Kudos to Farwell for his insightful biography of one of the most charismatic figures of the 19th century British Empire. Richard Francis Burton has always been one of my personal heroes and the author has done a fine job of bringing the exploits and foibles of this extrordinary soldier, spy, rogue, linguist, explorer, and author, to light.

I have read several biographies of Burton and this is by far the best. Byron Farwell has produced an excellent biography of a unique Victorian who led a life of incredible energy and movement. In fact, Burton seemed to find it impossible to stay in one place. Not always a likeable fellow, Burton lived for adventure. His dangerous journey into the Islamic holy city of Mecca , dressed as a Muslim and speaking fluent Arabic, vies with his discovery of Lake Tanganyika (with Speke) as the most famous of his exploits. But Farwell also describes many less well known adventures - Burton travelled to Salt Lake City in 1859 where he interviewed Brigham Young. He was British Consul in West Africa, Damascus, and Santos, Brazil. Burton usually completely ignored any duties he was given by his employer (Farwell says he was "unemployable"). Incredibly, much of his exploring was done while on dubious sick leave from the Indian Army. Farwell brings out Burton as an explorer of cultures and a scholar as well as a geographic explorer - Burton translated the Arabian Nights and other major oriental works. I particularly enjoyed the chapters on Burton's early life, starting as an extremely naughty boy and maturing into an exceptional young swordsman who wrote a book on bayonet drill later adopted as the standard work by the British Army. Farwell is clearly fascinated, as well as sometimes exasperated by his subject.

Farwell's biography of the extrordinary life of Capt. Sir Richard F. Burton is a fine work. Farwell's excellent style and knowledge of the 19th century are perfect backdrops to the the exploits of "Ruffian Dick". The author manages to point out Burtons many talents and shortcomings in a fair, scholarly manner, without physco-babble or hero-worship. Yet more importantly, Burton's life is allowed to unfold as what it truly was, a grand adventure, full of exotic places, eccentric characters, brilliant victories and stinging defeats. Many biographies have been written concerning Burton, many are very good, but Farwell has managed to bring to life this truly larger then life personality

The story of a little girl who grows into a woman reflecting on her childhood of abandonment.
It will bring tears to your eyes. Wonderfully written where feelings are descriptive and real. You begin to feel that you are Dorie and you are living with her.
I commend Ms Beanblossom for her beautiful writing style and a story that will change you forever.

If you were a child, left alone in the world, where would you turn? Mrs. Beanblossom's touching, intriguing story of two young girls pawned off on their grandparents by an absentee father and negligent mother is reality for far too many children. "Byron's Corner" is a tribute to the resiliency of the human spirit as Dorie and Stephie search for the sense of belonging, love and acceptance, which--in many cases--only a family can provide.

Bryon's Corner is the second novel I've read by this author. The heart wrenching story of two little girls abandoned by their mother is guaranteed to activate the tear ducts...at least it did mine. The central figure is also the narrative voice in this fictional story telling of a mother leaving the girls a cold and heartless note to say she needed space to think things through. How could anyone expect a child of ten years to understand a statement like that, much less deal with the fact her mother didn't want her any more?
Dora Lee Kelleher and her younger sister were lucky to be blessed with wonderful grandparents like Clyde and Mae Bryon, who came to their rescue and adopted the two little girls shortly thereafter.
A wonderful life on the farm still couldn't remove the heartache of missing her mother, or the memories of an abusive life with both parents. To make matters even worse, Dora suffered great physical abuse by her father's hand just shortly after the adoption proceedings were finalized. Being slammed against a car that would cause a deep head laceration and knocking out her teeth, Dora grew up with this memory of her father. It wasn't the first time the child had suffered from her father's abuse.
Grandpa Byron was a strict and righteous man who had failed with his own daughter and was hell bent not to fail with his two grand daughters. After the adoption, he forbid any visitation rights to Dora's mother. He adored his two little girls.
Living on the farm introduced Dora to her childhood sweetheart, who later turned out to be the love of her life, soul mate, best friend, and of course, her husband. I would have to say Lee Becker was definitely my hero in this heartbreaking story. For a woman to find such a man to love her as Lee loved Dora, she would have to know that God had truly given her the finest gift a woman could have...how very fortunate Dora was.
Being reunited with her mother ten years later wasn't easy for Dora. Learning her mother had recently been treated for ovarian cancer, Dora has to make up her mind whether she can come to grips with forgetting the past and forgiving her mother; which is something her younger sister couldn't do.
I think it was the ending of this story that really got to me, ...

