Product Description
Presents eighteen accounts of apparitions and hauntings in North and South Carolina.Amazon.com Review
When packing for your next camping trip, be sure to include afew stories to tell around the campfire. Many of the tales inGhosts are retellings of old standbys such as "The Gray Man" or"The Hound of Goshen," and sprinkled among these familiar tales arestories of past and present Carolinian hauntings which will send asatisfying chill down the spine of the ghost story aficionado. Robertsnarrates her stories with a casual Southern voice reminiscent of afront porch social on a warm summer evening. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Bought this for GF and she really enjoyed it.
I knew most of the stories in the book and bought it for my GF b/c she isn't a NC native.She really enjoyed the book and now her mom is after it.

Real Hauntings
There are ghost stories, and then there are Ghost Stories. Some ghost stories are fiction, while others are real. This book deals with those that are real. If you have even one iota of belief in the paranormal, you will be fascinated by this book. I own it along with two other of Nancy Roberts ghost books, namely, "This Haunted Land Where The Ghosts Still Roam" and "Ghosts Of The Old North State". Just to give you an example of the validity of Nancy's books, please allow me to share with you the story of the Brown Mountain Lights. These lights (which I have seen myself) can be viewed by anyone on just about any night, on Brown Mountain, which is nestled near the Pisgah National Park's main highway. The famous mountain is registered as a historical landmark in North Carolina, and at one of the look outs along the Pisgah highway there is a sign, placed there by the State of North Carolina, detailing the story behind the mysterious lights. So folks, these stories are REAL. These are not Nancy Roberts "made up" ghost stories, these are actual accounts of real ghosts. As for what the Brown Mountain Lights look like, let me say that they look like huge balls of fire. They suddenly appear on the mountain in different locales, and move slowly up the mountain, then simply disappear. They have been seen for centuries, and scientists cannot explain what they are. Years ago, Tommy Fayle (I hope I spelled his last name right) put out a song called "The Brown Mountain Lights". So this is no isolated story, this is a Legend. And this is just one of the many horrifying stories you can read about in Nancy Roberts books. The Hound Of Goshen is terrifying, and so are all the stories in her books. Ghost Of The Carolina's is a book you can read to your family or to yourself. It's a great one for Halloween, or anytime you want a good "spooky" story. Be WARNED, Nancy shares her stories in an expert manner. Heck, when it comes to terror, she could give Stephen King a run for the money. So if you're a person who gets terrified easily, you may not want to read this book. If you want to read true accounts of hauntings in the South, I challenge you to purchase this fascinating book.

The best book for an October afternoon!
Nancy Roberts has long been a favourite of mine. This is one of the firstbooks I can remember reading as a child and I was fascinated with the talesof ghosts and spirits roaming the countryside. Of course, growing up lessthan 10 miles from Maybinton and the "Hound of Goshen" site, Iwas incredibly intrigued with that story. Ms. Roberts always brings awonderful viewpoint to her stories and unlike many "ghost"authors, she doesn't stop with the eerie tale, she takes you to the historyof the tale. That aspect is what I think intrigued me most...combininghistory with ghosts. This book is sure to delight young and old alike andthere is no better reading on a cool and blustery Fall day waiting inprickly anticipation of Halloween.Trust me, you'll love it! ... Read more

Product Description

Using an abundance of meticulously organized melodies drawn from the literature of composed music and a wide range of the world’s folk music, Ottman and Rogers provide the most engaging and comprehensive Sight Singing text on the market. Arranging its 21 chapters to study both pitch and rhythm, this book presents melodies and over 1200 exercises that enable readers to develop the skills of reading pitch, reading rhythm, and combining these two essential elements. The Seventh Edition contains 30% more rhythmic exercises and new structured improvisation exercises.  For professionals with a career in music, music education, and composition.

