There is more information packed in this small volume than in other books three times its length. The author begins by succinctly explaining the phenomenon of aging, the right of access to healthcare and healthcare financing. He then clearly explains the ethics of rationing and quality of life. In following chapters the legal issues surrounding autonomy and consent, including competency, right to refuse and advance directives, are discussed in terms that are easily understood even by those without a background in the law. The last four chapters shed light on the nursing home industry, the rights of long term care residents, the issues surrounding the "right to die" and, finally, where the future may take us as a society. The appendices are invaluable. The provide templates for living wills and a patient's bill of rights among other things. I sit on a hospital ethics committee and teach an ethical decision-making course at a university. I have used this book in both situations and plan to use it in the future. I recommend this book to anyone who is involved with the elderly in any capacity and especially to family members of an elder who seek guidance on ethical and legal rights of the elderly.

This is one of the most interesting books I have read in a long time. The main chapters cover C. S. Lewis, R. G. Collingwood, J. R. R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, and J. A. Smith, the teacher of the first two. All of these men were influential, interesting, and taught at Oxford. They were prolific writers and held similar philosophies. The style of James Patrick is worthy of the subject. You will find it well-written, superbly researched, and fun to read. There are in addition a number of nice photographs of the men who appear in the book.

This book will deepen any Christian intercessor's prayer life. The book proceeds through regions of the world and gives information on the unreachd people groups that live in these regions. The pictures will help you feel compassion for these peoples. I have used this book for a year now and I find that it has made my prayer life much more focussed on the nations. The prayer requests are specific to each group of people and make praying more accurate. If you desire to glorify God through prayer, this is the book for you!

I'm a student in 9th Grade at a high school in Miami, Florida, and we were told to read A Land Remembered. At first, I was thinking "a book about Florida in the 1800's, who wants to read this!". I was totally surprised of how good this book was once I started reading it! It's about a fictional family, the MacIvey's, that are struggling to survive in early Florida. The story is filled with passion, love, suspense, it has some poignant sections, and it has a dash of humor one in a while. I recommend it to anyone who wants to be entertained and at the same time wants to learn about the history of Florida. You won't be able to put it down!

I am not a fiction reader first off. I was sitting next to another Florida native on a plane and we were talking about how we gre up in Florida, the real Florida, not part of the huge subdivision that has swept up most of our state. I read some of the other reviews and while I realize that everyone gets something different out of a book, I was surprised to read some of the content of negative reviews. Sure, this book isn't written for someone that is reading it to make sure it has all of the elements of a style guide for writint a book, but I thoroughly enjoyed the book and did not feel like anything was left undone.

There may not be a detailed character development, but that was fine for me. I'll fall asleep half the time when someone is giving me every detail about a person or a scene. I like to use my imagination and picture a charater for myself. What this book has is content of character, not filler describing characters. I know exactly what Tobias, Emma, Frog, Bonzon, Sol, Skillet, and all of the others look like. Thay will probably be completely different for you, but to me that is what makes this book worth reading. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I think you would too.

Patrick Smith gives the reader an opportunity to glimpse at Florida from 1848 to 1970 through the eyes of the MacIvey family members over three generations. It is an enthralling book, if you're interested in the state of Florida from before Civil War times through present day era. I have read this book four times and am very much a fan of this author. In fact, I have met this studious writer of history, twice. Step back in time and read about Florida in its days of infancy. Enjoy reading about a family that survived in spite of rough times, the elements, outlaws, and animal predators. I have read this to my class and they beg you to keep going! They enjoyed it tremendously! If you do read it, I'm sure you will be captivated by its great story and the personnae of its characters.

As with the previous four Aubrey-Maturin books, this one is well-written. Humor abounds, and the richness of character is beautifully done. It's also similar to the other four in its paucity of action. Alexander Kent's Bolitho series and Dudley Pope's Ramage tales are much better for vivid action, and include the same level of detail that O'Brian used so well. I plan to read the rest of this series, partly because I enjoy the interplay between the main characters so much. One minor point that grows irritating as the books go on: O'Brian used "cried" as a verb much too often, would have been nice if someone had mentioned that to him as constructive criticism early on. Overall, though, "Desolation Island" is recommended reading.

