By far one of the best books written on the Battle of the Buldge and the seige at Bastogne. Burgett gives excellent eyewitness testimony to the horror and slaughter that was the Battle of the Buldge. The reader sees the battle through the eyes that faught it. Burgett brilliantly takes the reader into the heat of the battle and makes the reader understand what it was like to be in the 101st Airborne during World Wae II. I could not put this book down until it was finished and it made me want to read as much as i could about the Battle of the Buldge.Donald Burgett is truly an American Hero. I highly recommend this book to everyone young and old.

this book is amazingly interesting. i dont usually read ofter but this book was hard to put down. I loved this work. it is a story of donald and his regiment surrounded in bastogne fighting back to the safety of their lines. their convoy is attacked by a hefty chunk of artillery fire and german ambushes. it also speaks of heavy shelling during all hours of the night by 35 panzer divisions. "seven roads to hell" tells how he loses friends in a battle in the woods. i hope you enjoy it!

Mr. Burgett was a 19 year old paratrooper in the 101st airborne who had the luck (good or bad) to witness some of the fiercest fighting that took place during the second world war. This book provides you with the feel from the trenches of those terrible dark days when it looked like the Wehrmacht and Hitler's Germany were striking forward again. The terrible cold, fear, and the brutality of the combat spring to life in this well written account. This text is an easy and quick read, I finished it on one 3 hour plane flight.
Mr. Burgett participated in multiple attacks and defenses and his writing of them is extremely detailed as I suppose those memories linger quite clearly. This is not a book of strategy or an overview of the Battle of Bastogne, but simply how one man experienced the combat and the losses. No quarter was given or asked for. Prisoners were given no solace as there was no food, medicine or even men to guard them. This was combat in its rawest form. A good reminder to all of what war really is in its basic form - young men killing other young men. Mr. Burgett experienced this at arms length and is kind enough to share his experiences. Read this and be thankful for the freedom from fascism that we share!

I recently rediscovered this favorite book from my childhood (which was 40+ years ago now), and fell in love all over again. Now my 4 year old daughter and I both get to experience the exquisite pleasure of Ferdinand on a regular (i.e. nightly) basis. The gorgeous illustrations and simple, powerful story of the biggest bull on the farm who would rather "sit just quietly and smell the flowers", is as moving today as it was when it was written more than 50 years ago. And I cannot think of a more important lesson to teach our children today: that it is o.k. to be yourself, even when everyone else thinks you should be something else. This is a sweet, lovely story for children and adults alike, and is one of the few books I look forward to reading over and over again. Luckily, my daughter agrees.

This was one of my favorite books as a child, and is now my two-year-old's favorite story. While bullfighting may seem to be an inappropriate topic for a toddler, the message of the story is that Ferdinand does not want to fight and that's just fine. The best aspect of the book, however, are the pictures and the wonderful expressions of all the characters, from the ladies with flowers in ther hair to poor Ferdinand after he is stung by the bee. This story is great for all ages.

Ferdinand is a pacifist who enjoys sitting under a tree smelling the flowers. He is completely uninterested in fighting and when the local bullfighters come out the field to find fighting bulls, they ignore Ferdinand....until Ferdinand is stung by a bee and puts on a show that impresses the matadors. Ferdinand is taken to the arena for a bullfight; however, he refuses to fight and is returned to the field. The matadors have all the gory swords which are not used in the book. My 3 year old son wanted to know why there were swords which presented an interesting dilemma. In my opinion, this book is not for children who are younger than 3. As stated above, 3 year olds need a lot of careful explanation about the story. They do not need to know why and how the swords are used. The violence of the bullfight is not central to this story. Ferndinand's character and his refusal to fight is. This is a beautiful story that your child will enjoy.

Honest Illusions was the first Nora Roberts books I read. This story is about a family called the Nouvelles. They are based in New Orleans and they are all magicians. While doing one of their shows on the road they take in a boy named Luke and from then on it becomes a beautiful story. The thing I like most about this book is the way she incorporates magic and love and doen't make it mushy. Nora definetly has a way with words and this is one of her greatest masterpeices. You have to read this book.

