it is unfortunate that Ducky never wrote her own memoirs - they would have been fascinating - however this book is the next best thing...Victoria melita is one of the more interesting royals of her era and this book does manage to capture her individuality and unique personality - I can thoroughly recomend it.

"Returning to the Civil War" is a beautiful book of photos that helps to bring America's most tragic episode back to life. Within you will see scenes from battles, camps, dances and the other events that visitors find so magnetic and that historical reenactors can't get enough of. If you're a veteran of "The Hobby" like me, just starting out, or a curious civilian wondering why people do this, or you just love history, Thelin's and Courtney's book is a must see!

For anyone planning to hike the River to River Trail across the Shawnee Hills of Southern Illinois, this guide is a MUST. It contains a narative discription as well as topographic maps. I was able to obtain my copy by calling the River to River Trail Society at 618-252-6789, they are the not for profit group that tends to the trail. I later joined the society which also has a web page at ... All and all you can't hike the trail without the guide. Most folks think that Illinois is flat. It's not! And the River to River Trail proves it. The best times to hike in Southern Illinois are from September to mid -December and February to the end of May.

This book is a gem -- buy it. The only reason I didn't give it five stars is that the copy I had contained a number of spell-checked typographical errors (e.g. "most" instead of "must") that I found amusing, but nit-pickers may find annoying or distracting. Also the cover material could be improved, but I prefer a bargain over slickness and substance over appearance.

This book is not at all like most books dealing with creation and/or evolution. I was reminded more of books like Douglas Hofstadter's _Metamagical Themas_ and popular-level works on chaos theory, fractals, and the strange implications of modern physics. Professor Herrmann's attempts to explain the mathematical logic of his work should hold some interest for people involved in a number of fields such as computer simulation, linguistics, probability, advanced physics, etc.

Professor Herrmann does not bombastically state that one view is obvious and anyone who doesn't accept it must be an idiot. Rather, he demonstrates that at a fundamental level, the purely naturalistic (atheistic), designed/theistic-evolutionary, and direct creation frameworks are equally valid, and therefore secondary evidences should be examined without ruling out any of them.

What was especially fascinating to me was the way Dr. Herrmann illustrated his strict mathematical proofs (available on the Web) with amusing and imaginative extended analogies. In our every day modern life, we experience examples of human thought producing designed phenomena that purposely appear to be chaotic but have an underlying logic. These phenomena can be encoded in compressed forms, filed and catalogued with labels that are essentially further compression or packaging of the phenomena, edited by the insertion of similar media, etc. Then by simply popping a videotape, computer CD, or DVD into a machine, the designed phenomena comes to life in all its glory.

Dr. Herrmann shows that we can just as easily believe that God created the Universe in a similar manner. Although we can't know if He simply thought up the universe in a mature form, or if in some sense He created it in a virtual or "parallel" form (or if our concepts of such things can begin to do justice to the workings of God), these simple images give us some basic concept of how a universe could appear suddenly but with an appearance of age. Dr. Herrmann explains with as little math as he can (you may need to brush up on your set theory and logic) that this is a perfectly valid possibility.

Dr. Herrmann completed his original, purely mathematical work in this area before the Intelligent Design movement was formed, and has since expanded it to (in general terms) a Grand Unified Theory of Everything. As noted, it is open to several interpretations, but this should encourage everyone to take a good look at it.

What I liked best about this book is that it serves notice that belief in an active and rapid Divine creation of a universe with many appearances of age is logically valid, that there may be (and in many cases today there is) intelligent design operating to produce apparently random or chaotic phenomena, and that the question is not, "How do we explain everything without reference to God?" not "How many universes does it take to explain away the Anthropic Principle?" but "Are there evidences that THIS universe, and everything in it as it is, was more likely produced by design than by the raw forces within it?"

Again, Dr. Herrmann does not use bombast and pontification, but he does burst the pompous bubbles of scientific snobs -- he doesn't insist that only one choice is intelligent, but he demonstrates that it is intelligent to make an open choice rather than insisting on naturalistic blinders.

A short twenty page booklet.

Between the covers of this booklet one can find light. The booklet describes the secret ritual of the Thirty-Third degree of Freemasonry. This is not light reading, but extremely interesting from a historical perspective! After reading the booklet the reader is still hoodwinked, so to speak. Only the Thirty-third Degree brother knows the truth, and he isn't talking.

Those in the Fraternity of Freemasonry are aware of the Degree, but most know very little about it. Those on the outside know even less.

This book early on, makes the statement that descriptions of two versions of the Degree are included, but also includes a disclaimer that neither of the two rituals are used by the legitimate Supreme Council 33d Degree of the United States, or the Supreme Council 33 Degree for England and Wales.

Few Freemasons are aware of, or will admit to the role of the Knights Templars in the history of Freemasonry, instead choosing to believe in the myth of Stone Mason Guilds as the origin of Freemasonry. Freemasonry has been around much, much longer than that!

The underlying theme of the Degree is vengeance directed against the arch-foes of the Templars: The Knights of Malta; the Pope; Phillip the Fair, King of France; and other Orders of Catholic Knighthood.

The Names of Frederick II and Louis of Burbon are mentioned as the originators of this Degree.

And Edge fired only one round, as the hoofs of his mount lifted clear of the spread-eagled Luis Aviles. He wasn't sure, but he thought just as the rifle exploded into sound, sending death into the old man's heart, the sun blackened, cracked flesh of Luis' face formed into a smile of thanks for this release from his agony. Then Edge reined the horse into a wide circle, drawing the horse out of range to make his turn towards the south. But it was a maneuver for which there was no need. The bandits were too intent upon scooping up the money to spare time on Edge. And the bills most in demand were those stained by the blood still pumping from the gaping throat wound of the dead El Matador. 'I guess that must be what they call blood money,' Edge said as he galloped away, southwards.

