Collectibles Books

Such a shame this comedy troupe broke up. Humour with surgical precision. Roots of Python found here. You'll listen over and over again.

After Spike Milligan and Peter Sellers came the Beyond the Fringe crowd. This is one of the foundation stones of transatlantic comedy. Cook and Moore preceded Pythons Cleese and Chapman at Cambridge. (They in turn preceded Frye and Laurie.) Ripeness is all, and they had it...

The team of Jonathan Miller, Alan Bennett, Peter Cook and Dudley Moore was originally conceived as a potentially successful show for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 1960 - hence the name. None of them had ever worked together before, or not at any rate in this configuration, and each of them went into the project with some doubts. They ended up producing one of the most savagely funny comedy shows ever, a piece of work that was to play a large part in the transformation of the British cultural landscape during the 1960s.

It's all very well (and true) to say that this stuff is still funny after forty years. It's more useful to put yourself back into the mindset of a 1961 audience, utterly unprepared for such a comic assault on the sacred cows of post-war British culture: dodgily reverential productions of Shakespeare; dreary and self-aggrandising prime-ministerial broadcasts by then PM Harold Macmillan; a devastating swipe at the cheery platitudes of governmental advice on what to do during a nuclear attack (basically, hide inside a brown paper bag); a brutal demolition of piously cliched movies about the sacrifices of world war 2 - these lads dished it out in spades. The laughter you hear on the soundtrack is not the cosy laughter of an audience hearing what it likes to hear, it's the guilty and almost hysterical laughter of an audience having its worst fears and suspicions confirmed and provoked.

Fair enough, Dudley Moore (RIP) went on to make some dodgy movies. Jonathan Miller did some fine work in the theatre and in opera, but nothing quite as cutting-edge as here. Alan Bennett became an English (not British) institution. Peter Cook ended up with a reputation as the Guy Who Never Fulfilled His Promise - but none of these assessments are accurate. Between the talents of the four of them, they produced a comedy that has seldom been lived up to. They truly were the Bill Hickses of 60s England. As Michael Frayn points out in his excellent introductory essay, it's because they made the audience laugh at their own prejudices. Few have done so much, and they never slacked. (One of the sketches from the 1964 Broadway production, included here, confirms this, in a sardonic assessment of American culture and how-the-show-is-likely-to-go-down-there, still true today.)

This is great comedy. We shouldn't imitate its content - we should strive to reach for the level of insight and the accuracy of target that they met. Mind you, it's still damn funny. My personal faves are the civil defence sketch and Bennett's stunningly vacuous sermon "Take A Pew", chunks of which I know off by heart. Good comedy is never cosy, and while this may seem like we've heard it before, bear in mind that nobody had ever quite done anything like this at the time - or, anyway, not so successfully. Genius.

The legendary performance by 4 true geniuses. Oh, if we could only have this on vid....

I have spent a great deal of time playing this to people who finally get it. The launching pad for Monty Python, Lenny Bruce, Mort Sahl, et al, is right here. These 3 CDs contain the cream of the 60's satire crop by 4 very affable chaps not afraid to take convention and a sledgehammer and juxtapose the two. The material is first-rate and the performances practically flawless. One or two bits do require more visual, but the gist is just as good--gets the mind working.

Even the material that is dated (Harold Macmillan et al) holds up well because, in all honesty, have politicians really changed all that much in 40 years? I think not--it's just more public now.

Get this set by any means. You will truly treasure this gem for years to come.

Terrific. I've just spent the entire weekend listening to certain tracks over and over. The writing is fantastic and the talents of these 4 are really amazing. The characterizations are crystal clear and masterfully layered ("Words...and Things," "TVPM," "Take a Pew" among others) so that for any performer, writer or director, "Beyond the Fringe" is an education. Two of the three CDs were recorded in London and it is interesting to compare them with the third CD, recorded in the U.S. Although I questioned my hormone balances when I paid for the thing, I'm very happy to have it as a part of my collection. For any piano players, Dudley Moore does a wonderful job with humor and music. While some of the sketches aren't nearly as topical as they were in 1961, the time gap serves to clarify the choices of the actors. Even with that, the sketches have aged well.