Customer Reviews (13)

Money Maker
While this is an excellent book for sight singing examples.It is probably the worst example I know where the publisher and author are really just interested in maximizing their profits.This book is on its 8th edition.It seems to get revised about every three years.They add a few number examples, switch the text around a little and call it a new edition.This edition is 99% the same as the 7th edition.But know, all the students have to go out and pay for a new book because because there is a "new" edition. I wish some professor would just say - hey we are going to use the 7th or 6th edition.There are plenty of used copies floating around out there.Most the the "song" numbers are identical.unless you have to have this edition, save yourself some money and buy an older edition.

Review of "Music for Sight Singing"
A straightforward approach to learning sight singing and solfege.The book's approach is to instruct the student on the task of each chapter and then pound the student with exercises, which make up the bulk of the book.

Sight Singing
What I asked for, bent rings, old edition so have to use a classmate's book to figure out how the numbers are related.

Great review!!!
Product arrived in a timely manner and in good condition.Would do business with again.A++++

Music for Sight Singers
A great book for learning to sight read music.It also helps to increase your skills if you already have some knowledge in this area. ... Read more

Product Description
If I Could is an adventurous flight of fancy. A young boy wishes what he might do or be, if only he could. Wishing he could fly like a bird or hop like a toad leads our young hero to far-flung fantasies of wishing to be a river, a star, and even a hive of bees. In the end he finds, sometimes it's best to be just who you are.

This book is bilingual with English and Spanish text on the same page. A glossary is provided in the back of the book with keyword help in both languages. ... Read more

Product Description
Robert Mangold is a pre-eminent figure in post-war painting. His large, gently curving paintings are among the most majestically beautiful abstract works of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. In contrast to the sober austerity of his Minimalist peers, with whom he is often associated, Mangold uses unusual, subtle colours and soft, hand-drawn geometries, endowing his large-scale paintings with a unique sensibility and presence.

This is the first major monograph on one of most significant contemporary painters working today and is a timely retrospective on his work, made in close association with the artist himself. Mangold’s work is celebrated in this important book by some of contemporary art’s most prestigious writers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Book Nitty-Gritty Regarding the Hardback Edition
An impressive book from Phaidon. Large format, square hardcover with a sewn binding, bound in nubby cloth with an inset color image. Clear plastic dustjacket.

4.5 pounds. 335 pp with over 150 illustrations, most of them large, almost all of them in color. Texts by four authors, interview, statements by the artist. 12 pp of footnotes, a 26 p Chronology, 6 p Bibliography, list of Mangold works, index.

A comprehensive, beautiful book!

Gorgeous survey of a great artist
This is a wonderful book--easily the best book on Robert Mangold available.Beautiful color images of paintings from across Mangold's career (up to 1999), along with images of Mangold's drawings and preparatory studies, make this worth the price alone.But there's also a fascinating set of essays (by Richard Schiff, Robert Storr and Arthur C. Danto), an entertaining interview between Robert Mangold and his wife, artist Sylvia Plimack Mangold, a comprehensive bibliography and chronology (often including images of gallery catalogues, promotional materials and such) and an interesting set of images of the work of other artists somehow related to Mangold.(Not much on Mangold's prints, alas, but this was evidently written before the appearance of the limited edition catalogue raisonne of the prints.)Mangold is one of the best abstract artists of our time, and this is a book that does him justice.

The book is beautifully designed too: clean, attractive layout inside and a simple cloth cover inlaid with a printed paper reproduction of one of Mangold's paintings, all protected by a mylar jacket.I know a paperback edition is promised for Fall '04, but unless it has updates or new material, the hardback is worth the extra money just for the sumptuous presentation. ... Read more

