Back in 1994, my brother was very much into comic books. Not wanting to buy my brother something wihtout buying me something, and knowing my flare for the dramatic and mythological, my father bought me one of the installments of Sandman: Brief Lives...and it changed my life forever. I hungrily started to read anything I could get my hands on by Neil Gaiman...but the haunting images and statements that I received from that book are still with me. It was the episode in which Dream comes face to face with his son after many many years...and agrees to a deadly boon. There are not enough adjectives dealing with "wonder" to describe Gaiman's work. He redefines the mythologies we are all familiar with and creates some new ones. But this is the catalyst installment...Brief Lives is when Dream truly cannot go back...when he passes the cusp of fate into the inevitable. Up until this point, Dream has a choice, but following his decisions in this book, he can no longer retreat to safety. He had become a part of my personal pantheon, as his brothers and sisters have. He's with me for the rest of my life.

I have a soft spot of the Kindly Ones because that was my introduction to Neil Gaiman (I had read about him in Wizard, the monthly bible of the comic book world, but I was young, and stupid, and my ignorance kept me away from revelation), and for The Wake because Micheal Zulli's pencils are exquisite - but whenever I _need_ exactly what it is the Sandman has to offer I turn to Brief Lives.

It's the distilliation - the essence - of what Sandman is about. Some might argue that Fables and Reflections or even Dream Country would be a better representative, a series of stunning vignettes whose swirling, mythic and dream like quality (I'm thinking of the fabulous Ramadan story) are about horror, fate, the depths of humanity and all that good stuff in the great traditions of fire-side story tellers.

But Brief Lives is something even better.

As Mikal Gilmore noted in his introduction to the graphic novel edition of The Wake, one of the seminal joys of the Sandman is hearing Gaiman's voice grow clearer with each passing issue. The progression from "The Sleep of the Just" to "The Tempest" is an astounding one; watching him grow makes any burgeoning and would-be writer both jealous and elated. The entire idea of the Sandman was revolutionary and different and pregnant with greatness (yes, a dangerous term, but applicable) - but it wasn't until Brief Lives that we _really_ saw what this thing could be capable of. Some argue that point occurred in "The Sound of Her Wings" in the first story arc, or perhaps Seasons of Mists, but _anyone_ who has read Brief Lives understands the truth....

This story is breathtaking. It's a romp. It's a ride. It blows you away, grabs you, throws you down forever into the endless sky with a wild rush of words and images (the matching of Jill Thompson to this story is once more pure genius), it picks up a fatal and final inertia that doesn't slow down until the final page is turned - that is, the final page of the last issue of the series. It's from this point that the story picks up speed and urgency. Everything revolves around the central act of kindness that concludes Brief Lives, and all the tragedy and death and destruction and redemption that occur later on are merely a reflection of that single act.

This is _the_ story. Everything before was technically brilliant, possessed of a fresh and blindingly new verve that the comic books medium hadn't seen in quite some time - but it was somehow _distant_. Brief Lives is full of a passionate proximity, a feeling of the here and now, a sense of both the confusion of every day life and miraculously together with that, the grand rush of scope. This is where Gaiman gets his chops.

I can't recommend this book enough. It's got a winding, willowy wisdom (how's that for alliteration?) that stays with you beyond the waking realms, the kind of gift you return to as the years pass by, something that grows with you as oppossed to on you. Each time I read it I read something new and fresh, and each time I read it I never fail to be moved and inspired.

Brief Lives is what it's all about. Peter Straub couldn't have said it any better when he wrote in his afterword....

"If this isn't literature, nothing is."

Oh, yes! Change is indeed the topic debated throughout Neil Gaimans masterpiece volume in the highly thought-stimulating saga of the Dreamlord. It is the book that sees Gaiman making his main character emotionally vulnerable (whereas "Preludes & Nocturnes" portrayed his "physical" weakness), thus more human in action, thought and word. By doing this Gaiman's genious sends this fascinating, somewhat inexplicable dark and mute, "human" incarnation of dreams from the rather easily awoken sense of a "sympathetic" prothagonist in action, to the empathetic core of our hearts. His clumsy approach at establishing a dialogue with the elf-housemaid Nuala on his return to the dreamcastle, stands out as proof of change - actions and reactions within this brief conversation bear witness to the Dreamlords waking will to take other beings welfare into consideration, within the limits of all realms.

