If only one book on the subject of Scotland's clans and families were truly all encompassing, this book would in fact be the one to buy. But no one book can do the subject of Scotland's people justice. While this 'encycolpedia' does provide some very interesting and informative items, such as just what a clan encompasses, it does repeat many of the same errors on family associations that prior authors on the subject have made. One might think with the credentials of the authors that their research would have been much better. For example: On Campbell, the tartan shown is that of Campbell of Argyll, which is the incorrect tartan. The Campbell of Argyll tartan was designed specifically for use by one the Past Dukes of Argyll as his own 'personal tartan'. It is not to be worn by members of the clan. The Ancient Campbell tartan, also known as the Blackwatch tartan is the tartan which may be worn by all Campbells.

Additionally this book wants in explaining exactly what The Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs is - it is a private association of certain chiefs, and omits from its membership some "officially' recognized chiefs of Scottish clans. The book may give the uniformed reader the impression that the 'Council' somehow helps The Court of the Lord Lyon make determinations on who is or is not the Chief of a Clan or Head of a Family. There is a blurring of the facts here. The Court of the Lord Lyon is the only authority in Scotland who may ratify and confirm Chiefs. The Lord Lyon signature on papers known as Letter Patent and on the Matriculation document, amounts to the Queen's signature ratifying the Chief of a Clan or Family. Only Lyon's signature and Seal of Office on such official state documents makes a Chief a Chief. That there is an omission of certain Chiefs and their clans from the work is obvious.

The index of names and clan associations is also lacking. There are many Scottish surnames which have clan or family associations which are not to found within the pages of this work. Likewise there are Scottish surnames which have no clan associations at all, and some names which have no tartans associated with them whatever.

Much of the History and Heraldry contained in the book is well done, there is no denying this. The Heraldry in particular is one of the better features, and there is likely no other book on the market which shows the richness and brilliance of Scots Heraldry. The banners, standards and clan crests badges of the Members of the Standing Council are well done, but for the Armigerous clans and families at the rear of the book, their herldry, history and accuracy is very lacking indeed. In fact, some families or clans are not mentioned at all.

While this book is certainly NOT a Clan Bible, it makes a good companion for other such books. It is still a good source of reference, and a must have for anyone interested in Scotland's colorful past as well as learning about the presence of the clans as they exist today.

If this book was sold by weight it would still be a wonderful buy. It is a heavy volume and very high glass paper. Much care went into making this a collector's book. The Binding is sewing not glued, so the workmanship is not often seen in books these days.

Now to the inside...two pages are dedicated to most Clans, showing excellent colour pictures of the tartan. It also lists the Clan's arms, crest, motto. It give a better than average history of each Clan, which takes up the first 2/3s of the book. The later part takes up the Armigerous Clans, many of these are often left out of works in most Clan and Tartan reference works, so this is definitely a plus. In Appendix 1 they give you a good Chronology of dates of importance in Scottish History. For a timeline, it's better than most I have been in works similar to this. Appendix 2 gives Scottish Monarchs for Kenneth I to the Union of Parliaments in 1707. Appendix 3 is a very nice glossary of Heraldic Terms - was very impressed with this section. Appendix 4 for gives septs and names associated with various Clans. I have seen this in other works, and again, this one is much better. Appendix 5 will be of special interests to people tracing their family treat as his gives you information concerning tracing genealogy in Scotland. There is an Index, with excellent fonts, so easy to read.

All in all worthy, quick reference for the Clans of Scotland.

Scotland's history is a tapestry of heroes, legends, exploits and tragedies, woven on the weft of her Clans. Those wanting to see into this history, to learn about their Clan and being a clansman, or to understand Clan lore, Clan Law, Highland Display, and Scots Heraldry, should have a copy of this book.

The Scottish Clan & Family Encyclopedia covers Scottish history, Clanship, Tartans, Heraldry, and related matters in general. It then goes on to detail the specific history of each Clan and its leaders, to illustrate the official clan tartans and insignia, and to indicate which families and septs are associated with each clan. The histories and symbols of many prominent Scottish families are also included.

