This is a great book, filled with lots of stories. We used to read a different story out of it every night. I'm sorry to see that it's out of print, but luckily I still have a copy of it to read to my children.

Although this book may seem at first glance to be only of interest to the people of Finedon, those with an interest in history will find this a facinating tomb, the book starts with the evidence of "Finedon man" of the neolithic age and traces it's history through it's wealthy times as the largest incumbancy in the UK,along with details of the Hall and it's residents. Finedon boasts the oldest licensed public house in England. The doomsday book mentions Finedon as being owned by Queen Edith, the book relates how a Queen Edith cross ends up as hardcore for the Bell Inn car park. The history of all areas of the town are covered in great and facinating detail, there are a few pictures in the book which would be of interest to hisorians, but if you like historical pictures the follow up book by John Bailey "Finedon Revealed"is a must. Should you like to see some extracts from both "Finedon otherwise Thingdon" and "Finedon Revealed" go to the "Finedon Web Page".

This first of Covert Bailey's "Fit or Fat" series, the 1978 publication, saved my life literally when I was a sophomore in college and had gained much weight and, although I had been a fairly active person, hadn't been exercising. Covert's 12-minute approach to aerobic exercising -- which doesn't mean just dance, it means anything that keeps your heartrate up to a certain level for a certain amount of time -- made me realize I didn't have to "waste" precious time to get in shape. But most of all, I DIDN'T HAVE TO DIET! He explains the importance of light weight lifting and to basically give yourself a break and accept that none of us are going to have a perfect body. He also turned me on to jump-roping as a cardiovascular exercise, and I still love it. Anyone concerned with health ought to check out Covert Bailey!

A wonderful collection of enchanting, old fashioned stories to read aloud for the pre-school to about second grade age range. Excellent resource for teachers. I use this in my Waldorf classroom.

If Christopher Bell's 'Portugal and the Quest for the Indies' is written as popular history, in an adventurous style, and if C.R. Boxer's masterpiece, 'The Portuguese Seaborne Empire' excels in synthesis and displays a breathtaking grasp of world history, then Diffie and Winius have produced a 435 page 'history by the numbers'---a methodical, step-by-step story of how Portugal began to explore the Atlantic coasts of Africa, how it outmaneuvered its rivals, settled Madeira and the Azores, and developed a system of trade and control that lasted over a century before succumbing to more powerful, better organized rivals and to the consequences of a small nation's being overextended. Puncturing the various balloons of myth and legend, the authors' down-to-earth, but highly detailed approach to the history of Portuguese exploration and penetration of the trading world of the Indian Ocean and the Far East is an extremely useful and interesting volume, probably required reading for students in the field. FOUNDATIONS OF THE PORTUGUESE EMPIRE sticks to the period 1415-1580, at which later date, Portugal entered into a sixty year period of absorption by Spain. (Note: the title as listed on Amazon is incorrect.)

The strong point about this book is the documentation, so useful for further research or inquiry. Footnotes have been placed at the bottom of the page, not in the text, thereby allowing smooth reading for people like me, who are unlikely to need to know the exact sources. There are some good maps and a section of illustrations. Not only are the voyages and battles in the East covered, but the authors also keep track of what was going on back in Portugal; the royal follies, the intrigues and battles with Spain, the rivalries among the Italian city states, the fruitless attempt to conquer Morocco, and the energetic trade with the Flemish ports to the north. We learn how the Portuguese got their information and see how, though mercantile reasons seemed to be by far the strongest motivation for their exploits, they often made huge sacrifices for reasons of faith too. From Ethiopia to Japan, from Persia to the Moluccas, soldiers, traders, and priests spent their lives in the quest for riches and in (mostly vain) efforts to save souls. The authors point out that the Portuguese domination of trade in the Indian Ocean during the period under discussion was no accident. Rather, it was the result of a geopolitical plan to strangle Muslim trade, and control trade routes through strategically placed forts (Sofala, Mombasa, Ormuz, Goa, Malacca, etc.) and a strong fleet. Rivalries among Portuguese commanders in the East, as well as the Portuguese king's distrust of his far-flung lieutenants, led to many a disaster, but time and time again, Portuguese naval power and unbelievable bellicosity overcame huge odds. The last chapter of the book, entitled 'The Balance Sheet', tries to decide whether the whole thing paid off---if in fact, aside from individual fortunes made, Portugal benefitted from its explorations and conquests.

The weakest point in FOUNDATIONS OF THE PORTUGUESE EMPIRE is that the authors seem far more comfortable and authoritative when dealing with Europe, with the Portuguese side of the story. When, on a few occasions, they attempt to describe Asian societies, their explanations are weak. Some errors creep in. They hardly mention any African societies at all'the Africans are acted upon, never actors. For an extremely thorough story of Portuguese methods of expansion and economic domination, however, I would recommend Diffie and Winius' work to every interested reader.

Anyone that wants to do more then just scratch the surface on WW1 aviation should seriously consider this book. This book is very comprehensive, in that it takes each day and breaks down in chronological form the claims and losses of both fighter and two- seater units. Any known details are included, such as time, location, victim and unit details. A useful reference book that should be cross referenced with 'The Jasta War Chronology' to allow for a clearer picture of 'who got who' or the probability of such an encounter. Highly recommended.

Sometimes I feel I really don't try enough authors out. Yet another I hadn't come across before whose book I throughly enjoyed. Her heroine either wears her spectacles or peers at a world of blobs.

From the back of the hardback:

She did not wish to marry.. .if she could not marry Nicolas.

And as Miss Frideswid Edhorough - familiarly known as Friday
- well knew, she could no more marry Nick than fly to the moon.

She was plain Friday, a bluestocking, spectacled miss, not even remotely pretty, unlike the females Nick's taste ran to as she could be. It seemed then that she was doomed to spinsterhood... But Friday had reckoned without a father determined to see his daughter - sole heir to the Edborough estate - off the proverbial shelf...

The processes of initiation are explained by following Jesus in His quest as the Christ to become one with the Father for the salvation of mankind. A practical view of initiation as can be lived by each of us as it is clearly depicted through the events of the New Testament. Initiation is not the priviledge of any religion. It is THE life for one and all.

Please send me about Funtional programming languages because I want to know the contains of that book. Actually I want to do my project, its about System Manipulation Language. So I hope you can give me any information about 'System Manipulation Languages'.

Thanks for your co-operate.

This is a great book - it saved me a fortune because stuff that I would have thrown away I just made look brand new. I'm really bad at craft/decorating but the projects are really easy and it doesn't really matter if you make mistakes - it just adds to the charm!