The turning points are, due to the non-linear narrative, generally spread out through most of the volumes of the Sandman story, but to me the ultimate change of the storyline occurs as Morpheus initiates a final rendez-vous with his human son, as described in this wonderful, and not least powerful, collection of beautiful stories. In short a powerful set of thoughts on the nature of "the word for things not being the same always".

The presence of the Almighty is felt briefly through actions, beyond the control of even the Endless Seven, and dialogues reflecting an inevitable masterplan that will seal the fate of Morpheus as we have come to know him.

This book was a required "textbook" in a high school "Science and Sustainability" pilot class my school did in junior year. I remember we generally used the books in class but could check them out to take home if we wanted. I checked one out and din't want to give it back. I think I skipped two classes that day just sitting in the student lounge poring over it, and I think the people reading over my shoulder probably had other things to do as well, but I couldn't put it down, it was so fascinating. So of course I bought my own and I can still pick it up and pore over it for another three hours with the same fascination. It's real life, and the families are real people that you feel somehow close to after reading this. I love this book and show it to everyone. This book will change the way you look at things. Also, for those who think that this book is primarily about material goods around the world, you couldn't be more wrong. Each chapter shows an incredibly detailed portrait of life in another country, and is as wonderful for introducing kids to other cultures as it is for opening their eyes to economic realities. Enjoy.

What does the average Ethiopian home look like? What is the average Cuban family's hope for the future? How much does a carrot cost on the black Market in Bosnia? Which country has the highest fish consumption per capita? What does the average Japanese father have for breakfast?

It may seem trivial, but these are the questions that Peter Menzel and the creators of "Material World" have tried to answer. And the answers they found are more profound than you might think. 30 very different countries, and 16 excellent photographers, trying to show through images, statistics and interviews how the world's average families live. The differences are astonishing: the financially average Abdullah family in Kuwait is both literally and figuratively a world removed from the Cakonis in Albania.

In this book, created to celebrate the United Nations International Year Of The Family, sumptuous photographs, show each family with their material possessions spread around them outside their homes: while one family's material wealth seems to consist almost entirely of carpets, another's is made up of animals and cooking pots. One family has four cars, another a single and ragged looking donkey. More photographs show each family in the course of the average day, and coupled with data based on interviews, they answer questions such as: do the children go to school? Where does their food come from? What does their house look like? And most tellingly, what is their most treasured possession? More light hearted sections, which explore average televisions, toilets and meals across the world, show at once how alike and different we are.

The creators of "Material World" have sought, and achieved a fine balance. They contrast not only those countries which we know to be rich or poor, but also look at how other factors, such as war and technology, affect families. The information is implicit rather than explicit, conveyed only through the images and words of each family; while the photographers' impressions are expressed in small "photographer's notes" sections, their main function is simply to show us the real lives of their subjects. No judgements are passed, nor opinions given. The reader is left to examine the evidence for themselves.

"Material World" works on many levels. The quality of photography and the compilation of each section make it beautiful to look at - a smart and very PC coffee table book. The statistical information and photographs together provide a wealth of material for use in schools. Flipping backwards and forwards to explore the differences yourself is as much fun as "Where's Waldo", and the writing is so good that "Material World" is a great book to snuggle up with and read. I can only pick one fault with this book: the more trivial statistical data is not always consistent. For example, data on percentages of income spent on food is only available for some families, making comparison impossible. However, this is a small fault. "Material World" is a fantastic book, original, interesting and well put together. Highly recommended to anyone with even a slight interest in the subject.

"Material World" is one of those books that EVERYONE should read. It really is beyond description...deceptively simply yet incredibly moving in its stark simplicity. In these pages about families across the globe, we see scenes from their everyday life. When we glance at the pictures of each family on their lawn surrounded by all of their material goods, the difference between the average American family and the average Ethiopian family couldn't be plainer. We look at the faces on these pages, hear their thoughts on the future, and compare their lives to our own...and suddenly the people in other countries seem real to us, and the faceless people of the news suddenly have faces and thoughts and homes and families. Peter Menzel and all of the others who have worked on this book have done a brilliant and wonderful thing when they created "Material World". They have done what no "You should be grateful..." or "Think of those people in other countries..." could have done...they have made the world real to us.

