Product Description
This volume brings together three early novels by John Hawkes. "The Lime Twig" is set in the underworld of postwar London; "Second Skin" is a tale of suicide and new life on two mythical islands; and "Travesty" is a monologue on fear and eroticism that takes place during a drive at night. ... Read more

Product Description

This volume is comprised of a collection of diplomatic documents covering British reactions to, and policy towards, the collapse of the German Democratic Republic and the unification of Germany in 1989-90.

The peaceful unification of Germany in 1989-90 brought a dramatic end to the Cold War. This volume documents official British reactions to the collapse of East Germany and the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the evolution of British policy during the ‘Two plus Four’ negotiations that provided the international framework for the merger of the two German states. All of the documents fall within the UK’s 30-year rule and have therefore not previously been in the public domain. Most are drawn from the archives of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, but there are also a large number of Prime Ministerial files from the Cabinet Office archives. These are of particular interest for the light they throw on the views of Margaret Thatcher. Taken together, the documents show that despite Mrs Thatcher’s well-known reservations about German unity, the United Kingdom played a vital and constructive role in the negotiations that helped to bring it about.

This volume will be of great interest to students of International History, British Political History, and European Politics and International Relations in general.

Patrick Salmon is Chief Historian at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Keith Hamilton is a Historian at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Senior Editor of Documents on British Policy Overseas.

Stephen Twigge is a Senior Historian at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Customer Reviews (1)

Fantastic
If you suffer from back pain or are just interested in the best, safe exercise for your back and total body, this book is a must read.The author is not a physician.He is a mechanical engineer working with the support of traditional medical professionals.His "engineer's world" perspective is refreshing and original.Nothing like I've read in other similar books ... Read more

Product Description

This volume consists of a book and fully searchable DVD containing a facsimile collection of diplomatic documents covering British reactions to critical developments regarding Berlin, its quadripartite administration, and role in the Cold War during the crises of 1948-49, 1959-61 and 1988-90.

These events were each set within very different international contexts, but four interrelated themes are nevertheless common to each of the three chapters of the volume: the British Government’s insistence, in conjunction with the Americans and the French, on upholding and safeguarding the rights of the four occupying powers in Berlin; British concerns with broader matters of military security in Western Europe as a whole and Germany in particular; the interaction of the four occupying powers with one another; and the questions raised by demographic change, especially population movements from east to west. All of the documents dealing with the events of 1989-90 fall within the UK’s 30-year rule and are therefore not yet in the public domain.

Product Description
The timeless adventure

From young Jim Hawkins’s first encounter with the sinister Blind Pew to the climactic battle with the most memorable villain in literature, Long John Silver, Treasure Island continues to thrill generations of readers.Amazon.com Review
Climb aboard for the swashbuckling adventure of alifetime. Treasure Islandhas enthralled (and caused slightseasickness) for decades. The names Long John Silver and Jim Hawkinsare destined to remain pieces of folklore for as long as children wantto read Robert Louis Stevenson's most famous book. With it's dastardlyplot and motley crew of rogues and villains, it seems unlikely thatchildren will ever say no to this timeless classic. --NaomiGesinger ... Read more

Customer Reviews (395)

A Treat at any Age
If we ask ourselves why this tale is still so popular, the answer is clear: it has all the ingredients of a page-turner - adventure, mystery, exotic setting, suspense, colorful characters... who could resist such a winning combination?
Whether we read the book as children or as adults, we want something that lifts us out of our humdrum lives, something that engages our imagination and our sense of play. Why do children like to play pirate games, watch pirate movies, dress up as pirates on Halloween? Why are treasure hunts of any kind so popular, even with adults?

To a child, Jim Hawkins is the real hero of the story - the boy protagonist whose often spontaneous, sometimes irrational decisions and actions trump the judgment of the adults and usually save the day. His only worthy antagonist is Long John Silver: persuasive, articulate, opportunistic. He is the prototypical politician who changes sides as often as he can benefit from it, knows how to use flattery to his advantage, and in the end escapes practically unscathed.

The other characters are not very nuanced; they are motivated primarily by greed.The doctor is the most circumspect of the lot. The squire talks too much and gets everyone into trouble. Hapless creatures like Gunn acquire great riches, only to lose them all in the end.

An adult reading the story will not experience the visceral fear and loathing that may grip the young reader. We know that we are not likely to meet pirates (unless we cruise off the coast of Somalia), and that we probably won't find a treasure anytime soon. But to a child everything is possible: the monsters under his bed are as real as Jim Hawkins hiding in the apple barrel and overhearing the mutineers' plan. The many unexpected turns and twists of the plot heighten the suspense. The installment technique of the original publication favors breaking off at the peak of excitement and switching gears. Since this is a first-person narrative throughout, the effect is immediate and personal.

Feminists will point out that there are no women of consequence in the story; Jim's mother is only briefly portrayed as playing an active role. This is a coming-of-age story for boys - but that doesn't mean that girls can't relish it, too. ("Moby Dick" doesn't have any women in it and is still considered a great American classic).

