If you are a fan of Holmes or even a fan of classic newspaper comic strips, this book is for you. I received from a playwright who is mentioned in the book and I ended up becoming a collector of vintage comic strips! It seems that the author reprinted a number of vintage works like Krazy Kat.

This book is great. Although I didn't compare it overmuch with Dracula, I thought the author was quite clever in weaving the two stories together. There is also an authentic, "Holmesian" feel about the novel that is essential for mysteries of this type.

This is actually a highly readable, somewhat academic (re)discovery of gender script-building in the Doyle stories. It systematically tours the Canon & does not reduce (as almost every other book on the topic does) to fandom fallout. Anyone challenged by the originals & depressed by pastiche will be rewarded.

The references & bibliography are valuable. Baden-Powell is the departure point--which was promising enough to get me to buy the book itself. Either a lot of people are thinking about this stuff, or almost no one is; but the author makes a case, out of both his own thoughts & the writings of others, which makes it seem like a lively & inspiring debate has formed.

Richard Holmes has collected many of published and unpublished essays from the past, added new introductions and created Explorations of a Romantic Biographer (as per sub-title of his book, Sidetracks). The journey encompasses many centuries and many delightful figures of the literary past, from John Boswell to F. Scott Fitzgerald, from Lord Lisle to M. R. James (in a wonderful section on Gothic shadows). The two best chapters concentrate on the death (and life) of Thomas Chatterton and the life (and death) of Mary Wollstonecraft and William Godwin. This book will be enjoyable for those who are not familiar with all the discussed writers' work (such as myself) as the writing is so clear and beautiful and the personalities examined so fascinating. This book examines biography writing as an art form and thoroughly proves its case. A charming read.

Pretty good book with the best facts on Kipling's life I can find so far. Has quite a bit of information on rather obscure parts of his life and his personal life. I found this book very useful in writing a reasearch report on Kipling's life.

"A Spur for Christmas" is a charming story of four armadillo brothers who make their own Christmas tree out of a prickly pear cactus. The illustrations are the part I liked best in this book, because they are pictures plants,animals, and birds that you can see in South Central Texas.

Online Review: Taylor's Guide to Gardening in the South, published by Houghton Mifflin Company, 1992. Reviewed by Russell Lipp on 4/17/2000. Email rlipp@compuserve.com.

This 391 page illustrated guide to gardening in the southeastern part of the United States is an excellent value. There are 145 pages of color plates. Overall, what makes this guide appealing are the following points: - The guide is laid out in a logical sequence for both experienced and new gardeners. - All the basic gardening ideas and steps are clearly explained. - The color plates provide botanic and common names, plant height, unique characteristics, best growing region and reference pages to detail information. - The guide's price is lower than other regional gardening books. - There is a very good index, as well as several appendices that include a list of public gardens and their addresses, seed and plant sources and references.

This guide is not meant to be a thoroughly complete treatise for all southern gardening. As such, it is weak on the following points: - It does not cover annual flowers (and thereby saves considerable bulk). - Some of the color plates have photographs taken from a distance so that close-up details cannot be seen. - Some of the specie lists are incomplete, such as the Hosta plant. While the text mentions there are 25 Hosta species, only 5 are described.

There are 16 gardening books in the Taylor's Guide series. Eight authors contributed to this guide. The book cover states that this book provides a "guide to the best plants specifically selected for the region". The primary emphasis is to describe those plants that do well in each of the southeast regions of the country. This guide succeeds very well in this respect.

It is very important to read this book from the beginning, and not to skip portions or start in the middle. Earlier sections provide the basic information for succeeding sections. For example, the section on Garden Design is dependent on and builds on the earlier information provided for the regions and their climatic differences.

All of the "advice" information is contained in the front of the guide. This includes Regional maps, Garden Design, Old Standbys and Favorites, Native Plants, Southern Lawns and the Gardening Year. These sections are followed by the color plates. The last major part is the Plant Encyclopedia. The color plates and Plant Encyclopedia are cross-referenced for ease of lookup.