Jessica Bird is J.R. Ward. I couldn't wait to read this book and it was everything I hoped for. It was inresting. The characters were real and well rounded. The romance reels you in from the beginning and you really feel for the hero who's been through his share of big problems. Butch O'Neal is even mentioned in the book for two seconds. While he's not a character in the book that means that the world I read about in The Black Dagger Brotherhood series is one in the same from this book and I found that pretty cool.

The Billionaire Next Door by Jessica Bird
Silhouette Special Edition # 1844 - August 2007
The O'Banyon Brothers - Book # 1

The day Sean O'Banyon received his scholarship to Harvard Business was the last day he had ever set foot in his father's South Boston duplex. And not too long after his younger brother Billy was offered a football scholarship and then his older brother Mac felt it was time to join the Army. The O'Banyon brothers had escaped and they'd lived up to their vow of never looking back. Lizzie Bond had been renting the first floor apartment in Eddie O'Banyon's duplex since she graduated from nursing school more than two years ago. Though her landlord was a grouchy bitter man, they'd formed a friendship with the older man keeping his tenant safe, and Lizzie making sure he ate, took his meds and paid his bills on time. It upset Lizzie that when he took a heart attack and then a week later another, that he'd died alone after she had promised she'd be there with him. Receiving the phone call from his father's tenant had been a shock, but Sean felt the weight of the world had suddenly lifted from his shoulders; the O'Banyon brothers were finally free. More than a decade has passed since he'd been in the duplex, but he was the best equipped of the brothers to deal with packing up the contents. Sean knew it would be hard, but hadn't expected all the nightmare memories to come flooding back. The only bright spot was Lizzie, but was she for real or someone who knew about his billion dollar net worth and wanted a piece.

Sean is a recurring character from Ms. Bird's earlier books. He's a Wall Street genius with tremendous drive and a ruthless streak. He has close friends but steers clear of lasting relationships with women. Lizzie wants love and a permanent home; she's been working two jobs to save up to further her education and to cover her flighty mother's expenses. Sean doesn't reveal his wealth to Lizzie; this gives him the freedom to finally pursue a woman who likes him for the man he is. This was a really good book and I enjoyed reading Sean and Lizzie's journey to a HEA. :D

Jessica Bird is better known now for writing the Black Dagger Brotherhood vampire series within the paranormal genre under the name J R Ward. Those stories are all excellent with great characterisation, plot, action and excitement. As I started this book I wondered how J R Ward/Jessica Bird's writing style would fare in the contemporary romance genre.

The answer is, she still writes a very good book. 'The Billionaire Next Door' is very different from the Black Dagger Brotherhood, not only in the lack of vampires but also because the story isn't a particularly original one. A very rich man meets a nurse who's working two jobs to keep going financially. She doesn't know who he is, that he's a billionaire financier, and they find themselves drawn to each other. However Sean O'Banyon is always wary of women who are only after him for his money and when he seems to find evidence that Lizzie Bond has been enticing money from his now-dead father he thinks he's been taken for a ride.

Despite the fact the basic storyline is well worn, there's more depth to this story than many others of this type. Sean is successful in business but he's worked his way up from nothing and has completely cut himself off from his father. Lizzie knew his father for two years before he died and had a great deal of affection for the man but for Sean and his two brothers, Mac and Billy (who will appear in future books by this author), their father was a monster. How can the two views be reconciled? Can Sean ever trust Lizzie enough to tell her about his father, and will that upset her fond memories of the man? Can Sean overcome the trust issues that he now has because of his father?

For lovers of the Black Dagger Brotherhood there's a mention of Butch O'Neal in this story as a friend to Sean as he was growing up but this story is very much a standalone novel, although the first of the three O'Banyon Brothers stories. It's a good read and, although short, didn't feel rushed and had more of an exploration of the characters' personalities than you often get in these types of novels. Sometimes I wondered whether Lizzie was a bit too good to be true, and whether Sean could ever really put aside his workaholic nature so that they could actually spend a lot of time together, but, hey, this is fiction, and anything is possible!