Product Description
Glamour at Home is an inspirational design primer from Nancy Corzine, a celebrated and respected name in the fields of furnishings, textiles, and interior design. Corzine’s interiors reflect an elegant and sophisticated approach to life that conjures up classic Hollywood style. Her assemblages of mirrored vanities, silk-covered chaise lounges, and gold-leaf black lacquer armoires decorated with chinoiserie in gorgeous light-filled rooms are dazzling. To demonstrate the foundations of her design aesthetic, Corzine presents homes in a variety of settings—urban, rural, and coastal—as case studies. The book is divided into entryways, living and dining rooms, libraries and home offices, bedrooms and bathrooms, kitchens, and exterior areas. Sidebars cover such useful topics as choosing furniture or a textile ensemble that is appropriate for a particular style, how to incorporate mirrors to their best advantage to enliven a space, and artful ways to display treasured objects. These elegant and composed indoor and outdoor rooms are timeless. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Not a designer book.
This was a dissapointment. The rooms and Corzine's style are kind of like Shabby Chic (of the 80's if you remember), with the addition of some designer furniture and a few antiques. Nothing groundbreaking or particularily interesting or unique. Lots of white walls and sectional sofa's, if that's what you're into you will love it. I felt a bit like I did about another book called "Modern Luxury" about Richard Mishaan, both these people seem like wealthy individuals who have bought their way into the industry and call themselves "designers". I wouldn't call them that myself.

How to create glamour in your home
For those who enjoy that kind of glamour associated with Hollywood or chic New York residences, this book offers insight into the design elements that create it.If you like a cosmopolitan, dressy, formal style that is somehow accessible, warm and welcoming, you'll appreciate this book. The author breaks it down room by room offering tips on everything from lamp silhouettes to sofa styles.

What's interesting about Corzine's rooms, that even though they're elegant, she's not afraid to take risks and have some fun with them.While some fit the profile of traditional elegant decor, others have whimsical touches like hanging beds in a boys room.Some of these rooms show how you can successfully combine classic style with a bit of innovative whimsy which keeps the rooms from being cliched or boring.If you love luxurious glamour in home decor that still looks contemporary, this book shows and tells you the secrets behind doing it successfully based on the author's 20 years as an interior designer and designer of furniture and fabric.

Great Glamour idea's for anyone!
I love this book.Nancy Corzine is well know for her very upscale chic, and in the book she shares her secrets and gives lots of great advice. This book will truly help the designer inside of anyone emerge.The breakout segments such as choosing a sofa are so helpful and this sort of advice is often overlooked in other design books.Nancy Corzine is giving her own "design college" in the pages of Glamour at Home.Take this course! Buy this book. ... Read more

Product Description
16 pages of illustrations, 152 b/w photographs in text ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Nancy was from Virginia & taught England how to live large
A wonderful life story about the woman who helped us all know how to live life at the top. What style, what grace, what spunk - I simply adore her & this was the first book that introduced her to the world. I am traveling to England to tour her homes in 2 weeks & re-read this again along with the other books on her life.

Lancaster Light
Nancy Lancaster, daughter of one of the fabled Langhorne sisters of Virginia, is a worthy biographical subject on her own. From the time she married until her death at the great age of 97 in 1994, she lived in splendor, most of which she created herself.

Nancy was born in Abermarle county, VA in 1897 at Mirador, the plantation of her grandfather, Chiswell (Chillie) Langhorne. She was raised there and in Richmond until the sudden death of her parents when she was a teenager.The lovely Nancy lived with aunts (Irene, who was the prototype of the famous Gibson Girl and Nancy, who became Lady Astor and was the first woman to be elected to Parliament).She married Henry Field, of the fabulously wealthy Marshall Field family, but five months later he died suddenly of a minor operation.Subsequently, she remarried Ronald Tree, American born, but raised in England.The Trees, if possible, were even wealthier than the Fields.Nancy's goal was to live at Mirador, but Ronald's ties and ambitions in politics were all in England.She spent the greater part of her life in England and became renowned for her brilliant decorating of her grand country houses and her skill as a charming hostess.

The book is part biography (Becker) interspersed with Nancy's own recollections that are printed in boldface.The first part of the book is excellent in giving a real feel of the very conservative upper class South still recovering from the ravages of the Civil War.Nancy draws vivid word pictures of her family and surroundings.She displays a vibrant wit and sense of humor.From the time of her second marriage forward, the emphasis is on her homes and how she decorated them.

