I do a lot of teaching in the area of leadership - this will be a classic - in my opinion. Robert Banks and the many other contributors, come from a wide range of backgrounds and professions. This book was refreshing - in that the writers actually wrote some new and refreshing thoughts. They have truely written outside the box.

For those of you who take long car rides, I recommend the tape version of this book; for educators the CD format is best for instant access to any composer. As for the material itself, it is a superb "beginner's guide" to the history of opera. Running just short of 320 minutes (each CD is packed up to nearly the 80 minute limit), the not too cultivated British voice of the narrator takes us through the stages of the development of opera with copious illustrations drawn from the mammoth Naxos catalogue. The information is beautifully organized and very very clearly expressed. I transferred my CD copy to tape so I could hear it several times while on the road and let the information sink in. There is a Naxos set along the same lines that traces the history of all Western music; but there I felt that 4 CDs were not enough. Here I congratulate whoever did the abrigement for a fine job.

This key is a must for anyone that is seriously interested in reptiles or amphibians. For instructors of Herpetology lab this book will prove to be invaluable, the illustrations and current phylogenetic classifications will aid in teaching.

'The Moon of Gomrath' is the wild magical sequel to 'The Weirdstone of Brisingamen', set in Alderley Edge in Cheshire of the present day but harking back to the days of Middlearth. Both these stories have a very Tolkienish way about them, it is an interesting exercise to compare and contrast the characters as they are introduced. It is a pity that Garner's books, faring less well than 'The Hobbit', dropped off the literary radar in the 1980's, but with the benefit of Potter power they are now back in style with new artwork on the cover.

Garner's special art is to take a basic swords-and-sorcery story and elevate it into a poetry-and-powers myth with gritty heroes and terrifying villains who hard to defeat and not always easy to spot. This story of Colin and Susan's second adventure is aimed at a slightly older audience than the Weirdstone, has Susan in the lead role, and has more depth and menace along with some sly humour. The Morrigan is back, not yet at the height of her powers, but ready for revenge. The elves are suffering and dying from the pollution caused by Man: they must retreat to cleaner, remoter places. The battles in magic and swordplay are more deadly and more personal and more realistic. The havoc and hard pace of war are felt in the prose, which is breathless and a little wild itself. The wizard Cadellin takes more of a back seat in this adventure but he does explain (in chapter four) why the coming of the 'Age of Reason' and industrialism was more of a coming of the age of Materialism and a retreat from Reason. Hence the great rift between our Man's world of material values, and the worlds of magic and the life of the spiritual values.

Now as every parent knows, children's books have the power of forming the child's mind. (True even in the age of film and video, as books are both more personal and make mind-expanding demands on the imagination. Films just fill up whatever space is in your head, they do not create it. Books are not just good for you, they are more fun.) So with magical adventures being very much back in style now is a good time to get the various authors into some sort of order. So, without going back to the ancient Greeks, where does Alan Garner fit in? We can easily go back a century or so: F. Anstey (Vice Versa), George MacDonald (Princess and Curdie stories), and E. Nesbit (House of Arden, etc), Tolkien (Hobbit, Farmer Giles of Ham), C.S. Lewis (Narnia, the land of youth), Ursula K. LeGuin (Earthsea), and Alan Garner. And, as Rowling's ghost Peeves puts it, 'Wee Potty Potter', brings us up to date.

So there are two main routes to magic. Anstey, MacDonald, Nesbit, Garner, and Rowling write a story that exercises magic in this world, and the two things collide with exciting degrees of chaos and depth. The results are serious or hilarious, or both. Garner manages to interface the two worlds with superior art. But a higher priced ticket will take you to a whole new world. Tolkien, Lewis, and LeGuin create whole worlds of their own and people it with new peoples - a fully magical world. The magic is integrated, truly part of the fabric of that world, not just added to make it fizz. One you are in, you belong there for a while. You return and your own world is now a little more magical. The whole range of literary forms is now possible, even super-possible as we no longer rely on supposed 'realism' to make the effects. They go beyond just making a magical talisman or two (some brilliantly done, others less so), and seeing 'what happens'. They make new countries and skies, new kingdoms and peoples, new languages and rules. Ultimately they are the suns and the others are the moons.

The Most Holy Trinosophia And The New Revelation Of The Divine Feminine proposes that after two thousand years of traditional Christianity, Western civilization ready to acknowledge and embrace the "divine feminine". Co-founder of the Sophia Foundation of North America Robert Powell carefully guides the readers through a maze of concepts about the "world soul", Sophia as a "Trinity of Mother Daughter, and Holy Soul"; and the feminine aspect of the Divine Godhead. The produce of years of extensive, meticulous research, Powell draws upon the teachings of the Sophianic Russian philosopher Pavel Florensky and the work of the modern Russian mystic Daniel Andreev to inculcate a deeper understanding of the notion of divine feminine and its potential for social change in the modern world. The Most Holy Trinosophia is an impressive, invaluable, and very welcome contribution to the study of religion, metaphysics, and spirituality.

