B Books

REVIEWED BY: Wayne Walker
Carolyn Haywood (1898-1990) was a native of Philadelphia. One of America's most popular authors of children's books, she published her first book, "B" Is for Betsy, in 1939, and wrote more than forty books altogether. Many of her own childhood experiences can be found in her novels. In this book, Betsy has turned six. It chronicles her first year in school and tells how school goes from being a large and frightening place, based on the scary tales of Old Ned, her grandfather's hired hand, from his childhood school days, to being something exciting and interesting.
This book describes what schools were like in the "olden days." For example, just before Thanksgiving, Betsy's teacher tells how the Pilgrims gave thanks to God. Betsy is not an "ipsy-pipsy perfect" little girl. She is naughty on occasion, but she suffers the consequences of her actions, is sorry, and learns to do better. I had never heard of this series. Haywood's stories about her irrepressible character Betsy, originally consisting of twelve books, have never been out of print, and now the first four Betsy books are back for a whole new generation of young readers. The other three are Back to School with Betsy, Betsy and Billy, and Betsy and the Boys.

I read this book 30 years ago when I was in elementary school. It was probably the first "chapter" book I read. The story is sweet and simple and innocent. It harkens back to a time when children played and acted as children and the family was truly a family. When the fears children had were things like first days of school and crossing the street, not terrorism and pedophiles. Children in the book were respectful and well behaved.Adults loved and cherished the children in their lives. I do not like the new covers for I feel the pictures are too modern looking. I think some children would really enjoy the old fashioned pictures and styles of when the book was truly written. They would probably get a laugh out of how things have changed.

I bought this book for my son with the anticipation of next buying the Besty and Billy book. He enjoys it and I liked it too. I'm sure it can be easily read by a beginner.

Carolyn Haywood wrote "B" is for Betsy in 1939, but this story of a young girl's first year at school is timeless.

Betsy is an only child who is not looking forward to the first grade because Old Ned, a hired hand on her grandfather's farm, has shared unpleasant memories of the school he attended in his youth. Betsy soon discovers, however, that her own experience will be quite unlike Old Ned's. Her teacher is kind and friendly, and the classroom has neither a switch nor a dunce cap. Betsy quickly befriends Ellen, a little girl in her class, and Mr. Kilpatrick, the police officer who helps the children cross a busy street on the way to school.

The children in Betsy's class build a model of a Native American village and watch tadpoles turn into frogs. The first graders assemble a Thanksgiving basket for a poor, elderly woman who makes her living by selling pretzels, and give a circus performance for the sixth graders, which is enlivened by a visit by an organ-grinder and his monkey.

Outside of the classroom, the adventures continue. Betsy saves her money to buy Ellen the perfect birthday present. She rescues a lost dog and is given a cocker spaniel puppy. When Betsy goes to her grandfather's farm for the summer, she is thrilled when Ellen joins her.

This gentle story is timeless, and only a few words betray the fact that it was written nearly seventy years ago---for example, the word "policeman" instead of "police officer" or "Indian" instead of "Native American".

The children are occasionally naughty, but their transgressions are mild and their contrition sincere. The adults do hold the children accountable for their misbehavior, but are helpful and understanding instead of harsh.

This is an excellent book for children who are ready for chapter books, but are too young or sensitive to handle books with frightening or disturbing themes.

Carolyn Haywood's books were written in the 40's and 50's, yet they are timeless in their appeal. The stories about a spunky little girl and her loving family, friends, and school life are great to read aloud and a equally good for a child starting longer chapter books. This is the first in a series of books about Betsy and her friends, so there is lots more fun to look forward to when you finish the last chapter!

Sargeant W's efforts are helpful to Sanskrit lovers/learners. Sargeant Krishna & Sage Vyasa's message is made more transparent to sanskrit learners.

