G Books

This was by far the most comprehensive, detailed and informative book on Parkinson's disease I have read.
The author is an Early On Set Parkinson's patient and yet, with support, has been able to continue to raise his family and work full-time at his job as Editor of the Los Angeles Times.

He thoroughly investigates medications and other medical proceedures available and their benefits and disadvantages, which I found extremely helpful- certainly more information than I received from any physician.

Further, the author discusses, with amazing frankness, his own physical and mental challenges, which takes it beyond pure information to a story of courage and personal growth.

Joel Havemann brings the journalist's practiced eye for detail, detachment and clarity of expression to the task of understanding, describing and coping with Parkinson's. He also allows his heart to speak and the result is a work that should be especially valuable to those who have themselves have recently received a Parkinson's diagnosis or who have a close relative or friend thus stationed.
The book offers clear and interestingly presented facts about the various drugs, treatments and hopeful research that become an integral part of having Parkinson's, as well as the historical and public policy context in which those elements have evolved in the centuries since the disease was first identified. There is just the right mix of facts, opinion and sometimes barely concealed disgust in Havemann's treatment of these matters.
As valuable as those chapters are, I think many will find Havemann's account of his personal odyssey and that of his family to be the more valuable aspect of his book. He is unstinting in his descriptions of the physical and mental effects of the disease and frank about his occasional failures to deal with those effects as effectively as he would like. He also spares little in telling of his fears about the disease's potential progress and what it could mean for him and his family.
I can't think of a better preparation for confronting the many challenges and crises that accompany the arrival of Parkinson's in the life of an individual and family. A Life Shaken is strongly recommended.

Other books about PD scared the heck out of me, but Havemann's sense of humor and indomitable spirit have changed my perspective. I'm not afraid anymore. Thank you Joel. The book is honest and straightforward. He describes what happens to a brain with PD so clearly that I finally understand it!

Author Joel Havemann weaves his own story of living with this progressive neurological disease with a clear and carefully researched explanation that ranges from symptoms and drugs to challenges and the outlook for a cure. "For an adventure it is - not one that I would have chosen, but an adventure all the same." Mr. Havemann, an editor with the Washington bureau of the Los Angeles Times, helps us look at the human brain and its intricate yet magnificent operation, and the disastrous consequences of even the simplest misfire. He has created an excellent reference guide for caregiver, family member and patient alike that affirms the paradox of our own frustrations and hopes for the future. We feel Mr. Havemann's determination to keep going for his family, anger at the debilitating symptoms, and belief that the scientific and medical communities will deliver an answer.

Mr. Havemann provides us with an incredibly personal view into Parkinson's disease. His wit, candor, and superb writing style draws the reader into his story to such a degree that it is difficult to disengage. While telling his story he concurrently entertains and educates the reader as to where medicine stands with regard to research and current treatment, and how individuals cope. I'm looking forward to his next work.

ES INCREIBLE, VERDAD?
Pero yo lo experimente!
LOS CHISTES SON FUERA DE SERIE...
NO HAY OTRO COMO ESTE !

QUIZÁS PODRÍA DECIRLES, SIN FALTAR A LA VERDAD, QUE ES EL MEJOR ANTIDEPRESIVO DEL MUNDO !
QUE NO HAY NINGUNA COLECCION COMO ESTA ( Es cierto )
Que hasta un muerto se reiria de estos chistes ( Es muy posible )
QUE NO HAY UNO SOLO COPÍADO O REVOLCADITO..Todos originales,todos buenisísisimos...

I can assure you...
THE FUNNIEST!
WICKEDEST!
WITTY!
ORIGINAL!
UNIQUE!

NO te imaginas lo que te vas a repir con estos chistesísimos !
Son los mejores que he leído !

I bet no one can resist them!
THE BEST COLLECTION EVER !

This is an awesome book for any Marilyn Monroe fan - hundreds of amazing art images, most rarely seen. There was a time in the 20s and 30s when movie stars were not photographed for magazine covers but drawn by artists. MM missed that period during her life but she is now probably the subject of the work of more artists than any movie star before or since - many of these art works are to be found in this lavishly illustrated volume. Highly recommended!

