Queen Lucia is the first in the series of novels that invite us in to Riseholm and the lives of it's residents. Lucia is the snobbish self appointed but undisputed Queen of everything cultural in this small rural english village. However she finds herself challenged unintentionally by Olga Bracely a famous opera singer who takes up residence in the village. As she fights for her throne the reader is witness to the malice, manipulation and backstabbing that is just under the surface in village life. As in all good stories Lucia is all but dethrowned and then regains the upper hand once again. The book is witty, full of interesting if somewhat strange characters and entertaining. After first reading Queen Lucia I felt a little disapointed having heard Bentley described as being on a par with Wilde, Wodehouse and Coward. I do not find this claimed level of wit and word smithing in Queen Lucia myself, however once I got past this disappointment I found myself both entertained by and fond of this novel.

And the other 2 are also by Benson ... well, tied with Toole's "Confedearcy of Dunces" and Keenan's "Blue Heaven."

There's a slow start with the first chapter--Benson's humour is entirely character-based, so you needs must meet the character before the jokes can begin--but once they begin, they don't let up.

Luckily (because you'll want more, more more after this book) there are others in the series. This first book sets the pattern: wealthy, intellectually-pretentious, English housewife Lucia wants to be thought of as the exemplar of good/interesting taste, and will stop at nothing to achieve her goal. The characters are all frightfully interested in the most trivial things, and it's screamingly funny.

If you like Benson, try Beverley Nichols (oh, and do read the other two funniest novels ever written, mentioned above--you owe it to yourself.)

Note: a 3 star ranking from me is actually pretty good; I reserve 4 stars for tremendously good works, and 5 only for the rare few that are or ought to be classic; unfortunately most books published are 2 or less.

If you can imagine TV's Aaron Spelling writing his brand of witty and campy fun in an English town in the 1920s & 30s, then you can imagine Benson's Lucia series. I'd often heard how great the series was, and finally got around to reading the first book. What a delight! It's been ages since I've read a book that simply glided off the page. Lucia is the center of Riseholme's cultural life, and without her, life just couldn't be the same, right? With her husband Peppino, and her sidekick Georgie (so repressed he's nearly an origami flamingo), Lucia controls the fads and fashions of Riseholme. When a diva opera singer moves into town, Lucia finds herself knocked off her throne, and all but declares war on the upstart. Full of devious gossip and fascinating characters, this story is wonderfully enjoyable, as well as incredibly intelligent in its rendering of small town life. I can hardly wait to read the entire series, or see the "Mapp and Lucia" miniseries.

Many perceive the word loyalty to be a concept collecting dust. After all, employee turnover across industries today is ten to thirty percent. Businesses are losing customers at a rate of fifteen to twenty percent a year. And we all know that Wall Street is very unpredictable reporting investor turnover for many companies to be as high as one hundred percent annually. Despite these statistics, Frederick Reichheld is optimistic that loyalty is possible and even should be the goal for employees, customers, and investors. He and his colleagues have been studying successful companies for several decades and have found that there are specific key principles and practices that enable organizations to reap high profits, attract talented employees, and maintain investors. He calls these organizations Loyalty Leaders. By reading his book you will not find a "cookie cutter template" to turn your organization around. The process of developing loyalty is much more personal. He will, however, tell you what principles drive loyalty success and share best practices among the strongest Loyalty Leaders. From concrete demonstration and articulation of what some organizations are putting into practice, you can work in your organization to ask the more effective questions, collect the most pertinent data, and design a network that will lead your organization successful forward into the new economy. The underlying principle of The Loyalty Effect is building trust with your constituents-whom Reichheld has as customer, employee, and investor (respectively in order of importance). Customers must trust your ability to deliver, offer service, and most importantly offer value. Everything revolves around value and trust. The Loyalty Leaders introduced in this book all have systems in place to make sure that loyalty practices are built into their business plans. Loyalty does not belong to a specific department like marketing or customer service. Successful loyalty initiatives are owned and articulated at the executive level. The CEO's of Loyalty Leaders are very involved in monitoring and managing loyalty. Loyalty should be at the heart of the business plans. The Loyalty Leaders highlighted in The Loyalty Effect are MBNA, State Farm, Lexus, and Chic-Fil-A. Although there are many industry differences among these organizations, they all have put into their business systems these key loyalty practices:

1.Build Superior Customer Value 2.Find the Right Customers 3.Earn Customer Loyalty 4.Find/Keep the Right Employees 5.Reward Loyalty Performance (Loyalty-Based Compensation) 6.Build Mutually Beneficial Relationships

