This is a highly entertaining study of an amusing, fascinating and often frustrating character. I can't wait for Fracassi's next book!

If you liked The Beach...you'll probably like this. Very fast read. Very funny.

I found the book to be a great read. A unique piece of fiction that tends to be a bit dark but very entertaining.

This very handy and useful thesaurus is one of my most valuable aids to the English language. It makes me write with more impact while steadily enhancing my command of words. Its the first step to making words work for you.

This is one of the most handy and user-friendly thesaurus that I've used. It helps make the occasionally irksome word hunts efficient and a delight. This is an excellent first reference point that usually suffices without the need for consulting a more elaborate thesaurus.

Warning: This reference book can be addictive once you discover its vocabulary-enchancing functionality and even its entertainment value.

This is easily the best pocket-sized thesaurus that I have seen, and I own more than a dozen thesauri, large and small. A more comprehensive thesaurus with excellent word lists (e.g. horse breeds, phobias, shades of red etc.) is The Concise Oxford Thesaurus (ISBN: 0198601263). However, for general writing, I think this one has the highest value-to-weight ratio.

Mr. Williams' story is filled with rollicking humor, wit, and wisdom. Vividly written, the reader is drawn into 18th century Charleston, and into the lives of two families, the Dorsets and the Symthes. Each and every character is memorable. You will laugh and cry reading this book. It has a permament place in my personal library. I loved it so much, I rushed out and bought several copies to give to friends and family. Mr. Williams deserves far more credit for his writing genius!

Williams' ambitious novel The True & Authentic History of Jenny Dorset is a refreshing medley of life in Charleston's 18th century, seasoned tastily with charming wit and intriguing characters. A truly enjoyable read, the tale is written with a sincere flare and comes alive to the reader.

More notably is the method in which Williams characterizes each member of the families involved in the story's plot - from the dueling heads, Mr. Dorset and Mr. Smythe, to Old Bob in his amusing stages of senility, and the ostentatious Jenny Dorset herself.

The reader will undoubtedly find the rich story line is highly entertaining, and written in a very lively manner. The tale is penned from the perspective of Henry Hawthorne, the Dorset's discerning and subdued family man servant. Hawthorne patiently abides by the family's somewhat eccentric and unruly lifestyle, and writes about his experiences first-hand, in memoir-like style.

Indeed, this novel is a great story-tellers' delight! The True & Authentic History of Jenny Dorset manifests very engaging humour with every flip of a page - more than once have I been in the throws of violent chuckles over it's whimsical comments and situations. It has quickly grown to be one of my favorites. I highly recommend it.

This book is funny and I loved it.

Euripides is the dramatist of the irrational. His greatest work, The Bacchae, Medea, Hippolytus, depicts a world in which irrational passions are a powerful and destructive force. In contrast to Aeschylus, whose greatest work - The House of Atreus trilogy - describes the harnessing of irrational forces into civic fabric of the polis and rationalistic worship of the Olympian pantheon, Euripides sees the passions as uncontrollable. Some of the gods, such as Dionysius in The Bacchae and Aphrodite in Hippolytus, appear as the personfication of destructive passions. Many of the human figures in Euripides plays appear unable not only to face the force of these passions, but also unable to recognize the danger represented by the passions. Euripides view is dark but powerful and his works are compelling but dispiriting. The Penguin series of his plays includes translations by Phillip Vellacott. Though most of these translations were produced decades ago, they retain their freshness and immediacy. This set of inexpensive books is an excellent way to experience Euripides.

Is Medea's response merely another example of "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned", or are there other factors which make her response unique? Was she "insane" to have killed her children or was it legitimate within the scope of her response? What is so primal, so horrible about a mother killing her children? What role do the gods play in Medea's situation? Is she being punished for her earlier betrayal of her family? Did the Sun God's appearance with Medea at the end of the play indicate that she was vindicated and had divine support in her program of revenge? If the action cannot be satisfactorily explained in terms of the characters of a play in which fate and destiny are present, then the matter is left up to these divine powers. Where does that situate us in our Existential dilemna? The, audience is free to purge its feelings because the gods are controlling the course of the action. How important are the different social values and responses exhibited in the play? Does the play's action turn on cultural differences or more fundamental aspects? Lastly, if it is a "Greek tragedy", is it only Jason's tragedy? Let us not forget his role in all this. It is tragic in that his life ends in despair. What about "bad karma"? Although Jason married a second wife, we saw no indication that he dad any romantic passion for her. It seems to echo his withdrawal of feeling from Medea. The more withdrawn he became, the more passionate was Medea's response. If Jason had exhibited more passion, it might have improved Medea's attitude. His coldness did not justify her actions but made them more understandable. Is it simply greek soap opera or are current soap operas a reflection of passions past and still present. Nothing could justify the actions of Medea but certainly a lot can explain it, or can it?