I came to this book as a retired lawyer with a life long interest in history, particularly as to its military aspects. No longer required by profession to spend most of my reading time in case books, I realized that compromised health has at least one benefit, namely to pursue knowledge for its own sake. I have always believed that next to reading and basic math, the most important subject in our schools should be history, but as my sons wended their way through the educational process, I realized that this wasn't so. And where history was offered, it became disassociated with the truth, largely because of academic championing of plain wrong philosophies such as political correctness, multiculturalsim and nonjudgmental ethics. This, I found, was most concentrated at the college level. So what has that got to do with whether or not you should buy this book? A lot. If you do no more than accept what occurs on the world stage as a spectator, then pass on. But if you, like me, frequently wonder, "why?", then I recommend this very comprehensive book without reservation. For example, do you think that the extremely militant form of Islam called "Wahhabianism" is a recent thing? Farwell shows that it was the cause of the Arabian Wars of 1801 -1842. Vietnam a 1960's thing? The French waged war there about the same time that America was engaged in its Civil War. Afghanistan a today event? The British fought two wars there. War dominated the 19th Century, and a reading of this book makes it clear that the fallout from those wars are with us yet. If the French saying (translated) that, "The more things change, the more they remain the same." has any truth to it, it is exemplified time and again in this excellent work. Yes, it's big and costs a bit, but it was worth every dollar to me. It's accurate, and in being so, it is very judgmental on such matters as how the Americans dealt with the "Indian Issue", British, French and US colonialism, centuries old Islamic militarism and the frequent failure of the use of force to solve political issues. As I noted in another review, as we continue as a nation to wage war on terrorism, there is a growing need for informed Americans, both in the positions of leadership, and of those who elect them. There is much to be learned from this excellent work, and it is beautifully well-organized to permit quick access to subject matter. Of course, Farwell's writing skill is outstanding. And just think of the questions that your friends may be hesitant to ask when they see THIS book on the coffee table!

By John McCaughey

One comes away from Byron Farwell's huge book on 19th century warfare* with the rather dismal reflection that there was not one single day in those one hundred years when wars small or large were not being waged somewhere on the globe and thousands of people were being killed daily--often with barbarism. The soldiers, naturally, did the rough work, but civilian inventors and technicians toiled tirelessly behind the scenes to invent and manufacture ever more efficient and cost-effective ways to kill people. Far from the firing lines, politicians fomented wars. Very many of those wars were instigated for asinine reasons.

Ambitiously, Farwell paints his huge canvas for both the scholar and the general reader of military history. It is, he says, a tale of wars, revolutions, battles, sieges, spies, soldiers, technical military terms, weapons, armies, military awards, camp followers and other aspects of 19th century wars and military life. Nor does he neglect that other factor that caused more deaths than all the weapons combined: diseases, including venereal disease which filled the military hospitals.

The book takes us into a far different world to today's high-tech warfare, sketching feats of almost unbelievable courage, stoicism and unshakeable devotion to duty. There was, for example, Henry Havelock (1795-1857) who, learning of the massacre of the garrison at Cawnpore in India led 2,000 infantry, some volunteer cavalry and six guns to defeat the rebels. By forced marches at the hottest time of the year he traversed 126 miles in nine days (14 miles a day through rough country for redcoats carrying heavy kit).

