This has to be a great opportunity missed. For many, including myself, Peter Cushing was THE Holmes (after Rathbone) and here was a chance to really detail his performances in the role - especially the BBC series. But the author adds very little to our knowledge of either Peter`s portrayal of the character or the Holmes Canon itself. A pity.

Tony Earnshaw presents a well-written and thoroughly researched monogram on the late great Peter Cushing's performances as Sherlock Holmes.

An Actor and A Rare One is very readable, and insightful book. Lightweight, it presents much information on Cushing's performances in both a factual and critical manner. With lengthy chapters on the Hammer Hound of the Baskervilles, the BBC tv series and on the Masks of Death and proposed follow up, along with a guide to his Holmes performances and a selection of biographies for fellow cast and crew on the productions, this is very much a book for both Cushing and Holmes enthusiasts.

An excellent publication, which presents new light on a much-loved actor in one of his finest roles.

Thinkers like George Marsden have suggested that American higher education is without heart, its soul has been lost. While many universities once proudly sported a Christian identity, this distinctiveness has been lost in a sea of relativism and scientism. In Building the Christian Academy Holmes seeks to relocate the university's soul by tracing a set of themes consistently present throughout the history of Christian education. With his historically grounded argument, he shows that liberal learning can exist within a confessional context. His vision is for cross-disciplinary integration saturated in mentoring relationships. Holmes states his case strongest when he sagely observes,
"The unity of knowledge is at best an ideal, and integration an unending task, but it is nonetheless implicit in the theological conviction that truth is one coherent whole in the omniscient mind of God" (115).

The author finds four "recurring emphasis" that form the core of Christian education (2). These are:
1. The usefulness of liberal arts as preparation for service both to church and society.
2. The unity of truth.
3. Contemplative (or doxological) learning.
4. The care of the soul (what we call moral and spiritual formation).
In the contributions of the Alexandrian school, Augustine, Monastery and Cathedral schools, the Scholastic university, the Reformation, Francis Bacon, and Cardinal John Henry Newman the author finds precedence for these foci.

While this aim sounds compelling, Holmes' book is nevertheless in search of an identity. Building the Christian Academy dabbles in history and philosophy, especially church history and educational philosophy, and yet one particular focus in never established. The author spends most of his time rehashing the ideas other thinkers have had, rarely drawing his own conclusions or making an explicit case for the four themes he sees as central to higher education. To Holmes' credit he informs readers of the themes from the outset, however as one continues to read the proposed argument fails to find systematic treatment. This sporadic coverage is most unfortunate as the themes he suggests appear promising. Holmes seems more intent on referencing each theme than in the careful development of one. He seems impatient and hurried, leaving the reader to miss the import of what are possibly quite significant ideas. In addition, the paucity of primary sources and historical consciousness leaves us hungry for more refined scholarship. If anything the feeble heart of the book implicitly makes the case for specialization in academia (as opposed to eager generalists who are a "jack of all trades").

If the book were expanded significantly beyond its cursory 122 pages, or perhaps even extended into a four-volume series, a significant contribution would have been made to the history of Christian education. As it stands however, the book seems to be something of an afterthought, the result of an editor's deadlines and a professor's desire to publish, rather than the culmination of thoughtful reflection and careful historical contemplation. The choppy, erratic writing is unfortunate as the four themes he identifies appear to have promise in revitalizing Christian higher education. Building the Christian Academy starts with high aims but quickly settles for surface-level thought making it an unworthy read for those serious about the history of Christian education.

Dr. F. R. Bosch an apologist, researcher, and lecturer who integrates [Biblical] faith and knowledge, is a full-time university professor in Southern California, U.S.A.

Prof. Arthur F. Holmes is to be commended for undertaking this immense project, and being able to narrow it down to nine chapters, and one-hundred and nineteen pages. That is a feat in itself. Considering the breadth of the subject, this is a good abridged and succinct overview of the unfolding historical, philosophical and environmental events of the western Christian Academies. The book focuses on the earlier historical evolution of higher education, while briefly addressing contemporary discussions, practices, and the state of present Christian Academies (colleges/universities).

Holmes' book stimulates interactive reading. It perhaps generates more questions than there are answers. This being the case, some may think that the book fails to discuss the pertinent areas fully. Others, may believe that the subject is dealt with from a too narrow perspective, or perhaps the topic could have been addressed from several Christian traditions, allowing the reader to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the subject.

In the next to last page, Prof. Holmes advises that Christian Academies "must return to the liberal arts" in an effort to educate and prepare the whole person. To accomplish this "Christian scholarship must be cultivated, and we must focus on the theological foundations of learning." This sounds good. However, if the "right combination" of what is being proposed could have been found and applied in the earlier Christian Academies, we would have the near-perfect combination today or its derivation. Instead, today's Christian Academies (colleges/universities) are trying to figure out the right combination.

It seems that Christian Academies need to reevaluate and revisit their original reason for being. That is, their commission statements, their vision statements, and their mission statements. There may be a need to find understanding of what it means to be in the world, yet not being worldly. It would also seem prudent to consider what it means that our thoughts are not God's, thus our ways are not His. As an ancient wise man said - We can prove all things, but is the Lord convinced?