This book is the most touching of NR I have ever read. I dont know, maybe because this is my first Nora Roberts to ever read, but this one always stands out in my mind as the best. Roxy and Luke are great. Personally, Luke is my favorite character. He just touches the heart from the first chapter of the book. Max and Lily are great too. If you love emotional books...READ THIS ONE.You won't be dissapointed

This is/was one of my most favorite Nora Roberts books. The characters are funa nd exciting. The plot is different. Although filled with love, it is not too mushy. I think that the relationships between daughter and father and cook and man are very realistic. I enjoyed this book and have read it several times (which not something I usually do!).

By far the most realistic of the Bond books. Fleming's description of the MGB (later KGB) headquarters in Moscow's Dzherzinsky Square, where the plot to lure British agent James Bond to his death is first revealed, is reputedly based on information to which he was privy in his capacity as a WWII officer in British Naval Intelligence -- likewise the recruitment and training of the psychopathic killer Red Grant, one of the most formidable of Bond's enemies (and the only one in the films who looked for a while about to kill Bond for sure! 007 meets his match in Grant!) This is the book behind what in my opinion is the best of the Bond movies, steeped in the atmosphere of the Cold War into which the Bond series was born. 007 travels to Istanbul in pursuit of the bait, a Lektor decoder which can read top secret Soviet military and intelligence signal traffic. Another form of bait is the beautiful Tatiana Romanova, an MGB cipher clerk allegedly in love with Bond, willing to defect with the Lektor if only 007 will come and fetch her. (Fleming takes yet another jab at the Reds by choosing this name for Bond's love interest -- Romanov was the family name of the last Czar of old imperial Russia, the family doomed to extinction by the Russian revolution.) Kerim Bey adds a bit of panache, mischief and mystery as "Our man in Istanbul," Head of Station T (for Turkey). A truly great and suspenseful plot!

Fleming seemed to have used his first four novels (Casino Royale, Live and Let Die, Moonraker, and Diamonds are Forever) to warm us up to the Bond character and used the same plot style for the first four novels. In From Russia, With Love, Fleming takes Bond and his writing style to a higher, more intellectual level. Fleming is masterful in setting the scenes without being too boring. Bond doesn't appear until the second part of the book (Part II-The Plan) and you hardly even notice. Another interesting note is that of the James Bond movies, From Russia, With Love the movie follows the novel pretty well, even in lesser scenes such as the gypsy fight. This, perhaps, is due to the fact that Fleming was alive only for the filming and release of Dr. No and From Russia, With Love. This book is clearly Fleming at the top of his game and an outstanding entry to the series.

Considered by many to the be the best James Bond 007 book of all time, From Russia With Love delivers the perfect formula for a James Bond novel. Originally, Ian Fleming's tales of 007 were not going so good, so he intended with this book to kill off James Bond once and for all. The end of this novel is quite a surprise to a first time reader.

The book begins by telling of the commanding rule of SMERSH. The leader of this organization is General Grubozaboyschikov. Also working is Colonel Rosa Klebb and director of planning Kronsteen, who treats real people as if they were chess pieces. The muscle of the group is a homicidal madman, who follows orders, and is in practically perfect physical shape, Donovan "Red" Grant. These evil minds have planned the perfect way to destroy the life and reputation of James Bond. Their plan is to lure 007 with the beatiful Tatiana Romanova and a Spektor cipher decoding machine as bait. Then Grant will meet up with them eventually and kill them both. However, SMERSH will take it a step further to lie to the public that Bond and Tatiana were in an affair, and that Bond commits suicide. It's a perfect plan.
Bond indeed does travel to Istanbul, believing that this girl wants to defect, and will give him the Spektor machine only if he personally helps her. 007 meets Darko Kerim, and a wonderful gypsy fight adds to the fun of the story. Bond and Tatiana travel on a train back to Europe, where he meets Red Grant and is told of the plan to kill him. An extremely bvrutal gun and fist fight breakes out between the men with 007 shooting Grant. 007 goes to Paris with Tatiana to catch Rosa Klebb in a meeting. However, Klebb releases a poison knife from her shoe and kicks 007 in the leg, before being taken away by the police. The story ends with 007 lying on the floor of the hotel room...

Perhaps the finest story of Ian Fleming, filled with the excitement and adventure to give this book it's reputation as on of the best 007 novels ever!