One awareness that comes to life in the reading of this book is the idea that companies should target their customers with as much care as they choose their employees. Targeting the right customers will help you best serve those customers, reduce marketing expenditure, and ensure wallet share. All customers are not equal. Loyal customers are more profitable when you look at the big picture. For instance, when you look at the acquisition cost, base profit, revenue growth, potential for referrals, and price premium it is easy to see that a customer that has been with you longer is a better return on your investment in acquiring that customer. Especially because some industries don't even break even until a customer has been with the organization from between three to seven years. This same equation can be applied with loyal employees. There is so much information in this book that it is difficult to determine the most significant key points. What surfaces as the key takeaway is that Reichheld asserts that building loyalty is not "a nice thing to do"-it is a business necessity. Loyalty Leaders are setting new records in productivity and surpassing financial goals and objectives. Many perceive the "loyalty effect" to be a good idea, but somewhat "non-tangible." There is an entire chapter call The Economics of Customer Loyalty where Reichheld actually demonstrates how organizations can capture, quantify, and measure the impact of loyalty. This is not "soft skill"-it is a business imperative.

This is an outstanding book for explaining and exploring the economic value of keeping a customer. In explaining those benefits, it becomes clearer how important and affordable it is to keep customers. Unlike most business books, which seem to be written by people who cannot use numbers, this one quantifies its points. It also shows you how to do the same for your business. As such, it is a very practical and important resource for every company. I strongly urge you to read and apply these lessons to your business. In many companies, getting new customers is seen as the solution to virtually every problem. However, a lot of times companies have to get new customers because they have disappointed the old ones. You are better off to find out why you are losing customers, and do something about it. Otherwise, you will just spend a fortune to add new customers who will soon leave you for the same reasons. This book also explains a well-known investing phenomenon, that companies with high loyalty rates are great stocks to own (like Coca-Cola, Gillette, and so forth). Did Warren Buffett know this all along? I should mention that I am a management consultant, but have no connection to the firm that wrote this book.

The Loyalty Effect takes a long, detailed look at the economics of loyalty, providing concrete examples to support the conclusion that the goal of a business must be the creation of sustainable value for customers employees and investors.

Reichheld takes that which many of us hold as "intuitively correct" and adds substance to our intuition. By translating loyalty into the language of accounting and finance, for example, he proves over and over again, that loyalty is a pre-requisitie for proitability. He doesn't argue against profitability...he merely clarifies the order of priorities for management.

I'm a former IBMer and I now run my own management consulting firm. Reichheld's firm is in fact a competitor, and yet I strongly recommend this book to any decision-maker who is interested in breaking through the fluff and securing real-world advice regarding specifc ways to sustain the health of any company.

Rather than reading the "visionaries", the turnaround specialists and the various and assorted geniuses read this. Reichheld, offers a straightforward summary of empirical evidence that correlates high retention rates (of customers and employees) with long-term profitability. While many other authors seem to be pushing their own agendas (and egos), Reichheld is summarizing the collective experience of numerous companies around the world.

Read this book. It will guide you to better business performance whether you're in marketing, finance, engineering, operations, HR or window-cleaning. If you're tired of losing customers and employees, this book may help save your butt! (if you're patient and willing to ask some difficult questions).

Peter Levine in "Waking the Tiger," postulates that trauma exists not in the event or in the story of the event, but is stored within the nervous system. Many common physical ailments are actually residues of thwarted trauma reactions incurred during such events as surgical procedures, falls, pre or perinatal stress and/or childhood accidents and traumas. The body has a natural, innate, and miraculous capacity to heal once these reactions are understood and guided.

Levine reinforces the holistic nature of the human being. Our bodies and brains connect instinct, emotion and rationality to our experience. Trauma may create damaging and often enduring symptoms. Human beings have a harder time than do animals in releasing trauma and may carry it throughout our lives. We often become frozen in trauma, unlike animals that can cope with the unpredictability of nature. This may provide a major interference with our health, peace of mind and the ability to live joyfully and creatively. When human trauma remains unhealed, the energy of the trauma and accompanying emotions remain locked within the brain and held within the body's musculature, tissues and organs, awaiting discharge.

The author writes about an oft-forgotten aspect of trauma, freezing or immobilization during a traumatic experience. Modern medicine/psychiatry emphasize the "flight or fight" response while often neglecting the freeze response. The concept of the freeze response in the face of overwhelming threat provides a missing link to symptoms such as dissociation that our old ideas of "fight or flight" fail to explain. Immobilization in the face of threat is an automatic biological response that is not voluntarily chosen by the victim. This provides redeeming message to trauma survivors.

Levine points out that our memories are not literal recordings of events, but rather, a complex of images that are influenced by arousal, emotional context, and prior experience. Memories may even transform over time as new experiences add layers of meaning to the images. While remembering the past can be an important aspect of therapy, appreciating the subjective quality of memories is crucial to integrating them appropriately into the healing process.

Those with deep psychological scars may have dissociated the memory from their minds and are living in a numbed, tensed body awaiting its release so the body can return to wholeness and optimum mental and physical health. The author asserts that psychological wounds are reversible and that healing comes when the physical and mental letting go occurs, similar to the way the tiger experiences the coming and going of threat, tensing in response to danger, and as the threat passes, the tiger's muscles shake, twitch and let go right then and there the fear related energy which now is forever out of mind and body. Trauma is stored energy that must be released.

