I enjoyed this book very much. I approached the book as an intelligent but poorly informed person who wanted to learn more about England between the time the Romans left and the Normans arrived. Mr Wood delivers in each chapter a lively, informative and accessible snapshot of some aspect of English history, deftly weaving equal parts of fact, drama and what-it-is-like-to-be-a-historian. Although each chapter stands up very well on its own, I can't help but feel that this book needs a companion; something to place his various snapshots into the context of the broader sweep of Saxon history. If you know a little and want to learn more, get this book. But if you want a panorama of Saxon history, you will need to look elsewhere.

Michael Wood has such a tremendous enthusiasm for history and books, it is impossible not to swept along by his joy. If you had not seen his television series, you might picture him as a hunched over academic scrouging through his books. No, he is a very energetic outdoorsy type with a real charm and flair for history.

I read this book after reading his work on the Trojan War and Alexander the Great. Both are fine books, particularly his amazing quest in the footsteps of Alexander. This work is a far better book, more detailed and more personal. He ranges over thousands of years of English history and enjoys bouncing ideas through time and space.

Wood is at his best when his describes the joy of old books and the historical treasure they contain. The pain of libraries being destroyed are very real in Wood's work.

The book is collection of largely unrelated essays are based on the title of H.V Morton's travel books. I enjoyed immensely his item on Morton and the story behind his stories.

The essay on an old english wood is one of the best pieces of historical detective work I have read - all the better in that he does not answer the question he sets out with.

The essays do not jell as a group into a systematic view of English history. They are the work of a highly gifted story teller who enjoys the practice and art of history.

Although academics may dismiss Wood's populist histories both in print and on TV, he has a rare knack of connecting history with the daily life of us common folk and that alone makes him worth reading.

This 1999 work follows up on his other "In Search..." (Dark Ages, Trojan War, Alexander the Great, First Civilizations, Domesday). Essentially the series excavates legends and myths, some famous, some obscure, and relates a story about finding or visiting the site of the original.

In this one, Wood investigates the last wooden bowl turner in England, tracks a millenium old continuously used farmstead, the long argued site of Athelstan's 937 victory, Bede's church at Jarrow...15 in all...and all supplemented with judiciously chosen artwork.

A wonderful winter's night read in the classic sense of a soft chair, warm fire, nice drink, and favorite pet....with the place all to yourself.....this one can take you there.

Has there ever been a more perfect marriage between character and actor? As ever, discussing any of the Morse books is impossible without discussing the actor who portrays him. The two are linked (in my mind, at least) forever. In this title, Morse is his quintessential self and calls to mind Jonathan Thaw. As usual, the mystery is good, Morse's ego is exquisite, and the writing is engaging. Here is one series where watching the videos does not detract from the source material. In fact, knowing John Thaw's Morse serves to heighten enjoyment of reading the books.

The history of the mystery is replete with examples of detectives who tread a fine line between the amusingly eccentric and the downright boorish (Sherlock Holmes being the archetype; Poirot, Nero Wolfe, and others following in his footsteps). Colin Dexter's Inspector Morse fits squarely and delightfully in this tradition. If you've never seen the TV series on PBS and A&E, or better yet read one of the books, you're really missing out on something special.

Morse, whose first name wasn't revealed for years, is an Oxford-educated, beer-drinking, Opera-loving, vintage Jaguar-driving, Crossword puzzle maven and also one of the biggest curmudgeons in all of literature. He does not suffer fools gladly, other than his much put upon but continually bemused partner Lewis. His superiors are forced to tolerate his idiosyncrasies and his bibliousness because he also has a uniquely intuitive mind and a knack for solving the most puzzling crimes. In an interesting symbiosis, John Thaw's television portrayal of Morse bled over into the novels and took some of the harsher edges off of the character and Kevin Whatley's Lewis helped to make the character less of a dolt and more of a naïf in the books too.

In this Gold Dagger winning installment in the series, Morse is on an unwelcome holiday when he gets drawn into the case of a year old disappearance of a Swedish girl who is assumed to have been murdered and ditched in the local woods. The largely moribund investigation is reinvigorated when The Times receives a cryptic letter with tantalizing but ambiguous literary clues to the dead girl's whereabouts. As the story unfolds Morse finds himself in the midst of a murder investigation that includes everything from pornography to ornithology. As always, the book offers both a satisfying mystery and the great pleasure of watching Morse and Lewis interact with one another and with suspects, superiors and the various ladies who inevitably tweak Morse's heartstrings.