This book is meant for scholars or students looking to translate Bhagavad Gita and have a reference point for those difficult verses. There is nothing more to the book than an intro., and the Gita translated word for word. Even the verses themselves cannot be found whole. That is not to say that this isn't an excellent book. I have another similar book but he has some different opinions on the names: winthrop's Gudakesha- "thick haired one" but the other guy says: Gudakesha- "conquerer of sleep" This also happens with Hrishikesha: (don't quote me on this one) "spiny haired one" and the other guy writes Hrishikesha: "conquerer of the senses" I'm leaning toward the other guy (forgive me for not having the name) because the rest of the "nicknames" refer to past achievements and such. So, if you want to learn sanskrit and you're ready for the Gita this will be excellent, or if you're memorizing verses and want to know the exact meaning behind them, this is for you.

I have read over a dozen translations of Bhagavad Gita over the past 25 years. IMHO, this is the best English translation. The "inter-liner" translation is really a neat idea and I wish someone does inter-liner translations for other ancient works such as Thiru-Kural.

The book is a translation from Sanskrit to English. Excellent if that is what you are looking. However, if you are looking for interpretation or an understanding of what it means then better buy some other book like the Bhagavad-Gita As It Is by A. C. Bhaktivedanta. Some may call it biased, but I think it is better for a new reader.

This is an excellent interlinear translation. For each word, Sargeant gives grammatical information, like gender, case and number. Then each verse has an idiomatic translation to English which is very faithful to the original. Some verses also have a commentary - very useful. There is also an introduction describing the contents of the Mahabharata, of which the Bhagavad Gita is a part. One thing missing is an index, therefore I would recommend buying also Schweig's or Easwaran's translation.

I've read this book twice, the first time in one sitting. It's a great book for taking a look at Christian doctrines without having to crack an intimidating theology textbook. I highly recommend this book for use with a small group.

What Mr. Lucke has done with this novel has provided threads through which I can converse with close friends regarding topics I might otherwise avoid. As a theological resource, this novel's dialogue brings religiosity to the commonplace discussion. The book also includes well-developed characters either I know or am. Please read this book and engage in these conversations.

A good friend of mine gave me this book as I was looking for a deeper understanding of my faith and what I believe in. This book was amazing in how it really got to the core of who God is and how he fits into our lives. The author chose fun, interesting, and compassionate characters to make it a book I couldn't put down.

Reading "Common Grounds" is like overhearing any conversation in your local java hut--where people reflect on life and how to live it. Ultimately the conversations turn to questions we all ask--about purpose, God, suffering. Lucke (and Young) deftly explores the issues our culture wrestles with and presents the option of faith in a winsome, non-heavyhanded manner. Look forward to more in this series.

It seems that "theological novels" are becoming increasingly popular. Of course English literature began with a theological novel in the form of Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. In more recent years we have seen a series by Richard Belcher that has been quite popular in Reformed circles and Brian McLaren's somewhat notorious series, popular in Emerging Church circles, that began with A New Kind of Christian. A recent addition to this list is Common Grounds written by Glenn Lucke and Ben Young.

Ben Young is a Southern Baptist who is associate pastor of worship at the inconceivably huge Second Baptist Church in Houston, Texas. Glenn Lucke is a graduate of Reformed Theological Seminary and leads Docent Communications Group. Their relationship and a common concern about the lack of theological understanding in the young people they interacted with, led them to write a book presenting the basics of the faith. As they began to write the book evolved into its current narrative format.

Common Grounds is the story of three friends who are all at different places in life. Brad is a nominally Baptist investment banker; Lauren is an unbelieving former Catholic corporate attorney; Jarrod is a Charismatic graduate student in philosophy. These three friends gather each Sunday evening to talk and share their lives with each other. One day Brad meets a new friend, a semi-retired professor of theology. He invites this man to join their group and the professor begins to mentor them in the faith, presenting to them the foundations of Christian doctrine. These weekly conversations address critical doctrines such as sin, evil, revelation (both natural and special), sovereignty, and more.

This book is notable for at least two reasons. First, the doctrine presented is Scripturally-sound and consistent with Reformed theology. Second, the authors present a way of evangelizing people that is geared to a postmodern generation. They employ the twin concepts of narrative and story to present sound doctrine in a way that will appear to postmoderns more than the traditional abstract propositions one might find in a classic book like Evidence that Demands a Verdict. Today's generation is less-likely to be persuaded by a cold, rationalist presentation of the facts, and more likely to be persuaded by the presentation of a person's own testimony or story. Common Grounds will help believers understand how this can be effective.