A must have for people that want a well written and practical guide to the different Genus of carnivorous plants and how to grow them. Well written and not overly technical, The Savage Garden was interesting as well as practical reading for the hobbyist grower. When I received this book, I read it cover to cover, staying up until 3AM.

The Savage Garden was exceedingly well organized and the information was, by my experience, accurate. I particularly like the way he organized the book, with growing information for the Genus and species grouped logically at the end of each section, instead of spread throughout the book. It makes it much easier to use as a reference for growers.

If you own but on book on these plants, this should be the one.

Peter D'Amato displays his incredible knowledge of carnivorous plants in a book that is brilliantly organized. Cultivation and propagation pages are set in pastel green colors for fast and easy reference. The book is full of detailed cultivating information, fascinating historical accounts, and beautiful color pictures. The Savage Garden is an essential part of any carnivorous plant enthusiasts' library.

If you've ever bought a venus fly-trap and had it die on you, but would still like to give it another try, this is the perfect book. And not just for fly-traps, but nearly every other carnivorous plant out there!

This book is packed full of information on all kinds of plants that trap and eat insects. But best of all, Peter D'Amato, who runs the largest retail store selling such plants, gives helpful advice on how to grow them. Pretty much everything from soil mixes to light and humidity levels is detailed out here. He even gives lists of plants that do well in different settings, such as windowsills, terrariums, and outdoor bogs. And the writing style is such that it is easy to understand and follow, and even has a nice sense of humor. And while the author's experience is growing them on the Pacific Coast, the advice is easily adaptable to other climates with some adjustment.

This is a must-have book for anyone interested in carnivorous plants - and the "bible" for anyone who hopes to grow them successfully.

When I picked up this book at my local library, I wasn't expecting to be impressed. I had fallen in love with one of Thurber's other books that I had read (The Owl in the Attic and Other Perplexities) and decided to see if this was any good. That night I read it through, 3 times and another 2 the following morning. It just seemed all so wonderful to me I couldent get enough of it. A classic story with a handsom prince, an evil duke, and a beautiful princess, and the seemingly impossable tasks the prince had to do to win the princess's hand. I hope that all around the world people enjoy this book, for years to come.

...the writing is so lyrical, the characters so funny, and characteristic of thurber, frought with human flaws while still being heroes, and each adventure solved, in the end, by wit and ingenuity. the prose is beautifully tight. it is written, like E.B. White, for the inner ear -- sonorous, and full of Thurber mischief. "I am the Golux, the one and only Golux -- and not a mere device." My eight-year old loves the rhythm. My 11 year old loves the humor, and I love thurber's wink to me about literary devices...for us, this book is always at hand for the sheer joy of reading it aloud.

I first heard this enchantingly wonderful book on cassette tape when i was at art lessons. I would wait impatiently till the next week so I could hear more~ more about the Golux (who resembles only half the things he says he doesn't) and about Princess Saralinda and the Prince whose name begins with X... and doesn't. This book is full of whimsical wonderful wordplay and contains almost all of my favorite quotations of all time. It isn't very long, but every sentence is filled with some little quips or verbal oddities that, quite literally, made me laugh aloud. This book is without question one of my favorites of all time, a truly wonderful tale that can be read over and over again without ever growing old. Really classique. I mean, the book that's given me my tagline HAS to be great: "We all have flaws and mine is being evil."

Although I don't personally appreciate the soapbox Peter Gethers climbs on from time to time regarding organized religion (some of his comments are unnecessary, out of place and just plain stupid), I do appreciate everything else about this book.

And, I will admit, the ending made me cry.

I titled my review "A Life-Changing Book" not out of a sense of hyperbole; rather, for the same reason that Tuesdays With Morrie has been called a life-changing book. Any book that deals with loved ones dying is sure to cause readers to think hard about their own lives.

And make no mistake, Norton the cat was loved. Not only by his human, Peter Gethers, but apparently by everyone with whom he came in contact. Including tens of thousands of readers around the world. And even such folks as Anthony Hopkins, who -- in this book -- personally asks Peter Gethers if he brought Norton with him to a movie preview/party.

If even half the things in the Norton books are true (and Gethers swears they're ALL true), then Norton was a unique cat, indeed.

Another reason why I titled this a life-changing book is because thanks to Gethers' Norton books (this is the third and final in the series), I bought a Scottish Fold cat that I promptly named Bradbury (after the famous author). Maybe I got all choked up at the ending of this book because Brad was sitting on my lap and I could just picture the emotional turmoil Peter Gethers went through as his beloved companion reached the end of his life.

