Like jedwardp, I thought this book started quite well and was interesting to read at first, but then declined. The author initially had a good handle on both Holmes and Watson, and some intriguing ideas. But as the book progressed, the characters became more like vehicles for the plot than like "real" people. Dvorkin even seemed to forget about some of the questions raised in the earlier parts of the book. For example (without giving too much away), when Watson first meets Lily, he wonders about her family, but doesn't get a chance to ask. Given how much time the two of them end up spending together, surely he got a chance at some point to ask--and we should've seen his reaction to the information. But the matter is essentially dropped. Characters sometimes changed without much explanation--apparently more because the plot required them to do so than for any other reason. It's rather a shame that the book didn't focus more on the people, their motivations, and their reactions to what was happening.

Dvorkin starts this book superbly, as he reproduces Watson's narrative voice of the Doyle works almost perfectly. Included are those splashes of humor the experienced Holmes reader will expect (one being a mention that many pastiches have been written, which is a priceless way for this book to poke fun at itself).

The time-travel elements are believably handled, at least within the scope of science fiction, and for awhile we can feel we're indeed following the real Holmes and Watson into both their futures and ours.

Regretably, the book loses focus, however. It seems the farther into the future it goes, the less believable the story becomes.

By the last two chapters, the book has degraded into over-the-top sci-fi, with Holmes and Watson being little more than names.

I can easily recommend the first half to three-quarters of this book to a Sherlockian, but you might want to stop there, saving yourself from an ending that cheapens an otherwise good story.

One might think the master himself were alive and well and still chronicling the adventures of Holmes and Watson, so skillfully has David Dvorkin carried on the tradition. This beautifully crafted pastiche sticks faithfully to the language, flavor and attitude of the original stories. All our old friends are there: Dr. Moriarty, Mrs. Hudson, Mycroft. But there's an elixir of youth, and an interesting bit of time travel, thrown in for good measure. Get this: "Holmes vanished from the Libration Satellite shortly after I managed to get him unseen off the Exeter, his disappearance as unannounced as his coming." And this: "I pondered what I had come to regard as the central problem of immortality: While physically I was as a man in his twenties, and indeed looked much that age....I surprised myself upon occasion with my mental rigidity, my stodginess, and my querulousness." And another quote too good to omit: "I had lived to see my earlier chronicles of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson become world-famous; and yet, since copyright does not last forever and cannot be renewed indefinitely, I was no longer earning royalities." This is good stuff! You'll love it.

The book, in my opinion, is really mis-titled as the bulk of the book is about male erectile dysfunction, and very secondarily about Viagra. I bought the book as I thought I was getting an indeep review of Viagra and its effects. It appears that the book was written too early in the Viagra introduction cycle, it was copywrited in 1998, to have much practical information to include in the book. In summary I found the book disappointing and certainly would not recommend it.

Recently,my husband was diagnosed with ED. I went nuts and bought every Viagra book on the shelf, but I found this book to be the most helpful. Both my husband and I read the book and found it clear and informative. Many myths were cleared up and I can now breath a sigh of relief.

This is a superb book that describes development of this new drug that ushered in a new sexual revolution in America. A MUST read for all Baby Boomers! The mysteries of the drug's actions are revealed clearly and logically. This book tells even the novice how to take it, what to expect, and includes in depth scientific information from major medical journals. The possible side effects, including nitrate contraindication are clearly explained. Unlike several other books on this topic, Viagra discusses the interactions of the drug, sex and heart disease. The book also deals with psychosocial and socioeconomic aspects of the drug. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is dealing with or interested in the topic of erectile dysfunction.

Usually the Hank books are delightful for all ages, so I was very disappointed with this latest book. THE SADDLEHOUSE MYSTERY seemed a bit disjointed, as we jumped from wierd Jake looking for Madagascar to the saddle thief. It would have been better if Little Alfred had been included in the story, as those stories tend to be the most endearing and interesting.

This book was as good as any other hank book. Like with any good book I suggest u read it.

This is a general overview of judo and is OK at that. It is not for someone looking for great depth in the very specific sub-division of judo involving the theory and practice of various gripping techniques.

I found this book to be very informative regarding the terminology and rules of competition Judo. I recommend it for anyone who desires a rounded base of knowledge on the basics.

