A highly engaging, well thought-out book. The author dares to have an opinion--very refreshing.
The upper classes were diminished by low birth rates and had to be augmented by people who, several generations ago, were slaves. Those of the upper classes who survived considered the burden of empire too great they simply could not provide the leadership or the administration necessary for such a great enterprise. Finally, the education system did not teach their upper-class students to wrestle with real-life problems, and completely avoided subjects like philosophy and science which could have given them the enthusiasm and the tools to beneficially modify their society.

I sense the beginnings of some of the unfortunate Latin traits which followed the Iberians to South America.

Were it not for the customer reviews below, I would have rejected this book for having three strikes against it: it was written in 1940, an English translation (groan) from French, and published by a university press -- a prescription for dated unreadablity. But not so! Though at first the typeface and writing style feel a little anachronistic (and the first chapter does NOT represent the richness to come), it quickly becomes charming and flowing. And what a bounty of fascinating detail is packed into its pages!
I wholly agree with what my unknown compatriots below have said. I can only add that I finished it with that rare, dejected feeling of "Oh, no! I've run out of book!"

Reading Jérôme Carcopino's timeless account of life in ancient Rome brings the reader back to the dark, narrow, crowded Roman streets, flanked on both sides by teetering, five-story tenements. Although written in a style of long ago, therein lies the charm of this book. Jérôme Carcopino has effortlessly summoned 1st and 2nd Century Rome back to life. And what a society of contrasts he evokes: on the one hand, the highly refined aspects of Roman society, epitomized by the public baths, the public parks, the theater, and the dinners hosted by the wealthy for their friends; on the other hand, he describes compellingly the dark side of Roman society, in particular, slavery and the gladiatorial games which entertained the Roman public with the appallingly casual slaughter of both man and beast. His detailed accounts depict horrific spectacles pitting man against man, man against beast, beast against beast -- and woman against dwarf. The most interesting part of his book, though, is his insight respecting the toxic impact slavery had upon Roman society, both upon the poor pleb in general and upon the Roman family in particular. This book is a must for anyone captivated by Roman social history.

The Dancing Chain by Frank Berto dvanhook 06/18/01 01:48 pm EDT rating:

An invaluable reference document for vintage bicycle enthusiasts! It is well and thoroughly researched and fully illustrated with photographs and beautiful line drawings of bicycles and bicycle parts as they have developed over the past one hundred years. It also contains a many helpful and interesting graphs and charts. This beautiful book is as complete and authoritative as is possible, but is very readable even for those with no technical background. It is certain to become a collectors item and was published as a very limited edition.

I am very glad I purchased this book. This book involves much more about the history of bicycles than the title may lead you to believe.

For over 30 years, since my freshman year at UCLA, I have been an avid recreational and utility cyclist and "gear-headed" bicycle collector, tinkerer, and restorer. Since I always enjoyed Frank Berto's technical articles and insights on the design and operation of bicycle transmissions, I eagerly awaited publication of "The Dancing Chain." I was not disappointed! This well-illustrated and well-researched tome is the only comprehensive reference I have ever seen on the history of bicycle transmissions. It is a great read for any bicycle fan with an interest in history or technological evolution. My only nit-picking gripe is that the organization of the chapters sometimes makes it a little difficult to follow the chronology of a specific product line or manufacturer, although the material is all in there. I share Berto's appreciation of SunTour's innovative slant planograph rear derailleur design, which has since been almost universally copied by the competition.

El doctor Henry Garcia-Prada, urologo de Cali,escribio el libro El Control Mental,su fisiologia,su practica y sus beneficios.,el cual es una maravillosa obra cientifica que enseña a obtener el dominio de la mente y el cuerpo. Sus 285 paginas, invitan a leer sin interrumpir.Su contenido,a aplicar con sabiduria. Su autor, a admirar y seguir su ejemplo. Para la comunidad urologica es un inmenso honor el contar con las enseñanzas del doctor Garcia. Tenerlo como miembro de la Sociedad Colombiana de Urologia llena de orgullo a tan selecto grupo de cientificos colombianos. Su labor demuestra la importancia de la medicina del Valle del Cauca.

