The Wood Beyond the World
by William Morris

This book will appeal to readers who are interested in the origins of modern fantasy. William Morris is cited by scholars as an influence on 20th century writers who gave birth to the genre, and The Wood Beyond the World is a readily available example of his work (and also considerably shorter than his Well at the World's End).

Simply put, the book is a romance, nay, a fairy tale of 260 pages. The 21st century reader had best be prepared for very light fare. None of the complexities that the modern reader has become accustomed to in fantasy are present, whether of plot, character, or setting.

Morris writes in an archaic form of English that is remniscient of that used by the American Howard Pyle (Story of King Arthur and his Knights, etc.) The language is not particularly hard to read, and while it does not stir the emotions the way, say, the neo-Elizabethan prose of E. R. Eddison does, neither does it seem awkward or detract from the reader's enjoyment of the story.

It is easy to see Morris's influence in the work of a writer like Lord Dunsany, whose King of Elfland's Daughter displays modern twists on some of the themes present in Wood Beyond the World.

Be certain to read this book in the Dover facsimile of the original Kelmscott Press Edition. A lot of the charm of the book is in the book itself: the typeface, the decorative artwork and illustrations.

The book you hold in your hands is the first great fantasy novel ever written: the first of them all; all the others. Dunsany, Eddison, Pratt, Tolkein, Peake, Howard, et al., are successors to this great original.

By fantasy, I mean the tale of quest, adventure or war set in an invented age and worldscape of the author's own imagination. -Lin Carter (Introduction to The Wood Beyond the World)

I like the definition of fantasy that Carter provides there and William Morris is certainly an early practitioner of the genre, but I think you've got to give pride of place to George MacDonald [see Orrin's review of The Princess and the Goblin (1872) (George MacDonald 1824-1902) (Grade: A)]

At any rate, William Morris is one of the more interesting and influential characters of Victorian England. Repelled by the changes that the Industrial Revolution had brought to Britain, he yearned for more pastoral times. By profession a Medievalist, he translated Norse sagas and printed them in beautiful editions. An artist and founder of the Pre-Raphaelite movement, he designed many of the flowery tapestries and wallpapers that we associate with the Victorian drawing room. Politically he was a utopian Socialist. And, as Carter says, as a writer he helped to create the fantasy novel. In all of these pursuits he harkened back to an idealized past, no where more so than in his writing.

The language, style and story of this novel lend it an aura of antiquity, as if it too was merely a translation of some medieval romance. The hero of the story, Golden Walter, flees his home upon realizing that his new bride hates him. Sailing forth on one of his merchant father's ships, his fate becomes intertwined with a mysterious trio: a splendid lady, her evil dwarf servant and a young maiden whom the lady has enslaved. Walter pursues the trio beyond the reaches of his own world to The Golden House, governed by the lady, known only as The Mistress. There he will battle the dwarf, free the maiden, with whom he has fallen in love, and together they will flee the Mistress.

Though Morris may have intended to recall a lost past, he truly does create a unique world of his own. It is a world in which the reader can lose himself for hours and it makes for a wonderful and unusual reading experience.

GRADE: B+

If only novels were made with such artistry and detail today. It is wonderful that Dover reproduced the text with the color and printing type-face that Morris' original book had. If you are familiar with fairy-tale romances, especially those of Celtic origin, the story won't surprise you. It has all the typical trappings: a maiden in danger, a handsome youth, and a great mysterious forest for them to be lost in. And all the expected events happen. But, what IS exciting about the book is the experience of reading something so beautifully presented and being able to allow yourself to savor the beautiful prose. There are parts of the book that sound like the lyrics of a minstrel's song. It was like taking a step back in time. All I needed was a glass of Absinthe and the experience would have been complete. Take time to enjoy this one.

Of course the short stories here are excellent, but it is terrible that the origional Part Four of The Bear has been removed. Anyone who enjoys The Bear owes it to themselves to find a complete copy (it will have five parts) because Part Four is arguably the most important and meaningful portion of the entire story!