The connotation of "building" in the title of the book conveys the thought that there is a [lasting] foundation that weathers the ideological and theological storms of time. The proposal of the Liberal Arts being the means to offer a "rounded" preparation - an education that ultimately leads students to become God-cognizant and make God-connections seems idealistic. Liberal Arts education alone is not going to cause students to make a God-connection. The history of Christian and non-Christian liberal arts colleges and universities have sufficiently demonstrated this.

It seems more prudent and realistic to advocate that a Liberal Arts education that takes place in the Christian context, where the foundational Biblical absolutes are taught is more likely to stimulate God-connections. However, the history of Christian institutions of higher learning seems to confirm that in their attempt to "adjust" to the times, they have compromised, and, sometimes, even rescinded their principal reason for being. Advocating what worked in the past and simply updating through accommodation will fall short of being successful.

It may be the "high-noon" for Christianity to recapture the Spirit of early-Christianity that led the Church and its early-academies. It caused them to rise not by might nor by power, but by the Spirit of revelation and use the tools of the times to communicate the Good News of Jesus Christ. Twenty-first century Christianity must express the Biblical Absolutes in contemporary terms. It must rediscover how to communicate and apply its absolutes - Truth, while divorcing itself from the outdated tools of the past. If this is not possible, then it must cease to promote its Biblical teachings as infinite and absolute. This may sound brash, albeit, it is the stark reality. Either God is true and His Word is absolute or not. Christian Academies need to equip themselves to communicate a message that has not changed from a God that changes not, or they are fooling themselves.

Perhaps Christian Academies also need gifted "prophets" to proclaim God's pertinent words of how Christian Academies can make a paradigm shift to relate to the twenty-first century while retaining and embracing the distinctive absolutes of the Christian faith without watering them down, compromising, or allowing them to be regarded as outdated and no longer relevant to post-modernism, or what some are beginning to call post-Christian.

Though I admittely have the previous print of this book, I am fairly convinced that my judgements of that book hold true for this edition. The C++ code presented here is some of the worst I have ever seen. The earlier chapters actually try to be a crashcourse C++. I got the distinct feeling in later chapters that the author's full knowledge of this wonderful language are unfortunately contained therein.

The detail level of this book is saddeningly low. Being 112 pages (194 in my edition) this is hardly a surprise anymore.

Long story short, if you want to see someone write bad but well documented code for a simple compiler, by all means buy this. If you want to know how things actually work, more books will be a necessity. My suggestion for theory: Dragon Book (Aho et al.) and add Holub's "Compiler Design in C" for a practical hands-on, but in-depth approach.

1)This book is a nice one to read for Beginners in this context 2)Ease to understand is extra value to this book. 3)This book edges out many others in this category. 4)I would recomend this book to novice programmers.

THis should not be a book, but some sort of a College study, nothing more than that! It's boring, unconclusive, adds nothing new to the reade acostumed with WW I literature !!!

Richard Holmes has written a no-nonsense concise guide to both World War I and the controversial historiography that has dogged the conflict ever since. He summarizes the events of the Western Front (only--other theaters are mentioned only as they impact Germany's decisions about force allocation) quickly, perhaps too quickly for my taste. He slows down a little bit when reviewing the major controversies from the war over tactics, strategy, and war guilt, where he examines the different schools of thought with an even hand. Sometimes his hand is too even: on some topics, particularly when discussing the question of why trench warfare degenerated into such bloody, futile slaughter, I wanted Holmes to be bolder in naming names.

But these are petty disagreements with what is a very successful attempt to summarize the events on the Western Front. I hope Holmes will someday give other theaters similar treatment.

Once again, the father-son team of Ron and Stephen Holmes serve up a stew of fact, half-truth, and bizarre misinformation in an overpriced volume which claims to have the best interest of students and readers at heart. It is extremely odd that two such "experts" in the field of serial murder cannot spell the names of infamous killers, much less relate the facts of their cases with some semblance of accuracy. All the more strange that their editors fail to catch such glaring contradictions, can't spell "Zodiac"--they use a"k"!--etc. If you're looking for accurate information, save your money on this one.

I thought that this book offered a great over view of the topic. It was clear & easy to understand with great examples & citations of authors research!

I appreciate what Mr. Holmes is getting at with his series of books, and I have purchased several of them. The material is fair in its description and accuracy, but if you purchase this book with the idea of building a gun at home (provided you have met the government's regulations), you had best think again. The only way to construct a firearm utilizing the methods in Bill's books is to have access to machinery including a lathe and milling machine. That being said, the books are worth a read to familiarize yourself with basic gun construction and the techniques included can be used and expanded upon in your own design.

An excellent book for the expert gunsmith, although a beginner may indeed have difficulty understanding it. The only major problem was the laughably bad drawings and diagrams, which proved to be difficult but not impossible to follow. Overall, it was well worth a read.

