This book has all there is for the novice and experienced
investors ... . It has all the information relevant to the world of investments, mutual funds, stocks, bonds, indices ....
All presented in as simple way as possible to the man in the street. Yet in it's own way I would think even the expert money
managers will hate to give this book a miss!

I was surprised how quick paced and understandable this book is to read. Investment strategies can be very dry. But this book is a fast read and I learned a lot from the author.

I have never been able to stay in the market when it got rough. But this book showed me why I need to stay in, even when all the bad news tells me to get out. More important, I learned that if I use a wide allocation of funds, I will actually have less risk. This was a real eye opener for me.

I am very grateful the author took the time to write this book. It will change my entire approach to investing. Now maybe I will actually achieve my objectives. Thanks

A must read for anyone wanting to know what investing is all about.

The greatest thing to come out since the Musical itself, Wonderful, educational, fantastic reproductions of the 19th century musicals!

Richard Fawkes' The History Of The Musical is a flawlessly recorded, 4 cassette, unabridged audiobook showcasing the development of the musical, from its origins in European light opera and operetta to its it's golden age in the American theater. The great song composers and lyricists are presented including Jerome Kern, Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Lerner and Loewe, Lloyd Webber, and Sondheim. The wonderfully narrated text by the award-winning Broadway singer Kim Criswell is enhanced with almost one hundred famous musical extracts. The History Of The Musical is a "must" for personal, academic, and community library music history and audiobook collections.

Surely there must be a medal somewhere out there for Naxos records and for author Richard Fawkes. After two superb sets of tapes and CDs titled "The History of Classical Music" and "The History of Opera," there is now available Mr. Fawkes' "The History of the Musical" (NA422712). Here we have singer/actress Kim Criswell narrating on 4 CDs or tapes just under 320 minutes of exactly what the title promises.

Starting with "The Beggar's Opera" of 1728, the history of the genre is traced up to the time of writing, meaning "Les Miserables." Along the way, we consider operetta, the English Music Hall, American vaudeville, the review, the book show, the familiar, the off-beat, the dead ends, the highly influential. And the London stage gets a good deal of attention also, thereby introducing a lot of material not very well known to those better versed in the American musical.

As with any good effort of this sort, a strong connection is drawn between the changing times and the changing concepts of what a musical should be. The importance of "Show Boat" is not glossed over, for example, nor is the other shock caused by "Pal Joey." The reliance of Lloyd Webber on staging is mentioned but not his lack of more than one fairly memorable melody per show. In general, the tone is upbeat and positive.

But this is a recording. While it could never include all the information found in a book, its dozens of recorded examples are what makes this set priceless. Where possible, the oldest "original cast" recordings are used. On the other hand, there are some strange exceptions such as "Hey there" from "Pajama Game" being sung not by John Raitt but by Ron Raines on the Jay recording. I suspect this is because Criswell is in the cast of that set.

Again, this set is in tape and CD formats. For educational purposes, the CDs offer direct access to any show under discussion--and the CDs are very generously divided into nearly 200 tracks! Very considerate of the producers. The booklet offers a nice little personal essay by Criswell. So if I have any complaint about this set, it is that I wish it were twice as long.

This is a superb scholarly analysis of the aesthetics of one of the most influential storywriters in world literature. The book is scholarly but, unlike so much of what passes for scholarship today, readable, original, and illuminating. With great thoughtfulness and in lucid prose, the author gets to the heart of Maupassant's story structures, demonstrating their variousness and placing them in the context of Maupassant's career. The author also makes a convincing case for Maupassant's influence on the American short story, beyond the usual cliches about O Henry's misappropriation of Maupassant's methods and the misunderstandings about the "Maupassant surprise ending" (which was an atypical technique and one that was more complex than other critics have understood). For anyone interested in the short story, or in first-rate literary criticism, this is a book worth reading.

Fusco has shrewdly analyzed Maupassant's several structural approaches to short story form, including, among others, his use of forms stressing contrast, "loop" structures (when the end of the story returns attention to things alluded to in the beginning), and of course the "surprise-inversion" technique, Maupassant's famous twist ending. He then goes on to show how American writers like Chopin, Bierce, O. Henry and Henry James were influenced by, or tried to imitate, the French master. This is a thoroughly engaging work by an author with good command of critical tools, and a nice concise writing style.

Mr. Fusco has written a wonderful analysis of the influence of Maupassant on various American authors. After a thorough-going critique of Maupassant's story structures, Fusco illuminates the use of those forms by Ambrose Bierce and Henry James, as well as giving a rather intriguing and funny review of the "adaptation" of Maupassant's style by O. Henry. Useful to both scholars and interested non-academics alike

The Virginia Hostess is a fabulous guide for anyone! Whether you are an experienced chef or a novice, this cookbook is more than the average collection of recipes. It features themed chapters with beautiful historic sketches from Virginia. Each chapter has complete menus for different occasions, including showers, children's parties, formal dinners, picnics, holiday occasions and more! An educational and comprehensive wine selection section is included. I highly recommend this beautiful and resourceful cookbook and entertaining guide!