Anyone who loves the image of Marylin Monroe will enjoy its rendition by various artists in this book.

I am an artist in this book and recommend it to the fullest! Check out page 164.

Marilyn Monroe was an icon of our time. It is hard to believe that if she had lived she would have just had her eightieth birthday. And it's hard to believe that she has been dead for forty four years. She was only 36 when she died.

This book, MARILYN IN ART is a beautiful collection of drawings made of her by a wide variety of artists. In some cases she is cartoon like, others more like classical photographs. Each seems to manage to capture some essense of the woman. The art is combined with short quotes from a wide range of people who knew her, worked with her, photographed her or had some kind of relationship with her.

The book doesn't attempt to answer any of the questions about her death, it doesn't go into a psychological analysis of the likelihood of suicide. Instead it is a tribute to her, to her work, to the times she helped to create. And in this it is a great book. Perhaps the art shows more of the inside of Marilyn than photographs could. It's a book hard to put down, even after you've been through it once.

The book has finally reached me and waiting for it was well worth it. What a great feeling to see some of my art work in it! A lot of the art works published in it is truly beautiful and there is everything to fit all tastes! What a pleasure it is to see some friends' paintings: William Davies, Albert Leonard, Mary Belzunce, Frederic Cabanas... Thank you to Roger Taylor for compiling such a superb book.A must for all fans!
Marc Gélis

The idea of a "pregnant virgin" is just one of the unusual tales found in the Holy Bible. "Marry A Pregnant Virgin: Unusual Bible Stories for New and Curious Christians" is a examination of such initially perplexing tales. A guide to understanding and interpreting these Biblical stories, "Marry a Pregnant Virgin" is ideal for young Christians seeking more precise understanding of what the Bible is meant to teach. A fine gift to any curious religious teen.

This latest gem from Frank Honeycutt is an exceptionally insightful celebration of the wondrous oddness of the Bible. Although written primarily with new Christians in mind, this book will also appeal to those with a mature faith who are open to the multiple meanings, the "polyvalent" quality of the peculiar Bible stories Honeycutt has selected. One such oddity Honeycutt cites is God's bidding to Ezekiel to "eat this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it." Scripture is meant to be devoured, apparently, not merely read. Well, if Ezekiel's response to this direction was to serve as a sort of prophetic scriptural chef, Honeycutt's calling seems to be something like a biblical wine steward (not inappropriate for an active pastor) because he serves up these unusual stories like individual glasses of fine wine, each held up to a new light to look for new color, each sniffed for new aroma, each sipped and yes, devoured, for new taste and nourishment. Hold the vintage story of Mary and Joseph up to the light and turn the glass a bit. There is certainly miracle aplenty in Mary's virginal pregnancy, but what of the miracle of Joseph's acceptance of his role, against every tenet of custom, law and "righteousness" of his time? Sample again the story of Peter's raising of Tabitha (aka Dorcas, the "gazelle"). It is a miracle indeed that she rises from the dead in response to Peter's call to "get up." But as Honeycutt notes, that same simple phrase is also used to described the first step taken by disciples beginning their ministry. We are called to "get up" on this side of the grave,too. Resurrection can occur now. Or taste again the exciting nautical tale of Jesus saving his fellow sailor disciples from certain sinking and drowning by quelling the storm's winds and waves. More miracle. Swirl that story around a little, though, and see that the truer miracle is Jesus equipping us with the means to develop a faith mature enough to weather any such storm. So open Honeycutt's book as you would a fine bottle of wine and devour these old, odd stories anew!

In MARRY A PREGNANT VIRGIN Rev. Frank Honeycutt offers challenging, insightful essays/sermons on biblical texts that may be familiar to the reader but that are seen anew through the lens of Honeycutt's keen intelligence and unexpected angles of vision. These carefully crafted reflections forcefully remind us that genuine conversion is an ongoing process, that both individual Christians and the churches to which they belong must continually renew their commitment to discipleship. As the author remarks, "One of the reasons that many churches are so diminished here early in the twenty-first century is that our perception of Jesus and his claim upon our lives is often so stunted." This book deepens the readers' understanding of that claim and encourages closer examination of the biblical texts on which that claim is grounded. Highly recommended!

