detailed review of emergency thou suffers from a lack of information on certain key areas.can be verbose at times thou is a generally a good read

The book comes in 3 hardback volumes, well worth the price. I am a practicing Paramedic with a desire to know more about the how's and why's of patient care. The book is well organized, with a reading level of college sophomore. The section on resucitation takes ACLS just a little bit further. I consider this book recommended reading for Paramedics who want to stay on top

This book documents what was quite possibly the largest and finest exhibition ever devoted solely to fauve painting. This brief movement, sandwiched between the towering achievements of impressionism, post-impressionism, and cubism, is a relatively overlooked one in the history of 20th century art. Concentrating on landscape painting as the heart of the fauvist view of reality, the essays are some very fine scholarly re-appraisals of the social and economic history of fauvism. The book itself is beautiful, with a superior design and extremely high standards of photographic reproduction. My only quibble is the near-total exclusion of figure-painting from the discussion (even as a point of comparison), and the authors' focus on social history leaves little space for aesthetic issues to be discussed. The essays treat these fantastically beautiful paintings as mere documents of economic relationships, a common art-historical focus nowadays, but one which does little to educate the reader in the marvelous way of seeing represented by these images.

A lot have time was put into writing this book I can tell by the way it was written. Very good book on a hard period of art to write about.

After the death of Lex Luthor and an exhaustive search for an heir to his empire, a charming young man claiming to be the long lost son of Luthor brings Metropolis out of dissaray and even wins the favor of his father's detractors. Can Superman discover the truth behind this mysterious "heir" before his twisted plans come into fruition?

Lex Luthor is to Superman's mythology what the Cigarette-Smoking Man is to the X-Files. This book not only presents a major turning point in Luthor, but also what makes him Superman's greatest foe, bar none.

I know that this collection is mainly about Lex Luthor, but, being a huge Supergirl fan, I bought this book for her alone. Supergirl is back on Earth after her trip in space, and she makes the big mistake of falling in love with Lex Luthor. Even though this Supergirl is Matrix, not Linda Danvers as in her own later series, she's an interesting character. Matrix is so naive and blindly trusting. If you like Supergirl (or Lex), get this collection!

I've received a great boost of enegy and encouragement from delving into the soul of this witty writer. His dealings with omniscient human problems are easy to grasp and can be assimilated in ones own experience. If anything, you'll experience a work of true compassion laced with invaluable lessons learnt by hard earned experience. McWilliams is an authentic teacher who disseminates what he truly believes. No hypocrisy here. His sharing of his life experience reveals a strong belief in important values such as sharing, loving oneself and meditation. Money is also discussed and treated as it should be - philosophically and honestly. Obviously, beneath the veneer of this well written, work- of- art -self- help book, lies the portrayel of a true lover of humanity.

This book blows me away. Puts life in perspective and teaches us to lighten up and move on. Bravo.

There are many funy things about money, wishes and so on. I smile every time when read their. When I have some problem in my life I get this book and read from any place I opened the book. And all the time I start to feel better.

I just finished reading this book and am urging my friends to read it fast so I can discuss it with them without ruining it for them!

This is a true crime mystery told with meticulous attention to detail. It is totally engrosssing, and even a little unsettling, as it presents a scenario in which one can see that it IS really possible for an innocent person to be suspected of a crime. (But then again....IS she innocent???!!!) In any case, this is a woman who, in most respects, is just like the nicest lady in any neighborhood.

Throughout most of the book, I was torn between what I felt and how the evidence was stacking up in my mind. The strength of the book, I felt, was that it portrayed each character with such authenticity. From the victim to the overzealous investigator, from the children of the suspect to each attorney involved in the case...this is a mystery that hinges on personalities, and I thought the writer did a very thorough and even-handed job with his presentation of each one.

Most of all, however, and of greatest concern is the irrefutable "story" that exists in records and transcripts of this case from the investigation through the most recent appeal. It is so disturbing to see what weighty consequences can hinge on the personal foibles of those in our justice system. This particularly struck me, as I am also a very nice lady, just like Beverly Monroe, who has a natural respect and trust in that system.