David Scott has produces a series of stories in a style reminiscent of that of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in writing the original Sherlock Holmes series. This, combined with elements from Doyle's own stories, should mean that regular Sherlock Holmes readers will feel comfortable with this book.

Having said that, it should also be noted that the stories do not push any boundaries of the Holmes canon, and so while comfortably reassuring in their familiarity, are unlikely to spark strong passions.

A satisfying if unchallenging read for Holmes enthusiasts.

This book is a bit brief, but other than that has much to recommend it. The author seems to have a good feel for Holmes (at least as good as many other current pastiche authors). The key, for me at least, in deciding whether a pastiche is good or not is if I would want to read further Holmes adventures written by the author. In this case, the answer is a definite "Yes". Well worth the money.

I bought the book based on the cover, so I was disappointed to see that there were just few color photographs, which are gorgeous nonetheless. Because the majority of the photographs & the illustrations are in black & white, the intricate details of the costume were not enhanced as well as the colored photos.

I love this book--I've worn out two copies of it already. A great mixture of text (the description of a Winter Palace ball is heaven) and glorious pictures. I wish there was a bit more about the royal family and some detail photos for the clothes (which are stunning--if you love vintage costume this book is a must have!) but those are quibbles. Great if you love old Russia, Royalty/Court Life.

A magnificent study of egotism at its fullest. It is easy to understand why Holmes reached the status that he did, because he spent his life in an effort to maintain the social status that he thought was his. He may have been an intellectual, but it seems he directed his efforts at establishing and maintaining a position that he thought was rightfully that of the upper class of which he considered himself supreme. A good read about a man who obtained a position in history that he did not deserve.

Ms. Baker has succeeded in developing not only a view of Justice Holmes, a free thinker and a freer spirit, but also a profile of the era or, perhaps, of several eras. Justice Holmes' life crossed a number of turning points in American jurisprudence. On the academic side, Holmes took part in sea changes in the approach taken to legal teaching and legal scholarship. On the historical side, Justice Holmes witnessed and took part in events that had a marked impact on the rule and role of law in the United States -- the Civil War, Emancipation, Reconstruction, Industrialization and aggressive business practices at the turn of the last Century, World War I and the Red Scare, the Roaring Twenties and the onset of the Great Depression.

The work provides insight into the workings of the 19th century court system, the decline in influence of the Boston aristocracy and the rise of a social conscience among the judiciary. On the whole, this is an enjoyable read for history buffs, social analysts, lawyers and those who tolerate them.

This book gives 2 or 3 page brief accounts of the launching, service history, and demise of every US submarine lost in WW2, including the old S-boats left over from the 'between wars' years that saw action in the early days of WW2. The author has done a thorough job of corroborating theories of how certain submarines "died" by comparing official US Navy documents with IJN reports.

While the writing doesn't compare with the "you are there" styles of "Thunder Below", "Clear The Bridge!", and "Wahoo" by other authors, this book does do a good job of reporting the too-brief combat careers of US submarines. Pictures accompany the text for each submarine and are in black and white. The chapters are short and easy to read, and you won't need to possess any particular knowledge of how submarines operate to understand how the boats were destroyed. Submarine fans will want a copy. Naval historians will want a copy. Anyone who's played a submarine game and enjoyed it will want a copy. But if you're looking for action, you might try "Run Silent, Run Deep" or any of the numerous sub commander memoirs that have been published (including the ones mentioned in this review).

This book is not intended to be an exhaustive account of the 52 American submarines lost in WWII, but provides a concise basic reference. There is a brief chapter, in chronological order, for each sub giving a summary of its war history, a description of how it was lost and two and a few photographs of the sub and perhaps some of its crew and related ships (e.g., Japanese ships it sank). Appendices include a summary of all the losses in two pages and a summary by submarine of the losses each one inflicted on the Japanese. One important missing element in the submarine loss charts is an analysis of the cause of loss; a significant number were actually lost to sea conditions (e.g., running aground), systems failures or friendly fire, as opposed to combat. While the precise cause of loss, if known, is included in each sub's story, it would be enlightening to also have a summary in the appendix. Also a chart mapping the loss locations would provide another useful perspective. Recommended as a reference for looking up the "quick story" of each of these gallant crews and boats.

This slim volume includes brief and elementary advice on equipment and film, composition, and exposure. Despite its title, it includes very little advice about dealing with nature as a subject.

