One of the Dover Children's Thrift Classics, this book has only six black & white illustrations, but contains more of the Arabian Nights stories than most books with glossy pictures. In these 83 pages of text you'll find six stories: Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp, Abou Hassan or the Sleeper Awakened, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, The Enchanted Horse, Camaralzaman and Hadoura, and The Seven Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor.

With large clear type, this is a good selection for a pre-teen interested in fantastic tales and mythology.

This wonderful collection of Arabian Nights stories has pleased many children thousands of years ago. Today, it appears in the form of classic collections. Surely this would be enough to show the enjoyment of these tales.
At such a ... price, one might just buy this book regardless of theme or story. But really, if you are a fan of the Greek myths or any other historical stories, there is no reason why you would not love this book.
THe stories range from the tale of the donkey, to the well known Aladdin. This is a great book to read to children, young adults or adults, male or female, big or small.
This is not meant to put off older readers. In fact, older readers are more likely to understand the stories than the younger.... get this book and you will surely not regret it.

If you like Greek myths or fairy tales of princes and princesses, you will like these stories. The book consists of five short stories--the longest one being a mere 27 pages. Each story has a black and white illustration...At [the price], this book is a good little addition to any shopping cart.

While this book is probably accurate, it is not a particularly interesting read. Of course, whether it is interesting to you or not depends on what you are looking for. If you want first hand accounts of what the Explorers saw and what their thoughts were then it can be interesting. On the other hand, you have to understand that when they wrote their thoughts the purpose was to record what they saw and not to create a story for an average reader. They were not concerned with reading style or any other similar information. It reminds me of the translations of the Journals of Columbus. Interesting at times, but pretty boring at other times. Of course, those probably were pretty boring days spending day after day on the ship.
Things that I did like were some of the descriptions of natural wonders, animals, plants, etc. It includes a liberal sprinkling of period maps and illustrations that make it interesting to see the difficulties that they were facing with so much information yet to be discovered. I also liked the great number of quotes from original texts complete with misspellings and syntax problems.
I did not find it particularly interesting and had difficulty working my way through it. There are other books that cover this subject in a better writing style.

This is a documentary history of the discovery and exploration of our American continent written from the perspective of those Europeans and early Americans who saw the land as it was while it was still pristine and unspoiled. Although history, I appreciate this book more as an ecological treatise telling us what we destroyed as we settled and developed our nation. The disparity between what we found and what we have left contradicts the whole concept of 'PROGRESS'. While reading this book, I can't get out of my mind the image of Iron Eyes Cody from the '70s anti-littering campaign on television, with tears running down his face, as he surveys what has become of America's natural resources and beauty. The descriptions of the untamed wilderness and bucolic scenery are almost poetic. The variety and abundance of wildlife then is almost unimaginable to those of us today whose most likely daily interaction with non-domesticated animals consists of encounters with pigeons or roadkill. This book should help us appreciate more and perhaps not be so quick to "improve" the natural wonders and resources we still have left.

A roughly chronological arrangement of chapters on the first-hand experiences of several explorers, both famous and lesser-known. It is very interesting to read the thoughts and observations (liberally quoted in the idiosyncratic spelling of the era) of the first encounters with people, animals, and plants of the Americas. The illustrations are from the period, though one might wish for a few modern maps to help illustrate the wanderings of some of these explorers. There are a few well-known explorers omitted, but that does not detract from what is included. Still, those who enjoy their history first-hand, and especially those interested in the natural history of North America, will find this book compelling reading.

There are few books I dislike, but this book was one of the few that came close. While I enjoyed some of Austin's imagery, it seemed she went around in circles and never get to a destinaton. It was like reading a bunch of settings, but never getting any plot. The highlight of the book was Seyavi, the basket maker but the book itself seemed to be lacking. If you're looking for nature writing, read Linda Hogan's "Dwellings." It's a lot more personal.

I used to live write down the street from Mary Austin's old house in the Owen's Valley. I found her life very interesting and maybe from reading this book you get more of an inside on what her life was like.

Austin lived in the Owens Valley during a turbulent period at the turn of the century, and she observes the people and wild things dwelling there with a novelist's eye. But what sets this gem above all the rest is simply her writing, the plain beauty of her voice and phrasing. She achieves a tone that is somehow at once wistful and tinged with levity, very gently ironic yet always loving. Her words caress their subjects like -- well, like the pen and ink drawings that graced the original publication in 19-ought-whatever. They evoke all the richness of the place, its austerity, its pathos, its beauty, with a gentle affection that is sweet but never cloying, sometimes sad but never downcast. It has a kind of Zen translucency, filtered through the gently humorous, sensitive lens of a literary genius.

