"With more than 400 spectacular colour photographs, this lavish volume provides one of the clearest pictures ever of Art Deco"

BRITISH ART DECO CERAMICS (with Price Guide) by Colin Mawston is a major new reference work on the Pottery produced during the 1920/30s, by British designers. Published by Schiffers in luxurious format, It is a hardback Book with 178 pages and over 400 colour photographs. The Book features the work of Clarice Cliff ( with over 150 photos), Susie Cooper, Shelley, Myott, Sadler, Crown Devon, Carlton Ware, Burleigh Ware, and many other lesser known Potteries. Included are Chapters on "The contribution of British Art Deco", "Introduction to Art Deco", and "Collecting Art Deco Ceramics". The Book will serve as an Introduction to the subject for the new collector and act as a valuable reference for the more seasoned collector. As well as a vast array of photographic examples, it covers the practical side of collecting including where to buy, how to buy and how to identify British Art Deco Ceramics. Dynamic and beautiful Art Deco ceramics blazing with eye-catching, bold--even confrontational--hand-painted designs on innovative vessel forms, produced by some of the most influential potteries in Britain during the 1920s and 1930s, are featured here in the many colour photographs. Spectacular dinnerwares, vases, jugs, face masks, coffee and tea sets appear in abundance. A thorough text provides brief histories of the makers, explanations of the origins and development of the Art Deco style, and valuable tips for today's enthusiastic collectors. Values for the wares displayed are given. This reference will be enjoyed by both art and ceramics enthusiasts the world over.

I don't know why, but this book is captivating to both my kids - my (almost) three year old girl liked it from about 6 months (and still does) and its all over if my 18 month old boy sees it: 3-4 read throughs minimum. The illustrations are bright and clear and yet there is enough detail (and, if you can imagine it, suspense!) to keep my older toddler interested.

A Great bedtime read for baby to age 3. Soon to replace the classic "goodnight moon". This rates high with the baby and the dog.

Wow! One of Colin Forbes's best! Britain is under threat from a 'silent' enemy as a body is washed ashore on the south coast. Paula Grey, well-spoken British secret agent, discovers it to be a friend. Enter the Deputy Director of the SIS, Tweed, and foreign correspondent Bob Newman who investigate the murder and discover more than meets the eye! What is the secret of two mysterios and close-knit villages in Britain and Belgium? Why are ships around the world mysteriously disappearing? And as if that wasn't enough, a former British Army brigadier is liasing with Chinese troops and aiding in the construction of stealth warships which radar cannot detect, which seem to be heading for Denmark. Can Tweed and company stop them? The action never stops and also I think I should mention that Colin Forbes's books always give me hours of amusement. In between tracking bad guys, Paula, Tweed and other SIS colleagues always find time to wine and dine at the best restaurants and dress smartly as they track the villains, AVENGERS-style! Also, ace sniper Marler appears with his trusty Armalite rifle and if he needs back-up, in typical Colin Forbes-style, he can get hold of the weapons he needs wherever he wants. How convenient! And why not. The locations are well-researched(I recognised the Danish parts having been near where the story is set myself)Overall, if you can track down a copy, this great British thriller comes highly recommended and you won't want to put it down. So crack open a bottle of champagne, Tweed-style!

Special agents for British intelligence Tweed and Paula Grey, along with a foreign press correspondent, investigate boats that disappear off the south coast of England. When bodies are washed up ashore, they are linked to a mysterious village called Moors Landing, where the reclusive locals don't want visitors. Then the action shifts to Belgium, Germany and Denmark - more villages bought out by a consortium run by Dr Wand, a former Chinese general under a new identity. It becomes apparent that Chinese agents, along with stealth boats, are planning an invasion of Europe in a covert military operation. As more ships disappear at sea, and time runs out, Paula Grey is kidnapped by Dr Wand's cronies and it is up to Tweed to find her, and stop a world war. Can he save the world, or at least Europe? This is a great British thriller which, in spite of a lame narrative at the start picks up the pace and does not let go until the end! The prose is simple to understand, the exact opposite of a highly detailed technothriller but with enough to hold the story in place and appeal to a wide variety of readers, and Forbes also travels to the locations featured - I have visited southern Denmark, Germany and Belgium myself so I could relate to his descriptions of the countries well. Overall, if you can get hold of this, it comes highly recommended. I'll be reading more of his material now!

