Nina Ananiashvili, in addition to having world-class ballerina skills, is a treat for the eyes ... she is beautiful. The photographs in the book are excellent and should be in any Nina admirer's collection. I was considering buying portraits from her website, but they are quite expensive. This book fills the bill.

The story is told at a child-level and captures the essense of Swan Lake. However, I didn't care for the variations introduced wherein Rotbart is unharmed, and the swans can transform near the gardens by the lake, even by day.

Fans of "Nina Ballerina" (Nina Ananiashvili) will treasure this book, because the Swan Lake story is illustrated with beautiful photos of the Russian ballerina. You can see how she uses her whole body to change from the loving Odette (in white) to the cruel Odile (in black). One reservation: I wouldn't use this book to introduce children to the ballet. The bold theatrical makeup, designed to be visible from the audience, is almost overwhelming in the closeup photos. For a child, Rachel Isadora's illustrations are a better introduction to the story. Still, Ellison's book is a "must-buy" for balletomanes and Nina fans.

Are there more bike shops per capita in Rochester or is it just that so many people want to enjoy the outdoors from May through October? I can't think of a more enjoyable source of weekend r&r than taking one of the trails suggested in this book. There are good suggestions for ability, the maps are adequate, and the directions to the start of the trail are clear. The only thing I'd add to this book is an online link for printable maps so I don't have to take the book (although pocketable) along. A must for any Rochesterian who wants to enjoy the trails around town.

A great resource for people looking for good bike trails in the Rochester area. Easy-to-read maps of trails and locations, plus descriptions and difficulty ratings. A must-have for the avid Rochesterian biker! :~)

Labeling Where This Lake Is as a mystery is probably not a very good idea. Jeff Lodge's novella spends the first half of the novel largely concentrating on his narrator's personal history. About page 90, the narrator finally realizes "[he] had a mystery on his hands." Lodge creates a protagonist, Jerry Hopkins, who is incredibly passive. Events happen to him without any imput from him and, it seems, very little reaction. A large part of Lodge's back story takes place in small town that Hopkins' family founded. Symbolically, the town is deserted within a few years after his father's death and he is divorced shortly thereafter. Furthermore, the menfolk of his family have kept journals for generations which Jerry has neglected. The town fails. The marriage fails. The journals fail. Hopkins might care, but we can't tell. Why has Lodge chosen an uncharismatic " loser" as his protagonist? The mystery aspect takes place in Guatemala where the protagonist is again forced into passivity by his inability to speak Spanish. Details of a murder that may involve a CIA plot unfold in fits and starts as the action is repeatedly interrupted by the protagonist's lame past. In short, this is not exactly a page-turner, but if read more as an understanding of human inaction, which is done very plausibly, and for the details of small town life in Ohio, it does contain some interesting reading.

Jeff Lodge's 183 page novel tells Jerry Hopkins's sometimes funny, sometimes heartbreaking tale of his life "so far." Jerry boards up his family hardware store, and, with his wife Audrey, leaves his dying town of Aiken, Ohio, to move to Columbus. Subsequent moves are chronicled from there to Denver to Tuscon to Sololá, Guatemala, where Jerry (minus Audrey) buys a restaurant/pub. Quiet, unpretentious Jerry writes of all these changes in his personal journal because he finds the inherited responsibility of keeping his family journals daunting. Finding himself as the keeper of his family's history and innermost thoughts has never set too well. But as time goes on, Jerry finds a connection through the journals with his family members, both alive and dead. The strength he finds and the self discovery he makes enable him to cope with one day finding himself the chief suspect in a murder involving his employee, Gonzalo. Jerry's handling of this situation, along with help from other Guatemalans--the lovely Nati, sometime barmaid/lover, and the spoon-wielding cook, Carmela--provides engaging reading. Hopkins's family becomes yours. Lodge is a graduate of the MFA program in creative writing at Virginia Commonwealth University.