After a highly successful run of 13 novels, Dexter killed Morse off earlier this year in The Remorseful Day. On the one hand, it's nice to see an author finish a series while he still has his fastball, but Morse and Lewis will be missed. Try one of the books and keep an eye peeled for the show, both are outstanding.

GRADE: A+

A very well crafted book. Superb plotting as one would expect from this author. This book continues the Morse mystique (he is still able to attract women half his age) but gives Lewis a little more assertiveness. Quite unputdownable.

First of all, I would like to start off by saying that I met Mr. Woods and I find him very knowledgeable about African American history. I purchased the book and I read about a different person everyday. Although, I would consider myself very knowledgeable when discussing African American history. I often find that there is so much that I did not know when reading this book. I view this book as a study aid. What I really like is that on each person he provides references which allows anyone to research the information for themselves. He also divides the book into occupations which is also handy. There is also historical facts at the botton of each page. I think that Mr. Woods did a wonderful job with this piece. Anyone building a library must have this book or who just loves history.

When I first encountered this book "Afromation 366 Days of American History", I embrased it as if it where a new born child. The presence and aura I felt reasured me this book was unlike any other of its kind. I found this book disguarded and immediately secured it in my possession for further viewing. Once alone I discovered my thoughts were immensely true, a diamond in the rough, as I was often told. This book expressed the feelings and aspirations of generations of americans that in some way had been forgotten, ignored,misrepresented but was finaly given a new oppertunity to live.The information and research that took place to create such a masterpiece is of a divine nature and should be shared by all! I am pleased to know that such a book exist and embelish fact that its available for all to endure. Sincerely, David M. Wright

I just recently purchase this book, at a time when I was getting a bit discourage as a stylist. It helped me to realize that there are good days and bad days and to keep my head up! I believe that the book chosed me at that very moment. It is very helpful in terms of preparation for production shoots. Also informative in knowing the different ways each photographer preps and how Mrs. Coddington binds with each photographer's concepts. I have had the pleasure of working with Mrs. Coddington as a model, and I can confirm that she is a down to earth person which makes one feel comfortable when working for her. Thank you for sharing your 30 yrs!

Grace: Thirty years of fashion in Vogue is a delightful collection of some of the most memorable and influential fashion photographs since the nineteen seventies.....all of them touched by the imaginative and chic eye of super stylist and editor Grace Coddington. The range of fashion fantasies is impressive. From the tough erotic chic of helmut newton, whimsical femininity of sarah moon on thru the joyful, innocent sexiness of bruce weber, Miss coddington helps each image become something entertaining and memorable. The printing is terrific , layouts are elegant , plus, perfectly boxed in a delicious and very chic pumpkin. Well worth it's luxe weight....

This book is a fascinating way to help children connect with the natural world while teaching important environmental concepts. It comes with a guide to use the book effectively, and is divided into sections of special topics. Each section contains a Native American story, discussion ideas, interesting questions, and related indoor and outdoor activities. These activities can be accomplished without expensive materials, often in or near the home or school. Oh, by the way, adults will learn from this book also!

I am a homeschooling mom and I bought this book to use with my kindergartener. This is an amazing book that combines social studies and science wonderfully. It contains alot about american indian beliefs and practices, distinguishing between the many tribal groups and traditions instead of lumping them all into one large culture. It uses indian legends as a jumping off point to study the environment, how it affects us and how we affect it.

For more than four decades Stanley Kauffmann has been the film critic for the New Republic. Now after three decades of the reign of Martin Peretz over that journal he is that rarest of creatures, a truly non-ideological critic. He is consistently sensible and sane, and always worthy to be read. For those who think that Roger Ebert is too vulnerable to the slick products of Hollywood, or that the late Pauline Kael was too voluble and dogmatic, Kauffmann is always available as an alternative.

This collection of reviews covers 1993-2000 and is somewhat more selective than his previous books. There is praise of Abbas Kiarostami and much enthusiasm for Emma Thompson. Michelangelo Antonioni is given a final review, there is a touching obituary for Marcello Mastroianni, and another touching, and very brief, one for James Stewart. Neil LaBute and Todd Solondz are praised for their ruthlessly unsentimental approach. Pulp Fiction is treated somewhat warrily. Forrest Gump goes completely unmentioned. Fargo and All About my Mother get very guarded praise. Eyes Wide Shut and The End of the Affair are subjected to special criticism. Among foreign films Kauffmann singles out for praise Ken Loach, Gianni Amelio, Zhang Yimou, Daniel Bergman's film of his father Ingmar's autobiography, and Erick Zonca.

