When I describe this novel as "juvenile", I have to make sure I'm being clear. I don't mean it's like one of Robert A. Heinlein's "juveniles", geared for young readers and still appealing to older fans too; No no...I mean the book is rather hackneyed, trite, and, especially, immature in its depiction of women. If, after reading the above, you are still interested in the plot of this forgotten and forgettable bit of minor 70s SF, then just know it's about Idris Hamilton, whose spaceship is blown out from under him thanks to sabotage, and is left to float, alive but frozen, in space, until he ends up on the tenth planet of our ever-surprising solar system--a planet called Minerva. Hamilton does not fit in well with the Minervans' advanced, peaceful culture...not surprising since he slept in space for five thousand years, making him, in the Minervans' eyes, a barbarian-flavoured popsicle, one that many of them would just have soon seen not thawed out. Yes, Idris becomes a problem within his new society on a new world. He courts two women, but that's okay, that's normal on the tenth planet; but punching out rival suitors is not. Neither is linking his lot with underground rebel troublemakers (who operate in groups that could contain government spies anyway). The more Idris fights to change what he sees as a repressive, stagnant world, the more enemies he racks up. He dreams of fleeing back to distant, abandoned Earth, where once upon a time at least humans had chutzpah, gumption, all that.

This book is halfway engaging and somehow fun during the reading of it. But Idris and his plight are not original. This is Thomas More's Utopia for Dummies meets Cheesy Nudie SF Late Night Movie, where women strip on command for Science's sake ("so I'll humour the barbarian; maybe I'll learn some valuable psychological information--oops, now I want to sleep with him"). It's a shame that The Tenth Planet is such a routine stop, because I have enjoyed an Edmund Cooper effort, called Five To Twelve, much more than this. But then, it actually had something to say.

I read this book when I was still in high school, and what struck me was the vibrant image the author painted of a world that had lost its humanity, viewed through the eyes of Earthman who very well could be your neighbor today. Definitely a worthwhile read if you can find it.

This is a weak survey of African-American "vernacular art". There are a few pieces of artwork shown for the various artists covered and a short bio. Nothing in depth in terms of the artwork shown or the information given. This is basically your standard collection of the usual suspects in folk art today. A little bit of Dial, Tolliver, Young, Burnside, Light, etc. And the pieces shown aren't that special. It's great they've got a couple of Mose Tolliver's, but they aren't that special in the overall spectrum of Mose's work. Since nothing is in-depth, I'm not really sure what the point of this book is as it adds nothing new to the field. It's great Ronald and June Shelp own all these pieces, but so what? Good for them, but the book adds nothing for the reader. A much better survey is Souls Grown Deep. Much more expensive, but well worth it.

Not your everyday book on Outsider Art. While most art books on this subject just showcase collectors' investments, Testimony includes critical studies on the ways collections have been organized and new historical information about the relationship between African American vernacular art and the Outsider movement. All of the essays address hard questions and give you something to think about. In a field noted for its ugly politics, collectors Ronald and June Shelp have been brave and responsible in supporting this kind of writing.

The grandfather of Henry VII of England was a Welshman named Owen ap Meredyth ap Tudor (ap meaning "son of"). Since he spent much of his time at the English court, he conveniently anglicized his name as "Owen Tudor" (being prouder, apparently, of his grandfather than his father). The earlier Tudor (who died in 1367) was a man of considerable estates and power in the island of Anglesey, an area the conquering English monarchs kept in their own hands rather than relinquishing it to the tender mercies of the marcher lords. This was the origin of the dynasty that replaced the direct Plantagenet descent from William I but which produced only five monarchs in a little over a century. Turton goes into considerable detail regarding the careers of the earlier Tudors, which is quite useful, but he also goes far afield in detailing the general international affairs of England, Wales, and France, as well as the personal lives of a number of non-Tudors, some of them quite minor historical figures. While the book is enjoyable and well written, none of this extraneous material is new or original with him. One suspects it was added to fill out what otherwise would have been a rather thin volume in a too-restricted market.

logical informatio

I'm helping my duaghter make an informed choice of what car to buy. This helps her without it coming 'from' me.

if youv,e ever been to an auction and need a quick reference before you bid or buy this little book is for you it fits in your pocket yet speaks volumes when you need a value or some information on about every u.s.coin.