We are grade 5T from Holland Elementary School in Holland, Massachusetts. There are 16 students in our class. Most of us are 10 to 11 years old. We read Homer Price for our first literature study book of the year.

The book is about a young boy and six of his marvelous adventures. The stories take place in the 1930's. The setting is the small town of Centerburg. Homer has adventures with the Sheriff, his Uncle Ulysses, and friends Freddy and Louis. They meet unusual people like Mr. Murphy, the Super-Duper, and Miss Terwilliger.

Here are some things our class liked about the book. We liked the stories because they were funny and interesting. The class liked all the Sheriff's spoonerisms. We liked how the stories were short. A lot of people thought that Aroma was a really neat pet. The class liked how all the stories were mainly about Homer.

Here are some things that our class did not like about the book. Some of our class did not like how old-fashioned the stories were. Some of us are more interested in contemporary stories. Some of us thought the stories were a little too long. We found some words were very long and complicated. It was kind of hard.

My book review is about a boy named Homer Price. He lives in a small town two miles out of Centerburg with his friends and relatives. The story starts with Homer discovering a skunk in his kitchen drinking his Tabby cat's milk. When Homer decides to keep him as a pet, they start to go on great adventures to solve the case of the stolen case of money and shaving acessories. The two also run into Homer and his best friend Freddy's comic hero, the Super Duper. When the boys are in enough mess already, their doughnut machine goes bonkers and makes millions of doughnuts. At the same month an annual yarn tournament was held with people from all over the town with yarn balls as tall as houses. This book is great because it goes on and on with other hilarious stories. Like the mouse man and the area with all identical houses.
In my opinion I really enjoy this book because it's very humorous and I've read it before when I was 10. This book also brings a lot of memories and cracks me up just thinking about it. This book is so entertaining that I wish my city was just like Homer's. I also admire the entertaining mysteries Homer and his friends solve with the friendly aid of Homer's skunk Aroma. Homer Price is truly one of the best books I've read and still is. I can't wait to recommend it to a friend.
In this book, it was hard to choose a favorite part, butI have to say when the doughnut machine didn't turn off. Thats because everybody started to eat then panic with a million more doughnuts left. Then They started to sell two doughnuts for 5 cents.Until a wealthy woman claims that her bracelet is in one of the doughnuts, so they make a $100 reward for it. When the word went out the doughnuts started to sell, there was no luck. Until, a poor hoboe boy found the bracelet.

Homer Price offers a funny and refreshing alternative to the current fiction that relentlessly confronts children with contemporary social problems. Now and then it's good for kids to read a book that makes them laugh out loud. Homer's smart and sincere ideas inevitably produce hilarious results. Robert McCloskey's amusing illustrations - Norman Rockwell-style line drawings - add to the pleasure of this book about a bright boy in a small American town.

This was one of the first 'serious' dinosaur texts I ever read. The second in fact, after Adrian Desmond's 'The Hot-Blooded Dinosaurs'. Bakker writes engagingly and spiritedly, and eloquently (although sometimes with more than a hint of pedantry) guides his reader through a host of problems involving dinosaurs and his ideas about them. From the beginning, Bakker makes clear that a lot of them are controversial. What becomes less clear is how outrageous they sometimes are - this is, above all, a propaganda pamphlet. That detracts little from its entertainment, but don't mistake it for mainstream science or a sum-up of generally accepted theories. What is more objectionable is that he portrayal of evidence sometimes fails to mention contrary or nuancing evidence that was well known at the period the book was written (e.g., the hot-blooded dinosaur part), thus suggesting that Bakker keeps a lot of crucial aces up his sleeve.
Finally, it has to be pointed out that a lot of the text in this book (which was written during the first half of the 80s) has now become rather antiquated. The chapter on bird evolution, for instance, now has little more than historical value.
On the flipside, there is no denying that Robert Bakker is deeply committed to his theories. It would have been nice, though, if this presentation had been less one-sided.

Robert Bakker's wonderful tome remains the best introduction to current concepts in dinosaur paleobiology a decade and a half after its initial publication in hardcover. Frankly I'm not surprised that this is so since Bakker was one of those who advocated a radical new view of dinosaur paleobiology. And he was lucky to be as skillful a writer as his graduate school mentor, Harvard University invertebrate paleobiologist Stephen Jay Gould. Furthermore, Bakker is the only prominent paleobiologist who is also a great artist. He has adroitly presented his views to fellow scientists and the public through his excellent writing and art. Both are put to splendid use in this book.

