I used this book to write a discussion of Organisational management - I felt the authors were very clear in their objectives and that it was a great book for understanding exactly what went on - an interesting and detailed account.

This was a great read, and a wonderful insight into Asia's greed. A gritty account.

Steve Coates, Hong Kong.

Nicholas Watkins comprehensive overview of the work of Bonnard deals with the rich interplay between the quiet domesticity and the radiant, transcendental quality of the painter's art. The book covers the early years of Bonnard's work and his use of photography. The phases of the artist's work are covered in clear chapters with references to the excellent reproductions. It is especially helpful to see Bonnard's small, seemingly offhand pencil sketches, alongside the paintings. This gives a sense of the trasformative and magical quality of his observations. The many reproductions are vibrant in comparison to those seen in some other books currently available.

Bonnard fell between eras, as a post impressionist, always up against the fame of the cubists, and always compared (unfavorably, and unfairly) with the genius of Picasso. He was a quiet force, a colorist of the highest order, bringing us the light of southern France forever. This book is a great gift for an art lover, a treat for the eyes and the mind.

Bonnard is hot and getting hotter. You can't pick up a novel without reading that one of the characters either has a Bonnard, is getting ready to steal a Bonnard, or simply desires one.

This book has great photos and the biography, which definitely belongs with the art, is extremely well written. This is a fine book and I like it so much that when my son, who is an artist, wanted to borrow it, I simply bought him his own copy. I keep mine for myself. Selfish, but true..and tells you how much I treasure it.

I don't exactly know what top do. i like springer spaniels

Ms. Nicholas privides a huge volume of information with wonderful photographs, and chapters on the many aspects of owning and raising English Springer Spaniels. It is the only book I have read to date which offers any information on rage (whose presence many breeders either dispel or aren't aware of). Other topics include a description of the breed and standards; AKC events to participate in with your dog; choosing a pet; careful consideration before breeding; the responsibilities and work involved in being a careful breeder; the proper training and grooming of the breed; health issues; many submissions from kennels across the country describing their background and purpose; pedigrees of many different kennels' great dogs; several sections of gorgeous color, as well as black and white photos of springers in various events and at home. This book was an inspiration to me, and was the first place I found color photographs of tricolor springers. This is a magnificent and very thorough book. It is a large format, with good typesetting and well designed. It is a coffee table book to keep nearby for entertainment as well as reference.

Healy argues that traditional 'blueprint' ecclesiologies fail both church and scholarship through over-rationalization and judgmentalism which fail to help the church live more faithfully. He offers an interpretation of Catholic theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar's 'theo-dramatic' model of divine-human interaction, which contrasts the epic view of life with the (interactive) narrataive view, and uses this insight to develop concepts of church that are, in his view, of better service to the church in issues of inclusivity, pluralism and the 'practical-prophetic'. The book serves as a good introduction (although this is not its purpose) to the 'radical orthodoxy' movement of Milbank et al, and will be most useful to those seeking to develop their thinking along those lines. For me (a mainstream protestant), chapters 1 (blueprints) and 7 (practical-prophetic ecclesiology) were most useful, chapters 2 through 6 engaged Roman Catholic scholarship and utilized 'liberalism' as something of a foil. Healy engages epic academics rather than liberal narrative (there is one), and his vision of what is the faithful church is spelled out with insufficient clarity, indeed, it seems to be presumed. An engagement with H. Richard Niebuhr's ¨Meaning of Revelation' and'Radical Monotheism' would broaden his argument, which is more restricted than Healy realizes. This does not diminish my excitement for the treatise, which certainly is to be added to the 'must read' list in ecclesiology.

Healy has written a book with sensitivity, depth and great theological prescience. He first describes much of the problems with current ecclesiological "blueprints": People of God, Body of CHrist, etc., saying that they are all fine as blueprints, but all suffer from a dualist essence. By using Balthazar's theodramatic horizon, he addresses the realities of a concrete chuch in a hypermodern and postmodern age.

