The book shown above is the hardcover edition. It's also published, without illustrations, in five paperback volumes. I read only THE TUDORS AND STUARTS, which had no illustrations other than two or three maps and graphs. The first half of the book, about the Tudors, was written by one man, and the second half, about the Stuarts, by another. The volume was short, only 142 pages.

This is my favorite period of British history and the one with which I am most familiar, but still, I found the text confusing. I think there were several misplaced lines of type in the second half. Maybe a writer can't do much in 70 pages to elucidate a period, and probably the illustrations would have distracted from the sketchy text. The writing was not lively.

The very last section is called "Intellectual and Religious Life," but it was mostly about religious life. Literature is almost totally ignored throughout the volume. Pepys is never mentioned.

There is no index. Perhaps the complete, one-volume version has an index, and the publisher didn't want to go to the trouble of compiling indexes for the individual volumes. Still, a history book without an index is unthinkable.

On the whole, the book was disappointing.

I'm a half-educated American, with the vaguest notions of British history. I bought this book hoping to be able to understand the story of the British Isles, in a more or less clear outline. That didn't happen: after 200 pages, I tossed the book, wondering just who it was written for. Here's why I tossed it:

(1) It doesn't have an author. Instead, it has a bunch of authors, each apparently assigned a certain portion of British history to cover. The problem is that none of the authors seem to have consulted each other, nor did the editor seem to edit. On every other page, you see a fact or definition repeated (by a previous author), or a topic referenced (but uncovered by a previous author). History is a messy thing, but it has to be organized to be learned, and any hope of presenting material in terms of themes or movements is lost, because styles and approaches switch radically from author to author, from clear and sparse, to confusing and overly-detailed.

(2) It should have an author. This sounds like point (1), but hear me out: the editor, Mr. Morgan, claims that writing grand history, spanning the length of the British past, just can't be written anymore. It is better, rather, to have specialists write about their specialities. Sounds good in theory, but is just abominable when placed next to comprehensive histories written by single authors. Toynbee and Trevleyan wrote such history earlier. And J. Roberts writes such history now, particularly his History of Europe, and History of the World, two models of lucid historical writing that make this disjointed compilation look like an ill-considered mishmash.

(3) It should have an audience. Or at least a different audience: the average intelligent reader wants a clean, interesting exposition of the important events and currents of the past. While some chapters achieve that, the most seem to be written not to the Average Reader, but to the Rival Colleague. And so we see a few facts casually presented, and then a sudden digression into some piece of scholarly minutae that leaves the reader (me, that is) pexplexed.

(4) It should teach historical knowledge, not assume it. This is one of those histories that assumes from the onset that you know all the relevant history. That might be OK for a narrow scholarly article, but it's an awful presumption for a comprehensive history. I read dozens of pages discussing the 'Domesday Book,' its importance, and its effects. The authors never thought to enlighten the ignorant, and explain what this Domesday Book was (an very old tax survey). Things like this litter every page.

From previous reading, I've learned that good history can be written. From reading this, I've learned that very bad history can be written, too.

This is a good book for a reader who is little like me. I have no training in British history and little in Western. I read quite a bit of history and don't mind a challenging work, though, which lets me get through most histories without too much frustration. This book often lacked the context with which self-teaching historians can teach themselves, even with frequent map- and index-checking.

The chapters of this book are all written by different authors, each one clearly an expert on the subject of his individual chapter. The authors do not agree on their audience. For instance, Gillingham's chapter on the early middle ages was clearly written, had several maps and followed a timeline before ending with a thematic look at the economy and political structure of the period. The very next chapter, Griffiths' chapter on the late middle ages, skips around by dozens of years within a single paragraph, mentions towns in France without maps and assumes foreknowledge of the battles of the Hundred Year war. Unfortunately, this book contains more chapters like the latter than the former.