For those of you who don't know what the Norton books are all about, it's hard to explain them. Essentially, and briefly, they're about a Scottish Fold cat (Scottish Folds have the cute folded ears and owlish faces with the big eyes) that goes everywhere his human goes -- literally around the world. The two have humorous -- and sometimes astounding -- adventures that will cause you to raise an eyebrow at the same time they're putting a smile on your face.

Even if you don't like cats (the author was once an avowed cat HATER), you'll probably still like the Norton books. The writing is very good, witty and extremely compelling.

Don't start with this book, though. Start with the first book in the series: The Cat Who Went to Paris. The Cat Who'll Live Forever recounts the last year or two of Norton's life. Give Norton a chance to grow on you before you read about his demise. I guarantee if you do, by the end of this book YOU'LL be crying, too.

Many may think "Oh, c'mon, some cheesy cat book" but this is by far one of the most incredible stories I have ever read. It is the story of Norton the cat who changed the lives of all he met. Gethers has written other books about Norton, but this is the last we'll ever find, as Norton is now in Heaven. While reading this book, I almost felt I was right there with Norton on his adventures to fancy restaurants and long car trips and spending a whole vacation hanging out with the people at the front desk of the hotel who couldn't bare to let him leave. Norton is incredible, and so is this book.

This book is by far the sweetest, most honest books about an animal I have ever read. Peter Gethers has a very easy going, conversational writing style that really makes Norton's personality come alive. I have been a cat lover my enitre life and the author captures things about cats that only someone who is capable of feeling this deep conection would know. Also- this is not an overly sentimental, gushy book- it is simple and honest and very very funny. I laughed out loud and cried while reading this. It is not a book you will soon forget.

This wonderful children's novel tells the story of eight year old Princess Irene. Cared for by her nurse Lootie, she lives in a mountain farmhouse while her father rules over the region from a mountain top castle. The local folk work as miners but are beset by the Goblins who inhabit the underground. Irene is saved from the Goblins by Curdie, a thirteen year old miner, and she in turn saves him. The whole thing is told in a pleasant conversational style and is filled with humor, word games, magic, derring-do, and pure wonderment.

George MacDonald, a Congregational minister turned novelist, who seems nearly forgotten now, was one of the seminal figures in the development of Fantasy. His influence on other Fantasy authors is obvious, he was a childhood favorite of JRR Tolkein, who especially liked this book, and C.S. Lewis named him one of his favorite authors. His own stories draw on many of the themes and characters of classical European fairy tales. But where they were often merely horrific and meaningless, MacDonald adds a layer of Christian allegory. Thus, Irene and Curdie are eventually saved by a thread so slender that you can't even see it, but which leads them back to safety, teaching Curdie that you sometimes have to believe in things that you can't see.

The book would be interesting simply as a touchstone of modern fiction, but it stands up well on its own and will delight adults and children alike.

GRADE: A

whenever I find a used copy of this or MacDonald's "The Princess and Curdie" I buy it and give it away. Both books are full of religious symbolism if you think about it, and old other-worldness if you don't. "The Princess and the Goblin" can be enjoyed by early elementary school children, while the language of "The Princess and Curdie" is more challenging and suited for 5th grade and up, though anything is possible with a bit of extra effort. Worth trying. George MacDonald (deceased) has a loyal following as do, of course, Tolkien and C.S.Lewis who were his friends. These are lovely books to read aloud.

I cant believe I haven't read this untill now, its such a great book! A princess lives in a castle all her life, never knowing of the great dangers that go on in the mountain. One day(being about 7 years old) she finds a stairway in her house that she has never seen and it leads her to her great, great grandmother. After she meets her grandmother she is shown the dangers of the goblins and meets a boy named Curdie who mines in the mountain with his father. Throughout the book Curdie and the princess have many encounters with the goblins. This is a great book I highly recommend it for readers of all ages.

This book tells the story of Soviet Yankee I-class missile submarine K-219. This incident happened in 1986 and already then Soviet armed forces were in rather bad condition. K-219 is sent to American east coast for patrol duty and it experiences difficulties from beginning of journey. In fact there has been major problems before this journey. Troubles really start when one of the missiles explodes due to malfunction.