Held onto this book for many years, and finally read it and was thrilled. I could almost feel that I was there during the war. The characters felt real and as if they were people I wanted to know. Couldn't put this book down, and I have searched for her other novels and loved the ones I have read so far. A must read!

_Nuclear Deterrence Theory_ is a very important work for students of strategy. Unfortunately, the book was published near the end of the Cold War when interest in nuclear strategy was waning. Consequently, it is not remembered as the important work that it is.

During in the Cold War, there was a very large debate amongst students of strategy and national security about how to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons. Numerous books were published on topics like brinkmanship, MAD, limited retaliation, and first strikes. In many ways, _Nuclear Deterrence Theory_ is the culmination of this literature and the answer to many of questions posed within it.

In _Nuclear Deterrence Theory_, Powell uses game theory to address the topics listed above. His analysis shows that there are widespread misconceptions regarding some of these topics. Moreover, the use of game theory provides insights into new dynamics within nuclear strategy. In general, although this may not be his aim, Powell causes the reader to appreciate how much warfare has changed since 1945 and how new ways of looking at strategy are needed.

Some readers might worry that the use of game theory, and the accompanying mathematical formulas, would be drawback to the book. However, Powell's writing is sufficiently explanatory to enforce his points and make the game theoretical analysis clear.

The real drawback to the book is the price. Why a publisher would charge so much for a book is beyond me. It certainly discourages anyone, including experts in the field interested in Powell's work, from buying the book.

This is a fascinating look at a politican best remembered for the $800,000 he left in a shoebox (more or less) in a shabby Springfield hotel room. But Paul Powell was more than that. He was a product of a unique time and place and became a political force that for a time revolved as a "twin-sun" with the Chicago Daley Machine. This book explains how Southern Illinois shaped Powell and how his roots affected his role in Illinois politics. It's also a fascinating look at racetrack politics - a convergence that sent Gov. Otto Kerner to prison. Bob Hartley knows his stuff and has written a very readable account of a very fascinating man.

Danny, the Champion of the World
By Roald Dahl

Are two heads better than one? Find out in Danny, the Champion of the World.

Danny and his father live in a small caravan next to his father's business, the filling station. Mr. Hazzel is rude, greedy and rich; he owns all the property except one little piece. One night Danny and his father go out to take all the pheasants from Mr. Hazzel's property before Mr. Hazzel's shooting party can begin. Will Danny and his father catch all the pheasants in time? Find out in Danny, the Champion of the World.

I like this book because it shows caring between Danny and his father. Danny and his father stick together like true friends. The pictures I see are in my mind; they're black and white but very detailed.

The author tries to teach you that by sticking together, anything is possible. You should really read this book.

The book Danny Champion of the World is written by Roald Dahl. Danny and his dad live in the country of England. When Danny was a baby his mother died, so he lived with his dad in an old gypsy caravan. Danny's dad owns and works at the filling station on the only piece of land that his dad owns. Everything else, Mr. Victor Hazel owns. Watch out! Danny's dad has a secret that Danny will soon find out. Danny and his dad have a really good relationship. One night, Danny found out about his dad's secret. Danny's dad had been poaching pheasants at night over in Mr. Victor Hazel's woods. Danny didn't know how to react to this phenomenon. Danny found out about the secret in the caravan. They both live in the caravan. The land, which they live on, is a small piece of land that is surrounded by Mr. Victor Hazel's land. Mr. Victor Hazel is the owner of the brewery. He is the one who owns all the pheasants.

The book Danny Champion of the World is a great book to read. The book is not too much of a mystery. I don't like mysteries too much. This book is very surprising. The book is also not too boring at all. Once you think it's going to be boring something fantastic always happens. I think you might really like this book.

