Somewhere about two thirds of the way through this book I put it down & said to myself "these people are crazy!" Then I picked it up again and said "But Gosh, I wish I could have been there". A good chunk of the book is background to clipper ships in general & specifically the history of the "last American Clipper" but there is also the riveting account of a group of "crazies" who find the remains of SNOWSQUALL abandoned and rotting at a dock in the South Atlantic and do their best to save at least part of her for a maritime museum back in the States. That they succeed (at least in part) frankly left me a little teary-eyed. Those of you who aren't at least a little bit "odd" when it comes to Tall Ships may say "why bother?" My guess is that after reading this book you may begin to understand. For those of us who already have the disease, you will be rooting for the authors and their friends the whole way. Nicely written, nicely illustrated, a real "keeper".

Not all history is made by the likes of George Washington, Napolean, or Babe Ruth--larger than life individuals. Sometimes, lesser known luminaries from smaller locales make a significant mark. Such is the case with Nicholas Comfort, as shown exquisitely by Robert Cottrell. Professor Cottrell, the author of biographies about I.F. Stone and Roger Nash Baldwin, recounts in this carefully researched and beautifully told biography the story of a minor character in history who bravely stood up to larger forces. Comfort, a professor of religion at the University of Oklahoma, was ahead of his time--in a region not necessarily receptive to his mindset. For example, Comfort stood up against racism by confronting the KKK and befriending black leaders. He stood up to the powers of a people at war by supporting pascifism. Cottrell's biography depicts the actions of a brave man with unpopular convictions. This compelling biography is told with compassion, and again marks Cottrell as one of our most important biographers of the radical left.

Did you know that the Bank of England was formed originally by a bunch of businessmen wanting to use debt-collection methods on the English Government? That the Guinea was not always worth 21 shillings? And that the back of each London credit house had bundles of sticks representing debts?

Fascinating information and history of the start of the English economic rush that was so viciously stalled in 1720 when the country's biggest investment craze turned out to be an early Ponzi scheme. Learn how far King George I and his "nieces" were involved. Discover why stock is called "stock" (and it's nothing to do with cattle!)

Kort traces the complex history of Russia from the medieval era through the collapse of the Soviet Union in this fine one-volume account. The twists and turns of Communist politics and economic theory, so deadly dull in other hands, become not only clear but interesting here, a remarkable achievement in itself.
Highly recommended for the student and especially for the general reader who has foundered on other Russian histories in the past.
(The numerical rating above is a default setting within Amazon's format. This reviewer does not employ numerical ratings.)

This book explains the geology and biology of caves, and how they have been used by human beings. The authors explain the details very well, drawing upon lots of interesting examples of caves from around the world and providing useful illustrations, charts, and photographs throughout the book.

In the section on limestone formations, they explain why most limestone caves have been formed by slowly moving water in a thin horizontal zone directly below the water table. They examine scallop formations, carbon dioxide content, calcite solubility and other factors. (Sandstone caves, sea caves and lava tubes are covered just briefly.)

There is some good coverage about water movement through caves, the growth of speleotherms, and how to date caves and cave deposits. There is a table provided that lists the secondary minerals found in limestone caves and the caves they can be found in. You will also learn about cave temperatures, relative humidity, and how different karst formations are related to the nature and distribution of the soil in different climatic zones.

There is also a section about the many cave dwelling micro-organisms, troglobites, and vertebrates. It explains their evolution, adaptation to the cave environment, and how they fit into the food chain.

"Spirits of America" has been selected for listing in "Religion and Psychoactive Sacraments: An Entheogen Chrestomathy." http://www.csp.org/chresotmathy

A very good book, perhaps the only book on the language of the southern Fukianese people. I bought this book for grammatical references to my Spoken Taiwanese, and I must say that you can get details of how words are pronounced and used. The Spoken Language series are different from other language books I've read in that the former didn't seem boring to read after a while. If you want to learn Amoy Hokkien, I recommend to get this book and buy the audio cassettes with it. It's definitely worth it if you're serious about learning the language that's spoken in many southeastern-Asian Chinese community.

This is a very well written book by a very respected AKC judge and it thoroughly covers the breed. I found the kennel histories most informative and wuld reccomend this to be part of every American Staffordshire Terrier owners library.

This is the first volume of Grimshaw's work and it's very impressive. Shows his most chalenging projects in the period between 1988-93, with texts, model shots, sketches and computer-generated images.

This is an interesting, well written novel by a fresh new Sydney author. Looking forward to reading more of Mr Carvans work in the future.