Lately, I've come to really like the writings of Thoreau. It has taken me several years to return to this author...after being forced to read excerpts from Thoreau at a ridiculously fast pace during high school. Little time to read and less time for reflection left a bad impression of Thoreau in my mind that has, as I said, only recently been overcome.

But now, upon my return, I have found "A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers" by Henry David Thoreau to be a very invigorating book...one to be savored and not read too quickly. Taken at a good pace, it has been a joy.

While transcendentalism still strikes me as a rather facile and egotistical philosophy, I have really come to see and appreciate the mystical quality in Thoreau's works. Like most mystical authors, Thoreau is not always engrossing--he is actually rather tedious in points, but his work is punctuated by passages of sheer brilliance.

Seeing nature through Henry's eyes has been a wake up call to me personally. This book breathes excitement and lust for life upon the reader. Even his long winded discussions of different kinds of fish serve to alert me to my own lack of wonder. This world, even in its current subjection to futility , is still a wonderful creation. Nature (and Thoreau's picture of these rivers especially) echo the declaration of the Psalmist: "The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands" (Psalm 19:1).

I highly recommend this wonderful book.

Thoreau sought the seclusion of the pond to write *this* book, not _Walden_. In 19th-century terms, this treatise is a modified travelogue based on a 13-day boat trip that Henry and his brother John took in 1839. By today's standards, contemporary editors and many an English teacher would decorate this manuscript with red ink and admonish the author that he strays too often and too far from the main subject. Bill Bryson's essays wander too, but he doesn't usually reach back and quote the Bhagavad-Gita, Homer, Chaucer, or Shakespeare. But whenever Henry takes in his surroundings, he is reminded of something else, and before you know it a serious discourse is off and running, and it has nothing to do with floating upstream or down. He expresses his opinions or offers his knowledge about fish, mythology, religion, poetry, reading, writing, history, government, traveling, waterfalls, friendship, love, life, nature, art, dreams, and science. He reminisces about a previous trip to the Berkshires and a sail down the Connecticut River. He breaks into poetry at whim -- sometimes his own words, more often someone else's. Along the way, the brothers paddle from Concord, Massachusetts, to the area around Concord, New Hampshire, and then turn around and go home. We meet some of the people they encounter along the way and get a glimpse of New England life during that time period. In some respects, the people and the land haven't changed much at all. We can see Thoreau's environmentalism when he talks about dams and their effects on the habits and habitats of fish -- concerns that are still with us today. We can laugh at his puns and enjoy his wordplay (i.e., "The shallowest still water is unfathomable" and Man needs "not only to be spiritualized, but *naturalized*, on the soil of earth.") Above all, we can explore these rivers and shorelines during a time period that we will never see personally, with the aid of a native naturalist who's in the habit of sharing his observations and thoughts.

Read _Walden_ first. And if you find you enjoy Henry's take on nature and civilization and life and living, pick up _A Week_. There are a few gems lurking in here that you might connect with.

[From Boating on the Catawba...in the
"Musketaquid"]

I will take the definite role of the
Nay-Sayer in the long line of aficianados
and idolators who insist that *Walden* is
Henry David Thoreau's masterpiece...
I will simply state that this work and
"Life Without Principle" are his great
contributions to literature, thought, and
value...

Take this quote from "Life Without Principle"
(before I get to 'A Week...'):
"To speak impartially, the best men that
I know are not serene, a world in themselves.
For the most part, they dwell in forms, and
flatter and study effect only more finely
than the rest. We select granite for the
underpinning of our houses and barns; we
build fences of stone; but we do not ourselves
rest on an underpinning of granite.
we do not teach one another the lessons of
honesty and sincerity that the brutes do, or
of steadiness and solidity that the rocks
do. The fault is commonly mutual, however;
for we do not habitually demand any more of
each other."

If that is not "preaching," but in the
sense of a prophet, not a mere sermonizer,
then there hasn't been any in a long time.
But Father Mapple's sermon in 'Moby-Dick' is
right up there with it.

If I had only known of Thoreau [and I had
not read much of him (and little then)except
at the University] and had to believe that
Thoreau was just what he seems to be in
'Walden,' then I would have given the man
short shrift...because there is not enough
of any sort of heart or soul in that work
to believe that he is even human. But
fortunately, a Thoreau worshipper (or rather,
*Walden* worshipper) forced me, by his own
imperious egotism, to try to understand this
man Thoreau and his views. It is fortunate
that I did, for I discovered 'A Week....'