This book was interesting for several reasons. First it gives the reader a view in what kind of shape Soviet Navy was during last stages of communism and how politics were always most important thing and everything else came only after it (maybe). It also gives reader view how US Navy hunts submarines, how well (or bad) USN and other branches of service ie. US Air Force in this book co-operate. Also for once one of the bad guys is American; commander of US attack sub USS Augusta.

Text was easy, fluent and fast to read and photo section is ok for paperback (pics are clear enough to really see what kind of monster K-219 was). One thing that bothers me after reading this book is that if Soviet Navy was in such a bad condition during communist era in what condition are Russian Navy vessels today? Luckily their ships and subs rust most of the time in port due to lack of funds.

Through my work as Exec. Asst. to the Exec. Dir. of the Navy League of the U.S., I met member Peter Huchthausen when he introduced Igor Kurdin to the NLUS as an associate member. I became their liaison. Through this I have worked with young hero Sergei Preminin's high-school teacher, who created a small museum to his heroism. Then on 8/4/97 at a dinner in his honor at the Officers Club of the Naval Academy in Annapolis, I was privileged to be seated at the head table with and to meet the brave Russian sub commander, Igor Britanov, who saved our East Coast from a Chernobyl, and probably thus headed off WWIII. I was honored to be made a member of the St. Petersburg Club of Sailors and Submariners that evening. Peter Huchthausen did painstaking research, as did his coauthor Igor Kurdin to create this book. It is riveting, utterly compelling, heart-wrenching, and true. Although I have read it three times and highlighted much, plus viewing the HBO slightly-altered and less grippingly true rendition, I still weep for these brave men. This is the sign of a well-written book! It captures vividly the heart and soul of these men, and what they courageously endured. To read of them and meet them in person is to love them for their bravery and decency. I have never seen a face radiate more goodness than Captain Britanov's. I highly recommend this book to everyone I engage in conversation on the subject. I only wish that it had received much more publicity, in hard and soft cover.

Maybe you remember. The book says something to the extent that, "a certain event almost jeopardized the summit meeting with Reagan and Gorbechav." This book tells you what that event was. It is a TRUE story. A very haunting story, and I'm one who lives in southern Arizona, far away from the scene of this event. This book is like a Hunt for Red October from hell. I won't tell you ANYTHING about what happens, because it is important that you read this yourself. Another classic example of our government hiding things from us hard-working blue-collar workers. Another amazing thing about this story is that IT READS LIKE A NOVEL, but it isn't. At the end, I found myself CHEERING for the RUSSIANS because the Americans were (sorry) so STUPID and SELFISH. To many people, "russians" is synonymous with "evil". I hope this book changes your view of the Russians, as it changed mine--they are no better or worse than we are, as we are all human beings.

I had to read a good part of "The Decameron" last quarter and I have gone back to read more stories from it even though the Fall quarter is over. This is a great book: funny, entertaining, subtly revolutionary, insightful, and superbly well-written. Approach it without fear. It is a Classic, but it will have you laughing, thinking, and learning far better than any current best-seller. Anyone with an interest in journalism and/or history will profit from Boccaccio's Introduction, at the beginning of the First Day. His description of the Plague in Florence is vivid and gripping, and this eventually provides the background for the setting of the one hundred and one tales that seven young women and three young men will narrate in a villa away from the dying city. Also, the Introduction to the Fourth Day presents the reader with an unfinished, but hilarious story about a man who has been kept away from women. This story is what my teacher called the 101st, and I have to agree with her.

Do not think that all "The Decameron" deals with is sex. The mostly illicit sexual encounters depicted are some times funny, sometimes sad, but they share a common trait with the stories from the Tenth Day, for example (these ones are mostly about sacrifice, abnegation, and servitude), or with those of the Second: Boccaccio's concern for his society and the terrible tensions that had reached a breaking point by the 14th century. The Plague, in Boccaccio's universe, acts as a catalyst of emotions, desires, and changes that had to come.

Read, then, about Alibech putting the Devil back in Hell, Lisabetta and her pot of basil, Ser Ceperello and his "saintly" life, Griselda and her incredible loyalty in spite of the suffering at the hands of a God-like husband, Tancredi and his disturbing love for his daughter, Masetto and the new kind of society he helps create with some less-than-religious nuns, and then it will be easier to understand why Boccaccio is so popular after 650 years. And although it may be skipped by most readers, do not miss the Translator's (G. M. McWilliam) introduction on the history of "The Decameron" proper, and that of its many, and mostly unfortunate, translations into English. This book is one of the wisest, most economic ways of obtaining entertainment and culture. Do not miss it.