Though I am not a big fan of "tell-all" types of memoirs, "Nancy Lancaster" is downright curious in the way factual information is elided or ignored.She was very close to all her famous aunts, yet never mentions when or how they died except for Lady Astor.She states Lady Astor was the "last" of the sisters, and that is the first the reader knows the other four are deceased.Nancy has an older brother, who is mentioned twice in the entire book.We aren't told if he was a black sheep, disliked by Nancy or ran off to South America.Nancy seems to have a fond relationship with Ronald Tree but for unknown reasons divorces him in 1945 and marries (briefly we suppose, as he never is mentioned again) "Jubie" Lancaster.

All readers will not enjoy the heavy emphasis on how she renovated, decorated, and beautified all her homes and gardens.The book lacks enough pictures to show adequately what she has done.I found the book highly readable, but unless you have an interest in early 20th century English society, stately homes and Virginia, you will be disappointed.
-sweetmolly-Amazon.com Reviewer

First Rate Biography of Nancy Lancaster
Robert Becker has written a fascinating book on the life of NancyLancaster which I have just read in the summer of 2000.It is even moretimely with the new biography of Sister Parrish just out this summer. Becker is an extremely good story teller, with a fine ability to capturethe life and times of his subject.My family is from the same area ofVirginia, and he has the piedmont Virginia people described in the mostbelieveable way, including expressions of the eras covered.The techniqueof incorporating Nancy Lancaster's own account in the body of the book ismost effective.I was worried in reading the introduction that it might beintrusive, but not so.The book made me think of Eleanor Brown of Mcmillanand Company in New York, and Sarah Hunter Kelly - all decorators of thesame generation.Hats off to Robert Becker!!!Nicholas Bragg

Excellent Book! Lovers of history & Decor should read this!
I could not put this book down! This woman, who most of the public probably never heard of, lived a fascinating life. The world WAS a smaller place long ago and far away....

I couldn't put it down!
Robert Becker's richly detailed look at the British and American"upper crust," and his entertaining account of their privateworld and its decline, reminded me of an episode of "MasterpieceTheater" or the book "Brideshead Revisited."While Ithought the renderings of Nancy Lancaster's decorating and garden designsfascinating, I was most absorbed in the life that went on behind closeddoors in the houses, and the people -- Winston Churchill, the Prince ofWales, Lady Astor, David Niven -- who crossed the houses' thresholds. Wonderful photographs also.I was not prepared to like a biography about adecorator and her work, but because of the way Becker wove together thesocial and political history of the time, and descriptions of the housesshe owned and decorated, with the events of this extraordinary woman'slife, I couldn't put it down. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (5)

Nice Book for Improving Your Reading Skills
The book was delivered in very good condition. It's an excellent book for learning more vocabulary and improving your reading skills in general.

Great Reading
The essays placed in this book are very well written (of course).
Since I am using this for an English class, it have been a very
good reference as well as a good read.
Strongly suggest this book.

Some Interesting Essays, Some Surprising Lapses
The good:The book lavishes the mandatory amount of space on the usual topics such as racism and women, but fortunately reaches out to a larger audience.There is good material on science and technology as well as social sciences and public affairs.There's also a good selection of material of various rhetorical styles of writing.And the discussion questions after the essays generally avoid biasing the discussion.Very useable for class.

The so-so:One reviewer refers to the liberal bent of the texts.And it's abundantly clear that some perspectives receive very privileged status in Fields of Reading.So if you're looking for one version of current ivory tower orthodoxy, here it is.In that sense, there is little diversity in this book, really.So many other possible sources for writing and insights, from Fortune and BusinessWeek to Wired and The Wall Street Journal...I wish the authors had thought a little more outside their box.

The bad:Surprisingly unreliable editing.Incredibly, despite having five academics work on this, they still get important facts flat-out wrong.They apparently confused the number of wounded at Pearl Harbor with the number killed: they cite 1177 deaths in an editorial footnote, whereas knowledgeable writers (Prange) cite 2403 dead and 1178 wounded.And page 234 of my edition refers to the "missile" which hit Nagasaki!

I quote from the instructor's edition for the seventh edition; perhaps they bothered with fact-checking for the new edition.How these errors of fact endured this far is a mystery only the editors can answer.But perhaps the hidden text here is that there are only certain things these academics really care about getting right.