I just logged on to order yet another copy of "Waking the Tiger", a thoroughly invaluable book which I am constantly recommending to friends, colleagues and clients. This groundbreaking book that has permanently altered the way I approach therapy, trauma, and the body. "Waking the Tiger" completes an essential piece that has been missing in therapeutic and medical practices, namely that trauma is not in the event or the story, but in the nervous system. Dr Levine, through his research and vast clinical experience, has discovered how so many common physical ailments and so-called medically untreatable syndromes are actually residues of thwarted trauma reactions incurred during routine surgical procedures, falls, perinatal stress and other childhood accidents and traumas. He shows us how the body has a natural and innate, and seemingly miraculous, capacity to heal once these reactions are understood and guided. It is a very exciting and empowering book, and offers new hope and common sense explanations to people who have up to this time been unable to understand their symptoms or to find relief.

If you have trauma and/or PTSD you simply must but this book. I know you have probably been searching for a long time and dealing with feelings of isolation and invalidation like myself. This book will give you serious validation and tools to further and complete your healing. The tapes by Levine are great too, they give you even more concrete steps. I can honestly say that in all the years of searching for someone or something to help and validate me this book and the tapes have been the only thing. You will see the truth about trauma and what I believe you probably knew already on some level especially if you have been trying like hell to understand your symptoms and what is wrong with you. Guess what? There is nothing wrong with you. Trauma is a natural human reaction that makes you feel alot of shame, pain and anguish but you can heal.
I could go on about the book but I don't want to ruin it. Buy it. I know I will and can heal, I have made much sucess and you will too!!

P.S. To all of you therapists that charge so much money for attempting to heal people from trauma I'd like to say that statisticly most people with ptsd don't have alot of money or are on assistance so you might want to re-think why you are a therapist or of ways to provide help to all. Is it to make money or to help people If you really want to help people then why don't you organize a group and all come together and make it possible instead of refusing but another potential client and well potential healer for that matter. I mean people if the majority of trauma survivors cannot afford your costs what the hell are you doing! With all due respect of course. $$$

Trauma Survivors: buy the book we need you!

This is not Forsyth's best book, but it's not too much of a dropoff from The Day of the Jackal. The Soviets have a plot that will lead England to be a socialist ally, and it is up to a fairly minor British civil servant to thwart it. The plot versus the detective work is told simultaneously like in the Jackal. There's a nice section about uncovering a false-flag spy operation in London, and it's a jewel theft of all things that gets the ball rolling. An interesting disparity is set up between the Brit detective and his spy chief; one thinks the USSR can be beaten outright while the other feels he must acknowledge the USSR as an enemy that's here to stay.

Frederick Forsyth is a master of complex plotting and this book, published in 1985, is without a doubt one of his most complex."The Fourth Protocol" begins quite humbly with the simple burglary and theft of a mult-million dollar set of diamond jewelry from a London town home. Finding a sparkling tiara won't fit into his own carrying case, the burglar takes an attache case belonging to the owner and thereby saves the entire Western Alliance from collapse. Only Forsythe could pull this off. He does so with a cast of dozens, meticulous attention to plot detail and the sure knowledge of his readers' fear of communism and nuclear terrorism in the 1980s. The story begins slowly, but manages to hold the reader's interest through a series of accidents, mayhem and shrewd deductions of British intelligence officer John Preston. The story takes us back and forth from Europe to the Soviet Union, from Pretoria, South Africa to a U.S. air base in England, and all over Europe. Each new revelation brings the reader a little closer to the edge of his chair and the ending nearly sends him to hide underneath. Even though this thriller is somewhat dated in its Cold War mentality, it is still a wonderful, compelling novel. With only a bit of paranoia, the reader can substitute a Middle-East villain for the aging Soviet one in this novel, and scare himself silly.

I am new to this writer because I thought he just wrote boring war stories for old men. I was quite surprised to find that he is a talented writer who is able to create a fast-paced, gripping thriller with a lot of psychological punch. If you are reader of good fiction, even science-fiction (like me), then try this book out. It has many technological surprises.

The story is basically about a top level Russian official who wants to bring down the current british government (maggy thatcher, hehe) and install his own covert government (the opposition, labour!). In order to do this he needs to sway the majority of the british vote to labour by launching a semi-terrorist type attack on a small british town. Seems odd? Well not at all because Forsyth makes you believe it by throwing in some of the most coolest characters alive since "Gorky Park". Although the first 100 pages are pretty slow going you will finish this book in no time. Big surprises, nice plot twists and a courir service from hell.

Nostromo is a novel much like War and Peace. Often seen as Conrad's greatest work, it contains clear - one might say appalling - insight into the human condition in the century that was just beginning. Conrad's father had served time in Siberia-like exile with his young family in tow, for participating in revolutionary, patriotic Polish politics. The experience had shortened his parents' lives and left Conrad an orphan at an early age, giving the writer a personal preview of what the new century was going to be like for so many others.

