One of the irritating things about what he is most remembered for-his gardening books-really quite distorts and sadly misrepresents the man, Beverley Nichols. This book goes some way to redressing the balance and this sharp witted, keen observer of the human condition has been fairly dealt with in this biography. The after effect, one hopes is that all three in the 'Allways/Glatton' trilogy will finally be available one day and thus the pinacle of his writing prowess will be there for all to see. Too long he was treated as a lightweight. Yes, he wrote for the lighter end of the market. But he was always coming up with surprises. 'A Village in a Valley' and 'A Thatched Roof', part of the Glatton era, are simply marvellous classics of English country life. The well perceived eccentricities, the sadness of spinsters' lonely lives and the wit of his characters are unequalled. There are times when he can really make you cry at a turn of phrase. His one-liners are smilingly memorable. This biography does go a long way to explaining this complex, talented man. We are left feeling sad that he is no longer amongst us, that no more gems of prose shall flow from him, yet happy that he lived and left behind a rich pallete of writing. My advice to anyone would be search around and get hold of these writings-many available on Amazon.com. The diversity, depth and pathos, not forgetting the humour, will impress you.

This was a great read, and gave true insight into one of the worlds most celebrated Garden essayists of the 20th century.

Connors brings to life the Beverley many fans never got to see, as many of his readers only read his Gardening books. Nichols holds to his credit several autobiographies, no less than five mysteries, several political novels, and multiple weekly columns in various American and British newspapers and magazines. Beverley was also a noted composer, and even appeared in film. His good looks and charm allowed him a very versatile carreer.

The novel unravlels fact from fiction, as many readers assumed his novels were all unadulterated fact. The truth is he mixed fiction with many of his books, lending a skewed vision of the author-and one that Connor does a brilliant job straightening out.

Mr. Nichols worked with Connor on this book, and had help from Beverley's life long companion/friend Cyril Butcher. The book outlines his upbringing in a whirlwind society of notable people and places to his fascinating life filled with so many that sometimes the biography reads more like a "Who's Who" of the 20's through the 70's. Beverley was friends or friendly with some of the most noteworthy people of the day, including Beaton, Coward, and Maughm. It is not a scandal biography, rather a warm portrait of an amazingly entertaining man.

The photographs in the book are wonderfully clear, and allow the reader a glimpse of his childhood, adolesence, and later years. Again, he is shown with many celebrities of his time.

There are bits that reveal a sad, depressed Beverley who struggeled with finance-and chapters about the socialite Beverley who never gave up an opportunity to hob nob and make new social alliances. Other parts reveal the very full romantic life of Nichols. All together, a charming portrait of one of Britains most notable men. This book is a must for all Nichols fans!

I believe that Cal Ripken Jr. was one of the greatest baseball players to ever play the game. I think that the novel, "Cal Ripken, Jr. My Story" by Cal Ripken Jr. and Mike Bryan, gives a great idea of the hardwork that Cal Ripken Jr. put in to become a Major League Baseball player. This novel was a great book and I would recommend it to anyone. I thought the book was great because the book gave a very realistic view of how hard it is to make to the Major league. Plus it showed how dedicated Cal was. He spent many years in the minors before he finally made it to the majors. Plus I also like how the book didn't concentrate on Cal's baseball career. They talked about his childhood and how their father, who was coach of the Orioles at one point, wasn't around most of the time. Overall the book gave a great biography of Cal Ripken Jr. and that is why I think the book is good.

This is one of my favorite books! I love it! Especially because it's an autobiography. I love reading them. That's right folks! Cal Ripken Jr., and one of his friends wrote this book! I don't know why it isn't a best-selling book. Anyway, this book is very factual. I was just begining to become a Cal Ripken Jr. fan, and thought that this would be a great place to start! It covers his whole life up until 1999, which is when the book was published. Cal Ripken Jr.'s life had many ups and downs. I enjoyed reading this book very much! Thhis book is a must for any Baseball, Orioles, or Cal Ripken Jr. fan! I wish I could have given this book a million stars. After I read this book, I had just one thing to say. CAL RIPKEN JUNIOR IS A STAR!

This book features poetry of Hughes for children. The poetry carefully uses language geared for children, uses repetition more than images. This results in text that conveys to children as much the careful, artful use of language as "fine poetry". The illustrations by Bryan are a superb counterpoint to the text - again geared intentional towards children - but showing excellent use of color and a realism appealing to adults.

This book succeeds in being truly for children without being sacchrine or insulting. Don't think of this as an "ethnic" book, it is far too good to be marginalized.

This book not only captures the beauty of Langston Hughes for young readers but also portrays the beauty of African Heritage within the powerful meaning of the story of Christ's birth. I ended up buying two copies on my first round because it was such a wonderful piece of work for both chidren and adults!