Motives for Teaching?
When you contemplate the long list of standard authors, Nobel Laureates, Pulitzer Prize-winners, worthy of emulation by students, what names spring to the forefront of your mind?Adam Gopnick, Vivian Gornick, Zoe Tracy Hardy?If not, you are out of touch with Ms. Magazine, The Village Voice, and The New Republic, those repositories of great literature, from which these and other authors are selected.You may not realize that "nonverbal courtship patterns in women" is on a par with the Declaration of Independence, or that war, racism, government, big business, fast food and most white people are all bad, or that minorities, women, homosexuals, and New York City are all good.You MIGHT, however, question whether this is really an English 101 textbook, as it pretends, or a social tract promulgating the doctrinaire beliefs of the political left.It is interesting reading, but whether or not one agrees with the selected authors, it is emphatically not a student textbook on writing, and it is not a good choice for that purpose compared to other texts available. It is not what itpretends to be.

Phenomenal Reading!
I had to purchase this book for my english course, but after only two weeks of reading and discussion I feel such an empowerment by the selections. I wouldn't be able to choose a favorite author because each one is represented so uniquely by their stories. After my class is over, I look forward to sitting down and reading those that were not assigned and re-reading those icons of society that were picked by my professor. If you want a short introduction to various famous authors then this is definitely a book you will enjoy! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Really Good Book on the Subject
I liked this book very much.I ordered it after purchasing my first greenhouse and used alot of the info.Beware of the seller descriptions and look at thier feedback.The copy I got was not in very good condition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

eloquent stories of Ghosts in Georgia!
Nancy Robert has done it again!Her books always keep you in suspense and glued to the pages.I prefer georgia ghosts,also written by her.But this was a very good book by an exceptional author.I just wish the book was longer...It is worth reading..I suggest her other book first Georgia ghosts,but I WILL read anything written by her,I have even visited several of the places mentioned out of the curiosity from the tales told!Its that compelling....... ... Read more

Product Description
A guide to finding and enjoying historic sites of the original thirteen colonies helps travellers relive events that shaped our nation, and includes information on costs, hours and days of operation, and customs and character of the times. Original. IP. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Satisfying But Could Have Been Better
In an one of a kind historically focused travel guide, Robert and Patricia Foulke provide readers with chapters of worthwhile travel destinations focused on experiencing colonial American history. Each chapter highlights the historic colonial sites for the original thirteen states, plus more, which you can visit today. In addition to towns, buildings, monuments, battlefields, forts, museums, and touristy historical attractions, some well known and some yet to be discovered, you're provided with unique period accommodation recommendations in the area if you're looking to savor the historical experience. Despite being published eleven years ago, the essential travel information and destinations are still very much useful today.

With so many reminisces of our colonial past still surviving today, it is an arduous task to compile every single site into one book and even though most popular tourist sites are mentioned, some significant authentically colonial sites were neglected by the Foulkes.
Such as the case with South Carolina, the state with the most Revolutionary War battle sites, of which not one is listed in the book. Surely Camden, Ninety Six ,and Cowpens should not be missed if visiting South Carolina's colonial history. The same goes for Thomas Jefferson's second home, Poplar forest in Virginia or Historic Brattonsville in SC, a 750 acre impressively restored colonial village and plantation, an exquisite relic of colonial America that should not be overlooked either. Overall "Colonial America, A Traveler's Guide" details ample travel information for enjoying and discovering a rich and proud history during a time that gave birth to the greatest country on Earth.

... Read more

Product Description
Often thought of as the quintessential poet of New England, Robert Frost is one of the most widely read American poets of the 20th century. But in spite of his ties to New England, he was born in San Francisco; he published his first book of poetry in England rather than the United States; he matured as a poet during his years abroad; and upon his return to America, he sometimes taught at the University of Michigan and spent many of his winters in Florida. This reference book provides hundreds of alphabetically arranged entries on Frost's poems and illuminates the complexities of his life and writings. Entries are written by expert contributors and conclude with brief citations of additional sources of information. The volume includes a chronology and closes with a bibliography of major studies. ... Read more

