John Noble Books

Some listings of biographical archives appear at the end of the book. Charles Doyle, the father, was by profession an architect. Charles Doyle liked fishing. Arthur was educated by the Jesuits at Stonyhurst. At age 15 he visited relatives in London and was a rabid sight-seer. He studied in Germany for one year. He went to medical school at the University of Edinburgh, living at home. It was 1876 when he began.

At holiday on the Isle of Arran in 1877 he met Dr. Joseph Bell. Bell used his powers of deduction to impress the students. Conan Doyle took his medical degree in 1881 and signed on to be a ship's physician on a voyage to the Gold Coast, the west coast of Africa. Arthur's London relatives were prepared to do him favors but they believed in the teachings of the Catholic Church and he did not. He decided to open a practice in Portsmouth. His mother and aunt supplied him with furniture.

In 1883 one of Arthur's stories was accepted by CORNHILL MAGAZINE. He joined the literary and scientific society. A commission from the Gresham Life Insurance Company helped his income. The more he saw of medical practice, the more he turned to writing. He learned that he could write fiction that readers would take for absolute truth. He worked by fits and starts. He married a Miss Hawkins. Her mother lived with the couple. Married life stimulated his mental powers.

A STUDY IN SCARLET as written in 1886. He sold the copyright for twenty five pounds. His favorite writers were Stevenson and Meredith. The book of his he prized was THE WHITE COMPANY. He put a vast amount of research into it. THE SIGN OF FOUR appeared in 1896. Two Holmes series were brought out in 1891 and 1892. The stories ran in THE STRAND MAGAZINE.

He moved to Davos, Switzerland for the sake of his wife's health. Conan Doyle introduced skiing as a sport in Switzerland. On an American visit he saw Kipling in Vermont. He met Jean Leckie in 1897 and fell wildly in love. He fought the devil for ten years. He steadied himself by reading Renan. In a new study at his house called Undershaw he determined to bring back Sherlock Holmes. He wrote a play and sent it to Beerbohm Tree. William Gilette, an American, was interested in playing the part. The actor infected Conan Doyle with his own enthusiasm. He spent about five months in South Africa at the time of the Boer War manning a hospital dealing with a fever epidemic. He received a knighthood.

In 1907 he married Jean Leckie. After World War I and the loss of his oldest son Conan Doyle pursued the cause of Spritiualism. Sherlock Holmes was revived again in HIS LAST BOW.

This little book has profound information about science that everyone should know. It is concise and very accessible.

I've been a big fan of MAD magazine ever since I was a teenager, which was mumbledy-mumble years ago. Over the years I've read quite many of their magazines and books, and am so glad I stumbled across this one at a book store recently. Being a combination of volumes 1 through 3 of MAD Bathroom Companions, it's a huge collection of great stuff from MAD's heyday, mainly from the 1960s through 1990s. The pages aren't numbered, but it's got to be around 800 pages. All the MAD greats are here, including Sergio Aragones' pantomime comics, Dave Berg's "Lighter Side Of" funnies, Don Martin's wacky humor, lots of writings by Frank Jacobs and Dick DeBartolo, along with super drawings by such talents as Paul Coker, Bob Clarke, Jack Davis, George Woodbridge, and lots more. Also, the introductions to each volume by Gilbert Gottfried, Gene Shalit, and Trey Parker are both humorous and inspiring. There are not any movie spoofs in here, however, if you're a big fan of those. My only carp is that the page size has been reduced substantially from the original magazine, which usually is OK, but some of it gets unreasonably small. You may have to use a magnifying glass to see Sergio Aragones' margin drawings. (No cracks about me getting older - I can still see fine!) Aside from that, this is a really great collection, probably my favorite of those books spanning most of MAD's history and variety of crazy humor.

The Mystic Shrine Ritual is a great source for study and historic reference. I highly recommend it.

Really cute little book w/ drawings depicting funny scenes from things you've probably encountered before while golfing. Cute enough to copy into a card, flyer, bulletin or etc. Covers silly etiquette topics such as slapping mosquitoes, psychology on the green, helping your opponent lose. Gives funny definations on the duffer, a Mulligan, a Gimmie, Sandbagger, Sand Traps, Divots, Bunkers, Out-of-bounds, Waggles, Addressing the ball, bad lies, Yips, Rub of the Green, Fore, Teed Off, Woods, Handicaps, Double and Triple Bogies, Pars, Birdies, Eagles, Hole-in-One's, Windmills, Honor, Drives. Uses rules in scenarios such as agreeing to waive rules, unimprovable situations, impaired vision, superstitions allowed, lost balls, disputes-decisions-doubts, discouraging jogging on the green, throwing golf clubs in extenuating circumstances, alligators-mad dogs-bee hives, entitlements by being hit by the ball or nearly hit, sizing up the caddie (Eager Beaver/Ancient Mariner/ or Pro's Son), and rights of Spouses. Lots of laugh for the serious or not-so-serious golfer.