Vellacott has provided excellent translations and commentaries on four of the plays of Euripedes, including his classic "Medea." They should be required reading of any college student. "Medea" is a study in how unbridled passion can overcome reason and lead to tragedy. This may be particularly pertinent with respect to the ongoing war between Athens and Sparta at the time the play was first presented. Medea, who had helped Jason in his quest, become his wife, and given him two sons, feels betrayed since he is marrying the daughter of the ruler of Corinth. With horrible vengence, she kills the bride and the king and then her two sons. "Hecabe" is a play about the wife of Priam, King of Troy, and the mother of Hector, Paris, Cassandra, and others. At the start of this play, the war between the Greeks and Troy is over and Hecabe is now a slave of Agamemnon. The ghost of Achilles had appeared and demanded a sacrifice over his tomb before the Greeks can set sail for home. They vote to sacrifice Polyxena, Hecabe's young daughter, despite the tears and entreaties of Hecabe. After Polyxena's noble death, Hecabe learns that her last child Polydorus had been murdered by the King of Thrace, Polymestor, to whom Polydorus had been sent for safekeeping. This finally drives Hecabe mad and she seeks vengence for Polydorus's death. Euripedes shows in this play the effects of war and vengence on innocent lives and how cruel men at war can be. "Electra" is another retelling of the vengence story of Electra and Orestes. In this version, they are less heroic and more realistic then the way they are portrayed by Aeschylus and Sophocles. Interestingly, the one true noble and honest character in the play is the peasant husband of Electra, who refuses to tough her because he is beneath her station. Was Euripedes making a social comment about the upper classes of Athens of his time? The final play is "Heracles." In this play, the wife of Heracles, his three young sons, and Heracles' father Amphitryon are in danger of being killed by the usurping king of Thebes, Lycus. Lycus wishes them dead since he had killed Megara's father, King Creon, and taken his throne and Lycus doesn't want the three sons to grow up to avenge the death of their grandfather. Heracles is believed by many to be dead. But, he returns in time to thwart and kill Lycus. Unfortunately, the goddess Hera, who has always had a hatred of Heracles, sends the minor goddess Madness down to drive Heracles temporarily insane. In his fits, he kills his wife and sons. When sanity returns to him, he realizes what he has done and how immoral the gods are. The Greek gods are not an acceptable standard for moral behavior. Man can serve as a standard, and this is exemplified in the play by Theseus, ruler of Athens.

I was prepared to not like "Awakening to Zen" when it was given to me by one of my students. I was happily suprised to find the best book I had ever read on Zen Buddhism. Kapleau-Roshi addressed the concerns of the Western Zen Sangha, while stil maintaining a traditional Zen outlook. On a scale of 1-5, this could only be rated a ten!! Extremely Highly Recommended.

Once again, Kapleau Roshi has out done himself."Three Pillars of Zen" has always been the Zen Bible. "Awakening to Zen"is a perfect companion. Easy to understand, The Roshi writes for everyone, so everyone can be touched by the beauty of a Zen life. Thank you Sir!

Our oral history of the tales of "Cinderella" and "Sleeping Beauty" have certainly changed! This is an excellent source for anyone hoping to find the roots of the fairy tales which we all know and love today. Perrault's prose is surprisingly terse, which may grate with the modern conception of these tales, but he also holds nothing back. Thankfully, Philip and Simborowski include all of his tales, even the dark and disturbing "Donkeyskin," which has been left out of most translations. I have used this book as pleasure reading, but it really shines when I pull it off the shelf for serious essays and presentations. Philip and Simborowski provide helpful anecdotes on Perrault's life and the stories themselves, rounding out a work as complete as Perrault's original.