Product Description
Echoes across the Blue Ridge: Stories, Essays, and Poems by writers living in an inspired by the Southern Appalachian Mountains is an anthology consisting of the work of 62 authors, members of North Carolina Writers' Network West. The volume includes stories and poems reflecting the everyday lives of mountain people, their experiences, their outlook on life, and their overall philosophies. The subjects range from the mundane to hilarious comic sketches. The reader will laugh, cry, and feel the heart and soul of these writers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Outstanding collection
Each poem, story, essay, pulls the reader into life in the Blue Ridge mountains, be it the authors life experience of growing up there or the aura of the place itself that inspires writers put the heart of western North Carolina on the page. Who wouldn't want this beautiful book on their coffee table or night stand? Outstanding trip!

Excellent reading
I truly enjoyed reading these well-written stories that took me to the Appalachian mountain and into the heart of the fascinating people who live there.It is well worth your time to sit down a spell with them. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Triumph
As a spinner of ghost lore Nancy Roberts can't be beat.Not the most chilling of Mrs. Roberts works but still well worth the price.Before anyone interested in ghosts takes a trip to South Carolina they should read this book.In fact anyone interested in ghosts should probably check out all of Mrs. Roberts books.I'm hooked.

A collection of Ghost Stories from South Carolina
This book is a collection of ghost stories centered around South Carolina.The tales are only moderately chilling, and not particularly well-told.A good book to read on the plane or on a drive to South Carolina. ... Read more

Product Description

“This book’s broad overview can help an organization choose a set of processes, policies, and techniques that are appropriate for its security maturity, risk tolerance, and development style. This book will help you understand how to incorporate practical security techniques into all phases of the development lifecycle.”

Customer Reviews (1)

A disjointed rehash of earlier material
The Addison-Wesley Software Security Series is generally a great collection, with titles like Software Security: Building Security In (my rating: 5 stars), Rootkits: Subverting the Windows Kernel (my rating: 4 stars), and Exploiting Software: How to Break Code (my rating: 4 stars).I particularly liked the first of those three (SS:BSI), which I reviewed last year.I felt Gary McGraw wrote "a powerful book with deep truths for secure development."Software Security Engineering (SSE), by a collection of authors, pales in comparison to SS:BSI.You can skip SSE and stick with SS:BSI.

I started reading SSE very closely, underlining key concepts and looking for important ideas.About halfway through the book I realized it was mainly a collection of ideas from other sources.Very rarely do I read books that successfully present a dozen approaches to the same problem.What usually happens (as is the case with SSE) is the reader is left reading overlapping material and fragmented points of view.Frequently I found myself wondering "so what am I supposed to do with this?Where do I start?What approach matters?"

It is especially problematic when a book contains articles essentially republished from magazines.Each article author needs to frame the problem to make sense for the short period during which he has the attention of the reader.That works for a stand-alone article, but it doesn't work when all of these previously stand-alone articles are collected in one book.I can accept a book published as a series of independent works, with an editor overseeing the affair.I can't accept a book published as a single work, with magazine articles inserted at various intervals.It's incoherent and confusing.

Still, I found a few ideas interesting.Page 79 (a reprint of a 2004 IEEE article) says "Security is an emergent property of a system, not a feature. This is similar to how 'being dry' is an emergent property of being inside a tent in the rain. The tent keeps people dry only if the poles are stabilized, vertical, able to support the weight of wet fabric, and so on. Likewise, the tent must have waterproof fabric that has no holes and is large enough to protect all the people who want to stay dry. Lastly, all the people who want to be dry must remain under the tent the entire time it is raining. Whereas it is important to have poles and fabric, it is not enough to say, 'The tent has poles and fabric, thus it keeps you dry!'"

Page 73 (a reprint of a 2006 Build Security In article) says "When security requirements are considered at all during the system life cycle, they tend to be general lists of security features such as password protection, firewalls, virus detection tools, and the like. These are, in fact, not security requirements at all but rather implementation mechanisms that are intended to satisfy unstated requirements, such as authenticated access."

