Imagine that your father, King Philip of Macidonia was just murdered by a former body guard, and that you are forced to become king at the young age of 22. Shortly after you become king some of your cities rebel against your rule, you have no military experience, and yet that is your only option.
Do you think that ever happened to anyone? It happened to Alexander of Macedonia. When the cities revolted Alexander went in and completely destroyed them, then he sold the entire population ( selling women and children as slaves was highly irregular) as slaves to be a warning to other cities that might revolt( most of the cities probably thought that Alexander was a weak king because he was so young). I think that Peter Chrisp gives a wonderful account of Alexander's life in his book, Alexander the Great.
Alexander had many exploits along his many journeys, and there is a story for each and every one. I will tell you one of those tales; it is about The Gordian Knot. In the city of Gordium there was a temple, inside this temple was a very old cart. Its yoke was tied with a knot called The Gordian Knot. The Gordian Knot was very complex, in fact it was so complex that you could not see either loose end of the rope. Many people had tried to untie the knot, but no one could. The people of the city thought that the first person to untie the knot would rule the world. On his way east Alexander stopped at Gordium and tried to untie the knot. After wrestling with the knot for a while he said, "It makes no difference how it is untied"-- and with that he took out his dagger and cut right through it. In case you did not know Alexander conquered the entire world that was known at the time and more! So perhaps the Gordian Prophecy was true.
In this book you will read about Alexander of Macedonia (who later earns the title: Alexander the Great) and his many battles, his battle tactics (most of which are incredible), his military genius, and plus have a peek at what life was like for one of Alexander's soldiers.
If you enjoy reading historical nonfiction, and also enjoy reading about the ancient Greeks then you will love Alexander the Great by Peter Chrisp.

Though this picture book is primarily aimed at young adults, older readers will enjoy it as well. It's wonderfully illustrated and very informative, giving an overview of the conquest of Alexander as well as the ancient Greek and Persian cultures. The full-color illustrations really elucidate the subject matter. All in all, a wonderful book, and one I am happy to have in my library.

A multi-faceted subject handled well for its intended audience as well as older readers unfamiliar with the topic. The addition of subject/event tracking helps to clarify the content as well as the reason for the process. Especially helpful are the inclusion of contemporary efforts to make the scripture accessible to all who care to read them. The art work is interesting and the text is well written.

I used this book with my kids during our overview of the Old Testament when they were all in elementary school. We needed a book, suitable for children, that would quickly illuminate the origins of the text we were reading. Even my first grader could read and understand it. We pulled it out again this year when we studied the Renaissance & Reformation, and the children still found it interesting and informative. I know of no more concise and accessible explanation for the Bible's origins and how it came to us in its present form. Richly (though informally) illustrated, the book is laid out in little "mini articles," which the kids found easy to read and remember. Although meant for children, I would even use it to help adults understand where the Bible came from and how it was transmitted to us.

Peter Kostis and his cowriter have produced a valuable addition to the golf literature. A strong theme of the book is the concept and practice of bringing the club from the inside as opposed to the outside and over the top swings that most of us develop as amateurs. His approach is very refreshing in that he talks about the function of the hands and arms and emphasizes their primary importance in the swing. This aspect of the book is very strong and such treatment of the subject is very hard to find in other text books which tend to concentrate on the body and neglect the essential work of the hands and arms. The only weakness of the book is that it gets vague when discussing the legs and lower body. Also it should be mentioned that the text is not a particularly easy read: it certainly has to be studied a few times but it is well worth the effort. Strong features of the book are the numerous well highlighted photos, emphasizing the textual description and an abundance of good, no-nonsense drills which are used in a staged manner to gradually build up from a small swing with the hands and forearms to a full swing using the entire body. All in all a great effort, and I wish Peter would write another book with more swing thoughts and drills for the lower torso and legs, that would round out a thorough knowledge of the swing very well for any serious student of golf.