Defeating a rebel force, he entered Cawnpore and then--despite dwindling ammunition and supplies and a plague of cholera and dysentery that was killing off many of his men--he marched on to try to relieve the beseiged Lucknow, defeating two forces of mutineers on the way.

In an armchair, it is comfortable to read about all this, but it requires little imagination to envision what Havelock and his soldiers must have endured--driven on by their sense of duty, their faith in the British Raj and the iron discipline of the army.

Farwell (sadly, he died several years ago) was a veteran military historian, author of more than a dozen histories and a notable biography of Stonewall Jackson. Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher is one of his many fans. Much of his success is due to his eye for the odd or quixotic, which makes this book more readable than most other encyclopedias.

At random, then, we learn that:

#A U.S. marine called Jonathan Goble, stationed in China, in 1855 invented the rickshaw;
#The British office of "Gold Stick in Waiting" goes back to 1678 (the author is adept at describing orders of chivalry and ceremonial posts);
#The notorious Nazi "Goose Step" straight-legged, stiff-kneed march (George Orwell called it "one of the most horrible sights in the world") derived from a drill in which recruits were taught balance by standing on one leg and swinging the other backward and forward;

A thousand other such intriguing factoids sprinkle this book like confetti. Farwell's disquisition, for example, on the somewhat odd preoccupation of all armies throughout history with the hairstyles of soldiers and officers alike is a masterpiece of dry humor.

Nor does Farwell shrink from the ugly side of war--noting, for example, with considerable imagery, that at the conclusion of the Siege of Verona in the Peninsular War on 11 December 1809 "some 3,000 walking skeletons surrendered."

The real joy of this book, though, is in the arcania. How the dickens did Farwell find out so much about the Ghost Dance of the Oglala Sioux? Or the story of Rollo Gillespie, a small man who assailed in his quarters one night in the West Indies by a gang of desperados grabbed his sword and killed six of them. Word of the feat preceded him to England, where, some years later, upon being presented to King George III at a levee, the royal personage remarked: "Eh, eh? What, what! Is this the little man that killed the brigands?" One might almost be in the room with the dotty monarch and the little man.

And always, like the sun about to break through the thunderclouds of war, lurks Farwell's characteristic dry humor. Of one British officer he writes: "He was a decisive man, perhaps too decisive. One of his colleagues spoke of 'One of those long conferences he held on grave issues. They generally lasted from two to five minutes'."

Lord knows how long it is, but at 900 pages the encyclopedia can scarcely be less than half a million words. Such books are not intended for narrative reading, but a daily dip into this one will invariably reward the readers with some quixotic, historical or amusing anecdote. The U.S. military could do a lot worse than to issue a copy to all ranks.

All in all, the book is an extraordinary display of erudition and of awesome industry. In no small way, it is Byron Farwell's monument.

But this reviewer's favorite entry is on the "Gunner's Chant." Explains Farwell:

"Sometimes called the gunner's doxology. Before watches became common, this was a chant used by artillery noncommissioned officers when firing salutes in order to time the intervals between rounds and keep them uniform. It began:

"Fire!
If I had good sense I wouldn't be here.
Fire!
I'd like to slip off for a pail of beer.
Fire!"

--------
*The Encyclopedia of Nineteenth-Century Land Warfare by Byron Farwell. W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., New York. ISBN 0-393-04770-9. [$]

This is a great book. It covers every aspect of 19th Century warfare from technology, equipment, battles and personalities. Each entry is well structured and written in a clear and understanding manner and most importantly, it is short and to the point. A great reference book for anyone who enjoys military history.

As a future educator, I fine myself looking at educational books and looks. The main reason I was drawn to this is bacause I am a huge Hello Kitty fan. After flipping through some of the pages, I decided that I liked what I saw and it could be useful in the classroom.

