This book was disappointing, especially considering that some call it a classic.

Freya Stark traveled among the remote valleys of western Persia (today's Iran) in the early 1930s, when this area was barely known and rarely visited by Europeans. (Actually, it's not much better known today.) But while her travels may have been pioneering, this account is surprisingly dull and mundane. Stark travels from village to village, briefly meeting the locals, eats a meal or two, then goes on the next day to repeat the process. There's rarely a spark of excitement or adventure -- just a dry recording of events and observations.

Stark's aloof writing style doesn't help. She seems to keep the reader at arm's length from the characters she meets, offering just a superficial look at most of them.

The first half of the book is further handicapped by a lack of maps. As Stark travels about, she casually rattles off the names of landmarks and places as if the reader were intimately acquainted with the area. In fact, frustrated readers will soon discover that it is impossible to tell whether she is traveling east, west, north or south -- or just wandering in circles. The second half of the book has three maps, which helps, although you'll need a magnifying glass to read one of them.

I don't want to make it sound like there is NOTHING interesting in this book. There are a few moments of tense encounters, and occassionally she shows off a dry wit. But these are too few and far between. I can only recommend this book to someone who has a scholarly interest in this region of Iran.

I found this book to be so boring that I actually couldn't finish it! I've never read a travelogue before, so maybe I'm being overly harsh, but I'm of the opinion that even non-fiction should keep you turning the pages and be fun to read.

The prose is basically along these lines: "And so we came to a village and there were tribesmen there and we all gathered into a tent & drank tea." I mean, it's THAT dry; there is no emotion or suspense to this book whatsoever.

If this book had good historical data it would be acceptable (and I'll admit that that was what I was expecting), but unfortunately it is a travelogue, not a history lesson, and ends up reading like the personal journal of a very boring person (though I know that Ms. Stark has led anything BUT a boring life).

However, it IS a travelogue after all, not a history book, so it's not like I was deceived -- I just thought it would've been something else. Therefore, no less than 3 stars.

Like jeffergray, I wish there were maps and would agree that the title was somewhat misleading. At times, I found myself confused by some of the historical references since they were cursory and seemed to assume a good knowledge of the history of the Middle East. Perhaps I need to go back to school...

On the other hand, I found this to be a wonderful narrative of a trip to a land that most people will never see, a visit to cultures that are most likely gone in today's world, and, most interestingly, the story of a woman in an area in which women never venture far from their homes. Her descriptions of the details of the countryside and the lives of the people she meets are exquisite and conjure up images despite the absence of pictures. Because of the quality of the writing, it is an easy and fairly quick read.

Bill Stark's _Ghost Towns of Wisconsin_ reflects a personal adventure into obscure Wisconsin history. Written in his lucid, easy-to read style, Bill traverses the state covering hamlets and towns that once were, but are no more.

Sometimes, the adventure is a little too personal and too obscure. The author neglects to locate for us several minute points of interest described in the text (roads, monuments, and so forth)... and one might think deliberately so. There is simply not enough here to help one find Gratiot's Grove, for example, or even to attempt to retrace some of the author's steps in the Shullsburg area. Yet he goes to great length in providing details of the area surrounding the Blue Mounds, and even includes a rough map of the area!

Despite the generally inadequate text, the black and white pictures are generally good. The line drawings that head each chapter are terrible, and represent a woeful lack of understanding of the clothing of early Wisconsinites circa 1830-1895. Persons interested in using this book to locate specific locations, rather than general locations, may be dissappointed.

This book has long been a part of my weekend life here in central Wisconsin. It has been a blast traveling around the state and looking first hand at what is found in the pages of "Ghost Towns of Wisconsin".

As an example... The location of the ghost town "Gratiot's Grove", it's just 3-4 miles south of Schullsburg just south-east of the intersection of Rennick Rd. and Cty. Hwy U. There are still some cellar holes visible and if you use your imagination, you can see where the city roads were using the size of the massive oaks as an indication. I found Gratiot's Grove using the book. There is also the Gratiot house which is on the north side of Rennick Rd. It's the 4th oldest private wooden structure in all of Wisconsin. It had partially burned sometime in the 1930's but the main structure is still intact.

