I found this book to be quite unique in the way it covers its subject area. I know of no other book which seeks to treat in a botanical manner the more conspicuous and important woody plants of the Sonoran Desert biome. I discovered the existence of plants that I previously did not know about. Each species is covered very well, with notes on its appearance, distribution, ethnobotany, and ecology. Excellent half-tone black and white photographs. I can't recommend this book too highly if one is interested in learning more about the Sonoran Desert woody plants.

In spite of its incredible panoply of characters, settings, and situations, THE SPEED OF DARKNESS strikes no false notes, attempts nothing that is spoiled in its dramatic effect by implausibility. Its characters range from elementary school students to cab drivers, from unemployed Vietnam burnouts to widows turned prostitute, from Kaho'olawe campers to physics professor surfers. They represent a wide variety of ethnic cuts and mixtures and speak everything from heavy pidgin to textbook English. They all come to absolutely credible fictional life only because they all come FROM life. Neither an outsider to the Islands nor a lesser artist could have encompassed this variety or earned this triumph. THE SPEED OF DARKNESS is no minor feat. It is a book I strongly recommend to people who love the literature of Hawai'i, or the literature of anywhere. (from "Gauging THE SPEED OF DARKNESS," HAWAI'I REVIEW, Spring 1989, p. 129 ff.

This work is among the best overviews of Neolithic life available. It's well written and covers a breadth of topics and ideas. Using the best evidence available, he breaks away from traditional approaches to reconstruct prehistoric society. Instead of stripping away modern elements to derive Neolithic life, Castleden builds the picture of that society from its basics. Opening with a portrayal of the Neolithic environment, he envisions how people would react to conditions then.

Environmental constraints and overuse of resources forced changes in lifestyle over the centuries. Neolithic peoples originally inhabited the fertile landscape as farmers. Their crops, however, quickly depleted the soil. Castleden cites a study in Denmark of Neolithic einkorn wheat reducing soil nutrients in only three seasons. Loss of fertility drove people to new locations or converted to a pastoral existence. In either case, the ommunities remained small and tightly integrated, with settlements only a few kilometres apart. The conditions also inhibited experimenting in farming or lifestyles. Maintenance of a secure life took precedence over trying the novel. The resulting conservatism led to a commonalty of thinking. We see evidence of that in the multitude of Neolithic religious sites. Stonehenge, Avebury,
Woodhenge, are distinct from each other in many ways, but their basic pattern is consistent.

Conservative rural life instilled fertility rituals dealing with crops and cattle breeding. Respect for surviving elders led to cults dealing with death. Castleden argues that it wasn't worship of the dead, but death itself that occupied their thoughts and practices. Burial rituals and cemetaries ultimately produced the great henges and stone monuments. Castleden acknowledges that the artefacts associated with the ditches, banks and the stone circles are the chief source of information we have in conceiving Neolithic life. One missing element, and he finds this highly significant, are structures for defence or other evidence of conflict. There are no large collections of arrowheads or spear blades found at the henge sites. From this he derives Neolithic society as essentially peaceful, with communities acting in relative harmony. Such an environment facilitated trade and information exchange. He traces the major likely trade routes across Southern Britain and across to Brittany in France. This view counters the long-held belief that these people were kept brutish and ignorant by being in a constant state of battle. He rightly argues that such a social milieu wouldn't have allowed the construction of such sites as Avebury or Stonehenge. He can't resist comparison with modern societies.

Castleden has enhanced a fluent presentation with numerous photographs, diagrams and maps. There is some presentation of contending views on various aspects of the topic. Perhaps the most surprising topic is the enigma of Stonehenge's source of the massive bluestones. Rejecting the "glacial erratics" position of Aubrey Burl, Castleden accepts the Presli Hills source. However, he proposes the most novel form of transport yet suggested.
Instead of the usual Presli to Severn Estuary route some propose, Castleden argues for an all-sea route around Land's End. He contends some form of trimaran would easily make the journey. Oxen-pulled sledges managed the final leg.

Although this book focuses on southern Britain of the era, the approach can be successfully applied elsewhere, even for other times. Castleden's easy prose and frank approach to the material makes this book useful and informative...

Correction to the Booknews review shown above: that's "tritium", not "titanium".