My only concern with the book was that there was no clear presentation of the gospel. This postmodern method of evangelism can be effective, but only if it includes the gospel! My concern was alleviated, though, when Glenn Lucke sent me the following in an email. "The 3 key missing words on the last page are 'To Be Continued.' Book 2 is largely done but needs revision as MacGregor continues to teach Brad and Jarrod more deeply about the Christian faith and to explain it to skeptic Lauren." Common Grounds is only the first chapter of the story. I look forward to reading the continuation of this fascinating dialogue. I echo Al Mohler's endorsement where he writes, "If you want to reach the postmodern generation, read this book and give it to your friends."

There is only one word to describe the author and the book, simply amazing..the book was very informative and very detailed and covered many important different aspects of life. The book opens your mind and thoughts to things you wouldn't even thought of. Very impressive!

There is only one word to describe the author and the book, simply amazing..the book was very informative and very detailed and covered many important different aspects of life. The book opens your mind and thoughts to things you wouldn't even thought of. Very impressive!

This book succinctly explains how lack of emotion is affecting our world in negative and destructive ways. This book explains how compassion and cooperation gives hope for our world. One of the first steps we must take is to acknowledge that differences exist and to respect the differences even though we do not all think in the same way. We must feel comfortable with ourselves and with others even if they are different from us. This will lead to better communication which can only lead to better lives for us. Finally, we also need to realize that communication is not just between people, but also between people and the world we live in

I have recently read compassion: a new philosophy. It has opened my eyes to other religions and religious thoughts. Although not converting me to perspectivism the book was insightful. It also made me think about the cruelty to animals.

Before reading this book I thought I knew alot about everything, this book has helped me to see things from many different points of view. There is so much information in the book that I found facinating. Reading this book has changed the way I think about history and other cultures.

you have to read betrayal of a hustler before you read this so you can keep up it seems to me it should be a part three but it is fantastic i finished the two books in about four days.it was like watching a movie i couldnt put them down until i was done.

This book was good. I couldn't wait to read the second on. Lisa and Chino knew they were wrong but hey that's how the story goes.

IF YOU DON'T KNOW BETRAYAL OF A HUSTLER IS FIRST READ THEN COMES THE SEQUEL. I LIKED THE SEQUEL WAY BETTER NOT TO SAY THAT THE 1ST ONE WASN'T GOOD. IT ANSWERED THE QUESTIONS I ASKED IN MY REVIEW WITH BETRAYAL OF A HUSTLER. I SWEAR THAT LISA IS DUMB AND I CANNOT UNDERSTAND HOW SHE GETS ALL THE GOOD MEN WITH HER WAYZ. THERE IS GOING TO BE A 3RD PART TO THIS TRILOGY AND I CANNOT WAIT BECAUSE SO MUCH HAS HAPPENED IN THIS ONE WORDS CANNOT DESCRIBE. YOU MUST READ THIS BOOK IF U THOUGHT NOT TOO IT IS A MUST. GO COP THIS ASAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

very very good i'm a truck driver and the book was so good i was pulling over on the side of the road just to get in some reading it had me not wanting to put the book down excellent read

Chino Wells makes a grand re-entrance in A Dead Man's Vengeance to renew the love triangle that transcends into a full blown circle.

At the end of Betrayal of a Hustler, Chino is shot and left for dead. But his right hand man, Knees, wasn't haven' it, and Chino was nursed back to health and sent to recuperate in Virginia with his fam. Chino is back to reclaim his true love, Lisa, and his territory.

Since Chino's death, Lisa has tried to move on with her life with husband/doctor Chris and son Jordan. Lisa and Chris' lives are turned upside down when Chino returns and wreaks havoc on both their lives.

In the meantime, Jamaican drug lord Shark has joined forces with assassin Abu and his crew of killers. Shark and daughter Shantel have tried to get on with their lives after Shantel's mother, Shelly, was gunned down by Chino.

A Dead Man's Vengeance is a very suspenseful work of fiction that had me even more intrigued than it's predecessor. I look forward to the release of The Vendetta.