The novelist's modern insight was not only on the political and social front but also into man's sense of identity. With Godot-like despair, Decoud, the character closest to Conrad in Nostromo, "beheld the universe as a succession of incomprehensible images." Stranded by himself for several days he becomes suicidal, realizing that "in our activity alone do we find the sustaining illusion of an independent existence as against the whole scheme of things of which we form a helpless part." At the same time it is beautifully written and is a gripping adventure - so can work on many different levels. Anyone who reads novels should read this classic.

Revolution is a fertile ground for nascent ideologies, and neology is perhaps the richest algar on which emerging heroes feed upon. Costaguena is a territory existing only in the unparalleled imagination of Conrad, whose mind was perpetually stimulated by an abstract, unknown, and merely projected world. Nostromo is his instrument of oscillation; ultimately a pendulum caught in the momentum of change, he falls into the precipice that separates the glory of selfhood and the danger of vanity.

From the beginning, Conrad sheds equally heavy recognition on a string of characters. Charles Gould an European capitalist trapped in his father's tragic political enmeshment, Decoud an uprooted native who dies proving his credential, and Antonio Avellanos an audacious aristocrat who carries the torch of her generation are have the protagonist make-up. But following the Greek formula, Nostromo is the true hero who fumbles into falsity because of his one défaut: hubris. The enormous vanity develops into his temptress, and in a way, Nostromo makes the conscious choice to let his incorruptible pride corrupts his morale.

The fatality of Nostromo, very much like many of Conrad's protagonists, marks the inability of men, in the utmost bleakness of mental solitude, to reconcile to the goodness of nature.

For the first 150 or so pages of Nostromo, there were several times when I almost quit. The amount of detail about the political and social organization of Conrad's imaginary country was so dry and technical that I felt like I was reading an encyclopedia. But, the strangest thing happened on about page 151. . . I started to get into the book! Then, I couldn't stop. In retrospect, I believe that the exposition at the beginning of the novel could have been dispersed throughout the narrative, rather than shoving it down the reader's mouth at the beginning.

Nevertheless, Nostromo is a stunning and extremely pessimistic examination of the "heart of darkness" within all humans. Virtually all the characters are driven by self-interest and greed, and even our "hero" (Nostromo), is at times bestial and self-involved. But, I still loved this book! Joseph Conrad is like the literary equivalent of Paul Verhoeven- an extremely bitter artist whose dark view of the world serves to shed light on the audience. I know it sounds strange, but I mean exactly what I say.

Conrad is my favorite 20th century author, so I am biased. The reviewer who compared him to Tolstoy was on the money. Both lived lives that gave them fodder for their fiction; Tolstoy as a soldier in the Crimean war, an aristocrat facing the turbulence of the political and social upheavals of fin-de-siecle Russia, and Conrad as a mariner and a Polish transplant who carved out a language and a career for himself in England. Nostromo contains some of the most vividly realized characterization, plot, and sensory detail of any novel ever written in the English language, period. Do not pay any attention to a customer whose review is based on listening to the audio tape version. It doesn't do the book justice and is indeed labored to the extreme. I would also hope that readers do not form their opinions from the BBC film. It is infinitely shallow by comparison to this rich work. While the "eponymous" character remains purposefully enigmatic, the other inhabitants of Costaguena are stereoscopically fleshed out. We are on intimate terms with the Goulds. We know Decoud's innermost thoughts. It's true that Decoud is the central character of this novel. His isolation and mental defragmentation is Conrad's arguement for and refuation of existentialism. We are all islands, yet no man is in island. Take your pick. This is a very large piece of fiction. Do not approch it as you would some best seller. It's not going to entertain you on every page. What it will do is reward you in riches that can never come cheaply. Yet it is not like Finnegan's Wake, where you have to have your Boedekker's guide to see you along your journey. It's also a great adventure story, with a larger than life hero. If I could suggest one book to represent the most finely crafted novel of its era, this would be it.

In 1793, the immediate after-effects of the French Revolution are being played out: the Republic is beset by assaults both from outside France and by counter-revolutionary forces within its borders. The Marquis de Lantenac arrives in Brittany to lead the counter-revolutionary insurgency which has been centred on the Vendée. The Convention has already sent de Lantenac's nephew, Gauvain, to the Vendée with a force to put down the rebellion.

This is the main thrust of "Ninety-Three", although Hugo weaves several other sub-plots into the novel. The action takes place principally in Brittany, but there are scenes in Paris with interesting vignettes of Danton, Robespierre and Marat.