The essence of political conservatism is the yearning for the best of the culture and moral clime of the past--the sense that something of value to our souls has been lost in the headlong rush of human social progress. Political liberalism, on the other hand, assumes that bureaucrats and technocrats can improve upon centuries old social structures, cultural inheritances and moral codes. But there is one area where the roles of the two are reversed and that is when it comes to the environment. The American Left has a long standing love affair with nature; from Jefferson to Thoureau, Teddy Roosevelt to Al Gore, there is a pastoral strain to liberal politics, a kind of religious belief in an Edenic past and a nearly Biblical sense that man's attempts to control nature have a corrupting influence.

This sentiment has perhaps never been treated more beautifully in our Literature than in Faulkner's great short novel, The Bear. The story of a succession of hunting seasons is basically a warning from Faulkner that as we destroy the wilderness we threaten the traditions and values of our society. Nature is symbolized by the cagey ancient ursine, Old Ben. Most of the tale is told by Ike McCaslin, who is 10 years old as it begins. Initially he flounders through the woods, but as he surrenders himself to the primordial forces of Nature, he is able to sense the bear's presence. Another year, when he sets aside his gun and compass and other accouterments of civilization, he is finally able to see the bear. Gradually he earns his way into the aristocracy of the wild, until, together with Sam Fathers (part black, part Indian, he represents a kind of noble savage) and Boon Hogganbeck (a sort of elemental force of nature) and a suicidally fearless dog named Lion, he hunts down Old Ben after the bear violates the unwritten code of the woods by attacking a horse. But even as Old Ben succumbs, he will take some of them with him and his parting signals the end of a way of life.

Despite some too obscure interior monologue passages, this is Faulkner's most accessible work. It is the only Faulkner I've ever actually reread and it is so rife with symbolism and ulterior meanings, that you can always find something new in it. And, for whatever reason, it is further evidence that sports writing brings out the best in almost every author (see also "Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu" by John Updike), in fact, it is often anthologized in Greatest Sports Story collections. Regardless of where you find it, or which version you read, it is well worth a shot.

GRADE: B+

I'm re-reading this book and really enjoying the stories (read it as tales in a novel). The book really puts different views to various people's ways of looking at the same stories and family histories. Read this and know why Faulkner is considered one of the best American novelists of all time. His people ring true, and two stories, "The Old People" and "The Bear", are just fantastic.

The strength of the book is the fine quality of the printing, the good color photographs and the enthousiasm of its makers, who obviously love crafting things of wood. This certainly is an attractive coffee table-book which may well inspire those who browse through it into making better use of wood than before.

As an enyclopedia it certainly does not make the grade. Obviously nobody with a botanical background was involved here. On page 20 is a remark about 'apetalous' trees that if ever I decide to award a price for the most-nonsensical-botanical-statement-ever will be a strong contender. The writers failed to pursue a consistent way of writing botanical names. Glancing through the book I note various errors in the history of the use of wood.

In addition the wood pictures, although of the same general size that is cute in "Identifying_Wood" by Aidan Walker (see there), a book derived from this, are pretty smallish on this big page size. I feel uncomfortable about some of the pictures which appear hardly typical of the woods they supposedly represent, and indeed some were replaced in the little book. As "Identifying_Wood" is not a bad book but unsuited for identifying wood, so is this "Encyclopedia_of_Wood" unsuited as a reference.

I don't want to give the impression that it is riddled with errors (I have seen much worse), but it falls well short of the level of, say, "The_International_Book_of_Wood" (1976) let alone of an encyclopedia.

P.S. I do hate the clumsy square shape. Obviously it was not meant to ever come off that coffee table: it decidedly would sit awkward on a shelf among real reference works.