Page 59 (another reprint of a 2006 BSI article) says "Software can be designed and developed to be extremely secure, but if it is deployed and operated in an insecure fashion many vulnerabilities can be introduced. For example, a piece of software could provide strong encryption and proper authentication before allowing access to encrypted data, but if an attacker can obtain valid authentication credentials he/she can subvert the software's security. Nothing is 100 percent secure, and the environment must be secured and monitored to thwart attacks."

Pages 39-40 say "In software systems that include acquired or reused (commercial, government off-the-shelf, open-source, shareware, freeware, or legacy) binary components, application defense techniques and tools may be the only cost-effective countermeasures to mitigate vulnerabilities in those components."

Page 35 says "Maliciousness... makes the requirements of software security somewhat different from the requirements of safety and reliability.Failures in a reliability or safety context are expected to be random and unpredictable.Failures in a security context, by contrast, result from human effort (direct, or through malicious code)."

If you want to read a good overall book on software security, read McGraw's SS:BSI. ... Read more

Product Description
Forging documents in an Egyptian government office, a bureaucrat 'authorizes' a police department for a nonexistent city in Upper Egypt in order to siphon off its monthly payroll. But beyond simply embezzling funds, he sets about imagining in detail the fictional city he has created–the wealthy new district with its villas and swimming pools, the restless inhabitants of the poverty-stricken old quarter, and the Nile bridge that links the two. Most of all, he pictures the cruelty and corruption of the city's chief of police. But the longer he spends envisioning this city and its inhabitants, the more the boundaries between the real world and his imagination dissolve. With its overlapping narratives, Over the Bridge is a subtle critique of governmental ineptness, economic and social injustice, and individual moral failings. In Mohamed El-Bisatie's hands, the human drive to create, and to control one's own and others' destinies, is invariably turned on its head, while attempts to do good frequently end up causing harm instead. Like Frankenstein's monster, the bureaucrat's elaborate illusion begins, gradually but relentlessly, to take on a reality and momentum of its own and, by the conclusion of the tale, reveals itself as having contained the seeds of its creator's demise. Intriguing and surprising, Over the Bridge is a compelling allegory about power and its abuse, the thin line between reality and make-believe, and the law of unintended consequences. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

correction
I just wanted to say that I'd been looking for a review of Mohamed al-Bisatie's Over the Bridge, but instead I got reviews for Yahya Haqqi's Umm Hashim's Lamp. There's clearly been a mix-up here, and I hope you will correct it. Thank you.

Worthwhile Introduction to a Pioneer of Modern Arabic Lit
This book was published in 2004. It collected four short stories by Yahya Hakki (1905-90), a writer, critic and magazine editor who helped to contribute in Egypt to the birth of modern Arabic literature, together with Taha Hussein, Mahmoud Teymour, Tewfik al-Hakim and Naguib Mahfouz.

The collection contained four of Hakki's short stories written around the mid-20th century. They included his longest and best-known one, "The Lamp of Umm Hashim" (1944), called by translator Denys Johnson-Davies the first fictional work in Arabic to deal with the psychological problems faced by students returning home from Europe after finishing their education. Another piece, "A Story from Prison" (1955), reflected Hakki's sympathy for peasants, who were described as under-represented in Egyptian writing and Arabic writing in general.

"Mother of the Destitute" (1947) showed similar compassion for the underdog, this time in working-class Cairo. The fourth piece, "Story in the Form of a Petition" -- which was dated 1955 but which Johnson-Davies said he'd first translated in the 1940s -- was a slight comic tale that was called a rare example of humor in Arabic writing.

For this reader, "Story from Prison" and "Lamp" were the most impressive tales. In the former, written in the third person, a prisoner told a mocking cellmate how he'd ended up in jail. A simple peasant, he'd gotten involved with a gypsy woman and expanded his narrow world, but lost everything from his former existence in the process. "As for now, he was a gypsy concerned only with the day he was in: the whole world was before him and it had no boundaries. If he was able to get something from it, he should grab it. He was happy." Much of the story consisted of dialogue and was well told.

