Some people regard the Chambers as the definitive dictionary on the English language. I don't know why. I hear that it contains more technical words than most dictionaries but this is something I cannot verify, not needing any really technical vocabulary. However, over the years I have had need to use a Chambers and I have been disappointed by the lack of certain words that I needed. For example, I could not find "non sequitur" but then again, my edition is older than the one shown. On the other hand, if you thinking of splashing out on a really good dictionary I strongly recommend the Collins. In a word, it is superb. It is jam-packed with encyclopedic information as well as basic word entries which is something you will find immesurably useful, not to mention your children if they are at still at school. The Chambers is OK for general use, but if you want the best, go for Collins.

Some people regard Chamber's as the definitive dictionary for the English language. I can't imagine why!!! OK, so it has a few more technical words in it than some dictionaries but it misses out some frequently used expressions. In fact, even though it is an old edition I have, the Latin phrase "non sequitur" was nowhere to be found. I remember another time I looked for a word and it wasn't in. Today I looked up "Catherine the Great" for a reason that will not interest the reader. Yes, I know you are going to say "It's a dictionary, not a history book". I'm coming to that...bear with me. I also have a Collins dictionary which tells me everything I want to know, the entries are more detailed than Chambers and the Collins is encyclopedic too. In a word, it is superb. You can find "Catherine the Great" if you really want to alond with enormous amounts of other useful information. If you are going to splash out on a dictionary, then I would recommend Collins and not Chambers.

Don't listen to the other reviewer: Chambers is a superb dictionary. As to the other reviewer: I think it's a bit rich that one person can review the same book twice, especially since both reviews say essentially the same thing (though not quite: apparently, the reviewer was unable to find 'non-sequitur'. In one review, "CJ" seems to imply that perhaps this was because she/he was looking at an older edition; in the other review, "CJ" seems to imply that since the edition was older, he/she would certainly have expected it to be included). However, I have a 1988 edition, and it definitely includes non-sequitur. In any event, since CJ is reviewing a different edition to that advertised (but doesn't do us the courtesy of specifying which edition), the reviews should be ignored. I've used Chambers for years, both professionally (as a journalist and newspapers editor on several continents working with many flavours of 'English') as well as personally at home, and it has never let me down. Clearly, a dictionary is an important aid to spelling; but it is an even more important aid to meanings, and this is where Chambers really excels -- regardless of whether you speak English-English, Australian-English, New Zealand-English, Scottish-English, or any other variety.

Mozart is supposed to be one of the greatest and most prolific composers...well...he starts to wear a little thin here! His operas and orchestrals are wonderful, but if you want the most prosaic pieces of music of all time, try these quartets. (I never regreted switching to viola so much until Mozart and the cello part isn't any better).

The reader from St Louis should be told that Mozart was still a teenager when he wrote most of his quartets. Try the Hoffmiester and the 3 Prussian Quartets. Better still try the Viola Quintets. Nothing prosaic here!

This is a good score and of course wonderful music. The editing is good, but there are a few questionable bowings. This is definitely good for anybody needing a score for the music. It also gives one an idea of how the music fits together if one plays in a quartet. Well Done!

For fans of Lovecraft? From what I've seen this has nothing to do with the Cthulhu Mythos. No Cthulhu, R'Lyeh, Nyarlathotep. I don't think you should have "psychic gumshoe" in horror stories. It sounds like something from the kid's section. If you want Mythos buy Lovecraft.

This is a great collection of stories. Recommended for not only fans of Carter and Lovecraft, But for people who want some good old fun action packed horror/adventure stories. I highly recommend this!!

Robert Price is a genius editor. Rather than having his eight writers created new stories of the late Lin Carter's hero in the exact same mold as the originator, he let them run loose with the character. The results are 8 marvelous adventures, each giving us
new and different approaches to Anton Zarnak' from action, to horro and even some comedy mixed-in. More anthologies should be this
fun.

I had to purchase this book for my guide to AP European History.

I had never before had a course in European History and this gave me a disadvantage in using this book.

Because the text assumes you know who everyone is, the immeadiately tell you every single way history views important people, classes, wars, monarchs, etc.

Also, the reading can get very tedious.

However, I gave this book 3 stars because it does offer more than just what happened. It also tries to show the student, "why did it happen."

TO teachers/professors: Only give this book to your class if they have some experience of European History

"The Western Experience" edited by Chambers covers a massive range of topics in a manner that is conducive to the understanding of the material. The book discusses many Social, Political and economic trends for each respective time frame. However, there are some glaring omissions as a historical text. The book will state for example, that a certain organization was established in a certain year, however, nothing further is mentioned. No explanations as to why or as to what purpose said organization ultimately served. Further, the text becomes, at times, difficult to follow, as things are not discussed in chronological order. The reader often has difficulty in distinguishing the year and what specific events where happening elsewhere at the same time. But it must be noted here that the reader most certainly does recognize parallelism within history, as the result of its interconnected, yet non-chronological, organization scheme.

