This book is a fascinating piece of work. The Reverend Venables received the folios and manuscripts from a Swiss colleague who knew of his enthusiasm for 18th century German manuscripts, but he had little time to work on their translation until his retirement. His translation is a compilation of existing pages and his personal speculation where information was missing. The result is a very compelling book, well-written and thoroughly engrossing. It is difficult to prove that there really was a Dr. Viktor Frankenstein, but if he did exist, he was a brilliant man whose experimentations in the reanimation of human tissue were well beyond their time. His descent into madness is painstakingly chronicled and makes the reader sympathetic to the man, even as he is trafficking in human corpses and experimenting with forces beyond his control. This book takes the reader on a journey through the mind of a driven scientist and into the realm of utter terror. Definitely worth the time taken to read it!

This book is full of lush photgraphs of Givenchy's clothes and homes. There is less written about his fashion designs than I hoped there would be. However, if you are interested in his beautiful homes and gardens this is the perfect book.

Hester's book is fortunately back in print. It was written for college students and is an excellent resource. It is not an exhaustive text - many times the author states the disclaimer that a topic is too involved to go into in detail, but this is not a serious drawback. Certainly the map quality is adequate but modern maps are a significant improvement. The coverage of the archaeology of the area is entertaining and rich in information. For the reader desiring to learn the history of the Hebrew people during this time period, this book is a good buy.

This is a book in the Reformation Trail series. It takes place during the period of Wycliffe's growing influence upon the English population.This is the story of two young people caught in the struggle to bring the Bible to the English people. In the background is John Wycliffe whose influence changed the lives of those whom he taught. Herbert Ellerdale was one of the men influenced by Wycliffe who feeling called to the priesthood felt that many of the teachings of the church were wrong. Central to the story is the struggle to free the church from the chains placed upon it, the account also reminds the reader how far we have come in giving dignity to the poor and the laboring classes. The story challenges the reader to ask himself if he could be true to the faith if faced with death unless he recanted.

It is an excellent introduction book for river and channel modeling.

This book is a great read. Having picked it up from a second hand bookstore in Australia, it displays many of the taught in my classes. The Peter Morton Academy of Self Defence has 20 clubs and over 2000 members around Australia. 50% of techniques taught by the Academy is included in this book. We have been operating for 36years as a non-profit organisation. A great instructional guide to some of the basic but deadly techniques available including knife defence, boxer defence, defence against a dog!! and more.

I picked this book by accident in the library, and found myself unexpectedly and whole-heartedly enthralled by it. Set in the time of Henry III, it describes a true Romeo and Juliet story of Margaret (Megotta) who falls in love with her father's ward Richard. They plan to marry, but when the king's displeasure is turned toward the family, they are forbidden to do so, for Richard is a politically-important pawn of great wealth. Richard and Margaret defy the king and marry, but how long can they keep it a secret, and what can they hope for?

One of the things that makes the story so emotional and moving to read is that it is a true story. Richard, Megotta and all the others really lived. They are not just shadowy imaginings of an author. They are both very young, not even teenagers, when their love affair takes place, and Ms Pargeter treats this topic with sensitivity. After all, this is consistent with a society where girls often became mothers at twelve. The story IS touching, deeply romantic and tragic, but never maudlin or mawkish.

The youthful love story of Richard and Megotta is contrasted with the adult story of Simon de Montfort and the king's sister (excellently portrayed in Sharon Kay Penman's "Falls the Shadow") There's more to it then love, however. Ms Pargeter describes the chilling atmosphere at the court of Henry III and the ruthless power-play behind the scenes. It is a place which will make an average modern dictatorship appear benign by contrast. As in her "Bloody field by Shrewsbury" and the Gwynedd brothers quartet, Ms Pargeter created a spell-binding book.

I really recommend it, but advise the readers to have the kleenexes handy. I was not able to stay dry-eyed by the end.

Mathematical Snapshots is a wonderful excursion into the mind of a mathematician. It answers a question that was asked of the author "You claim to be a mathematician; well, what does one do all day when one is a mathematician?" This book explores games, the computation of shortest paths, why two soap bubbles blown from the same pipe are different sizes, how to pursue another boat on the open water, how to color maps, the simplest forms of solid objects, mobius strips, where to locate schools, the ideal musical scale, and many, many others. Each topic is presented in a short, concise paragraph along with a diagram or picture of explanation. The author asks the reader to supply answers and reasoning. It is readily readable by those with mathematical inclination (even if they can no longer 'push' the numbers) and provides hours of enjoyment and expansion of the mind.

This man was a legend in Australia during depression times. Along with Phar Lap,Bradman and Lindrum he helped the little people forget about their worries.

As Aldous Huxley points out in his introduction to 'Pitch Lake',"books about the tropics are generally written by people who do not live in the countries they describe". As one who lived in the West Indies during the time period of this novel, I can attest that Trinidadian Alfred Mendes has created an authentic picture of the life in Port of Spain, Trinidad in the 30s, -before the war, when the island was a Crown Colony of the still-intact British Empire; before the ready money of American war bases; before independence. It was before multiculturalism became a popular concept, yet the British, East Indian, Chinese, French, Portugese and Dutch who made up the population of the island lived the concept daily, with all the challenges that implies. Mendes subtly depicts the easy life style of the tropics, complicated as it always was in those days, by distinctions of class and colour. There's a Jane-Austin-like quality in Mendes' examination of the mundane events of everyday life with the added aspect of emotiional intensity that seems to be caused by the relentless tropical heat which, though seldom mentioned, is always in the background as a silent player. As one might expect, Mendes' use of language is one his most powerfully evocative tools for creating the West Indian atmosphere. It may be that only those who know the islands will hear the cadences. But for those who can remember Frederick Street and the Savannah and the keskidees in the morning, this book will generate many memories.