I read this to my children constantly. My 4 year old son already knows the stories by heart and is able to read aloud with me. It's one of the best stories to read aloud to your children. The stories just roll off your tongue. It is a very colorful fun book. The illustrations depict who and what the story is talking about. We spend MUCH time pointing and talking about the pictures while reading the story. I'd recommend it to anyone with children. It's a very FUN book.

This is the second of three volumes, in which Mr. Britten-Austin paints a riveting picture of Napoleon's Russian Campaign in 1812. The concentration is on that part of the campaign aimed at Moscow, and the activities of other forces, detached to address different targets, are only covered in so far as they impact on the march on, stay-in and retreat from Moscow. A huge number of personal recollections have been carefully sifted and appropriate extracts selected, and then merged into a continuous narrative, linked almost seamlessly together by Mr.Britten-Austin himself. The result is a masterpiece. The feeling of immediacy is very pronounced and indeed at times the events, harrowing in themselves, are so graphically described by the participants that the reader has to pause, all but overcome by the horror and pathos of the narrative. This volume is dominated by the conflagration that engulfed most of Moscow immediately after the French arrival, by Napoleon's dithering as he waits for Russian responses that never come to his peace overtures, by Murat's starving forces confronting increasing Russian resistance and by the fatal decision to lurch southwards from Moscow with forces that have already been depleted by hunger and disease, and demoralised by looting and growing breakdowns in discipline. The volume ends with the Emperor's realisation, far too late, that a victory in the field, in the Ukraine or elsewhere, is impossible in 1812 and that retreat is unavoidable. This is grim story of wishful thinking, lack of realism and of a slide towards disaster. Few of the major players come well out of it, other than Prince Eugene Beauharnais, Napoleon's stepson, who in this and the subsequent volume, emerges as an admirable and capable commander in very difficult circumstances. As with the other volumes the footnotes (at the back of the book) are a joy, often packed with detailed information that sheds significant illumination on the main text.

This is the first of three volumes, in which Mr. Britten-Austin paints a riveting picture of Napoleon's Russian Campaign in 1812. The concentration is on that part of the campaign aimed at Moscow, and the activities of other forces, detached to address different targets, are only covered in so far as they impact on the march on, stay-in and retreat from Moscow. A huge number of personal recollections have been carefully sifted and appropriate extracts selected, and then merged into a continuous narrative, linked almost seamlessly together by Mr.Britten-Austin himself. The result is a masterpiece. The feeling of immediacy is very pronounced and indeed at times the events, harrowing in themselves, are so graphically described by the participants that the reader has to pause, all but overcome by the horror and pathos of the narrative. "The March", the opening volume, describes a military machine and supporting administration unprecedented in human history, but just past the peak of its power, embarking on a vast undertaking that has been wholly underestimated in logistics, strategic and political terms. The most surprising revelation, for this reader at least, was the extent to which the disaster commenced almost from the moment that Napoleon's vast multi-national force crossed the Niemen into Russian Territory. Supply breakdowns and outright hunger were significant factors from the outset and the Grand Armee's route eastwards in summer heat was littered with the pathetic corpses of troops from a dozen countries who found suicide preferable to the continued misery of the march. The capture of Smolenko caused heavy losses, but these were minor compared with the hecatomb of Borodino, a horrific slugging match at which Napoleonic tactical genius was most notable by its absence. The first volume ends with the French entry into an eerily deserted Moscow. Readers who enjoy this volume - a feast for all Napoleonic and "War and Peace" enthusiasts - will want to go on immediately to the two subsequent volumes dealing with the occupation of Moscow and with the Retreat itself.

These poems are very evocative, uncompromising and yet beautiful. I'm not much of a poetry reader but these got under my skin. I plan to buy another copy of this book for a friend.

This is an excellent translation aid. Be warned, though, that it requires knowledge of Greek.

Austin Wright is always challenging. I eagerly await his books that horrify me and make me curious just what sort of man Mr. Wright is himself. This is one of the great books. A book that stays with you forever. It's a difficult read, but so rewarding.

The real life effects of Thermal Images and Electromagnetic Spectrum Imaging by Dr. Richards is the best-kept secret. The amount color images and the current technology are incredible.

This is one you will not be able to put down.

When I first looked through this book. I was captivated by the variety of people and settings. Boys and girls of different races and ethnicities, playing, learning, fighting, working, struggling, hoping. I couldn't put the book down. I had to keep looking, to see who and what would appear on the next page.

I trust anyone would have the same reaction. But don't stop there with the photographs. This is much more than a photo album. Take the time to read the captions, the authors' commentary, and most of all, the words (letters, diary entries, conversations, etc.) of the children themselves. You won't be disappointed. Rather, you may find, like I did, that the photographs become even more real, more poignant, more personal, and more moving than they did at first glance. And, once again, you won't be able to put them down.

Whatever your notions and conceptions of childhood and of United States history and policy, this book will certainly broaden your understanding, intellectually and emotionally, of both.

Emily Dickinson is often a religious poet, and more often than many think, an erotic one. She is famous for her mysteries and contradictions and elusiveness. She died and left more than l700 poems, many almost indecipherable, and a number of them "uncertainly finished." Her sister Vinnie wanted the works to see print, but could not persuade her brother Austin's wife Sue to get the job done, so she turned to Austin's mistress, Mabel, who was also married. This is the lovers' story, told through 13 years of self-justifying letters and diary entries. More importantly, it is the story of how Mabel took on the job of copying and editing the poems to please her lover, and perhaps to irritate her enemy, Sue. Emily became famous about five years after she died due to Mabel's efforts. Polly Longsworth did a fine job condensing love letters and diary entries to give us a picture of these tormented souls, whose relationships all ended badly. The actual love letters between Austin and Mabel clearly show that neither had Emily's literary talent, but both had her passion. Where Emily apparently suppressed carnality, her brother and his "other woman" reveled in it. If you are as fascinated by Emily's life as you are by her poetry, this part of the tale, while largely occurring after she died, is essential to know. A very worthwhile addition to the saga of Emily Dickinson.

Chartered in 1849, only a few years after the Republic of Texas became a state, the story of Austin College is the history of the State of Texas itself.

The effects of change ... war, depression, economic boom, and social turmoil among them ... on the small Presbyterian liberal arts college, shows the state's development in microscosm.

Moreover, one story after another points to the importance of individuals who have the will to continue development in the face of adversity, from inaugural trustee General Sam Houston through the current day.