Bakker makes a compelling case for warm-blooded dinosaurs and the dinosaur ancestry of birds through a thorough consideration of skeletal paleontological evidence and physiological comparisons with reptiles, mammals and birds - or rather, avian dinosaurs. Less persuasive are his observations noting a correlation between predator/prey ratios among land animals and warm bloodedness; the fewer the predators versus increasing numbers of prey, the more likely that prey species are warm blooded. Yet Bakker offers so much evidence, that his predator/prey ratio argument may be persuasive.

Bakker also offers his readers an extensive overview of dinosaur phylogeny and behavior. He notes in considerable detail the anatomical differences between the two orders of dinosaurs, and describes their subsequent evolutionary histories. Towards the end he makes the novel suggestion that dinosaurs should be recognized as their own class of animals, distinct from mammals, birds and reptiles. He includes birds as the sole surviving representatives of one of these orders, regarding them as avian dinosaurs.

No book on dinosaurs can be complete without a discussion of probable causes for the final mass extinction of non avian dinosaurs. Here Bakker dismisses an asteroid or comet as the likely culprit. Instead, he makes a very persuasive case for disease.

Although Bakker's book doesn't cover the important discoveries in dinosaur paleobiology made since its initial publication, it is still an excellent overview of contemporary dinosaur paleobiology. This is a book I strongly recommend to graduate students of paleobiology as well as the general public.

Dinosaur Heresies is everything a popular science title should be. This book is a free-wheeling, thought-provoking, incredibly fun jaunt through the range of controversies and rethinkings paleontology has seen in the past twenty years or so.

Robert Bakker, first of all, is probably the best popular science writer I've ever come across. His voice is accessible, full of humor and character, and he writes a lean, sharply-turned argument that's easy and fun to follow without being at all pedantic. You don't think, at all, about the welter of disparate arguments Bakker's making in this book, because he just tells them so darn well, he really does. This book is pure delight for anyone with even a passing interest in dinosaurs.

I will mention, again, that this is a pop science title. It's a summary of the sorts of things that show up in academic articles, and a broad, idea-spinning take on those issues and problems. If, reading some other reviews here, you get the impression Robert Bakker singlehandedly rethought the whole cold-bloodedness thing, well, don't get too carried away. Pop science books don't do that work. Peer-review journals are where the evidence lives, in science, and books like Dinosaur Heresies get the word out to you and me.

I would recommend this as a gift to give anyone twelve or older who has an interest in Dinosaurs. Later on someone may be enthused enough to try Jack Horner, who's slightly less accessible in my experience, and closer to the journal writers than Heresies is. Then, too, reading this book might throw you in all sorts of other directions. (I personally became really excited about prehistoric mammals.) I hate to be hackneyed, but that's what a dazzlingly good popular science book will do; it'll broaden your world and make you remember what curiosity is good for. Dinosaur Heresies does that, in spades. You'll reread it.

loved the setting of this story as much as the story itself. because of nora roberts and her books, ive grown to love stories set with the irish. to be able to read the words and hear that accent is to me truly amazing.

maggie is the oldest child having been raised in a home with no family love. she is close to her father and sister, but her mother is a different person all together. because of this lack of love from her, maggie is determined to make something of herself if only to prove her mother wrong. breaking the outer shell shes developed as a form of protection wont be easy, but rogan intends to do just that.

a lovely story with enough mystery to leave the reader hoping they have their copy of born in ice sitting nearby once they close the last page of this one ::smile

The 2nd Nora Roberts book I ever read was "Born In Ice", which I only later discovered was part of trilogy -- and the middle, at that. I enjoyed it then, but resolved to go out and read the whole trilogy. I'm glad I did!

"Born In Fire" sets the whole tone for the 2 books that follow. While the relationship between temperamental glassblowing artist Maggie and upper-crust gallery owner Rogan is obviously at the forefront of this tale, the larger tale being told is that of 2 sisters and how they are coming to grips with the death of their adoring father and the reality of the long, loveless marriage he shared with their cold, bitter mother. The relationship and interplay between Maggie, her sweet-natured sister Brianna, and their shrewish mother provides some of the best dialogue in the book.