I find myself disagreeing more with Kauffmann in this collection. I myself do not think that Amistad is a better film than Kundun. Kundun may be excellent, it may be overly respectful, but in my view Amistad is little more than competent and worthy. It strikes me as odd that in American Beauty Kauffmann should praise Annette Bening's acting, since the script caricatures her character as a spiteful gargoyle. (Still, Kauffmann has the movie right: "at the finish of the picture, we're left feeling that Ball has had a trial run with them: now he needs to go back and really use them to some enlightening and organically whole purpose.") At one point in his praise of Schindler's List, he notes the scene of a child hiding in a latrine and says it is mememorable in the same way as the famous photograph of a child being marched away from the Warsaw ghetto. I would argue that Spielberg's shot cannot be memorable as the original photo, since it is obviously been too clearly designed to resemble it. Another weakness of the collection is that there are fewer dismissive reviews. His criticism is actually one of his strengths, as one sees in the pans he wrote last year of Moulin Rouge and The Man Who Wasn't There.

Nevertheless, Kauffmann is an intelligent and literate man, and he is properly pessimistic about the future of film, as the students he tought earlier in the last decade are too impatient and spoiled to recognize the virtues of silent movies, or black and white movies or subtitled ones. They often have no sense of history, either of the movies as an art form or of the wider society. Kauffmann, who quotes Shaw and Graham Greene several times to good effect, is depressed but not desponsdent. And so one should look at, among other things, a fine essay on adapting Mozart to the screen, a surprisingly undeferrential review of Touch of Evil, and a review of the European background and soil of Billy Wilder.

This collection of six years' (1993-98) of thoughtful and passionate criticism (movie reviews and film theory, and related book reviews) is a delight, and a wonderful primer - on thinking and writing about movies. An elegant and informative Foreword by Michael Wood provides biographical material on Stanley Kauffmann, a lifelong theater and film critic, film and theater professor, and essayist.

Kauffmann sent his first (unsolicited) film review to The New Republic in 1958, and has been their film critic since then. Kauffmann : "The mere physical act of film-going is part of the kinesis of my life- the getting up and going out and the feeling of coming home, which is a somewhat different homecoming feeling from anything else except the theater...To have my life unpunctuated by the physical act of film going is almost like walking with a limp, out of my natural rhythm."

This terrific collection has been divided into a few sections: "Reviews," "Reviewings," "Comment," and "Books." The reviews are written deceptively simply, one of Kauffmann's many subtle abilities. He draws you into his view of a film and its possibilities (realized or not) with gentleness and assuredness. He is never noisy, flippant, or condescending. When he objects to something (and he does, often) he lays it out clearly - and humanely. It's a pleasure.

Kauffmann can be funny, too, and has an innate sense of what is worth re-telling. Kauffmann's wonderful review of Kevin Brownlow's biography of director David Lean starts off: "David Lean began life as a dunce. His kindergarten teacher told his mother that she was afraid he would never be able to read and write. He managed to disprove that prediction, buy otherwise there was little sparkle." Of course Lean, raised a Quaker in London, discovered movies at age 13, and everything changed.

Kauffmann eagerly promotes his favorites (Emma Thompson is one, he has much respect for Warren Beatty, and pays close attention to smaller, unsung filmmakers) and is painstakingly fair to actors and filmmakers -in consistently thoughtful uses of his pulpit. He begins his review of a small Iranian film, "Through the Olive Trees," by expressing his thanks to the friend who prompted him to first have a look at its director's work, and then he thanks the director himself. Kauffmann is a man who loves the medium, and reveres its potential to provide hope and transformation - along with a lot of fun.

These great pieces are definitely worth reading and rereading.

The title for this review is not a typo, nor is it redundant. Read "The Helix Factor". Internalize the principles.
Ask yourself and your organization the same questions that Michael Wood identifies in his book. Prepare your organization to benefit continuously by continuing to improve your business processes that tie directly to your business objectives.

If there is a missing link to Six Sigma, it is found in this book. This a "must read" for the business executive looking to take his company to the top. For those that feel they are at the top, you had best read this to stay there! And, more importantly, if your company faces seriuos business challeges, you may begin to map your renewal by adhering to the Helix Methodology.

