this book is a photo rich account of winchester shotguns produced during the classic pre-64 era, and as such it fills a hole in the winchester firearms library. this volume is full of photographs and gives good information. i have found it to be my "go to" book on winchester shotgun information. i do wish it had a little more text though which is why i rated it 4 out of 5 stars. still i highly reccomend this book to winchester shotgun enthusiasts.

After reading Winchester's book "The Professor and the Madman" I was very interested in reading some more of Simon Winchester's work. The Map That Changed the World was the book that he wrote after The Professor. It took me some time to get around to read it, but I was looking forward to it. Winchester does a prodigious amount of research for his books and it shows as we learn about the stated subject of the book as well as all the details that surround it.

The Map That Changed the world deals with William Smith, an amateur geologist living at the end of the 18th Century. William Smith had a driving ambition and interest in finding out exactly what was under the ground in England. This may not seem like much, but the methods and knowledge that Smith acquired during his research and over decades of work were the building blocks for modern geology and for discovering everything we know about the geology of our planet. William Smith is rightfully called the father of geology.

This book is filled with details of geology: rocks, strata, the ages of the earth, the Geological Society of London, etc. On one hand, this is a very interesting work. It tells the story of how one man pretty much established the ground rules for geology and what it can begin to know. On the other hand, this book is so heavily detailed that it is dry reading. I don't have a strong interest in geology, so I was interest in this book more for the historical implications rather than the geological ones (even though they overlap at times). I think this book is worth reading for anyone interested in the social/scientific history of the time, and without reservation for anyone interested in geology. This is a well written book.

The Map that Changed the World: William Smith the Birth of Modern Geology written by Simon Winchester is an engaging narrative about the discovery of the science we call geology.

The author takes us on a journey with William Smith an orphan and later a canal digger as he notices sometine of a pattern in the rock formations, tracing the layers of rocks as they dipped and rose and fell again all throughout England. Later he would travel the whole of England to map outcrops and what type of geology was under foot.

This book came with a beautiful map of the geology of England a map quite a bit smaller than eight by six foot map that was published in 1815. All in all, this was an educational as well as entertaining read about the earth and what people take for granted. What do we build our homes upon, what are our bridges anchored in, where do you find coal or other minerals.

This is a story of a man and his life problems, a man deeply overlooked until a sympathetic nobleman brought him back into contact with the Geological Society of London. This is the story of William Smith a man of dedication.

I first read Simon Winchester when I came across his book The Professor and the Madman. This wonderful book is the story of the development of the OED. Now he has written a book on William Smith, the man who developed many of the ideas of rock stratification which laid the foundation for modern geology. The ultimate expression of Smith's genius was the production of the world's first geological map which gives this book its title.

Smith's story is a fascinating one and Winchester tells it well. Smith, a rural blacksmith's son, is orphaned and works his way up to being what in today's language we would call a civil engineer. As he works on the construction of coal mines and canals he see the strata of rock and collects fossils, coming to the understanding that the relationship between these things tells us about the age of the rock layers. This concept will have far-reaching repercussions in science.

Winchester also tells us of Smith's struggles to get his work recognized in a class-stratified world of gentleman-scholar-scientists. Along the way, Smith overextends himself financially and finds himself in debtors' prison. After that, he and his reputation seem to fade away only to be resurrected near the end of his life when he begins to reap some of the honors for his work in a field which has since passed him by. Then he fades away again.

Winchester is beginning to make a habit of writing stories bringing to light forgotten people making important discoveries and doing important work that has changed our world. I hope it is a habit he continues. I am already looking forward to the next gem he digs up. He and Dava Sobel are a one-two punch of brilliant modern writing on scholars and scientists who deserve to be remembered.

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I at the age of 12yrs old had to read this porm forclass and to let the class know how i like the book, and the book it and always be very good to read this is from me . ADDIE

This is a richly detailed bibliography of J.R.R. Tolkien's writings. (Keep that in mind-- this is not a bibliography of Tolkien criticism or scholarship-- only of Tolkien's own works). Each edition of each work is described in careful detail-- subtle distinctions in the cover, title page, etc. are noted as are variations in spelling, typography, errata and corrections. To be honest, I'm not sure how relevant this work is for the average Tolkien fan-- or even for the Tolkien scholar. It will certainly be useful for book collectors, used/rare booksellers, book appraisers, and others who are interested in the book itself as a physical object)-- but I think there's very little of interest here fans interested in broadening their understanding of Tolkien's fiction or for scholars interested in writing about it. Because of its very limited, very specific utility, I can't really justify a high rating for this. Don't get me wrong-- for what it is, it's thorough and quite excellent. But, I just don't think it's all that *useful* of a book to anyone but a small handful of bibliophiles

Although this rather pricey work is intended for booksellers, collectors, and librarians rather than for the general public, I believe that just about anyone who is interested in the writing and production of Tolkien's great works will find much here that is both informative and interesting.

