Quite a good book to read on holiday or on aeroplanes. Story was OK with some quite funny parts to it.

Even though it's out of print, keep an eye out for it. On the surface it's funny, but the humour is wry. Kaz writes brilliant stuff and, if you want a real insight into Australia and the life style, it's here. There is a lot of deeper stuff in the book that is very accurate and mind stretching

I've read just about every book James Lee Burke has written -- from his Dave Robicheaux series to Cimmaron Rose and others. I've loved them all and eagerly await new ones. This is the first time I've read one of his books that I didn't like it. I couldn't connect with the characters, didn't bond with them, didn't find their situation to be compelling to read about. It took all I could do to finish it. It certainly wouldn't dissuade me from reading anything else he writes (although there isn't much left that I haven't read...) but this is not a great book, not up to his usual exploration of characters or his colorful description of surroundings. There was not a likeable character in the book, nor was I able to get a good visual for the surroundings. Skip it if you love Burke, you'll only be disappointed.

James Lee Burke's first novel does not have the fast paced, action packed movement as does his Dave Robicheaux novels, but he is clearly setting his penchant for detail and human suffering early in his career. Three stories combine to form the core of this novel - life is not all wine and roses. The book centers on the success and failures of three south Louisiana men who have a great deal of promise but ending up on life's darker side. Burke doesn't have a hero nor does he need one. One man driven to alcoholism by his desire to escape his father's shadow is consumed and fate has led him to prison, let him out and returned him in one foul stroke. Another man is a promising boxer who is set up by greed and sentenced to life in prison can only escape one way. A third man, poor but very talented, falls to the pressures and luxuries of stardom. His excesses leads him to the palace. These three stories are linked by prison and intoxicating substances. They are linked by one man who succombs to temptation and goes to prison. This is a great book, but it is unlike any of Burke's more famous novels. He does remain constant in his ability to capture the surroundings and the human spirit. A must read for any fan of Dave Robicheaux to catch the young wild pen of a man destined for fame.

This reference is analogous to the Oxford English Dictionary. Its scope is extremely expansive (40,000 years!), it is useful for handy retrieval of unfamiliar or forgotten information, and it is laid out in a clear and logical progression. It also betrays a British bias, is not a particularly fun read, and falters in its inclusion of items less than fifty years old.

The presentation is organized chronologically with broad outlines for each continent. Brief explication is given for the more weighty events, and short summary paragraphs capture major movements such as the Middle Ages, Renaissance, and the Age of Discovery. Color photographs and maps skillfully flesh out the text.

Like many British writers, however, this trio has a tendency to confuse wars and succession of kings, usually English, with history. They focus, for example, on insignificant facts such as how Harold Godwinson came to power and whom he battled prior to his defeat by William the Conqueror. In contrast, the history of ideas (e.g., philosophy, science, technology, political theory, and law), with its indelible imprint on modern society, is spotty at best. British myopia is evident in the treatment of Napoleon, portraying him as a militaristic opportunist rather than a civilizing force who brought laws, codes, and a semblance of equality to a neo-feudal continent.

Late twentieth century history is principally reduced to news headlines. The abdication of the Duke of Windsor and the catastrophic loss of the Challeger get far more attention than the transformation of Eastern Europe and Asia or revolutionary developments in communications, information, transportation, and biology.

As a quick thumb-through reference, History's Timeline is unmatched. For a more novelesque read, albeit frequently apocryphal, try H.G. Wells' Outline of History.

I actually read this straight through, like a novel, but it in no way approaches a novel nor a narrative history, but it is a very good quick reference for historical events and personages. Of interest, are at the beginning of the major divisions in the history are individual timelines of each of the peopled continents with significant events, with references to Gupta dynasties in India or Mali empire in Africa, which are sadly enough almost ignored in the interior. If you want a quick biography of historical personage, most likely it's in there, if you want a specific time and date for an event you can find it, but you if a view to extend beyond the myopic preoccupation with white europe, especially England, you maybe in for some trouble. This reference throws breadcrumbs of the events transpiring outside of Europe's grasp, but then never follows through. However, it is a good reference for the standard Euro-centric and traditional historical accounts.