This book is refreshing. Frank Honeycutt is not about telling the readers what the scriptures mean for them. Instead, readers are invited along on an exploration of a text. Frank has a keen sense of the connections and plausible interpretations of texts throughout the scriptures. Readers are invited to dig deeply into the possible meanings and theological implications of the messages found there. He shares his own connections to the text from his life experience and readers are spirited away to explore the meanings for themselves. This book does not claim to have all the answers, but it does ask plenty of great questions. The book requires the reader to think honestly about biblical literature. It challenges the reader to be open to the ancient scriptures in dealing with the demands of modern living.

One of the challenges of doing Bible study is to get participants to hear familiar texts in radical ways. Marry a Pregnant Virgin, by Frank Honeycutt, is at once playful and dead on deep in its treatment of Biblical stories. In Honeycutt's hands the explosive potential of these stories comes alive. He has a gift for taking a detail which is often overlooked and bringing out the significance which was hiding in plain sight. The chapters are constructed around the liturgical year and texts from the Common Lectionary. Equipped with reflection questions at the end of each chapter, this book begs to be used in group study. But Marry a Pregnant Virgin is also one of those rare books which serves equally well as the focus of one's morning devotions and as the springboard for a preacher in search of a fresh insight into texts which have become domesticated by repeated, unimaginative hearings. This is the work of one who believes that texts are not archeological relics to be dispassionately displayed, but living organisms capable of surprising and transforming the hearer.

This is a grerat resource for a men's bible study or men's ministry. The scripture and applications are great.

I chose this book as a study for our men's group. It has proven to be a valuable tool in helping men grow spiritually. Great book from a great pastor.

This is an excellent book for men, my husband is using it for a men's bible study. It is excellent material!!!

The Measure of a Man is a fast read that expands on the characteristics of a leader mentioned in Paul's letters to Timothy and Titus. Together with the workbook and video series on the topic, I believe it enhances our growth as Christian men and moves us along our journey toward becoming the men God created us to be.

This is a great book for a great price, and was shipped fairly fast. I would purchase more again... which i probably will have to because i have given out all of my copies!

In this book, the hypochondriac genius of movies, radio, television, and the concert stage delivers all the neurotic humor expected. But the author, a talented writer as well as one of the great pianists of the 20th century, also succeeds at conveying the ambience of the artistic world of the 1920s through 1950s. His insights about his contemporaries, including celebrated conductors, musicians, composers, and actors, are fascinating.

Luckily found this among my mother's books, the title caught my eye. When asked about it, my mother laughed softly. I thought, if it can make her laugh it must be funny; well it's the best humor, and I turned to a page and busted out laughing. It's more than that. I read the one I bought from time to time, and there is always a point of feeling I'm in the belly of a beast. Such integrity I'd never known, and never felt I could fit in this world 'til reading "Memoirs of an Amnesiac".

My son had to explain (to my wife) the joke behind the title. An amnesiac can't remember and a memoir is a written record of memories. Hence, a contradiction, but still a great title and an emblematic preview of what's to come when you read this book. And you do want to read this book because Oscar Levant is unique, funny, honest, interesting, and weird. He is the kind of person that you want to read about because he seemed to know everyone who was anyone in American music or in American film and of course he has the inside scoop on those people including Harpo Marx, Louis Mayer, Irving Berlin, Fanny Brice, Aaron Copland, Arnold Schoenberg, Dorothy Parker, Paul Whiteman, Judy Garland, Arturo Toscanini, and Harry Truman. Oscar Levant, as SN Behrman said, is the kind of person that if he had not existed, could not be imagined. Yes, he's that bad. Because he is brutally honest about his life, his loves, his obsessions and compulsions, his drug addictions and his music and friends, we have here a real-life true quill biography that takes no prisoners and lacks the usual apology or gloss or pastiche so common these days. Brutal honesty - that's the ticket. Oscar has to tap eight times to get water from the faucet. He has to tap eight times to shut the water off. He needs to name each street his limo passes and if he misses the name, his driver has to circle back to get the name. He will throw away a pack of cigarettes if someone talks while he is opening the pack. His wife, June, (her title should be Saint June) who picked up the pieces after each nervous breakdown, still must have a separate waste paper pail in each room so that she doesn't contaminate the waste paper in his pail. When Oscar had his heart attack, he had to go through all his night time rituals before he could get into bed for the doctor to check him. In short - a real nut case. And yet, and yet, a world-class pianist, composer, television and film personality who led a life well lived. You wouldn't want him in your home for dinner unless, of course, he kept his mouth shut and just played his marvelous interpretations of George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, which, incidentally, I am listening to right now. Ah, genius, - it has its problems and it has its pleasures.