I'm feeling more like a 3 1/2 star review, actually.

Pacific Nightmare still has a lot of the currency with which it was written. I read it some time ago, expecting it to fit within the general technothriller genre. It really doesn't - it is more mature and more concerned with politics and political trends.

The style is dry, as Winchester develops his scenario for the disintegration of China and involvement of Japan. His tone is more that of a foreign correspondent writing dispatches, rather than a Tom Clancy. But he has incorporated well developed subplots involving Taiwan and the Korean peninsula.

East Asia is regarded, in some ways, as one of the most volatile regions in the world. This book is a good introduction to the dangers that political conflict in this region may pose to all of us.

"Why Do We Laugh" is a DK book. If you're famiiar with DK books, then you know their characteristic look - lots of white space, lots of GOOD, well-chosen color photos. This book is pretty to look at.

Its weakness, I felt is that it is too simplistic. And sometimes it asks a question and then talks about the topic the question raises, but doesn't actually give an answer to the question!

Even so, you may enjoy reading it to your little ones, and it could lead to some interesting discussions.

Sample questions: Why are there twins? Why is my hair curly? Why do people have different colored eyes? Why do babies sleep so much? Why do I yawn?

A somewhat disjointed history of Australian policing in the 1980's. A sequel will show that a supect has now been convicted.

For the person whose interest in World War II armored fighting vehicles is merely casual, or for the reader who is just beginning to show interest in tanks of the period, this book is a nice piece of literature to have. For the serious history buff or armored vehicle enthusiast, though, this book is inadequate. It DOES have the useful three-aspect portraits of each tank (profile, overhead, and front) but the drawings are a little less detailed than the pictures you can find in other books. I don't want to say they are sloppy, because in fact they are in many cases quite good, but the fact remains that they aren't "technical" drawings (i.e., made to a scale) which the artist or hobbyist can use to draw his own pictures or make his own balsa model. The book's text also suffers in that it is far too vague in its overview of each tank to make one think that they are really all that different from one another. A curious omission from the text is the failure to include information on the armor thickness for each vehicle. The text says, for example, that the Germans' Tiger tank was very heavily armored, while the Americans' Sherman tank was lightly armored. It would be nice to know the exact difference (the Tiger, in fact, had armor in the 100mm class while the Sherman was around the 35-40mm class) but the book doesn't tell you. Also missing from this book are any interior views of the vehicles, or any of those neat cutaway drawings complete with a "key" listing of the different parts of the vehicle. Overall this is a good book because you get some genuinely nice drawings and it doesn't cost very much for the hardcover. Highly recommended for the casual reader or for those who want a nice picture-book, but serious armored-vehicle enthusiasts should spend their money elsewhere unless they have money to burn and must have every book on the subjects which interest them.

I was quite excited to receive this work in my mailbox. A good friend of mine and fellow Civil War buff, Dean Wells used to sit up late at college and often talk about Winchester and the various attacks and strategies that took place. Dean even went on to write an article that was used in this work thus I truly wanted to take the time to go over this material in the proper fashion.

The opening pages give rise to a wonderful description of Winchester and its importance to the Shenandoah Valley. The description of railroads and terrain give the reader an ideal look into the prominence this area was to play not just at this time but during the entire civil war. The map included on page 4 gives the reader a nice look into the Lower Shenandoah Valley including as far north as Hancock, Md. and as far south as Edinburg, Va. I would suggest that novices to this battle continually refer back to this map so they can get a better feel for the massive amount of terrain that was covered before and after this battle.

As for the next chapter about Robert H. Milroy, I've seen and read better accounts of his pre-military life as well as his subsequent life in the military. I would have to agree with other authors in that Milroy had a lack luster career during the Mexican War and he was disgusted by his own lack of action. As for the chapter on his occupation of Winchester I have a hard time believing Mr. Maier's facts on Milroy's ease of "governing" Winchester. The author's opinion certainly differs greatly from many of the noted authors who spoke at the civil war seminars I've recently attended this past year. I just wish there was more primary source material listed in the bibliography to back up the authors findings.

In going over the material presented I feel that many diaries were left out. Those of Kate Sperry, Julia Chase, and Portia Baldwin Baker to name a few, were not even mentioned. As for the property damage, I myself have visited the area and know first hand that there was a severe amount of property damage, so where the authors claim originated I have no idea. Also, if Milroy was so well liked why was he later jeered when he returned after the war on a more political agenda?