I've been reading the Aubrey-Maturin series straight through, from the first volume. While it has one of the most exciting battle scenes and some of the absorbing problems to be solved I've yet
encountered, this is also, untimately, the most frustrating of the first five volumes. Jack Aubrey, having given up his commodore's pendant at the end of the Mauritius campaign, is back to being a post captain, this time commanding the slow, aging _Leopard_ on a voyage to relieve the embattled Gov. William Bligh in Australia. For reasons of state security, he must also transport a batch of convicted felons, among whom is an American women strongly suspected of spying for the United States, and he must deal with an intellectual young man who has stowed away aboard to be close to Mrs. Wogan. Virtually the whole story takes place aboard the one ship, so the author has the opportunity to investigate his characters in great depth -- always one of his strongest points. The only real naval action, a prolonged stern chase in horrible weather, in which _Leopard_ must flee from the much stronger _Waakzaamheid,_ a Dutch 72-gun ship, is absolutely riveting, as is its sudden and tragic resolution. Then there are the icebergs. But when the book ends, _Leopard_ is still a thusand miles or more from New South Wales and Bligh is nowhere in sight. "Ah," I thought, "it's a two-parter." But it isn't, because I peeked at the next volume. I don't believe O'Brian has enitirely played fair with the reader this time, and it annoys me not to know what happened in the rest of Aubrey's commission.

After the disjointed Mauritius Command, I found Desolation Island a refreshing change to the plot devices that maked this series worthwhile. Instead of loosely commanding a squadron of ships as in the prior novel, Captain Jack Aubrey is again commanding a single ship here, the Leopard, accompanied by his good friend (and fascinating character), Stephen Maturin. Stephen really takes center stage in the novel, since his on-again off-again relationship with Diana is explored early, and Stephen (with his intelligence background) is intricately involved in the action of the novel as American agents are aboard the Leopard, on the verge of the outbreak of the War of 1812.

Since the entire novel takes place, more or less, on board the Leopard we see more of the interaction among the characters, especially Aubrey-Maturin, an odd American stowaway, and a pretty female prisoner with ties to both Diana and the American stowaway. There is a tremendous naval battle involving a much larger Dutch ship, and a desperate detour towards the Antarctic as Aubrey fights to save his ship among calamity and possible mutiny as the Leopard races to rescue the infamous Captain Bligh. For fans of the series, there is a great deal here to like, and I thought the book was as good as anything I have read thus far by O'Brian.

Hitting this novel after sailing on a bowline through the previous 12 was like suddenly hitting the doldrums. It was very slow moving ahead at times, as the dialogue and description of the intrigue and negotiations of the treaty became painfully dull and tedious. And Maturin's side trip to the monkey shrine seemed like a device for O'Brien to test his mettle writing about fauna and flora--a digression within a digression. I finally got through it (things pick up again once they get out to sea), and am enjoying the Nutmeg of Consolation.

O'Brian's fans, and surely it is his loyal fans who are reading this the thirteenth in his wonderful twenty-volume nautical series, will not be disappointed. "The Thirteen Gun Salute" makes, with its successor "The Nutmeg of Consolation", a nice two-volume subset within the larger series --not unlike "Treason's Harbour" / "Far Side of the World" the ninth and tenth in the series. For "Salute" is an extended diplomatic mission to present-day Indonesia that ends in a precarious position that will only be resolved in the next book. Captain Jack Aubrey and ship's surgeon Stephen Maturin take an ambassador in the HMS Diane, which readers will remember they took from the French in the preceding volume, to sign a treaty with a Malayan sultan. Along the way Maturin finds and satisfyingly deals with Ledward and Wray. (To the reviewer who doesn't quite understand what happened to the pair of traitors, suffice to recall that Ambassador Fox is an expert marksman.)

O'Brian's intelligent and intimate prose is as strong as ever. His delightful dry humor and observations of human nature are perfectly insightful. Another excellent story.