I know Bruce Lake, and like him, flew helicopters in Vietnam. He was with the Marines "up north," and I was in the Delta--as an Army aviator with the 175th Outlaws. Vinh Long was a great place to be stationed, and I missed out on many of the experiences Bruce writes about because of that. We were in considerable high contrast to many of the Army aviators' tours from my flight school class of 66-14, too. Bruce tells what it was like to fly the CH 46, the standard tandem rotorcraft of the Marines in this war, as we flew Huey slicks and gunships in our branch of service. I highly recommend this book by my friend, who self-published as I did, and has now nearly sold out all he printed. Keep-a-going, Bruce!

The Finger Lakes region is a wonderful area to explore by bicycle! Blue, deep lakes; green, cool forests; and red, brick towns like Cornell, contribute to the anticipation of turning a corner, or cresting a hill. For first time visitors, Sally Walter's and Mark Roth's book is like having a local take you on the ride, pointing out a waterfall, a place to stop for lunch, or which hill is a killer and worth the climb. It's like seeing the area for the first time, the colors, smells, impressions, with a tour guide in your back pocket. The book gives clear directions and mileages. Good advice on route choices. And this updated version has the local eateries and bikeshops categorized. It easy to string several of the suggested rides together for a longer tour. Or, pick one with a bail out for the less mileage inclined. While we did not do all the rides in the book, the one's we did do were just as described. Use the book if you are planning a trip to the Finger Lakes, even if you don't take your bike.

Realistic characters and well observed dialogue, although one is never truly drawn into the story. An accurate portrayal of modern India- if only the ending had not been such a contrived coincidence.

The name Stieglitz conjures up many images that helped define modern photography. With his publications of Camera Notes and Camera Work, numerous awards, and a tenacious drive to promote photography as a serious art, Alfred Stieglitz shaped our awareness of photography like no other. Although earlier photographs such as The Steerage, The Hand of Man, Spring Showers, The Terminal and others are indelibly linked to Stieglitz, it is his later work that is just as important to this oeuvre. With the publication of "Stieglitz at Lake George" we see a man content with his craft, to the point where some of the images have a snapshot quality, like vacation pictures taken by a master seer. The images show Stieglitz relaxed yet still in control, as he records the surroundings at Lake George. Both formal and informal, the portraits taken of O'Keeffe are some of Stieglitz's strongest depictions of the artist. Ellen Koeniger and Rebecca Strand elicit both playful and erotic poses for the camera, while others are photographed chatting, playing, or simply wandering around the grounds of Lake George. Many will see the photographs in direct contrast to Stieglitz's urban images. Although this is apparent in most of the photographs, the images of poplar trees stand out like the skyscrapers Stieglitz photographed later in his career. Even the elegant automobile found on the last page is clearly an urban image - a reminder that eventually one must leave Lake George and its quiet calm, for the city further down the road.

I'm not sure how much the texts have been updated since the time that the author wrote this, which is why I only gave 4 stars in my review, but I can't imagine that the text suffers much.

The format is great, with Greek on the left and the english translation on the right, with scripture references, footnotes and textual variants in most cases. There is an introduction to each author briefly sketching the history of each text, manuscripts used, etc - thoroughly academic. The size of the book is great, I can easily throw it in any coat pocket.

The writings of Ignatius included are the seven letters of the shorter recension mentioned by Eusebius, for those curious souls who wish to know.

Christianity is, from first to last, a historical construct. It rests on the truth of a historical person, Jesus of Nazareth, the people who historically continued in His ministry, and the things which they both historically taught. At least three of the writers in this collection knew at least one Apostle personally, so their writings are an essential witness to the content of apostolic teaching, and as such are invaluable in interpreting the eternal message contained in the scriptures.

The entire flavor of the pre-nicene church helps bring out a good deal of things that are in the New Testament but which we either miss or gleam over. Also, their application of Christ's teaching was understood in many cases differently than how we are taught to read them. I'm not espousing anything sensational, as if there is some secret teaching that they had access to, but they actually lived out the principles that we too often water down. Occasionally these writings serve as a good correction of our understanding on some topics, but more often it is their paradigm (if I can use a Kuhnian expression) that differs from ours...

So do read, and enjoy.

It is a good book for a new swimming teacher to give students different courses in watersports.

I was one of the scientists whose work was featured in the book. It will give all readers an idea of the difficulities and rewards of research in the arctic. The figures are wonderful and the text informative and interesting and will instill an appreciation and wonder for this unique environment.