A very good book with a lot of fun. It's a little slow at the start, but once things get moving, it become worth the wait. In fact, this was a book in which its ending justified its beginning. It's a fantasy story which reminds us that all fantasy stories do not have to be about Tolkien and such. Every review I see of this book likens it to Alice, Dorothy, and friends. While this book does touch on that type of fantasy, it also contains a contemporary view which gives it a flavor all its own -- a new old fantasy. Pick it up, read it. You won't soon forget it.

The line on the cover of this book says "A Fairy Tale for Grownups of All Ages" and that could hardly be a better description of this charming, highly imaginative novel. I read it almost in a single sitting and the whole time I was doing so I had this lovely feeling that I was a child again curled up in bed with one of my favorite stories - Lewis Carroll, perhaps, or George MacDonald, or even L. Frank Baum. Lovely illustrations too. Thank you, thank you, thank you, John Grant, for having magically transported me back into that wonderful world! I would recommend this book to anybody, from children to grandparents.

I found this book to be great for when you have designer's block. This book is filled to the rim with illustrated examples and makes a great quick reference. The best thing about it is it doesn't cost an arm and a leg like most design books.

Very impressed with how the author demonstrates how you can take an element, whether it is a sea shell or fern frond, and how you can actually integrate it in a landscape design. Being a student in Landscape Architecture, I find it very useful in design projects.

The paucity of source material utilized by General Fuller is more than offset by the lucidity of his commentary, and his keen insight into the military mind and psyche. Grant, the man, appears to have been a hobby of Fuller's, and while there are better analyses of the details of Grant's campaigns and battles, the reader leaves this book with a sense of knowing and understanding Grant, and believing that Grant's personality was the critical factor in the Union's 1864-1865 Virginia compaigns. The assessment of U.S. Grant is Fuller's personal assessment, nevertheless, when this reader finished the book he hoped Fuller was right. Essential Civil War reading. There's also some interesting commentary on the theory of military strategy and tactics.

I find this book to be the best detailed analysis of the generalship of U. S. Grant available. Written by one of the most outstanding military writers in the world, it presents a thought provoking and convincing picture of one of our greatest generals. It pictures General Grant as one of the greatest strategists of all times and gives many convincing arguments to back up the claim.

The book covers other aspects of his csreer and comments on his capabilities and shortcomings. It is not completely lauditory, as it points out his many failures as a tactician as well as other shotcomings. Substantiation and analysis of his actions make for a very convincing account. It is especially effective when read in conjunction with his memoirs.

I highly recommend it.

A change in Focus--Grant takes the Reins

Until 1864, the Army of the Potomac had never won a campaign. Each Union attempt to capture Richmond drove south, was repulsed, withdrew to Washington, found a new general, and tried again. After his successes at Vicksburg and Chattanooga, Grant came east to a promotion, to general in charge of all Union Armies.

Grant brought a different focus, and Catton defines this superbly in this book, drawing on many of Grant's memoranda to other officers, as well as President Lincoln. Catton captures the essence of a Grant campaign: hold on to the enemy, grasp and retain the initiative, and always move your logistics aggresively forward.

Catton also tries, albeit weakley, to show that Grant was not a "pure" attritionist. He offers examples of Grant's desires to push west and sever Richmond from the Shenandoah. Catton explores the political reality of uncovering Washington to a Confederate thrust, while attacking the logistics that sustained Confederate armies, while Sherman simultaneously attacked Atlanta and its strategic railhead. Catton states that after the battle of Cold Harbor Ggrant's numerical superiority was at its lowest level, but he does not provide the hard math to support this stance. On the other hand, Catton shows well the manuever warfare used by Grant to slip away after Cold Harbor, steal a march, and get across the James River before Lee, stripped of his cavalry, could discover the move and react.

This book does a very solid job of capturing Grant's determination, his unyielding efforts to impose his will on the leaders and staff of the Army of the Potomac, and to integrate the political realities of volunteers, political appointee generals and a presidential election with the cold hard reality of constant campaigning.

A good read not just for students of the martial art, but for any leader who must address the Sisyphean task of invigorating old "we've always done it that way" people with a new ethos and drive.

This is a well-researched account of the last two years of the Civil War (1863-1865). The harsh realities of the battles and living conditions are especially given great detail here. The final days of the war and the surrender of General Lee are extremely poignant as the author examines the tattered remains of the once invincible Army of Northern Virginia. The exchange between the victors and the vanquished at Appomattox is the highlight of the book. The author also takes pains not to overlook any of Grant's military blunders such as Cold Harbor and gives an even-handed viewpoint throughout. I recommend this book for anyone who is interested in the darkest days of our nation's history.

