I fondly remember reading a fascinating biography of George Washington Carver when I was much younger...this wasn't it.

This book reads like a series of short anecdotes about Dr. Carver, with very little connecting them. It can be confusing with it's bad cohesion and tendancy to wander off track.

I knew I was in trouble on page one when I couldn't figure out what year it was talking about. Paragraph one talks about the great news of the the 13th amendment ending slavery in 1865. Paragraph 2 and 3 talk about Dr. Carver being born in 1860 or '61, but it isn't clear that the narration has jump anti-chronologically here.

I don't know what the target age is for this book. I think a High School Freshman could handle most of it. But I had to go to a dictionary to look up the word self-abnegation.

My advice? Do read a biography of the great and fascinating scientist/naturalist George Washington Carver. Don't make it this one; there are better ones out there.

THIS BOOK IS ABOUT A EXTRAODRINARY MAN, GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER. HE WAS A GREAT AMERICAN WHO CONTRIBUTED TO THE WORLD AS A SCIENTIST, HUMANITARIAN, AND AND AMBASSADOR OF GOOD WILL. ONE THING THAT MAKES THIS BOOK UNIQUE IS THAT IT WAS PUBLISHED SHORTLY AFTER HIS DEATH, SO MANY PEOPLE THAT KNEW HIM WERE STILL ALIVE. I WOULD RECCOMEND THIS BOOK TO ANYOME WHO IS INTERESTED IN LEARNING ABOUT G. W. CARVER.

This is an exceptionally well written biography of one of histories truly great scientists. The power of his intellect developed through many years of struggle and emerged to provide us and the World with a gentle giant. He was a scientist who had no limits to his capacity to study and contribute to all. This book served as a guide for my father who lectured to many audiences about the valuable accmplishments of Dr. Carver. We presented that book and my father's lecture notes to Tuskegee recently.

The Little Bodice Book shows how to take a mid-20th century bodice pattern with bust darts and decorate it to give the impression of historical style. This is a fine book for school and community theater. It should be especially helpful for the novice seamstress who wants a Halloween or party costume. Re-enactors and others who need histoically correct construction and reproduction techniques should seek elsewhere.

Covers basic bodice construction thoroughly with enough detail in the instruction to support basic theater or festival-type needs. Shows in b/w hand-drawn diagrams how to modify the basic pattern to depict different classes of bodices, in the eras of 1600 (Elizabethan), 1650 (Restoration), 1770 (Rococo), and Victorian. A simple size and measurement chart and pattern dimensions for a basic size 8 bodice simplify the decision of how big to cut the pieces. Detailing info includes making/using covered cording, grommets, size-adjustable bodices, placket openings, sleeve and cuff variations, sleeve cap additions, and boning placement. Emphasis is on construction, not historical reference, and the author has obviously gone through many bodices step-by step. Professionals will not find much here to get excited about, but if you're just trying to build yourself a costume without hiring a dressmaker, or are a wardrobe volunteer for community theater, this itty bitty workbook will be just the thing you need to walk you through the process. If you've looked in catalogs for period patterns, you know they're about three times the cost of this book (when they're available), and their instructions tend to be hit or miss. Save yourself the long wait for pattern shipment and be guided through the bodice-building process with no pain and lots of confidence-boosting diagrams. Caveat: brand new sewers shouldn't start here - instead take a basic class or enlist a talented friend to do the sewing. This book doesn't have an elementary glossary or substitute for a rudimentary knowledge of sewing, but intermediate sewers will do fine. And it's small enough to tuck into your purse when you head to the fabric store, so your fabric requirements are right there handy. All in all, well written and drawn. This would be the book I'd lend to a friend about to make her first period bodice.

This book is great for the person limited on time and space for costumes. It shows how to transform a basic shape into several different looks depending on the details. Elizabethan, Rococo, Restoration and some Victorian are all covered briefly. Don't be shocked about how small it is. There is a lot compacted into this little reference guide.

Or worse. Well first of all she manages to add in at the end the usual whodunnit, with the criminal being the person most trusted. Then there is the whole being in love with the Lynx. I just didn't think that was realistic at all. We didn't even have the comfort of a happy ever after end. But I'm sure plenty of readers will disagree with me and think it was a fantastic story.

