The Orphan Brigade was one of the hardest fighting units in the Army of Tennessee. Jackman writes a very good history from his own expierences, first as a regular soldier then as an clerk for Co. B, 9th Kentucky. He takes us from the first camps of the Orphans through the war, to where he was injured at near where General Polk was killed at Pine Mountain and his hospital visits. While there are thing added either in his transfer of the diary to a new book in 1865 or after the war, William C. Davis helps make clear things that might have been changed. Davis also points out names where Jackman uses initals. Overall, it is worth the price, especially for a Civil War Reenactor like me.

In February of 1862, 4,000 men left Kentucky as part of the First Kentucky Brigade and marched south. Three years later, 600 returned, among them John S. Jackman. In between, the five regiments saw most of the Civil War in the west -- Shiloh, Vicksburg, Baton Rouge, Chickamauga, the Atlanta campaign -- even ending their days as a unit in Washington, Georgia, just as President Jefferson Davis and his cabinet pass through in their attempt to escape Union troops.

Jackman saw it all, and as renowned and prolific Civil War author and editor William Davis points out, his account is the longest and most unvarnished of the diaries that have come out of the war about the "Orphan Brigade." "Diary of a Confederate Soldier" is one of the better memoirs to come out of the war, literate, readable, humorous (especially the great snowball battle in March of 1864), and educating.

repetition and revenge:a speculative reading of faulkne

Irwin's book was recommended by a professor years ago, when I was reading Light in August. I bought it then but I found I needed to read Absalom! Absalom! and The Sound and the Fury closely before I could get anywhere with this book. Though Freud is pivotal in Irwin's review, his use of Freud is flexible, not dogmatic. Jungian snippets (the shadow nature of the unconscious)emerge from time to time as well. The book is essentially an investigation into Quentin Compson's struggles with incest and impotence that leads to his suicide, yet it also applies to the South's loss of the Civil War and general outrages resulting from human frustration.
Irwin's connections between S&F and Absalom are most helpful to my understanding of Faulkner's larger vision of generation and life. Irwin is a true scholar of Faulkner, well read in Freud, tragedy, and of course William Faulkner. I have not seen a better portrayal of the problem of revenge against time and Oedipal fury in any other book. Elements of Nietzsche are coupled with Freud-- Irwin is well aware of the connections between these two-- and the connections between fate and the psyche's imprisonment in endless repetitive frustrations are very well developed. I hate to use the cliche "a must read", so I'll say that Faulkner readers who need a little something extra -- not pedantic, nor too academic, but informative-- will want to read this one.

A documentary anthology focusing almost exclusively on writings by and about people using drugs before the 1960s -- before, as one of its editors states, "the modern era of drug use and drug hysteria." The sources collected within are excerpted from some of the more usual suspects, like Jean Cocteau, Aldous Huxley, Albert Hofmann, and Baudelaire, but there are also a few surprises (for example, Mark Twain and Sigmund Freud). The reader will come away with a newfound understanding of how unoriginal much of our present dialogue over similar issues actually is.

A compilation of selections for those interested in drug use by historical figures. Features Anais Nin dropping acid, Sigmund Freud on cocaine, Mark Twain nearly becoming a coca trader, as well as the usual suspects (Hofmann, Baudelaire, Huxley, Ludlow) and others.

This edition, with minor changes and corrections, is essentially the same as the revised edition issued in 1975. What this and the previous revised edition fail to inform the reader of is that it does not contain all of the commentary text written by William Barclay. The two volumes of the revised edition of the Gospel of John contain 547 pages. However, the 2nd edition of the two volumes of the Gospel of John (published in 1956) contains 634 pages. Thus, the revised edition has 13.7% fewer pages than the 2nd edition.

This reduction in pages is not solely due to differences in formatting. It is largely due to the deletion of many portions of Barclay's commentary contained in the 2nd edition. I first noticed the selective deletion of portions of Barclay's original commentary in the commentary for John 13:33-35, in which Jesus speaks of loving one another as he loved us. In the 2nd edition, Barclay so beautifully states the following: "He [Jesus] knew all their [his disciples] weaknesses and yet He still loved them. Those who really love us are the people who know us at our worst and who still love us." However, these two sentences, along with four other sentences, do not appear in the revised edition, and they do not appear in this edition. Repeatedly, key sentences and phrases are deleted from this edition. At another point in this commentary, Barclay states that: "It is when we live with people that we find out their moods and their irritabilities and their weaknesses." Although this sentence is contained in this edition, the sentence that immediately follows it in the 2nd edition will not be found in this edition. That sentence is: "And others have the same experience with us."

