As Ronald Seth ever so casually admits, this is a novel that is so partial so Mr. Alger Hiss that one wonders why one of Whittaker Chambers' descendents did not bother filing some sort of a complaint against him? Perhaps it was because the Chambers's were by then used such people lashing out against Whittaker, and after all, there is such thing as the right of the freedom of the press. Mr. Seth was indeed entitled to say as he wished, whether it be kind, or even necessarily true.

One of the things that bothered me most about his writing was hypocrisy, a tactic he seemed to use when comparing the acts of Mr. Chambers to the acts of Mr. Hiss. Seth views Chambers as some sort of liar for mishandling dates, but when Hiss did the same, the excuse became "but what man doesn't after so many years?" He also believes that Chambers is some sort of fake for saying that Alger Hiss was 5'9 when he was really 6'0, that he was never really in his house because he could not remember a distinctly patterned mirror, and because he said their library was "simple" and "non-descript", even though Alger was always supposed to show off a book that was important to him. True, it would have added to the credibility of Chambers's testimony, had he remembered such things, but forgetting them should not deem him a liar, as Mr. Seth seems to think. If failed memory deems one a liar than what does that make Hiss, who could not even recall the name of George Crosely(the man whom he said was Chambers, using one of his many aliases)and even flubbed the address of his own street once while cross-examining Mr. Chambers?

Besides glorious praises of Hiss and numerous insults aimed at Chambers(he didn't have to call the "Letter to my Children" section of Witness nauseating!), this book fails to account little more than some re-hashes of the trials, as well as a section of Seth's view of "what really happened", which at times was so outrageous I was literally laughing out loud. Not exactally earth-shattering material in other words, but he does have a smooth writing style, and his vast knowlege of espionage and spy tactics was actually quite interesting, a point in his favor.

With that in mind, I would advise that people read this book if interested in getting a "pro-Hiss" view on the cases, but it would simply not do to ONLY read this book if wanting to find out about the case and nothing more. You would surely be missing out.

This book had a magnificent whirl of fun twisted into it, while it still kept the seriousness of jing wang.

The Three Cornered Hat is an amusing tale of mistaken identities and moral folkways in the Spain of early 1800's. Though the plot is not an entirely original one (the reader can recall similar stories such as Chaucer's Reeve's Tale), the story is written in an original way, describing the Andalucian countryside and colorful examples of local characters.

Alarcón is an author unknown in most of the world outside of Spain, but I recommend the book as an easily readable and largely enjoyable example of his work.

This book is a photographically illustrated essay on the history and current usage of trompe l'oeil. Trompe L'Oeil at Home has its inspiring moments but is definitely not a "how-to" manual. There are no instructions or diagrams on how to achieve any of the paint effects or murals shown. Most of the photos are from grand settings (estate homes, museums) or are ceramic dishes, fashion shots, building exteriors, movie sets, or pictures of wallpapers and borders. Less than half of the murals and projects would be used in an average home. Thus the book's title is misleading. The photographs selected for this book are primarily formal but some smaller projects are shown (bathroom "window", kitchen "shelves" etc.) The "Window with a View" (p.126) and its companion painting (untitled, p. 180 and back cover of the dust jacket) are wonderful examples of trompe l'oeil in the home. I wish more of the book was like that. There are no murals or projects with children's themes at all. For its type, this illustrated essay is an average read. If you are looking for something to inspire you in your work within the family home, or if you are looking for a "how-to" manual, you'd best keep looking.

Now when I ordered this book I was under the assumption it would be about Big Bands and Swing (isn't that pretty much the title?).Now when most people think of Big Bands they think of Miller, Dorsey, Shaw, Herman, Thornhill, or even famous sidemen from these bands such as Conrad Gozzo for example. But this book is filled with some pretty obscure folks, ie: Lawrence Lucie,Billy Mackel,Eddie Locke and of course famous ones that you'll recognize such as Erskine Hawkins, Cozy Cole, Chick Webb etc..but for those fans thinking it will be about possibly there favorite band leader or about the music that was played or by who they will be sadly mistaken. Not that the book is un -interesting, it's just not what I was expecting when I ordered it. So buyer beware .....

As an engineer, I was looking forward to reading this book. Unfortunately, the writing tends to be a little dry.