Learn how Corbin, Duncan and Garrett (Three teenage boys) create an alternate universe!

This book is a science fiction novel containing actual historical events intertwined with Grant Lee's usual fun action. He does not waste time but gets right to the action. You'll learn bits of history that history books leave out and schools don't mention but they actually happened. Have a fun read.

An enjoyable book, nicely illustrated, which gives concise and interesting insights into some of the topics that exercised Americans in the 1920s and early 1930s: immigration, political radicalism, prohibition, crime and delinquent social behavior, the debate between creationism and science, and so on. I would have welcomed, in one or two chapters, slightly more detail from the trials themselves, and sometimes the overall historical context is a little thinly sketched. However, this is popular history, not some bone-dry academic thesis, and it works very well at that level.

This book manages to stay lively while giving both the social and historical context and details of the trials themselves. The narrative is informed but not ponderous, in fact, at times it almost conversational in tone. The trials selected encompass a broad array of issues from those times, ranging from sports scandles to organized crime to military heroes to xenophobia to science and creation. Each entry is long enough to give the reader a real good feel for the issues surrounding the case, but short enough to keep the pacing fast and enjoyable. I recommend it highly.

A magnificent & enriching collection of literary works that excel consistenly to the heart & nature of man.These classics remarkably sound so fresh & so important in our present age that to disregard them would be a terrible crime to the benefit & cultivation of our sensibilities.The trademarks of this great civilization's authors are a rich simplicity powerful in it's beauty for description & a precise,matter-of-fact way of describing or presenting their statements that put a lot of gullible modern authors to mortal shame.The most powerful sections are the ones on philosophy & lyric poetry.The passion,intensity & convicingness of the best in these categories have scarcely been matched,then or since.Although several selected lyrics are unremarkable & unrepresentative,the strength & greatness of the rest shadow all of these through.All forms of works since then have come from these works of timeless sublimity,& it's doubtful if it! will ever be replaced;for here is the probabable basis of all what we are & what we will be.MY RATING FOR THIS IS 4 & A HALF STARS.

Michael Grant has put together a wonderful anthology of Greek literature. The book is a paperback, so it can easily be taken along on a trip, and that is why you will never want to be parted from this "precious book." Take it along on your next holiday and try to ignore the clowns telling you that summer is the time for "light reading." All seasons are fine for delving into excellent stuff, and this book is the best of the best. The amount of excellent Greek literature which survives today is really quite astonishing.

Dip in and savor Homer, Hesiod, Pindar and the rest. It'll make you expect a little bit more from our frowsy modern literary crowd: old-fashioned things like clear thoughts, clear sentences, and blazing truths.

Man's life is a day. What is he?
What is he not? A shadow in a dream
Is man: but when the gods shed a brightness,
Shining life is on earth
And life is sweet as honey.
--Pindar

Highest possible recommendation!

If you were like me and you didn't get any advice on how to care for your hardwood floor from your installer then this is the book to get.

My wife and I bought an Arts and Crafts era bungalow with hardwood floors. Neither of us grew up with hardwood floors and were at something of a loss as to what to do with them. This slender volume concisely but fully explains how to care for these floors. It includes methods for assessing the floor and determing what measures are needed for its preservation.

This book does wonders for a far future GURPS campaign. The world and ship generation techniques are excellent. Lots of cool gadgets too. The weak point of Space is it's lack of detail on creating alien races. But if it were more detailed they wouldn't have needed to make GURPS Aliens right?

Ahem ...

This is one of the best roleplaying books I have ever read and certainly among the best for GURPS. If you want to create a pace-based science fiction campaign, this is the book for you whether you play GURPS or not. Everything is in here: spaceship design, alien races, solar systems, planetary governments ... all organised in a take-it-or-leave-it fashion. If something seems to techy to you - leave it out! If you want hard sci-fi with colony ships and no aliens, GURPS can oblige. If you prefer Flash Gordon to Carl Sagan, GURPS has the reactionless thrusters (scientifically divided into slow and fast) primed and ready for take off. If you are desperate for a REAL hard sci-fi setting, then GURPS Traveller maybe a better purchase but if you're itching to create your own strange new worlds, this is the book.

Generic in the best possible sense.

HOW TO MAKE COWBOY HORSE GEAR is the sequel to Grant's LEATHER BRAIDING. As such, all projects listed in this book are braided from leather. Illustrations clarify the steps. Instruction is direct, but has a wonderful dose of cowboy humor mixed in. As an added plus, there is a brief section by Lee Rice entitled, "How to Make a Western Saddle."

My family and I have worn out the first copy. It is excellent -- well-written, fairly well organized, and easy to follow. We recommend it to anyone interested in making their own gear.