This has always been one of my favorite books. I recall reading it for the first time as a pre-teen, and chuckling at his OUTRAGEOUS stories. I'm probably among the last generation that remembers this brilliant man, which is a shame. In the days of the great "talk shows", like Jack Paar, etc.., Oscar Levant was always one of the most coveted, and controversial, guests. I remember seeing him on t.v., as a kid, & being fascinated by this odd looking man who, though I quite honestly didn't get 90% of what he was saying, was obviously someone truly unique. This book has all his irreverent humor, the humor even evident in his telling of his long battle with mental illness, and his extreme, then un-named "obsessive-compulsive" disorder. His brutal honesty about his ordeal was unheard of at that time, and was long before the trend of todays celebrities, who do everything but hawk their x-rays on informercials. There's many names in this book that you will recognize, and his telling of his encounters with various celebrities is not always in their favor, and will have you rolling on the floor. He was literally thrown off the air in the 1950's, for a remark he made on a live talk show, pertaining to Marilyn Monroe and her conversion to Judaism, which is recounted in this book, but can't be repeated here. But at the time, the staid 1950's, it must have had the audience awestruck in utter shock at his outrageous (and incredibly humorous) statement. This is just a fabulous book about one of the greatest wits of this century, the man who started out as an incredibly accomplished and respected pianist, he was most known for his rendition of good friend Gershwins "Rhapsody In Blue", and became something more than just a clown. Totally touching, hysterical, and honest, this book will have you falling in love with dear, lost, brilliant Oscar. In todays, for the most part, [dissapointing] "celebrity" climate, we sure could use the likes of him again.

This book was a disappointment although it covers the scope of Oscar Levant's life from Tin Pan Alley to Carnegie Hall to Hollywood to mental hospitals.

A major problem with the writing is that it consists of endless name dropping without context. If you aren't familiar with the names (which I wasn't for the most part) then a good deal of the story is lost.

Another feature of the writing is a constant stream of one-liners from Oscar and others. These were undoubtably funny when they were first said, but in the book they seem forced. For example, "I once said cynically of a politician, "He'll double-cross that bridge when he comes to it."" If you enjoy one-liners then this book showcases them throughout.

As a fan of Oscar Levant from movies like Rhythm on the River and An American In Paris, I was pleased that he was up front about many aspects of his life. However, the famous line, "Beneath this flabby exterior is an enormous lack of character" had a lot more truth to it than I had assumed. Oscar really does exhibit rude behavior, selfishness, cheating and drug addiction. And of course neurosis. He is honest to his faults.

A better (but far briefer) description of Oscar Levant is in Harpo Marx's book "Harpo Speaks". That book also has a lot of name dropping, but the literary style is rich so that it's fascinating even if you are not familiar with the Algonquin Round Table.

With Oscar's book, I was satisfied about the scope of the writing, but disappointed in the terse style although it's an easy read.

Excellent as with all of the Miss Marple stories by Christie. I was disappointed a little because I thought I was getting a collection of Marple stories I did'nt already own. In fact, the book begins with the Tuesday Club Murders (which is already on my bookshelf). This was an error on my part because I should have checked the book out in more detail before purchasing. Still, a good collection to buy if you don't already have the stories in separate books. Besides, we Christie fans never tire of rereading about the exploits of her most famous detectives.