The main thing to be said about "Ninety-Three" is that it's no "Les Misérables", no "Notre Dame de Paris". It has its strengths, but the faults in the plot and in Hugo's writing made it for me a less satisfying read than those other works. "Ninety-Three" is melodramatic (frequently overly so), the use of coincidence is often outrageous, there are wildly improbable sections (the accurate identification of each ship in a French squadron at night being one early example), there are long sections devoted to descriptions of architecture, and one long part which is merely a list of the members of the Convention.

All these traits are present in other of Hugo's works I've read, and I suppose could be expected of a "romantic" writer, but I felt that in "Ninety-Three" they were out proportion, making up for the ordinariness of the main plot, and outweighing the fine sections of good descriptive writing, of meaningful reflections on morality, political convictions and war.

Overall, not his best, more of a cross between Walter Scott and "The Scarlet Pimpernel".

G Rodgers

I admit, I prefer Les Mis and Notre Dame de Paris to 93. First, I expected something different than what I got. 93 is about the Marquis de Lantenac, his nephew Gauvain, and Cimourdain, Gauvain's childhood tutor. Gavain and Cimourdain are on the side of Robespierre and the Revolution, the Marquis is definately not. The ideals of the revolution clash with neccesity, and this makes the Civil War we hear little about extremely brutal(one side uses the motto, "No Quarter", the other uses "No mercy"). At any rate, along with a great deal of wonderfully detailed descriptions of a cannon rolling around on a ship in a storm, the tumultuous Convention hall, and a few other things, there are also a great deal of clever sayings. The dialogue between Robespierre, Marat, and Danton is wonderful, though I wished and expected them to be the main characters...they weren't.

This is a step up from "A Tale of Two Cities" when one is considering historical context(Tale of Two Cities is nearly totally one sided in it's opposition to the Revolution, not describing the tremendous danger to Paris posed by Berlin, London, and rebels in Normandy). However I suppose Tale of Two Cities is a step up as far as literary merit.

I have read four novels of Victor Hugo(and the synopsis of a fifth one)."Ninety Three" is the one in which he has reached perfection.
This specially applies to his plot-structure which is one of the best I've come across.
Hugo's rather naive artrifices and linking devices,which he used for making tight plot structures,but lent an unconvincing coherence in his earlier novels are absent-giving rise to an ingeniously linked sequence of events-where every event,keeping in mind the moral purposes which the novel seeks to achieve and the moral premises and goals of the characters,necessarily leads to the next event,to the climax and the resolution.

The theme,most appropriately pointed out by Ayn Rand is:"Man's loyalty to values."
How every character and every event expresses the theme is the greatest technical virtuosity a writer can achieve.
(However,as I see,Hugo's conscious intention was to dramatize:"The conflict between the logic behind the French Revolution and the philosophy behind the French Revolution.)

The plot-theme is:"The conflict which arises when a ruthless revolutionary(of the French Revolution)-a priest- is sent to keep a watch on a courageous but compassionate revolutionary-the only man he loves in this world- pursuing his granduncle-a proud,haughty,fanatical Royalist-with three innocent children and their helpless mother caught up in the cataclysm of this savage,frantic battle."

The merits of this novel are numerous.First of all,it is one of the best suspense-thrillers among the explicitly philosophical novels of the 19th century.
The neck-breaking speed with which the events suceed one other will keep you biting your nails till the last paragraph.

Secondly,every page-nay,every line in this novel gives a sense of something profoundly important,grand and dramatic.There isn't a sentence,conversation or scene which is trivial,silly or commonplace.Everything is grandiose,with a heightened sense of solemnity and tension.

Thirdly,one cannot overlook Hugo's heroic view of man.Whether it be a literate beggar or an illiterate peasant woman;a wicked rebel who can go to any lengths of inhumanity or a young soldier who has lead an insignificant life-every character has been endowed with such moral courage,focus on one's values and goals,strength of conviction,fearlesness,intransigent integrity and above all,such a capacity to value one's values-that one has to conclude that for Hugo,man was a Titan or a Giant-nothing less than a demi-God.

I would not call "Ninety Three" Hugo's greatest achievement since it's scope is rather small.Further,Hugo's usual obsession to insert long historical and political essays hadn't left him while he was writing "Ninety Three".Luckily,they maybe ignored.Anyway, I would recommend them for their fascinating poetry;compelling,powerful style and tremendous universal significance.

It is strange that although "Ninety Three" is a thoroughly interesting read-moreover glorifying humanitarianism,compassion and non-violence-it is not a well known novel.One of the common criticisms is that,as the critics say,it has "unreal characters" and an "exaggerated sense of heroism".
But let me tell you this reader:If you want to look up with a sense of worship to the image of the Ideal-the Ideal whose essential nature you might not have grasped;if you want to take pride in the fact that you are a man;if you want someone and something to affirm your deep-rooted conviction : "Yes,it is possible",then you ought to read Victor Hugo's "Ninety Three".