Thank you Michael for a methodology that makes a difference!

Finally, someone has taken common sense and applied it to business process improvement. Michael's methodology is very easy to follow and will allow those that don't want to dedicate their organization to Six Sigma or other complex programs, the ability to make tremendous impacts on the performance of their business. Excellent book, but would also recommend his second edition of the Helix factor, "The Implementation Guide," soon to be out in bookstores. This book takes The Helix Factor to a new level by providing a step-by-step guide to implementing this methodology, complete with all the documents as well as how to facilitate and analyze the information. This it the book most consultants are afraid of publishing, as it will allow one to execute a project on their own, without paying large consulting dollars for tremendous results.

Michael Wood's "The Helix Factor" wonderfully mixes pragmatic advice with empirical evidence. Seldom is a management book so soundly based in reality, and backed up with solid, workable concepts. "The Helix Factor", and accompanying workbook, provide step-by-step realization of business goals by aligning IT implementation strategies to the needs of the business. Michael's visionary, yet approachable, techniques are understandable, educational, and rewarding. A must read.

based on all the other reviews for this book, i was really looking forward to reading this. when i got finished reading this all i could ask myself was "this can't be all there is?" the writer makes things way more complicated then they need to be, and there isn't anything earth shattering included. the basic stuff, he makes sound so complicated that you need to be a rocket scientist to figure out what he's talking about. this book contains information for the intermediate bowler, but he or she better have an iq of 200 to figure it out.save yourself some money, go bowl a few games and actually work on things that you need to fix. you know what they are. it will be a better use of your time and money.

I bought this book two years ago. This book is for more advanced bowlers who can understand the technical aspects of bowling. My average was around 178, and I just couldn't seem to improve. Since studying this book, My average is now 197. I'm bowling the best of my life at over 50. I have now bowled two 700 series and one 296 game. Yea. the last shot was pretty shakey! I still return to this book and reread different areas. It takes some time to understand..but if your looking to learn how to move on the approach, and trying to understand oil patterns. etc. causing different lane conditions, then this is an excellent reference book.

I bought this book at the begining of last season. I had to read it twice to grasp the language. I have been bowling for 15 years and understood the concepts but never heard the terms Larry used. Once you figure out what he is talking about the lanes just seem to open up and the shots and adjustments become second nature. Last season my average jumped from 190 to 207. That was the highest average the house I bowled in has seen in the last 5 years. This house has the most difficult shot in town. My average jumped to 219 in the easy house. I credit this book for my making the local associations allstar team. Only 15 bowlers are selected out of nearly 5,000 sanctioned bowlers each year. While the section on balls is outdated everything else is spot on to improve your game. This book is short and to the point. Read it, Practice it, and take over your league. BE WARNED THIS BOOK IS NOT FOR BEGINERS THOUGH!

The story is a little sad, but it is very interesting. There are a lot of animals in it, and anyone who likes animals would enjoy reading this book. It takes place in a forest and a meadow. The author uses lots of exotic names of animals such as sedgehens and yellow birds. The main enemy is man and He comes into the story a bit too much. The story is very detailed and does have lots of hard words, but it's worth reading. I liked it much better than the Disney movie.

I first read Bambi 30 years ago and was lucky enough to find a 1929 copy that I will hold dear to my heart forever. The author takes you deep into the forest where you become one of the animals. You can feel the cold and smell the fear among them when the two-legged animal called "Man" arrives. It allows readers to immerse themselves in the world, seeing it from an animal's point of view.

It's a great book to share with kids and a valuable learning experience about the ways of nature. At times it is cruel and very true to life. It teaches respect for our elders, and love of family. We stand back and watch Bambi grow stronger until he has a sense of wisdom that only experience can bring. This is truly a book to share with your kids. It is so much more than a Disney cartoon.

The only reason I read Bambi by Felix Salten was because I thought the Disney movie was kind of "cute."

THE BOOK IS SOOOOOOOO MUCH BETTER.

This isn't exactly what you would call a children's book. Salten has written what some would almost call a satire about survival in the woods and the dangers of manpower. This book (along with Salten's other book, Fifteen Rabbits) has been the only book that has moved me to tears. This is a must-read for ANYONE. You won't be able to put it down. But, beware, there are some pretty moving and powerful scenes in this story, so have some kleenexes ready! (In the end, EVERY major character, including Faline, his father, etc., is killed except for Bambi and his two young children.)