I suspect that a European or an American with a basic familiarity of British history would find this a very useful intermediate level book with which to learn or re-discover an overview of Britain. The handiness of one volume written by many experts providing an overview of such a long history is what is right with this book. To those with some background in the subject, this book will be extremely convenient and useful. For someone without European geographic knowledge or a recognition of the figures in British history, even a patient and attentive reading will lead to frustrating hunts for the background of many important figures mentioned once within the narrative and to pointless searches through inadequate maps.

Incredibly boring book that takes advantage of the blair witch popularity. the burkittsville part is last and of course the shortest part of the book.

If you really want to get the most out of this book listen to the following BLACK SABBATH albums while reading it: First Album (1970), "Heaven & Hell" (80) and "Mob Rules" (81). Those last two CDs go great with chapters 4 ("the Knowing") and 5 ("the witch danced"). Songs like "Black Sabbath", "the wizzard", "beyond the wall of sleep", "NIB", "evil woman", children of the sea", "Lady Evil", "Heaven & Hell", "voodoo", "sign of the southern cross", "country girl" and "falling off the edge of the world" make incredible background music for folklore such as "Carlisle witch", "children of stone", "stones returning", "witch child" and "Bedlem witch".

This book scared me to death. It is written wonderfully and has great spooky stories in it. I could not put it down AT ALL! It had some things in it that make you wonder whether it is true or not really true. They could have made some of the stories longer, but they were still great. Buy it for a holloween read!

well, reading this book I felt like it was way too long! It was dragged on and on until you got sick of Huck and Jim always escaping and crap. Man, it is a waste of time. I didn't enjoy it. How dumb are the people that they don't find anything suspicious about a slave and little white boy together on a raft. They also fall for some pretty dumb lies!! Don't read it.. unless you have to for a class.. That's what I had to do!

I think that this book is exciting but is too long. This story had very rounded off characters that you could understand. I recemend this book because it is funny yet get it's points across you in the story

Aggy, this is why everyone laughs at you. The University Of Texas holds a proud 70 - 34 record against the poooooooooooor aggy.

This book is filled with information and great stories about the greatest football program in the country. A must for any Aggies fan. By the way, it is kind of obvious that the U of Texas fan didn't review this book since most Longhorn fans can't read!!

The building on 5th and Hill was more than a place that housed
state welfare assistance offices. It was an unstable arena where
many of the scams and schemes under the guise of assisting the
needed were perpetrated. The writer shows how intricate plans were
executed by the agents offering and the clients receiving public
assistance.

In The Gray Building On 5th and Hill Ms. Blair-Reed shared an inside
view of how unstable the workers were and how lax the regulations of
one particular assistance program were. So much so, a welfare
recipient became a millionaire and a social assistance agent prepared
for an early retirement. As a reader I was left with my mouth hanging
open.

This was a very informative read that gave an unveiled look at the
politics of the social welfare system. However it never took on the
tone of a novel to me, because of the format of he book. Each
chapter seemed to introduce a new player and I did not have a real
sense of who the primary character(s) were. I commend the author for
showing enough boldness to voice such a strong and sometimes negative
message about this very serious subject.

I suggest you pick up a copy, it should give more insight into why
the welfare system is such a profitable venture.

Reviewed by aNN Brown

Rachael, a mother of two and divorcee, is promoted in the welfare system only to find that things are worse at the top. She enters the gray welfare building each day, not knowing what nightmare might lurk behind the door. From psychotic supervisors to disgruntled welfare recipients, it's a jungle in there.

Marissa, a single mother, only started benefiting from welfare when her unborn child's father walked out on her, taking his money with him. While living from welfare check to welfare check, she is offered a modeling opportunity. Little does Marissa know that one of the welfare workers is using her as a pawn in a grand scheme that could cause her ultimate demise.

The Gray Building on 5th and Hill is a fast paced book. It also had many characters in the foreground, leaving me to wonder who the main character really was. This is a good story concept that needs more primary character development and less secondary character development.