Despues de leer el libro sobre "El control menstal,, su fisiologia,su practia y sus beneficios, escrito por el colega Dr. Garcia, debo manifestar a todos los futuros lectores, que es un libro muy interesante, a la vez que practico, y muy agradable de leer. Vale la pena hacer la inversión en la compra del libro, y gastar el tiempo para leerlo, pues realmente nos proporciona salud mental, al prepararnos para manejar todas las situaciones que producen stress y fatiga mental. Recomiendo pues, su lectura.

The mental control is the best way to improve your self, in every aspect of your life.For example : Work, health,sports personal interelationship.

s

"Jean Henry blends fact with fiction in this exciting debut novel of the end of the outlaw era, and the first stirrings of love."

"Jean Henry's Escape on the Wind is a powerful story of a young woman hiding her identity from outlaws. The author writes lyrically of Wyoming, settlers, and the rough men who ran wild on the frontier. The author brings courage, conviction, grace and spiritual beauty to this fine story."

Moving as quickly as the wind sweeping the vast plains of Wyoming, ESCAPE ON THE WIND by Jean Henry lends drama to the historical legends of Wyoming, creating an extraordinarily vivid account of the days when posses persued bank robbers.

Andrea Bordeaux lives with her grandparents in Wyoming. When outlaws arrive, her grandmother quickly shears Andrea's hair, puts her in overalls, and calls her Andy, hoping to protect her. Unfortunately, when the outlaws leave, they take Andy with them. Certain her grandparents are dying, Andy finds herself thrust into the midst of Wild Bunch members who take her to the Hole-in-The-Wall, where they plan the Belle Fourche Bank Robbery.

Small in stature, Andy finds herself relegated to cooking for the outlaws. Only Billy knows the truth of her sex, and she's sworn him to secrecy. Andy tries to reform Billy between cooking and cleaning. Following an attack by a vicious outlaw intent on carving her face, Butch Cassidy himself promises she can go home after their planned bank job. Meanwhile, the Five-State Governor's Pact determines to rid Wyoming of outlaws, while Andy wants nothing but to go home; that is, if she still has a home to go to.

ESCAPE THE WIND provides a fascinating glimpse into the legendary outlaws of Wyoming. Jean Henry's remarkably fresh voice tells a compelling story that's hard to put down. Historical fans will thoroughly enjoy this visit to the Hole-in-the-Wall gang.

I got this book as a gift from a long time friend. He had trouble with reading it. It is only for that reason I give it only 4 stars. These authors make others that I have read on this range of subjects look bad: Fields Medalists included! A lot of it is that they just bother to give you the real mathematics with examples. I think the initial miss definition of the Riemann surface gives a false impression, because the explanations of ramified covers and toral elliptic lattices is just wonderful. Reading this book makes Dr. Singerman's papers look so much better! I was disappointed in the treatment of triangle groups, but the treatment of modular functions and gamma1 and gamma2 makes up for that. It is a masterful work... the best I have seen by a modern author. It reminds me of books by Ulam or Russell. Sawyer's little book is not as good!

The popular press leaves us with the impression that math is
intimidating. This wasn't always the case. In my time, the approach to how we teach math, and write books about it, went through a number of cycles, or trends; some of them now discredited;--or not!? Here is a sample: (1) I grew up with the boot-camp approach with its endless drills, (2) then came "The New-Math approach", followed by (3) "The back-to-basics" trend. (4)Following Eric Temple Bell, it became popular for a time to mix into the teaching of math a lot of history/ or dramatic stories about the heros in the subject. Finally, more recently:(5) "The Make-it-Seem-Easy-and Fun approach" and the motivational speakers; imitating popular TV shows.---Seriously, what I like about this lovely book is that it treats mathmatics as one unified subject, and that the authors masterfully highlight a number of unexpected connections between what otherwise are thought of as isolated specialties within math: The exciting new problems are at the same time also the old and classic problems in math: The elliptic integrals of Abel and Gauss, Jacobi's theta functions, modular functions, quadratic fields, elliptic curves, and Mordell-Weil. It is all beautifully presented. The book is selfcontained, and it is a pleasure to read. The clear and concise presentation is what makes the subject seem easy, or more importantly interesting and useful. I hope it will be a model for other math books to follow.

This is a great book because it presents some of the neatest topics in mathematics, without the usual discouraging layers of abstraction and notation. It attacks the topics historically so you get some idea of the motivation and steps followed, instead of a compendium of the most general results and their most elegant proofs.