P.S.--If you liked this book, be sure to go out and read Salten's other book about forest life, except this time from a rabbit's point of view: Fifteen Rabbits. You'll love it!

I found myself, overall, agreeing with one of the reviewers when he stated specifically that "Walden" is not a book to be read purely for enjoyment, it is not a thrilling read or even a very deep one in general but then one must remember in which time we live and the style used by Thoreau is one of the mid 19th Century which was prone to the type of writing he uses. Anyone who has read other novels of the time or rather written in that period will find similar styles eg James Fenimoore Cooper, Charles Dickens etc. In addition this is not a novel but rather a retelling of experiences of one man in his own adventure as he would put it.

That is not to say that Thoreau does not illuminate or at times give remarkable insights especially when it came to some of the people he met who had fascinating ways of life eg the woodcutter. The book varies from downright mundane and tedious to being very insightful and beautiful. Its amazing how someone can do this as he writes, verging from one extreme to the other. But then it was written from journal notes as he lived his life in the woods over two years experience and during that time a person changes as he adapts to his new way of life. At first its very exciting and new, any new experience is always full of a kind of life shock whether it be painful or joyful, the thinking mind, the mind absorbed in everyday "safe" tasks which define the "normal" life are absent in this new environment which requires new creative energies to survive, after a while this way of life becomes the accepted one and starts to be drained of the vitality it possessed at the beginning as one is fully acclimatised to it and it becomes the norm, after this stage comes the usual safety associated with the walls created to keep life ordinary rather than really being alive. This is hard to do when living in the woods by yourself where you need constant awareness to survive unless its a little too close to civilisation which provides the safety net which Thoreau always had available to him. But still during the period where he was very much alive and aware, life is lived without need for too much unnecessary thought, and this is the place from where insights and great creativity burst forth.

If one wants to know what it is like to be really truly alive in the moment and you are afraid to try it yourself and would rather read about it then try the books "Abstract Wild" by Jack Turner or "Grizzly Years" by Peacock. Am I wrong to criticise Thoreau so much ? Yes and no, eg Yes:see the comments by John Ralston Saul on exactly this aspect of Thoreau's writing, No: look at your own life or mine for example, in each case we do not escape this ordinary life we ourselves create. For the purely lived life expressed in poetry look at the poems by Basho, no clearer or more beautiful expression of life has yet been written. I say written not lived, lived can't be written down in full only a brief glimpse or shadow of it is possible even with Basho.

As regards what is said it often betrays Thoreau's astonishingly well read mind, quotes from the Baghvad Gita or other Hindu texts surprise because in Throeau's day very few people would ever have bothered to read the Indian works, the average American thought his own life and European works to be far superior. Thoreau often quotes Latin, often without reference, and the notes at the end of the book are very helpful. Thoreau's experience becomes the one Americans want to live at least without being in too much danger as he would have been in the true wild still available at that time in the lives of say the trappers or mountain men of the Rockies or any native American. As such it is an in between way of living wild.

So Thoreau's work is definitely worth reading even for only the historical value or the literature it represents. It stands by itself.

If anyone can describe what life is really about it is Thoreau. Even in the 1830's he gave relevant advice that can tie into everything in today's world. Every sitting a new and exciting idea to ponder over. Thoreau reminds us all of the confusing yet wonderful world we live in. Most of all Thoreau in Walden makes a tribute to the indivdual and tells us to follow our dreams, because they are just that ours. The best book I've read by far!

I took only one book (Walden) recently when I packed light for a trip 240 miles down the Haul Road along the Trans Alaska Pipeline to the farthest north truck stop at Coldfoot. We live in Barrow, Alaska and wanted to get away to a simpler life for a bit.
The tundra colors were spectacular and when we finally got to trees they were all gold and red. And there were caribou, dall sheep and musk ox.
Our room at Coldfoot was very basic --two small beds, a chair and small closet ---that was it. No data ports, no TV, radio or phone.
So we read a lot and I felt fortunate to have Thoreau with us.
Even when it rained heavily and we had to shorten our daily hike, Walden Pond was there to recharge me, hopefully help me get out from under in this heavily consumer society.
I love this man's insights, and am sorry he died at the early age of 45. This book is so current today. Please read it and share the ideas.
Oops, now I am communicating about "Walden" over the Internet on a fairly new computer. Well, maybe will have to read the book again. Enjoy friends!!
Earl