Do you know need a reason to buy this book? I can give you an excellent one -- it's called the Table of Contents. It lists 700 pages worth of Robin Hood ballads, plays and more. It has the earliest ballads and plays where Robin is merely a yeoman, the first play that casts him as the Earl of Huntington, and later ballads that give the "origins" of Little John, Maid Marian and Will Scarlet. Also, there's an introductory article on the history of the legend and complete introductions and notes to all the ballads and plays. The notes and introductions are by Stephen Knight and Thomas Ohlgren, two top Robin Hood scholars. If you want to read the original tales of the outlaw, or if you are teach a course in Robin Hood, this book is an excellent buy. Just treat it with care. I notice my cover is fraying somewhat.

This book shows his master of the darkroom, making all his works unique to themselves. If you are into black & white photography and printing this book is a revelation of what is possible.

SPADA is a journal that contains some of most current ideas on historical swordsmanship by a number of the field's leading researchers. As a student of historical swordsmanship myself, I think it is an excellent step in the right direction for the progression of this school of study.

As far as the contents of the book are concerned, my hat goes off to the editor, Stephen Hand, for distilling such a diverse, and yet interesting range of papers from the vast array of excellent treatises available.

The book also features some interesting reports on some of the most recent activities undertaken in the WMA community. This provides the reader with a very good 'big picture' perspective into what advances are being made in what fields, and an appreciation for the vast range of people who are now interested in historical swordsmanship.

With regards to it's practicality, the book caters for many different tastes - whether you are interested in the finesse of renaissance fencing, or simply a medieval re-enactor using the trusty 'sword and shield' method. SPADA provides useful insights and a greater understanding of historical methods of fighting.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in gaining a greater appreciation of historical swordsmanship, and anyone who is curious to know what the swordmanship community out there is doing. I rate it as a 'must have' item, and I look forward to more SPADA releases in the future.

cheers

Matt Partridge
Secretary
Order of the White Stag

This book was a eye opening experience that allows you to appreciate something most of us take for granted -- SIGHT. It encourages you to look beyond the physicality of sight and to become acutely aware of the images you see from day-to-day.

Dr. Lester has performed a service for myself and anyone else who reads this book. It drives you to absorb more of the world that we "see" everyday.

I would recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in graphical design, imagery, or to those who want a deeped appreciation for the power that images play in our lives!

Aptly edited by the collective efforts of T.M. Charles-Edwards, Morfydd M. Owen, and Paul Russell, The Welsh King And His Court is a massive compendium of essays filled with meticulous discourse of the Welsh royal household and the governmental roles of those officers charged with upkeep of horses, sleeping quarters, meals, etc. Primary source texts are presented in English translation, and the essays are written at a college reading level. The Welsh King And His Court is a scholarly text that combines deep thought with multi-level analysis of historical politics. An intriguing and recommended historical study, with a very helpful glossary, abbreviation list and index.

As an educator of over 20 years, I have used many elementary texts on surveying. This is by far the most comprehensive and easy to understand book for the student wishing to learn from the basics to advanced surveying topics. One of the things that I like about this book is that I have found it is applicable to both the on campus courses at the University of Wyoming as well as the off campus courses that we offer to experienced, practicing surveyors around the country. The topics are just as suited for my students in Florida as they are in New York, California, Mississippi or Hawaii, and that's saying a lot since the laws are different in all regions of the country. I have found that using this book has been very easy to present material useful to students taking the classes in any state while preparing for the FLS or LS exam, because it covers the topics to about the right amount of depth as the exam expects the examinee to comprehend. The only downfall of the book as I see it is that there are numerous wrong answers (in the back of the book)to the selected homework problems that answers are provided for. This can be frustrating at times as you can imagine. If you can find me, I'd be happy to forward a list of these erroneous answers, and the correct answers. This might be very useful for other educators. As per the rules of posting reviews, I can't put my email address on here. Bummer.

Simply the best surveying text. The best feature is the way it introduces the basic concepts of a topic followed by a section of advanced concepts concerning the topic. This makes the book an essential reference for both students and practioners. This book is highly recommended.

I graduated form a Tech. school that used this book as the source of study. I thought that it, with the help of my instructor, was a great refrence. I still use it today to look up anything from state plane coordinates to legal descriptions.

over all its a good book to have.

Lee Harvey Oswald became the most hated man in America after the tragic death of John F. Kennedy. But did Oswald actually do it? If he did was he alone? The Assassinations Dallas and Beyond contemplates these questions as well as the integrity of the commission composed to answer them. The book is a compilation of several official reports, which were both rewritten and analyzed by editor Peter Dale Scott. The books main points focus on the credibility of the Warren Report by evaluating several disregarded pieces of evidence and witnesses that may have proved Oswald's innocence. The Assassinations also describes Oswald's social life, including his communist ties. Although packed with an insurmountable amount of information, this book has a gross redundancy. Still after reading through it all, I feel Oswald was innocent. Only someone with a passion for either JFK or Lee Oswald could stand the long nights of reading a lot of the same information only written differently. However, if you enjoy bleeding from your eyes, or just have trouble sleeping at night, then feel free to read The Assassinations Dallas and Beyond. Take my word for it; don't waste your money on this one and check it out at your local library.