His section of plurality is a breath of fesh air, after having read the writings of peopel like Hick who really just want to force a totalizing system uponall religions, really rendering them incapable of making any truth claims without being branded as "parocial" or "fundamentalist". He exposes the ultimately liberal underpinnings of this view, which is really roots in another kind of tradition.

The theodramatic horizon in name is new to me, but uts idea has been seen in authors such as Brian Walsh, who espouse seeing Christianity as havings its own "metanarrative" that must engage with faithfulness with other traditions. This is not only honest ecclesiaology, but it addresses the reality of a sinful church that must be corrected, often from the outside.

This is a must for anyone concerned about where the church is headed.

Read and enjoy!

Lucan, the author of the full-throated but incomplete epic the "Civil War", certainly deserves a spot next to the great Latin poets Ovid, Horace, and Virgil, whose epic works mark the pinnacle eloquence and intelligence of Latin verse. The epic was written during the reign of Nero in the first century AD, and it is characterized by its vehement condemnation of civil war and imperialistic sentiments--this possibly caused Lucan's later fall out of Nero's favor. The primary characters in the epic are Julius Caesar, who is portrayed as a destructive warmonger, and Pompey (Magnus), who is described as ambitious and over his prime. The vivid descriptions of the wars in this work are exciting and at the same time sobering since Lucan's narrative never fails to reveal those attributes of civil war which invoke the most disturbing of feelings. For all this, Lucan's "Civil War" is recommended, and also because the Oxford World Classics always present reliable translations, and this particular edition retains Lucan's charming and long-winded verse that courses so smoothly through the hearts and minds reader's who are fortunate enough to come into contact with it.

If I had known it was another translation of Lucan, I would not have ordered it, BUT I would have made a mistake. This work has a better translation for the modern reader, and lots of good supporting information. Some of the comparisons I made with other versions make me wish I had this ten years ago. The notes are worth the price of the book!

It is obvious what the text CLOUDSTREET has to say about family relationships and the need for experience in life and understanding, but reading beneath the texts obvious words are themes which are somewhat covered by the more obvious way of life of the Pickles and the Lambs. To discover the truth about both the families and also about yourself, you need to search beyond the texts simple themes and discover the true meanings for yourself. Such as the themes of spirituality and dependence discussed in the book. To talk more on this subject, please feel free to e-mail me today and we can have brainstormes on the deeper and truer meanings of Wintons epic novel, Cloudstreet.

Funky_gal@playful.com

This book is inspiring. It channels the journey of an emotionaly disturbed man, Fish, who is in his own world. His family, and their saga is explored deeply and meaningfully as well.

It is the best book in competitive manufacturing management.The author use the simple approach to analyze the difficult problems in manufacturing.

It is useful for teachers and managers in manufacturing fields

This book is a step by step guide of the japanese system of production. Subjects that are very obscure in other books are depicted with remarkable simplicity. This is a good textbook for an international competitive manufacturing class.

This book is either great or awful, depending on the reader. Many parts were very exciting , not to metion deep and moving. BUT... I would definetly not reccommed it to younger readers becuse of the sexual context.

The book is about George, an American boy whose parents, acrobats in the circus, died in a trapeze accident when George was only 5 years old (they fell from it together and there was no net underneath... ouch...). As there was no one to look after young George, he had to move to Paris, France, to live with his uncle Fritz. Uncle Fritz is somewhat... unusual. He took George to Rome, for a crazy trip, where they got in (and out) of a few troubles. Since Fritz was a member of an orchestra, he was having some rehearsals held at his house. Sometimes blonde violin players were spending the night. He was taking George to the brothels: George was waiting outside while Fritz was busy. They were really having fun together and truly loved each other (even though there were doubts about Fritz being the boy's real uncle). 5 years later George had been sent back to the U.S to live with foster parents. George didn't like life in the states and missed his beloved uncle Fritz very much. Therefor he decided to run away - back to France and to live with Fritz. What happens to George on the trip and what he finds in France, you'll have to find out for yourself. I'm sure you'll want to. I think the book is excellent - it is well written, the story is very interesting and I was really touched by it. I could really understand George's feelings and problems. I laughed, hoped and, believe it or not, even cried while reading the book. George became my good friend. The book "got" me in the first page - I just couldn't leave it. This is absolutely, definitely one of the best books I have ever read in my life. This book is a MUST! I'm just surprised no one has done the movie yet... My opinion - read it!!