Even though my two year old daughter already knew her colors, we both love Hello Kitty, so I got this book anyways. And she loves it. She likes to sit with me and go through each page, saying the color, and then all the items of that color on each page. The pictures are really cute, and each two-page spread is dedicated to one color (even black, brown, and pink). We play games with it, such as me asking her where the red lipstick is, or the brown teddy bear. It comes with a paper Hello Kitty mobile too which I put together with clear fishing wire and hung it in her room. A year later it is still a favorite book of hers. Nice quality too - hard cover and good quality paper for pages. With all it's use, it still looks brand new.

This is a wonderful book, especially if you like Hello Kitty. I'd say it's geared toward babies and toddlers, or children who are needing to learn their colors, which is why I bought it. On each page is a different color, on which there are also many different "things" that are the color stated. I thought this book was much better than most "color learning" books I have seen.

Am not in the habit of reading "religious" books. But, someone had given this book to me - and noticed that coincidentally, it was by the same author as this one spiritual book I had picked up several years back while visiting Georgetown University. Really can relate to the language and practical philosophy that Fr. Byron uses to convey his points - true to Jesuit form. Even more impressive is how well-read Fr. Byron seems to be - from philosophy, to politics and business. Would highly recommend to everyone, but particularly to those who are interested or working in politics and business.

Fr. Byron is the pastor of my church, Holy Trinity, in Georgetown, DC. In this artfully written work, he explores the essence of Ignatian spirtuality applied to education and being an educator, or simply day to day living and being part of the wonderful circle of friends who try, as well as each of them can, to live by the principles of Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits.

Jesuit Saturdays reads easily and I was anxious to keep turning to the next page to learn another gem of wisdom from Fr. Byron. I overwhelmingly recommend this book to anyone who wants to plant the first seed or nourish his or her on-going spirituality and perhaps learn better what God's will for her/him is.

These days Jesuits and their co-workers, particularly in the educational apostolate, are trying to elaborate together their shared mission in common awareness of the centuries-old Jesuit tradition. Fr. William Byron here makes his own valuable and informed contribution to the cause, drawing on fifty years of experience, much of it in key administrative positions, summing up some of his recent keynote speeches, and citing extensively individuals and institutions involved in the world-wide Jesuit apostolate. He writes of the founder of the Jesuits, the reasons they are in education, the kind of alumni they seek to form, discernment and choice, service of others, celibacy, being a responsible individual in community, proper use of talents, the value of the cross, and the question of vocations to the Jesuit order. He shares with us as within a family everything from the highest ideals of the order to the difficulties of using community cars. Anyone who wants to know about the Jesuits could profit from this book, but it's particularly aimed at those who work in the Jesuit schools, and its individual chapters would be especially useful as topics for their common discussion. A correction: the book has 112 pages, not 260.

I recently put together a box of childrens books to give as a baby shower gift for a new mother. Enlisting the help of my children (17 and 18 now) I asked that they give me a list of the titles they remembered and loved the most. Katie the Kitten topped both their lists! I still have the little golden book locked away with all the other favorite childhood possessions. I will love reading it to my grandchildren someday....

My son, who is almost 18 years old, still to this day can recite the entire book from beginning to end! It made that strong of an imprint in his mind and in his heart. Thank you for writing this book. I have sent it to every new mother that I have ever known.

I Love this book

This book has been a favorite for the last several months. My son liked the repetition and the bright pictures from the start, and as he gets older (he's now 21 months) he also enjoys naming the animals and what they are doing. There is lots in the pictures for a toddler to talk about: planting seeds, cooking, kite flying, napping, and so on. I'm not wild about the artwork in this book, but then again I'm not its target audience--the simplicity seems to work great for young kids.

My 17-month old daughter has loved this book for months already. It has a rhythmic text and lively pictures, plus it is about animals, which is always a hit with the toddler set.

My 3 year old son and I love this book. The story is simple with a repetitive refrain that little ones can become familiar with. The illustrations are perfect for the recommended age group; bright and simple with easy to pick out shapes, animals, and other figures. The overall message about helping others is a good lesson as well.