As the years have passed, more Holocaust memoirs have become available but most are "emotion recollected in tranquility." Barry Spanjaard wrote his memories immediately after the war, in 1946 while a student at VMI and that closeness to the events makes it more effective in bringing home the horror of his experiences than a tome written by a more mature survivor. He draws the Amsterdam of his childhood with such a loving hand that I can feel the crisp air as he pulls on his prized shoe skates and sense his excitement mixed with fear to watch the first of the German planes over his city. Definitely recommended for anyone with an interest in Holocaust memoirs, even more so for teens who have perhaps read the Anne Frank "Diary of a Young Girl" and want to know more.

I found this in a Used Book Store- I had not heard of it, but read it and thought it's certainly an important and incredible memoir of being in the Holocaust and everyone who is interested in this subject should read this book- I've read all books on this subject and this is one of the best- I coudn't put it down and it was expertly written. We should thankful that Mr. Spanjaard decided to write his experiences. There are two very historically important observations he adds to history- he paints a vivid picture of Westerbork- the transit camp- add his experience with that of Etty Hillesum and her letters from Westerbork, and both give a sense of what that was like, at least from two perspectives.

The 2nd is about Bergen-Belsen. Many Holocaust narratives are from Auschwitz and they are very important, but it is also important to hear about the others- and Spanjaard successfully conveyed that experience to me in his book. The horror of it is very real and he does an excellent job getting across to us what it was like. You get a sense of maturity from him that leaves no doubt that what he says is how it happened through his eyes.

I just thought it was GREAT.

I was very impressed with this book. I have been studying the holocaust for years and this is by far the best book ive read on the subject. This book gives the reader a very good idea of what it was like to be in germany at the time of the holocaust.
Unlike "The Diary of Anne Frank" this book goes into the concentraiton camps where the real horror of the holocaust took place. This is a book you just cant put down.

This book is a personal account of a teenager who was in a concentration camp during World War II. I had the privilege of hearing Barry Spanjaard speak at my high school in the late 1980's, and it made the experience of reading the book even more personal. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning about the holocaust from someone with first-hand experience.

I had the pleasure of meeting Mr.Spanjaard in the spring of 1983 when he began his middle school talks that introduced this incredible book to the world.I was 14 and found Barry to be the kindest most compassionate man i had ever met. He was so excited to share his very important story with all of us and yet so interested in who we were. His wife Bunny was equally sensitive and caring.I plan to have my children read this book when they reach the appropriate age and would recommend it to anyone who has a teenager that needs resources for reports on the Holocaust. And wherever Barry, as he insisted we call him,is today I send him love and appreciation for sharing his remarkable story with the world. :)

Doug Moo offers a great exegetical and expositional commentary with the PNTC series offering on James. Well worth the buy, if you don't have a solid commentary on James. Nothing too crazy, and lots of compelling argumentation for his positions.

If you are looking for an answer to a question raised about the meaning of the book of Phillipians, you could not find a better treatment. This is a wonderful resource and fine treatment of the text. I used it in a series of sermons, and found it very easy to acess and get the gems of the book.

I have five critical commentaries on James (Lenski, Bruce, Woods, Martin, and now Moo). This one will more than likely be the primary source for me when I study the book in a critical fashion. He is thorough and that is what I want. If you are a preacher looking for something quick and in summary form, a smaller work might be more useful. For me, as a preacher, if I am in the circumstance where I need something quick I am already in trouble. I like the Pillar Series. Not long ago I read of one's review that was overly critical of the work on the epistles of John - I do not subscribe to that sentiment at all. It is a good series!

`The Epistle of James' by James B. Adamson, 1976, 227 pages in the series The New International Commentary on the New Testament; `The Letter of James' by Douglas J. Moo, 2000, 271 pages, a volume in the series The Pillar New Testament Commentary; and `James' by Ralph P. Martin, 1988, 240 pages, A volume in the series Word Biblical Commentary are all `full featured' and recent commentaries on the first of the short `catholic' epistles in the New Testament.