The second Edge title immediately begins the strong continuity which would flow throughout the remainder of the series, picking up shortly after the events in The Loner.

Edge has been acting sheriff of Peaceville up until the arrival of El Matador, who successfully manages to steal the half-breed's money and send him back onto the vengeance trail. This little bit alone, the few chapters dealing with Peaceville, have been enough to spur conversations into George G. Gilman lore. What exactly did Edge do during his tenure as sheriff? Not to mention that his love interest, Gail, connects this title with the future Shadow of the Gallows.

El Matador makes for an unworthy villain in the Gilman canon, though that can be dismissed as so many successful others would follow in his tyrannical wake. He's not an easy character to draw hatred towards him, as it's clear Edge will draw his revenge, and that is one failing characteristic. Without a villain that the reader can despise, what else can the author do? Leave it to George G. Gilman.

Directly outta Peaceville, Edge begins running into trouble. His horse is shot from beneath him by two novice bounty hunters, both of whom the half-breed easily despatches; leading him to the lady known as Amy. Though Edge uses her to avoid capture by U.S. Marshals looking to bring him down for the death of Elliot Tombs, his treatment of Amy borders on the disgusting.

He harshly beats the woman for foolishly wasting their water, amidst the awful taunts he throws her way:

Edge grimaced. 'Not bad. Get away from me. Your ugly mug is spoiling my appetite.'

Amy is one character that I believe was honestly glad to be ruthlessly killed in a George G. Gilman outing.

Further along we get an interesting character in Luis Aviles, who would meet a grisly torture in the desert, along with a well-described knife fight between Edge and El Matador's men. The story concludes with a search for the legendary 'ten thousand dollars, American', which leads the half-breed into a Mexican cathouse. Here, in true Gilman style, you have to feel sorry for Edge as he discovers the loot's hiding place.

Overall, this is a decent follow-up in the series and recommended. Terry continues to build into George G. Gilman with the flowing characters and gallows humor, allowing the explicit violence to drip from the pages. There are a few flaws, with an over-rated villain and unnecessary female abuse, but they pale in the complete shadow of the story.

Ten Thousand Dollars, American is worth collecting.

Looking for a morning hike, a day hike, or a longer trek involving back country Teton camping? This is the book to buy.

The trail descriptions and maps are detailed and accurate. Both authors are intimately familiar with the Tetons and have had help from NPS staff. The labeled line drawings of various Teton scenery, penned by various National Park rangers, identify specific peaks, ridges, and passes from different vantage points.

Teton Trails is readily available at many shops in the Tetons area, but I recommend buying a copy now and enjoying some vicarious hiking. Planning vacation hikes can be almost as much fun as the hikes themselves. It is wise to have backup hiking routes, as snow can shut-in some higher passes well into midsummer in years of heavy winter snowfall. Talk to the rangers when you first arrive at the Grand Tetons about your hiking plans.

Duffy and Wile include a overview of the Grand Teton National Park, the hiking and camping guidelines, the geology, the varied habitats, and some discussion about bears. A final section, titled Flora and Fauna, provides checklists of key trees, shrubs, flowers, mammals, and birds.

The authors recommend purchasing topographic maps covering your selected trails. It is a good idea and map reading and orienteering always add an enjoyable dimension to mountain hiking. It's amazing how difficult it can be to cross a few closely spaced contour lines.

For those that have a long familiarity with the Tetons, this new publication replaces the earlier guidebook of the same title by Bryan Harry that was widely used in the 1960s thru the 1980s. For anyone interested in off trail hiking (especially the northern canyons in the park) or Teton mountaineering, I highly recommend A Climber's Guide to the Teton Range , third edition, by Leigh Ortenburger and Reynold Jackson.

Steven Woodworth's expertise on the Western Theater of war comes though in this very effective and concise overview of the Battles for Chattanooga, 1863. As with any title from the Civil War Campaigns and Commanders series, there is a full set of maps and leading figure biograpies that add much depth and interest. Moreover, Woodworth offers critical analysis of the strategic, tactical and political forces at play during this campaign and is not shy with assessment of error or praise where appropriate. This book is an excellent starting point for the Battles for Chattanooga and one that is also an enjoyable read at the same time.

Rich, beautiful photographs are a trademark of Arizona Highways travel guides and Stocker's book is no exception. It will not disappoint. The photographic tours give you a real feel for the land and will help you focus (or perhaps expand) your trip. And if you can't find the time or money to actually get down to Arizona for a while this is almost as good as being there.

A conducted grand tour of the fundamental theories which shape our modern understanding of the physical world. This book covers the central themes of spacetime geometry and the general-relativistic account of gravity; quantum mechanics and quantum field theory; gauge theories and the fundamental forces of nature, statistical mechanics and the theory of phase transitions. The basic structure of each theory is explained in explicit mathematical detail with emphasis on conceptual understanding rather than on the technical details of specialized applications. Straightforward accounts are given of the standard models of particle physics and cosmology, and some of the more speculative ideas of modern theoretical physics are examined. This book is unique in bringing together the diverse areas of physics which are usually treated as independent. Designed to be accessible to final year undergraduates in physics and mathematics and to provide first year graduate students with a broad introductory view of theoretical physics, it will also be of interest to scientists and engineers in other disciplines who need an account of the subject at a level intermediate between semi-popular and technical research.