In this book, based on talks given to Swedish students, Anthony Damiany gives views on almost any everyday problem adressed by students, as well as in-depth probings of difficult philosophical and mystical topics. What is best about the book is that Damiany's replies are in plain language, and often very humourous too. Relieving is the absence of "New age" jargon. Instead the book is suffused with serious considerations on the challenges of being alive, not pointing out "easy answers", but provoking more questions instead. Damiani is familiar with the great traditions - philosophic, religious, and mystical - of the ancients, as well as modern applications of them. He ranges freely from Platonism, Neoplatonism and Christianity to Hindu thought, Buddhism and Taoism, among other traditions. Psychological issues are also adressed, as well as astrological. A book of rare width, combined with real depth. A "must" book for both the layman and the seroius quester!

An excellent insight to one of the most outstanding Architects from California. it's refreshing to see a body of work so well presented.

This is a very enjoyable collection of stories based on scripts from the original radio plays.

Basil Rathbone was a "softer" version of Holmes. The original Sherlock could be hard and unfeeling - a machine as Watson often describes him.

That probably didn't play to audiences so, by comparison, Rathbone is just mildly eccentric. He's far more tolerant of the inability of Watson and others to keep up with him than is the original Sherlock.

It's a little as if someone had found the dichotomy betwen Hamlet's magnificent spirit and his fatal flaw disconcerting and had rewritten Shakespeare's classic to make Hamlet just a typical troubled young adult struggling with newfound freedom and responsibilties.

And Nigel Bruce's bumbling Watson is largely comic relief and equally unlike the original Conan Doyle version.

But at least the original radio playwrights kept the two heroes in late 19th century/early 20th century England. I think that most of the movies that Rathbone and Bruce made were set during World War II. I mean, no one could be a worthier contender against the Nazis than Sherlock Holmes, but still...

The story of how Holmes and Watson first meet Moriarty is unconvincing, as is the portrayal of Moriarty, and equally unconvincing is how, in "The April Fool's Adventure", Holmes finds all of the clues that the pranksters leave for him to find but doesn't see how they were intended to point to himself as the culprit. His inability to recognize himself is bewildering, and he must have forgotten to use his magnifying glass to look at the calendar.

But so what? When a classic is changed for mass market effect, the result is often disastrous, but not so here.

The bottom line is that all of the stories are very enjoyable. For all of the merit of the original Conan Doyle classics, they were written as a disagreeable chore to satisfy the public's demand for a character that Conan Doyle himself had quickly grown tired of.

These stories were crafted with a lot of love and care, and that might be why the two main characters themselves draw more affection than do the original versions.

Our debt to Conan Doyle for bringing us Sherlock Holmes is incalculable, but equally incalculable is our debt to his contemporaries for forcing the author to resurrect the great detective from (what we were led to believe was) the bottom of Reichenbach Falls. Perhaps the public also deserves credit for rescuing Holmes's humanity as well as his life from the clutches of his original creator, and perhaps this kinder, gentler Holmes is an example of this second rescue effort.

And speaking of Holmes's life, the last story in this collection provides a plausible explanation (entirely consistent with the Conan Doyle concordance) of why Sherlock Holmes cannot die. Literally. That's worth the price of admission, in and of itself.

I thought it would be hard (and very unlikely) for Cross to top the Fourth Guardian, one of my very favorite novels. The Lost Guardian, its sequel, doesn't top it so much as expands upon it in a wonderful and wholly original way. There are still the thrilling fight scenes and unpretentious manner of the first book, but this one is more alnog the lines of the kind of novels that aren't written much anymore. Wonderful epics with beautiful prose. The opening description of a river and countryside is simply beautiful. Another incredible novel from Cross!

I have to thank Mr Parel for writting this book!

When I first read Machiavelli, I thought (contrary to orthodoxy) that he was a pseudo-philosopher, unable for analysis and penetration into the basics.

Mr Pavel, not only showes that, but in addition makes the point that Machiavelli's `realism' has nothing to do with the informed one of Thucidides for example, but it is the combined effect of his ignorance of major philosophical analyses, as well as, of his atheism.

Overall, a book which has something new, and true to say!

Having been a fan of the 1996 Masterpiece Theatre Production, THE FORTUNES AND MISFORTUNES OF MOLL FLANDERS, I wanted to study the film, not only with words but with photos and drawings.
So, I searched everywhere and this is what turned up. I opened it and it was so detailed. There is everything you need to know about the production - the release, the cast's biographies, pictures and sketches, the story, the changes, the crew members and even the way the characters interact with each other.

I'm suggesting this book to all of the fans who enjoyed the Masterpiece Theatre's FORTUNES AND MISFORTUNES OF MOLL FLANDERS.

Lovely book. Great clear pictures and plans. If you want to make a very special horse for a child you love, this is where to start. From simple hobby horses to full blown carved rocking horses and carousel horses.

This book gives a delightful introduction to the life, letters and drawings of Erik Satie, one of the greatest artistic minds of the century. Although his music is his foremost contribution to the world, his writings and drawings express his gently humourous and damning views of the world and offer tremendous insight to his musical work. The book includes a list of the directions his wrote in his musical scores, which are marvellously absurdist. The drawings include the many somewhat enigmatic "advertisement" drawings he made in later life as well as Memoirs of an amnesiac and A mammmal's Notebook. There is also a libretto for a ballet which Satie presented to the directors of the Paris Opera (it was refused) as well as a play with incidental music. Satie's work has been very well translated and quite a bit of it is in both translation and the origonal french, which is lovely if you speak french and enables you to realize how good the translation is. Also, there are no annoying, silly views on Satie by stodgy editors and biographers. One can draw one's own conclusions.I cannot imagine a better book on Satie.

If you would like to read a true story of amazing fortitude and courage, this is the book for you. A real tribute to the human spirit. This book will make you laugh, cry, and mostly, stand up and cheer.

Collaboratively written by Joel Siegel (Professor of Accounting and Finance, Queen's College, City University of New York), and Jae Shim (Professor of Accounting, California State University, Long Beach), The Manger's Handbook To Preparing And Using Financial Reports is a solidly written and accessibly organized guide to preparing sensitive and crucial financial information in a swift, professional, and practical manner. From valuation reports, to reporting on salespeople, to budgeting, forecasting, analyzing the rate of return, and more, The Manger's Handbook To Preparing And Using Financial Reports offers straightforward "how-to" advice for constructing, organizing, and improving a wide variety of corporate finance-related reports. The Manger's Handbook To Preparing And Using Financial Reports is a very highly recommended instructional and reference guide for managers of businesses both large and small.