This Penguin Classics edition is excellent
in a number of ways -- the two most important
being the notes in the back which explain the
allusions, and ancient Latin and Greek sources
and excerpts(for those who might not know them)
which Thoreau quotes and sometimes translates;
and the incredible "Introduction" by the editor,
H. Daniel Peck.
He can say his wondrous words himself:

"There is good reason for 'A Week's open
acknowledgment of the attritions of time
and loss. Conceived initially as a travel
book, 'A Week' was immeasurably deepened into
an elegiac account of experience by a tragic
event that occurrred in Thoreau's life in
the period following the 1839 voyage. In
1842, Thoreau's companion on that voyage,
his brother John, died suddenly, and in
agonizing pain, from lockjaw.
Without question this was the greatest loss
that Thoreau ever was to suffer. (He seems
to have undergone, in the aftermath of his
brother's death, a sympathetic case of the
illness that caused John's death, and the few
entries that appear in his journal in this
period are desperately mournful.) Interestingly,
though the pronoun 'we' characterizes the
narrator often in the book, the brother's
name is never mentioned -- an indication perhaps
of Thoreau's enduring need to distance himself
from this loss. there is nothing in 'A Week'
that directly refers to the death of John Thoreau.
Instead, his memory is evoked through various
symbolic strategies. For example, the long
digression on friendship in the chaper
'Wednesday' surely is intended to reflect the
intimacy Thoreau shared with his brother. Even
the ubiquitious 'we' of the narrator's voice
speaks to this intimacy. So intertwined are
the two brothers' identities in this pronoun
that it is often difficult to tell whether a
given action has been taken by Henry or John,
or both at once."

"To emphasize the elegiac aspects of 'A Week'
is to remind ourselves that throughout Western
history, rivers -- and voyages upon them --
have served as metaphors of transience and
mortality. Yet, as I indicated earlier,
'A Week' is not solely a mournful book. Its
rivers also support a spiritual buoyancy, and
provide the setting for exploration and adventure.
Most important, however, the book's larger
structure enables it to 'transcend and redeem'
the individual losses that it recounts."

[wonderful writing here!]
"In general, the outward-bound voyage of 'A Week'
dramatizes the writer's encounter with time and
its losses; on that voyage, he pays close
attention to the shore -- which, in its discreet
scenes of spoliation and historical change,
symbolizes the passage of time. The homeward
voyage, on the other hand, suggests assimilation,
resolution, and renewal. If the primary mode of
perception on the outward voyage had been
observation (of the shore), then the primary
mode of the return voyage is contemplation.
Now we are involved in an inward exploration,
and, symbolically, our vision leaves the shore
and returns to the river and the flow of
consciousness that it represents."
-- H. Daniel Peck; "Introduction."

I purchased this book to help me prepare for a graduate-level course as an undergrad. The book is written at a good level: not as rigorous as a typical grad textbook, but not as chatty as many modern undergrad textbooks. This allows the reader to focus on the material and have it well-explained without being distracted or treated like a junior high student. The book contains no answers for any of the exercises. If I was not using it for self-study, this wouldn't be a problem. There are a few places where he does a bit of handwaving or is a bit lazy in his definitions (see the definition of "subgroup" on p. 207 for an example), but this does not overly detract from the quality.

While it's not perfect, I'm very happy with the book for my somewhat limited purposes. I'd like to give it 3.5 stars, but I'll be generous and round to 4 since I can't.

I have worked through the first 7 of the 13 chapters with the exception of chapter 4 (a tangent on Diophantine equations.) My own personal goal was to become acquainted with group and ring theory. If you proceed past chapter 7, then you will learn about polynomial rings, quadratic domains, abstract issues in linear algebra, and other topics. From what I read, I found Deskins' book highly readable. My math background consists of three college courses that I would consider rigorous and proof-oriented. If you have less of a background then it might be more challenging; however, the book builds its concepts very methodically and logically. Rarely did it leave me scratching my head and searching through previous chapters.

Deskins includes enough exercises to get a good mental grasp of the ideas. The level of difficult ranges from the very easy, definition checking problems to the sort of challenging. I say "sort of challenging" because none of the more difficult problems seem to be quite as difficult as the most difficult problems in other books. However, I have no experience with other algebra books, so this may be a characteristic of the subject.

All in all, I highly recommend the book as a text for teaching yourself abstract algebra. It is very readable and the well-chosen exercises help you understand the material.

On the one hand, this book, like all Dover Mathematics books, is fairly dense, with few examples or pictures. It's a difficult read, but, again, like all Dover books, is totally comprehensive.