I didn't like to read any books before, but after I have read this book , I become more and more interested in reading. I started to have motivation to read as many books as in my life.
" A Study in Scarlet " ( written by Conan Doyle ) is the first full-length novel appearance of Sherlock Holmes. And I know Sherlock Holmes is very famous detective in fiction. Therefore, I choose this book.I like Holmes's deduction the most. He has great power in observation and understanding in all types of crime. He is full of knowledge that can help him to solve the problem and he likes violin and opera. If his brain contains anything apart from these , he must try to forget them all as quick as possible.

I am quite interested in mystery. If you don't know which book is good to read , try to read the story about Sherlock Holmes . You must like it .

A Study in Scarlet is a good detective story, but certainly not Doyle's greatest. But it bears the distinction of being the novel which introduced the world to the legendary Sherlock Holmes. First appearing in 1887, it was not to be the greatest story about Sherlock Holmes, but it was the first. Doyle first introduces us to John H. Watson, a medical doctor recovering from duty in Afghanistan. Watson needs a room-mate, and a mutual acquaintance introduces both him and us to Holmes. So we come to know both Holmes, Watson, and the memorable 221B Baker Street.

Watson's first impressions of Holmes are merely that he is a man enshrouded in mystery and eccentricity, and Watson politely restrains his curiosity by avoiding asking too many intrusive questions, despite the parade of strange individuals that come to their apartment to consult Holmes, and despite his bemusement at Holmes' passion for playing the violin and his egotism. Watson's perplexation at Holmes' character and profession is slowly unravelled in the second chapter which Doyle appropriately titles 'The Science of Deduction'. Watson observes that 'his zeal for certain studies was remarkable, and within eccentric limits his knowledge was so extraordinarily ample and minute that his observations have fairly astounded me 'His ignorance was as remarkable as his knowledge. Of contemporary literature, philosophy and politics he appeared to know next to nothing ' That any civilized human being in this nineteenth century should not be aware that the earth travelled round the sun appeared to me to be such an extraordinary fact that I could hardly realize it.'(p11). Holmes apparently is brilliant at identifying a stain on your trousers, but completely ignorant about the most elementary contemporary political events.

Ironically, Watson's inability to deduce Holmes' profession proves that he lacks the very ability that he is seeking to uncover in Holmes: deduction. For Holmes doesn't just excel in specialized knowledge, but especially in the science of deduction and logic. By utilizing the skills of observation and analysis Holmes asserts that logic could solve all virtually all problems. In his words: 'From a drop of water, a logician could infer the possibility of an Atlantic or a Niagara without having seen or heard of one or the other. So all life is a great chain, the nature of which is known whenever we are shown a single link of it. Like all other arts, the Science of Deduction and Analysis is one which can only be acquired by long and patient study, nor is life long enough to allow any mortal to attain the highest possible perfection in it. Before turning to those moral and mental aspects of the matter which present the greatest difficulties, let the inquirer begin by mastering more elementary problems. Let him, on meeting a fellow-mortal, learn at a glance to distinguish the history of the man, and the trade or profession to which he belongs. Puerile as such an exercise may seem, it sharpens the faculties of observation, and teaches on where to look and what to look for. By a mans' finger-nails, by his coat-sleeve, by his boots, by his trouser-knees, by the callosities of his forefinger and thumb, by his expression, by his shirtcuffs ' by each of these things a man's calling is plainly revealed. That all united should fail to enlighten the competent inquirer in any case is almost inconceivable.' (p14-15). Watson calls this science of deduction 'ineffable twaddle', but as we know, this is the vintage Holmes we love and the very core of his being. Not only does he prove it to Watson by remarkably deducing that Watson had served duty in Afghanistan, but by collaring the criminal in a murder case.

The story itself consists in two parts: the first part introduces us to Holmes and Watson, and describes the murder of Enoch Drebber and his secretary Joseph Stangerson, and several failed attempts of Scotland Yard detectives to solve it, concluding with Holmes unmasking the real perpetrator, to the complete astonishment of all present. The second part is a flashback, explaining the background and motives for the murder, as finally Holmes relates the observations and deductions that led him to solving it. In short, 'the crime was the result of an old-standing and romantic feud, in which love and Mormonism bore a part.' (p103)

But what is fascinating about 'A Study in Scarlet' is not so much the mystery, but the man: Holmes himself. Doyle would later learn to eliminate some of the excess baggage present in this story (such as the extended flashback) and focus on Holmes and his deductions. The characterization of Holmes as an eccentric man driven by logic is wonderfully created for the first time in this novel. Already here is the foundation of the Sherlock Holmes that would become so successful in all of Doyle's later stories. A few quotes illustrate how the tone of the deductive Holmes is set: 'In solving a problem of this sort, the grand thing is to be able to reason backward. That is a very useful accomplishment, and a very easy one, but people do not practise it much.' (p99-100) 'There is no branch of detective science which is so important and so much neglected as the art of tracing footsteps.' (p100) 'You see, the whole thing is a chain of logical sequences without a break or flaw.' (p102)

Here the successful formula is already established: Scotland Yard is baffled, so is his foil the bumbling doctor Watson, and so are we the readers. Holmes has long solved the mystery before we have even begun identifying red herrings, and it is when he sits by the fire and explains to Watson the process of deduction that we curl up in delight. The partnership between the super-sleuth Holmes and his beloved side-kick Watson all starts here, and if you love Sherlock Holmes, you won't want to miss it!