Some readers may be turned off by the many nautical terms and the salty lingo of the mutineers. But you don't have to understand every word to know what's going on. Rather than use a bowdlerized version, I would encourage a child to read the original - or, if he is too young, to have it read to him.

This pirate tale deserves 10 stars - great entertainment
In my book club we recently had a discussion about reading books again that we read in our youth, like Treasure Island, 1984, Animal Farm, Great Expectations, The Catcher in the Rye, and Lord of the Flies. Since I never read Treasure Island as an adolescent, I decided to give it a try. It is absolutely delightful!It is a tale worth reading. Robert Louis Stevenson's prose is appropriate for youths or adults and the plot has enough twists and turns to keep the reader on their toes. The story is rich in detail and intrigue. Stevenson is able to develop character with a few details, as does Charles Dickens. Quickly we empathize and identify with the feisty, clever, honest boy Jim Hawkins. The pirates are great. They are such a lousy bag of scum and Stevenson has the ability to make them evil and also individuals, a real skill. We also learn the tale through the eyes of an adolescent boy. This is a wonderful technique used by Salinger in Catcher in the Rye and used by Mark Twain in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.This technique is powerful in that it allows the character as well as the reader to encounter characters and situations with naive eyes and thus must use native intelligence to separate lie from truth, safety from danger. While the boy main character is trying to figure out who to trust, the reader is also. Jim Hawkins is a likable boy and Stevenson has a sense of the physicality and movement and energy of boys. He has Jim engaging in physical activities in which an adolescent would undertake in an emergency that an adult might not. This feature helps explain the popularity over many years of this book for adolescent males. Jim, the son of a terminally ill tavern owner and his wife, is exposed to the pirates when Billy Bones comes to hide out in their remote tavern and inn. Immediately Stevenson lets us know that some adults are not to be trusted and are of low, dangerous character. That is another great aspect of the book since it doesn't sugar coat adulthood but allows Jim to see adults as a mixture of virtue, foolishness, greed, and homicidal intention.The Squire Trelawney and Dr. Livesey are examples of realistically developed adults, sometimes foolish and sometimes heroic. Another fine aspect of the book is that it is about recognizing, understanding, and counter-acting treachery. The character of Long John Silver is wonderful. He would be classified as a psychopath by today's psychological standards but when written, he was very evil and very smart, a deadly combination. Without giving away any of the plot, Jim must outsmart Long John Silver just to survive and thus the tension developed by character and an economical storyline makes the book a real treat. The book deserves to be considered a classic and deserves more than 5 stars since it is an enjoyable classic, the best combination.

Classic story stands the test of time
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson is a classic that truly stands the test of time. Young Jim Hawkins works at his mother's inn until a strange pirate, Billy Bones, takes up residence and hires him to keep watch for the dangerous man with one leg. Violence rocks the community when a blind pirate named Pew delivers the dreaded black spot to Billy, causing him to fall over dead of a heart attack, and the pirates attack the inn hoping to find his treasure. But Jim has already claimed the most important part of Billy's treasure, a mysterious map with directions to Skull Island. Jim boards a shop with a doctor, the squire, and the charismatic Long John Silver who quickly charms all three of them until Jim stumbles upon John's part in a plot to mutiny with several of the other sailors, kill those not with them (including Jim), and claim the treasure for themselves. I'd only seen the movie adaptations of this story, so I was surprised to see at the portrayal of John, who was far more slippery, honorable, and smart that I expected. The story is a sure winner with children who love adventure stories, even in the violence can be a little graphic, but my seven-year-old daughter was unphased by it and couldn't wait each night to hear another couple of chapters. The story is every boy's dream: secret treasure, heroic actions, villains who are overcome, and a safe return home with an amazing story to tell.

Treasure Island
Book was ordered in a super saver shipping.Delivery was a day before estimated delivery date.Book was as described and in very good condition.Thank you!

One of the most fully realized characters you will ever read
I'm 34 and somehow managed not to read Treasure Island all these years. Even at the grand prize of $0 on the Kindle I had to think about it for a second. I need not have done that. I am not a pirate nut, but believe me when I say this book is a must read. The vernacular is spot-on, even a century later. The pace is cut-throat fast and the characters believable, none more so than the rightly famous Long John Silver, or Barbecue, and that is the reason for the book's greatness. Here we have one of the most complex, fully developed characters you can find. One that will still ring true, even today. You WILL be swayed by him, surprised by him and ultimately, without giving anything away, impressed by him. Fifteen men on a dead man's chest, Yo ho ho and bottle of rum! Drink and the devil have done for the rest, Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum! ... Read more

Product Description
The sixteenth Aubrey-Maturin maritime novel. Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin tales are widely hailed as the greatest series of historical novels ever written.At the opening of a voyage filled with disaster and delight, Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin are in pursuit of a privateer sailing under American colours through the Great South Sea. Stephen's objective is to set the revolutionary tinder of South America ablaze to relieve the pressure on the British government which has blundered into war with the young and uncomfortably vigorous United States. The shock and barbarity of hand-to-hand fighting are sharpened by O'Brian's exact sense of period, his eye for landscape and his feel for a ship under sail.Amazon.com Review
In this installment of O'Brian's maritime epic, Captain Aubreyand the crew of the Surprise are pursuing an American privateerthrough the Great South Sea. As is his custom, O'Brian grabs yourattention with the first, beautifully memorable sentence: "A purple ocean,vast under the sky and devoid of all visible life apart from twominute ships racing across its immensity." And he doesn't relinquishit until 260 pages later, by which point Jack Aubrey is delighted atthe mere fact of being alive. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (19)

Gz20090709
Patrick O'Brian continues to impress with his ability. It is unfortunate that he passed away before completing the Aubrey story.

stirring adventure, strong characters, and gentle good humor
One of the best of the series, and its combination of stirring adventure, strong characters, and gentle good humor leaves me a bit ahoo that only one more remains in the series.