I do have better taste in boyfriends, however!

Great book...wonderful grist for the debate mill! I can't wait for my friends to read it!

Murder mysteries, both fiction and non-fiction, are generally driven by one of three questions, or by some combination thereof : (1) Who done it?; (2) How'd they do it?; and/or (3) Why'd they do it? One of the things that makes John Taylor's The Count and the Confession so engaging is that the true-life crime at its core not only involves all three of these questions but, remarkably enough, a rarely asked fourth question : Was there even a murder? There's certainly a body. In 1992, Roger de la Burde--a thoroughgoing scoundrel, though he styled himself a Polish count--was found dead in his locked Powhatan County, Virginia house with a single gunshot wound to the head and the proverbial smoking gun in his hand. To all appearances it was a case of suicide, but eventually his lover of thirteen years, Beverly Monroe, would be convicted of his murder, a verdict aided greatly by Ms Monroe's own confession that she was present when the gun fired.

Over the course of the book, as Mr. Taylor walks back the cat on this case, two elements emerge as the keys to what may well have been a miscarriage of justice. First he explores the deplorable character of Roger de la Burde, who in addition to not actually being a count was also a serial womanizer--having left his wife for Ms Monroe and having impregnated another woman at the time of his death, among his many sexual exploits--and a dealer in bogus artworks. He was also mired in a lawsuit with his former employer, Phillip Morris, which seems to have been a groundless attempt to extort money from them. He was also extraordinarily manipulative. One of the of the highlights of the book is his will, which is a model of self-absorption, judgmentalism, and how not to treat your daughters. All of this makes him pretty entertaining to read about but it's surpassing hard to mind that he's dead, whether by his own hand or at that of another.

Meanwhile, Beverly Monroe captivates us because on the one hand she seems reasonably pulled together, well-educated, financially independent, seemingly a good mom. But on the other, she tolerated de la Burde's shenanigans, including knowing that he was trying to have a "male heir" by just about any woman who was willing, and she made that confession. And that's the second element that Mr. Taylor focuses on : why would beverly Monroe confess to being there when de la Burde died if she wasn't?

It is here that a sort of villain emerges, David Riley, chief investigator for the county. Riley determined to his own satisfaction that the position in which de la Burde was lying and the way he was holding the gun indicated not suicide but murder and he settled upon Beverly Monroe as the culprit. He then used a variety of techniques, from a lie detector test that he informed her she'd failed to commiserating about how badly de la Burde had treated her to threats about how the prosecution might portray her to an oft repeated, nearly hypnotic suggestion that, even if she didn't kill him, she must have been there when de la Burde died. When she accepted this last scenario and made it her own, it enabled the state to portray her as a murderess once they used forensic evidence to rule out suicide.

As Mr. Taylor shows though, and as her lawyers were able to show on appeal, it seems unlikely that she was in the room at the time and there is significant reason to doubt the evidence that the state purported to show that de la Burde did not fire the shot that killed him. In fact, Ms Monroe's appeal was eventually successful and she has been released from prison pending further appeal by the state. However, even if we accept that she did not kill de la Burde--and the author, though he does not slip into advocacy does make it hard for us to believe anything other than that it was a suicide--in the end, we come back to the central mysteries : the count and the confession.

Towards the end of the book Mr. Taylor recounts a moment where Beverly Monroe's original attorney, Murray Janus, is reflecting on the reasons he lost at trial :

After all these years, Janus still could not believe that Beverly had given those statements to Dave Riley. They were tantamount to a confession.
Why she did it was truly a mystery, second only to the mystery of how Roger de la Burde had died.

