Although this book is a (very good) mystery/crime whodunit, the story reminded me of Camus's "the Stranger". The central character, in 1st-person narration, gets caught up in bizarre circumstances which take him to their existentioal "No Exit" (to borrow from Mr. Sartre). Anyway, the male/female joustings ring true, even if cynical on the surfce. And the character of Blanche Nyquist has stayed with me since I read the book.

A gripping and chilling encounter with the bad and the beautiful in Southern California. The style is quick and lean, and covers a lot of ground partially explored by James M. Cain and Ross MacDonald. Particularly memorable is the Palm Springs- Joshua Tree sequence that leads to the inevitable ultimate crime, which strangely enough seems in its own way justifiable.

Not only is this book the most comprehensive, unbiased book on breast cancer in young women I have ever read, I applaud Beth Murphy for taking the time to focus on YOUNG WOMEN with breast cancer, a sorely under-served group. This book takes the reader inside the lives of young survivors. While touching, it is never over-the-top dramatic, and it certainly isn't sappy. Murphy defines the risks of diagnosis in young women in realistic terms - the good with the bad - and does the same for treatment issues with regards to young women. Furthermore, the author doesn't beat around the bush getting to the point that while we've made great advances in breast cancer treatment, research for young women is terribly lacking. She goes on to explain the implications a woman under 40 faces when diagnosed.
Astoundingly, Murphy even manages to discuss the controversial political issues of breast cancer without ever stepping up on a soapbox. She sticks to the facts about who says what, and what questions still go unanswered.

This book is a must have for any woman who wishes to get a real understanding of her health risks where breast cancer is concerned.
Every doctor (particularly those still preaching "you're too young to have breast cancer"!!), nurse, mammography technician, breast health specialist, and breast cancer researcher should read this book and take its message to their jobs.
Every woman under 40 diagnosed with breast cancer, every mother, sister, father, brother, friend, and boyfriend of a young survivor should buy this book immediately.

There is nothing else on the market that even comes close.

This book,yes is very touching and quite moving but I think it is the educational aspect of the subject of breast cancer that I found to be the most beneficial from having read the book. The author takes you in a different direction on breast cancer, one that we haven't really seen in most other books on the subject. We are taken on a journey through the lives of these very brave women who were diagnosed with the disease at such a YOUNG age-as we usually see it in older women. I have,like most young women, thought breast cancer is not a real concern for me at my age. I have,until now, relied on my doctor to let me know what health issues he should pursue as given my current medical history ... I am glad I read this book-I am certainly more informed as will my doctor also be during my next visit.

I served in the 2nd Armored Division during MG Patton's tenure. He was an inspiration to many of us. The stories are true and very accurate. I am sure there are a few more that are not in the book! BB

The Generals Patton, father and son, served their country for 79 years, altogether, in careers unsurpassed by any other American military family. General George S. Patton Jr's life, in particular, has been examined microscopically, but the section of this work which recounts his career is enhanced by comments, for the first time, by his son and daughter.
That alone would make the book worthwhile, but the bulk of the work tells the story of Major General George S. Patton (1923 - ), himself a fine fighting general and one of the best trained officers ever to wear the uniform. Like his father, he was a scholar of his trade who understood that skillful audacity accomplishes the mission with minimal casualties.
Very readable, with invaluable comments by Major General Patton interspersed; photos, bibliography, and index. Highly recommended.

(The numerical rating above is a default setting within Amazon's format. This recviewer does not employ numerical ratings.)

Robert Bowen, who lived in Maryland, in 1943 went down to Florida to have basics (if he finishes he would join the 104 infantry division). As fate had it Bowen and a couple other of his 104th friends would be transferred to Fort Bragg where they would join the 401st regiment of the screaming eagles, the elite 101st. Bowen fights in Normandy where he was injured in the ankle. He also fights in the 72-day campaign in Holland (operation Market Garden) and there he participates in the defense of the Island. Bowen also fights at Bastogne but is captured when a German armored division finally over runs Bowen's and the rest of his surviving friend's position. The rest of his book is about trying to stay alive in the POW camp where he and all of his friends are at the edge of death because of the small and some times no rations, and dysentery. Bowen then explains his life after the War, which as you will see is quite sad.