I find it amazing how different the material is in these three volumes. After 1800 years of commentary, one would expect a fair amount of uniformity in thinking about this short letter, but there is a remarkable range of differences in emphasis among the three.

Those of you who are familiar with the world of biblical commentary will recognize that all three are part of major series of commentaries. Adamson and Moo belong to series dedicated to the New Testament, while Martin's volume is an offering of a larger series on both Old and New Testaments. And, each volume is organized in a way to match the editorial style of their series. This is most clearly seen in Martin's volume, as his work is organized in virtually the same way as the much larger work on Paul's Epistle to the Romans by the distinguished scholar, James D. G. Dunn. This is no surprise, as Martin is the New Testament editor for his series, the Word Biblical Commentary.

Ranked by scholarly detail, Martin has the most and Adamson has the least, with Moo somewhere in between; but don't take from this that Martin is heavy on the Greek and Adamson has no original Greek. All three are specifically written for the scholar and assume that the reader either knows classical Greek or is willing to slog through all the Greek words and expressions. The irony here is that while Martin is the most heavily scholarly, it may also be the most accessible to the lay or strictly pastoral user, since this series divides scholarly observations into the `Comments' on each paragraph, while more general thoughts are spelled out in straight English in the `Form/Structure/Setting' section and later in the `Explanation' section following the `Comments'. Adamson organizes all his `special' or more technical topics in `Excursus' sections following his main commentary. I found this just a tad distracting, especially when I discovered some mistakes in references to these Excursus sections in the main text.

All three authors give us their own translations of the text, and all three agree on where the difficult phrases are to be found. If I were to pick a volume purely on the basis of their translation, I would prefer Adamson, as he seems to give translations that best resolve these difficult sections. But, in all three cases, the authors agree on where the difficulties lie and, in general, the nature of the difficulties.

In the three authors' introductory chapter on the author, themes, and canonical status of the letter, all three agree on the major points. They uniformly agree, for example on the belief that the letter does, in fact, represent the thoughts or writings of James, the brother of Jesus, who was head of the Christian Jews in Jerusalem up to about 62 CE. They also agree that the final form of the letter was rewritten and polished sometime in the early 2nd century, CE. The authors are also uniform in their citing Martin Luther's misunderstanding of James; however, I would give Luther credit for seeing scriptural support of many Roman Catholic doctrines, even if any sound reading of `James' shows that this support is probably stretching James points just a little too far.

On the major themes of the letter, I generally prefer Martin's emphasis on the three topics of `Wisdom', `Perfection', and `The Piety of the Poor' to the other authors' interest in theology and the law. James is clearly spending less times on these typically Pauline topics than he is on lessons for a Christian life.

Among all the other differences, it is most remarkable to see all the differences between how the three authors structure an outline of the short letter. If you didn't know better, you may think they were talking about two different writings. This is just a symptom of the fact that `James' is much less a theological argument a la `Romans' and much more a collection of lessons on prayer, right Christian behavior, and the implications of faith. This is consistent with the fact that the letter has much in common with the Gospels, especially the Gospel of Matthew (See Martin).

One last difference I detect between the three is the fact that Martin makes more connections to modern theology of, for example Dietrich Bonhoffer, while Moo and Adamson have more citations to the great reformers, Calvin and Luther.

If I had to pick only one of these, I would go with Martin's volume in the Word Biblical Commentary series. If I were interested only in pastoral interpretation, I would go with Moo or the article `The Letter of James' by Luke Timothy Johnson in `The New Interpreter's Bible', since both refer heavily to the standard NIV and NRSV translations. If your interest is in a scholarly study of the letter, you will probably want all three.