That this moment comes so late in the proceedings and that even then we join in Janus's wonderment at these two mysteries, suggests why Mr. Taylor's story works so well. For by then we kind of know the answer to two of those classic murder mystery questions. We know why someone would have killed de la Burde and we know how it might have been done (a jury bought it anyway). But we still don't know who killed Roger de la Burde and we really have to doubt that anyone did. It seems a simple case of suicide gone horribly wrong in the hands of an overzealous investigator. And Beverly Monroe seems to have been, as she was so often and maddeningly during his life, a victim of de la Burde's misbehavior and her own malleability. But if her continual acquiescence in that misbehavior makes her somewhat unsympathetic early on in the tale--just as it makes him wholly unsympathetic--then the grace with which she handles the conviction and the determination with which she and even more so her daughter, Katie, fight the appeal serve to redeem her. Even if you're ambivalent about her at first, as I have to admit I was, you'll be rooting for Beverly Monroe by the end.

GRADE : A-

I have never read a mystery after a few that were too obvious and cheesy.
The Count and the Confession is an exception! Aside from the fact that this is an ongoing trial, a true crime, John Taylor's excellent skills make you think that you're in the courtroom.
Throughout the book, you will be thinking, "Is Beverly guilty? Or innocent?"
I predict that this will be made into a movie!

...stimulating and entertaining too. Yes, it will have a major appeal to blues fans, particularly guitar fans. How much of this hypnotic, sometimes shocking book is true? The chapter "Honey" should be included in all sellf-help books. I read most of it twice and enjoyed the evocations of Americana. As a fingerpicker myself, I found John's mental states more illuminating than an explanation of his guitar technique would have been.

It's a really great book, I enjoyed it very much its hilarious, sad and moving and also informative. I enjoyed it deeply. Its rare to find someone who writes about art and life and especially adolescence so well and directly. John's book reminded me of my own childhood and things forgotten and intense. He also writes strategically which is surprising for someone who writes so directly. His humor warmth and integrity really come through, that is no small achievement!

The recently deceased guitar master takes you on a tour of his childhood and young adulthood... basically this book is about as highly recommended as they come for a fan of his music- it will provide musical, emotional and even philosophical insight (with several references to hegel, heidegger, and other great german philosophers) into his life. there are moments of fiction, but it doesnt overwhelm the autobiographical nature of the work. you really do get a feeling for the personalities of bukka white, skip james, roosevelt sykes, and antonioni, which is the real reason may of fahey's most loyal fans would want to read the book. some moments are harrowing, from tales of childhood abuse to stories of social alienation. other moments are endearing, there are stories of first friendships, loves, and comfort (mostly on the part of white and sykes). Fahey led a very interesting life, and this book has a good deal of serious instrospection. he's actually a pretty good writer, so i give it the highest recommendation. someone new to fahey or not interested in 20s blues figures be warned, a lot of it will be confusing, leading to reviews like the one up top by that poor bitter guy who completely missed the point.

There are 60 illustrations, excellent paintings, with the accompanying text that inspired it. The colours are very well down, and each painting is brilliantly done in terms of publication. There are nine artists represented. These are:

Inger Edelfeldt: 7 paintings

Tony Galuidi: 2 paintings

Roger Garland: 10 paintings

Robert Goldsmith: 2 paintings

Michael Hague: 7 paintings

John Howe:10 paintings

Alan Lee: 10 paintings

Ted Nasmith: 10 paintings

Caro Emery Phenix: 2 paintings

My personal favorite is John Howe. He brings out a lot of dark imagery. I don't know why, but Hague's stuff just does not appeal to me. I have seen him do Lewis's Pilgrim's Regress, and some other stuff, and I just don't like his style (also saw his illustrations for WIZARD OF OX). His are of THE HOBBIT. Galuidi has almost a computer generated quality, and his work is especially intriguing, although there are only 2 of his paintings in this collection. Lee is good. All in all, this is a fair book, collecting the paintings of artisits brining about their own vision of Tolkien's classic saga. Over all, a four star book (bumped up one star because of Howe's supreme quality).