Seventeenth in the series:The Commodore (O'Brian, Patrick, Aubrey/Maturin Novels, 17.)

Epic series keeps going strong
From the opening chapter of "The Wine-Dark Sea," the 16th book in Patrick O'Brian's hallowed Master & Commander series, the reader knows that something special is going on.Aubrey and Maturin sail their privateer, the Surprise, into waters made lethal by an erupting volcano that has just emerged from the sea, spewing lava and death.No other writer could so effortlessly blend natural beauty and naval drama (for an enemy American ship is close by).

"WDS" is a rollicking novel, even if it is one of the shorter books in the series.There is plenty of naval action, both as the Surprise matches broadsides with enemy ships as well as fighting through the icebergs of Cape Horn.Maturin is also charged with a daring political mission as he attempts to finance a coup in Peru - an enterprise that sends him fleeing over the Andes and minus a few toes.

And then there are the characters.And what characters!O'Brian seems to work overtime to get almost every beloved minor character shoe-horned into this book, and nobody minds.

This is definitely a book that should be read in its proper order - you will miss too much back story if you dive in right here, although if you do you will surely love the action and gorgeous travel-writing O'Brian brings to bear.

Grab Master & Commander and start sailing!

very impressed
Very impressed with this book. I really enjoyed when they went to Peru. This is my 3rd of his books and really enjoyed this.

Don't Read This Book. . .
. . .without first reading Truelove. Wine Dark Sea is the 16th
book in the Aubrey/Marturin series and as usual, the writing
is as rhythmic and sensual as the sea itself. O'Brian does his
usual great job of spiking the plot with layers of meaning and
twists and turns. He is also at his best in emphasizing the
'novel' part of his historical-novel niche.

If this is your first experience of the series though, you might
find the characters and motivations a bit hard to follow, especially
since so much groundwork was laid in Truelove. Some diehard
fans may be disappointed by transport of so much of the action
from the sea to the mountains.
Still any O'Brian is better than no O'Brian at all and this is one of
the bestbooks in the series.

--Lynn Hoffman, author of New Short Course in Wine,Theand
bang BANG: A Novel ISBN 9781601640005 ... Read more

Product Description


The fascinating story of one of our nation's "Fly Girls". The Women Airforce Service Pilots of WWII flew every P-47 off the factory line in 1944. They flew 60,000,000 miles of operational flights and 77 different types of military aircraft including the B-29 during the years 1934-1944.

Elizabeth "Betty" Wall was one of these 1,074 W.A.S.P.S. who served their country well during the course of the war. She went on to raise a family of 5 during the 50's and 60's (5 kids in 5 years) and became a statistical researcher with the American Cancer Society.

Elizabeth "Betty" Wall flew an F-16 at age 71 and first piloted at B-17 at age 82! And she is still going strong at 83. This is the story of her life that so far spans nearly a century: from the "Roaring Twenties" and the "Great Depression" through WWII, the 60's and 70's to the present day.

Wall is a member of the Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame and received the Immortal Chaplain's Humanitarian Award representing all Women Service Volunteers of WWII. She introduced Mr. Tom Browkow at the celebration dedicating a Veteran's Museum at the Hormel Plant in Austin, Minnesota. She is an energetic octogenarian who finds every day a golden opportunity to enjoy God's gifts.

Immerse yourself in the stories of a remarkable life and learn more about one of the people that we have to thank for the remarkable age we are now living in.Comments

"...It was great to seek you again recently. You are a remarkable person and a Minnesota treasure! Thanks for your service."Tim Pawlenty
Governor of Minnesota

"Elizabeth Strohfus is an incredible person. She has had opportunities to do and see things that many of us only dream about. It is amazing to look at the accomplishments she has achieved over a lifetime and it is an honor to know her. Elizabeth is a star that continues to burn bright and is full of more energy than most teenagers. Who else can say they have flown an F-16 at age 71 and a B-17 at age 82?"Jon Velishek
Historian, Rice County Historical Society, Faribault, Minnesota ... Read more

Product Description
The study of materials is interdisciplinary in nature and requires knowledge of research in many related fields, such as physics, chemistry, engineering and even biomedical science. Scientists and engineers working with materials increasingly need a medium for gathering relevant information from the growing amount of literature available.