This short story collection is wonderful! Twenty delightful stories featuring Miss Jane Marple solving difficult cases. Miss Marples sharp observations, her spunk, wit, and intelligence shine through in these tales, making clear why Agatha Christie has created one of the greatest female sleuths of all time. If you're a fan of Christie's or Marple's, you can't go wrong with this colleciton.

Quick response, book in good condition. there was a printing defect with the book, but it is still OK.

The words quoted above appeared in a short story by Agatha Christie called "The Four Suspects." They were not spoken by Miss Marple but by "that well-groomed man of the world, Sir Henry Clithering," retired now and residing in St Mary Mead or nearby, but "until lately Commissioner of Scotland Yard." The words were addressed to Sir Henry's new neighbour, a certain Miss Jane Marple. There is EVERY reason to assume that Miss Marple agreed.

An earlier reviewer quoted a short passage from "An Autobiography" by Christie. I shall quote a little more extensively from the same source: "Miss Marple," wrote Dame Agatha, "insinuated herself so quickly into my life that I hardly noticed her arrival. I wrote a series of six short stories for a magazine, and chose six people whom I thought might meet once a week in a small village and describe some unsolved crime. I started with Miss Jane Marple, the sort of old lady who would have been rather like some of my grandmother's Ealing cronies--old ladies whom I met in so many villages where I had gone to stay as a girl. Miss Marple was not in any way a picture of my grandmother; she was far more fussy and spinsterish than my grandmother ever was. But one thing she did have in common with her--though a cheerful person, she always expected the worst of everyone and everything, and was, with almost frightening accuracy, usually proved right...."

Later, she added, "Miss Marple was born a the age of sixty-five to seventy--which, as with Poirot, proved most unfortunate, because she was gong to have to last a long time in my life. If I had had any second sight, I would have provided myself with a precocious schoolboy as my first detective; then he would have grown old with me."

The first sextet of magazine stories were published in the late 1920s but did not achieve the dignity of book publication until 1932, two years after the publication of "Murder at the Vicarage," the first novel to feature Miss Marple.

The 1932 volume contained the first sextet of stories mentioned by Christie in her autobiography, plus a second sextet and one more story to provide a satisfactorily ominous title for the collection, "The Thirteen Problems." (In the US, the book appeared--less happily--as "The Tuesday Club Murders.") Christie wrote seven more short stories for Miss Marple. They all are included in this volume. The later stories are good enough, but Miss Marple had so grown in stature that her true milieu was the full-length mystery novel.

I suggest that special note be taken of the tenth story, "A Christmas Tragedy." This story represents a sea change in Miss Jane Marple. In all prior appearances she had been a mere device, a voice through which the author could resolve her little puzzles. With this story, the fully developed, elderly, tough as nails, knitting Nemesis of the novels emerges.

These twenty stories are competent, if not brilliant. No-one, least of all Agatha Christie, would call them literature. They are amusements, clever puzzles set to dialogue. As such, most of them are splendid. There are a couple of minor misfires, one in which the solution to a coded message is in English when by the logic of the story it should have been in German, another in which Christie chose to emulate the mechanically-oriented stories common in those days among the works of her less-talented contemporaries. A classic Christie work incorporates some deceptively simple example of what might be called mental sleight-of-hand. Stories that depend on gimmicked mechanical implements and the like seem somehow beneath Dame Agatha's dignity.

Reading these stories quickly demonstrates that Agatha Christie was born one of nature's great re-cyclers. Dame Aggie had a strong tendency to ... ahem, quote from herself when a good plot was involved. For those who would put a more positive spin on the simple facts, then it might be said that within these stories may be found seeds that later sprouted into full-length mystery classics such as "A Murder is Announced" and "Murder Under the Sun."

The collection, I was surprised to discover, was dedicated to Leonard and Katherine Woolley. Sir Leonard Woolley was a great archeologist who famously excavated the ancient city of Ur in Sumeria, a land that would one day come to be known as southern Iraq. He became a media superstar when he dug down through the artifact-laden soil of Ur to find a very thick layer almost entirely free of man-made remains, and beneath that yet another layer of artifacts. Woolley attributed the break in the artifact layers to an extensive flood--or as he suggested a bit prematurely and the newspapers shouted loudly to all the world, not a flood but The Flood. When the shouting was at its height, Christie was already a world-famous author and an enthusiastic traveler. She visited the dig at Ur and stayed on for some time to lend a hand. There she met and fell in love with archeologist Max Mallowan, whom she married in the same year that she published "Murder at the Vicarage."