This book is basically a number of short articles, one to two pages in length, on a large number of inventions. It covers agricultural, mechanical, chemical, and a number of other inventions or discoveries. It gives a brief history of each invention, and then describes the invention.

Often, however, the descriptions are crying for a good illustration. And while there are illustrations scattered throughout the book, there just aren't enough.

This book is intended to give the reader a taste of where so many things we take for granted came from. Organizing the inventions down by sphere (agriculture and food, energy and mechanics, etc.), each invention is listed with who invented it (if known), where and when. Then a paragraph or more is included that discusses the invention.

Overall, this is not a book to be taken too seriously. I can't see what, if any, criteria was used to determine what was included and what wasn't. Also, the text is often too short to provide more than the most basic of introduction to the invention.

That said, though, this is a fun book, with absolutely tons of information in it. I would classify this as a trivia book, and perhaps a good "bathroom" book, that is one with very short, simple sections.

And that's exactly what these quotes are: outliers, chosen by the USCOC, to present a highly skewed version of environmentalists' opinions in a rather silly attempt to marginalize the movement.

For some insight into the organization's motives, one merely needs to read the "About the Author" section provided by amazon.com. To anybody but the most right-wing readers, it should be clear that these people are merely shills for the corporate interests of the United States. It would obviously be in their best interest to marginalize the environmental movement, if only to make the reading populace believe that they (the environmentalists) truly are a bunch of anti-human crazies.

In any case, as an anti-human crazy, I find the book insulting in its attempt to place me in the same group as those no-good conformists in the Sierra Club and Greenpeace.... ; )

Cheers! Everett Volk

P.S. Save your money and spend it on something worthwhile, like any book by sustainable economist Herman Daly.

Highly recommended for those who like to think for themselves.

The Chamber of Commerce is an organization which most knowledgable people know about, and can separate from the Department of Commerce. All the people giving this bad reviews are acting like it is some pretend organization which was made up to appear to be part of the government just to give this booklet legitimacy. Furthermore, the booklet makes it clear that not all environmentalists agree with the extreme views that are expressed there, and suggested that sincere enviromentalists should make more an effort to separate themselves from the radical element.

Actually, it was unreadable. One of the worst regencies I have ever read. Claudia and Rexford were the main love interest. Rexford is homely and boring, and Claudia is just plain dull. It also does not make sense that the estate would have been left divided between the two parties. Entailed property can't be divided. And as Rexford had other places to live, why was he living there under such circumstances and living in the gate house? Illogical. I could barely get through the book.

The characters were interesting in this book but the reader is not really drawn into their lives. They seemed rather superficial in their dealings to others. Even the villain did not seem particularly villainous until he made his move to kidnap Claudia in the end.

Claudia, a rather pretty self-sacrificing woman cannot bear the animosity of her sister-in-law anymore. Finding it difficult to live in her brother's house and not rich enough to be independent by any means, she begins in vain to search for a position as nursemaid/governess. Not mature and much too attractive, she is not chosen by any ladies. Claudia rather lucks into the position as companion to the dowager Lady Rexford. Lady Rexford has married well above her station and is looking for a woman to assist her in facing her nephew John (the current Lord Rexford) and the family retainers at Rexford Park in Yorkshire.

Miss Chambers "takes charge" of the situation convincing the rather trusting and sweet (but very respectable) Lady Rexford to appear bolder, demanding and high-handed. Lady Rexford does this by dressing in black, tapping a gold handled cane and gazing at people through a quizzing glass. Lady Rexford also allows Claudia and her trusted servant Hettie to speak for her in situations when she feels vulnerable. So off to Yorkshire they go meeting the formidable Lord Rexford and various others who set out to make life a little uncomfortable. Claudia first meets with John, throwing him a little off balance by reading him the riot act for showing up too early, too disheveled and too arrogant to even meet with Lady Rexford. This beginning portion of the book is the most enjoyable. After that, you meet Barbara Brock who all but considers herself engaged to Lord Rexford and Sir Lucas an aging dandy. Each has a role to play in making Claudia miserable. As Claudia begins to fall in love with John, she thinks he is playing her false since Barbara has told her they are engaged but it has not been announced. There is some intrigue involving a Rembrandt and a little chase involved when both the Rembrandt and Claudia are absconded with!