John Herman Randall is one of the best writers of introductory and intermediate material related to philosophy, and this book, like his excellent introduction to Aristotle, is written densely so that no confusing concepts intervene and contravene. This makes the material informative upon second and third readings, knowing that what it is you're rereading is really important, not just another way of presenting the material. All major subjects are covered in a nonprejudicial way. It's an excellent resource for people first encountering philosophy or those who have forgotten some of philosophy's nuances on the subject. A major resource for all readers of philosophy.

A worthwhile (and inexpensive) introduction to one of the world's great buildings. There is some text by John Berman but it is essentially a pictorial book with just over a hundred photos that fortunately have quite detailed captions. The majority of these have been seen before but I've never seen the two on page seventy-nine showing the GoodYear dirigible Columbia attempting to pick up mailbags from the mooring mast. Perhaps the less said about that idea the better!

There are thirty-six photos showing the construction, mostly taken by famous reportage photographer Lewis Hine and a better showing of his photos can be seen in 'The Empire State Building' by Freddy Langer (ISBN 3791324918) The other main photo coverage is of the B-25 bomber that crashed in the building on July 28 1945. The rest of the photos show some interiors, visitors to the observation deck and a selection of the ESB during night and day, including the inevitable one of a lightning strike.

Perhaps the most intriguing item is on page twenty-six, it shows a page from a typewritten record of the construction by Starrett Brothers and Eken. There are seventy-seven of these pages and photos which were rediscovered in the mid-nineties and reproduced in 'Building The Empire State' by Carol Willis (ISBN 0393730301) a fascinating celebration of this stunning skyscraper.

I had the pleasure of meeting John Darcy Noble in 1999, and we've quickly become kindred spirits in the world of dolls. You can imagine my pleasure when he announced the publication of Rare and Lovely Dolls of Two Centuries! Told only as John Darcy Noble can, the book takes you on a magical tour of history. Not only do you learn about the rare value of dolls in our history, but John tells of meeting these dolls in such a way that the reader is drawn into the life of each. For anyone interested in how dolls play a part in the history of mankind, for anyone who enjoys being drawn into different worlds, for anyone who would love to meet the author, I recommend Rare and Lovely Dolls of Two Centuries. It's a rare and lovely book.

I got several ideas for saving money and having fun from this book. Great reading for the person planning retirement.

John Locke (1632-1704) wrote "Second Treatise of Government" in 1690, it was the main political philosophical source that our "Founding Fathers" went to in writing the "Declaration of Independence" and in forming our government. I think you should know something of Locke to understand what influenced his thinking. His father was a small landowner, attorney, Puritan and his political sympathies were with the Cromwell Parliament. Like Hobbes, Locke attended Oxford Univ. and did not think much about the curriculum or his professors. Most of his education came from reading books in the Univ. library. Renee Descartes and Sir Isaac Newton's writings greatly influenced Locke. Like Hobbes, he took a tutoring job teaching the son of the 1st Earl of Shaftesbury, and traveled Europe. His friendship with the Earl was beneficial in obtaining government appointments. During the political unrest in England, (1679-83) he fled to Holland because his liberal notions put him at odds with the government.

Locke writes the "Second Treatise of Government" to justify the Revolt of 1688 and the ascension of William of Orange to the English throne. The book argues against two lines of absolutist ideas. The first is Sir Robert Filmer's "patriarchal theory of divine right of kings; secondly, Hobbes argument for the sovereign's absolute power in his book "Leviathan." Locke argues that government emanates from the people. Locke's treatise rests like other political writings on its interpretation of human nature. He sees our nature opposite the way Hobbes did, decent and not as selfish or competitive. Man is more inclined to join society through reason and not fear. Man prefers stability to change.

His very important contribution to "law of nature" theory was his bias toward individualism. In state of nature, before government, men were free independent, equal enjoying inalienable rights "chief among them being life, liberty, and property." Where have you read that before? Property rights receive much attention in this treatise. Locke argues that government based on consent of man can still preserve freedom independence and equality.

His political writing had immediate influence in the world and influenced our founding fathers in their struggle against tyranny. He is an excellent writer and his theories are easy to understand by the laymen. As a graduate student of political philosophy, I recommend if you have an interest in politics, philosophy, or government then you must read Locke's "Second Treatise of Government"