But with hundreds of books published on Clans and Tartans, and more coming out every year, why this one?

Because it is the best fact book on the subject. Written by the Secretary of the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs and his Deputy, an Heraldic artist in the Court of the Lord Lyon (Scotland's Chief Herald) and at the Office of the Chief Herald of Ireland, this book provides the most accurate and up-to-date information on Scots Clans, Chiefs, Tartans, and Heraldic practices.

If you want a coffee table picture book, a novel for bedtime or a traveler's souvenir, I recommend something else.

If you want the authoritative source, this is the one to own.

In this book ashelys boyfriend Ross is in a play and he has to kiss MK in the play and he hasn't kissed Ashely yet so Ashely wants to kiss him. What will they do? Find out in this great book!

This book is all about a school play. A musical, to be specific. It was really good. Mary-Kate got the lead, and her understudy tried to make her get sick and mess stuff up for her. That's all I can tell you or else I would be spoiling the story for you!

This book was really good. It has a great plot and is interesting. This book is about when Mary-Kate tries out for a part in the play that they're performing at White Oak (Mary-Kate and Ashley's bording school). She tries out for a part that doesn't have many lines, but ends up getting the lead part! Ashley is incredibly happy for her sister even though Ashley tried out too, and didn't get a part. She's happy until she realizes Ross, Ashley's boyfriend is playing Mary-Kate's boyfriend in the play. And at the end Mary-Kate gets to kiss Ross. When Mary-Kate asks Ashley if it's all right that she kisses Ross, Ashley says yes. But when they're practicing Ashley does everything to stop Mary-Kate from kissing him!

THis big dictionary is the perpetual 2nd choice in our household: it is clumsy to find the right word, somewhat out of date, and poorly covers slang. So we only use it when we know we must wander in it in frustration.

Tepidly recommended. Oxford dictionaries are far better.

This is the first substantial Ital/Eng dicitonary to use the International Phonetic Alphabet in its Italian section. Most previous dictionaries have some sort of arcane system of pronunciation with a "dot for an open vowel" or a "cedille for a voiced consonant." This dictionary is invaluable to singers and students of voice who must continually be on the alert for which e and o vowels are open or closed! Very highly recommended.

This is one of the best reference companions you can buy. If you read through the definitions carefully, you will pick up a ton of grammar along the way. I use it constantly.

I'm sure this was a great book when it was published in 1996. However, realize that if you're really interested in an up to date biography of Sampras, this one is way behind.

Branham does a great job showing the excellence of Pete's game and personality. Enough of this stuff that he doesn't have what it takes. The contrast between him and others who have the glitter show who has the endurance at the top.

Sampras is too full of character to withstand the beratement he receives from a press-gone-crazy world who rather likes flash and glitter and controversy and rebellious character. Pete is solid, off both sides of the groundies and of course the serve and volley.

What an outstanding young person whom other hopeful racket swinging youth can emulate --- the guy isn't about show but go. Especially his love of the Rocket and the inheritance those guys gave and their sacrifice is neat. I grew up with the Chuck McKinley/Dennis Ralston era.

The book traces his record in the Majors, with the underlying background to the big matches and Pete's life. Influenced greatly by his first coach, a pediatrician. Later, with one whom he truly bonded was taken suddenly. What endurance and character.

This guy deserves his high spot in tennis annals. Great read. Thanks Branham.

this is badri from india(badri_becker@yahoo.com). buy this book and most importantly use it as a metaphor for your life and for tennis professionals.bravo! my cordial salutations to the author . he has done a great job.

Joan's first book, Past Imperfect, was absolutely awful! In fact, I gave it a grand rating of ONE star! So when I saw this book, Second Act, on sale at the local library, being a glutton for punishment, I decided to read it. Well, I was happily surprised as I turned the pages and read an entirely different Joan Collins. This book was extremely entertaining as Joan told about her very eventful life. All the famous people she worked with. I had fully expected another bunch of dribble like her first book which was filled with 'poor ol me' stories about her husbands screwing her over but this book turned out to be the total opposite. Maybe Joan learned by her first disasterous attempt at writing that it's not at all easy to be a best selling novelist as her sister Jackie is. This book was obviously researched and edited a lot better than her other one. So, I will give it three stars and if you're a Joan Collins fan, then this is definately a 'must read' for you.