Here's another installment in Phaidon's almost flawless Contemporary Artists series. Aside from a gorgeous and colorful presentation, each book includes a lengthy artist interview, a survey of the artist's career and catalog, a focused critical look at a single work or series, a collection of the artist's own writings, an artist-selected collection of writings which they find relevant to their work, and finally a detailed chronology of the artist's showings and publications and an extensive bibliography. This is a great way to be introduced to an artist's work or to better understand already familiar material. And it makes a perfectly packaged single volume to add to a collection.

I'd seen photos of Stockholder's installations and was excited for more. When I found she had a volume in this series I was thrilled. As I'd hoped, there were more photos of even more fantastic installations - massive, colorful, and complicated constructions of as many different materials and textures as you can imagine. It all looked great.

But my enthusiasm quickly faded. Reading the artist interview I found her to be not just a devout disciple of the art-for-art's-sake formalist school, but downright giddy about the idea. That's not a BAD thing, though its really not MY thing, but to get a perspective on where this formalism is coming from, check out some of these quotes. "I've always felt uncomfortable in museums and galleries. There's a kind of deadening in those places that I work in response to." Huh. "Even so, I love what the art institution makes possible . . . it's a place where you can express anything, and explore any thing without hurting your neighbor" (13). On her creative process she says, "I begin in a very physical place, without a lot of words. . . . There's a quiet - there are no words for what I'm going to do" (14). So if this kind of serious thinking appeals to you, go buy the book I guess, but this stuff just kept coming and systematically grated on each of my nerves. To me she came off like a beret-clad sophomore art student from a "Doug" cartoon.

Next, viewers interested in considering her work in terms of content are left grasping at straws. The titles attached to her installations allude to a possible allegorical content (which on some occasions makes superficial connections with the materials used in the installations), begging for a psychoanalytic reading. Based on what I read in this book, there isn't too much of interest through that door, and she doesn't really tell us much to base such an analysis on. Another direction to take is to take the temporary nature of her work as a reaction against notions of art as a commodity. The book put that on the table, and it made sense. And though, yes, you can say that, the same can be said for the whole of installation art dating back decades before Stockholder got her hands in it. By not offering any real direction (certainly I didn't find any such thing in this book) on the issue of meaning or subject matter she's made a number of critics wary. Myself, after the admittedly powerful initial reaction to the brightness and color in her installations, I'm left empty and bored.

This is not to say that I find Stockholder's work completely without value. Her work does have a strong impact on a lot of people. And she has a great eye. Also, there is a fantastic article by Jack Bankowsky (from the Oct. 1990 issue of "Artforum") I highly recommend. He has a pretty interesting take on why her work is interesting. But based on this book alone, I was ready to write Stockholder off entirely. And even now I'd have to say Stockholder's work is not my cup of tea at all.

While working on an installation of my own at my school, my teacher brought out this book he wanted me to look at. I was instantly amazed at the first page I opened up to. Her work is so incredibly colorful and emotive - I was/am in love. The bit of text I happened to read seemed to be very well written and I know Phaidon to be publishers of VERY good textual and graphic books. There are many beautiful illustrations and it's overall just a nice piece to own.. I HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone more interested in color or installation work. PICK IT UP!

I WAS EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED IN THIS BOOK. THE GAME SUGESTIONS WERE TIRED AND ONE DOESN'T NEED SEVERAL COPIES OF GAME FORMS TO WASTE PAGES. MENUS WERE NOT INNOVATIVE,IN FACT,NOTHING WAS.

When my sister announced that she's getting married, I announced that I'd love to throw her a shower. I'd never thrown a wedding shower before, and I needed to find something to help me plan one--fast! I was pleased with Ms. Cooke's "Best Baby Shower Book" that I'd bought to plan my friend's baby shower a couple of months before, so I thought I'd try her again. I wasn't disappointed. This book offers instructions and tips for throwing fun parties in a straight-forward way, and none of the parties seemed overwhelming to plan or impossible to pull off. The theme I chose was fun to plan, and the party was a blast. This book is a new edition, and it seems as if the problems with the previous edition mentioned in the previous review were addressed.