I was leafing through a stack of books at a thrift store and this book caught my eye. It was a paperback edition that looked well-loved and well-worn, but the beauty of the illustrations was not diminished in the least. The cats look real enough to touch. This book is a treasure for any cat-lover. I like it so much that I ordered the hardback edition. I have to say, the print quality of the hardback edition doesn't do the illustrations justice. I would recommend the paperback edition - the pictures just "pop" with color and warmth. Really makes a difference. Either way, this book is a keeper.

The best of both worlds for cat-lovers and quilters - cats prowling thru the best places to play, sleep, and have kittens. Each page is beautifully bordered with quilt patterns, vines, and/or cat designs. A quiet, yet colorful book to share with children.

Yo, listen up homeys, the word outta da ghetto is dis book is bad. It keeps it real until 1976, and gives maximum respect to da area of China. Bo selecta Colin Bown

This book may now be out of print but if you can get your hands on a copy you will not regret it. It deals with the main details of China from the CKS and the KMT bunk to Taiwan right up to 1976. This might seem like a odd time to stop but this shows how a good old book is still around today. Bown writes in a fashion which makes it very easy to understand but he gets to the point in detail. I found the content of this book to be very helpful and along with his other book (Cold War to Detente)The works of Bown have become irrestible to me and my Historian comrades here in Blighty. I have also had the pleasure to have met the man and have had many lectures from him. He makes them even more interesting than his books!(Which is quite a skill! ) To sum it up this book is a great help on the study of China and I do recomend you lay your hands upon a copy before they all disapear.

Colin Bown succeeds here in creating the ultimate 20th century companion. The book has all the objectivity that you would expect in the 21st century while still enabling an in depth look at various situations. From Ho to Vo and from Russia with love. This really is the ultimate post revisionists companion.

Colin Bown captures with great skill the international political and social zeitgeist of the cold war. With immense intellectual prowess he revels in describng a period in history that was once so important, yet now seems to be somewhat confined to mythological status. With this publication, Bown makes sure popular culture never forgets the foibles of its past.

Chester Krause, et.al.'s Collecting World Coins widens the focus to world coins from 1901 to the present, appearing in its updated 9th edition to cover 330 coin-issuing countries and states. Over 20,000 coins are listed by date and valued in up to four grade levels. The black and white coin photos here are even more extensive and essential for identification.

Adequate-resolution black-and-white photographs of the vast majority (if not all) of the 20th century world circulation business-strike coinage.

Especially historically accurate. For example Germany is divided into the coinage of various coin-minting units of government over its tumultuous and shattered 20th-century history: Anhalt-Dessau, Baden, Bavaria, Bremen, Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel, Hamburg, Hesse-Darmstadt, Lippe-Detmold, Lubeck, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Oldenburg, Prussia, Reuss-Obergreiz, Saxe-Altenburg, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Saxe-Meiningen, Saxe-Weimar-Eisenbach, Saxony, Schaumburg-Lippe, Waldeck-Pyrmont, Wurttemberg, German Empire (1871-1918), Weimar Republic (1919-1933), Third Reich (1933-1945), Federal Republic of Germany (West & unified) (1945-present), Saarland (1945-1957), and German Democratic Republic (East)(1945-1990). I consider that nation-state categorization alone impressive and intimate knowledge of coinage production in Germany, let alone the over-300 coin types documented among all of those coin-producing governments. Similar detail is taken with a multitude of other countries worldwide, with whose history I am less familiar.

Number of coins produced each year are given as are prices for typically 3 grades: very fine, extremely fine, and uncirculated.