I purchased a copy of Shadow of the Lynx in England some 30 years ago. I really enjoyed reading it. Unfortunately I misplaced my copy. Years later I purchased a copy of it at a flea market in Australia. Unfortunately I was disapointed as this copy was the original version. The version I enjoyed was the rewritten version and is a far superior story than the original. I purchased a copy in Canada second hand and again it was the original version also. If you every chance upon the rewritten version and have read the original buy it as it is really worth the read.

I thought The Shadow of the Lynx was a very good book. It had me captivated the whole time and made me feel as though I was there.

I don't generally read Romance novels. If I accidentally read one, then I generally dislike it. The genre and I are simply not made for each other. Legend of the Seventh Virgin is different, in that it and I have a history together. Between the ages of 8-11 I must have read this book 60,000,000 times, and when I saw it in the store I had to buy it to see if it was as I remember.

It may be that Victoria Holt is a formulaic writer. I've never read any of her other books, so I wouldn't know. What I do know is that the same impressions I had as a child came back to me very strongly. I loved Kerensa and I hated Mellyora. I totally supported Kerensa's decision about Nellyphant and would have done exactly the same. The one signal difference, I suppose, is that I felt much less dissatisfied about the ending than I did as a child (her fate no longer seeming so awful to me).

I kind of figure that anything that vivid can't be all bad.

As I read this book, at first I was becoming a little frustrated. When is our lady Ms. Carlee/St. Larnston going to attain to that mountain top and stay there. Then I began to become aware that each time she began to elevate, some flaw of character or motive (greed, pride, whatever) began to become evident and she would be brought low. This is a story about real life, which is not a "live happily ever after" situation by any means. The story leaves her after a series of a strong introspection following a couple of near brushes with death and a deep emotional disappointment, at a good starting point, low again, but poised for a good revival this time. I guess the author left the sequel of the story up to the reader.

I like the story because it speaks of my own personal experiences with life and what resolves I have come to at each rise and fall .

Could the author have been familiar with the following passage from Jeremiah 18:

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: "Go down to the potter's house, and there I will give you my message." So I went down to the potter's house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.

I had perceived a striking resemblance to these principals in the story.

Legend of the Seventh Virgin is an interesting book in the Victoria Holt canon. I am going to name another book and author: "Cotillion", a Regency romance by Georgette Heyer, who invented that particular genre. Holt, too, invented a particular kind of modern Gothic with a strong romantic element, which was an instant success in the same way as the Regency. Anyway, "Cotillion" is a novel in which Heyer subtly subverts the traditions and mores of the Regency genre - rules she herself established! - and "Seventh Virgin" is a novel in which Victoria Holt explores the themes of the particular genre that she created. (She was influenced by Charlotte Bronte, but made the modern first-person narrative Gothic historical romance her own). I think this is what makes it so particularly interesting - Holt experiments with heroines and lead characters, playing around with their roles and our expectations, manipulating the rules she herself established (and unfortunately later depended too much upon) for this genre. Snare of Serpents, one of the better of her later books shows similar experimentation with the roles of hero and heroine and subversion of our expectations.

The book is, as we expect from Holt, interesting with the customary mysterious buildings and ruins, the intriguing characters with the dark pasts, the sense of fear and dread and the eventual, startling, unexpected conclusion. However, I did not particuarly like the last chapter, which appeared to be an after-thought, a whole other separate study, as if it belonged to a collection of short stories or in a folder of experimental jottings. Having said that, Legend of the Seventh Virgin is still a great Holt, a mysterious, slightly subversive Gothic which courageously plays a game with the author's own rules and ways. If you are studying the development of the Gothic romance through the ages, you should try to refer to this book as well as to Holt's "Mistress of Mellyn" to sufficently represent her work in this genre. It is dissatisfactory in some ways, but as a friend said:

"I thought it was an interesting twist upon the Gothic plot. The characters didn't deserve the fates that would normally befall them. So they didn't"

I think this sums it up pretty well, really. A brave and relatively successful experiment on Holt's part.