We bought this book sight unseen because our 18 month old enjoyed other "Peek-a-board" books. This particular entry makes very poor use of the "technology" of peek a board. I would consider a "good" use one that has a dog or cat peeking through the die-cut holes in the pages. None of the holes in this book have anything peeking through. The cleverness here, if you can call it that, is that the colors match up through the hole. I guess they're trying to hide the fact that the holes exist.

The whole point of these books is to "peek-a-boo" through the holes, and there's nothing to peek a boo in this book. As well, the colors are muted and the text is weak. I recommend you avoid this peek-a-board book if your child likes to peek-a-boo things thru the holes.

This is our 7-month-old daughter's favorite book. She screeches with delight upon seeing Grover. While the colors are soft, there are many interesting things to look at on every page. The message is also nice...it encourages children to appreciate the beauty of nature.

The first part is introductory, and contains a lot of easy and real-life examples, and is pleasant and interesting to read. However, part 2 and 3, the 'application parts', brought me to tears with the most incomprehensible mathematics.

"For Conspicuous Gallantry" is a good introduction for young readers to the Medal of Honor and to some of the decoration's receipient through most major conflicts. Well-illustrated, it will hold the interest of younger history buffs, but it is not comprehensive at all. Cooke chooses a few stories from each major conflict the US was involved in to provide a backdrop for the Medal's history. If you're looking for a complete history of the Medal and background on all of its receipients, steer clear of this book.

What a pity that such an interesting book has been printed before being finished ! It clarifies some of the most important guidelines from Vatican Council II by providing new or forgotten meanings to a number of basic concepts such as grace, sacraments, faith and eucharist itself. The author also rightfully insists on the need to read the signs of the times in order to discover the action and will of God and to be in a position to play our part in their implementation. He tries to do so in relation to the problem of eucharist and shows how the visible celebrant who embodies Christ, is in fact the community itself. The ordained liturgical leader is there to preside and should preferably do so as a member of the community, rather than as a person who stands between the community and God. This is in my view confirmed by the fact that the eucharistic prayer is written with "we" as the sole subject of the verbs. Meaning that it really is the community who is supposed to speak with one voice, as opposed to a particular individual. The author then makes it obvious that the future of eucharist cannot be separated from the future of priesthood and that a better or new understanding of eucharist cannot be reached without a simultaneously better or new understanding of priesthood. Unfortunately this carefully built and clearly explained work is prematurely stopped. And in the concluding chapter supposed to tell us "What to do", the only answer given to the problem of increasing shortage of ordained men is for the communities to accept celebrating eucharist only once a month ! I would have expected a solution in accordance with the data previously put forward by the author, for instance the fact that Christ instituted eucharist but did not ordain anybody. A solution which would also be in accordance with an obvious sign of the times, which is that the Holy Spirit has all but stopped calling for men to be ordained. We must remember that the persons given the responsibility to preside over the celebration of eucharist are meant to be there for the people and not the people for the presiders. I consider it totally unacceptable that the Christian communities be put in a situation where they cannot celebrate and hear a valid commentary of the Scriptures, because of a lack of priests. The more so as the priests are still ordained according to an understanding of eucharist which becomes obsolete inasmuch as it does not implement the reforms initiated by Vatican Council II. This book which breathes new life and new hope into Christian theology, has missed the opportunity to remind the institutional church that it is there to help the people of God do what Christ has asked to do in memory of him, and not to forbid doing it for questionable reasons

Transparent characters, a cliched and threadbare plot, and writing so stilted it would be easy to assume the author is fresh out of grade school English class. His glaring lack of drama sense is only surpassed by his morbid lack of grammar and syntax. Mr. Cooke's work is a pox on the self-publishing industry. Don't waste your money, and let's hope Mr. Cooke doesn't give up his day job.

The review below is a bit harsh.
This is hardly great fiction, but I couldn't find any grammar or syntax problems. The characters are shallow and the plot(if you can call it that) is predictable. But I have read worse(books by Rep. Peter King and Saddam Hussein come to mind).

Despite the problems, this was only the author's first attempt at fiction and it does lay the ground work for his second, and much better book, The Evil We Do.

This book was reasonably entertaining. The characters were interesting and it was hard not to care about the outcome. I wish the author hadn't left us guessing.