The Encyclopedia of Materials: Science and Technology presents around 1,800 articles written by experts in their fields, resulting in a comprehensive coverage of this broad and wide-ranging subject. It is the only encyclopedia available that covers all of materials science and technology, focussing on the following areas:

* Functional Phenomena
* Structural Phenomena
* Fundamental Core Theory
* Structural Materials
* Polymers and Materials Chemistry
* Functional Materials

This title is also available online via ScienceDirect - featuring extensive browsing, searching, and internal cross-referencing between articles in the work, plus dynamic linking to journal articles and abstract databases, making navigation flexible and easy. Please contact your librarian for more information about access to these products within your institution. ... Read more

Product Description
Hired by a hotel magnate to locate a priceless Japanese manuscript, L.A. private eye Elvis Cole encounters the notorious Yakuza, the Japanese mob, and is drawn into a game of sexual obsession, amorality, and evil.

"Stalking the Angel is a righteous California book: intelligent, perceptive, hard, clean." - James Elroy

"Elvis Cole provides more fun for the reader than any L.A. private eye to come along in years." - Joseph Wambaugh ... Read more

Customer Reviews (48)

Elvis Cole #2 (a review of the audiobook)
6 discs.
7 hours.

Synopsis: Elvis Cole and his partner Joe Pike are hired by a Los Angeles businessman to find a missing copy of the "Hagakure", a book that details Bushido, or the way of the Samurai. Along the way, they discover hidden family secrets, connection to the Yakuza (Japan's ultra-violent mafia) and deal with a kidnapping and modern followers of the Bushido.

Written in 1989, "Stalking the Angel" is an early Elvis Cole book. Crais is still doing a bit of casting about to find his rhythm with the characters of Joe Pike, Elvis and even his irascible cat. The plot doesn't flow as well as later books but it still a very nice listen.

It is narrated by Patrick G. Lawlor who does a solid job of catching Cole's wisecracking side but overall does not catch on to Elvis as well as the narrators of his later books do.

Love Elvis but don't care for the standard PI plot
First Line: I was standing on my head in the middle of my office when the door opened and the best looking woman I'd seen in three weeks walked in.

When Bradley Warren and his assistant, Jillian Becker, try to hire Elvis Cole to find a stolen (and priceless) Japanese manuscript, Cole isn't all that eager to accept the case. Warren rubs his fur completely the wrong way. But when Warren's young daughter is kidnapped, the P.I. puts aside his differences and starts tracking down the bad guys.

When I read the first Elvis Cole mystery, The Monkey's Raincoat, I fell head over heels for Elvis and his partner, Joe Pike. Unfortunately, while reading this second book in the series, the bloom was off the rose. The plot, the pacing, the writing are just as good, and I still love Elvis and Joe, but reading Stalking the Angel made me realize something:

The reason why I don't read many mysteries featuring the hard-boiled types of private investigators is because I have a very low tolerance for the plots.

The plots all seem to be the same. Some drop dead gorgeous broad clacks her way into the P.I.'s seedy office, bats her eyelashes, and persuades the manly investigator to do something he really doesn't want to do. There's usually an obnoxious male cretin on hand as a foil for the P.I. and his wisecracks. At least 30% of the characters are pond scum, and the P.I. hero has to have the crap beaten out of him at least once. Preferably twice.

Unfortunately (for me) the plot and the formula went hand in hand in this book. I still love Elvis and Joe, but I think this love affair just has no room for growth. And before any of you die hard fans gang up on me, let me say once more that these books are well-written and the two main characters are fantastic. Even though the story lines aren't my cup of tea and I seriously doubt that I will read any more books in the series...

...if you give me an ELVIS AND JOE 4EVER!!!! bumper sticker, I'll cherish (and use) it with pride.

One of my favorites!
So far, this is one of my favorites because I use to work in downtown L.A. and I live in West L.A. and everytime Elvis make a turn on the street, I know exactly where he is and can't help but laugh because he describes it to vividly, it's almost like I am in the car with him, thinking his thoughts, seeing through his eyes.I love this series!

Good Writing, Derivative Storyline
STALKING THE ANGEL is the second novel in Robert Crais' "Elvis Cole" series, about a private detective in Los Angeles.I though it was a pretty enjoyable read, although a bit too derviative of Robert Parker's Spenser novels.

Elvis Cole is like Spenser in a variety of ways: he's a non-stop comedian, he's a war vet with a code of honor, he has an ultra-tough sidekick (named "Pike" instead of "Hawk"), he has a love-hate relationship with the cops, and his clients are typically rich, privileged, oversexed, and insufferably arrogant.

The plot of STALKING THE ANGEL, which involves a missing Japanese manuscript, reminds me of the first Spenser novel, which also involves a missing manuscript.Elvis Cole also tries to "save" a young girl from her dysfunctional family, which reminds me of Spenser novels like EARLY AUTUMN and CEREMONY.In other words, there is very little here that struck me as fresh and original.

Still, Crais is a highly skilled writer, and STALKING THE ANGEL is a funny and entertaining diversion.If you like Robert Parker's work, this book is definitely worth a try.My understanding is that the Elvis Cole series gets better with time, so I will definitely try some of the later installments in the near future.

