I have enjoyed this book so much. With the popularity of Beatrix Potter for the nursery again, this book should be put back into print. It is great for all crochet people.

Roger Scruton is an English philosopher with broad and deep interests. This book is a collection of essays in three sections - philosphy and culture, art criticism, and politics, and Professor Scruton's depth and breadth of learning show, though lightly, throughout. The title of the book is after Matthew Arnold's (b. 1822) poem, and is entirely appropriate to the contents. Professor Scruton can be a severe critic of modern behaviour for modernity's sake alone, but never an unjustified one. One criticism which he is not recorded as having yet made of modernity is that one has less time to read than previous generations. Scruton has shown a fine appreciation for modern times because this is the ideal book for modern reading. Each essay is the righ length for reading before bed, yet packed with informative and valuable but amusing detail. He will lead into a commentary on Spengler's _Decline of the West_ as follows. "Like many Englishmen of my generation, I entered grammar school with the sense that I was taking my first step toward a scientific career. Neither I nor my parents had a clear notion of what this involved, but it had been established ... that the future lay with science." Four paragraphs later he tells how an instruction not to read Spengler was all he needed to become determined to read him, and on the third page we have moved into a thorough investigation of the tension between art and science. All these pieces start with an equally light introduction to a weighty subject. Scruton analyses a long series of propositions assumed by the trendy modern establishment, propositions which must have seemed very odd when first proposed but which have become accepted as self evident by many people from little more than frequent repetition. In this way he makes the reader think again, for instance, about whether it is really safe for the state to assume control of the civil society. This is one of Professor Scruton's most accessible books, and will also lead anyone interested in politics or the modern world in general to a rich source of other thinkers.

I know and appreciate very much Ms. Grafton's books. Being a lacemaker, a crocheter and an embroiderer, I really love the variety of laces presented in this book. Antique prints, drawings and photographs bring us many examples of historical laces. Needlelace plus Bruges, Venetian, Milanese, Teneriffe, Battenberg laces and Square-net embroidery are all presented in this book. Although very appealing to the eye, it could disappoint the novice lacemaker, because there are no instructions, prickings or diagrams; only a wealth of exquisitely detailed laces from many ages and countries. Anyway, it's a good source for advanced lacemakers (embroiderers, crocheters...): they can draw inspiration from those patterns to develop their own designs and prickings.

I did not know what to expect when I opened the box called Quilter's Delight. But, the items inside exceeded my expectations. The box contains two books of postcards with quilt designs, two books of quilt pattern stickers, a book of quilt pattern gift labels, a book of quilt design bookmarks and two notebooks wtih quilt patterns on the cover - one with lined pages, one with blank pages. This would be a good stocking stuffer for a quilter, or a gift for a secret sister, or for a quilter to use for personal correspondence.

This is an astounding book really outlining Fabian Socialiam as seen in the plays of Henrik Ibsen. It has profound implications even today. It is a very interesting, enlightening, and literate book. One of Shaw's best works.

Wonderful book! A must have for all artists and craftsmen, this book features colorful ornaments throughout history, covering most major periods and styles. As an artist I found it very inspiring and handy. All the designs are easily copied and can be reused in any project you choose. My own copy, which I own for a few years, still looks new and fresh thanks to the quality of the paper and printing. If you buy this book and find it useful, you can also get 'The grammar of ornament' by Owen Jones, which is very similar in concept, content and quality. However, Racinet's book is higher on my list.

i bought this book on a whim, and consequently spent hours in front of the Xerox machine making my own stationery with it! Lots of neat/"retro"/wacky/elegant black-and-white illustrations of, you guessed it, women's heads. Very stylized. Tons to choose from. A+!!

Of the Dover Books, this is one of the most interesting. The only caveat is they don't offer it with a CD like so many of their books. Highly recommend for hilighting projects. It adds alot of detail to manuscripts, music, etcetera.

This 32-page-long booklet features 183 copyright-free western illustrations printed one side. The buyer may use the pictures for publication as long as there aren't more than ten included in a project at one time. Carol Belanger Grafton selected black and white graphics covering every Old West theme. There are scenes from the lives of cowboys as well as Native Americans partly illustrated by famous artists such as Frederic Remington or Charles M. Russell. Other artwork can be credited to William de la Montagne Cary, Paul and Jules Tavernier Frenzeny, and Edward Borein, whose rough sketches bring the frontier alive. Motives include western towns, saloon brawls, camp cookouts, cacti, a prairie fire, stagecoaches, buffalo hunts, hangings, wanted posters, a mining camp, cattle brandings, rock formation, railroads, Indian burials, cavalry scenes, shoot-outs, a scalping, Indian raids, bucking horses, and the portrait of Chief Sitting Bull to name a few ones.

This compilation of a wide range of western art graphics is highly recommendable for everyone wanting to illustrate a project about the American frontier as well as for people being interested in American Western history. The illustrations may even serve as inspiration for one's own drawings.