Furthermore, the changes in the revised edition are not the work of William Barclay, but as William Barclay states in the introduction to the revised edition, "the work of revision and correction has been done entirely by the Rev. James Martin." Clive Rawlins, who wrote an authorized biography of William Barclay, stated in the biography that it was especially questionable for Barclay to allow republication without his own personal revision (due to Barclay's physical decline, Rawlins indicates that Barclay was unable to make the revisions himself). Rawlins was very critical of the revisions by Martin, stating that the nature of the original work was not always respected. At one point, Rawlins stated that Martin's elimination of two key phrases was a great pity and lessened the force of Barclay's statement. In the introduction to the book of Romans, Rawlins stated that it was strange that Martin should have so completely missed Barclay's emphasis in the revised edition prepared by Martin. Rawlins stated in the biography that the reduction of approximately 600 pages in the 17 volume set was because of "vigorous pruning" of Barclay's writing. In conclusion, Rawlins found that the revisions made by Martin in the revised edition "are not of the highest order."

On the other hand, I cannot emphasize enough the value of Barclay's commentaries. His knowledge of the Greek language, the Jewish culture and religion, and the Roman occupation during the New Testament era is phenomenal. Furthermore, he has a unique ability to convey this immense knowledge in a manner which is very easy for any reader to understand. William Barclay has the ability to convey to the reader not only what that passage meant to the people to whom Jesus spoke to 2,000 years ago, but what those passages say to us today. On countless occasions, I have felt that Barclay was speaking to me personally as he discussed the relevance of the passage in his commentary.

William Barclay's New Testament commentaries are the most insightful and meaningful commentaries that I have ever read, and I cannot recommend them highly enough. He has both challenged and inspired me; William Barclay's writings have truly changed my life. However, if you want to read all of what Barclay actually said instead of what some editor thought was important enough to leave in, then check with a used book store or do a used book search on the internet to get the 2nd editions of the Gospel of John or other volumes in Barclay's Daily Study Bible.

I have "seen" the Gospel of John over a dozen of times, but never really read it, in terms of deep understanding, until Barclay helped to reveal it to me in his commentary. Barclay's explanation of the Greek in the original text, and the historical background he provides, has been very significant to my study of Jesus Christ. An example is Barclay's extensive analysis of Jesus as the "logos" that commences his commentary on the Gospel of John. Barclay's discussion of the story of the woman caught in adultery is one of the most beautiful interpretations of an aspect of Jesus's ministry I have ever heard or read. I strongly recommend the Revised Edition to anyone in search of greater understanding of Jesus Christ.

One unfortunate criticism of the Revised Edition of Barclay's Commentaries on the New Testament is that it is somewhat inferior to the 2nd Edition. It is true that the Revised Edition has fewer pages, but this criticism does not take into account the fact that the size of the pages in the Revised Edition is larger than that of the 2nd Edition. Also, Barclay removed a number of redundancies of writing in preparing the Revised Edition. Barclay was a prolific writer, and I suspect that he improved his writing talent considerably in the 19 years between when the two editions were published. I am also hard-pressed to believe that Barclay would have compromised the message of these commentaries in any way in later editions. Further, printing technology improved considerably in that period, such that the Revised Edition is much easier on the eyes. And I would note that it is quite difficult to locate the 2nd Edition of these commentaries. I believe that the Revised Edition is a perfectly viable if not preferable substitute for the 2nd Edition.

Middle to High Schoolers as well as adults will pick this book up out of curiosity and immediately become engrossed. The question and answer format encourages browsing, and the book includes lots of nice features such as an index, a section for related reading, a section of web addresses and mail addresses for space related organizations. Students will find useful report information presented here in a fun format. The book also includes a number of photographs and drawings relating to the questions it helps answer. Students will discover the many effects of living in space from one of the men who has spent the most time there!

Great book for a middle school or high school library. Answers lots of frequently-asked questions about astronaut's life in space.

One of Shakespeare's earlier comedies, "Love's Labour's Lost" does not even hold a candle to some of the Bard's greatest comedic works (A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Tempest, The Winter's Tale). Yet, for all its lack of blazing greatness, the play is indeed a joyful diversion.