This is where it all began, the very first Sherlock Holmes story. If you want to read all 60 Holmes adventures in chronological order (as you should) then by all means make this the first Holmes book that you ever read. They are all literary masterpieces, and this was the first one! Out of the 4 Holmes novels, I would rank this third, behind the Valley of Fear and the Hound of the Baskervilles. I will spare you the plot details, you can do that elsewhere. Just get and read this book and it will start you on a fascinating and extremely entertaining journey through Conan Doyle's world of Sherlock Holmes, one of the most widely recognized, and best, figures in all of literature.

A great work of non-fiction that is part adventure in Chechnya and part biography of Fred Cuny, the "Master of Disaster". I first encountered Anderson in an article that appeared in Harper's in 1997 and have been on the lookout for this book ever since. Aside from a truly compelling story (Fred Cuny was, no doubt, larger than life), Anderson brings considerable writing skills to this book. He joins a handful of others (William Langewiesche, Robert D. Kaplan) who have that rare ability to inform the reader in an engaging style no matter what the subject is.

This is not just a biography of Cuny. It is a story of the tragedy in Chechnya as well. Anderson informs on both counts without pushing a particular agenda. What is amazing is that he does this in spite of the fact that begins the book by confessing that he believes Cuny is a genuine hero. Yet he leaves the reader to form their own judgment on this and other aspects of the story.

Some have complained that the book is repetitive near the end (it seems as though the book were actually written to be serialized in five or six long magazine pieces, which would explain the repetition). The bottom line here is that the repetition that I noticed was either helpful and/or satisfying from a literary standpoint.

Aside from the author's great writing, you should read this book as a responsible citizen of the world and member of the human race. Fred Cuny may not have been Mother Theresa when it came to his ego, but his heart was definitely in the right place, and that big Texas personality got things done that, as Anderson and others have pointed out, saved lives.

Anderson's book is two great tales in one: a brief history of the Chechnyan conflict; and the amazing life of Fred Cuny.

Writing this review right after the conclusion of the recent Chechen-led, mass-hostage-taking in Moscow, I have come to fully appreciate the continued relevance of Scott Anderson's great piece of journalism. Chechnya was, in Fred Cuny's words, the "scariest place I've ever seen." [Read about this guy's incredible life and you'll understand the magnitude of that statement.]

The book is filled with many tales of the desperation, fighting power, guile and pluck of the Chechnyan people. In short, it's no surprise to me (and certainly not to Scott Anderson, I bet) that despite Vladimir Putin's assiduous efforts, the terror has made its way to Moscow.

If you think one life can't make a difference, then you don't know about Fred Cuny. What he did in Sarajevo during the Bosian conflict will blow your mind.

This is a true mystery story about the disappearance of American relief worker (and spy?) Fred Cuny in the cloak-and-dagger environment of Chechnya during the Russian assault in 1995. The book is comparable in many ways to Into Thin Air, although the subject matters are completely unrelated. In both books, the authors themselves took enormous personal risks in getting their stories. Both are true tales of action and adventure incorporating a lot of interesting background information, which is skillfuly woven into the narrative withour slowing down the story. Both read like novels (although they're better written than the vast majority of novels). But Mr. Anderson's book, in the end, is more engrossing and more important. I picked it up on a Friday evening and finished in the early hours of the following Sunday morning; I just couldn't stop until I was done. The book has everything--exotic locales, well-described; bizarre and mysterious personalities; and the constant tension of danger and suspense. Most admirably, Mr. Anderson lays out all of the known facts about Fred Cuny's disappearance, and in the end offers his own conclusion(which is plausible but not airtight), but fully equips the reader to consider the alternative possibilities for him or herself. This is the kind of book that you will devour and then stuff into the Christmas stockings of your friends and family. P.S. In case Mr. Anderson reads this: Why did you attach so much weight in your analysis to the purported fact that the military commander of the Chechens was a "good friend" of Fred Cuny? This "fact" seems to be based on nothing but Cuny's own impression that they hit it off during his first trip in February. But in the environment you have so ably described, where nothing is as it seems and everyone seems to harbor a hidden agenda, Cuny's belief could have been wishful thinking. And if he was wrong, there is no real reason to foist the blame so high up the chain. Great book!

