles or documentaries that I've seen or read over the years. The more obscure inventions were not presented in any more exciting manner. The fault may have been in the author being limited by the format of one or two pages of narrative for each invention. The overall effect was that of a bland, incomplete and unsatisfying meal. You're left feeling hungry but without a desire to consume any more.

I purchased this book to help with a university project and have found it extremely informative and absorbing.
The inventions mentioned are sometimes taken for granted in every day life, while others are just plain awesome. Some are wacky and outrageous, others are very practical. The author has provided an amazing insight into the inventions with clear information and patent drawings. I have recommended this book to many others on my course and this is the best book on inventions I have ever seen. Even my course tutor has commented on the book being a 'delight'.

This is one of those rare books which is as entertaining as it is informative. Van Dulken selects and discusses "100 inventions that shaped the world", organizing his material within ten chapters to correspond with the ten decades of the 20th century:

1900-1910 (e.g. aeroplane, air conditioning, and the vacuum cleaner)

1910-1919 (e.g. Formica®, neon lighting, and the self-service supermarket

1920-1929 (e.g. the bread slicing machine, power steering, and television

1930-1939 (e.g. the jet engine, the photocopier, and radar

1940-1949 (e.g. the ballpoint pen, the computer, and the transistor

1950-1959 (e.g. the geodesic dome, the microchip, and Velcro® fasteners)

1960-1969 (e.g. implantable pacemaker, the mouse, and the Workmate® workbench) 1970-1979 (e.g. the artificial heart, Post-it® notes, and the smart card)

1980-1989 (e.g. cellular phones, genetic fingerprinting, and the video game)

1990-1999 (e.g. cloning animals, fuel cells, and programmable materials)

Van Dulken discusses ten different inventions in each of the ten chapters, providing detailed descriptions as well as explanations of the historical context in which each was devised and by whom. In the Introduction by Andrew Phillips, the reader is told that the inventions highlighted in this book "have benefitted people of virtually every nation. Some have helped combat the despair of disease, poverty, excessive (even unendurable) labour. Other inventions -- though less illustrated by this book --have contributed to the ravages of war. What comes forth so often, however, from the examples described here is the individuality and initiative which characterizes so many inventors who helped change the world between 1900 and 1999." Quite true. Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out Mokyr's The Lever of Riches and Novak's The Fire of Invention.

The book was the main text book in one of my MBA classes. The class taught how to deal with people in a variety of situations. The book is best used in this setting. A majority of the pages describe several role playing situations and there's also feedback forms on how you did. So it's nice to have someone to do the role plays with you. If you are just going to read the book, it gives a short synopsis of what you need to foucs on in each "tip".

This book ensures group interaction and discussions in any training situation. I first used this book in a business graduate course and I found the role plays very helpful. Unlike many other books I have used, these role plays are effective and don't make the students feel silly. Each chapter begins with a self-assessment exercise and end with a concise quiz and summary.

I think that about 75 copies of this book were produced. It has probably been read by about 15 people in the whole world. It is a product of 15 years of work and now after 26 years it still contains a lot of good information on the Epena language. I hope to produce a dictionary soon. We have produced about 26 books in the Epena language.

Phill