I'm Hooked On Cole!
I'm happy to say that I'm hooked on Elvis Cole and Joe Pike.I know I'm late to the party, but hey, better to be late then to not show up at all.I started the series from the beginning with "The Monkey's Raincoat.", and immediately after reading that, I grabbed "Stalking the Angel"The first book was great, and this book, no exception.

Robert Crais has created some of my new favorite characters to date, I love the always witty and wisecracking Elvis "Hound Dog" Cole, and the quiet Joe Pike.

The plots are very intriguing, but for me it's the characters that I enjoy the most.Each time I read them, it's like being with a friend.I don't find that very often in a book.Props to Mr. Crais.

I plan to read the whole series. (12 so far and counting)

As long as Robert Crais keeps them coming, I will keep reading them.

Do yourself a favor and get hooked with me...it feels good!

Happy reading! ... Read more

Product Description
L.A. private eye Elvis Cole is hired by popular television star Jodie Taylor to delve into her past and identify the biological parents who gave her up for adoption thirty-six years before. Cole's assignment is to find out their biological history and report back.

It seems all too clear cut. But when he gets to Louisiana and begins his search, he finds out there's something much darker going on. Other people are also looking for Taylor's parents; and some are ending up dead.

And when Cole realizes that his employer knew more than she was telling, Voodoo River becomes a twisting tale of identity, secrets, and murder. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (50)

Our satisfying introduction to Crais and PI Elvis Cole !!
"Voodoo" is our first exposure to author Robert Crais, and in short, we were pleased and entertained!Fifth in his series featuring Private Eye Elvis Cole, with pard Joe Pike, we can see why the author is enjoying a nice following with his dozen or so novels to date.

In this story, Cole is hired to track the birth parents of an adopted LA-based TV star, Jodi Taylor, supposedly to gain her medical background.That requires travel to Louisiana, where the remainder of the tale takes place; and we readers are introduced to quite a number of interesting backwoods-type characters in the small towns and bayous in Cajun food territory.Cole soon finds that a local PI, Jimmy Ray Rebenack, may have beat him to the punch - but when a number of shady characters take too much interest in Cole's nosing around, violence and mayhem soon reveal that there is much more going on than meets the eye.Meanwhile, the star's Louisiana-based lawyer, Lucy Chenier (apparently an ongoing character in later books), provides Cole key assistance in solving the mysteries, with a burgeoning serious romance with our leading man providing a fun subplot.Pike, a man of few words but ready physical talents, eventually joins Cole to chase the bad guys...

Crais has a very easy-going writing style that makes the pages turn pleasantly and quickly.His plot is not so complicated that it overshadows his characters and their everyday humanity, and his great sense of humor, evidenced through Cole's repartee in virtually every chapter, only adds to the fun.We can see why these stories find favor with his fans, and we look forward to soon acquiring yet another.Recommended for sure!

Cole Finds Love!
Robert Crais did an excellent job with this novel. Cole meets a lady lawyer that takes a shine to him and nicknames him Studly-Do-Right - behind his back to her girlfriends. Only her young son enlightens Cole and he knows he is in like Flint! As the lawyer and Cole comes together to help a well-known actress find out about her parentage; Pike joins the duo to make sure Cole doesn't get himself killed. Without giving away too much of the story, we get to see what life was like in the South. Being a Southerner myself I know that a good bit of the storyline (the cover ups mostly) borders on truth.

Joe Pike
If you are a Joe Pike fan, buy this book.Joe Pike is a lot like Bruce Willis, except as some pokers players do, he never takes off his sunglasses.Mr. Pike rights ever wrong, and his loyalty to his friends is beyond reproach.Don't let the killings and cold-blooded words stop you from reading this book, Joe Pike and Elvis Cole are quite a team, and we all hope in life to have one good friend like them.Someone who always has your back whether they agree with you or not.I would read all the Robert Crais Elvis Cole books starting from the beginning so you can work up to the Joe Pike books he is currently putting out.Give it a try.These are strong men, but most importantly, they are loyal men and "loyalty" is everything.Trust me.

Elvis charms again
I have always enjoyed the sassy but competent Elvis character Crais has created as well as the somber, enegmatic Joe Pike.Easy to read, some good reparte, an interesting story.

Action and affability in the bayous
It's not hard to see why readers like Crais' work -- his novels have an engaging readability about them, and this is no exception. The private detective with the funny name, Elvis Cole, saunters into the assignment of discovering an adopted TV star's birth parents and soon finds himself knee-deep in the swamps of Louisiana battling people smugglers of a very violent nature.
As the action turns darker, Cole makes the transition from a wise-cracking sleuth to a hard-nosed crime fighter as he stands between the innocent or unintentionally guilty and a mass of vicious and greedy gangsters.
The whole effect is of James Lee Burke in a sunny mood, a novel which keeps you turning the pages without sinking you completely into the murkiest depths of the human condition. Pacey, fun and very readable indeed. ... Read more

Product Description
There are few figures in the history of the Church that have had such a wide-ranging effect on the religious life of their age as Robert Bellarmine. Born in Tuscany in 1542, he entered the Society of Jesus at the height of the Counter-Reformation. His first major work, The Controversies, was published in 1586 and became the standard apologetic used in disputes with the Protestants. His revision of the Latin Vulgate Bible that had been commissioned by the Council of Trent became the standard Catholic text for over three hundred years. In 1597 he published his most popular and memorable work, Dottrina cristiana breve. That short catechism was used by Jesuit missionaries in sixty-two languages for over three centuries. Scholar, bishop, and saint, Bellarmine was a true Renaissance figure whose diverse skills shaped the Church of his day.

