I really expected more from such a title and such an author (group of authors as a matter of fact). The book does not cover the history of all important branches of modern mathematics, and those included are not treated in a complete manner. Their major lacks occur in 20th century mathematics. There's a lot of topics and names missing, for example: algebraic geometry, coding theory, dynamical systems, harmonic analysis, complex analysis, multidimensional complex analysis, hypercomplex analysis, approximation theory,... ; Samuel Eilenberg, Norman Steenrod, Salomon Lefschetz, Elias Stein, Alberto Calderón, Peter Lax, Abraham Besicovitch, Michael Atiyah, Wendell Fleming, Witold Hurewicz...

Eventhough the Bourbaki group has made a great effort to synthesize and standarize a lot of branches of modern mathematics the actual product of their work (the Elements of Mathematics, the Fascicules of Results, etc.) may well become obsolete and forgotten because of their limited perspective. Nevertheless, the book contains some useful data that will prove valuable to those interested in mathematics' history, above all, the first essay on the foundations of mathematics.

Contents: Foundations of Mathematics, Logic, Set Theory; Notation, Combinatorial Analysis; The Evolution of Algebra; Linear Algebra and Multilinear Algebra; Polynomials and Commutative Fields; Divisibility, Ordered Fields; Commutative Algebra, Algebraic Number Theory; Non-Commutative Algebra; Quadratic Forms, Elementary Geometry; Topological Spaces; Uniform Spaces; Real Numbers; Exponentials and Logarithms; n-Dimensional Spaces; Complex Numbers, Measurement of Angles; Metric Spaces; Infinitesimal Calculus; Asymptotic Expansions; The Gamma Function; Function Spaces; Topological Vector Spaces; Integration in Locally Compact Spaces; Haar Measure, Convolution; Integration in Non-Locally Compact Spaces; Lie Groups and Lie Algebras; Groups Generated by Reflections; Root Systems.

Extensive references (not common in Bourbaki writings); nice softbound.

Meyer continues his version of Sherlock Holmes with a tale of Holmes' lost years after the "Moriarty Problem." Holmes becomes a violinist for the Paris Opera and through the intervention of Irene Adler, becomes involved in the strange case of the "opera ghost." There are many problems with this novel. Watson's presence is sorely missed and efforts to replace his role with characters from the opera are unsuccessful. Irene Adler's inclusion is an uneccessary distraction and is used soley to comment on Holmes' sexual repression. The case itself is so familiar to the reader that only the inclusion of Holmes changes the basic story, thus there are no surprises.(who doesn't know the basics of Laroux's Phantom?) This was a very disappointing sequel to Meyer's other Holmes' novels and wasn't owrth the wait.

I liked this book because it combined my two favourite characters: the phantom of the opera (Erik) and Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock stayed the remarkable genius that he is(even though he blundered miserbly sometimes-but,hey,YOU try to do better). But I was really disappointed with the treatment of Erik. Meyer calls him 'the creature' and makes him more insane than even in the original book! Personally, I the most appealling thing about Erik is that he IS a sympathetic character hopelessly in love with Christine Daae. This is why I 'liked' the Canary Trainer, not 'loved' it. (P.S.-Having Gaston Leroux as the music instucter was a creative touch)

But it's not as bad as all that. Nevertheless if you want to read Meyer's Holmes pastiches I'd recommend starting with the other two (_The Seven Per Cent Solution_ and _The West End Horror_). Meyer at his best is splendid.

If you do so, then be sure to ignore the misinformation in the Kirkus Reviews excerpt above. _The West End Horror_ has nothing to do with Jack the Ripper; it concerns a pair of grisly murders that take place in London's theater district. I assume the reviewer is thinking of Edward Hanna's _The Whitechapel Horrors_.

This book collects issues 7 - 10 and 4 of Todd McFarlane's short-lived Crow series. McFarlane bought the rights to the Crow, but the comic was cancelled after issue 10, because nobody really liked it. Jon J Muth does have a writing talent, unfortunately somebody made the mistake of trying to continue Eric Draven's story, rather than beginning anew.

If you decide to buy this book, do so only for the art, and not for the storyline. It's a shame, considering the vast talents McFarlane has at his disposal

From June 1940 through to June 1941, Britain stood alone against an alliance of European countries, led by Germany, that were hell-bent on the destruction of freedom and the subjugation of all non-Germanic peoples. Cull has studied Britain's attempts to gain itself an ally against Nazism, but concludes oddly that these attempts were in some way sinister. He fails to convince. Britain's role against fascism was surely a heroic one, a subject for our admiration, and Britain's desire to obtain American help is surely neither insidious nor surprising.
Cull describes in detail the propaganda methods used by the British. They sent American radio stations recordings of British news broadcasts, and wrote articles in American newspapers seeking support. This rather mundane activity is related as if it is quite spine-chilling. Now, if Cull could prove that the British terrorized America and then framed the Germans I would sit up and take notice, but the fact is the British did nothing of the kind - they were, after all, the champions of the free world and not about to erode the very principles of justice they were fighting to preserve.
One of Cull's main grudges revolves around a "Nazi map of German plans for South America" which, he says, Roosevelt used to convince Americans of German villainy and which, he says, was forged. Having already convinced himself of British villainy, he concludes that this map can only have been foisted on the American people by British spies. Cull seems to have moved mountains to obtain evidence that his theory is correct, but admits to having failed. Undaunted, he concludes that his theory is correct, the map must have been forged by the British secret service, but - here's Catch 22 - they were so crafty that they ensured no-one would ever find any proof. This aside, it still makes no sense to blame Britain for America's entry into the war. Pearl Harbor happened because the Japanese were smarting at American economic sanctions - and America had put sanctions on Japan because Japan was attacking Indo-China. This had little to do with Germany, and nothing at all to do with Britain.