After I first interviewed Mr. Bowen in 1998 I had tears in eyes. These feelings of sacrifice, loss, suffering, courage, and heroism surface again in this superb book. FIGHTING WITH THE SCREAMING EAGLES takes you back to the foxhole.

With Bush touring the West talking about logging as the solution to preventing ever larger forest fires, this book provides ample documentation that FIRE SUPRESSION and MONOCULTURE REPLANTING are the real causes of the current explosive environment.

I first saw this book at the top of Mt. Harkness. The fire watchman there pointed it out to me, as we both struggled to peer at Mt. Shasta through the smoky haze created by the Biscuit and Fremont fires.

The differences in the trees and ground cover between now and the last century is striking. Most of the photos taken in the late 1800's show trees devoid of branches below 20 feet, and very little ground cover. Photos of the same area taken recently show thickly limbed trees down to ground level, with dense underbrush. Without hundreds of little fires to regularly clear out the low limbs and undergrowth, the forests become dense tinderboxes. When a fire finally breaks through fire suppression, it kills the trees instead of burning their limbs.

This unusual photographic interpretation of ecological changes brought about by forest fires in the Sierra Nevada since 1849 will provide a guide which should intrigue both California residents and any interested in forestry issues, park management or ecosystems. Chapters use historical photographs to document changes which have taken place over the past 150 years, from early settlements to modern times. Fire In Sierra Nevada Forests will add fuel to debates over prescribed fires and logging issues.

I chose this book from the local library for my 7 year old daughter. When we got home, she read it immediately and started discussing the book. Now I have read it and will search the Internet to find more information about these actual events. This book is a keeper and I am buying a copy for our home library.

My son, in second grade, was so proud of himself when he completed this book on his own- his first chapter book- that he asked me to find more of the series. Fascinated by history, this historical fiction based on the Wright brothers held his interest to the end.

Fluent, lucid and written with Plumb's characteristic brevity, this is among the best introductions you will find to the high politics of the Hanoverian period. Sir John Plumb (d.2001) was one of the finest historical writers ever published in English. He is in the tradition of Macaulay and Trevelyan. His prose is polished and perfectly cadenced, and his light style masks a profound analytical grasp of the political forces that shaped this century of Whig ascendancy. Some may accuse him of adhering to the 'Great Men' school of history. If so, he highlights all their vices as well as their virtues.

Plumb was criticised for more often making the grand sweep of historical analysis as opposed to dredging through the minutiae of historical documentation. This analysis, I believe, is flawed and inimical to the notion that for history to be worthy of the name it should be readable for a wider audience, not solely confined to the institutions where it is nurtured.

Plumb's scholarship has inspired generations of laymen; his intellectual generosity and didactic rigour has also reaped its rewards within historical departments on both sides of the Atlantic. Those inspired by the Plumb school of history, who mastered their craft under his watchful eye at Christ's College, Cambridge, include such well known names as Simon Schama, David Cannadine, Niall Ferguson and Neil Mc Kendrick.

This is by far the best book that i have read in a long time. Most history books are boring but this one is anything but. Plumb goes to great details explaining the relationship that each King shared with his son. He does a wonderful job of giving his readers a rare insight to the royal family.

Thanksgiving is given a new point of view and retelling in this very special picture book. Jean Craighead George, the Newbery Medal-winning author of JULIE OF THE WOLVES, as well as nearly 100 distinguished nature books for young readers, presents the story of the first Thanksgiving with warmth, fascinating detail, and lyrical as well as informative storytelling. Thomas Locker's colorful, classical paintings beautifully complement the author's words. The story begins with the formation of Plymouth Rock, a huge, two-million year old glacial mass that comes to rest in Cape Cod. Then the Pawtuxet tribe arrives, earning their living from the land, including Squanto, who is later captured by Englishmen and sold into slavery. Across the ocean, Pilgrims seeking religious freedom set out on a perilous voyage to America. Upon reaching the New World, they must deal with many hardships including disease, starvation, and death. Still the Pilgrims endure. In the springtime, Squanto, freed from slavery and now a member of another Indian tribe, arrives, bringing peace to the people of Plymouth. He teaches them how to grow crops, catch fish, hunt deer and turkey, showing the Pilgrims the importance of respecting the land and using it wisely. In 1621, after a bountiful harvest, a great celebratory feast takes place for three days, in which the people gather and eat and play games--the first Thanksgiving. This story is a unique portrayal of historical events, always keeping the reader intrigued and awed, with its terrific writing and inspirational illustrations. As she does in every one of her books, Jean Craighead George reminds us of the need to honor our natural resources and every living thing on the planet. In this story, too, she sends a message of peace that will inspire every person and reach beyond one day in November, to give thanks every day for what we have.

