A. A. Hoehling's Thunder at Hampton Roads tells the story of the U.S.S. Monitor, the world's first all-iron fighting ship. The book covers the entire story of this famous vessel, detailing the construction of the vessel, the battle between it and the C.S.S. Merrimack, and its rediscovery in the mid-1970's. The Monitor changed the image of the navy forever, ridding people of their notion of ships built of oak and canvas and replacing it with pictures closer to those invoked by the navy of today: ones of invincible metal and guns.

The book begins with an account of the construction of the Monitor. Northern and Southern forces were racing for naval supremacy throughout the war, and ironclads were among the most important technology being developed. The Monitor was specifically designed to combat the seemingly indestructible Southern Merrimack. A Swede named John Ericcson conceived of the idea for the North. Though similar in design to the other ship, which had already been proven in battle, the Monitor's development was viewed with some skepticism; many people thought it would never float, much less act as a battle-ready warship. They were proved wrong, as the Monitor was proved as worthy as its Confederate opponent.

The second section of the book details the Monitor's encounter with the Southern ironclad Merrimack, and its sinkage off the coast of Cape Hatteras. The battle came in defense of a seaport called Hampton Roads. Both ships took substantial damage. The Monitor came away victorious, though the Merrimack did escape. Many people believed that the ironclad was the only thing that came between Hampton Roads and a complete ransacking by the Confederate Navy. The loss of the Monitor was an unfortunate incident. The ironclad was being towed by another ship, the Rhode Island, to Wilmington North Carolina, where it was indeed to take part in capturing the city. When the crew discovered that their ship was failing, they cut loose from the Rhode island so as to avoid bringing the other ship down with the Monitor. Luckily, most of the crew was able to escape via lifeboat. Sadly, fifteen crewmen, including the captain, went down with her.

The third section of the book details the post-war lives of those who were involved with the Monitor, and tells of its rediscovery in the 1970's. Many of the Monitor's crewmen lived peacefully after the sinking, but one could not. Samuel Dana Greene, an executive officer on the Monitor whom many thought should have chased the Southern Merrimack until he had captured or destroyed it, killed himself. Supposedly he was consumed with guilt that was fed by the accusations over the fact that the Merrimack escaped to do further damage in the war. Only after his death was the matter cleared up by a superior officer who announced that the Monitor had sustained too much damage for it to follow the enemy ship.

The Monitor was discovered and photographed by a team of marine scientists twelve miles off Cape Hatteras where it had sunk to more than a century previously. Salvaging operations funded by the National Science Foundation and National Geographic were successful. Technological advances such as that of sonar greatly aided those who were devoted to discovering the Monitor. Restoration work was taking place when the book was published in the late 1970's

A. A. Hoehling used diaries, letters, ships' logs, and newspaper articles to put together the story of the Monitor. He was directly involved with the salvage work on the vessel, which explains his desire to let the public know about this fascinating ship. It was his belief that the Monitor played a significant role in the Civil War and in the development of the navy, a point that he convinces the reader of throughout the book.

I believe that this book would be perfect for research on any aspect of the Merrimack or the Monitor. Through text and photos of the Monitor as it was when built and as it appeared sunken beneath the sea, the author tells the ship's complete story. This is a valuable source for anyone researching naval forces during the civil war, not only the battles but also the inner workings of the Navy and its chain of command.

Still the best book on the history of the USS Monitor. Hoeling is both an excellent researcher and a first-rate writer. I am very pleased this book is back in print. Naval historians should rejoice!

It tastes good and is in good taste. This is a great source of fine cooking in the Virginia tradition. Lots of seafood and goodies.

The Junior League of Hampton Roads, Inc. is an organization of women committed to promoting voluntarism and to improving the community through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Its purpose is exclusisvely educational and charitable. Recipes in Very Virginia were triple tested prior to publication. Profits from the sale of this cookbook are returned to the community through the projects of the Junior League.

This is probably the best way to learn ECG's. Read the companion books to this book (ECG Made Easy and ECG in Practice) and your set.

However, there are a few answers where I do not agree with the author, hence no 5 star rating.

For advanced students, there is a book called Clinical Electrocardiography by Frank Zimmerman, which is probably the best self-assessment book there is for ECG's

The editor's discription of this product is all wrong. This is a play based of from Caroll's works.

In this one-act fantasy play Alice's Adventure Under Ground by Christopher Hampton, has a style of surrealism playing with the imagination of a child. This play is based off and is adopted from the writings of Lewis Carroll. This leads it to have a logic all of its own, and presented towards the nonrealistic side of life.

This takes place in a fireside room in Christ Church where Lewis Carroll sits in loneliness to his thoughts. He looks up to a mirror where he sees Alice inside of it for a second before she disappears and he sets up tea. A moment or so later there is a knock and Alice enters the room. He proceeds to tell her stories that draw her into some of tales of Wonderland and as this happens, he and three others become all of the characters Alice would encounter in that strange land of logic. There is no costume change, just physical performances transform them from classy 1860s people to the bizarre people of unique logic.

Although the stories are presented from Alice's adventures of both books, the setting remains inside the room and it is though the imagination the transports us beyond the logic. The room seems be made up slightly abstractly, but it should have a sense that view comes from the eyes of a child. They would turn structure into a twisted surreal image of itself, trying to make it into a not unfriendly place of plain innocence.

Lewis Carroll in this play has that same kind of purity we can see in several conversations with Alice. Like when Alice is trying to convince Carroll the she isn't someone named Mabel, because she knows more things than her. Carroll tests her out.
Carroll:What's four times six?
Alice: Thirteen.
Carroll: Is London the capital of Paris?
Alice:Yes.

The logic from the books play nicely in all of the childlike scenes, always it creates wonder in common sense and tearing apart the ideas of what adults may think a proper. It reminds me of the purity of the movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory where what may seem true to life is not a constant everywhere. Only through our imaginations, can we let ourselves free from structure and see things with new eyes. Everything real will be surreal and that will become the normal

Peter Brears intersperses a thorough examination of Henry VIII's kitchens at Hampton Court with recipes drawn from period sources.

The palace kitchens at Hampton Court were a large-scale industrial enterprise that fed 600-1200 people every day - everyone from the lowliest servant to the King himself. The author does a grand job of describing how the system procured, stored, and prepared immense amounts of raw materials each day.

Interspersed with the description are recipes drawn from contemporary sources that are similiar to what might have been served at the palace. The author also covers Tudor table manners, etiquette, and the ceremony involved in feeding the monarch.

Angel Cuadra's text offers a first hand account of the Castro regime's squashing of independent artists and forcing Cuban art and culture into the narrow confines of Castroite ideology.

At long last, an authoritative book on garden ornament in America! Barbara Israel delivers a beautiful tome with scholarly punch in her Antique Garden Ornament: Two Centuries of American Taste. Many books exist on gardens and landscape history, but none addresses the issue of the statues, fountains, and furniture used within them with such depth and clarity as Ms. Israel. In addition to the chapters themselves, the catalogue of objects in the back of the book and the list of makers provide a greatly needed reference for this growing field. I highly recommend this book.

Ms. Provost is a gifted writer who provides a clear, concise guide to a complicated Federal program.

This book appealed to me on two levels, as I collect cookbooks and I'm a Sunday School teacher. Although it's meant for adults to share their faith with others, I found that it gave me wonderful ways to do something new and different in my Sunday School classes.

I especially enjoyed "Mean Old Man" and "Back in the Saddle".