I have read ALL of Jessica Bird/ JR Ward and she never fails to delight! Every single one was worth every penny to buy them NEW!
(Thank you Ms. Bird/Ward!)

My preference is for longer stories but even her shorts are great (like this one from Silhouette). While devouring the stories (usually in one sitting), I convince myself that each new protagonist (male and female) is my favorite so far!

At the end of Sean's story, here, I was SALIVATING to read what will happen with his brothers!

I read this book because I am a BlackDaggerBrotherhood series written by this author pseudonym - J.R. Ward. I really enjoyed this book. The plot was great, the series is going to be great. I can't wait for the other brothers book. I loved the build up to this story.

One gruesome story after another about the death and misery brought by those tiny critters we share the planet with-you'll look twice before you sit on a rock while camping or go swimming...or eat...or travel...not for the feint of heart

About: A very in depth look at the bites and stings of different animals and the diseases they may cause. Spiders, snakes, jellyfish, tsetse flies, cone snails, ticks, mosquitoes (including a particularly wonderful section on West Nile), Komodo dragons, alligators, crocodiles, seals, dogs, cats, horses, donkeys, camels, humans, monkeys, rabies, bird attacks and fish with spears are all covered. In fact, the only thing that I thought was missing was a section on sharks, but the addition of so many other biting animals more than make up for this omission. Besides, there are plenty of shark books, but this is the only book I've seen camel, donkey and seal bites addressed.

Pros: Engaging and fascinating. I looked forward to picking it up again after I put it down. Covers things I've never read about before. Scientific terms are clearly explained in the text as well as in the included glossary. Writing is very accessible. Great balance of science and anecdotes. Glossary, references.

Cons: A section on sharks was notably absent but this is a minor gripe considering what is covered

Grade: A+

Great book! Each chapter reads like a separate short story which makes it perfect for traveling.

If you like this genre of writing, you will enjoy this volume. Fascinating true stories, and yes, it would make a great travel guide for some.

_Bitten_ by Pamela Nagami, is a very interesting and well-researched popular science compilation of information and stories about just about every animal that stings, bites, or can carry infectious disease. Though a few are left out (notably sharks), a great many are included, each chapter often opening up with an interesting case history of a person afflicted by one of the animals in question, followed up by information on the organism, details on the disease that they may spread, and generally several other case histories of various patients throughout the world (some of which are from the author's own experiences as a practicing physician specialized in infectious disease). I found riveting not only some of the case histories but also the incredible medical detective stories, both those relating to saving patient's lives and in other instances the struggle to develop an anti-venom or to find the animal spreading a disease. Several chapters included information on what the reader should do when confronted by this animal (for example tips on safe tick removal and effective treatment for cat and dog bites). A helpful glossary and extensive bibliography are included.

The first several animals included in the book are dangerous mainly because of their venomous bites or stings, namely fire ants, several spider species, Portuguese man-of-war and various jellyfish species, cone snails, and a number of venomous snakes.

The fire ant chapter was illuminating. I was fascinated to learn that fire ants are even more trouble than I had imagined; livestock have been known to starve when fire ants render their food inaccessible, thousands of trout have been found that died from venom poisoning after eating swarms of winged males and queens that had flown into lakes, and fire ants, attracted to the warmth of heated asphalt, have caused rural roads to collapse as they built mounds beneath them, the undermined soil eventually subsiding and causing the road to collapse.

The chapter on spiders was also quite interesting. The reasons why small spider bites can cause such huge problems for victims is still incompletely understood, but may have to do with an enzyme found in some spider venom (such as that of the brown recluse) that attacks and dissolves cell membranes. This enzyme sets a victim's defenses against his or her own tissue, leading white blood cells to dissolve a victim's flesh. This necrotic arachnidism is a worldwide problem and there isn't any consensus on best treatment.