This is probably one of Roald Dahl's most atypical books...here you'll find no fantastical elements, unless you count William's BFG story to Danny (which inspired Dahl's full-length novel about the Big Friendly Giant). No humorously exaggerated characters here...of course there's humor, but the characters are all people we've met. Even the baddies don't have the usual Dahl-ish quality of over-the-top nastiness for the sake of nastiness. The villains, too, are believable...the schoolroom Little Caesar who acquired a taste for power in the Army and continues to exercise it in his class, the noveau riche snob who puts on flamboyant airs in a desperate attempt to fit in with the old-money aristocrats.The very uniqueness of this book is what makes it so human and so appealing. This was originally a short story by Dahl (not for kids) that featured two roguish friends instead of a father and son. I'm glad he re-thought things, because William is one of the most beautifully and sensitively drawn fathers I've ever seen in children's literature, with his boundless fascination for the natural world, his inventiveness and creativity, and his ability to be both gentle and strong, devoting both strength and gentleness to his son (he's ready to thrash the aforementioned tyrant teacher for whipping Danny). Some have said that this book glorifies theft and dishonesty. Maybe I'm being a bit of a hypocrite, but in a way I see it as justified...William and Danny are poor (not really starving, but if anything ever happened to business they might be), and the rest of the village is not exactly rolling in money. No doubt they've known times when they wondered where their next meal was coming from. Yet rich, pretentious Victor Hazel has woods teeming with wild game...being fattened up for the sole purpose of being shot in a no-contest pheasant shoot. Can we wonder at it?Because of its warmly human perspective and beautiful father-son relationship, this would make a superb birthday gift from fathers to sons, or a Father's Day gift from sons to fathers.One note...in 1989 Jeremy Irons and his son Sam starred in a film version. The original illustrations (pre-Quentin Blake) for this book depict a William who looked so much like Jeremy Irons it was eerie...remember, these were done years before the film was made!

I decided to read this novel out of interest both as a musician, and as an A-Level English Literature student. After two chapters I was hooked, and could not put the book down. The thing that puts this novel head and shoulders above all the others is the brilliant characterisation - as a reader, you begin to care for Pelagia, the doctor's daughter; Mandras, her fiance who has been left physically and psychologically scarred by the war; Carlo, the brave but gentle Italian homosexual; and of course, the eponymous Captain Corelli. The writing style also plunges the reader through a range of emotions. The book goes from being hilariously funny, to poignant, to brutally shocking. You cannot help but laugh at a chapter written entirely from Mussolini's viewpoint, in which 'Il Duce' demands that the temperature of Italy be lowered in order to increase the resilience of the Italian youth! Likewise, when an Italian character has his head split by a Greek bullet, and asks Carlo to break the news to his mother, the poignancy is unbearable. De Bernieres' description of Corelli's music is so vivid, you can almost hear the pieces he plays, and the depiction of battles is also brilliant. This book will open your eyes to the fact that not all of the Fascist troops in the Second World War were maniacs - some, like the fictitious Captain Corelli, were ordinary people caught up in a savage conflict.

This book was, quite simply, one of the most enjoyable and enduring I've read for a long, long time. Like a lot of people, I keep thinking there's a book inside me just waiting to get out but I don't think I'll ever be capable of such a masterpiece. Indeed, I don't think I can find the superlatives to express how good I felt it was. I think what makes it so beautiful is that there are so many lovable characters - people that are developed so well in the text that you know them inside out. I felt as if I had lived among them. The circumstances that befall the small Greek island and its inhabitants are so sad and, at the end, it was almost enough to make me weep. Not sadness borne out of the cruelty of the war but of the sadness that came with the love of the central characters. I've lent this book to two friends who both said it was brilliant. A little note for new readers - I found there was a part of the book near the beginning where I had to "stick with it". It's the narrative that explains the Italian/Greek roles in the Second World War. But it's essential (at least it was for me) to fully enjoy the whole book. Read it, you'll love it!

I was put off buying a copy of "Captain Corelli's Mandolin", due to its popularity (it even appears at the end of "Notting Hill", in Hugh Grant's hand!), but I regret not having read it soooner. There is a very good reason for its popularity. Quite simply, it is a literary work of genius. Despite my young years, I have read many novels, and I have never been so moved. It is sad, without being depressing; historical and political, without being dull; romantic, without being conventional and, for want of a better word, "soppy". It is a novel which embraces the very epitome of the word "perfection"- I have even written to Mr. de Bernieres to commend him, something I have never done before; no author has even made me contemplate doing so until now. Some readers disliked the ending: I can understand their point of view, due to the sheer frustration and tears provoked, but there was a good twist of the plot, albeit somewhat cruel for the reader! Several times, I had to put the book down, to compose myself, that I may continue. I shouted! I roared with laughter! I sobbed! Once, I was crying for 10 minutes solid, laughing through my tears, in spite of myself. I have SO much to say about "Captain Corelli's Mandolin", but frankly, a) I have no words that can be compared to Mr. de Bernieres' and b) I would hate for someone to read my review, and to get their hopes up too much. Please, just read this book. It is a fabulous yarn!