Some of the things that did not make sense were that Lady Rexford was easily accepted into the country society and Lord Rexford became such a champion of hers so rapidly. Although he was wrong to think her ill-bred, I just don't think he or the others would have come around so easily. The whole Rembrandt/kidnapping story was just ridiculous. It was worth reading the book for the beginning when Claudia helps Lady Rexford gain confidence. But... all in all, only slightly entertaining and not a keeper.

Claudia Chambers needs to leave her brother's household, as her sister-in-law's resentment of her makes life difficult. So Miss Chambers looks for a position and finds one as companion to the widowed Lady Rexford. Sweet, gentle Lady Rexford is a housekeeper who married her employer and is much resented by her nephew, the new Lord Rexford. Lady Rexford is apprehensive about dealing with her nephew. Miss Chambers begins her duties by making Lady Rexford over into a more formidable woman with sometimes hilarious results. Her own social life is less easily resolved, however. She has several suitors, one of which is Lord Rexford himself. Charming secondary characters, such as Lady Rexford, really make this one shine.

As an avid musician, I have taken great pains, through research, time and money, to purchase high quality scores with which to hone my craft. Unfortunately, this score has fallen into the category of a true lemon. The other readers' comments regarding Marche Slave and the 1812 Overture are substantial and on target.

Specifically, the 1812 Overture's is rife with errors; the most glaring of which is the incorrect melody in the low-brass and low strings during the finale section in combination with the alteration of the most recognizable theme in the rest of the orchestra. I have great respect for Dover and their editions. I own dozens of them. This one, however, receives two thumbs down from me because of the gross errors. If you would like a quality edition of this work, try the Eulenberg edition as suggested by the another reader. Happy Hunting!

Please do not take this the wrong way, but I found some repeats of the final section of this opus and when the cannons go off on the cds that I have listened to, while I follow a long with the orchestra, Dover repeated many measures. So, these past two days I had to figure out the right places to mark when the cannons go off. I had to mark X's where it is repeated. The cannon notation in this score is off, so I fixed that in my edition. It is still a good study guide if you want to become a conductor, when I graduate out of college I would like to become a conductor of a major city symphony orchestra.

This score is one of the rare problem scores in the Dover series. They have basically photo-offset from the old Soviet editions. In March Slave, the Russians edited out the Czarist hym material that Tchaikovsky quotes in the piece and substituted innocuous filler, with a footnote to an appendix containing the original material. The Doverites, not understanding what they were doing, leave in the footnote (which is in Russian, naturally) but omit the appendix. Anyone trying to use the score of March Slave with a recording or to prepare a performance will discover this problem. (Note - for a correct score of March Slave, get the Eulenberg pocket score and compare....)

As the author readily admits, his book was rewritten when his subject, Cisco CEO John Chambers, was suddenly presiding over a shrinking, rather than expanding, company. The rewrite shows in the final product.

Robert Slater explains Cisco's fabulous rise well. The key players granted him interviews and seemed happy to discuss the company's glory days in length. The company's subsequent decline beginning in 2000 is not treated as well. I didn't learn nearly as much about Cisco's fall as the book's title would suggest I should have.

After covering business icons such as Jack Welch and George Soros, I wonder if the author was really prepared to take the critical approach necessary to cover the decline of Cisco that John Chambers oversaw.

And as if he felt the need to justify the subject matter, Slater repeatedly mentioned the fact that Cisco was the most valuable company in the world, if only for a second. The reference got annoying.

Overall, anyone who wants insight into the roots and management team at one of the world's most important tech bellwethers should read this book. There are some fascinating revelations here such as how close Cisco came to acquiring hub maker SynOptics Communications in 1993. At the same time, I was disappointed he completely omitted information about Cisco's close M&A relationship with Silicon Valley venture capital firm Sequoia Capital in the late 1990s.

While Slater's ninth chapter about Cisco's dealmaking techniques comes to the conclusion that most of its deals had little or no effect on the company, true M&A junkies might be better off reading Ed Paulson's adulatory book, Inside Cisco, to learn more about the communications equipment maker's aggressive corporate development program.