Giovanni Boccaccio THE DECAMERON. Second Edition. Translated with an Introduction and Notes by G. H. McWilliam. cli + 909 pages. Penguin Classics. London: Penguin Books, 1995. ISBN 0-14-044629-X (Pbk).

Second-hand opinions can do a lot of harm. Most of us have been given the impression that The Decameron is a lightweight collection of bawdy tales which, though it may appeal to the salacious, sober readers would do well to avoid. The more literate will probably be aware that the book is made up of one hundred stories told on ten consecutive days in 1348 by ten charming young Florentines who have fled to an amply stocked country villa to take refuge from the plague which is ravaging Florence.

Idle tales of love and adventure, then, told merely to pass the time by a group of pampered aristocrats, and written by an author who was quite without the technical equipment of a modern story-teller such as Flannery O'Connor. But how, one wonders, could it have survived for over six hundred years if that's all there were to it? And why has it so often been censored? Why have there always been those who don't want us to read it?

A puritan has been described as someone who has an awful feeling that somebody somewhere may be enjoying themselves, and since The Decameron offers the reader many pleasures it becomes automatically suspect to such minds. In the first place it is a comic masterpiece, a collection of entertaining tales many of which are as genuinely funny as Chaucer's, and it offers us the pleasure of savoring the witty, ironic, and highly refined sensibility of a writer who was also a bit of a rogue. It also provides us with an engaging portrait of the Middle Ages, and one in which we are pleasantly surprised to find that the people of those days were every bit as human as we are, and in some ways considerably more delicate.

We are also given an ongoing hilarious and devastating portrayal of the corruption and hypocrisy of the medieval Church. Another target of Boccaccio's satire is human gullibility in matters religious, since, then as now, most folks could be trusted to believe whatever they were told by authority figures. And for those who have always found Dante to be a crushing bore, the sheer good fun of The Decameron, as Human Comedy, becomes, by implication (since Boccaccio was a personal friend of Dante), a powerful and compassionate counterblast to the solemn and cruel anti-life nonsense of The Divine Comedy.

There is a pagan exuberance to Boccaccio, a frank and wholesome celebration of the flesh; in contrast to medieval Christianity's loathing of woman we find in him what David Denby beautifully describes as "a tribute to the deep-down lovableness of women" (Denby, p.249). And today, when so many women are being taught by anti-sex radical feminists to deny their own bodies and feelings, Boccaccio's celebration of the sexual avidity of the natural woman should come as a very welcome antidote. For Denby, who has written a superb essay on The Decameron that can be strongly recommended, Boccaccio's is a scandalous book, a book that liberates, a book that returns us to "the paradise from which, long ago, we had been expelled" (Denby, p.248).

The present Penguin Classics edition, besides containing Boccaccio's complete text, also includes a 122-page Introduction, a Select Bibliography, 67 pages of Notes, four excellent Maps and two Indexes. McWilliam, who is a Boccaccio scholar, writes in a supple, refined, elegant and truly impressive English which successfully captures the highly sophisticated sensibility of Boccaccio himself. His translation reads not so much as a translation as an original work, though his Introduction (which seems to cover everything except what is most important) should definitely be supplemented by Denby's wonderfully insightful and stimulating essay, details of which follow:

Chapter 17 - 'Boccaccio,' in 'GREAT BOOKS - My Adventures with Homer, Rousseau, Woolf, and Other Indestructible Writers of the Western World'
by David Denby. pp.241-249. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1997. ISBN 0-684-83533-9 (Pbk).

Ten young Florentine noblemen and women escaping the Black Death in Florence in 1348 entertain themselves by each relating a story per day for ten days - 100 entertaining stories in all, mostly set in and around medieval Florence. Although famously naughty, none of these stories strikes a modern reader as more than mildly erotic. Rather, they consistently astonish by their thoroughly modern message that women are as good as men, nobility doesn't come from birth, sanctity doesn't come from the church, and - above all - true love must never be denied. Amazingly, Boccaccio often delivers this message while pretending to say the exact opposite; sometimes he presents very sympathetic characters who get away with things thought scandalous in his time, offering a mere token condemnation at the end, while other times he depicts someone actually following the accepted code and committing some horrible act of cruelty in the process. Either way - and despite his claims to be upholding convention - we always know what he really means, and apparently he didn't fool too many people in his own day either.

