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At 0310 hours on 7 June 1917, the pre-dawn gloom on the Western Front was shattered by the 'pillars of fire' - the rapid detonation of 19 huge mines, secreted in tunnels under the German lines and containing 450 tonnes of explosives. Admitted by the Germans to be a 'masterstroke', the devastating blasts caused 10,000 soldiers to later be posted simply as 'missing'. Launching a pre-planned attack into the carnage, supported by tanks and a devastating artillery barrage, the British took the strategic objective of Messines Ridge within hours. A rare example of innovation and success in the First World War, this book is a fresh and timely examination of a fascinating campaign. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A gaping hole
A very enjoyable book on an underdone topic.This campaign reminded me of the Crater Campaign in the Civil War.The author gives a great build up to the massive explosion but the aftermath is a bit confusing.

interesting subject!
Great book on a little understood episode in ww1. Rare photos used throughout, including a few interesting before/after shots of the battlefield.

A coherent and well-written piece of military history
While the bloodbath resulting from the Third Battle of Ypres in 1917 is fairly well known among readers interested in the First World War, the Battle of Messines that preceded it in June 1917 is much less well known. Messines was an unusual set-piece attack in the First World War, which quickly achieved its objectives and with modest casualties. The British offensive was preceded by a year-long effort - described as the greatest feat of military engineering in history - to dig numerous mines underneath the German defenses atop Messines ridge. When the attack began on 7 June 1917, nineteen of these mines were detonated nearly simultaneously, resulting in the virtual obliteration of the enemy's frontline positions. Alexander Turner, a serving infantry major in the 1st Battalion Irish Guards, provides an in-depth look at the British attack on Messines Ridge in Osprey's Campaign No. 225. This book is structured differently from most in the Campaign series in that half the volume concerns the preparatory phase prior to the battle yet overall, it accomplishes its objectives quite well. Although the author cites no German sources beyond their official history, he provides enough commentary on their actions to impart reasonable balance into his narrative. It is a coherent and well-written piece of military history.

Messines 1917 begins with a fairly in-depth introduction, that describes the origins of the campaign and the creation of the Ypres salient in western Belgium. He also provides the standard section on opposing commanders and opposing plans. In essence, the British expected to seize the vital Messines Ridge in a coup de main assault, facilitated by underground mine detonations, in order to prepare the way for the larger breakout from the Ypres salient. Today, this would probably be described as a shaping operation, designed to seize jump-off positions for the main offensive.The author spends considerable space describing the evolution of underground warfare in the salient and the remarkable success that Allied engineering companies had in constructing a large number of tunnels underneath the German positions. This was one of the rare cases in the First World War where the Allies really caught the Germans by surprise and the Germans failed to react in time. Much of this part of the volume is quite interesting reading, but some of it might better belong in an Osprey elite volume on WW1 tunneling tactics.

The battle per se does not begin until half way through the volume and the bulk of it focuses on the actions on 7 June. The mine attack, combined with a well-planned artillery preparation, succeeded in demolishing the frontline German defenses and the British and ANZAC troops were able to seize most of their objectives with relative ease. Less space is devoted to the sluggish German reaction and the breakdown in British C2 with threatened the final exploitation phase of the attack (including shelling their own troops) . The author does conclude that British Field Marshal Haig misinterpreted the lessons of Messines Ridge and used them poorly in the Third Ypres offensive. It's hard not to regard Messines as something of a tactical aberration, with an unusual mining effort, combined with an unusually lax German commander to produce an unusual tactical success.

The volume includes six 2-D maps (The Western Front in June 1917; the Ypres salient; Messines mines schematic; Messines operational objectives; II ANZAC Operations, 8-11 June; final positions at Messines and Third Ypres in Comparison) and two 3-D BEV maps (the battle, 0310 to 0900 hours on 7 June 1917; the battle 0900 to 1900 hours on 7 June). Overall, the maps are quite nice and enable the reader to follow most actions quite carefully. The three battle scenes (the war underground; Pillars of Fire - the advance at Petit Bois; pillbox fighting) by Peter Dennis are superb, as usual, and help to convey the unique `feel' of this battle. The author also provides a 3-page chronology and a 3-page order of battle, as well as brief notes on the battlefield today.
... Read more

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Also available in ACKROYD’S BRIEF LIVES
Chaucer

In this second volume in the Ackroyd’s Brief Lives series, bestselling author Peter Ackroyd brings us a man of humble beginnings, crude manners, and prodigious talents, the nineteenth-century painter J. M. W. Turner.