The vocal duets and quartets by Brahms are performed very rarely these days, but their number includes some works that can stand with the composer's finest efforts and are thus deserving of more frequent hearings. In this book, Lucien Stark analyzes the 25 duets (including the five numbers of Opus 75, which were written for one or two voices but are almost always done as solos) and 61 quartets that comprise this body of work.

For each song, Stark provides the German text, along with an English translation. He does not attempt to maintain the rhyme or meter in the translation, which lets him reflect accurately the meaning of the German. He then gives the range employed for each voice in the work, the approximate timing for a performance, and the form. This information is followed by a brief descriptive analysis of the work. Stark's analyses are not so detailed or exhaustively researched as those by Eric Sams in his just-published volume on Brahms's solo works.

The major deficiency of this book is the absence of musical quotations. In his introduction, the author admits that "much of the analysis assumes that a score will be accessible to the reader." Scores for many of these works are available only as individual sheets -- and for a few, not in print at all -- which makes it difficult to get full value from much of Stark's otherwise commendable writing. A 158-page book that sells for $35 should have been expanded with quotations of key musical material.

this was an awesome book...it could have been better.

I was quite impressed by the fact that a book of this nature existed. It outlines the mecanics of a language fairly unknown in the world scene. But buyer beware Mixteco is a language that changes from city to city and even from family to family. Get this book only if you plan to go to San Juan Colorado> FOr it will be foriegn to anyone not living there and claiming Mixteco as his mother tounge,

This book is quite a fascinating look at the roles women have played in the British Navy before this century. However, there does seem to be a lack of in-depth study of the women profiled. I found myself wanting to know much more than the author was willing to offer me. I felt too much time was taken re-iterating the social and economic standpoint of prostitutes in this era rather than focusing on the women's contributions to the Royal British Navy. I was mildly insulted when Ms. Stark suggested the reason these women were willing to be "transvestites," or dress as men to serve onboard naval vessels, was basically Freud's "penis envy" theory. This book did sharpen my appetite to find more books on the subject of Women in the Maritime Military.

I have had a copy of this book around since the 1970's. It is hard to find all the ingredients that are present in our everyday household substances, but if you are willing to do a little scrounging, you can make most of the items you use in everday life and save quite a bit of money. Read the ingredient list of most of the liquids you use at home and you will find that water (or alcohol) is almost always the first or second ingredient. Make your own shampoo and hand lotion and you can save money and feel empowered! A fun book to read and reminds you of the days when our grandparents were self sufficient and made their own soap, ointments, liniments, and minor medical supplies.

Parker, a classic hard-guy and professional thief, sets out to rob a U.S. Air Force finance office. Various misfits and ex-cons comprise his crew. The plan goes sour, but Parker prevails. The story gets unbelievable and dumb about midway through, but the characters are interesting enough to keep you hooked. A good airplane or beach read--fun, quick, and inconsequential.

Don't get me wrong-I love Richard Stark's (Donald E. Westlake's) Parker novels. It's just that I find his stories about actor/thief Alan Grofield to be lesser efforts-although still better than 99% of anybody else's suspense output. And this "Parker" novel seems to concentrate as much, if not more, on Grofield's adventures. Parker is hired by the Outfit to bust up an independent island casino. He's approached by federal agents who want the casino's owner brought in for arrest. All of which makes for a dynamite Parker novel with a little too much Grofield.

In my honest opinion, I found this book disturbing.For example, a large portion of it's text deals with the protagonist losing his virginity. This is described in graphic detail. This may not have been so bad, except for the fact that "Mr. Hunter" (that's a pseudonym, by the way) is a former teacher of mine. Reading even a small portion of this has, I believe, scared me for life.
This said, I should point out that all of Mr. Hunter's students (current and former) will find this interesting. Even though he writes under a different name (I will not divulge his name, for his privacy), as far as I can tell, all the facts are true. And even though I thought about gouging out my mind's eye at points, it was interesting to find out about my teachers life. I recomend it if you have ever attended a certain decrepit high school in unincorperated Whittier, but other wise, dont worry about it. You aren't missing anything life altering.