Perhaps less well known is his contribution to the spiritual tradition of post-Tridentine Catholic spirituality. In this volume, two of his most influential ascetical works have been produced for the first time in modern English translations. The Mind's Ascent to God (1614) is a treatment of the steps involved in ascending to union with God, written in the tradition of Bonaventure and John Climacus. Characterized by Pierre Pourrat as a work of "optimistic piety, overflowing with divine love," it became an almost instant success, with five Italian editions done in the first year of publication. By 1930 some sixty editions in over fourteen different languages had promulgated what is arguably Bellarmine's most beautiful and inspiring spiritual work.

In 1619 he published his last ascetical piece, The Art of Dying Well, which is included here in its entirety. Drawing on the medieval genre of books on death, it blended a traditional approach with elements of new piety of the Renaissance and Counter-Reformation. Together these two works, introduced masterfully by John Donnelly, provide a deep insight into the piety of a great figure. ... Read more

Product Description
Winner of the 2007 Lambda Literary Foundation Book Award (LAMMY) for drama. A collection of over twenty off-off-Broadway plays originally produced at the legendary Greenwich Village coffeehouse during the 1960s, where off-off Broadway theatre was born. In place of a traditional introduction, readers will find memoir-style essays by such pioneers as Edward Albee, Robert Patrick and Phoebe Wray, plus over fifty archival photographs. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

An Essential Book
What a treasure trove: a comprehensive and compulsively readable overview of exactly what went on in the Caffe Cino. It stands apart for its ingenious structure: first a series of personal histories from writers, actors, directors, and others who were there, illustrated with rare and wonderful documentary photographs; and following, a wide-ranging anthology of plays that premiered at the Cino, many previously unavailable. From the postage-stamp stage to the twinkling Christmas lights on the walls, the hissing of Joe's espresso machine - even the Cino's hand-drawn menu is in this book! It's a brilliant portrait of the birthplace of modern American drama.

A Time to Remember
The book richly presents a time of great experimentation in theater. I
was not part of that scene and came later to an appreciation of its
innovation and contribution. It is a great service for those in theater now,
and readers of the book, to see the Caffe Cino through what has been brought
together from primary sources including photos and texts from its plays.
A time to remember but, with the book, a time to re-present and applaud,
as on a current stage.

Ladies and Gentlemen, it's Magic Time!
There are times in the theater when as Joe Cino announced: 'Ladies and Gentlemen, it's Magic Time!'

Sometimes it happens in one night when everything just comes together to create something that never existed before. At the Caffe Cino it didn't happen every night, it happened over years. It happened on a little eight foot by eight foot stage that was illegal to have in a restaurant. It happened when a group of young people began to explore what could be done with theater. For ten years it was 'Magic Time.' To get on stage in New York is all but impossible. To get on stage at the Caffe Cino you needed a play and actors. No script approval, no auditions, no fees. Build your own set, wear your own clothes, pass the hat at the end.

This book is a tribute to the place and the times. The authors managed to track down a surprising number of the playwrights, performers and associated people to talk about their times there. And they've included 22 plays that were first presented there. Sometimes that was the only presentation, sometimes the play and the actors went on to bigger (not better) things.

It's a marvelous book.

the early off-off Broadway theater explosion
This book was an exciting find for me.I was already a fan of many of the playwrights anthologized here, Sam Shepard, Lanford Wilson, Robert Patrick, and I had even known of their early work from other small downtown NY theaters .But I had never heard of the Caffe Cino--perhaps the first theater to be called an off-off Broadway theater--where many of these playwrights first got their start.

RETURN TO THE CAFFE CINO gives a fresh, exciting portrait of the non-commercial NY theater scene in the 1960's.The scene is painted here by a score of short essays by the artists that were a part of the creative fission that flared so brightly there and that still influences so much of today's theater.The eyewitness stories are usually hysterically funny, filled with that sense of freedom that ignited a movement that continues today in small independent theaters.And the editors of the anthology have filled the pages with vintage pictures, including one of a fifteen-year-old Bernadette Peters getting her start at the Caffe Cino!