Also, as a previous reviewer mentioned, the book derives the bizarre and amazing continued fraction formula from Ramanujan's letter to Hardy. I had always wanted to see this, ever since reading "The Man Who Knew Infinity." It is satisfying to see this demystified, even if you don't fully master the argument.

If you literally have not seen most of these topics before, as I had not, you won't find this an easy read, but it's well worth while. I spent a long time on it, and couldn't absorb it all, but I plan to read it again one day.

The author of numerous romance-adventures in the 19th century tradition, Haggard turned his hand, at least once, to the older saga tradition of the northern peoples. The result may well have been his best work. Skillfully crafted, this tale proceeds at breakneck pace to unfold the saga-like adventures of the stout Icelandic yeoman, Eric Thorgrimurs' son (surnamed 'Brighteyes' for his most notable trait), as he struggles to win the hand of his beloved, Gudruda the Fair, despite the vigorous opposition of her half-sister, Swanhild the Fatherless (who seeks Eric for her own). Caught between these two beautiful women and faced with the need to overcome the opposition of Gudruda's father, Asmund the Priest (not the Christian sort) and his son, the greedy Bjorn (who would prefer to marry his sister off to a wealthy chieftain in lieu of a liaison with the farmer's son Eric), our hero must prove himself worthy of his destined bride while dodging the snares of those who would unman him. Conspiring with her mysterious mother, Groa the witchwife, Swanhild arranges to have Ospakar Blacktooth, a northern chieftain from Swinefells, pay Asmund's household a visit in order to see and woo Gudruda for himself. This Ospakar and Eric become immediate foes for Ospakar is as ugly and vile as Eric is handsome and honorable. And the tale only accelerates from here. From death-defying feats of derring-do to duels between deadly foemen to treachery and mayhem in blinding blizzards and on the high seas, this is an adventure which, once having grabbed you, will not let you go. Written in an archaic prose, mirroring the old nineteenth century translations of the original Icelandic sagas, and intended to simulate the voice of the old sagas themselves, the power of this narrative is compelling and unrelenting. And yet it is less exhausting than exhilirating as it unfolds the tale of Eric and the two women who loved him -- no matter what the cost. If the tale has a flaw at all it is that the characters are not real in any sense of that word but only larger-than-life actors who strut about upon the stage which Haggard has drawn for us here. At the same time the sensibility offered is one of pure and unmitigated adventure. But it's great fun and marvelous escapist fare. A must for lovers of Norse and viking times.

A must for all Haggard fans, "Eric Brighteyes" is strongly recommended to anyone who enjoys a great tale of heroic endeavour. Perhaps the fastest-paced of all Haggard's many novels, it races from one highspot to another with manly verve and vivid scene-setting. The stalwart Eric and his "thrall" Skallagrim fight back to back against a horde of foes, while two beautiful women vie for Eric's love. The eerie battle at sea is an exciting read in itself, to say nothing of all the rest. Eric is one of the most virile of Haggard's heroes and, like so many of them, is susceptible to earthly temptations and ambitions---unlike Haggard's too often impossibly spiritual females. The reader familiar with Haggard's favourite "archetypes" will recognize in Eric, Skallagrim, Gudruda the Fair, and the wicked Swanhilde the traits of a cast of characters immortalized under other names, in other times and places, in other titles of his famous canon. "Eric Brighteyes" is also distinguished by an interesting author's preface that furnishes some insight into Haggard's imaginative overlay of "high romance" and occult themes on what, in a writer of less lively invention, might have been just a simple adventure story. Both heroes and villains come on strong with splendid confrontational dialogue before coming to blows. A feast for escapists of all ages! Long may it remain in print.

A must read for anyone fascinated by Vikings or anything nordic. This adventure's got everything for you; greed, jealousy, envy, love, betrayal, murder...etc. I couldn't put the book down till I finished it. The hero is every woman's dream, but unfortunatly he croaks at the end. Ahhh, but what an end!!

After more than half a century, I remembered still the sonorous rhythms of the prelude to Evangeline. Much has changed since I first read the tale of Arcadian innocence torn apart on order of the heartless King, and Longfellow and his poetry have fallen on hard times and harder hearts in the interim

His allusions and images are strained; his words pathetically romantic and sentimental; and the story of Evangeline barely tracks the actual events of 1755. All of the charges are true, yet much of value remains in the poem. The poet recognized instantly a crime against humanity when he first heard the tale, and he had the talent, drive, and fortitude to create this vehicle to memorialize the sad story of star crossed lovers, families, and communities divided and exiled from their adored homeland.