This is a collection of 50+ paintings based on various works by Tolkien, which fans of Tolkien will no doubt enjoy. It may be of speial interest to those who watched the movies (and who hasn't, who read Tolkien...) as you can clearly see how some of these paintings are replicated in Jackson's movies; it takes but a moment to catch it in the film, but if you see the pictures enough you'll recognize it.

The quality of the paintings are uneven, and each one has its favorite. Like many people, I find Hague lacking, but also Edelfeldt, who isn't bad but whose style is not unique enough in my opinion.

My favorites, on the other hand, are Howe, Garland, Nasmith, Lee and Galuidi. Garland, my favorite, has a unique and glowing, almost 'mystical' style that does the book justice. Howe's pictures are also intriguing and beautiful, and feel true to the book (and thankfully, he seems to dominate the book in terms of the number of contributions). Nasmith has some splendid landscape pictures, though his vision of the characters leave something to be desired (especially of a fat, distorted Boromir!) Galuidi's sci-fi, computerized style may not appeal to some, but I find them interesting. Finally, Lee's soft watercolors are very appealing, and his vision of the characters is near-perfect (especially Galadriel and Gandalf).

"Tolkien's World" is a very handsome book: large, hardcover, sleeve-cover, fine print and paper. It consists on a serie of paintings divided by books (The Hobbit, LOTR, Silmarillion, etc.) printed in the largest scale possible and with great definition. Beside the picture there is the passage of the book which inspired the painting. In the end there are one-page texts about or written by each of the artists, explaining their influences and relation with Tolkien works. My favorite artist is, without a doubt, Ted Nasmith, that draws very realistic pictures. Second place is John Howe, with his dark and intriguin style. All in all, a pretty nice book. I was very satisfied with it and it helped me to figure the places and events of LOTR. Be aware that there's a book that is kind of a sequel to this one: "Realms of Tolkien: Images of Middle-Earth", which I'm planning to get. It is written on its purchasing info that the author is Ted Nasmith, so is the cover authory. Lucky me.

Some of the stories are quite similar to others. Of course, they all have to do with dragons, but several fall in the Hero goes to slay Dragon formula. The Orson Scott Card does not seem to fit in the traditional dragon formula and is the outstanding story. The Anne MaCaffrey is good but overwritten at points. I expected more from the Zelazny. It was very good, but Zelazny has done such mind-blowing work that this seems to be a bit trite. The Friesner is hillarious and the best of the funny stories in this book. The Martin and Tilton are quite good, but not estradordinary. The rest were merely okay, except for The Ever-After which had horrid prose.

This was a fairly good book. It gave a lot of information that someone might use while reading any of Anne McCaffrey's books. I liked this book because of that. Anyone who likes dragons could use this book.

I LOVED this book! I've never in my life read stories of this calliber!I couldn't put this book down.It was delightful from cover to cover.I highly recommend this book to anyone who has fallen in love with the world of dragons.

Mr. Wroe has annointed himself "The Prophet" of a small group of Christian Israelites" at the end of the 1800's. Claiming to hear the voice of God whispering in his ear, Mr. Wroe preaches the approach of doomsday, the end of the world. As the Prophet of God, he quotes, "The Lord has instructed me to take of your number, seven virgins for comfort and succor."

Of the numerous young women gathered before him, he chooses Joanna, sisters Rachel and Rebecca, Hannah, an unbeliever, Dinah, a cripple, Martha, a mute, and Leah, an unwed mother. As part of the bargain, Leah brings her infant into the home under the guise of a foundling.

The young women soon fall into their natural order, performing household tasks, laundering, planting a vegetable garden, their days filled with neverending chores. Occasionally, Mr. Wroe takes some of the girls along when he preaches to the townspeople, who are mostly illiterate mill workers. Mr. Wroe also requires that one of the virgins read from the Bible to him each evening.

The story is related through the eyes of four of the girls: Joanna, Hannah, Leah and Martha. Joanna is pious, constantly praying for guidance, while Hannah is skeptical but helpful, and Leah opportunistic, with a child to care for. Martha, the mute, eventually finds a means of expression through Joanna's patient teaching; she relives her past while preparing for the future. The story takes an interesting turn when one of the girls makes shocking allegations. Consequently, the household of virgins is disbanded, each left to find her own way.