The plays anthologized here include a shockingly wide range of genres, from commercial to experimental, from musicals to verse plays.I was excited to discover an early play by the writer of DREAMGIRLS, Tom Eyen, and also an play I'd never read of Lansford Wilson's, SEX IS BETWEEN TWO PEOPLE.There are screaminly funny and original voices in these plays, as in Robert Patrick's HAUNTED HOSTS; and some playwrights that I'd never heard of...for instance, Jeff Weiss, who wrote a staggeringly accomplished experimental play called A FUNNY WALK HOME, that in itself is worth the price of this marvelous book. ... Read more

Product Description
For years, people everywhere have been fascinated by the Titanic tragedy. On September 1, 1985,s famous shipwreck--13,000 feet below the sea. "Captures the drama of both the night of the sinking as well . . . as the discovery of the great ship . . . Stunning."--School Library Journal. ALA Best Book for the Reluctant Young Adult Reader; School Library Journal Best Book of the Year; IRA Young Adult Choice. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (26)

Titanic
Do you like old ships? Well, I know the right one for you. It is the Titanic. It is about a ship that hit an ice berg and went down. So go under water with Dr.Robert Ballard and explore the Titanic. Good Luck! This book is recommended for 8 and up.

A Sad, Yet True Look at the TITANIC
Exploring the TITANIC is a very profound read. Robert Ballard (author of this book) is an avid diver, with the dream of finding and exploring the TITANIC. He joined a bunch of French explorers, and traveled far into the deep of the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 400 miles off the coast of Newfoundland where the TITANIC sank in 1912. Ballard used Argo (an advanced water-safe camera) to take pictures of the TITANIC until he found that he could not use Argo anymore because the rough waves were pounding against it. Minute after minute, hour after hour, the Knorr (the submarine Ballard was traveling on) floated in a sea of darkness because the only light they had was the light from Argo. About ten hours went by before Ballard decided to use Angus. Angus was an older camera that Ballard had used in previous explorations. In an hour or two, Ballard had found the TITANIC. Somehow he was not satisfied. He wanted to take clear pictures but did not know how to get them with the technology that he had with him. He pondered this for days. He knew that he was about 13 feet above the TITANIC. Then it came to him that he just needed to go down 13 feet more to get his pictures. Ballard convinced the Captain to go down the 13 feet. When they reached their target, they were able to get their pictures.
Ballard's dream was still not fulfilled because he had not yet explored the TITANIC. About a year later, Ballard and two other divers went underwater to explore the TITANIC. They had traveled down four or five times to complete their mission of exploring the TITANIC. Ballard's dream was fulfilled.
I would recommend this book to any reader that is NOT sensitive. This book told about people on the TITANIC who died. I think the author told us too much about people's lives and made us care about them too much.It was sad when you found out the person died. If they weren't killed, then one of the person's loved ones was killed. For example, Jack Thayer was talked about very much in the beginning. I became fond of him because the author gave so much detail about his life. When Ballard told us that Thayer had survived the crash, he did not stop there. He went on to tell us that Jack's father and his friend did not make it. This made me very emotional. If you would like to learn about Robert Ballard and his exploration of the TITANIC, then by all means, read this book.If the sad parts about the people who died bother you, just skip those pages and you'll still learn a lot about exploring the TITANIC.

If you like reading about the Titanic you will love this book!!
It's a true story about the Titanic and what things Robert Ballard and his team find in the Titanic.

A fabulous read
I first read this book almost 15 years ago, at age 5 : I loved it, and read it uncountable times. Today it is still just as fascinating. Beautifully illustrated and clearly written, it was the first of many Ballard books that I read. I would also recommend the Discovery of the Bismark and The Wreck of the Isis, just as interesting but less well known. A great way to start reading about the great ships of the past.

Read about the Hole thing from the Beginning
Goes behind the Titanic. Why did the Titanic sank, why it was built, how they came up with the name Titanic etc. It has everything you need to know about the Titanic. Even has real actual pictures taken of the Titanic in the water and above. ... Read more

Product Description
The 19th Aubrey and Maturin novel by O'Brien, this story is set in the days succeeding Napoleon's escape from Elba, where Aubrey and Maturin are in the thick of Europe's attempt to prevent the French emperor from regaining his power.Amazon.com Review
In this, actor Robert Hardy's fourth reading from PatrickO'Brian's celebrated historical novels, series heroes Jack Aubrey andStephen Maturin are in very different circumstances from when we firstmeet them. In Masterand Commander, the first of the series, Aubrey is young andfull of himself, and through Hardy's performance we can practicallyhear Aubrey's puffed-out chest. But in The Hundred Days, Aubreyis a commodore, famous throughout the British Empire for his navalexploits, and Hardy reflects the confidence that comes with thoseaccomplishments. Meanwhile, his best friend, surgeon-spy StephenMaturin, is wasting away as the audiocassette opens, in deep mourningfor his recently deceased wife. But soon enough, both are pulled intogreat adventure again--in this case, Napoleon's final campaign--andthe fate of the Empire rests on their ability to stop the fitting outof a new French fleet and to keep a shipment of gold from reaching amercenary army. (Running time: three hours, two cassettes) --LouSchuler ... Read more

Customer Reviews (62)

Beware of Narrator
The item description says that it is read by Robert Hardy.The version I purchased was narrated by Simon Vance, the least desirable of the O'Brian narrators.Seller blames Amazon.

The Aubrey-Maturin series is simply the best fiction ever written
Patrick O'Brian's "The Hundred Days" is the nineteenth book in Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series.The Aubrey-Maturin books are quite simply the best fiction I've ever read.I enjoy them so much that I find it difficult to read any other fiction now.