Joseph Mallord William Turner was born in London in 1775. His father was a barber, and his mother came from a family of London butchers. “His speech was recognizably that of a Cockney, and his language was the language of the streets.” As his finest paintings show, his language was also the language of light. Turner’s landscapes—extraordinary studies in light, colour, and texture—caused an uproar during his lifetime and earned him a place as one of the greatest artists in history.

Displaying his artistic abilities as a young child, Turner entered the Royal Academy of Arts when he was just fourteen years old. A year later his paintings appeared in an important public exhibition, and he rapidly achieved prominence, becoming a Royal Academician in 1802 and Professor of Perspective at the Academy from 1807–1837. His private life, however, was less orderly. Never married, he spent much time living in taverns, where he was well known for his truculence and his stinginess with money.

Peter Ackroyd deftly follows Turner’s first loves of architecture, engraving, and watercolours, and the country houses, cathedrals, and landscapes of England. While his passion for Italy led him to oil painting, Turner’s love for London remained central to his heart and soul, and it was within sight of his beloved Thames that he died in 1851. His dying words were: “The sun is God.”

Customer Reviews (2)

Too Brief
Peter Ackroyd's BRIEF LIVES:J M W TURNER has only one fault - it is too brief.
I enjoyed reading it very much and came to the end of the book far too quickly. Ackroyd provides a glimpse into the private life of Turner: his habits and faults - like his reputation for thrift and his lack of patience for anything but work and his dearest friends.
The illustrations are very good and revealing. The illustrated profile of Turner by John Ruskin is excellent and reveals as much as any words can.
Yes, this book is a good buy and a good read for the Turner aficionados like myself.

Words About Visuals: A Biography
Peter Ackroyd is a fine writer and continues his Brief Lives Series with this insightful biography of one of England's greatest painters, J.M.W. Turner. But readers beware - this is a book about the artist's life and is not a book to examine the artist's works. But there are plentiful other resources for viewing the magnificent paintings of light that Turner created.

Ackroyd adroitly explores Turner's humble background, elaborating on how this most elegant gentleman of the canvas began as a Cockney lad with little formal education. When he was 14 he entered the Royal Academy and within a year's time he was exhibiting his work! Turner was a man of nature and his misty seascapes and landscapes of England have won him permanent status in the pantheon of great painters. He was fascinated by light and the effect that light has through mists and clouds, storms and tree filtered glades. He had a particular affinity for architecture and his early works are primarily in watercolor and etchings. His experience with oil painting opened with his introduction to Italy.

Ackroyd, with a zest for truthful telling, emphasizes that Turner's private life was spent in the taverns, fathering illegitimate children and maintaining a mistress. Apparently a miser, he was not the rarefied 'gentleman' his paintings would suggest.

This is a fine little biography, filled with the facts about the personal life of Turner and a bit lacking on his artistic influences, but as an adjunct to other volumes on his work, books that neglect to look at the man holding the brush, this succinct 'life' affords important insights. Grady Harp, July 06 ... Read more

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This indispensable guide to Java, an island of astonishing beauty, leads you through a rich blend of cultures and religions, where Hindu-Buddhist empires reached their zenith before Islam made its mark.

• 62 maps including a full colour islands map
• where to stay, what to eat, what to see in ancient cites, modern beach resorts and isolated hill towns
• full details of trekking in some ofIndonesia's best national parks
• 16 page colour section on the architectural wonders of Borobudur and Prambanan and other religious sites

Customer Reviews (3)

Excellent!!!
This is a very well-written book, containing both exhaustive background and practical travel information on Java! It is MUCH better than the Java section of Lonely Planet's general Indonesia guide - lots of "off the beaten track" places included. Despite being a few years old now, it remains highly recommended - you just have to be prepared for the prices being higher!