The best single piece of advice a teacher can give to a budding scholar is this: Go to the original source! On the other hand, a thorough and well-integrated biography can profitably lead one to seek the original data. In this new biography of Frederick Law Olmsted, author Witold Rybczynski creates a portrait of Olmsted few could glean from even a careful perusal of the Olmsted archives. Rybczynski traces Olmsted's life, allotting equal emphasis to Olmsted's peregrinating early career, one that meandered aimlessly through seemingly incompatible by-ways yet almost predictably emerging with him as a pioneer landscape architect.  Olmsted's career, starting in 1858 with the design of Central Park in New York City, resulted in an astounding achievement nationally, only recently being generally appreciated. New Yorkers and Brooklynites were only the early beneficiaries of his genius. Though Rybczynski credits the series, a serious reader must turn to the original materials available in the magnificent series, The Papers of Frederick Law Olmsted (Johns Hopkins Press). Projected for twelve volumes, seven are now published, with an auxiliary companion volume to volume one. Additionally, there has grown up a large corpus of works about Olmsted. This new biography is a first-rate addition and a fitting place to begin a study. (Reviewed by Allan Shields in Ballast Quarterly Review, Vol 15 No 2, Winter 1999-2000. Copyright © by Allan Shields.)

This book strikes a lovely balance between describing Olmsted's life and personal history and his creations, parks that span the United States.

You may be surprised to learn, as I was, the vast number of projects he undertook. How Central Park was really his first significant project. How he had to fight political and economic battles to keep it from being ruined. How he was able to truly "get it right" with Brooklyn's Prospect Park.

Through the fascinating descriptions of the landscapes, the author also provides great insight into Olmsted's life. What struck me the most was how Olmsted, as with many of his contemporaries (U.S. Grant, Mark Twain) worried for most of his life about his finances and his career.

This is a first rate work, told in a clear and compelling fashion.

Witold Rybczynski tells the roundabout tale of how F.L. Olmsted Sr. became the dominant force in the nascent field of landscape architecture in the late 19th century. The cast of supporting characters reads as a who's who of 19th century American artists, from A.J. Downing to H.H. Richardson. All of Olmsted's major influences and landscape projects are chronicled, including great detail on Central Park, Boston's Emerald Necklace, and the Biltmore estate. After reading this book, I visited the Boston parks again and saw them for the first time as they were meant to be seen. [For more on the creation of Boston's Emerald Necklace, see Cynthia Zaitzevsky's "Frederick Law Olmsted and the Boston Park System," Belknap Pr;

Set around the Talevera campaign of July 1809, this first installment in the Sharpe saga deploys all the elements found throughout Cornwell's entertaining Napoleonic War series: the friendship between Sharpe and the Irish Sgt. Harper, their bravery and cunning, the ignorance and arrogance that pervaded the foppish upper class officer corps, a beautiful woman, and rousing battle scenes. Cornwell uses this first book to firmly establish the absence of meritocracy in the British army of the time, as armchair commander Simmerson needlessly leads the South Essex (including Sharpe and his Riflemen) into a debacle in which they lose the King's Colours, thus disgracing the whole army. Also clearly established is the tension between Cpt. Sharpe, who was promoted from the enlisted ranks for an act of heroism, and the upper class officer corps, who paid for their rank, irrespective of any actual military knowledge or ability. Simmerson and his toadying nephew Lt. Gibbons attempt to place the blame for the rout on Sharpe, and his only hope to save his rank is to perform an outrageous act of courage in battle at Talevera. Meanwhile, there's a beautiful Spanish woman he rescues from Gibbons and a crony, whose honor he must avenge. All is resolved at the Talevera, as Cornwell clearly and crisply recounts the military maneuvering on both a macro and micro level without getting overly technical. Also introduced in the book are Major Hogan, the Irish engineer who develops over the series into Lord Wellington's spy, as well as Lord Wellington himself, who is fond of Sharpe, but not hesitant to use his deadly skills. Above all, Sharpe is presented as a full action hero, strong, smart, roguishly handsome, honorable, deadly and ruthless. A perfect start to an engaging historical adventure series.

This first of the Sharpe's series is the best of the batch. Most of the books are at least 4 star quality, however this one is SO much better than the batch it is almost a shame to read it at the begining. (Start with the india series, so you can work your way here.)

Lt. Richard Sharpe and his riflemen join an foray into Spain to destroy a bridge, he runs afoul of Sir Henry Simmerson (In the movies he is played to the hilt and makes a supurb foe, See sharp movie # 2, #8 & #9)

The battle for the endangered colors is gripping, Sharpe is rough, blunt and just likable. Harper is great fun and the battle scenes are awesome.

This is the start of something wonderful, however it will never be as wonderful as this on. Thank you B. Cornwell

Sharpe's Eagle details how our hero, Richard Sharpe, along with Patrick Harper capture the first French Eagle, a french standard, in the heat of battle to redeam the demoralized South Essex regiment who early in the novel lose one of their colors due to the bumbling of Col. Henry Simmerson. Sharpe utilizes this heroic act to save his career and gain a fame that gains him a place in the heart of even the Prince of Wales. A must read for any Sharpe fan and probably one of Cornwell's best novel's of all time!