It's hard to find an entry-level book about sociolinguistics. Holmes is probably one of the few people who've ventured to give it a go and didn't do very bad. The realistic and colorful examples of every theory are both this book's flaw and its forte. As a New Zealander, Holmes knows what it's like to live in a multilingual society and this shows in her choice of examples. They help to bring the theories alive, but at times they blur your view of the central theories and technical terms. All in all a pretty good effort, and actually rather pleasant to read.

Easy to work with. Although there are too many examples in this book.

For want of a new Sherlock Holmes pastiche collection to read, I decided to give this one a try after reading about it in Booklist. The premise sounded interesting; alas, it plays out poorly. Holmes is so far out of character in most of these that it's not even funny. Yes, these stories are supposed to be other characters' views of him, but they could have at least retained some spirit of Doyle's original. Instead many writers take Holmes' character and run with it. For instance, the story involving Irene Adler's relationship with Holmes is not only unoriginal but ridiculous. I hope that there will be a new collection of pastiches, one that vastly outweighs this one in the quality department.

Though it would seem that every Doyle character and anyone of real fame or not the so famous from the late Victorian Era has had a shot at moving aside Watson to provide their Holmes viewpoint. This anthology proves that Dr. Watson has many more bedfellows as thirteen individuals, one to a tale, tells their side of a relationship with Holmes. Each contribution is quite good as the authors do more than just genuflect to the master by relating a thrilling adventure. Thus the Baker St. Irregulars will find MY SHERLOCK HOLMES a clever well-written anthology in which each protagonist or in some cases antagonist provides a unique first person account of an encounter with the sleuth.

Harriet Klausner

This book is very good, if you don't like the original Sherlock Holmes. It is well written and very interesting, but it couldn't be further away from the original character. Some of my biggest pet peeves include: the dates are all wrong (this book takes place in 1882 after Holmes and Watson have known each other for years?), Watson now has an injured back instead of leg/shoulder, Holmes was tortured as a child and falls in love with some Irish widow. It's just weird, and is not faithful to the original. If you like Conan Doyle's stories, steer clear. If you don't know much about Holmes, go read something else. If you don't like Holmes and want an interesting book, then this one is for you.

Luke Steven Fullenkamp is a masterful storyteller!

The second book of a three book trilogy, it surpassed my expectations (again). His first, Sherlock Holmes and The Adventure of the Three Dragons, was an excellent book and for a first time author, I thought he would have a tough time topping it, but The Flying Dutchman does just that.

The authors uncanny writing style puts the reader inside the book with such attention to detail that you feel as though you are right along side Holmes and Watson through every step of this mystery thriller! This book is a very enjoyable read. Not only does it provide an excellent storyline, but lets the reader see the side of Holmes not normally depicted in other novels.

The author, L S Fullenkamp, seems to have written the book in the classic sense with a slightly different vision of Holmes which is what writing is all about!

Adventure abounds in each and every chapter and if you find mystery, drama, and romance to your liking, then you will certaintly enjoy the book. Fullenkamp has managed to combine all three very effectively to provide readers with a fantastic book.

The first, and second books by the author suggest to me that L S Fullenkamp is a very talented writer and we can expect even more from his upcoming third book!

I was singularly unenthusiastic about my only previous encounter with the Sherlock Holmes pastiche novels written by Val Andrews ."Sherlock Holmes at the Western Front "struck me as slipshod and written as a chore with little energy or style.This entry in the series is better and the music hall background is probably the reason ,given Andrew's skills as a professional magician and experienced stage performer.There is a sense of affection for the setting and characters that helps compensate for a slight and wispy storyline.
Homes is called in to investigate a series of near fatal mishaps in a London theatre ;at first attributed to a ghost purported to haunt the theatre it becomes clear they are the result of human agency and specifically aimed at George Robey (an actual character )who narrowly avoids death twice at the hands of his unknown would-be assasssin.
This is not the only puzzle however for Robey is a talented violin maker and a has made a replica of a priceless violin and finds that his copy has been switched with the genuine article in a museum.
The solution is a bit un Holmesian being achieved by eavesdropping rather than ratiocination but the book has pace and vigour and will (mildly )satisfy devotees of the character without ever approching the standards set by other pasticheurs like Estleman or Boyer.

Flip but fun .

Here's another slender Sherlock Holmes pastiche from the prolific British journalist, theatrical historian, Sherlockian and magician Val Andrews. And this one brings Andrews' interest in theatrical history back to center stage.

A somewhat mellower Holmes is freshly back from the Great Hiatus (post Reichenbach Falls), and takes Watson out for an evening at Watson's favorite Music Hall... but the Hall has undergone an evolution into a Variety Theater (somewhat like America's vaudeville). The Hall's owner brings a seemingly minor problem to the attention of Holmes and Watson, but the problem soon becomes serious as several murder attempts are aimed at comedian and singer George Robey (an actual historical character, as are some of the other performers we meet in the course of the adventure), and Robey simultaneously finds a priceless violin in his collection, in place of a copy he had built himself as a hobby!

The murder attempts, the violin, a mysterious ghost or ghosts haunting the Hall, and a number of other plot turns are all connected by Holmes at adventure's end, of course. But the real interest here is Andrews' recreation of a vanished Golden Age of British "vaudeville". I enjoyed it all.