Author's Name is Paul Hoch

Hi. Actually, I have not read this book. However, I would like to contact either "Reader from CA who reviewed this book Jan. 5, 1999" or anyone else who has this book. I am trying to get a copy of this book for my daughter who is in Purchase College and needs it for school. I would greatly appreciate it if someone out there could help me. You can contact me at sharose55@aol.com

Thank you very much, Shari

this book is indespenceible for studies in post war and contemporary art- winner for best exhibition and catalogue from the international association of art critics

THE GAY 100 seeks to dispell the myth that gays and lesbians are dangerous and that their presence in popular consciousness is a new phenonemon. In fact, as the book points out, gay men and lesbian women have been an integral part of society from ancient times.

THE GAY 100 is certainly an interesting read, and the biographical information provided is enlightening. This is a well-written book. But the problem is that, one, how can we really know a "ranking" is accurate? And, two, how can we really know who was gay? THE GAY 100 makes it clear that some people did not come out until shortly before their deaths, and others never came out at all. This sort of speculation leads to some dubious inclusions, the most striking being Emily Dickinson, Anna Freud (daughter of Sigmund Freud), and Madonna.

THE GAY 100 admits that there is no tangible evidence of Emily Dickinson having affairs with *anyone* (male or female), but proceeds to rank her as an influential lesbian because she has been adopted as an icon by many lesbian women, and because she seemed at war with "the patriarchy." Madonna is included as a lesbian because she has "contributed to creating a society more tolerant of gays and lesbians" by using aspects of gay culture in her art, and has admitted to lesbian experimentation. Anna Freud is included because she never married and had a close friendship with a female colleague. Am I the only one who sees something a bit odd about this? Does a person become gay because they are adopted as an icon by the gay community? Does experimentation that was eventually abandoned for a heterosexual marriage, make one a lesbian? Does having a close friend of the same gender, and never having married, make one a homosexual? Apparently they do by the author's standards. But I think that many people would question this judgment.

The dubious inclusions of certain people on this list seems to detract from THE GAY 100. I think the author would have done better to forgo judgments on who is the most influential, and to let go of who is gay and who isn't. Maybe this could have been the criteria: those supportive of gay rights . . . those who furthered the cause of tolerance. The result of the dubious inclusions is that rather than driving home the message of gays as a postive cultural force, THE GAY 100 drives home the question of what qualifies one as being gay. That's an interesting question . . . but I don't think it was the one the author intended to raise.

This is a very readable and useful book, I appreciate it. However, almost of all people in the book are the westerners with few exception ;( Mishima Yukio and Hafez ). Therefore, you cannot find famous Arabian, Persian, Turkish, Indian, Chinese, Japanese gay & lesbian people. And in the book, there do not exist important figures like Platon, Epameinondas, Harmodios and Aristogeiton et al. In addition , even Jean Cocteau, Ludwig 2nd , Truman Capote, Somerset Maugham, and Luchino Visconti also are absent.

"There is no doubt that if it became widely known _who are_ the Uranians, the world would be astonished to find so many of its great or leading men among< them."
-- Edward Carpenter, 1908. [from book-- "Uranian" referring to one of the titles associated with Aphrodite, or "the heavenly Aphrodite," who was supposed to be the patroness and inspirer of love between males, as mentioned in Plato's _Symposium_.]
This volume is an excellent "beginners" guide to knowledge of the well known, and not so well known, gays, bisexuals, and lesbians in history. The members of this group, each, has 3 or more pages devoted to his or her life and influence on culture. As the author, Paul Russell, states: "Whether tangible or intangible, evidence that a person's legacy continues in the world, luminous and alive, is what I have sought in attempting to gauge the extent of his or her influence. By influence, then, I mean the ability to effect change, to reconfigure the parameters, to leave in one's wake
a set of challenged assumptions and transformed lives. For the purposes of this particular ranking of influence, I have asked myself a twofold question: How has the individual in question, specifically as a gay man or lesbian, contributred both to history in general and to gay/lesbian identity in particular?" Thus, there are persons included from all areas of influence: philosophers, poets, playwrights, scientists, novelists, social reformers, female liberationists and equal status advocates, generals, rulers and emperors, painters, sculptors, composers, ballet dancers and impresarios, film directors, actors, actresses, and others.
This is not a sensationalist work, nor is it meant as a scholarly study. The lives are interesting, informative, and upbeat -- but not glitzy or poorly written. The person who is very knowlegable about gay history and contributions may find some notable omissions (several composers are listed in one of the lives, but they do not have sections of their own in the volume)-- others, with less knowledge will find the work a very helpful beginner's informative guide.
There are a few inclusions which some might find questionable -- or troubling to themselves -- as well as some omissions which might cause the same response. Some of the perhaps "troubling" ones (but the author explains the reason for their inclusions within the sections) are: the inclusion of Socrates (who wrote nothing), but not Plato (who wrote the _Dialogues_ in which Socrates gives voice to his thoughts), St. Augustine, Emily Dickinson, David and Jonathan (from the Bible, though many writers through the centuries have emphasized the phrase from Samuel II, "your love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women" as speaking of a special type of male bonding beyond mere friendship), and perhaps a few others. The best words to sum up the value of the work come from the author himself in the "Introduction": "One of the ways by which gay men and lesbians have survived through the centuries is by recognizing one another in the various disguises we have worn. We have survived on the consolation of knowing there were others like ourselves. We have been given courage by the rare example of someone like ourselves who has burned brightly in the imagination. We have been fed by the creative dreams and visions of our comrades, widely scattered and persecuted and all but silenced
though they may be. The men and women whose names were secretly whispered, repeated, cherished as homosexual helped create and sustain that amorphous phenomenon we know today as gay culture. These people have signaled who we were, who we might one day be. Their example has answered the world's calumny, has put the lies and stereotypes to rout, has enhanced our sense of possiblity." -- Paul Russell.