I am very glad I stumbled across this book (had never heard of it before). This book is built around some truths which I think are common sense, but I haven't found as part of an instruction book: 1. Not all successful swings look the same. They don't need to look the same, as long as the fundamentals are addressed. 2. A swing should be built in stages, giving the golfer a chance to master one aspect before adding the next. Kostis goes on to break down the different aspects, including large, clear photos and a number of drills to work on each step. I've read books by Hogan, Leadbetter, Pennick, McCord, Love/Toski and others. They all have value (esp. liked Leadbetter's Perfect Practice book). But the methodology in Toski's book has worked great for me.

An admitted opsimath, I waiver whether to label dismiss this book as nugatory and jejune or to celebrate it as a heuristic pleasure. Frankly, the book gives me a headache, not because of the content---though it does have the undeniable smirk of one engaged in jactation---but because of its typography.

Each entry is set in justified, centered type, a design that causes the words to vellicate the longer one scans the myriad entries. Though the ratio of type size to line length falls short of that of unreadable, sesquipedalian manuals, one's eyes soon tire from the effort.

This lexiphanic book is best nibbled like a rich chocolate cake: too much at once proves overwhelming. Instead, try absorbing a word or two as part of a regimen to build vocabulary. Keep your dictionary nearby for pronunciations (a quisquous omission).

A bevy of oddball illustrations are amusing, conjuring up some of Thurber's more amiable (and less misogynistic) sketches and providing some relief from the rows of justified, centered type.

All in all, this tome is entertaining for the Scrabble factor---you really could make use of "ataxy" should you have an "x"---and can be fun for insulting dull-witted athletes. But mostly it just looks good nestled among the reference books on my desk.

I have the 11th printing (1991) edition. There are many words to learn and be amused. The first word is "abecedarian." The last word is "zzxjoanw." He recomends this word for Scrabble. Another word, found in the book, that he recommends for parlor word games is "aeaeae." Looks weird, doesn't it? He claims that this is the only all-vowel six-letter word known to him. Until I read the book, I didn't know of it either.

The author is British and uses examples familiar to Brits. It would have been nice to include the pronounciation of every word. I did find one typo. But, of course, I cannot find it now.

Yes, this book will interest all lexical omnivores, those collectors and aficionados of uncommon words, words which can be used to signify social superiority. It is in this book that I encountered and peremptorily metabolised some of my most choice lexical items -canard", "egregious", "screed", "sciolist" "asinine" etc which I now employ with casual ubiquity. This book will augment your vocabulary and distend your self-image.

Dennis Hopper has always struck me as a living relic of the sixties. A counter-culture rebel who never could quite come to terms with the Vietnam era government he so distrusted. Not surprisingly, his portrayal of "Billy", the frantic companion to Peter Fonda's "Wyatt" is the constantly racing heart of Easy Rider, one of the most important films of the late sixties.
Filmed the year after the summer of love had ended, Rider is one of the few true portraits of the cultural landscape of that turbulent era. The mellow Fonda always represents a generations quest for a simple kind of peace while Hopper, who also directed, is the fatal drive towards a futile end, always pulling away from the obvious path. They ride their custom choppers like two cowboys headed through the wild west. It's an obvious analogy but a meaningful one, their dangers were no less great as we find out. Although a notoriously frazzled production, great performances (notably Jack Nicholson), and a supurb use of some of the great rock road anthems of the day help create something fascinating, if quite dated. Of course, whether you lived the era or not, today the movie stands as a great historical representation of the mood of a country during one of America's strangest periods. Hopper's direction seems subdued by contrast to his performance (outside of a depressing and sureal trip and acid trip through Mardi Gras and a rather blunt ending) although perhaps less so considering his admitted, much longer initial cut, before leveler heads prevailed. There is an obvious fly by night amateurish quality overall but It's still a good film, maybe even great in certain ways. Cultural sign posts like this are rare. Rarer still to be made by the ones who lived it.