That a heart could be committed to a lifetime of wandering in search of a lost love seems archaic to the sophisticates of the twenty-first century, but I believe it possible, even today.

I read the poem - aloud and silently - and the beat of the accents, like operatic arias, added to the the sorrow of the sentimental story. I recommend this poem to parents who love to read aloud to their children. I'm sure that Evangeline and her beloved Gabriel have the power still to stir the hearts of the young - and of the readers, too.

A very useful notes section offsets an overly wordy foreword. I found it easy to find and reference words and phrases no longer in common use.

Read it aloud to your early adolescent sons and daughters and to your love. You'll be happy you did.

I heard about this book from my mom a few weeks ago after I went to see the movie Serendipity. I told her about the plot of the two people in love searching for one another and just missing every time. She said it reminded her of another story, Evangeline. Since i attend an engineering school I am always very eager to read books with real meaning behind them, given that all my textbooks focus on is wastewater treatment, biological processes, etc... So given that I wasn't really expecting too much but a relief from textbooks when I picked up this book. Little did I know it was soon to become one of my favorites. I was pleasantly surprised by the Christian influences behind the poem and found myself crying a lot more than I expected. I highly recommend this to anyone who has a great appreciation for well written, romantic poetry and literature.

I am not going to sit here and claim to be the expert on English language poetic literature my 12th grade English teacher would like me to be. I have often fallen prey to the boredom of reading long poems and look upon poetry generally with some weariness.

When my father went to New Orleans, I asked him to bring me something back. He brought back a copy of this poem. It was required reading for my parents growing up - I had never heard of it.

I confess I was probably hesitant when I sat down to read it. But in no time I was hooked. The poetic language is perfectly styled to slowly tell the tale of two Acadian lovers doomed by the path of Acadian history to separate lives. Reading this poem is like suckling slowly on a sweet nectar under the gently rustling leaves of an oak on the side of a gently flowing river. If this sounds appealing to you, then you will enjoy this poem.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) was one of the most noteworthy poets of the 19th century United States. "Favorite Poems" brings together selections from about 40 years' worth of his career. While some of the poems seem very dated -- due to their sentimentality and conventional structure -- the best of these poems remain rewarding and enjoyable.

The focus in this collection is on Longfellow's shorter poems. So his long poems "The Song of Hiawatha" and "Evangeline" are not included, and not even excerpted. But the volume does contain many of his most memorable pieces: "The Wreck of the Hesperus," "The Village Blacksmith," etc.

The longest poem in the collection is "The Courtship of Miles Standish," a mini-epic of more than 30 pages. "Courtship" is a fascinating poem about the colonial era Puritans, and offers a fascinating perspective on gender relations, race, religion, and other aspects of Puritan culture. "Courtship" makes for an interesting companion text for both actual Puritan era writings (like Mary Rowlandson's captivity narrative) and later literary works about that era (like Arthur Miller's play "The Crucible").

Another noteworthy poem is "The Slave's Dream," a somewhat romantic, but sympathetic view of an enslaved African-American. Also included is "Paul Revere's Ride," a wonderfully musical poem that, like "The Courtship of Miles Standish," looks back at American history. "Paul Revere's Ride" has a particularly impressive rhyme scheme to complement Longfellow's masterful use of meter. Yes, some of Longfellow's work may not seem very relevant to contemporary audiences. But "Favorite Poems" contains much that remains vital, and deserves a continuing readership both in and out of schools.

"Working in these walls of time,
Some with massive deeds and great,
Some with Ornaments of Rhyme"

These are the lines of the first verse of a powerfully written poem "The Builders" which, to me, seems to be about living a moral, honorable life on which to build a future for all of society. Such powerfull and truthfull words to live by.

On a whim, I recently pulled this book from my bookshelf to read(I have a copy in 'The Classic collectors edition' which I like mostly because it's prety decoration for my bookshelves. As a child I learned "Paul Revere's Ride" in school, but never learned the full depth of Longfellow's works. So refreshing are the realistic moralism of yesteryear, from a time when a persons works and deeds counted for something.