Maggie is a very well-developed character, who is so flawed and yet so wonderful that she is as human to the reader as one's own best friend might be.

The first book in NR's 'Born In' series is wonderful, you don't want to miss it! "Born In Fire" focuses on Maggie Concannon, a tempermental and loyal woman who is also a gifted artist. Gallery owner Rogan Sweeney takes an interest in Maggie's fabulous glass creations, and soon after takes a personal interest in Maggie herself. Maggie is a wonderful character, stubborn and flawed, yet still caring. Nora does a fabulous job of developing Maggie, and does it in a way that she seems like a real person. Rogan is an extremely likeable hero. Maggie's sister, Brianna, is her complete opposite; quiet, sweet, and calm. The relationship between the two sisters, however, is very touching and very real. This book is full of colourful characters, some we love and some we hate. The romance between Rogan and Maggie is wonderful. Basically, I just can't say enough good things about this book. You will love it!

This book is very informative without being boring. It takes an often complicated businessBRand makes it easy to understand. PRobert Rodriguez is truly an inspiration to up and coming filmakers like myself,his ten-minute film school is almost shockingly easy to learn from,and his exploits at the research hospital to raise the money for the making of EL MARIACHI is very funny and almost sureal.Speaking of which I am still trying to decide if i'm willing to go to the lengths that Robert did to get the moneyBRfor my first feature.Becoming a leatural lab experiment is not something that appeals to BRme...at least not at this time.

Robert Rodriguez, Texas-born filmmaker tells us how his attempt at honing his filmmaking skills jettisioned him straight into the big time.

This diary book tells us of the frustrations and nightmares of making his debut feature film "El Mariachi". He also tells us of his interesting and amusing stories of entry into Hollywood: like getting representation from a major Hollywood agent at one International Creative Management (the biggest talent agency in the world). And he tells of his adventures and misadventures in a such a friendly style, you'd swear you were speaking to your best friend.

This is the only book I've ever read that can genuinely constitute as inspiring. I'm dead serious. I'm 17 years old and an aspiring filmmaker. Before I read his book, I was trying to make movies and was more than a little discouraged at how things turned out. But, that all changed when I heard what this book was about. I requested it for Christmas and couldn't believe my eyes. If Rodriguez, for some reason, decides that he doesn't want to make movies anymore, he should seriously consider being a motivational speaker. In this book, he tells of his filmmaking experience -- all the trials and tribulations and encourages and inspires people by telling them how easy and straightforward the filmmaking process, always known to be daunting, really is.

And as an added incentive -- frosting on the cake, really -- Rodriguez includes his "10 Minute Film School", telling how you can make a movie in a few easy steps. Again, this guy speaks to you on an equal level -- he doesn't patronize, which is what makes the book even better.

Robert Rodriguez does an excellent job of entertaining and inspiring us in this book on how easy, sometimes challenging, and rewarding the filmmaking process can be.

Take a bow, Mr. Rodriguez.

Rodriguez never ceases to amaze me. This is, by far, the most inspirational book on modern independent filmmaking that I've ever read. He simply leaves the mechanics of the art behind and gets right to the soul of it. The diary is a clear illustration of this man's personal triumph in an industry filled with closed doors. Robert Rodriguez not only tells his own story in a fast-paced, exciting style, he actually motivates the reader to get out there and make movies as well. It is evident that this man's passion is film. I am still amazed at how strongly he's able to channel that passion straight into the reader's bloodstream. Rebel Without A Crew is a definite must-read for anyone even remotely interested in producing films. If this veritable shot of motion picture-making adrenaline doesn't move you to action, you don't belong in the business! Read it, love it, live it!!!

Dead souls is a book which starts of amusing you and leads you to believe that it must have an intricate plot and Chichikov, the protagonist, leaves you wondering about his devilish motives. Chichikov is here in this town to purchase serfs who have died since the last government census. The landowners therefore, must still pay taxes on these 'dead souls' until the next census. Chichikov, in possession of these cheaply purchased dead souls would appear to be a rich and prosperous landowner to those ignorant of his scheme.