While the book could have been a little more dense it was a good read overall. I would have liked to have seen more focus on North American hardwoods, but that aside the book was very informative. About 150 different woods are described in detail with acompaning pictures. There is also a nice section on fine furniture. This book is an excellent introduction into the world of wood working and would make a fine gift for anyone with even a passing interest in that direction.

This is a truly comprehensive encyclopedia, liberally illustrated with large photographs--a must for any wood lover. It includes precise descriptions of grain, pattern, figure and color, as well as the relevant harvesting locations, processes and uses. Interesting historical tidbits also add to its richness. Attributes such as stiffness, density, workability, crushing strength, and hardness are specified for each wood. It is a remarkable and beautiful book that I STRONGLY recommend.

Just a bit of warning for purchasers of this book! This account almost appears like it was written for a juvenile audience. Indeed, the preface denotes hope that it will serve as an "inspiration to the youth of today". Hence, keep in mind this is not a very scholarly read - although a glossary of artillery terms and diagrams is very helpful. Nice starter text, but this effort by Mr Hassler wasn't quite what I wanted - nor expected.

John pelham is truly a remarkable figure of the American civil War. reading this book allowed me to better understand the sterling character and superb strategical skills of this "Boy major" recommended for anyone who wants to learn more about "The gallant pelham"

Outdated - even for Sculley and Woods - who also authored their own B2B book before this collection. The title is not correct. There is little "evolution" here - this is a great book if you just want to learn about public net market models; and not how they have evolved. To a few of us, these are now "past it" in that they are no longer "where it's at". Defining how to make public models work is reasonably simple and clear; what is missing here, and what most B2B leaders crave is knowledge concerning the real evolution - that from Public to Private and then to distributed P2P business models. That is where the game will be played out.

Good if you need stuff on public, centralizing models. Pretty poor if you want to read up on the evolution of e-markets.

While it appears that the stock market has lost faith with B2B pure-plays, this book highlights the power of new B2B business models. It's clear that there's more to come in B2B... even if Dot-coms don't capture all of the ultimate value.

I particulary enjoyed the section by Tempkin at Forrester Research. It provided a powerful look at how the Internet would ultimately impact businesses. While I'm not totaly convinced that the Internet will completely change how big, established businesses operate, his chapter was extremely thought provoking and should probably be read by any business executive thinking about what eBusiness will mean to them.

This book (which is British) does a good job explaining the basics of drying wood. While it is written for English woodworkers, the tables list common American woods too. I myself have some oak logs to saw up, and I am pleased with their ideas and plan to use many.

"Errata: A Book of Historical Errors" presents twelve scenes from history, each of which has ten things wrong students are asked to pick out. However, this is actually more involved than simply looking for birds flying upside down, because the errata here are more appropriately terms anachronisms. Furthermore, for each errata, there is the historically correct counterpart. So if you look over a scene of faming on the banks fo the Nile in ancient Egypt and see some guy watering crop with a hose, you will also see the sahduf used to raise the waters of the Nile from one level to another through a system of canals. Other scenes represent an Aboriginal kangaroo hunt, Zulu wedding, Sioux Indian powwow, Norman feast, Inuit seal hunt, Aztec festival, Viking funeral, Mogul court celebration, Minoan port, Great Wall of China, and the return of the Inca army to the valley of Cuzco. If students, or teacher, become too frustrated, there is a key in the back of the book. Each illustration by Hemesh Alles has a couple of brief paragraphs of text by A. J. Wood describing the people and place at that time. It is too bad that these pictures are not available as a series of posters, because I doubt any school is going to have a classroom set of this book, and having an entire class of young students go over these pictures to find what is wrong and try to figure out what would be the correct counterpart, would be a fun learning activity. Since kids have done this kid of picture puzzle before, they will have no problem playing along and then discovering they are actually learning something by doing this.

