At first look, "With Fire and Sword: Arkansas, 1861-1874" appears to be an update to the 1994 Department of Arkansas Heritage project, "Rugged & Sublime: The Civil War in Arkansas", to which Dr. DeBlack was a major contributor.

WITH FIRE AND SWORD follows much the same outline and material as "Rugged & Sublime," and adds some new information and personal stories drawn from recent works on Arkansas and its role in the Civil War. Where WITH FIRE AND SWORD stands out, however, is in the extension of its coverage beyond the War years to the recovery of the state and its citizens after the War and the role played by Presidential and Congressional Reconstruction as well as local politics, leading up to the local "Militia Wars" and the "Brooks-Baxter War." These instances have not been addressed in readily available works in the past decade.

WITH FIRE AND SWORD stands as an excellent first reader or introduction to antebellum conditions, the Civil War, and Reconstruction in Arkansas; and provides not only an overview of events but also footnotes, lead-ins, and references to additional research for the reader who wants to look deeper under the surface in this fascinating area.

Yup, this was the first Battletech book that I read. I was looking at the back and saw that Winston is the Eridani Light Horse General so I bought it. I'm one of the ELH in a couple of Mechwarrior leagues. This book was awesome but I thought it was a little slow in the beginning. But I guess it was necessary for the investigation of the Marshal's murder. Still, it left some loose ends... who really hired the assasin? The battles were really awesome. We'll just have to wait until the clans get their reinforcements -- the Inner Sphere warriors mainly fought solahmas and cadets.. we'll see how they'll stand against more capable warriors. The Jaguars paid for what they did to Turtle Bay!!! GO ELH!!!

So far the best and most entertaining novel of the Twilight of the Clans series. The plot involving the investigations of Morgan's murder is excellent and the fights to conquer Diana by Task Force Serpent are decent battletech war tales. I would have wished a more effective defense by the remaining CSJ forces, but in view of the following book of the series, the Inner Sphere units needed to get out of the initial assault rather unscathed.

It is a good book, but it's a little slow till the end. You have to read it because it's book 5 of Twilight of the Clans and you get to find who killed Morgan. Toward the end the book get pretty cool.

In the book The Sword and the Stone by Rosemary Sutcliff, she retells the classic Arthurian stories. When Arthur as a young boy was sent to find Sir Kay's sword, he soon came upon a sword in a stone. Not knowing that he was the only man to pull Excalibor, his soon to be sword, from the stone, he was soon destined to become King of all Britain. Including the story where Arthur becomes King, she also retells the adventures of King Arthur's Knights of the Round Table.
In the original stories of King Arthur and his knight, the author simplify the stories. In Rosemary Sutcliff's book, she gives a lot of details and makes every story go further and some become more interesting. Although she does not change much but the names of some characters, the story line stays about the same as the original stories.
The book The Sword and the Circle might appeal interesting to people who like old legends such as King Arthur legends. To others, it will seem extremely boring. Some of these stories keep you interesting in some parts like in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. In others, the author runs on and on and the story doesn't get any better. This book would probably be for kids 12+ because of the bigger and more descriptive words. I would give this book two out of five stars and would not waste your time reading this.

The Sword and the Circle is a great book about King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. The story begins with how Arthur actually became king. The story then continues on with adventures of Arthur and how he assembles his Knights of the Round Table. The book tells about the many quests of Arthur, his knights, Guenever, and Merlin, the magician. During the story Arthur adds many knights to his group, but none stand out more than Gawain and Lanccelot. I enjoyed this book and thought it was very well-written. This book is very exciting and full of adventure. I had a hard time putting this book down because it told so much about the journeys of the knights, such as the mystery between Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The book was also quite interesting and gave adequate information and detail without having excessive writing. This book kept me interested because it was so in depth and full of fascinating information, such as the feelings Sir Lancelot was forced to hide from others. The only negative aspect about the book was that it jumped around between characters. I had a little difficulty following what each character was doing, so I had to look back in the book to see what was happening. I would definitely recommend this book because it is an epic story of adventure that people of all ages would enjoy.

Rosemary Sutcliff's adaptation of the King Arthur legend is truly a unique and inspiring work, told in a highly descriptive yet very concise format. It is not only powerful and thought-provoking, but creates a sense of the ancient and medieval time it owes its existence to. Starting years before Arthur comes to power, Sutcliff tells the story of young Merlin and how Arthur came to be, following him through his rise to High King, the meetings of such brave and infamous knights such as Lancelot, Tristan and Gawain, right up to just before the quest for the Holy Grail begins. Sutcliff not only tells the traditional and time-honored stories, such as the sword in the stone, but also adapts other variations of the quests that individual knights took upon themselves to maintain peace and honor in Britain. For example, although he may not have actually been a knight of the round table, Sutcliff tells the tragic and romantic story of Tristan and Iseult, the ironic tale of Beaumains, and the humorous story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, all of which reflect the honor and love which bounded King Arthur's kingdom together. This book easily stands alone, but simultaneously lays solid groundwork for the next two books, The Light Beyond the Forest and The Road to Camlann, two other excellent books written by Sutcliff on the rise and fall of Arthur. By taking her stories to a level above just the basic story-telling, Sutcliff also helps put King Arthur's place in history into perspective and gives an excellent reason for retelling this timeless legend again for this day and age. The book is really a medieval romantic story at heart, but has enough battles and swashbuckling adventures to keep readers more interested in action than a rambling story hooked. I would recommend this book to those who have never read a King Arthur book in their life, to those who might know the story by heart, and anyone in between those two categories, because it is an excellent way of reacquainting ourselves with the days of princes and knights, of villains and dragons, chivalry and fair maidens, and the ultimate triumph of good over evil. The Sword and the Circle and the other two books in the trilogy truly deserve a place all their own among those stories about the knights of the round table. Reading through it page by page, I truly felt drawn into a dim and room, lit by a crackling fire while the wind howled outside, listening to the voice of an excellent story-teller speak of a bygone age and long-dead heroes.