Poor Archie! Trying to win his stern old father-in-law over, only to land himself in deeper trouble! Getting locked out of his artist friend's apartment in a scarlet bathrobe, and many more such money-making schemes gone haywire, including those to get his f-in-law's approval. The portrait gone awry, and the shoes left outside the door.... Oh no! I'm not going to tell you anymore, you just must read this, and you'll find yourself laughing uncontrollably wondering how you ever thought the world was a drab place! With Wodehouse, there is always laughter in the world!

For wargamers, modellers and historians keen on the Seven Years War (1756 - 1763) this volume and its sister volume on cavalry should not be missed. Every infantry regiment is beautifully illustrated with the regimental standard also shown. The text (mine's in German) gives a regimental history and a comprehensive list of battle honours. Just buy it and enjoy the best source of colour pictures in print today.

This book is very easy,friendly to read and learn,and covers all areas from Infectology required in General Internal Medicine or primary care..

This book was written just after the filming of "From the Life of the Marionettes" and during the planning of "Fanny and Alexander." At the time, Bergman was also drawing up plans for his Project Bergman, simultaneous stage productions of Ibsen's "A Doll House," Strindberg's "Miss Julie," and a stage adaption of his own "Scenes From a Marriage." Of course, Bergman retired from film shortly after, but he has since been producting theater persistently for another two decades, rendering this book a little outdated. *

* The authors did update the book a decade later, in 1992, under the title "Ingmar Bergman: A Life In Theatre."

Nevertheless, this is a fantastic introduction to the theater of Bergman -- a craft more dear to his heart than film-making. The authors stress Bergman's elevation of the actor, simplification of mis-en-scene, pure drama, and direct actor-audience confrontation methods. They also show the intuitive grace of Bergman's ability as a producer and director, and his tremendous sense of "rhythm," which has made him the envy of all directors.

There are some descriptions of Bergman's bold, fledgling productions in the 40s and 50s -- namely Valle-Inclan's "Divine Words," Camus's "Caligula," and Shakespeare's "Macbeth" -- but the majority of the book focuses entirely on his later productions of three authors: Strindberg, Moliere, and Ibsen, with a chapter for each. The most monumental work discussed includes his radical reformation of "The Ghost Sonata" as a dramatic crescendo, with the parts of the Mummy and the Hyacinth Girl performed by the same actress, "A Dream Play," where the stage was stripped bear and cut of all Wagnerian machinery to display the bare consciousness of the dreamer, "The Misanthrope," where rigid angularity and baroque shallowness was contrasted with visceral social drama for comedic effect, and, perhaps most significant of all, his productions of "Hedda Gabler" and "The Wild Duck," stripped of their naturalist clothing and rescued from the museum shelf, and performed as raw psychological dramas, enacting consciousness with innovative direction and design.

Other produtions are briefly passed over -- Buchner's "Woyzeck" and Gombrowicz's "Yvonne, Princess of Burgondy," for instance. Over all, the limited scope of the book allows it to very successfully give the reader a sense of Bergman as a director. It also begins and ends with very telling interviews between the authors and Bergman about his work in the theater.

I should also mention that the book does a great job of keeping Bergman's film work out of the discussion. Only on a few occasions is his film work mentioned, usually only when necessary to compare techniques. Aside from this, I should also mention the book's major failing -- its lack of criticism. The authors clearly admire Bergman (who doesn't?) to a degree that borders on obsequiessness, and one feels some critical debate would have really improved the discussion.

In any case, essential for any Bergman fan.

This remarkable book reviews ten years of practical and theoretical advances in the application of hypnosis to psychotherapy. Hypnosis grew enormously in the 1990's and if you are unclear about how to apply hypnotic skills to therapeutic problems, this book is for you. It is clearly written and well organized for the professional practitioner. It is not a self-help book, and it is not "lightweight." It is a must-read for practitioners who want to know how to use hypnosis in psychotherapy. It is all there, including clear descriptions of the conceptual underpinnings.

The editor is poet, teacher, social-psychologist, humanist; he listens to and encurages his students. This book is a model for writing to come to terms with often traumatic early experience, poems selected for their illustrative and poetic value.

Carol Samuels, a teacher and counselor, writes of the children she hoped to inspire: "The fact is there/With all its joy and pain:/There are hundreds of young lives/In which I am a part./I will never know/How much of me/Is in them,/Or if I helped Enough,/Or hurt..." in a series of 10 parts expressing her concern for their successes and failures, and her own uncertainty. "Knowlege" relates how "Children who are loved/Can love themselves. They learn what they are like/From the eyes of those they love./I hope they all knew/That I loved them."

In "A Vietnam Quartet" a daughter speaks of her father leaving for Vietnam, promising to return, and her remorse, feeling betrayed, when her mother is told he is missing in action.

In "Wings in the Dust" Verna Cahill tells us about loneliness, another about dealing with her alcoholic father, despite derision by the neighbors. A model paper by James Halla illustrates Erikson's Eight ages of man. These poems provide insights which may lead us to write our own.

With Bill Moyers, quoted in the preface, this reader "came to see that poets live the lives of all of us...they have the power of the word--to create a world of thought and emotion that you and I can share. If only we learn to listen. Listening's the thing. The meaning of the poem is not in the words on the page but in our sharing of the experience of the poem itself."

Read, you will want to write your own.

This book is what got my passion for prayer ignited. Before I am too ashamed to admit how much I prayed. I am indebted to this book to my call to intercede for couples and marriage (revival)in America. A well-worn saying among book reviews, but it certainly applies to this one, this devotional needs in the hands of every believer!!! If you are reading this review, this means you!

Frederick Glaysher's poetry is one of artistic energy, and articulate and penetrating voice confronting much of the human experience not reflected by a great many postmodern poets. Indeed, after growing increasingly disaffected with contemporary academic literary culture (especially the Marxist antics of deconstruction) Glaysher resigned from university teaching to launch a success career in real estate. His is a poetry of lyrical passion and clear-eyed depiction. The Thinker: Staring into the portal I see humankind/stretched out on the rack of this century,/gassed in the trenches of Europe,/vivisected in the meat shops of Germany,/forced to kowtow in China and India,/in Africa and the archipelagoes,/by the British, the French, the Japanese,/by all those intent on empire,/intent on the worship of themselves./Staring into the portal I see ourselves/revealed in the terror of what we are,/of what we cannot face, cannot bear,/try always to ignore,/while the cost grows greater and greater,/while like Ugolino we grope over the dead,/the victims of our rapacity,/our devouring lust./"O Master, the sense is hard."

Let's say you know nothing about Islam. But you want to learn everything about it that can be learned in one book, and in a readable format. Pick up Denny. He covers the full gamet of psychology, religion, history, sociology, and much more, in a way the layman can easily understand. There are times when he seems to accept a little too much the Muslim version of history without investigating it further, but in general he seems to respect Islamic beliefs and still maintain a historical critical perspective. Especially helpful is the background in Mesopotamian beliefs, Judaism, and Christianity provided before hand. It frames the Islamic movement historically, and also provides an easy etic segway for the typical Western reader. And while Denny goes into great detail on orthodox and folk Islam, he is to be additionally commended for the sections on Sufism, which often get short shrift in scholarly works on Islam.

The title is apt. After reading this, one will know Islam thorougly at the introductory level.

Excellent beginning book. Perhaps even the advanced philosopherswould enjoy this book. A must read for beginning Ph.D students.