Excellent resource for travelling
This is one of the better travel books I've ever used.It provides information about food, lodging, and activites that are helpful whether you're travelling on an unlimited or, like me, a shoestring budget.Themaps are helpful; very detailed and usually only showing the parts ofcities that are interesting to tourists.There are excellent andinsightful cultural essays that really add to the traveller's enjoyment.

Take this book if you're off to Java.It's a wonderful wonderful place,so don't miss it if you've ever considered going East!

If you have only the place for one book, take this one
This is the book, that you have to take with you. Its not the first time I took Lonley planet books with me. Its saved me a lot of money with very good b&b recommendations. The money you spend for the book youprobablly earn the first night you take the advice about the hotels. ... Read more

Product Description
How does your work stand up in the freshly competitive environment of the Flash MX marketplace? How can you streamline your ideas to give them greater usability? Where can you take your ideas next? Macromedia Flash MX Studio takes your raw Flash talent and multiplies its potency by focusing it on real-world web design situations. In the heady days of the late 1990s, designers were trying their hand at anything and everything they could lay their hands on. Now the marketplace is seriously focused, and serious Flash designers have to know exactly what they're doing and why. These days it's all about functionality over experimentation, justification over style. It's all about Maturity. The design must fit the job spec, and this book shows the reader how to fulfill these requirements and more.

This book examines all the avenues open to professional or aspiring professional Flash MX designers. It takes a look at advanced uses of the new MX features, such as components and the Drawing API, and gives guidance on building whole new structures for animation, Dynamic Content, PHP, ColdFusion MX, XML, video, audio and audiovisual formats. Never before has so much power been so accessible to the web designer. This book is designed to put that power in your hands. Book information is based around a single hands-on project for readers to build and construct an effective Flash web site from scratch for a major commercial client. A CD-ROM is included.

From the Publisher: Macromedia Flash MX Studio has been broken into four sections to address the most common needs for the Flash designer. First off, Jamie McDonald provides five chapters on site presentation and the principles of web design. These opening chapters take a look at how to create slick, professional-level sites, involving Flash MX's new drawing and motion capabilities and interactive techniques. The second section concentrates on ActionScript. Flash's resident coding environment is crucial to master, and taps into Flash's great strength intuitive and interactive applications. Keith Peters and Todd Yard have buddied up on this section, and examine some of the most advanced ActionScript techniques around. Be warned this section is not for the faint-hearted! Section three takes a look at Flash MX's greatly improved visual, audio and audiovisual capabilities. Its three chapters, written by Jez Turner and Alex White, concentrate on building a single site aimed at displaying rich media content. The final section is devoted to expounding a few myths about dynamic content using Flash. Its four chapters talk about general practice, before focusing in on specific areas, including introductions to PHP and XML, together with a look at Macromedia's brand new ColdFusion MX. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

ED's people slipped on this one
I have used the Friends of Ed books in the past and found them to be excellent tutorials. The Foundation Flash book and the Flash MX ActionScript aare well-rounded, and cover the ground they set out to do, albeit wwith errors here and there.

I bought the Friends of Ed Macromedia Flash MX Studio, expecting similar coverage reflecting advanced concepts for design. Much to my regret, I found this to be a book on ActionScript.The examples are essentially trivial tricks done with ActionScript, with descriptions that suit some aspects of game design.

To contrast, the Flash MX ActionScript book published by FOE focuses on many of the concepts used to build Flash applications... and is a book that would be useful to designers who wish to use Actionscript when developing a Flash Project.

Macromedia Flash MX Studio was a waste of time and money.

Quality of ED and stunning methods of MX !
I own previously owned 7 friends of ed books, and i'm used to their style of writing so i had high expectations.