This "Bergey's Manual of Determinative Bacteriology" has an admirable practical approach. It depicted the characteristics of bacterial groups in a straightforward manner. Using a wide focus, it featured vivid illustrations, which will enable you to reason like a professional. The manual provided a good number of easy-to-master materials.
However, I felt that this 9th Edition, which first appeared in 1994, is just too old. The authors should give us a more recent update. Also, the high retail price of this book ensured that many people would go for a better alternative. There are lots of them out there! The choice is yours.

The book is big and heavy and is filled with useful information for the world of microorganisms. All microbiology majors must have this book in their libraries. This book helps you identify, compare, and understand microorganisms better. Every organism is descibed in detail: gram-stain reactions, fermentation reaction, morphology, etc.

Rev. Lucas Holt is an unusual detective: An Episcopalian priest
with a penchant for babes, beer and rough language. Operating out of Austin, Texas (perhaps an unsuspected crime mecca), this decidely humanistic cleric stumbles onto a vicious murder scam--
a hit service which enables disgruntled seniors to cash in on their ungrateful adult offspring. With expert help from some slick slimeballs of course. Fortunately, the Rev relies on more than divine guidance to solve these murders: an eager and able team of diversified experts whose talents have been assessed by the great state of Texas. Thanks to his years as Penitentiary chaplain, Holt has acquired his own private God Squad, who answer to a higher authority than the stymied APD.

Author Meyer--himself a cleric--seems anxious to show off his knowledge of prison jargon; the book (or series, if such it proves) could be improved by providing a glossary of Big House lingo. He also displays his carnal knowledge with gusto; one wonders if he secretly delights in flaunting explicit scenes and titillating inuedos for vicarious pleasure. Perhaps he is
cleverly pandering to the lowest common denominator of his reading public; or merely following the sage advice of his editor. Devotess of clerical mysteries may be surprised at
the the Rev's promiscuity and verbal vulgarity.

Vacillating between two attractive women every other chapter, Austin's gift to broads on both sides of the law is liberal
with the family jewels. Yet at his 43rd birthday he becomes uncomfortably aware of his own mortality--male midlife crisis. More to the point, he realizes that perhaps singlehood is no
longer the best lifestyle, but where to find a woman willing to commit: a cop, a politician or a former madam? Possibly there will be an engagement in a third novel. The plot development is excellent, as we find ourselves increasingly embroiled in foul schemes; Meyer provides a delightful rogues' gallery--former inmates united to help the Rev in his underground pursuit of justice. This mystery has one slight flaw however: it places much emphasis on local color, with almost slavish dedication to reproduce the streets of Austin faithfully. There are also a few loose ends which left me dangling. The best part of this novel, though, is decidedly the complex but loyal interactions among the members of the God Squad. I challenge readers to find the fragile but valid theme, hidden between the 266 pages of this mystery. A theme which may be a subtle plea to Society at large to give a second chance to those who have paid their debts.

In this book Mr. Meyer's writing style develops over his first work, The Saints of God Murders. There is much more character development and the plot is witty and original. Anyone with any close dealings in a church will be able to identify with some of the main church "characters." I recommend this series!

As a long-time Barbara Pym fan, I was curious about Hazel Holt's mysteries. I had previously read her biography of Pym who was her colleague and friend. So, perhaps it was not fair of me to expect or hope for Pymean wit in the work of Ms. Holt. Certainly I found little of it. The main character, Sheila Mallory is a likeable, if dim, amateur sleuth of the bumbling variety. Her various stabs at a solution to the murder of an assistant employed by the Bodlean Library are pathetic. Ultimately, the mystery is easy to solve simply because the list of suspects is so small. The book would be pleasant enough given its Oxford setting, but was ruined for me by the depiction of homosexuals. They are shown as scheming and cruel. (Saying more about their motivations would constitute a spoiler.) Strangely, a novel that seems intended as a pleasant read ends up as a mean-spirited exercise in cliched characters.

An author to replace Christie. Because of her age, I can relate to Ms Holt's Mrs Malory. It's refreshing to be able to read about a woman who has been wife and mother who in midlife can still have a career or two (detecting). I am now a confirmed Hazel Holt fan and cannot wait until her next Mrs Malory adventures are published.