At first i thought this memoir was a rehash of her Past Imperfect (which i enjoyed immensely), but from the beginning, it was clear that JC had plenty more to say. This is an amusing, bright woman, with keen insight. Her discriptions of her meetings with Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor and Mae West are priceless, PRICELESS i tell you. One must fully realize that the phenomenon known as Celebrity happens to so few people, that its fascinating when one of "them" actually talks about it. Its also hysterical when she discusses how people treated her as if she were Alexis, the conniving b#@%h, when in fact she is a nice mother of 3 and step mother of 3. Doesnt it scare you when you hear that people actually believe that the characters she performed were real. Or that she was asked to give advice (as Alexis)? The revelation here isnt that she can write (she can), its that she continues to be a interesting woman, a beauty, and is gifted with an amazing memory.

when i started to read the book i immediately became involved with miss collins life and it was like she was actually speaking to me although some of the information was incorrect(she stated that when she brought out her signature perfume every woman wanted to be like alexis or krystle. however if one was to look in the photos of joan with donald trump and ivana trump it says it was in 1990. dynasty had finished a year earlier due to falling ratings)it was neverthe less a brilliant read.

I needed to create a simple web site, and while I will admit I am a bit of a cyber-dunce, I found Front Page 2000 very overwhelming and confusing. Finally, I gave up on Front Page and bought the Trellix book on the recommendation of a friend. Trellix was MUCH easier to use in my opinion, especially their wizard. It is more straightforward and has better, simpler explanations and instructions. I'm guessing Front Page is for people who are very computer savvy and those who do professional web designing. Trellix is good for us common folk who just need to get a simple web site up and running quickly, although I'm sure it's capable of handling more complex sites too. I highly recommend it.

I did 5 stars before seeing the book, because of the product you get with it. I'm using the "free" 2.1 version I got with WordPerfect 9. I am so impressed with this older version, I'm trying for a few additions in 2.7.

There is still plenty of info at the Trellix Web Site, though it is not kept up well--you have all you need.

I'm blown away by how good this software is.

I did my Site first w/o support other than Help and Tutorial, but found some usefull info at the Trellix Web Site

I am not an employee of GlobalScape and I will receive nothing (except, perhaps, some heat from loanwolf) for posting these remarks. Trellix Web 2.7 is a great product, and is both available from and supported by GlobalScape. I've tried Micro$oft FrontPage and Netscape Composer and believe me: Trellix Web is leagues ahead of either of them, without all the non-standard tags that would make your website difficult or impossible to access for people using something other than Internet Explorer or Netscape. In addition, Trellix Web has gotten an enthusiastic thumbs-up from Jakob Nielsen, regarded as the leading authority on web usability.

I purchased this book, sight unseen, based on the glowing reviews given here. I'm very disappointed and would send the book back if the hassle of doing so wasn't greater than the cost of the book.
I have the very first Harmony book of crochet stitches, which is decades old... the one put out before they started numbering them and telling you how many stitches they contain. I thought this book was a sequel to that original one, but it is not.
It appears that they simply tore apart the original book and made it into two seperate books. This one, vol. 7, contains very few stitches that are not in the original. For instance, in the first section "All over Patterns" there are only 18 stitches that are solid fabrics suitable for clothing (versus openwork, filet, edges or motif patterns) and only two of those are new to this book. If you're new to crochet and want open work stitches this book would be great. But if you've been around awhile or want stitches that make solid fabrics suitable for clothing or warm afghans, skip this book.

As with the 300 Crochet Stitches, this book is wonderful! Just when you think there can't be another stitch, here comes 220 more! You'll find it helpful in every aspect of crocheting, especially if you like designing your own things. I'm an afghan nut, and between these two books, no two afghans are ever going to be the same again!

This book is excellent!! As a pattern designer, I use this book to give me ideas for texture and even designs. I think I open it almost every day!!