This interesting autobiographical account was written by a West Point graduate of the 1850s. His experiences in the pre-Civil War west are especially informative, as not many first-hand narratives of that era have been published. His assignment after graduation from the military academy was to the New Mexico territory. There, he participated in the short Navajo war, and with vivid descriptions, tells the story well. He was wounded during the conflict and after being sent home for convelescence, tells about the most difficult choice confronting those classmates of his from the southern states in their future direction. Although Averell didn't excel at his later military career, never the less his work with the pen makes for interesting reading.

This book has many things to recommend it. It includes a wealth of material on wood frame house construction, from laying out a hole in the ground for foundations, to framing, to "paint and paper". And it's clear and generally easy to read. It was designed for people in apprenticeship programs and trade schools, so it's oriented toward practical details, not engineering theory, which will make it a good match for most do-it-yourselfers, too.

On the other hand, it clearly is an older book. Attempts have been made to keep it up to date with newer techniques, but a lot of obsolete material remains, and it's not always easy to tell which methods are new and which old. The obsolete material could be a plus, in some cases -- if you're renovating an old house, for example. But I wouldn't place absolute trust in this book as a bible of new house construction.

I am a structural engineer, and reviewed this book primarily in my search for resources to recommend to my residential clients who are involved in do-it-yourself renovation projects.

As the title says, the book is about exchanges, i.e. neutral, many-to-many electronic marketplaces that focus on a particular industry or business area - very much like the stock markets.

It is a basic book about business concepts that does not require prior knowledge of the field. It explains the basics of B2B exchanges in terms of elements, revenue models, and success factors, but it does not provide any details about enabling technologies or about how to actually build an exchange. Instead, the reader is advised to outsource technology development and to form partnerships with technology providers. The authors have some background in Finance and provide references to the financial markets (Nasdaq etc.), which are very interesting and useful. The appendix outlines a number of recent examples of B2B exchanges in detail, such as Chemdex, MetalSite, or the National Transportation Exchange.

I recommend this book to anyone who is looking for an introduction to B2B exchanges as they are currently emerging. Readers with a technical background looking for information on how to stitch together the basic modules to actually build an exchange, however, might find the focus of this book being too limited.

This is an excellent book both for the newbie as well as the seasoned Internaut to the Internet. It explains in detail the latest findings on B2B Exchanges on the Internet and how these exchanges will change the landscape of business commerce now and in the future. A MUST read for any business executive who expects to survive and prosper with the Internet!

This reinforces with examples and details that the future of the Internet is with applications of Business-to-Business and related commerce exchanges.

To say the area of B2B is white hot seems like an understatement. The authors, both involved in creating the fully-electronic Bermuda stock exchange, give a clear overview of this evolving field. This is not a technology book, as B2B is not really about IT (see Knowledge Management as a parallel example). As the authors submit, building successful B2B marketplaces depends on deep vertical knowledge, industry credibility, and growing liquidity. They are fundamentally business applications, not IT apps.

The authors start their book by discussing what B2B exchanges are, and how they differ (e.g., some are the post & browse type; some are actual dynamic auctions, etc.). What struck a chord with me is the idea of dynamic price setting v. static price setting. The former is a real-time manifestation of the free market at work, and a radical departure from the Industrial Age. In addition, both buyers and sellers can benefit in a B2B exchange.

As the authors outline, buyers have increased selection, more convenience, and the opportunity to pay less, while sellers have greater reach and the opportunity to charge more. Other defining areas the authors touch upon include: trading models (e.g., seller or buyer driven); revenue models (e.g., complementary and value-added services along with transaction and/or membership fees); and partnership models (e.g., getting buy-in from the gorillas).

Lastly, the authors end their book with seven secrets of success for B2B exchanges. The secrets revolve around targeting a vertical, maintaining neutrality, value-added services, and transaction integrity and complete price disclosure. All told, this book is written in a no-nonsense, straightforward manner. It provides a good framework in which to evaluate this rapidly growing area. The authors do linger of stock exchange examples (not surprising in light of their experiences), but not in a way that is diminishing to their cogent message or thesis.