Now, on the other hand, this book is, hands down, the cheapest abstract algebra book you will ever find (again, this is a trait of Dover). When I bought this book on Amazon, I searched for "Abstract Algebra", and despaired when I saw prices like $80.00, $90.00, etc. To find a good textbook for under $20.00 is a godsend.

So, basically, if you're willing to put some effort into this book and plow through it (and it's no more dense, really, than most math textbooks), it's very rewarding.

bram stoker is most famous for dracula. not hard to believe. some of the stories here have even a dull plot. but mostly the problem is that stoker dwells at completely irrelevant things, like melodramatic dialogues going on and on, the building of friendship, etc. he could have done better, he is a good enough writer. but he has a melodramatic string, which destroys. the judge's house is the only story really worth reading.

At times the writing is sensual and evocative as one would expect from Stoker. The story themes range from legendry and quests to evils in both familial associations and on the dramatic stage. A range of stuff capitalizing on the eclectic knowledge of Bram Stoker. But what makes it a good buy? How is it especially useful? It would be indispensible for anyone needing an economical edition, as it contains The Crystal Cup, The Chain of Destiny, The Castle of the King, The Dualitists, and A Star Trap: five stories that appear in addition to some nine stories previously collected in editions of Dracula's Guest.

THESE STORIES CONTAIN SUCH CHILLING, CREATIVE DEPTH. I DO BELIEVE STOKER WAS A GENIUS, NOT JUST ON THE BASIS OF DRACULA BUT ON WORK LIKE THE STORIES PRESENTED IN THIS BOOK. IT'S A PITY THAT HE PROBABLY DIDN'T REALISE THAT HE WAS THE BLUEPRINT FOR THE GREAT MASS MARKET HORROR WRITER, A SORT OF VICTORIAN STEPHEN KING. AN ASTOUNDING COLLECTION OF WORK, VERY CLEVER AND SOPHISTICATED 10 -10

I have purchased both Celtic design books from Dover. Good designs, but the lack of color in the designs and the hard to read black and white charts are a hindrance. The one thing they really have going for them is that it's just hard to find other designs like these in color. So for the price, you can always enlarge these charts and play around with the color on your own.

This book has many excellent designs. As an avid cross stitcher I love to pick up books. This book has many, and I do mean many designs with over 100 to its credit. The designs are flexible enough that they can make pictures, pillows, or a special addition to a favor. One draw back, be prepared to go to a copy shop and blow up the designs, they can be very small. I give it 5 stars despite this major draw back. The quantity of designs, the quality of the designs, and the fantastic price, well they can't be matched.

This is, bar none, the most useful pattern book I have ever owned. The knotwork is beautifully intricate, the animal forms are amusing, and the triskeles are gorgeous. I have used dozens of the hundreds of patterns offered here. If you cross-stitch (or do needlepoint, or whatever) you WILL be inspired by the contents of this book.

The stories are good, but the names are long and confusing and also some stories become confusing with the choice of words chosen by the author. Overall, though, a good book.

One problem with this Dover edition is the footnotes refer back to previous identical footnotes. This stops the flow of reading because the reader has to page back. There's no reason not to just repeat the footnote. Chekhov presents even these long-named Russian characters as individuals with defined personalities. The plot is simple or nonexistent. It serves only as background for character development. I'd be reading along and all of a sudden stop dead by a thought so authentic and original that I'd have to highlight it. Then reread it. Then think about it. That's the singular trait which makes Chekhov a writer worth reading.

If you want a short indroduction to Chekhov, this Dover Thrift Edition is a great value. This edition uses older translations because in order to offer such an unbelievable value, the editor must use text that is not copyright protected. I found the translations used to be readible and I enjoyed the character development. Chekhov is not O'Henry ... i.e, the stories in this book do not have tremendous plot development and surprise or ironic twists. Rather, he seeks to give a slice of life in the Tzarist Russsia of his day. Four of the stories are slices of life of fairly well off members of Russian society or, at least, Russian upper middle class. One, appropriately entitled "The Peasants" is indeed a story about the lives of peasants. I enjoyed all of the stories but, my favorite was "The Lady With the Toy Dog," which explored the age old phenomenon of extramarital affairs and the tragedy of forbidden love. Chekhov explores the chraracters' emotions, in this story, without being judgmental one way or the other. Another engaging story is "The Black Monk" which explores happiness in one's delusions as opposed to unhappiness in the real world (or was the main character's vision a delusion at all?). Like I say, the translations are not the latest and only five stories are included but this is a five star value. The book has made me interested (when I have more time) to explore a larger volume of Chekhov's stories so, this edition has fulfilled its task well.