But one doesn't need to focus on the revolutionary aspects of the Decameron to enjoy the book; each of the stories delights the reader with a different tasty morsel, and, you can read as much or as little at a time as you please. Once you get past the introduction, (and that's probably the most serious part of the book, so be sure not to give up before you get to the first story) the stories will make you laugh, make you cringe, and make you sit on the edge of your seat. Inspiring authors from Chaucer to Shakespeare and entertaining audiences for over 700 years, the Decameron continues to delight.

Like its US/Brit companion volume, this work on German tanks and AFVs is comprehensive and detailed. At slightly less than 300 pages, it is terse but it covers a multitude of variations and tank equipment including the ever popular Goliath Sd Kfz 302 and 303 variations. There are pictures aplenty and useful appendices covering, among other things, the major weapons carried by these tanks. I didn't give it 5 stars only because I thought it could have used more operational information on the different vehicles. All in all though, for an inexpensive one volume source book on German AFVs, I have not met its equal.

This is quite simply the best military text book I have ever read (and I have read many!) This book should be a compulsory purchase for anyone interested in tanks and/or world war two. It contains every tank, armored half track and armored car the Germans designed during 1933-45.

The information has the best layout of any military text book (on any subject) I have ever seen. It clearly and concisely describes all the relevant technical data and has a brief description of history, specific features and combat sevice. Each vehicle is described in detail and illustrated with a wealth of pictures.

DO NOT MISS THIS REPRINT!

Thi book is an absolute must for every ww2 enthusiast,modeler and technical enthusiast.This book cover every tank selfpropelled gun and tracked,half tracked and armored vhiecle ever produced or even experimented by the Geramn's during ww2 and even before that, plus it covers the prototypes. I think that this book is the best encyclopidia on german armour during ww2, with over 1000 black and white photo's it is an indispensable rereference.Worth every penny,highly recomended.

Dorothy L. Sayers' book _Gaudy_Night_ is one of the best mystery books ever written, if you enjoy beautiful, educated writing and brilliant, sympathetic characters, not to mention a great plot. Harriet Vane, one of the first female Oxford graduates, like the author, struggles with poison-pen letters, personal focus, and the attentions of Lord Peter Wimsey as she returns to Oxford after attending the annual Gaudy (a reunion of old students). Without a corpse in sight, the book may not appeal to many readers of grity detective novels, but this mystery is solved with wit, wisdom, and Vergil. For what more could one ask?
_Gaudy_Night_ is eriudite as well as entertaining, standing up well to the passing of over six decades. The themes of academia versus business, career versus marriage, and town versus university are still alive today. The writing of Dorothy L. Sayers is not to be missed, and this is arguably her best book (along with _The_Nine_Tailors_).

Gaudy Night has long been my favorite Dorothy Sayers mystery. The plot involves Harriet Vane and Peter Wimsey investigating a murder at Harriet's old college at Oxford. The plotting is excellent and the dialogue intelligent and witty. This is classic Sayers. What really adds to the story is the continuing love story between Harriet and Peter. Before Harriet came along, Wimsey seemed to me to not be a fully fleshed out character. Adding Harriet to the mix livens up Wimsey and makes him seem more real and more human. This is an excellent golden age mystery from a master writer. Highly recommended.

This book is amazing: not only does it comment intelligently on just about every human life issue, but it does so while being a very competent murder mystery, and consistently enjoyable to boot. Gaudy Night is the novel that shows the world why Dorothy L. Sayers is the master. Her style is as beautiful as always, and this third book in the 4-book Harriet Vane/Peter Wimsey series is a fascinating piece of whodunit mystery fiction, a commentary on the single-sex environment as well as the place of women in education and education in women, a treatise on love, and a breathtakingly realistic and satisfying romance that anyone who's been following Harriet and Peter through Strong Poison and Have His Carcase will appreciate. The fourth and final book, Busman's Honeymoon, is the only thing that could possibly crown Gaudy Night, and I recommend them both.

I think anyone who's pondered the very real problems in reconciling Harriet and Peter and how Sayers could approach them while remaining true to both will feel as I did--bought the book, liked it, will keep it.