This is a lack luster book. If you want to read a really great fictional story about the black dahlia case then read Ellroys The Black Dahlia. Collins should stick to Dick Tracy.

Max Allan Collins is as good as it gets when it comes to mysteries, and especially in his chosen genre -- true crime solved by his own fictional detective, Nathan Heller -- Collins is unbeatable. ANGEL IN BLACK is a haunting rendition of the Black Dahlia murder in L.A. -- a story I didn't know when I began reading the book. As usual, his research is impeccable (I've since done my own research on this) and his rendering of the people involved brings you straight into the heart of the story. His solution may not be correct, but it is compelling (and no one really knows, either -- the Black Dahlia murder remains officially unsolved). And like his other brilliant Heller stories -- STOLEN AWAY (the Lindbergh kidnapping), FLYING BLIND (Amelia Earhart disappearance), MAJIC MAN (Roswell, New Mexico UFO incident) ... you believe it and cannot help but be drawn in further. Don't miss this; it has its gruesome moments (which I know will automatically recommend it to some people) but it also has some marvelous characters and surprising relevations. Heller solves this one the way he does all his investigating -- he's tough, sexy and can't help but get involved. This one is a five-star winner.

Max Allan Collins is a sort of a Renaissance Man. He's an independent film-maker, scripted the Dick Tracy comics series for 16 years, and writes mystery novels (ten Shamus nominations, won twice). You wonder how he has time to breathe and eat, let alone make a life with a wife and son. Of these accomplishments, the mystery novel series is perhaps the best known. A dozen of the books are private eye novels with a main character who's a sort of guide to the crime world of the late 20's to the late 50's. This character is Nathan Heller, the half-Irish half-Jewish ex-cop who is friends with Capone, traded shots with Dillinger, and searched for Amelia Earhart and the Lindbergh baby. You have to be willing to accept that one person would be involved in this many different famous crimes of the century, but once you make this leap of faith, the books are wonderful evocations of life in the first half of the century, replete with characters and scenes that stay with you. The solutions to the real-life mysteries are well-researched and believable, and often the author has done original work that leads non-fiction writers to new sources and accounts of the crime in question.

The crime in question is the Black Dahlia murder case, in which an aspiring actress was tortured and murdered, the body being cut in half at the waist after death. Collins has to hook Heller in somehow, and as is often the case, his libido gets him involved: he had a short affair with the victim, Elizabeth Short. Coincidentally, Heller is in Los Angeles, and happens to be there when the body's discovered, and recognizes his former lover. Soon he's working for a local paper, doing background, and unofficially looking to find the killer himself. Admittedly, this beginning is a bit of a stretch, but if you read the series, you're used to this sort of thing and accept it. If you're not, just go with it, it's worth it.

Heller has an interesting problem, which is two-fold. First, he has the problem that if the L.A. cops figure out that he was having an affair with the victim, he might wind up a suspect, especially as he's in L.A. with his new wife, who wouldn't be amused by an old girlfriend. Second, and perhaps worse, he's the only cop on the case who thinks this killing might be something other than a bizarre sex-crime. The plot zips right along, with Heller crossing paths with Orson Wells, Mickey Cohen, and other famous figures from L.A. history, entertainment, press, and politics. There's even a cameo with Heller's old friends Barney Ross and Eliot Ness. The solution is something of a surprise, possible but a bit of a stretch, but fun none the less. I would highly recommend this book, with the caveat that if you haven't read the author's earlier book Butcher's Dozen, you're going to be a bit taken aback when the twist comes. I know I was, even though I'd read the previous book.

While this book has great definitions, a nice font so everything is easy to read, the section on verb forms is a little lacking. Since irregular verbs are probably the hardest part of this language, I didn't feel it was a good idea to put all the irregular verb tenses in a very simplified table form with just the verb endings. You really need to see the entire verb spelled out properly. This may not bother everyone, but it did me.