Gogol describes how Chichikov ingratiates himself with the town's most powerful and respected officials. There are vivid descriptions of his various excursions to meet different landowners. The first meeting between Chichikov and landowner Manilov was absolutely hilarious in its description of how two absolutely disparate and removed people can feign such affection and friendliness, one out of greed, and the other simply from a naïve sense of propriety. As the story progresses, you tend to realize that the book doesn't really attempt to maintain a plot, but Gogol's criticism of the depicted Russian society is much more apparent and seems much sharper and more incisive. The story unfolds in such as a way so as to create the most opportunity for observation and comment on all the characters and situations rather than a story that drives itself towards a particular climax. Gogol's style of writing soon pulls you out of the main story- the reader first being an observer of the general happenings around the various characters is soon put into a different position from where he witnesses how Gogol's subtle humour and sharp criticism blend to create a clear picture of Russian society. Gogol's masterly creation of humor in this book is the essence of its brilliance. Through certain generalizations and allusions made throughout the book, his subsequent observations on each character are much more amusing.

This book is absolutely wonderful in that Gogol, sharply criticizing the kind of culture depicted in this book, earnestly regards these people as in fact, very Russian. The consummate Russian society would have to include besides great writers, thinkers and scholars, those such as Chichikov, Nozdrev and Manilov. Gogol sharply criticizes them but acknowledges their existence as very much a part of Russian Society.

As much as you would scorn the fatuous lives of the landowners and senior officials portrayed in this book, you would fall in love with the image of that perennially drunk Russian serf who's likely to be a swindler or that sincere, unlauded worker ...who might even be dead and purchased by our Chichikov!

Nikolai Gogol has a very creative mind as well as a unique style of writing. While reading Dead Souls, one is more likely to view the world from Gogol's point of view than his own. His writing contradicts everything Americans think they know about Russian literature. This book is a discussion of a world whose values are radically flexible. Though the concept can be frightening to those who do not take time to ask questions about their lives, Gogol has used crazy comic genius to exhibit an honest and impartial view on what is known today as "The Human Race." His book shows that humans' actions are motivated by greed and that the idea of money does not have any real significance because the value of everything that is sold is created by the human who is selling it. Gogol has also written the book in such a way that every single sentence is a universe of its own.

Dead Souls takes place in the Russia of the late 1800s, where, unlike in America, one must be born into a prosperous family in order to have opportunities. The main character, Chichikov, is clever enough to develop a scheme in which he can rise from being a petty clerk to a respected landowner. In order to do this, Chichikov moves into a new town, pretending to already be a landowner, and begins a quest to buy the names of dead serfs who have not yet been officially reported dead. Each person that Chichkov presents this offer to has a different reaction, starting with the shy and introverted Manilov. Though he does not understand Chichikov's need for the names of these dead serfs, Manilov is a character that is so desperate for company that it does not take any effort to trick him into selling his dead souls cheaply. However, as Chichikov continues his journey, he starts to deal with more clever landowners who become suspicious of his scheme.

Chichikov finds that the townsmen known as Sobakevich and Nozdrev are much harder to negotiate with. This is because they are more and attempt to trick Chichikov even though in truth, Chichikov is the one who is playing the trick on them. Nozdrev agrees to sell Chichikov his serfs under the condition that he can sell him something else along with the serfs, such as a horse or a pair of hunting dogs. Chichikov, of course, refuses the offer because he owns no land and has nowhere to keep any horses or dogs. Because of this, Nozdrev curses Chichikov and orders two of his guards to beat him up. However, by sheer luck, the police show up at that exact time to arrest Nozdrev because of crimes he committed in the past. Seeing this, Chichikov runs away and immediately sets off to visit Sobakevich. In his encounter with Sobakevich, Chichikov offers him less than one hundredth of what Sobakevich claims is the rightful price. However, the reason for Sobakevich's logic is that he claims the serfs have just as much value now that they are dead as they did when they were alive. In the end, however, Chichikov's stubbornness surmounts Sobakevich's absurd logic and Chichikov ends up buying the souls for the price he offered.

Unfortunately, as they say, "there is no such thing as a perfect crime." In the end of Dead Souls, Chichikov is stabbed in the back by the people he does business with, and does not get away with his ingenious plan. The main thing that Gogol is proving in his novel is that the entire human race is very similar to Chichikov; their interest lies in money and in prosperity. So if human beings are constantly trying to outsmart each other, a perfect society will never be obtained.