This new release gets you right into to bussiness this time, no usability lecture or do's and dont's. It handles all the new features in MX illustrated with in depth excercises or complicated case studies.

If you are a solid flash 5 user, it gets you up to date !
(But DON'T BUY this book if you want to GETSTARTED WITH MX)

This is the first release so there are still mistakes in some scripts, but that's a plus, IT MAKES YOU THINK why it doesn't work !

It's the best advanced MX book to upgrade to MX ! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

coffee table book
This is an excellent coffee table book full of pictures, pictures and oh yeah...more pictures.That's just fine I suppose-but one reviewer made the comment that it's a "musical journey"thus prompting me to buy the book.However, I didn't find it to be that exactly.Its a cheap, thin paperback photo album with small text paragraphs.For it to be "a musical journey", I would want it to have more text and more insight.To me that makes itmore personal.I can watch Rattle and Hum on video and get a bigger buzz than thumbing through this coffee table book.Buyer beware.Buy the DVD of Rattle and Hum instead if you actually want to take a musical journey.

"It's a musical journey..."
"U2 : Rattle and Hum : The Official Book of the U2 Movie : A Journey into the Heartland of Two Americas" is something that every U2 collector should have on the shelf and a book that U2 fans and music aficionados in general will enjoy.The book chronicles the making of "Rattle and Hum" from the whys of making the film to the live finale at Sun Devil Stadium.

The book takes you behind the scenes of shooting the film, telling of the challenges of making a film unlike any other previous release.It also introduces you to the principle players, both in front of and behind the camera.It discusses the band's influences and gives the stories behind various scenes.

For people who could care less about the making of "Rattle and Hum" and just want to ogle the band, this book will give you plenty to drool over.There are quite a few photos from the shoots with Anton Corbijn, as well as live shots of U2, some which have been distributed widely on the internet, some which you will see for the first time in the book.All of the photos are very beautiful and make this book a great candidate for the coffee table (which is where one of my two copies is)...It's a musical journey."Indeed! ... Read more

Product Description
This study explores the regulation of occupational health in the British asbestos industry from the recognition in the late 1890s that asbestos dust might pose a health hazard until the establishment of the 1969 Asbestos regulations. Whereas almost all of those who have written on this subject have attacked the entire asbestos industry and all its works, The Way from Dusty Death takes a more balanced view. It accepts the history of asbestos and health as in many ways a human tragedy, but it rejects simplistic, universalised arguments that this has been a tragedy with a cast only of villains, dupes and victims. The historical account includes the emergence of medical, and then official, concern about the three diseases related to asbestos (asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma) the legislative process during and after the 1930s and the impact of the 1931 Asbestos Industry Regulations.The book brings together much previously unexamined material - including copious government records, combined with unimpeded access to the vast archive of documents kept by the leading British asbestos manufacturer, Turner and Newall - to present a unique analysis of occupational health and its regulation in the 20th Century. ... Read more

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This book charts the relationship between Turner's often innovative techniques and the surfaces he worked on. It is no accident that a generation of great watercolourists coincided with a time of significant change and experimentation in the industries providing them with their raw materials. ... Read more

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This compact guide offers a wide range of restaurants, accommodation options to suit all budgets, suggestions for excursions to Malaysia and Indonesia, and a full-color map section. Leisure and business travelers alike will find their visit to Singapore enriched by using this guide. Color illustrations. ... Read more

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16 Maps ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Good but Dated
This was a good guide to the Indonesian capital, but it is now dated, and unfortunately Lonely Planet say they don't even have plans to publish an updated new edition any more.
I guess that reflects the fact that Jakarta is hardly a popular tourist-destination... ... Read more

Product Description
This travel guide is designed for those on varying budgets and covers Brunei, Myanmar (Burma), Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.Amazon.com Review
From Antarctica to Zimbabwe, if you're going there,chances are LonelyPlanet has been therefirst. With a pithy and matter-of-fact writing style, these guides areguaranteed to calm the nerves of first-time world travelers, while still listing off-the-beaten-pathfinds sure to thrill even the most jaded globetrotters. Lonely Planet has been perfecting its guidebooks fornearly 30 years and asa result, has the experience and know-how similar to an older sibling's"been there" advice. Theoriginal backpacker's bible, the LP series has recently widened its reach. While still giving insights for the low-budget traveler, the books now list a wide range ofaccommodations and itineraries for those with less time than money.