Mediterranean microecological connectivity

I like reading history. I enjoy with it. I am not a professional historian. In the last few years I have tried and read books offering a broad scope and general overviews of history such as this one.

In this work, the authors intend to study Mediterranean history as a whole, the history of the region. For them, the Mediterranean is only loosely defined, distinguishable from its neighbours to degrees that vary with time, geographical direction and topic. Its boundaries are not the sort to be drawn easily on a map. Its continuities are best thought of continuities of form or pattern, within which all is mutability.

In that sense, the distinctiveness of Mediterranean history results (they propose) from the paradoxical coexistence of a milieu of relatively easy seaborne communications with a quite unusually fragmented topography of microregions in the sea's coastlands and islands. The different chapters of the book are aimed to impressionistically show some of the prime ingredients in the normal variability and connectivity of Mediterranean microregions: the shifting along a spectrum of possibilities; the fluctuating relations between pastoralism and agriculture; the manipulative state with its taxes and symbols; the mobility of people both voluntarily -economic migration- and compulsory -military service- (not necessarily very distinct); a history of Mediterranean redistribution as inseparable from that of the people (who are often profoundly mobile) who produce, store, process, transport and consume.

The authors also warn that several central topics have been reserved for a Volume 2 to come in the future: climate, disease, demography and the relations between the Mediterranean and other major areas of the globe.

I have rated it four starts. Considering its content, I think it should be five; considering its readability, three (sometimes falling to two, sometimes raising to four).

Other books of "global history" I would recommend to read are "The Rise of the West" by William H. McNeill, "World History. A new perspective" by Clive Ponting, "The Great Divergence", by Kenneth Pomeranz, "The Dynamics of Global Dominance. European Overseas Empires 1415-1980", by David Abernethy and "The History of Government", by S.E. Finer.

Horden and Purcell have produced in The Corrupting Sea a comprehensive overview of the ancient Mediterranean world in the annaliste tradition of Braudel's Mediterranee et le monde mediterraneen a l'epoque de Philippe II. A historian of medicine (Horden) and a classicist (Purcell), the authors develop the thesis that one must examine the microenvironments of the Mediterranean in order to understand the broad trends of the region's culture and history.

This work is a must read for everyone who is interested in the Mediterranean --classicists and medievalists in particular. Every public library in the world would be well advised to purchase a copy. In addition to the narrative that is replete with extensive commentary, the volume has a very useful set of bibliographical essays as well as the normal scholarly apparatus.

If you have an interest in Herbs and their culinary, mystic and medicinal usages, both modern and historical, then this IS the book for you. It is beautifully illustrated and text is written in both medieval English and modern English.

Each plant (it includes some fruits and trees as well) is pictured and the habitat is described. Along with each description is any affinity to a ruling planet as well.

My only critisism is that it contains a great deal of jargon, you will need to read up on herbalism per se to understand how to make tinctures etc. That said the book is a reference to the plants not the art.

I have had my (well thumbed copy)for over 10 years now and it is a constant companion to my interests in the natural power of the Earth and her fruits.

I first heard of this book as being an excellent primary source for herbs and herbalism from the 16/17th Centuries.

It is very comprehensive and aside from a listing of each herb and its properties, it has several sections teaching the fundiments of medicine of the time. It covers:

* how a herb is assigned to a planet
* how a degree of strength is determined and what it means
* what 'humours' it affects and what 'humours' (bodily fluid systems) are
* and much much more.

If you are looking for a source to use for alternate medicine then this is NOT the best starting place. There are better works of a modern nature out there for that. However, as a back-up resource or a way of learning about the time when medicine was still holistic and not too scentific then this is he book for you.

The Wordsworth edition is in paperback and easy on the pocket. This publisher takes certain classic works and keeps them in print in small runs from time to time by demand. This means that although the book may be not immediately available, it will beome available again in the near future.

I hope this helps you.