Tritium is 1-H-3, the one-proton, two-neutron isotope of hydrogen that is the primary source of explosive energy in the hydrogen bomb.

Titanium is a light, strong metallic element used in the pressure hulls of some Soviet submarine designs near the end of the first Cold War. It occurs naturally in ores that can be mined, is not naturally radioactive, doesn't undergo fission or fusion, and is not a nuclear fuel. Unlike plutonium (which does not occur naturally in useful quantities) and tritium (which undergoes rapid radioactive decay and must be replaced periodically), there is no reason to build a nuclear reactor to produce titanium.

These excerpts from actual cases and trials will have you laughing yourself silly! How ever did they find all of this real-life humor? Jones and Uelmen have culled through massive amounts of documentation and have selected the most choice gems---pearls of hilarity that are certain to split your sides with laughter. But the book is far more than a mere collection of lawyer jokes and slip-ups: Jones and Uelmen have also collected interesting historical anecdotes from court cases and tidbits of funny incidents that have happened to famous jurists. An uproarious collection of humor that is also a fast read.

TERRA INCOGNITA is the telling of history from another point of view, connecting the dots between voyages, ships, cargoes & paymasters.

If you like to know the who, why, when & how of historical things & events, then TERRA INCOGNITA will thrill you. Into this little book is packed a ton of trivia that is both fascinating & extra-ordinary, about the exploration of the world from the "Twelve Wooden Plates" upon which a new map was secured for printing & what Amerigo Vespucci had to do with them, to "The Commercial Revolution" in which the Black Plague had people sailing away in fleets to the farthest reaches of the globe, to "A Young Genoan Arrives in Bristol" being excerpts from journals of the icon of exploration to "Bristol Ships in Lisbon and Huelva" where Christopher Columbus had been dwelling, to "Shipshape and Bristol Fashion" wherein a medieval proverb comes to life & so on into the stuff of legends, all the facts & the fictions.

Very well done...a superb history of mapmakers & voyagers...certainly for every history buff, & anyone interested in writing about merchant seamen, explorers & maps.

Rodney Howard-Browne teaches us what the anointing really is and how to flow and operate in it. This book is an essential must for all who are considering going into any part of Christian ministry. Rodney Howard-Browne also tells us of his humbling experiences and how God exalted him. At certain parts funny, at other parts stern. Rodney Howard-Browne writes with great authority.

I recently purchased this book as a reference for Model United Nations. It was perfect for the job. It provides conscise summaries of all the nuclear states, and has maps and charts to supplement the text. I recommend this book to anyone looking for a guide to Nuclear Proliferation.

This book is a vibrant collection of over 140 stunningly beautiful and fantastically creative Painted Ponies as photographed by Eduardo Fuss. Created from the minds of some of the Southwest's foremost artists, the life-size horses serve as a publically accessible outdoor art exhibition, and ultimately as a unique vechicle to raise significant money for charitable causes. The vivid photography shows complete ponies as well as the fine detail work that make this art project the success story it has become.

Author Rodney Barker provides the context for the history and spiritual background that is the special inspiration of the Southwestern and particularly Native American artists who so far have dominated this ongoing project.

I find I can't stop paging through this fantasy world of horses painted with Southwestern landscapes, Native American imagery, contemporary and futuristic themes that run the gamut from surprising realism, emotional subject matter, patriotism and humor. Better buy two -- one to thumb through on a regular basis and one to keep pristine!

I highly recommend this new Transmetropolitan TPB. My favorite TPB so far has been the second (Lust for Life), because the first has that new-comic unevenness and the third and fourth had a little too much pointless vulgarity for my taste. But this fifth one really impressed me. Like the others, it's grim, bitter, and funny, and Spider says utterly disgusting and shocking things in that sardonic way that makes him fascinating. But the graphic novel also takes up the issue of the human condition again, makes you remember that the reason Spider is fascinating is that he's not -just- a rat bastard -- he actually cares about the state of the world, and is equally sensitized to both its beauty and its horror. Spider has learned, essentially, that the best way to pursue the truth and fight the Man is to be an evil ****. And that's why we like him.

Special bonus: an introduction by Patrick Stewart, who's apparently a big fan. I would have never guessed.