The two best features of this book are the invitation to copy, scan and otherwise duplicate the designs, and the hardly visible pale blue gridlines on the pages. Okay, it has a really good variety of borders as well. Both the bounded kind, and in the back some free line designs. they even provide a nice celtic alphabet in the back for use. But the non-xeroxing blue layhout lines means that you are going to get things really centered on the page before copying. This is a big plus in my book. I only give it four stars because page borders just dont thrill me enough for five stars. Maybe if they were in color..

Need an illustration of a medieval woman perusing a book? A famous person of literature like William Shakespeare? An imp sitting on a stack of tomes? Or something more mundane, like an open-faced book or a bottle of ink? This book contains that and more. The quality and quantity of these charming black-and-white illustrations is as impressive as the title is self-explanatory.

This book was a wonderful addition to my library. It showed details of Victorian clothing which helped me to design and sew several Victorian replicas to wear. The book not only includes Dresses and Hairstyles, but Shoes, Hats and Coats. Clear details and a nice variety of images.

Although there were a few bumps in the road, this book tended to convey the main ideas without getting too technical and too pedestrian. In short, it is a good summary of the basic principles of relativity and how they apply to geometrical situations.

This is the first major comedy by Sheridan, a radical Irish actor and politician in George III's England. Not quite as complex and astute as his later She Stoops to Conquer, the Rivals remains a warm, unforgettable, and very, very funny play.

Here we meet the chatty Mrs. Malaprop, who proudly tells us "if I reprehend anything in this world, it is the use of my oracular tongue, and a nice derangement of epitaphs"; her niece Lydia, lost in the world of lurid half-bound romantic novels; Sir Anthony Absolute, often wrong but never in doubt; Sir Lucious O'Trigger, of BlunderBuss Hall; and the rest. The dialogue and plot devices are well-crafted and funny; the social commentary is perceptive and satisfyingly naughty; but what stays with you is the humanity of each of the characters. These are not the charicatures of Restoration comedy, but personalties the reader will remember; ridiculous like all humans, but engendering empathy as well as laughter.

I recently bought several kid-oriented versions of the tale of Robin Hood, looking for one that would be right for my 2nd grader. I haven't found one that's right for him to read yet, but this version is excellent for me to read to him. The first one edition I read was the Bullseye "Step into Classics" edition, and this edition is the second children's edition I've read.

The chapters are short (as is the whole book), but the author takes the time to include the elements of feasting and fighting that mark the older, more adult versions of the tale. The language is more complex than the Bullseye edition, but not by too much, and the language has a bit more of the "Olde England" feel I'm used to without going so far as to use archaic words. There's no smiting of pates here, I'm afraid. I'm torn between missing the archaic style and being glad I don't have to explain every other word to my son.

Robin Hood comes off as having a nasty temper, which I suppose he always did, but other versions usually have a bit more build-up before he goes wild. In order to keep the pace fast, the author omits some of the process of Robin getting mad, so he often seems a bit mean.

This book does a bit better than the Bullseye edition as far as telling how the men joined the band, giving better detail on the origin of Robin Hood himself and how Friar Tuck joined the band. It also tells the story of Alan a' Dale with more detail, and gives much better background on Maid Marian and her father. The other members of the band are explained as having been there from the beginning (in this story, an existing band saves Robin from the Sheriff, and Robin comes to lead them.)

The biggest weakness in this edition is that Prince John is virtually absent from the story, and King Richard never comes back to pardon everyone. There are several bits where the sherrif goes to see "the king," and the king he talks to seems a decent sort of fellow. Without a properly evil ruler, it's harder to understand why the people love Robin Hood so much.

Overall, I'd say this edition is a good compromise between being comprehensive and remaining accessible to children. I'd estimate it's at about a 3rd-4th grade reading level, but should be fine for reading to children as young as 6.

I think this book is very helpful with a prounounciation guide,alphabet,over 1,400 entries for every imaginable situatian,and clear type . It is also pocket sized for handy out of country reference.I learned the whole alphabet in 6 days and each word is in the index. Very Helpful.

This book was very helpful. The pronounciation key at the front of the book was good and easy to understand. I think this is a good book for beginners. The only problem is that thay should put more conversational things in it.

This book can be brought to those fancy Japanese restuants when you need to make sure you can say it all in Japanese!

dover art library books are a great way to get copies of master drawings...cheap. all prints are in b/w and print quailty isn't the best...but for the price they are a great unprecious alternative to the glove wearing 60$ art book.