The next group of animals was largely included for the ability to transmit infectious disease. Included in this section are ticks, tsetse flies (with the emphasis being largely on sleeping sickness), and the sandfly (which spread leishmaniasis, parasitic diseases of the skin, moist membranes of the mouth and airway, liver, spleen, and bone marrow, caused by protozoa of the genus _Leishmania_ ). Also included was a chapter on the West Nile virus, a chapter which read like a medical thriller.

Tick paralysis was very interesting to read about. At first a rather mysterious paralytic illness, physicians discovered that an attached tick could cause a type of spreading paralysis in a person or in livestock, a completely debilitating and even potentially fatal paralysis yet one that can be stopped and completely reversed when the tick is found and removed (viewers of the show _House_ will remember a case of tick paralysis from the series; indeed many of the case histories sound like the opening segments of a _House_ episode, minus of course the misanthropic doctor).

It was sad to learn that human African trypanosomiasis (East African and West African sleeping sickness) was present on the continent since prehistoric times but only became widely disseminated when Africans left their ancestral homelands thanks to roads and railways brought by the Europeans during the colonial period, a problem exacerbated when what measure of disease control maintained by the empires collapsed during the civil wars and chaos left in the wake of the European withdrawal.

Massive efforts were made to control sleeping sickness, including for a time the draconian method of wholesale destruction of wild game. In addition to "being repugnant to practically everyone," these efforts were doomed to fail because the tsetse fly, when deprived of lions, hartebeests, and bushbucks, simply moved to smaller game, and in areas cleared of wildlife, humans and their livestock moved in, becoming replacement hosts themselves for the parasites. Nagami quoted from Dr. Robert Desowitz, the author of an essay on sleeping sickness ("The Fly Who Would Be King"), who noted that "the tsetse and the trypanosome are the most stalwart guardians of the African ecosystem and its magnificent wild fauna."

The final section looked at animals that pose a danger from the damage caused by their teeth and claws and from the infection of those wounds. Included in this section where chapters on the komodo dragon, alligators, crocodiles, dogs, cats, ferrets, rats, horses, donkeys, camels, garfish, seals, roosters, owls, monkeys, the wildlife that spreads rabies, and surprisingly humans (human bite injuries, particularly to the knuckle joint, can become infected with the bacterium _Eikenella corrodens_ which can cause irreversible damage).

I was surprised to read how vicious ferrets can be. In 1988 alone physicians in Denver, Colorado reported three cases of severe facial injuries to infants from attacks by pet ferrets. In one instance a three-month-old girl, placed in her crib with her bottle, was attacked by the family ferret which managed to climb in and a few minutes chew off forty percent of both her ears. Another patient, a baby girl, lost her nose to a ferret attack.

A very interesting series of chapters, the squeamish reader is warned about "seal finger" (a bacterial infection caused by seal bites, one that can cause swollen and stiff fingers and joints and pain so agonizing that sealers once amputated their own fingers for relief) and rats eating the flesh of sleeping people (those with nerve damage, such from diabetes and leprosy, are quite susceptible to rat attacks at night).

It is a practical book. Useful tips. If the pictures in color would be better.

Reviewed by Josef F. Buenker for Reader Views (2/08)

I don't know if I'll actually ever do it, but this book made me want to buy things in order to sell them on eBay. Daren and Nancy Baughman, the authors, are in the auction, resale and eBay business. Nancy's (she seems to be the primary author) interest and enthusiasm for her business clearly shows.

Although in certain parts the book had some spelling and grammatical errors, the author/editor's apparent reliance on spellcheck does not detract from the book. "Buy It, Sell It, Make Money" does a nice job of explaining the business of buying and selling "luxury" goods - the term "luxury" being determined by the reader's own lifestyle. Whether one is interested in trading up an item he or she already owns by selling it and buying a better model or one wants to acquire something new, this book could be of great assistance in the process.

After a general explanation of the best venues to acquire and sell various types of items (buying and selling furniture is somewhat different than dealing in modern art), the authors give the reader a very handy guide to the best brand names in a number of common "luxury" item categories, ranging from art to clothing to jewelry to toys.