The plot is that of a philosopher's paradise being invaded by the most nefarious of things...love.

Shakespeare means many things when he speaks of love: often it can be shallow, bawdy lecherous love, sometimes it is an almost Petrachan yearning "courtly" love, once in a while it is a self destructive, clasping, obsessive love. Here it is pretty much straight-up attraction of the "hey, I'd like to marry you" variety.

As the noble, well-meaning but unable to restrain themselves philosopher's fall for the beauties of this tale, many awkward situations occur. Much of the humor here is of this vein. Plays on words and outrageous situations provide most of the laughs.

For fans of Shakespeare, I wholeheartedly endorse this great play. For beginners, I recommend starting with one of the plays mentioned above.

Be forewarned. Even if you have read a lot of Shakespeare's plays, this one is difficult and demands much effort to follow. But, if you can push yourself into reading this, it is well worth the time. Shakespeare himself performed the role of Berowne. While this is a comedy, the humour relies on irony as opposed to funny events. Also, unlike his other comedies, this one does not end in utter happieness. The interaction of the characters, as well as the situation comedy (especially in 4.3) is quite memorable. This comedy differs significantly from most of his others, but it is a wonderful piece of literature.

This book is the single most thorough anesthesia book available for veterinary medicine. It covers specifics for almost every single species, including exotics and zoo species. It is quite wordy and not a brief reference if you just want a "quick fix" answer, but the explanations are excellent and this is THE resource to reach for with anesthesia questions...

Too detailed for the lay reader or the clinician looking for quick recommendations.

Excellent review coverage of pain, analgesia, monitoring, and anesthesia in general.

Detailed coverage of agent classes and anesthetic considerations by species.

I have many anesthesia books (both veterinary and human) on my shelf - but none better.

Professor Gary Scharnhorst has done readers interested in the American Civil War a great favor in his erudite and readable introduction to John De Forest's novel. One can only hope that for the next edition he will reduce by eighty or ninety percent the number of his Explanatory Notes which, if necessary for some under-educated undergraduates, will seem demeaning and at times inaccurate to educated Penguin readers. (Walter Scott's good Bailie Jarvie would have taken umbrage to see himself described as "a Scots weaver"!)

When I read "Miss Ravenel" several years ago, I did not fully appreciate it--now that I'm very much into The War, I have a new outlook. Yes, it's dated, and to modern readers, the dialogue at times is corny and silly (as is DeForest's hesitancy to be more explicit about certain sexual matters). To me,though, that's part of the charm, along with its Victorian sentimentality. It's too bad it was not appreciated when it was published in 1867. Anyone interested in The War needs to read this--and keep in mind the fact that I'm a blue-blooded Southern boy.

. . .for more than 20 years. I'm as familiar with the story as any, and more familiar than most. Recently, I had the opportunity to read Sir John Barrow's account of the mutiny and its aftermath and found the book an extremely interesting historical read. Sir John wrote his book at a time when many of the participants were still living. He addresses every major controversy surrounding the mutiny and subsequent adventures and his perspective, while a bit preachy and moralistic at times, is invaluable. While utterly condemning the actions of Fletcher Christian (and blaming the mutiny entirely on him) Barrow is also hard on Captain Bligh, showing him to be an excellent seaman but a poor leader of men (under everyday circumstances). In a crisis, Bligh was able to rise to the occasion (the open sea voyage in the Bounty's launch) but as an everyday commander of men, Bligh was found wanting. Barrow also casts doubt on Bligh's integrity during the trial, suggesting that he deliberately withheld information which could have led to the acquittal of a midshipman against whom he bore an unjustified grudge. Barrow also condemns the behavior of the captain of the Pandora as inhumane (as it was without doubt) and unreasonable, especially to those who were not mutineers, but voluntarily surrendered. Barrow's description of the trial is extremely detailed. He goes to great lengths to demonstrate that in spite of appearances, the guilty were punished and those who were truly innocent were acquitted (or eventually exonerated). He also had an interest in the eternal souls of the mutineers, recording with satisfaction that the three men eventually hanged for the crime showed evidence of repentance and contrition. All in all, this book was a fascinating read, and provided a different perspective than the 20th century movies and popular novels. I hope it comes back into print.

I have the 1980 hardback edition. It is without a doubt one of the best books on the subject of the bounty. The illustrations are great.