The pictures are nice, and funny, mine came with a defect that made me loose on 20 of them, and I am sad. Gives you nice ideas to display your dolls, but I think the pictures could have been a little better, don't know exactly why or how. I would buy it again. There is this one cute picture with a fashion queen that has her legs up in the air that says something like " 42 more and I can then eat the brownie I baked this morning" that made me laugh! :-)

Amazing scenes and fun read. This book brings back memories of being young but acting grown-up.

Check out the review in Journal of Real Estate Literature - very positive. This is a really comprehensive text, international in scope. For here, could do with more US examples, but as an overview of the economics of real estate this is hard to beat. It is much broader than most of the texts you see, not a how-to-do-it manual, but great for understanding WHY the market works.

Doug K, Chicago

At last, a real estate economics text that links together the finance, economics and planning aspects of the production of space. Most texts are so narrow and stuck in their own subject area. The authors cover demand for commercial space (offices, industrial real estate, shops), investment in real estate and the links to the wider economy. Unlike many US texts, it has a global perspective with a fine chapter on international investment. Well written, well researched, comprehensive references - this is an invaluable resource for professionals and for academics.

This is an invaluable source for the emergency department physicians, residents and medical students who will be doing emergency department rotations. A quick guide to antibiotic selection based on disease process with alternative antibiotic regimens provided. "Guide to Antibiotic Use in the Emergency Department" is a quick and handy pocket reference which I use every day as an Emergency Department Attending Physician.

This text covers virtually every type of infectious disease in which outpatient management would be appropriate, as well as those patients needing admission. It does so in an easy to read, quick access format. Also has useful appendices on drug interactions, risks in pregnancy and others. The information is up to date, complete and reliable. I use it several times a day.

Not a bad little page-turner. I liked the story line; it has been done before, but not this well. The book sneaks up on you and really [stinks] you in. You find your self almost hurrying to the next page because the suspense builds through to the end of the book. Very good characters with competent development and well thought out roles within the story. I would have liked a bit more detail on the locations. Overall a good book from the period.

The Endless Game is the first of a two-book series (the second is: A Spy at Twilight) in the vein of the Le Carre "Karla" quartet. Mr. Forbes also played his part in that "game" and writes with considerable authority. The book is well-crafted and grips you as you work through the developing enigma and misleading clues with the protagonist. The characters are complex and believable, the plot consistent and the outcome unguessable until the last pages. Altogether, a most satisfying read for lovers of spy fiction.

This book, more so than the other New Vanguard books (in my opinion), focuses on the employment of the German armored reconnaissance units, more so than on the hardware involved, unlike, say, Zaloga's dissection of the T-34 in the relevant New Vanguard books. The book is a very good reference, marred only by some so-so color art, and a must for anyone interested in German recon of WWII.

The Vanguard series is intended to give a brief introducton to various weapons systems used in the major wars of the 20th century. As such, they include color plates of various paint schemes on campaign, a sectional drawing of a representative vehicle, and plenty of B&W photos in the text. All this is wrapped in an elementary text based on new research in newly opened archives and presented in an attractive format. Useful to war gamers, students, and model makers.

This is a great collection of hymns. "O Sacred Head Now Wounded", "O The Deep, Deep Love of Jesus", "Just as I Am", and hundreds of others you grew up singing. Also included are some of the more recent hymns such as "My Tribute". I would have gladly given it 5 stars had it included "Nearer My God to Thee" and "I'll Fly Away to Glory". Even with these missing, you won't be sorry you purchased this collection.

As a church music director and organist I can say that this is one of the best collections of standard and contemporary hymns. Great alternate last verse arrangements and descant lines allow this hymnal to stand out from others. The font is easily legible and the titles are logical and not just the first line of the song. A wonderfully organized table of contents round out the package. I highly recommend.

This is a passionate book about the Irish and about Ireland, at times humorous, at times serious, at times profound, written by a Belfast native and civil servant. By writing under the name of "Walter Bryan," the late Walter A. Willis did not have to get prior approval from the government he worked for to publish his book. You don't have to be a science fiction fan to appreciate THE IMPROBABLE IRISH, but those who are active in the amateur publications of the sf submicrocosm recognize Willis as their finest writer -- they were so impressed with his writing that they set up "special funds" in 1952 and 1962 to bring him from Belfast to attend the World Science Fiction Convention, and made him the fan Guest of Honor at the 50th Worldcon in Orlando just before the turn of the century and shortly before his death to have the pleasure of his company again. Some of the material in THE IMPROBABLE IRISH first appeared in essay form in various sf fanzines, which explains in part why he refers by name to his sf friends in the book; it was largely Willis's influence, anyway, which opened these amateur publications to personal and humorous essays that had, as often as not, nothing whatsoever to do with science fiction. His closest sf friends in Belfast became professional sf writers -- Bob Shaw and James White -- but Willis's only other professional writing was in the form of reviews of fanzines which appeared in a British sf magazine. His collaboration with Bob Shaw on the parable of the fanzine microcosm, THE ENCHANTED DUPLICATOR, was reprinted numerous times after its initial publication in 1952 and can now be accessed on line; it has also been performed as a play at sf conventions. THE IMPROBABLE IRISH is not Walt Willis's best writing, but it's good solid work that remains a joy to read. The active sf fans who knew him would give the work a five-star rating in part because they knew him, but even those who didn't know him should get at least four stars' worth of pleasure from reading it.