This totally revised edition is the progeny of the first Lonely Planetguide, produced in LP founder Tony Wheeler's kitchen more than 25years ago.True to its origins, South-East Asia on aShoestring will help you travel from Myanmar to Sarawak on thetightest of budgets. This is the word on independent travel to theregion, with more than 160 maps, border-crossing and visa information,public transportation tips, a thorough language section and glossary,plus itineraries for short trips or years-long journeys. --KathrynTrue ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Lonely Planet-Southeast Asia
This book is an adequate guide but it needs improvement in several areas.I used this book during Janurary and February of 2000 when I traveled through Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar and Laos. Last year I used theLonley Planet-India and found it was much better than Southeast Asia. Hereare the weaknesses.1.The numbers of the locations on the maps should beused in the text describing the location.This would grealy improve youability to plan your day or route. 2.Maps should be improved.I would bewilling to spend a few dollars more for better maps. 3.Hotel, restaurant,etc. names are not printed in bold type.This makes it more difficult touse.4.It would be very helpful to grade the sites with a priority toreduce the time one spends reading fine print and get on with seeing thecountry. When I return to this part of the world next winter I will tryto find additional books to correct these weaknesses.

Worst travel guide I ever used!
We recently traveled through Malaysia, Thailand and Cambodia and found this guidebook practically useless and certainly frustrating--definitely not worth its weight.We have used other LPs in the past and found them tobe at least adequate but this one doesn't even rate that well.It lackedmany important details--such as the time/distances between many points,availability of various transportation options and routes, decent maps--thelist goes on and on.Even though prices change often and currenciesfluctuate, even a vague idea of prices (is it $10 or $100??) would havebeen quite useful to help us plan better. Although we ran into many peopleall 'armed' with the LP, they all had the same complaints.

Good and Bad, but worth its weight
I travelled through Thailand, Philippines and Hong Kong using this book.I initially bought this book with weight in mind.I did not want to carry three more LPsalong with the other country books (LP Taiwan, Japan). Although much of the information needed to survive was written in the book,it certainly did lack the detailed maps and background information neededto have a care-free journey.SOmetime it certainly was a struggle ,especially in Thailand.The Thailand Section prices were extremelyoutdated.Even in the height on the "asian economic flu", I hadto triple the prices listed.The Hong Kong section was adequate, but HK isan efficient and easily travelled city.Of the three, I found thePhilippine section the best, but some of the hotel quality ratings are outdated.Please do not stay at the Hotel Mercedes in Cebu!

Don't buy this book !!!!
I travelled for about 45 days in Vietnam, Malalysia and Thailand with thisbook and found it completely unsatisfactory relative to the LP for theindividual countries.Those books offer so much more in backgroundinformation and tidbits that would help you plan your time wisely that Iscrapped it while travelling and traded up for the country versions of thebooks.

I had a big weight factor in the rest of the books I carried (LPIndia really kills) which convinced me one book was better than 3 but don'tdo it !It will suffice in a pinch but you will be often looking over theshoulder of your fellow travellers which have the fuller versions of thecountries covered in SE Asia. ... Read more

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Provides A-level English language students with a basis for essay-writing and discussion on a wide variety of social issues. The materials have been updated and reorganized and the book contains 15 new passages, bringing it into line with National Curriculum requirements. ... Read more

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Both a biography and a study of colonial development, this introductory guide to Livingstone is a critical appraisal of the first man to bring an understanding of central Africa and its problems to the attention of the rest of the world. The text explores Livingstone's background, the times he lived in, and his life as a missionary, doctor, explorer and opponent of the slave trade. It also looks at his remarkable friendship with H.M. Stanley, and the ultimate effect of his work in relation to colonial development and African nationalism. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more