The scenery alone is enough to send chills down your spine. Add to that the killer soundtrack and Jack Nicholson's star making (and in my opinion, his best) performance and you've got yourself one hell of a film. Easy Rider (Directed by Dennis Hopper) is the story of two hippie bikers who take a trip on their motorcycles down to the Mardi-Gras festival in New Orleans. Along the way they stopped at a hippie commune, end up in a parade, and spend the night in jail before finally making it to Mardi-Gras. Where they proceed to have themselves a good old time with two [women] while taking acid.

The big three things that make this movie special are the scenery (photographed to perfection, by Laslo Kovack) the music. Which just plain rocks and Jack Nicholson's performance. Nothing against Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper's performance but Nicholson steals every scene he's in. This movie is also a fasinating look at the 60's counterculture. Lots of drugs, great music, killer movie. Enjoy.

Greatest Road Movie Ever. A True Classic
Reviewer: A viewer from Minneapolis, Minnesota United States
The scenery alone is enough to send chills down your spine. Add to that the killer soundtrack and Jack Nicholson's star making (and in my opinion, his best) performance and you've got yourself one hell of a film. Easy Rider (Directed by Dennis Hopper) is the story of two hippie bikers who take a trip on their motorcycles down to the Mardi-Gras festival in New Orleans. Along the way they stopped at a hippie commune, end up in a parade, and spend the night in jail before finally making it to Mardi-Gras. Where they proceed to have themselves a good old time ...
The big three things that make this movie special are the scenery (photographed to perfection, by Laslo Kovack) the music. Which just plain rocks and Jack Nicholson's performance. Nothing against Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper's performance but Nicholson steals every scene he's in. This movie is also a fasinating look at the 60's counterculture. Lots of ... great music, killer movie. Enjoy.

Linda is an astronaut. Her fourth mission involves repairing a telescope in outer space. Combining color photos and illustrations with a simple vocabulary makes this another winner in the DK Eyewitness Reader series. It can be easily accessed by those starting to read on their own. Fact boxes are scattered throughout the book and interesting space facts are on a separate page. The details of an astronaut's training and work are woven into a story which will hold the attention of almost any reader.

I bought this book for my 12 year old to prepare for a computer literacy test he took to 'test out' of a required middle school course. While he uses computers a lot and I have for years, the illustrations helped both of us to better understand how computers work. I've suggested that our school purchase a set for the computer lab.

i thought this was gonna be the stuffy book of fancy words.... not so. it's really fun. i bought it for a friend, and read it first. enjoyed it.

by Harold H., Bloomfield


Description: Bibliography: Transcendental Meditation; Discovering Inner Energy and Overcoming Stress. (290 Pgs.)




It gently covers the naturalness and effortless ways and techniques to incorporate
transcendental meditation into everyday
LIFE, gain energy! gain vitality! new outL@@k! relieve stress! Non biased in its representation,
as it is non-religion based and non-philosphy based.

AWWWWWWW, the comforts, (or are they LUXURIES??) we ask for daily, but never seem to enjoy, so don't waste time or let days go by, EVER AGAIN, regain your LIFE, get this book today, and get on the road to a new you! One thing for sure, this book is ever so popular, this particular book, in 1975, was in its 13th printing!!


Publisher: Delacorte Press, New York - 1975 / Hardcover

by Anne Blair

I think this inexpensive book is a gem! I have found it suitable for use as teaching material with pupils of all ages. The progressive layout is attractive and easy to follow, with modern illustrations and text supporting the printed music. As my title suggests, one of its plus points is that, on the whole, the book offers REAL tunes for students to play (particularly important for older learners!) rather than specially concocted ones. Reservations? Some of the "advice" given is, perhaps, down to personal opinion (e.g. cleaning strings with eau de cologne!). Basically though, this book will encourage, rather than put off, the beginning pupil and carry them onto greater things!