The 114-page book includes 38 full-page or near-full-page photographs along with the photographs on most other pages. This reader would have been happy with more smaller photographs and much more useful text. Also, while there are some fine images in the book, there are many surprisingly weak ones which seem more than artistically or subjectively out of range - they look like amateur snapshots.

In its favour, this book offers a simple and accessible introduction to the elementary basics of composition. It also offers more examples than many better books do of a few of the topics being discussed. For example, a discussion of eliminating clutter from a frame has three large photographs of the same subject illustrating the topic.

However in the end I can't recommend this to anyone other than rank beginners in photography. Many of the elementary ideas in the book are found other beginner's guides and magazine or web articles. The purported subject of this book - nature photography - is far better introduced and illuminated in books by John Shaw and Tim Fitzharris, and in stunningly-beautiful books by Niall Benvie. Many of these books, too, offer much of the basic advice found in this book, and are a smarter buy.

Judy is a magnificent and insightful photographer and teacher. One of the world's foremost outdoor photographers and certainly the best woman in her field. Her images are beautiful and her dignified teaching methodology is understandable, down-to-earth, and inspiring to amateurs and experts alike. There is something here for everyone. Her powerfully beautiful animal portraits and landscape images by themselves are worth the the price of the book--the descriptions of how each image was made is the frosting on the cake. Enjoy!

Here's the latest in a long series of Holmes pastiches by British journalist, theater historian and magician Val Andrews. Like a number of his recent Holmes mysteries, this one touches on the turn-of-the-century British entertainment industry, and turns on a real historical character, the legendary actor Sir Henry Irving. Sir Henry is mounting a new play very loosely based on the Bram Stoker novel DRACULA, published only a few years before. (It is more than strange that Stoker himself doesn't appear in the story, given his association with Sir Henry). A series of senseless murders then occur, crudely staged to give the impression that a vampire like the one depicted on stage by Sir Henry is responsible.

Well, there's really no action, and not much mystery--- the most obvious suspect, after a few red herrings are dragged across the trail, turns out to be... you guessed it... guilty. The novel ends on an odd, elegiac note as Holmes, Sir Henry and Inspector Lestrade hold a dinner marking their mutual retirements.

If you've enjoyed previous pastiches by Val Andrews (or his pseudonym Andrew North), you'll probably enjoy this one. If you are unfamiliar with Andrews' previous work, you may find this thin (125 pages) novel rather thin in all respects in comparison with pastiches by other authors. For my own part, I enjoy the relation between Holmes and Watson depicted by Andrews... it seems to owe a debt simultaneously to Conan Doyle and to the long series of Basil Rathbone-Nigel Bruce movies. And it's a treat here to see Holmes as a stage performer... even if he needs a lot of prompting.

For some reason Val Andrews, while a successful writer in the Sherlock Holmes canon has never really written anything that quite satisfied me. I'm not sure if it's the shortness of his stories (although Doyle certainly wrote even shorter stories) or some peculiar trick or usage of language and writing style, but they are never quite as convincing as they should be. Now that I think of it, perhaps the narrative is a bit more ponderous and the action less crisp that of Doyle's.

In any case, "The Longacre Vampire" is better than average. Simultaneously with the opening of Sir Henry Irving's adaptation of Dracula a series of murders starts which have every appearance of being done by a vampire. Holmes is brought in by the actor/producer to help resolve the murders, which are seriously affecting ticket sales. While it takes the indomitable Sherlock little time to prove that the corpses died of a broken neck rather than exsanguination, it takes far more time for Holmes to untie all the subterfuge and reveal the true perpetrator of the crimes.

Besides the immortal Holmes and Watson only Sholto Lestrade and Sir Henry are fleshed out enough to be considered real characters. The rest of the book is peopled by the regular stereotypes of British theater and law enforcement. Given the book's shortness, this is to be expected. Even so the book provides many interesting glimpses of theatre life in London and Brighton. Sir Henry is quite a piece of work, and Andrews' Lestrade much more sympathetic than Doyle's own approach.

The truth is that very few writers can duplicate Doyle's ability to create a story out of thin air and paint characters with minimalist brush strokes. Like Sax Rohmer, Doyle has the rare skill of building an imaginary atmosphere which seems more solid than our own reality. Val Andrews is to be complimented for managing an effective reinvention of past glories and so providing a diverting time to those of us who still delight in the adventures of Sherlock Holmes.