This book was an interesting read. Anyone who has ever had aspirations of being in the resale or retail business will probably find "Buy It, Sell It, Make Money" interesting.

Very good book - informative and interesting - provides useful information - I reccomend it.

This is a great book that I recommend. I purchased the book for the guide but it provided so much more. I have been selling on eBay part time but was always in need of things to sell - NO MORE. Thanks to this book, my husband and I went to our first storage shed auction (recommended by the authors) and we purchased one full of great things. Inside the shed we purchased are some great antiques, some very nice china, some English porcelain figurines, tools but the best was a jewelry box. The jewelry box had 2 14kt gold necklaces and a 14kt gold ring with a beautiful ruby. It also was filled with tons of very nice costume jewelry! We are going to make a ton of money off this one purchase - thank you Daren and Nancy for this wonderful book - I Bought it - I'm selling it - and I am MAKING MONEY -- YA

My husband and I have been selling on ebay for about three years now, and we're always looking for new information to help improve our business. This book gave us a lot of great ideas which we put into action the first week after reading. It's an easy book to read and understand, and we both couldn't put it down until we were finished reading. If you're not into ebay, it also gives great advise on other avenues for selling your goods. Buy this book, you'll be pleased!

I'm not overstating how much this book helped me. I was in pretty bad shape when I read this book, but within a month of doing the exercises she gives, the spell I was under was broken; that was about twenty years ago. I noticed some of her other books are now in print and I hope this one will be to. This is the most important book I've ever read.

This book, CELEBRATE YOURSELF by Dorothy Briggs, is the best book I have found to help adults empower themselves and develop healthy self-esteem. As a Marriage and Family Therapist since 1994, I have used this book with hundreds of clients and had wonderful results.

I encourage you to read this book as a gift to yourself and those who love you.

[...]

Excellent book. I frequently recommend this book to others. Very well written, very thorough. Great information.

This incredible book has been a profound influence in my process of healing. I read it at the recommendation of a friend and have been grateful eversince. I have often found myself referring back to it's rich pages to refresh my mind with it's simple and sensible, yet profound insights. Dorothy uses a cluster of some of the psychological schools of thought. This allows for a more comprehensive view of the what and how of both self-esteem and the healing process. I found the intermittent summations of the "basic ideas" very helpful. I'm confident that each person who reads it with the intent to put to practice the exercises she provides would benefit immensely. I think that they can help accelerate the learning and healing process. Do put your heart into it! May you to reap in great abundance the healing and the wisdom that you seek.

This incredible book has been a profound influence in my process of healing. I read it at the recommendation of a friend and have been grateful eversince. I have often found myself referring back to it's rich pages to refresh my mind with it's simple and sensible, yet profound insights. Dorothy uses a cluster of some of the psychological schools of thought. This allows for a more comprehensive view of the what and how of both self-esteem and the healing process. I found the intermittent summations of the "basic ideas" very helpful. I'm confident that each person who reads it with the intent to put to practice the exercises she provides would benefit immensely. I think that they can help accelerate the learning and healing process. Do put your heart into it! May you to reap in great abundance the healing and the wisdom that you seek.

LOTS OF GLASS THAT YOU SEE EVERY DAY, BUT NOT SURE OF WHO MADE IT!
THIS IS A GOOD BOOK FOR DEALERS, FOR IDENTIFICATION. NOT SURE THE PRICES ARE ACTUALLY WHAT THE ITEM WILL BRING IN TODAYS MARKET, BUT GIVES YOU AN IDEA OF WHERE TO START...

Craig Schenning has done a great job of identifying Indiana Glass patterns, including information on dates of production, colors, and lists of known pieces with current prices. Also included are several patterns originally produced by other companies but whose molds are known to have been acquired (and produced) by Indiana in later years. Lots of good color photos, although you may have to look elsewhere to identify etchings and decorations. The best book I've seen on Indiana glassware.

A very good and thoroughly interesting collectors book to have.

Informed about this book by an article in the Antique Weekly. So happy to have found it on Amazon at a more than fair price. The book is excellently done. Loads of information. Extremely informative. I'm a new collector of Indiana Glassware.