This is Moo's second commentary on the epistle of James. He wrote his first one in 1985 as part of the Tyndale series. This commentary is the result of fifteen years of reflection on that work. The content of this commentary makes it evident that this is the mature thought of a noted scholar on the letter of James. Those fifteen years left him more convinced "that the heart of the letter is a call to wholehearted commitment to Christ" (x).
Moo provides a lengthy introduction to this epistle (46 pages worth). This introduction includes the history of James in the church, nature and genre, authorship, theology, occasion and date, and structure of James. Concerning authorship, Moo holds that James, the bother of Christ, is the author. He presents arguments against this traditional view and then answers them. The section on the theology of the book is a feature more commentaries would do well to include. He dates the writing of the letter around the middle of the 40s AD. This is important because the date of writing has great implication on the relationship of the letter to Paul's teachings. Moo does not place a ridge structure on the letter. Instead, he finds "several key motifs" which "are often mixed together with other themes in paragraphs that cannot be labeled as neatly as we might like" (45). Denying the assertion of some commentators that the letter has no unifying purpose, Moo argues that the central concern of the letter is spiritual wholeness of the readers (47).
Moo's analysis of the text is insightful. His word studies are well done. He presents a wide range of possible meanings but uses the context to determine which meaning is James's meaning. Moo also does a good job in showing James's relationship with Paul. James is not writing against Paul. James means something different by faith than does Paul. They are addressing different problems.
The format of the commentary is user friendly for the most part. One helpful aspect is that Moo's introductory notes precede the verse by verse exposition of major points and most sub-points. Moo transliterates Greek words making the commentary usable to those who do not have the advantage of knowing Greek. One slight critique concerns the chapter divisions. The chapter divisions of the commentary are based on the chapters of James. This is fine, but the table of contents is broken down by his outline. One would whish the editors would choose a method of division and stay with it. The only other criticism is that Moo's writing style can be difficult at times. These two minor criticisms in no way change the fact that this is a masterpiece. It is short at only 251 pages not counting indexes. Anyone from a layperson to a scholar will benefit from this commentary. This reviewer would recommend it without hesitation (something he does not do often).

This book explains the general principles of financial planning and gives other resources of useful information. It also talks about some specific situations. While it cannot teach you how to do it yourself, it is a good start for everyone who needs to do financial planning!

This is a great book. It is full of helpful information on the financial planning process. I highly recommend it!

If you are cautious on your personal finance and don't want to just listen to your financial advisor, the book might be good for you. It covers a lot of topics of personal finance. The second part is especially good. It talks about the financial issue at life time changes such as marriage, becoming parents, divorce, etc. Very solid information on tax issues. A lot of tips on tax saving.

When I started teaching financial planning to US Air Force officers planning on reentering the general economy it was a little known subject and you had to scout up your material from pamphlets, magazines and newspapers with help from stockbrokers.
"Ernst & Young's Personal Financial Planning Guide" published by John Wiley & Sons, which is the same publishing house that publishes the JK Lasser's tax manual puts the information all in one volume.
Of intense interest to us is the chapter on starting your own business, which as authors we are doing in our senior years. The material is geared to the younger generation who are just starting out, but the advice is sound and easy to understand without an extensive background in accounting and economics.
Financial planning is rough at this period in our history, because of the skyrocketing prices of necessary goods and services not used in the consumer price index, hence they are excluded from inflation percentage calculations. Gasoline, medicines and health care are three I can name, off hand, that affect the general population, but fall outside the index. This phenomena is not addressed in the planning guide, but then Congress has not touched it since the Johnson adminstration either. It is not something that winning the lottery will answer for an individual, but it is like trying to hold a large balloon half-full of water in one-hand and keep it round.
"Personal Financial Planning Guide' is the best we have found for a realistic look at all aspects of financial planning. The table of contents and index are outstanding for locating information.
Nash Black, author of "Taxes, Stumbling Blocks & Pitfalls for Authors 2007."

Absolutely one of the best financial planning reference tools around! If your personally planning to restructure your financial life or hire a professional to do it for you, then this book is a must have. It provides a wealth of information as well as an extensive array of guidelines and tips for every area of your life . I especially like that it brings to light concerns of areas you may not be immediately affected by (aging parents) but should be planning for now. Having hired a professional, this book has proved Indispensable in that we have been able to knowingly select and plan individual or particular methods of approach towards our financial futures and better implement them through a professional planner!!!