If must be noted, however, that while it is at times difficult to follow, the book, especially in the more modern history parts, does a relatively good job of remaining objective.

continuation... Mention is made of a new civilization taking root in the west and north of Europe without specifying what are the elements and characteristics of such a civilization. Why west and north and not the south such as Italy or Spain and Portugal? The factors and conditions that make-up this new civilization are not analyzed nor systematized. Medieval civilization is mentioned without describing how it developed through its supposedly unifying theme of community and class identity. Finally in the epilogue, Roman Civilization is touched under Human Rights, as Roman law was extended wherever Roman civilization could reach. Roman Imperial Civilization is a sub-title but there is no analysis nor consideration of this HIGHER empire as a civilization. If historians look to Near Eastern societies for the root conceptions of organized government, writing, law, complex religious ideas, ethical values, etc., cornerstones of modern society,

they should also trace the origins and development of Western Civilization under this context.

This book owes almost all of its content to Michael Connor's books "How to Hide Anything," "Duty Free" and "Sneak it Through" and is very candid about it. That's why it only gets three stars.

However, that being said, there are three stars' worth of reasons to buy this book in particular: hiding things on your person, smuggling, unconventional hiding methods (mobile/mail/etc.), and concealed weapons.

If you are looking for a good "hide-it-in-your-home" book like I was, then Michael Connor's "How to Hide Anything" is your best bet, as it covers everything from furniture to drains to hotel hidies when you're on a trip and is just an excellent all-around thief protection hidie book.

However, if you are more interested in the more uhm... how to put it diplomatically?, SEMI-legal reasons for hiding stuff, then this book definitely has information to offer that Connor's best-known book does not.

Final note: As with all hiding books, almost all of the projects require you to have carpentry skills and a lot of patience. There are no step-by-step, hold-your-hand instructions on construction. It is up to you to make the ideas presented work for you.

This book tells you many ways of concealing including hiding places in house, in vehicle, and on the person. However, tools and technics of carpentry and vehicle engineering are primarily required in some advance methods of hiding because this is not a how-to-construct text. I really hope that my roommate doesn't have this book.

though the chamber was an interesting story, it let readers who were used to his other, higher quality works down.

Must Read. Excellent story line, Spanish version very, very closely equals the American version. There were a very few areas where the Spanish translation did not perfectly paint the same mental image that was intended by the author, but over-all, an superior piece of work.

I admit, I was assigned this book to read for class. It is supposed to be showing us the place of culture in the lives of the characters and how it forms who they are. I think the people that set up the course could have chosen a better selection, especially at this time in the semester. Sure, we are supposed to be honors students, but we aren't superman (or should I say woman?). It may be a rather interesting book, but let me warn you it takes forever to figure out who these people are! On top of that, you can't pronounce their names or remember them, each chapter is like another episode of "Days of Our Lives" or the "Young and the Restless." It is quite digusting in many places as well.

In closing, if this said to be "China's greatest novel," then I sure don't want to read any of the others!

I had to read this book for a class as well, but found it to be more than just "something I had to read". It is a beautiful work of Chinese art and not just a mere "soap opera". The characters in the novel are moving and sentimental and the description is absolutely musical in how it paints a delicate portrait of Chinese court life. One reading this novel has to be careful of taking it out of ancient context and applying modern standards. Reading this novel can transport one from the dirty subways of New York City into a whole new world of beautiful courtesans and lotus flowers. This novel is an escape and a glimpse into a place much different than the one we all live in. The characters become a part of your life and once you've met them, you will never forget them.

I am not a reader--I would not read unless I had to(i.e. for a class). Although this is a long novel, the details, hilarious situations the author comes up with, sarcastic remarks made by people...everything makes you want to read on, because slowly...you have become one of the characters..you'd feel like you're a part of the enormous household. It's lengthy, but you will not regret reading it.

...The book has a number of problems in my view. The characters are 2-dimensional and the dialogue is stiff. Vel is NOT a sympathetic character. I admit that I could not find a sympathetic character in the entire book. The vision of the book is very dark. The level of bloodshed is stunning and could only appear reasonable if you spend most of your time playing action computer games. Others have praised the book for its ideas. I was not impressed with the author's creativity--William Blake as dictator for life is all well and good, but I did not find it convincing and Pol Pot's ideas are not uplifting. There are mysterious aliens in the book, but a well-executed plot would have been better. Wading through the text was a gruesome ordeal, and my effort was rewarded by the discovery that this book is the first in a series...

This book had a great start... 1)a city civilization fallen from technology on a distant planet, 2)an unusual social structure derived from Nazi socialism, 3)a threatening alien culture, and 4) religious/political intrigue.

With all those ideas to build on, I expected an interesting read. However, the shallow characters and hollow dialogue robbed the plot of its depth. With the dark themes and cold brutality of many of the characters, it was probably a good thing that they weren't developed further. At least when (almost) all the characters die, I didn't really know them enough to care. The ending was a bloodbath that didn't resolve many of the open ends of the plot. I assume that in the next book, more of the ends will be tied up, but I don't care enough about the story or the characters to read it. As a work of literature, the book is consistent with its title - Hope's End. As a story, it falls apart.