Want to know where Plymouth Rock came from and what it has to do with the pilgrims? What happened when the Mayflower finally sighted land? This is the book for you. The First Thanksgiving is history, community, geology, and science in a very beautifully illustrated and believable story of the colonization of Massachusetts. The pilgrims came to the New World looking for religious freedom only to be met by fear, death, hunger, and an insightful and helpful Pawtuxet, Squanto. It was from his willingness to share his knowledge that we have the celebration of Thanksgiving.

This book, compiled by one of the greatest lieder performers of our time, is an extensive anthology of lieder texts from mid-18th century (Haydn, Gluck) to the first half of the 20th (Shoeck, Hindemith), with the vast majority placed in the heart of Fisher-Dieskau expertise - the romantic lieder: over 150 of Schubert's songs, most of Schumann's, and then Loewe, Cornelius, Brahms and many more. Important cycles by Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Wolff, Mahler etc. are given in their entirety. The translation, even though it does not preserve the rhyme, does preserve the line structure and serves its purpose to the fullest. English texts (W. Scott, W. Shakespeare etc.) used by composers in their German translation, are "back-translated" to English, rather than presented in their original form. The texts are alphabetically organised, and in addition to the poet's (or translator's) name, the names of (in most cases) all composers who wrote music to the text are given. There are 3 useful indices - one by author, one by composer and one general index. In the interesting introduction to the book, Fischer-Dieskau briefly sketches the history of the artistic song from his own very interesting point of view. And here one has to realise that this is indeed a personal anthology made by a great performer of the German Lied. Most of the texts, with very few exceptions, are originally in German, or used by the composers in their German translation. If the text is not in German, as in the case of Carpani's "In Questa Tomba Oscura", it is there since it is set to music by Beethoven, or Tchaikowski's setting for the Scottish ballad "Edward" is in the book probably just because he used the German translation... This book can not replace much needed books that are not available, such as the entire corpus of Schubert's song texts, in the way that Norton's anthology of English literature can not replace the complete writings of the authors that appear in the collection. The texts are not annotated, something that would be welcome in a more reference-type book. However, for whoever is interested in the German lied, this is an essential and extensive anthology, accompanied by very good translations and very well organised. PS - now someone should come up with a French equivalent...

offers english (poetic not literal) translations of many german lieder texts neglected in other resources such as "word by word translations of songs and arias." indespensible resource for singers, pianists, and others interested in lieder who do not speak german. includes the greater portion of texts set by Schubert, Wolf, Schumann, etc. also includes texts set by more modern or obscure composers, e.g. Peter Cornelius, Clara Schumann, etc. a book that needed to be written.

This is a lovely book and a great addition to any costumer's or 18th century re-enactor's library.

For women, shift, stays, several gowns, petticoats and shortgowns are shown, including one shortgown with matching petticoat, and caps. For men, there are patterns taken from coats, breeches, a lovely shirt with a frill at the neck opening, waistcoat and coat. There are also some less usual items: a calash (women's hood with a collapsible framework), two banyans (men's indoor garments, similar to a dressing-gown), a man's greatcoat with for capes over the shoulders, and pair of pattens (overshoes - you'll need blacksmithing and woodcrafting skills to make those!). There are also accessories: embroidered wallets, pockets (one made from patchwork, see back cover for a colour picture) and pinballs, stockings, apron and mitts. Another nice feature of the book is the inclusion of children's garments - there are a baby's shirt, a toddler's skirt, a gown for a 5 or 6-year old and breeches for a 4- or 5-year old boy.