Isn't this girl so lucky to have such a frightful adventure and come away unharmed? And once that end of the story is over, it never gets brought up again. I'm not sure I expected somebody to follow her, but I did feel there would be some point to that part of the story. It just seems as if the main plot on it's own just wasn't good enough. Well funnily enough in the end the whole story just isn't good enough either.

This was my second VH book and it was just about as wonderful as the first. The new worlds it took me to was awesome and I could feel the emotion and suspense that Rosetta was going through!

The Captive is, by far, Victoria Holt's best and most memorable tale. The main character is suddenly kidnapped and sold to be part of the harem of a powerful Islamic man. However, her sensability and connections in high places bring her through such a frightening experience that you almost feel it to be your own.

But please. How obvious is it who the culprit is? How come it's always the person the heroine trusts the most, or suspects the least. For once could one of the suspects have dunnit. It would actually, despite what the author may have thought, make it less predictable.

I enjoyed reading this story, but it definitely wasn't the best Ms. Holt ever wrote. In all of her books, the culprit is fairly obvious, but somehow the unmasking of this villain came off a tad clumsily. For me, the fun of Ms. Holt's books is getting inside the heroine's mind and also just savoring the way the author creates a mood. She is great at setting up an isolated (and often impossibly romantic) situation for the heroine and the intricate plotting and phrasing used is enjoyable even when you are certain who the villain/villainess of the piece is.
In this book, Sarah Ashington, the heiress to the tea plantation, was not quite so likable as many other Holt heroines. She was whiny at times and a bit hysterical. The fact that she seemed to enjoy being brutalized by her bizarre husband bothered me as well. In addition, the secondary characters in this book were not so well-drawn. People for whom Sarah Ashington professed devotion were rather flat characters. Since the reader could not get a good picture of who these people were and why Sarah adored them, I just had to take her word for it. Still, this is an entertaining book to pass away an afternoon or two.

I started out by reading Victoria Holt's Road to Paradise Island. I had no idea I would like it so much so that I went to the library and started reading each one of Ms. Holt's books. Spring of the Tiger is one of my favorite. I liked it enough to buy a copy for myself so I can reread it in the future. This book doesn't have the kind of ending one gets used to reading about in a lot of the romance-fiction books, but that was what appealed to me. Too bad there are not many books left by Ms. Holt that I have not already read.

Ok, where do I start. The adventure was the only pleasing thing I truly found in this book. The proffusion of foul language turned me off from the start and the amount of un-called for sexual content has no place in the book.

Playboy meets the X-Files, the only thing that kept me reading is the fact that I never put a book down, no matter how bad, but once I finished this one, I said to myself, What?

The main character's lycanthropy in the end has nothing to do with the story and I can understand the detail needed in describing these rituals, but in the end, none of it was truly needed to further character development or plot. I felt ashamed that I had actually made myself read this book and sold it to the half price book store soon after.

It is certainly not without it's good points, though those are far and few. Shapeshifters have always been a favorite of mine and the few scenes where she does actual shift into her alternate form were slightly satisfying, though many were rushed and provided no detail.

Overall, if you're offended by foul language accompianied by vivid sexual acts, I highly dissuade you from reading this one. In fact, I would tell anyone that asked me, 'It's not worth it.' I've read good books and I've read bad book and this one certainly fits into the latter category. The plot is loosely strung, existing only to provide the sex scenes this author so obviously adores and halfway through, you forget what the book is about anyway.

That is all I have to say.

Not so much a book about lycanthropy as Luciferianism, the bonds of friendship, and family history. Ms Klausner's review below gives all you need to know about the plot. As for my opinion, I think what impressed me most is the way the book remained entirely credible all the way through. Too many modern day horror/fantasy stories fall into the trap of an over-the-top, unbelievable climax (if not before). This one doesn't; everything works. And it has a *perfect* ending.

This is excellent horror fantasy novel about a young woman who is a victim of a family curse to turn into a werewolf. She is the only one that can save her friends and the man she loves from cabal of satanists bend on destroying them all! This novel boasts scenes of eroticism and black magic, gruesome violence and a truly wicked final twist.