As a religious period piece, the story creates a particular atmosphere of candle light, rustling petticoats and starched linens, as well as the crackling pages of a well worn Bible.

The best way to describe this book is "Atwood lite". The premise and early telling of the tale are interesting, with promising characters. About halfway through, the book unfortunately shifts into a predictable tale of jealousy and longing. Rather than allowing the characters to develop (which one would expect through the multiple first person perspectives), the plot is pushed forward with clumsy devices. Still, some characters remain intriguing, and the pages turn quickly. This book is ideal for people who are used to reading best-sellers, and want slightly more literary value.

Jane Roger's ISLAND impressed me so much that I began to look for some of her other works -- MR WROE'S VIRGINS is the first one I came across. It didn't disappoint. Rogers has done an amazing job retelling/reinventing the story of the 'real' John Wroe -- her prose and characterizations are excellent, and the technique of using multiple narrators is extremely effective and enlightening.

Told from the point of view of four women -- four of the 'virgins' taken into the home of Prophet John Wroe, 'for comfort and succor' -- but never from that of Wroe himself, Rogers' novel goes beyond simply telling a story. The voices of these four women are individual and distinct. The sections of the story they each relate overlap in time a bit, and their various points of view illuminate descrepancies in the way they view the events depicted here.

Leah is a beautiful, haughty, self-centered young woman -- she is sure in her own mind that she is the most beautiful and desirable of the seven chosen, and she is determined to play this to her own advantage. She sees her 'sisters' as competition, and she views their motives -- innocent though most of them may be -- with great suspicion, seeing and imagining things not quite as they actually are at times.

Hannah is an unbeliever, thrown in with this group of Christian Israelites, feeling much like a fish out of water. Rather than accepting Mr. Wroe's dire predictions of the imminent end of the world -- Judgement Day -- she instead sees the answer to humanity's woes through education, through working together for the common good. These beliefs lead her to working with the poor of the town, teaching them to read, attempting to raise their social and political consciousness, and getting involved in the birth of the trade union movement in England.

Joanna -- Saint Joanna, as she is called by most of the other women -- is completely devoted, in heart, body and soul, to God and to Mr. Wroe's movement. She views every single event in her life through scriptural interpretaion, bending to God's will every chance she gets. From the opposite end of the scale, her view is thus just as skewed as that of Leah.

Martha -- the fourth narrator -- comes to the house as a mute, obviously horribly beaten and abused by her father at home, who has seen Mr. Wroe's call for seven virgins to serve him as an easy way to rid himself of a daughter he doesn't want, a burden. Martha's narrative is, for me, the most striking in the novel. At first, it comes in fragments, little bursts of words, the most rudimentary images and feelings. As the novel progresses, Martha's thoughts and expression become more organized -- she is being taught speech and hymns by 'Saint Joanna', who evidently possesses the patience of Job -- and the horrors of her earlier life, which she sees as so completely separate that she thinks of it as happening to the 'other Martha', become clearer and clearer. The abuse and suffering she has endured is unbelievable and heartbreaking -- and it explains her temperament, which could at times be seen as epileptic or schizophrenic. This is an incredibly damaged young woman.

As the Prophet of his church, Mr. Wroe weilds immense power and influence. He hears instructions and illuminations directly from God, almost on a nightly basis -- even with a council of Elders to aid in governing the affairs of the church, Wroe's word is practically law. Living in a house with seven young women, it is inevitable that suspicions and accusations begin to mount -- the novel is set, after all, in 1830s England, a much more puritanical society that we enjoy today. Wroe himself is tempted by the presence of the women as well -- and this temptations, combined with his human frailty, lead to much trouble for him and his church.