The menus ideas are terrific! I enjoyed all the recipes and was glad to have a cookbook that covers most any occasion. The layout is superb and makes a great bridal or hostess gift. This book has really made my life a lot simpler when I am called to entertain. I own a lot of cookbooks but this one is well worn and used often.

I've owned this book for a couple of years now, and have reallyused it alot! It has great recipes in it, but in addition, it hasmenu and entertaining suggestions, a list of Virginia wineries, and even ideas for kids' parties. (Who knew how to make face paint?) I also like the fact that it comes from a community service organization, so I know part of my purchase price went to a good cause.

This book is superior in every way. Intended to explore the university grounds from a primarily architectural perspective, the author's writing is both impassioned and objective in its analysis of the unique architectural qualities of this wonderful university. Yet despite a clear cut architectural purpose, this book also manages to provide the best single, practical guide to the university grounds available. The author organizes his well written descriptions around a series of walks, and provides in-depth information, photographs, and history for each building or site encountered. The result is the ultimate guide for newcomers exploring the university grounds for the first time, as well as for those who already know them intimately.

Students, parents, historians, architects, professors...this book is for you! This comprehensive tour guide is just what you need to stroll the grounds and surrounding area of UVA. The writing is superior; the beautiful photographs distinguish this from any other tour book of the university! Buy this for the new student OR the graduate!

Number theory is the most enigmatic of disciplines, in that the problems are so easy to state and understand and yet so hard to resolve. Furthermore, when solved, the proofs are sometimes surprisingly easy. In this collection, Guy has put together a truly fascinating survey of what is currently (un)known about numbers.
Each page is an excursion into the extensive labyrinths carved out by numbers. Approximately once a month, I scan it looking for new avenues to explore. Invariably, I see something, sketch out some possible proof routes and then end in frustration. A typical result of working in number theory.
Whether you are an amateur or professional, if you have an interest in number theory, you will like this book. Perhaps you will be able to make some progress towards resolving some of these problems. It is certainly possible, as no field has had more positive contributions from amateurs than number theory. Even Fermat fit the definition of an amateur.

Another of my 10 favorite books. A constant source of inspiration

This writer should be in politics with his knack for making bad news enjoyable. The book is entertaining, educational, packed with information and evocative of Michael Moore's enthusiasm, even in the face of adversity. His chapter ending safety asides are sometimes side splitting - no injury pun intended! I'd recommend this book to anyone with a sociological curiosity or an industrial safety career or interest. You're bound to learn something new that makes the price of the book worth it!

This small booklet is an excellent introduction to computational chemistry for the novice. Provides an easy to read, description of the field, its methods, applications and utilization. Covers everything: 'ab initio' quantum mechanics, molecular mechanics and dynamics, modelling of biological macromolecules with a short introduction to sequence analysis, QSAR and computational pharmacology.
While it won't provide an in-depth view of the methods, it manages to convey enough detail to understand the basics. A must have for anyone desiring to enter the exciting field of Molecular Modelling.

For all you Wraith players and storytellers who don't have any spectres in the game-- You have NO IDEA what you are missing! And, if you do have spectres but not this sourcebook, you could be doing a LOT better!

"Dark Reflections: Spectres" is Black Dog's first Wraith book. It does a GREAT job describing the mentality and characteristics of Wraiths who have fallen into their shadow. Storytellers will see how to properly incorporate spectres into the game, and players will learn how to properly play them.

Get this discontinued tome while you still can!

This is a really excellent work on all aspects of numbers, but only if you already have a pretty fair familiarity with them, i.e., several college mathematics courses or a significant amount of self-education. I particularly enjoyed the chapter "Doing Arithmetic and Algebra by Geometry" because it provided an interesting perspective on what number is. There are also chapters on the primes, imaginary numbers, infinite numbers etc. etc.

This book is excellent. I am not a mathematician; my Ph.D. is in a social science, but my interest in intellectual history made this book worth it for me. The reason that it seems a bit expensive is because the authors use color illustrations. These are really helpful and make the book more exciting. The book is essentially number theory for a lay person. All you need to have is high school level math in order to start enjoying this book, so don't be afraid. Conway and Guy present a fascinating look at what the human intellect can achieve in the realm of abstract thought. Number theory, and mathematics in general, can be mysterioius, artful, and exciting. Highly recommended.

To these "guys", numbers are toys, where the price of possession is nothing but a little knowledge. It is truly astounding, even for veteran mathematicians such as myself, to see how many different sets of numbers there are. They all have a story behind them, and given the multiple uses for so most of them, there are many more yet to be written.
Presented in a unique and engaging style that one associates with the authors, the numbers come to life with descriptions that hold your interest and leave you wanting more. The level of demonstration is not extremely technical, being well within the range of anyone who has been exposed to the topics of precalculus. Figures are used extensively, giving a visual interpretation of several ways in which the numbers can be used. Many of the numbers covered in the book are named after the person most responsible for making it famous, an aspiration that most mathematicians would no doubt confess to. In some cases, I was previously unaware of the name assigned to the numbers.
When I am in the mood for some light reading in mathematics, my preferred form is some type of listing of the properties of numbers. In this case, I found several hours of enjoyment and recommend it to anyone with similar tastes.

Published in Journal of Recreational Mathematics, reprinted with permission.