THE COMING STORM, like this author's earlier works, addresses the world where homosexual culture and mainstream culture converge. The characters, each of whom wrestles with his/her unique demons, interact in a cleverly twisting plot set at a stereotypical northeastern prep school. The reader finds an expected cast: an older, sexually-repressed man in an unhappy marriage; a young gay man, forced by his circumstances to maintain isolation while trying to succeed as a new faculty member; a troubled student, struggling with his own emerging sexuality; and a cast of lesser character each of whom seems to exist to act as catalysts to the plot, which tangles these four in a situation which will ultimately spiral toward conflict and eventual happy ending. One feels, while reading this book, that despite the often careful and convincing dialogue, and the frequent insights into each character's persona, that no single character has emerged "organically" from the author's imagination, but rather that each are props designed to impel the plot, with its conflicts and timely themes, forward. AIDS, repression, loss swirl around each character's consciousness, but the reader is never truly moved no matter how the drama--often melodrama-- advances, for no single character emerges as a complete person, more as a vehicle for Russell's meticulously-scripted plot. Certain minor characters are depicted as clichés so crudely that one is almost offended. All in all, a novel which has a plot which keeps one's attention; but this reader found himself frequently annoyed by the all-too-obvious simplification of the individuals and their relationships to one another.

Paul Russell's ambitious novel tackles a ticklish subject--a developing attraction and eventual sexual relationship at a private boys' school between Tracy Parker, a newly arrived teacher, and Noah Lathrop, a student. Events also involve Louis, the repressed headmaster of the school, conscious of advancing age and career failure, and his patient, searching wife Claire, who in the absence of a satisfying marriage has filled the void with her own teaching and writing. Russell deserves credit for his central assertion that a gay man and an underage boy could have a more or less equal, non-exploitative sexual relationship without lasting damage to either. He clearly is passionate about this stance and the characters of Tracy and Noah are the most clearly and finely delineated in the novel--the steps by which Noah comes to a realization of his own homosexual urges, by way of a fellow student, are particularly convincing. One grows impatient when the story dwells on Louis and Claire, who come off as dreary and indecisive in comparison. The presence of many vividly drawn subsidiary characters, such as Louis' hedonistic friend Reid and Noah's chillingly controlled father, captivates the reader but tends to distract from the main plot--too much is packed into a relatively small space for a satisfactory balance, though there is an unexpected and satisfying, though hardly happy, resolution to the central love affair at the conclusion. "The Coming Storm" is by no means a perfectly controlled or structured novel, yet somehow it haunts the reader afterward in a way that more polished pieces of literature do not.

I sort of knew what to expect from reading the book's back cover description, but I enjoyed this book more than I expected to. I thoroughly enjoyed Russell's prose, especially when used to reflect the characters' inner thoughts. I also enjoyed (though i didn't expect to) his choice to alternate each chapter from a different character's viewpoint. I'm always a little disturbed by books that seem to celebrate man-boy love, but that wasn't so much the case for me in this book. I think some of that was due to the constant references to Thomas Mann throughout the chapters dealing with Louis - Mann's Death In Venice is one of my favorite pieces of literature, and the character of Louis is a striking contrast to Mann's character of Aschenbach; indeed, one of the book's themes, especially in dealing with Louis and Tracy's respective dilemmas, is the conflict between the Dionysian and Apollonian spirits within all of us. This book wasn't so much a celebration of any particular kind of loving relationship, but a celebration of the concept of love in all of the forms it takes. It's also a book about regret and getting second chances, which made the novel's ending sort of bittersweet to me. These are characters I would love to see again, but in the meantime, I've picked up another Paul Russell novel.