The young Hal and his instructor in the art of living the good life , Falstaff cavort through the first half of Henry IV as if life were going to be one long , irresponsible entertainment. The dramatic transformation of all of this , and Hal's casting off of Falstaff, and moving to kingly responsibility will come in the Henry IV Part II.
What is present here throughout is the tremendous richness of Shakespeare's imagination in his creation of character, and inventiveness in language , in his ability to create so many different moods and feelings.
'Falstaff' is one of Shakespeare's most beloved characters, and one of the great figures in the Comedy of world literature.
Enjoy.

In Part One of Shakespeare's "Henry IV," the titular king tries to defend his throne from a rebel army led by the hotheaded Hotspur, who has a long list of grievances about the king's treatment of his family, the Percys. Hotspur has allied himself with several principal figures including his uncle the Earl of Worcester, his brother-in-law Mortimer the Earl of March, Lord Douglas the Scot, and Owen Glendower, a Welsh chieftain with a vivid mystical imagination -- he is so egotistical that he insists an earthquake that occurred the day of his birth was a divine proclamation of his importance -- and a desire to usurp all of Wales from the king.

While he is preparing for war against the rebels, Henry IV laments that his own son Henry (Hal), the Prince of Wales, is a shameful libertine living the high life in London and consorting with a gang of scurrilous miscreants. Indeed, Prince Hal's idea of fun is robbing people, and his best friend and accomplice in this activity is Sir John Falstaff, who turns out to be not Hal's peer but a middle-aged man. In a character transformation of an abruptness that can only be described as magical, Hal becomes a serious young man determined loyally to defend his father's kingship from Hotspur's assault after he receives an earnest lecture from his father about the dangers of acting irresponsibly as a public figure.

Not enough can be said about Falstaff, who is undoubtedly one of the most richly realized characters in literature. He is fat, lazy, cowardly, yet boastful, but not in the same way Owen Glendower is -- Owen really believes what he says; Falstaff is just trying to make himself look better than he actually is, but fools nobody because he prevaricates and embellishes without bothering to remember his previous lies for the sake of consistency. You probably know somebody like this in real life -- especially if you're ten years old. Falstaff's piquancy, in fact, so outweighs the stature of the other characters that his absence is sorely felt in the scenes in which he does not appear.

Most of all, Part One of "Henry IV" is a play of contrasts personified by Prince Hal and Hotspur, who incidentally is also named Henry. In their confrontation on the battlefield, it seems unlikely that Hal, who wasted many of his best days living as a rake, could conquer a seasoned warrior like Hotspur in a swordfight. But there wouldn't be much of a tale to tell if not to show Hal triumphing after his resolution to change his weak habits, and the play ends with the conviction that, despite his past mistakes, he would make a noble king himself.

This is the play where the Percy rebellion begins and centers around the Achilles-like Hotspur. Eventually, Hotspur (Henry Percy) and Prince Hal (Henry Monmouth - later Henry V) battle in single combat.

We also get to see the contrast between these young men in temperament and character. King Henry wishes his son were more like Hotspur. Prince Hal realizes his own weaknesses and seems to try to assure himself (and us) that when the time comes he will change and all his youthful foolishness will be forgotten. Wouldn't that be a luxury we wish we could all have afforded when we were young?

Of course, Prince Hal's guide through the world of the cutpurse and highwayman is the Lord of Misrule, the incomparable Falstaff. His wit and gut are featured in full. When Prince Hal and Poins double-cross Falstaff & company, the follow on scenes are funny, but full of consequence even into the next play.

But, you certainly don't need me to tell you anything about Shakespeare. Like millions of other folks, I am in love with the writing. However, as all of us who read Shakespeare know, it isn't a simple issue. Most of us need help in understanding the text. There are many plays on words, many words no longer current in English and, besides, Shakespeare's vocabulary is richer than almost everyone else's who ever lived. There is also the issue of historical context, and the variations of text since the plays were never published in their author's lifetime.

For those of us who need that help and want to dig a bit deeper, the Arden editions of Shakespeare are just wonderful.

-Before the text of the play we get very readable and helpful essays discussing the sources and themes and other important issues about the play.

-In the text of the play we get as authoritative a text as exists with helpful notes about textual variations in other sources. We also get many many footnotes explaining unusual words or word plays or thematic points that would likely not be known by us reading in the 21st century.