In "Lamp," a nephew narrated the experiences of his uncle, who'd been sent abroad for his education and returned greatly changed. The uncle's mother had "imagined 'foreign parts' as being at the end of a tall stairway that ended at a land covered in snow and inhabited by peoples who possessed the wiles and tricks of the djinn." His father had advised him to be scrupulous about his religion and its duties: "If you once become negligent about them you don't know where that will lead you."

Naturally, after arriving in Europe, he fell in love with a Western woman who taught him new ways and had passed through "that crisis which afflicts many of his young compatriots when they are in Europe. He came through it with a new self, one that was stable and confident; if this new self had cast aside religious belief, it had substituted for it a stronger faith in science." After returning to Egypt, he felt that the nation was like "the forest bride touched by the wand of a wicked witch that had sent her to sleep . . . . When will she wake up?" He noted the toll the years had taken on his parents, yet wondered whether he could readjust to the ways of his native country, which he now looked down on.

His dilemma was symbolized eventually by a struggle with his family over the best way to treat his fiancée's eye disease: with lamp oil from a revered mosque or with scientific methods learned in the West. For this reader, at this point the story copped out by having the scientific method fail before the character came to the realization that knowledge must be guided by faith -- a worthy claim, but how would this have worked in real life? Some 20 years later, Tayeb Salih would describe the dilemma of returnees from the West in more detail, and with a grimmer resolution, in Season of Migration to the North.

The collection was certainly worthwhile in that it collected some writing from an important pioneer in modern Arabic fiction. Various other anthologies have contained other good short stories of Hakki's -- "The Brass Four-Poster," for example, which used a bed as the setting for life and death, and "The Divining Stones," in which a fortune-teller's prediction of imminent trouble came true in an ironic way -- and I wondered why the present slim collection didn't include more than just the four tales.

In the edition of this book that I read, there were problems with continuity: "Lamp" appeared on pp. 23 and 46-88, and "Story from Prison" appeared on pp. 45 and 24-43. Once this was figured out, comprehension improved.

A classic
Hakki is a must for those who want to read classical arab literature. I liked his style and the main short story of the book - the Lamp of Umm Hashim - is very good. I strongly recommend it, you won't get bored and you will have the sense of being in the stories yourself. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Wonderful, though more text than I wanted
I was very pleased by the large number of high-quality reproductions. Still, as far as I'm concerned there should have been *more*. The book contains (a rough count) about 280 pages containing text or mostly text, out of about 630 total pages. However, I'm very happy with the book.

Excellent well presented book
The problem with art books is that they go out of print too quickly.This is a beautifully presented book on Rauschenberg that was released with the big retrospective at the Guggenheim in 97/98.Barnes and Noble still hadcopies avaiable as of Sept. 99, so check there -- they were evendiscounted!

This is a very comprehensive overview of Rauschenberg's work
For the fan and the collector, this book is an excellent reference guide that offers extensive illustrations of the works themselves, as well as documentary photos of the artist at work and play.A chronology,exhibition and performance histories are also included. I was also veryinterested in the information regarding Rauschenberg's work processes andcollaborations with other artists. This is a fine addition to any artlibrary.

This book was offered in paperback during a recent exhibition atthe San Francisco MOMA, so if you can find the hard cover you should buyit.

Rauschenberg, the book
The book is beautiful, if very heavy. The fault lies not with the catalog but with the show itself. THERE'S TOO MUCH STUFF and not all of it is worth looking at. The book will prove to be an invaluable companion to the catalog from the National Gallery of Art's 1976 retrospective. But it (and the show) sure could have used some editing. ... Read more

Product Description
Teaching Elementary Mathematics continues to provide teachers with engaging activities that help them make the most of their field experience. This comprehensive field guide is packed with tips on how to plan and implement alternative math assessment in the classroom. It includes strategies for assessing a student s grasp of procedures, concepts, and problem solving. In the School activities focus on collecting information about the school and its resources, and observing and interviewing children and teachers. Help Children Learn activities explore how to work with children through games, technology, and mini-lessons. Teachers will find this to be an excellent resource that they can rely on throughout their teaching career. ... Read more