Doubtless, anyone who has slogged this far is wondering why I've wandered so far off-track with all this biographical blather. The reason is simply that I am astonished to see Katherine Woolley's name in the dedication. When Christie arrived, Lady Woolley was very much in residence at her husband's archeological site. She regarded herself as Queen of all she surveyed and she went out of her way to make sure that the upstart mystery novelist knew it. Christie got on with Leonard Woolley, but she simply could not abide his wife. In one of her novels, she made a perfectly obvious caricature of Lady Woolley into the murderess. When she transformed the book into a stage play, Christie slyly converted her novel's villainess into her play's comic relief.

This collection of the twenty Marple short stories are, as I've said, not literature themselves, nor even necessarily vintage Christie. Nevertheless, they are clever, entertaining and an invaluable memento of one of the great literary characters of the Twentieth Century.

Five stars for Agatha, for Jane and for St Mary Mead.

"Miss Marple insinuated herself so quickly into my life that I hardly noticed her arrival," Agatha Christie wrote in her posthumously-published autobiography (1977) about the elderly lady who, next to Belgian super-sleuth Hercule Poirot, quickly became one of her most beloved characters. Somewhat resembling Christie's own grandmother and her friends, although "far more fussy and spinsterish" and "not in any way a picture" of the author's granny, like her, she had a certain gift for prophecy and, "though a cheerful person, she always expected the worst of everyone and everything, and was, with almost frightening accuracy, usually proved right."

Although Christie herself considered Miss Marple her favorite creation - preferred even over the prim and proper Belgian with the many "little grey cells," of whose exploits she occasionally tired and whom she brought back again and again chiefly because of her audience's undying demand - there are only twelve Miss Marple novels and twenty short stories: while no small feat in any other author's body of work, just over one tenth of the lifetime output of the writer justifiedly dubbed The Queen of Crime.

This compilation unites the twenty short stories revolving around St. Mary Mead's elderly village sleuth, beginning with the canon of originally six and, after an expansion for republication in book form, later thirteen stories which, in addition to the novel "A Murder at the Vicarage" (1930) introduced Miss Marple to the world; a series of unsolved problems told by her guests one Tuesday night, to be followed by six further problems narrated during a similar gathering at the home of village squire Colonel Bantry and his wife Dolly, about a year later. In attendance on those two nights are a number of people who make recurring appearances next to Miss Marple; first and foremost her doting nephew - thriller novelist Raymond West - and retired Scotland Yard Commissioner Sir Henry Clithering, as well as village solicitor Petherick, and of course the Bantrys (who will move center stage, much to their embarrassment, in "A Body in the Library," 1942); furthermore Raymond's new flame, artist Joyce (later reincarnated as his wife Joan), a doctor, a clergyman, and a well-known actress. Later stories also feature appearances of Miss Marple's niece Diana "Bunch" Harmon, married to the vicar of Chipping Cleghorn, a village not unlike St. Mary Mead (see "A Murder Is Announced," 1950), St. Mary Mead's Dr. Haydock, several maids called Gladys, as well as Inspectors Slack and Craddock and Colonel Melchett of Melchester C.I.D. and village Constable Palk; and of course the usual cast of other unique characters, many of whom could just as well figure in one of the elderly lady's "village parallels," those seemingly unimportant events summing up her knowledge of life, on which she unfailingly draws in unmasking even the cleverest killer. Avid Christie readers will also recognize certain other character types, plot snippets, settings and other features here and there; for Dame Agatha was known to draw repeatedly on devices she found to have worked before, and she tended to use her short stories as mini-laboratories for elements later expanded on in novels. Caveat, lector, of premature conclusions, however, for Christie was equally known to throw in a little extra twist in such cases: what is a real clue in one instance may well be a red herring in another and vice versa, and one story's innocent bystander may easily be the next story's murderer.