-After the text we get excerpts from likely source materials used by Shakespeare and more background material to help us enrich our understanding and enjoyment of the play.

However, these extras are only available in the individual editions. If you buy the "Complete Plays" you get text and notes, but not the before and after material which add so much! Plus, the individual editions are easier to read from and handier to carry around.

I am actually reviewing both Parts One and Two with this since they should be read together.The reason why I enjoyed these plays so much is because we see Falstaff in both of them. He is my favourite Shakespearean character - big, bawdy, rough, a liar and a cheat, but again we know what he is right from the beginning, and Shakespeare keeps him so true to character. These plays are a bit different from some of the other histories. There are more comedic parts in them for one thing. The plays are certainly used as a medium for introducing young Hal (who will become King Henry V). We see him as a young man, and watch him grow and see the influences that his society and the people in it have on his development. He doesn't appear to be growing up well according to his father because he is so irresponsible. King Henry IV was not England's strongest ruler. He was haunted by his guilt over the death of his predecessor, King Richard II. In Part Two, comedy still plays a big role, and we still see Falstaff's influence on young Hal until the shocking moment of Falstaff's death. The best part about Part Two though is the deathbed scene between old King Henry IV and his son Prince Henry. The play leads us to "King Henry V". Prince Hal does finally grow up and he becomes a very strong leader. Actually King Henry Iv, Parts one and two should be read before King Henry V. It is the correct sequence and we see Prince Hal grow and mature.

Henry IV remains one of my favorite Shakespeare plays, even though the tragedies and comedies get far more attention and seeming appreciation than do the histories. As an English major, I examined Henry's (Hal's) character, and I focused on his development from a somewhat foolhardy young man into a self-assured, even manipulative prince. It is hard to say which of these Hal truly is, or if he is a little bit of both.

At the beginning of the play, Hal spends his free time cavorting around with his friend Falstaff (who provides all of the laughs in the play and is cited as one of the best comic characters in all literature). In the first act we already see hints in Hal's sololiquy that he may not be as carefree as we are led to believe, and that he might betray friends like Falstaff to be the prince that he is expected to be. Read on in "Henry V" to see just how much of a polished politician Hal becomes--his battle cries and his "once more unto the breech, dear friends" is masterful in its persuasiveness and ability to induce his countrymen to fight.

Hotspur serves as a nice counterpoint to Hal in "Henry IV." Hotspur is the hothead and Hal makes his decisions calmly and rationally. This almost inhuman rationality comes into play again in "Henry V" and makes you long for the seemingly carefree Hal.

All in all, "Henry IV" is a great read and quite an interesting character study--I highly recommend it!

I'm really enjoying this book. It is by far the most comprehensible delivery of general relativity I've read. Other books have the math, but lack in explaining how the math relates to physical reality. This gets both, without going light on the math. I understand general relativity much better than I did before.

It's a great book. I like it. No too much mathematics, but it is enough to explain the physics.

The book was shipped from New Zeland. It arrived to me in Italy 20-15 days before the standard international shipping's time, in perfect conditions, as bought from the bookshop. I saved about 20 euros.

This product was exactly as described, in great condition and shipped in a timely manner.

It was probably my error, I suppose I did not read enough reviews about this text book, but I bought this book believing it would contain more text and less math. I was wrong! I read into about a third of the book and started losing interest. It is not that it is a bad book, nor am I saying it is not interesting, but the caveat here is ... interesting to who?

I believe this book is aimed more at those with an interest in math and or the explanation of all theory at the mathematical level. I understand mathematics is the underlying point behind Einstein's theory of gravity, but I am not well educated in complicated mathematical formulas (they tend to put me to sleep) and when I purchased the book I was more interested in someone's explanation(s) of the underlying theories by way of the English language and not by way of mathematics. I prefer formulas be translated to English, similar to how computers translate lower-level assembly languages to higher-level languages for user-friendly interaction with a computer.

Bottom line: Buy the book if you have at least a rudimentary background in mathematical formulas or if you are willing to read between the pages and pages of formulas to pick up the useful and informative information in the book. Otherwise, I suggest looking elsewhere.