The plot is simple: Pavel Chichikov arrives to a provincial capital of Russia, impresses everyone with his social skills, gets adopted by the "high society" of the town, and then sets out to business: trying to persuade landowners (who are also lifeowners) to give or sell to him all the peasants who have died since the last census. These people, although dead, still generate taxes for the owner, so in principle it is convenient for them. But, of course, everyone asks themselves: "Why would anyone want to buy dead people who cause taxes?". I won't spoil the plot by giving the answer. The important thing is that Gogol uses this plot to paint an exhilarating (but in fact sad) portrait of the Russian society of his time, and of human nature in any time and place, which gives this novel its status as a classic work of art. Corruption, stupidity, naiveté, extreme individualism instead of a spirit of community, and other social vices, present in any society, are represented here by the very funny characters created by the author. Every landowner is a particular form of strange person, procuring Chichikov with crazy adventures. Gogol's writing intersperses the narrative with social reflection and thoughts on human nature, never boring or pretentious, but always funny and satirical. In fact, Gogol's irony and cynicism are probably the most valuable assets of this novel. It belongs to that literary family of books which portray heroes or anti-heores, wandering around, pursuing a fixed, idealized goal. Sometimes this goal is foolish but noble (like Don Quixote), sometimes it is narrow or despicable. These characters illustrate the virtues and vices of us humans, and that makes them live through the centuries. "Dead souls" is undoubtedly a dignifed member of that family, a book which will make you laugh, think and laugh again. By the way, another valuable thing is the way in which Gogol depicts the Russian countryside.

Serious designers who are beginning their trade, or old hats who might need to be refreshed in typography can benefit from Robert Bringhurst's "The Elements of Typographic Style."

Bringhurst has brought us a thrifty tome of typography. Succinct, he isn't bound to entertain the reader, but educate him.

His glossary of typographic terms will bring you into the know about apertures, dot leaders, nuts and muttons.

Just as useful is his thorough appendix of sorts and characters. With an image of the characters, he explains in a few sentences what characters is when it is to be used properly. He distinguishes acutes from graves from primes from hois from apostrophes. Adjacent to this lexicon is a quick visual index of alphabetic character. This section alone was worth the price for me.

The real science of "The Elements of Typographic Style" is in Bringhurst's bulk of explanations of letter construction, page composition, defining and given shorts histories of classic fonts as seen in specimen books, a great chapter on analphabetic symbols.

I fully recommend this book. Artists, designers, illustrators all should have a copy of this. It reads easier than you might suspect, and would serve as a fine textbook. Writers should read it for no other reason than it is interesting, but to also have pity on our poor designers who must make our words look nice.

Anthony Trendl

How can I possibly only give this work five stars? Robert Bringhurst's "Elements of Typographic Style" is more than a list of prescriptions. It is a definitive reference which explores the history behind typography, and uses that history to explain in its clear, lucid way why rules exist. Where the antiquated rules have no practical basis, Bringhurst is quick to dispell their necessity - but he neither dismisses them nor rejects them.

The visual beauty of this book is apparent upon opening it - it is a model of all it preaches. It addresses ongoing issues of basic formatting and page shaping, but also modern needs such as setting more than one language in one text - including those that read right to left (e.g., Arabic scripts). The simple yet elegant writing style makes reading this work a pleasure in itself. Anyone who deals with type - and this now means most everyone - should read this book; its advice is complementary, or even superior, to a style manual.

The Amazon editorial above lays out its sections, and as that shows, the book covers the full breadth of modern typography and page composition.

I strongly recommend this book. It is an honour to read it.

This book is amazing. Whether a newspaper copyfitter or a web graphic designer, this text contains useful and informative information that will help the serious designer firmly root themselves in this oft-overlooked science.

To be fair, this is not a quick, to the point text-- it was written with the serious professional/enthusiast as the target audience. There is no list of rules to follow within. Bringhurst instead explains with detail and enthusiasm the very purpose and history of typesetting, all the while furthering the reader's appreciation and style.

A must buy for anyone who ever has or ever will deal with the printed (on paper or the web) page.