The only way that Kraus could "improve" this book is to release a 19th century edition, an 18th century edition, a 17th century edition, and so forth, because it is disappointing to have the history truncated at 1901. Although I am not aware of such per-century editions slicing horizontally across the world, Krause has produced vertical slices by country, such as the history of German coins spanning multiple centuries, which of course overlaps in the 20th century with this book.

This an excellent book for anyone interested in the science of keeping a performance horse sound and bringing it to peak condition at the time of the events of the season. The details of new information on interpreting physiological signs in your horse will help the analytical, or the more intuitive owner of a polocrosse, event, polo or trail horse.

I normally don't buy books. But having read this one from the library, I found it so useful, I had to own my own copy.

Good nutrition is very important for the sportive horse

After two decades of research, Colin Andrews, the world's foremost authority on crop circles, has written what may be the most comprehensive book on the subject. Starting with his early years of research Andrews recounts some of his first crop circle encounters. Readers will learn about the characteristics of the phenomenon before complex patterns began to appear in the late 80's.
This is one of the few crop circle books to adequately explore the connection of crop circles with nature and global environmental conditions. Andrews continuously reminds us how crop circles serve to raise our awareness of the planet.
Throughout the book, Andrews clearly wrestles with the reality of human circle-making activity. Coming from someone who previously disregarded the significance of this aspect of crop circles, he still refers to it as "hoaxing," implying a certain degree of recklessness and irresponsiblity on the part of the human circle-makers. He also tacitly recognizes their role in the evolution of the patterns.
Personally, I think it is unfair to call these human-made patterns "counterfeits" given their beauty and genuinely weird effects on our cameras and other equipment. As far as I know, there is no evidence to suggest that any of the complex patterns made since the late 80's in England are created by anyone or anything else than human circle-makers. Nonetheless, Andrew's book bridges many different points of view and leaves us with a mystery rather than a closed case. As a bonus, the book contains a catalogue of every circle to appear in England since the 1980's. It is quite a sight to see all these patterns together. There are also detailed discussions of Project Blackbird and the Oliver's Castle video.
This book is recommended for anyone with a passing or strong interest in crop circles. You may not agree with Andrews on every point but you are certain to come away with a greater appreciation of the phenomenon and the mysteries that surround it.
(Dr. Simeon Hein is the author of Opening Minds: A Journey of Extraordinary Encounters, Crop Circles, and Resonance (2002, Mount Baldy Press, Inc.)

I knew that Colin Andrews was the technical advisor for the movie Signs and had seen him in a variety of Crop Circle documentaries, I think on the Discovery Channel (it seems he's in every doc. every made on crop circles)! Now I know why he's always on them -- This is an excellent book, even (especially) for non-"woo woo" people who really want to know about crop circles. Are they real? Where do they come from? How do we know? Colin Anderes has done a fantastic job. And the four color photo insert is spectacular.

....The one main thing that surprised me about this is how well it's dated. I was wondering as I read it "when was it published" but it could have been released this week, and you wouldn't be able to tell when it was written.

As always, the atmosphere is amazing. Forbes has done a brilliant job of capturing the areas visited in the book, and the various peculiarities of the differant nations. There was a definite feeling of suspense, and I found it very hard to put the book down, sacrificing a lot of sleep getting through it!

In sum, I think it is a brillaint book, and if you can track down a copy, it is well worth it. This is far greater than any other terrorist thrillers out there at the moment.

Colin Forbes's favourite spies, England's finest, Tweed, Paula Grey(in her debut field assignment) and international foreign correspondent Bob Newman are hot on the trail of a former Russian strategic warfare planner who has in his possession Triton Three, the most powerful non-nuclear explosive in the world. What is his target? Who is the mysterious sniper called The Monk and whose side is he really on? The trail leads Tweed and co. to Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, Belgium and a showdown at Rotterdam. The locations are once again well-researched, Forbes always visits them to get a good atmosphere and fire up his imagination! The action as well never stops, and the storytelling and prose is kept simple so it will appeal to a wide variety of readers. Which, along with memorable characters, shows why he is extremely popular. If you can track down a copy of DEADLOCK, get it - it is one of the best terrorist thrillers ever!