This is a lovely book with beautiful illustrations of Perrault's classic fairytales. At the end of the book Philip spends at least a page briefly discussing each fairy tale and it's history. If you want more in depth criticism of fairytales, check out his text on Cinderella or works by Zipes or Warner. If you want a beautiful book of fairy tales, this is great.

DETECTIVE STORIES is a wonderful compilation of a few of the best detective stories that have ever been written. Some stories, others elaborate, some puzzling, and some rather comical, this wonderful novel includes mysteries written by legendary detective authors such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, Ellery Queen, Raymond Smullyan, Issac Asimov, Italo Calvino, And Tony Fletcher. The first story, THE SPECKLED BAND, is by Arthur Conan Doyle and features everyone's favorite detective: Sherlock Holmes. It's a little bit of a scary story involving a terrified woman who hears the strange, low whistle is the night air that once killed her sister while she was sleeping. The mystery is deep and dangerous, and chilling. Another personal favorite of mine was THE CROSS OF LORRAINE by Isaac Asimov, which elaborately tells the story of a keen magician who met a woman who disappeared as soon as he took a liking in her. Even he can't find her, and when he tells the story of the vanished lady to guests at a dinner, the plot of the mysterious vanishing thickens. Yet another wonderful mystery is that of FINGERPRINTING A GHOST, by Tony Fletcher. It is a frightening tale that involves the obvious supernatural: taking the fingerprints of a mysterious ghost that appears and reappears in an old house in order to solve a mystery. These are just some of the mysteries available in this great novel selected by my favorite author, Philip Pullman, who also wrote the wonderful HIS DARK MATERIALS trilogy and the thrilling Sally Lockhart mystery trilogy. It even has one very silly and comical story just for fun in case the reader has had too many serious reads. Any detective story fan shouldn't miss out on this thrilling read, perfect just before bed when it is at the peak of its fright.

This book was the scariest book I have ever read. All of the characters are deep, and the plots are very complex and twisted. It is a thuroughly enchanting book, all of the books in it, I should say. All of the stories grab you and don't let go. It's a full time thriller, you can't get away.

If you LOVE Harry Potter, than pick up His Dark Materials. These books are about a twelve year old girl named Lyra Silvertonuge, (my favorite charater) and her adventures with her deamon Pantaliamon, her friends Serafina Pekkala, the queen of her witch clan, Iorek Byrnison, the bear king, the Aletheometer, the truth instrument that Lyra learns to read, and her new friend Will Parry, who becomes more than a friend...
This book is the best after Harry Potter. It is something worth picking up and reading

Meet Lyra and Will, two (what seem like) ordinary children who come from to different universes...
Staring with The Golden Compass, readers with meet Lyra, a half wild, half civilized child. She journeys through her world to find the meaning of a mysterious substance called Dust, and her destiny...
The Sutble Knife readers meet Will Parry, a murderer. He meets Lyra and they become friends. Soon, they get separted...
In The Amber Spyglass, Will and Lyra discover their destiny, and the meaning of Dust...

I liked reading about what the dinosaur did during the day. The story was interesting. I learned a lot of things, and the pictures are really pretty. This was a new dinosaur for me. I liked the section at the end that told about how the fossils were discovered in China. I liked every bit of it.

Loved the way the author drew the reader into the story through the eyes of the Sinosauropteryx, Layah. The story was well developed and action packed.

Whoever called this a "sleeper" is quite right. It's a fast read -- slyly funny and quietly frightening. You'll remember you read it, and that's about the best compliment for a book I can think of. I took one star off because it isn't perfect, but then few books are.

I read this book when it first came out, enjoyed it immensely. I was certain it would be a moderate "hit" in no time. But I tried to track it down a few years later and couldn't find it anywhere. Hope you're luckier than I.

If you read Might magazine, you're familiar with Glasgow Phillips' essays on subjects including the semiotics of tracksuits. Based on the strength of his nonfiction writing, and from some obscure mention of this, his first novel, I sought it out.

Was it ever worth it. Tuscaloosa is a finely crafted, immersive piece of writing. It's a coming of age story, but it's a little twisted, and I couldn't stop reading. I don't have the words to tell you why you ought to read it, but if you care about good writing you ought to read it. It's worth the extra effort.

I was very surprised when I read this book after picking it up at a used bookstore....extremely well written!

This is a great read...don't miss it.