--rich brown aka DrGafia

Walter Bryan's real name was Walt Willis, and he was a marvelous writer. Most of his essays appeared in small privately-printed magazines, starting in the 1950s.

(Translation: Walt Willis was one of of the finest writers in fannish fandom, ever. Terry Carr, who was also one of the best writers to come out of fannish fandom, and =such= a brilliant editor, put together =The Improbable Irish= out of bits from Walt's column, "The Harp that Once or Twice". It was published as "by Walter Bryan" because Walt was a civil servant in Northern Ireland.)

(Other people who are or were fans of Walt Willlis's writing: Avram Davidson. Damon Knight. Harlan Ellison. And a host of others.)

=The Improbable Irish= is a collection of Walt's ruminations on Ireland's people and history. It's full of wonderful bits:

Q. How Are Things in Glocca Morra?

A. Actually there are very few things in Glash na Gloragh, but what there are seem in reasonably good condition considering that they have been lying out in the rain so long. The rocks show signs of wear, but the grass and heather appear to have recently been renewed.

---

Poteen making is a dying craft, like its customers. The only man I ever heard of who made any money out of it did it by buying war surplus distillation equipment by mail at ten pounds a set and concealing it about the bogs; he then informed on these illicit stills to another department of the British Government, receiving twenty pounds reward for each.

---

The almost magical power of Ireland to make any stranger Irish in two generations is attributed by many to the climate. The unpredictable vagaries of the weather incessantly inculcate, it is said, alternate moods of optimism and pessimism, of grandiose imaginings followed by a sense of the futility of all human endeavor. Like the poster for a village garden fete, where a list of gay attractions is followed by the ominous words, "If wet, in the Scout Hall." ...

Whatever the reason for the spell of Ireland, it was a pheomenon that surprised and frightened the English, who like things to be as they appear, and to stay that way. Nothing, it seemed, could be trusted in Ireland, not even themselves. The problem of remote and rebllious Connaught, for example, seemed to have been solved when it was subdued and entrusted to the stern and reliable Anglo-Norman family of De Burgos in the early 14th Century. But almost immediately, historically speaking, the solid De Burgos had disappeared and in their place were an Irish family called Burke, speaking Irish, wearing Irish clothes, following Irish laws and defying English authority. ... On at least one occasion, the Address to the Parliament in Ireland, which was supposed to represent the English occupation, had to be translated into Irish before the members could understand it.

---

On the energy and enterprise of Irish immigrants:

The change in the immigrants was so sudden that one is driven to the conclusion that it was due to the replacement of something that had been missing from their diet -- probably food.

---

An Irish attorney was making his best of a rather shaky case when the judge interrupted him on a point of law. "Surely," he said, your clients are aware of the doctrine =de minimis non curat lex=?" "I assure you, my lord," came the suave reply, "that in the remote and inhospitable hamlet where my clients have their humble abode, it forms the sole topic of conversation."

---

On Irish participation in Parliament in the late 19th Century:

This turbulent period of British politics produced much drama and eloquence, and also one of the finest impromptu puns ever made. An Irish member was defending as morally justified the taking up of arms by evicted people against the agents of absentee landlords, when he was interrupted by a shout of "Treason!" from an English member. "What's treason in England," said the Irish member, "is reason in Ireland, because of the absentee."

---

The visiting motorist finds everything he is used to, except traffic, and is enticed into exploring the countryside more fully by excellent signs. Only occasionally do these signs let him down, by being in Irish only. "If =Oifig an Phuist= doesn't mean =Gentlemen=," Charles Harris said on his first visit to Dublin, "I did a very silly thing in the post office this morning."

---

[End of excerpts]

I find I've mostly quoted the funny bits, which are shorter than the non-funny bits, like the part about the Great Hunger.
That's my fault, not the writer's.

Grab on to any copy of this book you can find. Let your friends read it while they're at your house, but don't lend it out because you'll never get it back.