Another error noted early on is that the battle of McDowell took place over a one month period of time. On page 25 the battle starts out in May and then moves into June on page 27. If that's the case then this battle would be longer than history has documented. Either the author clearly mixed up dates or the editor perhaps missed June for May in the final editorial draft.
I feel that more work could have been done in putting together a better bibliography. The amount of research does not show through very well and I feel more primary source material other than more "Official Records" is needed. Perhaps more from the "Devil Diarists" would be appropriate, and a more though look into Milroy's past would definitely help beef up the opening pages of this work.

All in all this work may be suited for those that have a good working knowledge of the battle but it's definitely not recommended as the sole source for any reader on the second battle of Winchester.

Even though Winchester, Virginia, was strategically located in teh Lower Shenandoah Valley and was the key for control of the Valley, little scholarship has been devoted to the topic. Most work on Winchester and its battles comes from its connections with Stonewall Jackson's 1862 Shenandoah Valley Campaign. Therefore, when Larry B. Maier's book Gateway to Gettysburg: The Second Battle of Winchester was advertised it was an anticipated piece of scholarship that would help to bolster the already scant historiography. Even though this book had many great expectations among scholars of the Civil War in the Shenandoah Valley it does not live up to those expectations for a myraid of reasons.

Before this review points out the faults of the book it must be noted that there are no glarin problems with the history of the Second Battle of Winchester. There are, however, numerous problems with the biographical information about General Robert H. Milroy and his occupation of Winchester, Virginia. There are numerous instances of historical inaccuracies within the pages of this book, but only several will be provided for the purposes of this review.

First, the author attenpts in the beginning to lay out the biographical background of Milroy prior to the Civil War. The author notes that very few records exist about the service of Captain Milroy during the Mexican War, but that he and his men performed their duties ably. This is a problematic conclusion, since evidence does exist to paint a picture of the service of MIlroy and his "Wasbash Invincibles" (The author never uses the nickname of the company he commanded). Through several sources such as Indiana in the Mexican War and a small, but useful collection of Milroy's Mexican War letters from the Indiana Magazine of History and an article written on Milroy that appeared in the Indiana Magazine of History reveal that Milroy did not see any service, except for on one occassion when several men of his command were ambushed and killed. Milroy was disgusted with his service during the Mexican War becasue he did not see any action, and thusly was unable to attain heroic eminence.

Concerning Milroy's occupation of Wincehster the author notes that it was not really harsh and that there is no substantial evidence to back up this claim. The author paints a false picture of Milroy's occupation! Enough evidence exists, via Milroy's correspondence, civilians' diaries, and records at the National Archives to demonstrate that Milroy played the tyrant. The author's claims that not much property was damaged is unfounded and his claim that Milroy never performed any atrocities is ludicrous. Exiling women of all ages, arresting women and children, starving those who did not accept the oath of allegiance, etc. Compared with other Federal commanders in the Valley, his acts were unparalleled. In fact Milroy was much harsher in his treatment of the population of Winchester than was General Benjamin F. "Beast" Butler during his 1862 occupation of New Orleans. Milroy does claim in his correspondence to his wfie that many of the civilian population of Winchester stated that no other commander in Winchester had ever maintained so much order and that the civilians appreciated the order he provided. The diaries of the civilians of Winchester reveal that this is not at all how they felt toward the "Gray Eagle". As a matter of fact, Milroy was so despised, that when he came to Winchester in October 1868 to do some politiciking he was jeered at while speaking on the steps of the Court House. He was the only former Federal soldier to be treated with contempt in Winchester's post-war years.

Another glaring problem with the book, in its early pages, is the the date for the Battle of McDowell. June 8, is used at one point. That date is off by one month. Perhaps, however, this was an editorial mistake.

Several of the problems with the text having been discussed I wish to shift my attention to the author's source material. The Handley Library in Winchester, Virginia, has a rich collection of diaries, letters, memoirs, and journals, yet the author used only one diary from that collection--Mrs. Mary Lee. What about Kate Sperry, Julia Chase, Gettie Miller, Portia Baldwin Baker and Treadwell Smith? Even though the author used Margaretta Barton Colt's Defend the Valley, he failed to use a host of other published primary sources such as the diary of Cornelia McDonald or Emma Cassandra Reilly Macon. Other sources would have revealed more about Milroy's actions such as collections at the National Archives and Library of Virginia.

While the information on Milroy is not as abundant as source material on U.S. Grant or Robert E. Lee, there is a substantial body of primary material that the author could have examined to make better conclusions.

Overall the book has many problems. Readers should beware of his treatment of General Milroy!

While an interesting beginning for a novice collector the author spans too great a time period to adequately cover any series of Winchester firearms. Winchester collectors are quite attracted to styles or types of firearms. This book barely answers even the most rudimentary of questions and as such is an overall disappointment. Secondly, the book would be greatly enhanced by more detailed and clear photography. This would assist the new collector in appreciating the marvel of these firearms - while providing a much better overview for future study.