Indiana Glass is one of my favorite companies. I love the different types of glass that they created and am thrilled that there is finally a new resource out there about the company. Hopefully, this will educate old and new collectors about the wonderful glass they created. I can't wait to see more from this author.

The knowledge the authors have on Christmas collectibles is massive. They are historical,and humorous. I bought the first book when I started collecting pixies and learned so much more from them about trim, authenticity and why people started decorating the way they did from the early 1900's through the 60's. This book is lovely, but their other book is better. I hope they write a third.

This is a such a fun little book! Warm holiday memories, lots of humor and beautiful photography. I thoroughly enjoyed every page! The best gift book you will ever find for a vintage/antique ornament collector.

Charming and nostalgic, giving us a glimpse into the history of holiday adornment. A great stocking stuffer!

Debbie Elliott

Even if you're not particularly sentimental about Christmas, the images and recollections of the authors are a delightful experience. The photos and graphics are charming and magical, obviously done by people who truely love the Christmas season. Anyone can appreciate the vintage flavor of this little gem.

This book brings back so many great memories of Christmas and decorating the tree. It was so much fun reading and looking through every page for ornaments that we might have had on our trees over the years and seeing the many different kinds of ornaments. It is a book that I will spend much time reading and viewing for many, many years.

Varrichio's book is unique in showcasing doll fashions from the 70's beyond the usual suspects from Mattel. Many long-time collectors, including myself, might not have seen many of these fashion lines. Some are rare yet inexpensive Mattel clones, while others (ie, Mego, Kenner, Ideal) are major lines that are hard to find today. The book is replete with a variety of hidden treasures for the serious doll collector to pursue, thus distinguishing it from every other compendium of doll fashions that this reviewer has read. The quality of the photos and creativity of the narratives are excellent. This book is a must-have for traditional Barbie collectors as well as those who want to expand their repertoire beyond Mattel.

This book blew me away! I've been collecting dolls all my life practically and I knew of several clone style outfits but this book has so many items that I hadn't seen before. And it gave me so much needed information on Tuesday Taylor, Tiffany Taylor, Dawn Doll Clone Outfits and a ton more. I love a book that covers the obscure and this books does a great job with a wealth of information. It shows doll lines that no one else has covered at all! I refer to this book all the time because of my line of work. So it's a definate keeper in my collection! And the one thing that really stands out in my opinion, is the quality of the pictures. They are bright and clear. You're not left guessing what the colors or hues are really like in person. So I'm very impressed! (And I'm a picky person) And it's a fun read too! I would really love to see a volume 2 on this book!! I'd be the first in line to buy it! THIS IS A MUST HAVE!!

I just love this book! The pictures are wonderful, clear and colorful, but it's the descriptions that make it oh so fun. The descriptions are very straightforward and concise, and many are funny enough to make me chuckle to myself. You just know exactly what Carmen means. I remember the 70's.

This book is a great addition to any fashion doll collectors reference as it covers many of the other dolls that were around during the Mod/Best Buy era of Barbie. Lot's of new and interesting information.

I have enjoyed this book over and over again. It is an excellent resource, clear pictures and a wide range of information on Doll Fashions. Well worth purchsaing. The author is knowledgeable and goes beyond the typical barbie fashions to sharing about a wide range of doll fashions from the 1970's. Can't wait for Volume 2!

I just purchased this wonderful book. I really cannot put it down. The pictures are crisp and clear. The descriptions are perfect and the commentary is priceless. This is one book every doll collector needs to own. This took a lot of work to do, and it is well worth the money. Great job Carmen Varricchio!!