For a person who is hungry for words, this is THE dictionary to opt for. The umpteen entries make this dictionary the most sought-after bilingual dictionary to look up for new words. The additions of recent words, which have made an entry into French, make this a contemporary dictionary of the French language. This would have proved to be the best in all possible ways if only the manner in which the skeleton has been structured was more pragmatic. One would be dissatisfied after futilely looking up in the dictionary to find how to express certain expressions native to an English user like "receive a proposal" et al. If only this dictionary had been more user-friendly (by drawing heavily from corpus) like Oxford-Hachette is, it would have been an indispensable tool.

I wholeheartedly agree with those who say that this particular dictionary is THE French dictionary for students of French (and French enthusiasts). Not only is the vocabulary comprehensive, but the usage notes are invaluable; symbols indicate British versus American usage, the "slang quotient" of a word, and archaic and colloquial words, among others. The entries are full of examples that make it very easy to find out exactly how to use the word in context. There is also a special "Language in Use" section in the middle for particular cases, especially idiomatic phrases. The pronunciations are in IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet), with guides in English and French. Highly recommended!!

I was a fan of "Uncle Bobby" for years - and miss him dearly. I've been going to the WGN web site (wgnradio.com) to read the messages and listen to Uncle Bobby's favorite bits. I got more out of the web site than this book. It seems to be more of an attempt to gather stories from co-workers and people on the message boards - it is a light tribute with little depth in that respect. Like people sharing stories at a wake. I also read that the family does not support the book because of the way the author unsympathetically hounded them days after the accident. Not as good as the message boards and actually listening to that great laugh on the WGN web site. I'd pass on the purchase of this one and go to the web site.

There are many ways to write a biography, but I think the most interesting format is to let those who knew the subject tell their stories unencumbered. If that seems to be a simple technique, trust me, it actually requires a very skilled interviewer to pose the kind of questions which elicit coherent answers. Author Quade knows exactly how to do that, judging by the stories in this book. She has wisely left their words intact, sparing them from the editorial Cusinart which often destroys interviews by "cleaning them up." These stories are collected from real people, and they sound like it.

The contributors range from old friends to business associates, politicians, other radio personalities and "ordinary" listeners who felt a special closeness to a man most had never met.

What emerges from these stories is a man seemingly untouched by the fame (and power) which attach themselves to people in his position. He seems to have remained his real self, a "smart-alecky guy with a penchant for rock and roll ..", "a hillbilly from Florida who was articulate and funny." And his listeners responded to this persona by expressing in their various ways how they knew he was "just one of the guys." Meaning, "like us."

They rewarded him (and WGN) with, according to Quade, a 10.4 audience share, "unheard of in the highly competitive [Chicago] market."

In fact, I believe DJ Dick Biondi had equally powerful numbers, but that was many years ago, long before radio audiences became fragmented into so many demigraphic slivers. So to equal or better his ratings in today's radio universe is indeed proof of just how well he connected with his audience.

The point here, demonstrated by Quade's interviews, is that Collins was seen by an extremely broad-based listenership as the man they wanted to listen to, four hours a day. While one would not expect to read negative comments in such a book, it is remarkable how many people really liked him, and the personal way they reacted to his untimely death. They lost a good friend, and "I Remember Bob Collins" demosntrates why they felt that way.

I heard about this book in a radio interview with the author. She told annecdotes from the book and talked about Bob Collins and his radio legacy. After reading the book, I was impressed by how many people contributed to it. Bob always phoned his parents on the show and both Candi and Jack Packett comment on him saying, "I'm going to miss his calls. His hearty laugh and all. He was always concerned about what we were doing, what the kids were up to. I'll miss that."

My favorite story is from a fan, Judith Perkinson. She speaks about her father who is blind and lives alone. After his wife died, her dad had a hard time adjusting to life. He knew it was morning when he heard Bob's voice and started each day with him. Bob Collins became his radio friend. The story was really touching. There are so many ways you can influence other people's lives with out even knowing it. Her dad never contacted Bob but this book highlights that he was not alone in calling Bob his friend.

The book reminded me just how much "Uncle Bobby" will be missed. The stories are all unique and reinforce what a great guy he really was, not just on the radio. It is hard to get to know someone, especially a celebrity, but reading the stories gave me more insight into the Bob I have listened to for years.