In terms of delineation of character and pure description of the sea -- at both of which O'Brian excells -- this thirteenth novel in the series is one of his best yet. Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin are off, finally, on their quasi-diplomatic voyage to South America -- but wait! The Admiralty suddenly needs them for a mission in one of the Malayan sultanates! Jack gets his commission and seniority back, he's given the Diane (which he captured in the last book), and he takes aboard another envoy (who rates thirteen guns, hence the title). The French are in Pulo Prabang, too, in the persons of the traitors Wray and Ledward, and Maturin has his hands full, but they come to a delightfully bonechilling end under the doctor's scalpel. And then there's that uncharted reef. . . .

The fourteenth of Patrick O'Brian's brilliant twenty-volume nautical series finds Captain Aubrey and Stephen Maturin in the south seas. After we get off the deserted island where O'Brian left us shipwrecked in "The Thirteen Gun Salute", we get a new ship, fight the French, find the Suprise, and finally end up visiting the penal colony that is today Australia. O'Brian, of course, has done his homework. The brutality, violence, corruption, and degradation of Australia make for some harrowing reading. Maturin occupies himself with his nature studies, surrounded by wholly new species, including the platypus that provides us with another cliffhanger ending. Because while "Nutmeg" is a sequel to the previous volume, it is also left unfinished. O'Brian's dry wit, intelligent prose, and nautical research are as powerful as ever. On to the next one.

This fourteenth novel in the Aubrey-Maturin series begins where the last one left off, with Jack, Stephen, and 157 crew members cast away on a not-quite-desert island in the South China Sea, attempting to build a schooner from the remains of the wrecked DIANE. After time out for a game of sand-lot cricket (these are Brits, after all), they find themselves holding off a concerted attack by predatory Malays. O'Brian certainly knows how to start his story off with a bang! With a little fortuitous assistance, they make their way back to Batavia, and Gov. Raffles supplies them with a recently raised Dutch ship -- which Jack renames NUTMEG. They set off to rendezvous with the SURPRISE, with adventures and single-ship action along the way, and eventually make it to the penal colony at Botany Bay. O'Brian has some pointed and highly critical observations to make on the British governance of early Australia, and he also maintains his high standards of character development, wit in describing the relationship between the captain and the doctor -- their personalities are extremely differenent in many ways -- and beautifully painted pictures of life and weather at sea. This is one of the best so far of the latter part of the series.

Let's face it, all of Patrick O'Brian's novels in this series are wonderful. The Nutmeg of Consolation is no exception. If you have gotten this far in the series, there is absolutely no reason to stop now. This one takes place primarily in the South Pacific and Australia, and therefore does not have much in the domestic life of Aubrey and Maturin. The novel opens when they are stranded on an island in the South Pacific. Adventures naturally ensue, and ultimately, they find themselves in Australia, clashing to a certain extent with the locals. All in all, a completely enjoyable novel, filled with the humor, the action, the human drama that we come to expect in the Aubrey-Maturin series. Enjoy.

"The Wine Dark Sea" is a slightly misleading title for this exciting continuation of the Aubrey/Maturin books. Much of it takes place on land, in Peru and the Andes to be exact, and those parts are wonderfully written as well as exciting. The nautical sections of this novel, while also thrilling, are really a continuation of the previous book "The Truelove" to such an extent that they could almost function as one novel! Characters are aboard whose motivations and actions will be mysteries to those who haven't read the previous installment in this series.

To those familiar with Patrick O'Brian's previous stories, "The Wine Dark Sea" will not disappoint! Just don't start here if you're not...

The Wine-Dark Sea by Patrick O'Brian

There are few prose stylists writing today who can compare with Patrick O'Brian for the smooth, evocative and fluid stories which come from his pen. This book, a particularly fine example of O'Brian's craft, is part of his Aubrey/Maturin series of sea-faring novels. Sailor Jack Aubrey, while a typically crusty man of the blue briny, is also a well-read and witty contrast and companion to Doctor Stephen Maturin, an erudite physician with a huge love of the sea. Together, the two have had many adventures, but in The Wine-Dark Sea, they face some of their greatest challenges ever with remarkable spirit and aplomb. The story here is great entertainment with lots of page-turning action, but the lush writing is simply seductive and so easy to become lost and quite "at sea" within. While these are often consider "men's books," I strongly suspect that many women would be attracted to the strong plots, grand characterization, and fine writing; there is never the least hint of the crude or the coarse in these highly literate, but so readable novels. I have often suggested the works of Patrick O'Brian to writing students as a model for crisp, fresh, lively prose and most highly recommend this series to anyone who loves a great read.