THE FAERIE QUEENE : A Reader's Guide. By Elizabeth Heale. 190 pp. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, Second Edition 1999. ISBN 0521 65468 8 (pbk.)

Heale's book is a brief official guide to Spenser's great epic, and reads, I'm sorry to say, as if it were written during the throes of an intense devotional spasm.

Heale makes very heavy going indeed of the Christian element and enthuses at such great length about St Paul, the New Testament, Calvin, God's grace, sin, salvation, etc., etc., that one begins to think one is reading a theologian and not a critic.

Interestingly, while she admits that "it is easy to be heavy-handed and over-insistent when following the historical allegory" of the poem (p.230), she fails completely to realize that the same might be said of her own theological obsessions.

If, as people like Heale would have us think, Spenser had written a versified theological treatise, it would long since have been trashed along with all the other theological lumber of his era. But naturally enough, since the Pagan stands for what is natural in man (as opposed to unnatural imposition), it was very much at war with the Christian in Spenser.

And although, in deference to the age, he had go along with the prevailing ideology and pretend to a certain orthodoxy, it was the Pagan in Spenser who won, as indeed it must in all healthy and balanced persons. That's why he was able to give us such a gloriously sensual poem, a poem grounded in the human body and in physical realities as opposed to the airy abstractions and arid lucubrations of the theologian.

'The Faerie Queene' is highly addictive. Besides constantly dipping into it, I have read the complete poem with great enjoyment several times without bothering my head in the slightest with the sort of thing that deeply concerns Heale. But perhaps that's because I read it as poetry and not as moribund theology.

Spenser's poem was written for us. Lucky us! Heale's book was written for students. Poor students! My advice? Forget about Heale and read Spenser. He himself is the best guide to his poem. And ultimately, as with any poem, the only real meaning it can have for you is the one that you yourself give it, a personal and individual meaning, a meaning that will slowly take shape as you expose yourself to more and more of Spenser's gorgeous Pagan lines.

"Five To Twelve" is a work of Science Fiction that deals with a future society that is ruled by women. By some biological mishap twelve females are born to every five males. The females of 'Five To Twelve' have also reached physical equality with males. Women in this world now hold the reins of power and over time males have become third class citizens and lose the rights to vote, hold public office, or receive a higher education.

The story centers on a man that is a brilliant writer but is unable to achieve any of his goals because of the long standing and institutionalized prejudice against men in this matriarchal society.

The story also chronicles the stormy relationship this disgruntled man has with an Amazonian policewoman who just can't understand at first why he is so upset with his lot in life.

In 'Five To Twelve'The author to promotes the view that nothing good can come out of a situation where one sex dominates the other. The author's intent seems to be to draw attention to the lot of women in the male dominated society at the time the book was written. Even though the writers theme is a bit simplistic and the plot rather predictable the book presented the inverted world of "Five To Twelve" in a detailed and believable fashion. The book was interesting, fast paced, action oriented and generally a good read.

Steve

It did help a little listening to the tape a few times before my trip but I had really counted on using it on the plane. Like most people who have a fear of flying one of the worst times is takeoff. Well stupid me forgot that you have to have all electronic devices turned off during takeoff and landing! DUH! Actually I got more help from the fear of flying web sites I looked at.

Although Bergler is a psychiatrist, he disagrees with Freud's explanation of male homosexuality. Bergler contends that a baby regards his mother as a witch who is trying to kill him. When the mother feeds the baby milk, the baby thinks she is trying to choke him. When the mother bathes the baby, the baby thinks she is trying to drown him. If a boy becomes fixated on this stage, homosexuality results.

Bergler has a brief explanation of female homosexuality, but I didn't understand it.