Excellent biography of Stanley, who had an incredible life. He was illegitimate, abandoned by his mother, put into a work-house, and had an all-round awful childhood until meeting the kindly fellow in America who adopted him. But the meat of the book is Stanley's three major trips in Africa: to find Livingstone, to explore and continue Livingstone's work, and to relieve Emin Pasha. Each involves amazing hardships and adventures and Farwell does a wonderful job of giving lots of detail and colour as he relates these exciting trips. Worth reading by anyone who has an interest in Burton but isn't sure what to turn to next.

This is one of Farwell's earliest works. I think I have read everything he has written and I am always amazed at the high quality and readability. This book is about Henry M. Stanley, and Africa through his eyes. Farwell refuses to allow modern prejudices to enter into the story. Stanley is unique - emotionless yet idealistic, shy yet driven. Read this book not only to find out about the man, but for the incredible adventures. For an excellent 1 volume history of African exploration, read Africa Explored by Christopher Hibbert.

Henry M. Stanley was the first human to cross equatorial Africa. And he did it roughly four times, fighting beast, insects, disease and the most violent, primitive peoples ever encountered by an explorer. This account of his entire life is fascinating: raised in a Scottish orphanage, adopted by a New Orleans merchant, fought in the Civil War on the side of the South, journalist and -- all training for the hardships of his true calling -- explorer. On his first trip he finds Stanley to deliver the famous quote -- two more trips each more astounding than the preceding are to follow. He retires as a hero of the British exploration community. This book is a gem, well written by an author who rightly reveres deeply his subject. This is a must read for anyone who enjoyed "Undaunted Courage." Stanley is 20 Lewis and Clark's rolled into one man. Maps are good for a paperback.

This book is immediately helpful! After reading through a very interesting life story of the author, the book outlines simple details of THE TOOL. Using THE TOOL has helped me to clear up a sinus condition the very first time I tried it !

His life story details his progress towards creating THE TOOL in a scientific manner.. hypothosis followed by experiment leading to conclusion. Definetely recommended reading for anybody willing to stretch the bounds of healing and reality manifestation.

I was deeply inspired at reading Byron Gentry's biography, and about the self-help work he discovered and developed. This book empowers readers to quickly, simply, and painlessly make positive changes in their lives.

Dr. & Mrs. Gentry have condensed years of research and development into a concise methodology that even beginners can follow. I have used his methods for the past five years--they are failsafe. Especially useful is his method for energizing compatibility between two or more people. I have used his beacon method to bring to my practice just the right clientele whom I can help, are interested in my work, can benefit from it, can pay for it and who can refer other clients to me. His life story is very interesting. Dr. & Mrs. Gentry continue to do research. The key to do what they do is to practice, practice, practice! Mental healing takes energy and preciseness, conviction and intention. As he teaches, most of us spend too much time being angry--we waste vital energy. We need to take the energy we conjure up when angry & turn it and ourselves into positive energy to heal. Angry energy might as well be a shot gun. Healing energy is the miracle! It's free and abundant--everyone can manifest it.

I am not a fan of the English Romantics but I will make a big exception for Lord Byron. He's wild! "Don Juan," parts of which are included in this book, is bawdy and hilarious. Keep in mind that the poem was not considered fit for young ladies to read when it came out...are you tempted yet?

The Dover Thrift Editions are surprisingly well-constructed - they'll outlast, say, your Oxford World Classics paperbacks - and the poems are usually well-chosen. And they're....cheap!

This is a great collection of thirty of Byron's short poems, arranged in chronological order. Everyone should own at least one collection of Byron's work, and at this price, why not make this the one?

This is a great collection of mostly short poems by one of the greatest poets in memory. beginning with "Damaetas" and ending with "On this Day I complete my Thirty-sixth year" these 30 poems, in chronological order, represent a great portion of Byron's work, including portions of Childe Herold's Pilgramage, hebrew melodies, don juan, and manfred. great as an introduction to byron.