All patterns are drawn on a grid with 1" squares and are presented clearly and with sufficient annotations to make up the garment. The garments vary in difficulty: those items that would probably have been made at home are fairly simple (shirt, shift, banyan, petticoat, apron and maybe the caps); those made by professional dressmakers or tailors are more complicated. The clothes are mostly of Quaker provenance, which means that they are rather unadorned but, as the author puts it, "normative" for their place and time. Many of the items can be traced back to their original owners.

In the appendix, the author discusses clothes inventories of the 18th century and lists some original inventories, thus giving an overview of what the wardrobe of someone living in the 18th century would have looked like.

To judge from the text, the book is not aimed at a beginner but at somebody who has already done some research in this area; it assumes a certain level of expertise on part of the reader. The bibliography contains only those works that are mentioned in the book; a "further reading" list might have been a good idea. (Some tips: Two "standard" works about 18th century clothing are "_Patterns of Fashion 1: 1660-1860_ by Janet Arnold and _ The Cut and Construction of Women's Clothes_ by Norah Waugh, both with patterns taken from extant garments. A good book with drawing of clothes and many details of construction is _Costume in Detail_ by Nancy Bradfield. Also check out _Costume Close Up_ by Linda Baumgarten, which also shows historical garments from the 18th century and would be a good complement to this book.)

The only real drawback is that the illustrations are b/w. Some more photos of details would also havebeen a good idea. The only colour pictures are on the cover, the back cover shows some of the pockets and wallets, the front cover two of the gowns. The mannequins that the gowns have been placed on wear no wigs and have no lower arms, which makes the picture look somewhat disturbing. But don't let this deter you from buying this book, it is very good!

Fitting & Proper details a remarkable collection of mid to late 18th century costume in the holdings of the Chester County (PA) Historical Society. Admittedly based the model presented by Janet Arnold in her acclaimed Patterns of Fashion series, Fitting & Proper provides descriptions, photographs, and scaled diagrams of a variety of clothing styles. As described in the introduction, most items carry a Quaker provenance, although in only a few instances is the original owner of any given garment known. Even so, all garments are believed to have been worn by inhabitants of Chester County, making this a welcome edition in the study of American dress. The forty-one items presented include a satisfying mix of dress for women, men, and children, and cover outerwear, undergarments, and accessories. Burnston provides a written description of each garment, including the type of fabric and colors used; details of the original yardage, such as width and thread count; name of the original owner, if known; and donor's name. Of interest to this reviewer is the information provided on alterations made to the garments at various points in time. Although color is always more useful in providing detail of the fabrics, as seen by the marvelous cover photographs, the black and white photographs are well-executed. Nearly every item is shown in both front and back view, and most are further shown in some close-up detail. In some cases, however, more detailed close-ups would have been welcome.

As with other books of this nature, Fitting & Proper is not intended for the novice seamstress. Only a person with years of experience working with historic reproductions will understand the rather brief descriptions of how each garment is constructed. But for the accomplished costumer, the combination of photograph, diagram, and description is more than adequate to assist in the construction of accurate reproductions for use in living history or theater. Less experienced seamstresses will certainly benefit from the information presented, particularly in understanding the relationship of various pattern pieces, even if they choose not to take on the daunting task of reproduction. Also of interest is the appendix detailing a survey of clothing as represented in local estate inventories. The inventories present tantalizing bits of detail about clothing in determining the worth and status of both men and women. As Burnston notes, the survey illustrates "both the strengths and shortcomings of using estate inventories as a source of information on 18th century everyday clothing." Further research by others in this area will certainly be welcome. Although not intended to be a comprehensive study of 18th century costume and culture, this reviewer believes the volume would have benefited from a "suggested readings" list that would guide the novice reader to additional information on such topics as proper fit of garments, appropriate fabrics and findings, clothing construction, and general culture of the 18th century. That said, Fitting and Proper is an attractive and well-presented volume with much information to share.