I was captivated by the brutality of "The Saga of king Olaf" as it recounted the brutal nordic kings' religious conquest of Scandanavia. "Hiawatha's Song" swept me up into a tale of beauty of a time lost. The poetry of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is writen with a beauty and elegance and even excitement which conveys thier meaning in stunning clarity. As I read "Paul Revere's Ride" for the first time in over a decade I found myself speaking in the rythm of the hoofbeats of that steed Paul Revere rode.

These historic poems are truly great, and should be read and cherished by all.

This slim paperback book from Dover Thrift Editions is an excellent starting place for those who are not familiar with the poetic works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. It's inexpensive, a quick read (at only 84 pages), and contains much of Longfellow's most popular poems, plus some selected prose as well as a few more obscure works. Longfellow (1807-1882) was an absolute master of rhyme, meter, and the the actual SOUND of words, and he wrote with a strong sense of morality and ethics (one reason that he is gererally disregarded by modern poetry snobs, but loved by his faithful readers!). All in all, if you want to explore the poetic mind of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow for the first time, you can't go wrong with this book! Check out his masterful choice of words and imagery in poems like "The Christmas Bells", "The Slave's Dream", "Hymn to the Night", "A Psalm of Life", "The Building of the Ship", "The Reaper and the Flowers", "Excelsior", etc., etc., etc. Longfellow enthusiasts looking for a more complete or scholarly volume should check into some of the other Longfellow books offered on Amazon, particularly "The Complete Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow", although I found "Complete's" small print, (in columns, like most modern Bibles) to be a bit rough on the eyes....Either way, explore this excellent master of rhyme!

I read this book many years ago and enjoyed so much that I have read everything I could find by Mr. Lee, and since then other Chinese American authors.

It is a shame that for so many years the book was rejected by young Asian Americans as being "too white face" or "Uncle Tom" as it is not so at all. C.Y. Lee was a Chinese immigrant and wrote of the society as he saw it at that time, which is not the way the younger generation, who did not live through the immigrant experience, want to see it. This is not unusual, many well schooled, well fed sucessful Americans do not want to know that their grandparents arrived in steerage with their belongings tied up in kit bag, unable to speak the language, and worked 18 hours a day in menial jobs so that their children could get ahead.

This is a poignant story of Chinese immigrant families in Southern California during the days of the Chinese Exclusion Act, and the difficulty the young American-raised men had in finding a wife. They were not allowed to bring women in from China, and they were not permitted to marry non Asians. Because of the Communist takeover, many Chinese who had dreamed of returning home to China when they retired after working all their lives were unable to do so. The situtation created an artifically stressed society. The book has tragedy and sadness, as well as hope and joy.

My only criticism of the novel, and a mild one at that, is that it frequently reads like a play script, especially in the last chapter, where there is a lot of dialogue, followed by descriptions of the action which read like stage directions. It is possible that the novel was orignally intended to be a play.

Warning, possible spoiler:

The musical version of the book which was also filmed was very loosely based on the novel, in fact one of the major characters was created for the musical. Apparently this has been done again with the new version playing on Broadway. Readers expecting to find a printed version of the musical may be disappointed.

As a child, I saw the film "Flower Drum Song" and fell in love with the film. Though at the time, it was considered a no-no amongst the Chinese community. But none of those who scorn the film had even read either the book or seen the film. It was a beautiful made film that featured Asian actors who sing, dance, performed to a melodic score by one of the most creative song writing team. Therefore, I am so glad that this book is finally come to light and to be re-embraced into literary culture. Perhaps it will hopefully quail those critics who are as narrow-minded as those who thought we are just busboys and Charlie Chans. Be enlightened, and read this great piece of story-telling of a familial saga that we can all relate--regardless if we are Chinese or not. Enjoy, read and be enchanted. As well check out the film--it might change one's opinion.

Originally published in 1957, this poignant and charming novel tells of a young man's struggle to fit in. Love, family and all the ups and downs that go with them are told with bittersweet humor. Its re-release is a wonderful companion to David Henry Hwang's new theatrical book which revives the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical on Broadway this year. Hurrah!

Nice book, beautiful picutures, but not for identification on many... Good info, good addition to one's library. Nice pictures for looks.

This is the only book, i have ever found that discusses the properties of each flower in so much detail

This book is very comprehensive, covering herbal remedies, essential oils, flower essences and homeopathy. The pictures of the flowers are beautiful and interesting to meditate on as one works with a remedy. It's very well written, appealing to both novices and experienced healers. I've learned so much from this book, and I continually turn to it for guidance and information.