An experienced gardener might want to take more time to read the Old Standbys and Regional Favorites section, and take less time reading the Garden Design section. While there is useful information for all levels of gardeners, any book on gardening can go just so far. There is still the need to visit local nurseries and gardens to talk with experts about their plants. This "local" advice will supplement this guide, and provide answers to most of your questions.

I enjoyed reading and reviewing this book, and can strongly recommend it to anyone interested in gardening in the south.

One of the most common returning themes in Mary J. Holmes novels is that of two sisters-- one of whom is superficially more beautiful but is selfish and cold-hearted while the second sister is less beautiful but is warm and giving. _Tempest and Sunshine_ makes that struggle central to its plot by pitting the sweet and guileless Fanny against her scheming sister Julia.

Most reminiscent of _Bad Hugh_, _Tempest and Sunshine_ continues the Holmes tradition of slightly skewing the expected storyline. Julia isnÂ't all bad, and the way that she is isnÂ't all her own fault either. Holmes resists the temptation to paint in black and white while making the bad guys still clear enough to be satisfying.

Be aware that the book was set in pre civil-war south and it engages in some possibly unpleasant apologies for slavery. This is in line with needing to paint her heroines as good no matter where they were from. Interesting because she canÂ't keep her own uneasiness completely out of the pages on the subject.

In addion to its esoteric nature of the discipline, this book is never intended for beginners because it is not a text book on textual criticism. Still, Metzger's early work on the intro remains as the standard text of the subject, which are becoming neglected by western scholars. While the new grounds are being plowed, the heavy tasks of advancing the developement of this important discipline lay up the shoulders of younger scholars.

Did you ever wonder how a religious thinker got from Point A (the youthful years) to Point B (adult years where he was now a religous pioneer and the soul that ignited the Religious Science movement)?
If you have, this book is for you. If you're not into Religious Science's change your mind/change your life philosophy this book will still offer some revelations. If you are into it or involved with it, it is a must-read/must-own.
Author Reginald Armor, who died in 1977, was a mere 12 years old when he met the older Ernest Holmes, who even as a young man in his 20s had embraced the philosophy for which he was to become famous. This book traces their lifelong friendship, Holmes' evolution, and the church's growth, from their first meeting (Holme's treatment helped cure Armor's warts) to Holmes' final years.
Don't expect a long, ponderous detailed book. This book is not that at all. It's a simple account of a friendship that lasted until Holmes' 1960 passing. In sections tracing the steps of how Holmes' institute evolved into a church it resembles at times more of a history book than a memoir. These sections are the least interesting.
But Armor also traces how Holmes' carefully considered and precisely articulated spiritual and metaphysical philsophy sparked a movement that would later have profound influences throughout the 20th century. Indeed, many classic and contemporary self-help books and motivational speakers are heavily influenced by his philosophy (the power of visualization; affirmative prayer; and "releasing" an affirmation and having complete faith in it after you make it).
Armor also reveals several fascinating facts: even as a small child Holmes would never stop constantly asking questions (an answer meant he would ask another question), which is how he developed his thought; Holmes started as a public speaker because he truly loved speaking and sharing his philosphy about how applying what he called Universal Law could manifest a person's best good; and Holmes resisted until the very last his associates' attempts to create an church. He prefered a person's one-ness to and with God and felt organized religions' middleman institutions were unncessary. Plus he felt there were "too many religions" already. He made it clear he had no intention of founding a new religion.
In the end, though, Holmes went along with the idea of a church (which today has some members who still maintain their previous religions even as they practice the all-inclusive Religious Science) to help spread his ideas...which he felt were really not HIS ideas, but ideas from a Higher Source.
The bottom line: this is a simply written book which answers some key questions about who Holmes was, what motivated him, and how the then-innovative thoughts that he voiced led to the creation of an actual church.
A MUST if you're interested in the lives of spiritual thinkers.