I once had a creative writing instructor who insisted all ofhis students read one of O'Brian's novels to learn what truly superiorwriting was all about. I chose The Wine-Dark Sea and am I glad I did. O'Brian is truly a master! The Wine-Dark Sea opens with Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin in pursuit of an American privateer sailing the South Sea. The British, already engaged in the Napoleonic Wars, have made the mistake of also blundering into war with a young upstart, the United States. Maturin, in the Wine-Dark Sea, desires to relieve the pressure on the British government by inciting the revolutionaries of South America, more specifically, Peru. O'Brian, a master storyteller, also has a sharp eye for detail. His descriptions of the landscape, the sea, life on board the midgit man-of-war and even the Andes are no doubt the best in all of literature. The spine-tingling barbarity and bloody battle scenes are so real, they'll make you glad you're only reading a book (although the writing is so good you may forget that at times)! I really can't praise O'Brian highly enough. He is both artist and perfect craftsman and beside him, most authors rapidly pale. If you love the sea, if you love adventure, if you just love a good book, you absolutely can't go wrong with The Wine-Dark Sea or any of O'Brian's other novels. All of them are just perfect. END

If you catch this exhibit in London, you will be amazed at how many of the photos you will recognize not knowing who the photographer was. No wonder Princess Diana allowed only one man to catch her as she truly was, simply a woman. The fashion shots and ad campaigns are great. His celebrity photos are ok, but Testino is fashion and that is where his best work lie. In either b&w or color, these photos speak!!

if this is the year that the name Mario Testino passes from the surgically altered lips of fashion's congnescenti to the bowels of the masses, this book will show you what the hype was really all about.
the prints are amazing, vibrant and detailed. the portraiture is stunning and all mario. i know that his previous books were always a bit of a disappointment since they tended to hilight a completely different style then the one by which he was so successfully making his living. as a believer and a fan, this book is the proof that mario may be fashion's greatest living photographer.
here it is and well worth the wait. the perfect south beach cofee table book.

This tape is well done. The sound effects create an atmosphere that draws in the listener. The actors are dramatic, but not overly so. The short stories themselves are well written, delivering edge-of-the-chair suspense (or knee-slapping comedy, as the case may be).

As most net surfers are aware the Sci-Fi Channel's web site has included a section devoted to science fiction radio drama...Seeing Ear Theatre. One aspect of which includes originally produced productions cerated especially for the site and which has featured performances by many well-known SF actors as Micheal O'Hare,Mark Hamill,Marina Sirtis,and others. With a few exceptions, a lot of the dramas are based on recent short stories by SF writers such as Terry Bisson, Allen Steele, John Kessel and Gergory Benford. With the release of this audiobook editon(which includes introductions by SF's resident angry young{sic}man Harlan Ellison)now one can listen to these stories anytime you want. The best stories(IMO)are the Three Odd Comedies and The Death of Captain Future (which despite the pulpish-sounding title is a darkly humorous tale set in the future history of Steele's previous works such as Orbital Decay and Clarke County,Space). If you like audio drama-- especially newly produced audio drama...you'll love this collection and you may also want to check out Vol. 2 which should be on sale soon(I know I can't wait).

WOW what a story! Brian Smith could sell this as a short story by itself it is so good IMO. I just wish they sold a hard copy of these writings--not just audio! I have been reading Sci Fi for a long time. This guy is great! Reminds me of 2001, a space odyssey a bit. Worth the price just for this one folks! I noticed there are no other books by Brian Smith for sale on Amazon. What's up with that? He needs to write books, and Amazon needs to sell them--geez, do I make myself clear?