Reviewed by CandaceK

This book is rich in detail but extraordinarily dull to read. Only the most avid Arsenal or Tottenham supporters will find much of the information interesting, and the writing simply is not good enough to support the weight of the minutae the authors provide. Fans of English soccer in general would be well advised to look elsewhere for offseason reading.

i've read all of fynn's books (including the one on cantona), and his knowledge of the inner workings of the football industry is unrivalled. the great north london double act, spurs and arsenal, is clearly his speciality, and what you get here is an intricate play by play account of what happened in 1999-2000. Fynn and his co-writer Olivia Blair have wide-ranging access to the high-powered figures involved and have a healthily cynical attitude to their activities. if you want the detail behind the headlines, look no further...

When I am sick, I don't want to wade through this book at all. I had the shock of my life recently.....I had a mild cold and took the standard remedies given by my homeopathic "doctor". I didn't get better and got very sick almost to the point of being in the hospital. Luckily, my family medical doctor treated me and also prescribed a potent Rx. Within 24 hours I felt much better! None of the alternate treatments, herbal medicines and homeopathic medicines worked at all! The bill from the homeopathic "doctor" and all the homeopathic medicines and treatments he gave me was MORE than the visit to a regular MD and Family medical doctor and his treatments!

Homeopathic Remedies For Health Professionals And Laypeople provides health professionals and lay readers alike with a set of remedies for acute ailments, from sore throats and colds to diarrhea and stomach problems. Health care pros will be especially pleased to find chapters listed by both ailment and remedy.

As a film critic and author, I was astonished to read this very self-centered biography of a young woman's "cataclysmic" revelations about her life and loves which were not terribly appealing or revealing. Blair delights in reaching "maturity" at the age of 34 after many, many affairs. She experiences no guilt, especially after her famous husband, Gene Kelly, divorces her on the grounds of "adultery." Furthermore, her life as she describes it, is like a long party, dropping names everywhere.
What she did not tell us, for example, her reaction to her best friend, Jeanne Coyne, marrying Gene Kelly, her ex-husband, would have given readers some "real feelings" and reactions. What we are left with is an anecdotal collection of a politically mixed-up, immature actress, a minor talent who was seduced at an early age by Marxist teachings but does NOT recant...and lingers on her "lost opportunities" as a future film director, again, giving up her artistic premise all for "love" (in this case, her marriage to director Karel Reisz!)
In addition, there is no filmography of her work and although the book is liberally illustrated with photos from Blair's private collection, her p.o.v. about "love and politics in New York, Hollywood & Paris" (what about Madrid & Rome?) is utterly banal. A bleak, dishonest, self-centered memoir from a minor talent without a shred of conscience. Very, very banal...

This autobiography is really in two parts; part one is while Betsy is married to Gene Kelly and part two is when she leaves the U.S. to live in Paris. As a young girl she attends classes in New York about Karl Marx and the Communist philosphy which "takes" for her lifetime and the result is favorable while married to Gene Kelly, but disastrous as far as her professional life is concerned. Her personal life is good at all times. Betsy is an accomplished woman of the world, but must live with her political choices.

This book is not about NDS for NT ( well 2 chapters do, about 50 pages nothing you won't find on Novell's site in PDF format. The first 300 pages treat NDS implementation and design. I guess if you're about to implement NDS for NT, you've probably passed Advanced Admin.

GREAT FOR INSTALLING AND DESIGNING NDS.NOT AS DIFFICULT AS I THOUGHT GUESS BOOK MADE IT EASY...

Easter Island was a lot of fun. It was a quick and easy read. It moved fast and I really got into the main character. It was a different twist on a popular subject. I think it was a little short though and it could've been longer.

I purchased this book becuase it was listed as a rare and unique find on a book search engine. After I received the book a was pleasantly surprised. I read the book in one night and after I finished it I wanted more. My complaints: Typos in the text and cover and the story has been done. Authors need to find new material.

I really liked it! The book was divided into two parts. The first part was realy powerful as the main character came into his own. The second half seemed a little rushed. The book could have been longer. I usually don't like science fiction, but I really liked Easter Island. I bought it for my students as a casual read for in class reading, and the students loved it too.