The dialog needs work, it's a bit too gruesome (think Medieval/Dark Ages Europe meets Planet of the Apes (original)), and reads like it was written by someone who is fairly intelligent, but coming out of a hopeless depression (and used William Blake to pull himself out of it). It's hard to follow in parts; you have to do a lot of filling in yourself to see where the characters are coming from or why they're doing what they're doing - there's no real development - they just sort of do what they do. It did have redeeming qualities though: it had some fairly good insight into human character, darker points in history...
Plot: Nazi, Stalin... type regime made up of old school Mormons lands on an inhospitable world (much like Utah, beautiful though it is) and through bids for power manage to destroy most their knowledge, technology, and purpose (envision Roman Empire to Dark Ages Europe). 500 yrs go by and a weakening monarchy is overtaken by an evil advisor when a typical teenage thief gets caught in the middle of various bids for power...
If that's your kind of book then the author did an excellent job and my recomendations. If you're looking for a fun book, this isn't it.

All What Jazz, indeed. While Philip Larkin was a poet of some note, I'm thinking it probably didn't pay real well. So he got a gig, doing a monthly jazz column for the Daily Telegraph. He used this gig to blather endlessly of the superiority of Dixieland and trad jazz, and the travesty and utter disgrace that is modern jazz, i.e., bebop, hard bop, and horror above horrors, the dreaded free jazz. Indeed, the book opens with a quote from Miles Davis, trashing Ornette Coleman's music. Nothing like hiding behind an icon, there, Phil. Miles, who was the Charles Barkley of his day, would regularly say outrageous things for effect and "press." In print, the words look harsh - the printed page does not capture Miles's raspy cackle following his "quote." But the printed page does capture quite well the clammy, pasty discomfort that Larkin feels for modern jazz. Yes, pip-pip, give me the old Dixieland bands that I loved as a lad in prep school! OK, fine. A nice remembrance piece, on occasion, is nice. A barbed attack on an artist or genre can also be thought-provoking. (I've been known to dabble in such things...) However, Larkin did it EVERY MONTH for 10 years. Talk about a one trick pony, in an era that spawned creative genius and obliterated musical boundaries, Old Frumpy Phil is pining for the syncopated rhythms of his past. He would allow for Duke and Basie, but he had little use for Bird or Monk, and if he wasn't outright trashing them, he was smugly doling out left-handed compliments. But don't get him started on Trane, or, God forbid, Ornette. Truly the only book that I have read in anger, and out of morbid curiosity. Bottom line: it wasn't worth it. Save your money, or better yet, go buy a Coltrane disk!

When a reviewer calls Coltrane's playing 'possessed continually by an almost Scandinavian unloveliness', and questions Thelonious Monk's sense of rhythm, you start to get a feel for what kind of jazz he'll go for. And you'd be right: nothing ever seems to please Larkin quite so much as old-school big band or dixieland, and he's not afraid to say so. Still, he's a good writer and all, so if you're looking for a collection of jazz reviews from the 60s written by a slightly stuffy guy who never really got over Woody Herman, this is the book for you.

Larkin was a great writer and an honest critic, and this is the best-written book of popular music criticism available.
The other reviews posted for this book on Amazon are wrong to imply that Larkin's tastes were timid or stuffy. In fact his heros were Henry Allen, Pee-Wee Russell, Bessie Smith, Earl Hines, Fats Waller, Louis Armstrong, Jabbo Smith, Jack Teagarden and so on. These are among greatest musicians and innovators of jazz.
Yes, Larkin thought Charlie Parker was overrated; he couldn't stand Coltrane; he thought Miles Davis was a bore. But don't be afraid to read why he thought so and you may learn something about your own heros.

I thought the poor illustrations were the only thing wrong with this book until I read it. I guess the writer never heard of the spay/neuter program.The family in this book keeps letting their cat outside, even though it gets attacked and comes home bloody many times. They don't even know the sex of the animal (proof that it isn't getting vet care). To everyone's surprise, "Willie" has kittens. I find this to be lacking in responsibility and full of ignorance. The world is full of unwanted animals, and there is no need to promote careless animal breeding. I went to this publisher's website and they claim to be writing books to promote creating a better world for children by writing about values and principles in a fun way. Maybe they should rethink this and include animals.

I liked Marky and the Cat. It was easy to read and the pictures helped to make the story! I liked reading about Marky and learning about some of the lessons he experienced. I will pass this book on to my friends.

My kids and I just loved this story. The funniest part to me was that the surprise ending could really happen! It happened to some friends of mine when we were growing up.
I am a mom and a teacher and have appreciated the underlying themes to all of this series, too. Marky and his family have helped my kids to see that we all need to work together. The character lessons that we are learning from these books make them so worth buying! Thanks to the writer for sharing these stories with us.