Wow! This wonderful compendium of American composition dolls is the most comprehensive and beautifully presented book ever written on the subject. What I most appreciated about this volume was that Ms. Mertz gave thorough descriptions of the dolls including markings, manufactured sizes, inconsistencies and even how these dolls were produced. So many other authors seem to "slap-dash" books together without paying attenton to these important details which truly make a collector's book worth its mettle. This book is not only filled with useful identification markings and values...it is also filled with the most professional of photographs that truly capture the spirit of each doll. It is obvious that this project was undertaken with great care, attention to detail and a lot of love for its subject. Even if one is not a doll collector, this is a book that captures a part of American design history and a simpler time when most major doll companies were still a family business..not some impersonal conglomerate. Hats-off to Ursula Mertz (and her husband) for creating this treasure of historical and collector's information. I think it belongs in the library of every doll collector and every historian of popular Americana.

I have the other Ursula R. Mertz book on compo dolls and both are just great! I would recommend both books!

1) Photos: Large, bright, highly detailed!

2) Descriptions: Very accurate. Ursula is probably one of the most knowledgeable people on this subject around today!

3) Well written. Well researched.

This is by far the best book on composition dolls printed to date. Ms. Mertz begins her book with a little background on the construction of composition dolls and traits peculiar to them alone. Lesser known compaies receive equal representation in this book ,with a section devoted to Patsy look-a-likes that shows many dolls some of us never knew existed. The photography is outstanding and quality is consistent throughout. I particularly like the section on Effanbee dolls;there are some early F&B's that I have never seen anywhere else.
For the serious collector it is an invaluable resource; for the doll lover, it is a work of art . For both, it is the ultimate 'wishbook'!

Thoroughly enjoyed all the information provided. This book will continue to be a reference for anyone interested in composition dolls both recent and antique, the photographs are wonderful.

This is the BEST book I have ever seen on Composition Dolls! Not only does it include marked dolls, but identifies unmarked dolls based on their characteristics. Also has many dolls that the Blue Book does not have. Great color photographs! The only thing that this book does not have is an index of marks (initials & numbers) for quick reference. I love this book!

This was purchased as a birthday gift, and it was a big hit! My daughter liked it very much. She has done a lot of work looking into our family's history, and so this was very helpful to her.

A great resource to not only learn about the history and mechanics of heraldry, but also for inspiration for creating one's own coats of arms. I mainly picked this up to create heraldry for my strategy table top war game, but the historian in me enjoys it as well for scholarly purposes.

A.C.Fox-Davies:HERALDRY
I already had a great respect for Mr.Fox-Davies, having two of his great books:THE ART of HERALDRY and HERALDRY-the magnificent pictorial archive for artists and designers. And I expected to learn quite a lot from the HERALDRY book.Guess,I was right.
.The texts are very,very good,BUT,there are just too many unnecessary and detailed descriptions of British and Scotch Armory.Was it because Mr.Fox-Davies wanted to show off( with his long description of many personal Arms,which I doubt had any great interest for the general reader-mentioning only a few Im sure he could have got his point) or maybe,he was just carried away by his wish too make a good(fat)book?Nevertheless,Mr.Fox-Davies is among the VERY FEW experts who dared mention the painstakingly long and slow development of Armory,from Moses and the Scriptures onwards,explaining that it were first the personal signs and symbols which existed long before the Heraldry proper.And are still going strong,not as Arms,but LOGOTYPES of more or less famous brands.
There is no" Deus-ex-Machina "Heraldry for Mr.Fox-Davies .It was a slow and painful process influenced by both the traditions and technology,development of society , classes and unfortunately.warfare..And I guess,Mr.Fox-Davies leans too much on the Crusades Myth,closed HELMETS etc..
By the way,closed helmets existed long,long before the iron clad warriors ! Many of the drawings and other examples are very good,so that the small percentage of superfluous ones,do not play a significant role.All in all,for anyone willing to learn more,and think while reading the book,the number of lines and pages should not be tiring.It is satisfying to know that even in the days when the book first appeared,there was somebody who was NOT a stereotype,somebody who really loved the job and loved the knowledge he so willingly transferred to his readers.

Good book - just wish it explained more simply and clearly - in a concise way - the symbols.

I can not possibly imagine a more complete guide to Heraldry. This engaging book really brings you into the world of crests, family honor, and ancestry. It gives a comprehensive guide to all the symbols used, and their various meanings. If you are even remotely interested in Heraldry, pick this up today.