Rogers skills in both narrating this tale -- and, again, the use of the four narrators is done to stunning effect -- share the spotlight here with her ability to convey the contradictions inherit in organized religion in general. When one person -- or even a group of persons -- holds such power and influence over their 'followers', there is bound to be trouble. The weight of the organization's purpose is too much for a leader to bear. When the people rely on a human leader to tell them how to follow the will of God -- rather than listening to their own hearts and finding their own path -- that leader's humanity will almost inevitably lead to disaster.

The novel is very 'heady' -- but at the same time very readable, being compelling and entertaining. It's a wonderful achievement. Knowing that Rogers wrote the script for the BBC's adaptation of the novel, I'd be very interested to see that as well.

This book presents something of a quandary because if you aren't a fan of the TV series there's no reason to read it, and if you are, there's no way it can satisfy you. There are however, a few of us who are casual fans of the series and also experienced readers of Movie and TV tie-ins--one of my favorite books as a kid was a Rat Patrol novelization--and for us it is entirely adequate, though not much more.

The plot involves those dreaded Cybernauts who cropped up several times during the series and manages to involve not just John Steed and Mrs. Peel, but all of Steed's other partners too : Cathy Gale; Tara King; and Dr. David Keel. You really couldn't ask for much more; except for a great story. And here's a dirty little secret that all of us TV fans don't like to dwell on : great stories are awfully rare in the world of television. We become fans of a series because we like the characters and are willing to spend an hour (or a half hour) with them every week. But let's face it, most episodes of any TV series are pretty pedestrian, often downright feeble. Heck, I was a huge fan of Cheers and Magnum, P.I., but those shows had entire seasons that were just awful.

So if you look back on The Avengers with misty watercolor memories, let me warn you, you're going to be disappointed by this book. And if you're someone who never watched the show and couldn't figure out why someone would make the recent movie version, this book is not for you either. But if you recall the show as a pleasant diversion, and nothing more, this book is at least as good as a mediocre episode of the series--except of course that it doesn't have Patrick Macnee, Diana Rigg or Honor Blackman, to get your fix of them you'll just have to buy the DVDs that are now available of the original shows.

GRADE : C

Beware the co-authored novel. This book is credited to two writers and it shows as the style is a touch patchy. While not poorly written, it isn't great either. I got the impression it was dashed off in a weekend when there was nothing better to do. Could I do better? Probably no. But maybe yes! However, the fact that I read the whole thing suggests it has something going for it. Non-Avengers fans might give it the heave-ho but the rest of us, well, it's Avengers isn't it? Summary, three stars only but very good value at under six dollars.

The initial chapters are very well written. It was a pleasure to be introduced to Dr. Keel, and Cathy Gale and a delight to again encounter the charismatic Emma Peel. I began to lose interest when the authors brought in Tara,Mother, Rhonda. Who cared? As for the ludicrous bit of Steed relegating Emma to the back seat of his car while he sat up front with Tara, and the assinine scene of Emma and Tara vieing for him- get real! Emma Peel always had too much class, dignity, and pride to take second place. Ultimately the book disappointed with the ending of Steed, Mother, and Rhonda together. The initial sparks flying between Emma and Steed were exciting and believable. Then it became boring - Tara/Mother were brought into a previusly well constructed plot. OVer 30 yera ago the Forget-Me Not show made me realize I couldn't stand for such a boring series -Tara,a subservient,eager to please, young enough to be his daughter giirl and an equally bland older man called Mother. Tne New AVengers similarly left me cold. The writers have talent but it would have been a better book minus Tara, Mother, and Rhonda.

Even Dave Rogers admitted that MOther was a weak link. Why end the book with a such a deadly dull scene? Haven't the writers heard the cliche three's crowd? As soon as the writers brought in Tara the book went downhill. If you want to read every Aveangers book you could borrow this one first from your public library, then decide if you want to buy it. Kaewert's book was supurb. MacNeee's books have the virtue of featuring Steed and Emma. Peel and his co-author disappointed me.

They began so well, but sacrificed plot and character by bringing in Tara, and Mother. They were always boring characters. Why do you think the series was cancelled in America?