I have read alot better in my times. Some people my like this book, but not me.

The novel itself seems a bit strange in it's writing style; the writing is very personal. Aside from the sometimes lack of understanding of situations, and the few times you cannot imagine a scene taking place, this book does what it sets out to do: Rage. Werewolf lore, Garou society, and the legacy of the Werebeast are strong in this book. Fight scenes are great, and the writer obviously knew his World of Darkness. I give this book a positive reveiw, and if your into Werewolf, it is a MUST have for your library.

This pricy but slim volume (126 actual pages of text and photos), is written like a freshman essay. There are facts, but little that illuminates or gives insight into this unusual personality who founded the silver industry in Taxco. It is neither insightful or clever and a biography must have one of these characteristics. Much research seems to have been done, but with little result.

Don Guillermo, as he was known in Taxco, was an American architect who came upon an impoverished if beautiful Mexican village in the mountains of the state of Guerrero. Stimulated by financial desperation and a challenge from a friend, he hired a silversmith from nearby Iguala and kicked off the renaissance of Mexican silverwork- initially from a table in his house, and ultimately a large workshop turning out exemplary tin, copper, weaving, furniture and, of course, silver. Almost all the smiths who carried out the Taxco tradition were trained in the Spratling workshop.

This eminently readable book tells the tale, though it is certainly not one of those comprehensive 600-page biographies, nor does it become overly speculative about a man who was respected and loved for his creativity and for giving impulse to a craft that made the community relatively wealthy, but also made some mistakes and enemies. (Yep, he was special, and very human!) That is, in my opinion, part of its charm.

This book is a bit topical, yet it manages to convey the excitement of the resurrection of a Mexican village that became an entrepot of artists, writers and would-be revolutionaries, and- for good and for bad- a huge tourist destination. It gives more than a glimmer of the many facets of Don Guillermo / Bill Spratling, a man who intended to find respite and refuge, resuscitated a community and gave many livelihood, and largely withdrew from that same community in his last years.

This is written from a perspective of someone who was privileged to know Taxco, since as a youngster I hung around the talleres- especially of Hector Aguilar and the Castillo family- developing a love of Mexican silver and some rudimentary smithing skills of my own.

Maybe it's me and I don't fall for this style of short tales, but having read Yeovil's previous Warhammer books I came to expect more. Except for "Warhawk" (a dirty Harry / Sherlock Holmes style depicting Filthy Harald in another chase after a lunatic murderer), the stories were rather boring.
In order for a short story to deliver an impact it must focus on events and include at least one twist or surprise at its end, something to look for. Read O.Henry short stories and you'll see what I mean.
When there is no space for character development and lengthy descriptions (IE: in an environment where the author skill cannot be fully utilized) the plot has to count. But "silver nails" suffers from sad phenomena I've encountered in most Warhammer books; the plot is either an artistic steal or just plain simplistic and bland. No twists, no subplots, no surprise ending. Two heroes set out to stop an assassination and they succeed by staying the hand of the "would be assassin". A vampire sets out to kill a band of evil kidnappers, and kills them one by one. Both could have been nice as a complete book but get wasted on a short story.
The last Genevieve story was a real disaster. No plot, no climax, no nothing. Yeovil can't decide if he is writing a Warhammer gothic genre or a comical Disc-world chapter. I would advise you Jack (or Kim Newman), leave Pratchett to the Pratchetts.

I gave the book two stars because the WarHawk story.

I'm fond of "Jack Yeovil's" Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay-related novels, not least because he does a good job of bringing the rather grim, Gothic-Renaissance-Europe-meets-Middle-Earth atmosphere of the game's world to life. Although some of these stories have been in other collections, the two new ones (featuring the Warhammer answer to Dirty Harry, Filthy Harald Kleindienst, and his perennial vampire heroine, Genevieve Dieudonne) take up more than half the book, and are worth reading.

Almost every chapter in AGES is duplicated in Jackson's more voluminous "Man God and Civilization", but AGES is still an excellent dissertation on ancient civilizations, especially for those who may not have time to read MG&C.

Starting with the "Early Stages of the World," Jackson visits Egyptian, Chinese, Greek and Roman societies, among others, to dissect events that contributed to their respective risings and fallings. Islam and Christianity are also looked at for their roles in developing societies. (He pulls no punches -- Jackson is a proud atheist.)

Persons interested in African contributions to modern society should consider this a must read. I'd give it five stars if, again, most of the info wasn't already in the other book.

This book gave a good background into the day to day operation of an "illegal" coin melting operation in upstate New York. There is a sense of the true volume of U.S. 90% coins that were melted into crude bars and flown to switzerland.

Not as well put together as some Miss Silver mysteries, this one still has our friend with the fast knitting needles and the steel-trap mind, this time in a spooky old posting-house. Secret passages, smugglers, and of course, Young Love (in duplicate) make for an enjoyable read, even if there's a plot problem here or there.

This book definitely helps when preparing for the MCAT. Good indication of what the actual "MCAT" is all about. My friend recommended, and I'm glad I listened to her advice.

Being a Poet whose work is published in this coffee-table book of poetry does not stop me from being impartial and objective in my review.

There are at least 1,600 poems featured in this poetry.com publication. A truly mammoth collection with contributors from England to Singapore, from Germany to Australia.

Most of the poems does meet the "criteria" or "standard" expected of a poem. However, there are a few works that really shouldn't be included in this compilation. There is even a 3-line Haiku contribution from a fellow Singaporean which I am deeply ashamed to announce.... lack any artistic or creative merit.

I mean.....this is supposed to be a collection of the best poems selected by poetry.com but clearly the standards just aren't stringent enough.

The quality of this hardback book is rather good and the type of paper used is also acceptable, however, it would be better if this book could have a ribbon like those found in diaries so that it would add to the "classic" feel which I feel this publication is out to provoke. Furthermore, at least the reader could use the ribbon as a marker to know which page he/ she left the last time.

Overall, this publication is value for money but there is still lots of room for improvement.

This book was a disappointment as title is a misnomer. It should read "The History of BRITISH Children's China". No other countries are represented here. Author has organized alphabetically by mfr. rather than design type or years made. Only 8 pages of color photographs. Plentiful B&W. Good background info. on makers listed. No price values. It's a decent enough reference for English children's china, but not especially helpful to collectors wanting to know which pieces are more desirable, etc. At this price, book should have mainly color photos!

Published in 1961, the year of the author's death, this novel is a variant of the old-fashioned "damsel in distress" formula. Anne is the damsel in distress. She has lost her memory, and can only answer "I don't know" to the questions put to her. She believes she has witnessed a murder, and is being lured to her own death by the murderer. The threat recedes and the memory returns towards the end of the book and, of course, Miss Maud Silver is on hand throughout to dispense sympathy, suggestions, and solutions.

If you like an old-fashioned romantic novel, its pages scented with mystery and peopled mainly by females of all ages, then this will provide some pleasant hours of reading.