Although there are twenty (completed) Aubrey-Maturin novels, in a sense they are one long, unending story.O'Brian tells the story of an unlikely pair of friends in early 19th century Britain: a hard-charging Royal Navy captain and an Irish physician and naturalist (and British spy).Both are devoted, for different reasons, to the fight against Napoleonic France.Captain Jack Aubrey and Doctor Stephen Maturin are dedicated friends, and the interplay between this unlikely pair is ranges from deep philosophical discussions to intended and unintended humor.

But what really makes these novels is Patrick O'Brian's writing style.Through his words, he paints wonderful pictures and creates real characters in brilliant narratives; which is good, because Aubrey and many of his exploits are based on real-life adventures during the Napoleonic Wars.

"The Hundred Days" is set during Napoleon's brief return to power in 1815.Aubrey's squadron is involved in the Mediterranean, and much of the book is devoted to efforts - both diplomatic and military - to prevent a Muslim ally of Napoleon from shipping gold to its allies in the Balkans to be used to prevent the Russian and Prussian armies from joining up.This book is a bit lighter on the sea action than many others in the series and doesn't stand out in the series.Still, this is an excellent book, but I recommend that everyone with any interest in historical fiction or the Royal Navy read the entire series in order.

The master of the art of leadership writes a great tale
With Napoleon back in France after escaping from Elba, he needs to stop the arrival of Russian and Austrian troops sent to augmentBritish forces at Waterloo.He needs the help of Muslim mercenaries who work only for gold, gold supplied by a sheik in North Africa.
The team of Adm Aubrey and physician/master spy Dr. Maturin set about to intercept the shipment, both on land and at sea. A delightful example of Patrick O'Brien's mastery of the historical adventure novel.

Disappointing entry in the series
Less than the best Captain Jack book, with a long slow middle section while Maturin is onshore in North Africa trying to cut off Muslim support for an escaped and restored Napoleon.Ends on an upbeat swing, though, as they capture a ship full of gold bound to support Napoleon, and find out that they will get to claim the gold as prize money.

Also disappointing is the way O'Brian handled the death of two supporting characters:Diana, Maturin's wife and a key and colorful character throughout the series, was killed off-stage as it were, with little drama and with surprisingly dispassionate grieving by Maturin and Jack, Maturin's one-time rival for her affections.Bonden, a long-time shipmate of the pair, was killed off in the short and otherwise nearly bloodless battle for the ship of gold, with only a bare sentence or two mention.

Twentieth in the series:Blue at the Mizzen (Aubrey/Maturin Series)

Great reader; poor editing of material.
We made the mistake of buying this ABRIDGED version of The Hundred Days, not noticing the FINE PRINT. The reader was very good, but the material truncated, choppy, and not "up to snuff." If you are a devoted fan of the Aubrey-Maturin stories, hurry up and read, yes, read the book. There's not a moment to lose! ... Read more

Product Description
The main part of the book begins with a study of behavioral development in animals, progresses to the neural and endocrine aspects of behavior, and then to the social behavior of nonhuman primates. The final transition from monkeys to humans, which Hinde made in his own research, leads to an impressive section on the development of social behavior in humans. The last scientific chapter relates to Dr. Hinde's deep concern about aggression and the peculiarly human institution of war. His own commentaries to the book discuss the recurring theme of crossing and recrossing the boundaries among different levels of analysis and the need to study processes. In the final section, his former student Jane Goodall and the late Niko Tinbergen write of their memories of this inspiring man. ... Read more

Product Description
Robert Emmet's life, death, and immediate elevation into the pantheon of Irish nationalist heroes are well known. These essays on Emmet's life and legacy, however, demonstrate a new interdisciplinary approach to studies of the Irish nationalist hero. Reinventing Emmet"" includes essays on commemoration, literature, legal history and aspects of the Emmet legacy not explored elsewhere, such as studies of his influence on American culture, and draws on research from young as well as established scholars. Robert Emmet is an Irish (and Irish-American) nationalist icon. Although Emmet's rebellion of 1803 was an embarrassing failure, his speech from the dock prior to his execution for high treason has captured national and international imagination. The trial, the speech, and the image of Emmet have in many ways superseded his actual achievements, and have been perpetually reproduced across the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. ... Read more

Product Description
The Robert Lowell collection at the Houghton Library comprises some 2,916 items: family and literary correspondence, poetic notebooks, and manuscripts covering a period of more than thirty-five years. This annotated guide to the collection is the product of detailed study of Lowell's work, both published and unpublished, and benefits from the poet's own review of some of the papers. Researchers will appreciate the index to the poems, which offers a key to the various drafts of each work. Of interest to all Lowell scholars and to students of twentieth-century American poetry. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

So many errors!
Wrong addresses given, some monuments listed in completely wrong neighborhoods, and flopped photos (page 71) are among the reasons I can't give this book an "It's OK" rating. It was published in 1994--I thought books were still being fact-checked then, but I guess not. A lousy effort on the part of the publisher (or maybe typical and I hadn't realized it about Abrams before this book)--style over accuracy. Not bad to look through, but if you're seeking accurate information, don't use this book. ... Read more