I had been happy to read about a supposedly unabridged and very inexpensive edition of "Queen of Spades" and the Belkin tales, as (as a college instructor) I often assign "Queen of Spades" in courses on opera or Petersburg, or in which one would not neces sarily need the student to order a whole compilation of Pushkin's fiction, such as Norton's very solid COMPLETE PROSE TALES.

However, this edition is *far* from unabridged. The editor has taken it upon himself to cut not only ALL the epigraphs from ALL t he stories (an absurd economy which distorts the tone of these parodic stories) but also fails to provide the two-page "From the Editor" frame without which the purpose of the Belkin tales is obscured.

I would not recommend this edition even to the casua l reader who wished to get the true flavor of Pushkin's Sternean, self-referential prose works. 'eo

If someone comes to me and asks what I think true Russian

spirit is, I would say, "duel" is. Russian duel is very reckless

and even absurd because the percentage of survival is only 50%.

Each load their gun and go to the opposite end and they shoot

from distance in turn until either one is shot.

In the book, German,the main character, is a half-bood of

Russian and Germany. Due to his birth,mixed with German blood,

he is usually very realistic and doesn't believe in magic or

tricks. In numerous gatherings German never participates in the

card games but always watches people play. When he hears that

an old woman knows how to win the game he sniffs and ignores

it. But ironically it is he who arrives at the gate of her

house. However, it is not his intention but he himself is

dragged by some magical power.

As quite an ordinary and poor man, German believes in

diligence and reason, but not fantasy or fate. That's why he

never participates in any games. Their game is like a duel. The

players say some number and they take cards until either of

them get to reach the number and he wins. Then a new game

starts as if they already forgot about the former game. Usually

the loser loses a huge sum of money, which means that the

winner becomes enormous rich. In other words, the game actually

changes their lives in totally different ways.

Everyone who has read this book would never forget the last

scene of the Queen of Spades. Perhaps she really does say so,

or he only dreams or imagins. No one knows except Pushkin.

Bytheway, he is not telling something moral to persuade or

teach us. All he shows is something like Matrix, I guess. Maybe

the whole story is just a trick or magic or some parts are. The

judgement is up to the reader. We all are German in a way.

This book is a nice (don't forget cheap) adaptation and translation of Russia's most celebrated author, A.S.Pushkin. I imagine that other editions (hardcover and so on) are extremely expensive, so this book is a good introduction into the works of a classic and exceptionally talented writer. I have read much of Pushkin in Russian language, so I can honestly say that this book is true to the originals and it is worth spending your $3 on. NOTE: To people, who know that Pushkin is considered greatest RUSSIAN (emphasis on "russian") writer and expect to find real Russia in his writings: you won't find much of it here, for the fact that Pushkin wrote mainly about his upper-class contemporaries, who (pretty much like Pushkin himself) lost touch with real Russia, hence the revolution awhile later... If you want to feel some of Pushkin's russian spirit, you should try reading his poetry instead of the short stories.

This is my first experience with Bierce's works, and I thought this book was pretty good for it's price. I really didn't think that any of these stories were scary or horrifying in any way, but some of them were interesting. I thought that some of the longer tales resembled Poe's with the sometimes unwanted droning of needless descriptive and large words. But, I would reccomend this book if you are a fan of Poe. I thought this book was a good bargain, since it is cheaper than a cup of coffee these days. So, I encourage you to take a look at it. It's a pretty good read, and what else can you buy for this price today?

This small book contains 12 of Ambrose Bierce's short stories (The Eyes of the Panther, The Moonlit Road, The Boarded Window, The Man and the Snake, The Secret of Macarger's Gulch, The Middle Toe of the Right Foot, A Psychological Shipwreck, A Holy Terror, John Bartine's Watch, Beyond the Wall, A Watcher by the Dead, and Moxon's Master). The stories cover ghosts, revenge, and otherworldly messages. This is by no means a definitive collection of Bierce's work, but it is a good, inexpensive introduction.

The stories are short and do not go into intense detail and background. These are compact and complete enough to be told around the campfire or just around the living room with the lights turned out. Bierce knows his reader and will often give the ending an unexpected twist.

This book showcases the fine writing talents of Ambrose Bierce, famous for his "Devil's Dictionary" among other things. These ghost stories are very fine and show a lot of thought and imagination. The title story in particular is extemely powerful in its perspective changes and genuine feeling of sadness experienced by the characters. I recommend this book and edition wholeheartedly.