"The Thirteen Problems" (1932, a/k/a "The Tuesday Club Murders"):

"The Tuesday Night Club:" Sir Henry Clithering opens the evening with the case of a woman's mysterious poisoning by arsenic.

"The Idol House of Astarte:" A man inexplicably dies after a costume party's nightly excursion to a pagan temple.

"Ingots of Gold:" Raymond West tells about a treasure hunt, sunken ships and murder on the Cornish coast.

"The Bloodstained Pavement:" Joyce and the case of a drowned wife in a Cornish watering place called Rathole.

"Motive vs. Opportunity:" Mr. Petherick's tale of a will that mysteriously vanishes from its sealed envelope.

"The Thumb Mark of St. Peter:" Miss Marple's story how she quashed rumors about the sudden death of her niece Mabel's husband.

"The Blue Geranium:" Opening the second round of mysteries, Colonel Bantry's narration about a prophecy involving death and three uncharacteristically blue flowers.

"The Companion:" Two English ladies go on a holiday in Tenerife, but only one returns home alive.

"The Four Suspects:" Sir Henry Clithering's account of the murder of a retired secret agent.

"A Christmas Tragedy:" Having failed to prevent a murder, Miss Marple is all the more eager to unmask the murderer.

"The Herb of Death:" Mrs. Bantry's gifts as a storyteller, a serving of sage and foxglove, and a charming young girl's unexpected death.

"The Affair at the Bungalow:" Double-dealings, charades and mischief on stage and off, just outside of London.

"Death by Drowning:" A village girl "in trouble" finds a desperate solution - or does she?

From "The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories" (1939):

"Miss Marple Tells a Story:" Miss Marple assists Mr. Petherick in the case of a client accused of having murdered his wife.*

From "Three Blind Mice and Other Stories" (1950):

"Strange Jest:" A rich iconoclast's final joke - at the expense of his heirs?*

"Tape-Measure Murder:" Miss Marple's knowledge of village life and human nature (once more) corrects the all-too straightforward path of Inspector Slack's investigation of an elderly lady's murder.*

"The Case of the Caretaker:" Dr. Haydock's story about a rural rascal, a poor little rich girl, an old estate and its grumpy caretaker.*

"The Case of the Perfect Maid:" Domestic service and burglary in a Victorian estate-turned-apartment building.*

From "The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding" (1960):

"Greenshaw's Folly" (republished in "Double Sin," below): A reverse-locked-room mystery at an eccentrically-built country estate.

From "Double Sin and Other Stories" (1961):

"Sanctuary" (first published 1954, a/k/a "The Man on the Chancel Steps"): The last secret of a man found dying on Chipping Cleghorn's church steps.*
_______________________________

*Republished posthumously in "Miss Marple's Final Cases" (1979).
_______________________________

Also recommended:
Murder at the Vicarage: A Miss Marple Mystery (Agatha Christie Collection)
Agatha Christie: Five Complete Miss Marple Novels (Avenel Suspense Classics)
Marple Classic Mysteries (Caribbean Mystery/4:50 from Paddington/Moving Finger/Nemesis/At Bertram's Hotel/Murder at Vicarage/Sleeping Murder/They Do It with Mirrors/Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side)
Miss Marple - 3 Feature Length Mysteries (The Body in the Library / A Murder Is Announced / A Pocketful of Rye)
The Mirror Crack'd

Driving in Los Angeles is always problematic, but when a giant monolith suddenly appears in the middle of Hollywood Boulevard to signal yet another impending apocalypse, things quickly come to a standstill. Except for Angel and his teammates. They know right away that it's time once again to stop sipping the pig's blood and get to work.

When an ancient demon bamboozles a failing actress into carrying out an ancient ritual that will open the portals to hell, Angel faces a series of ugly problems. Not the least of which is that neither he, nor Wesley, nor anyone else have a clue what is actually going on. They know it must be bad, since every demon in town it headed out, but what kind of bad, or how bad, is still a mystery. Everyone goes into action, but the clues are slow in coming. And time is running out.

As I've noted elsewhere, John Passarella is a natural storyteller. This time he takes a high-tension story line and fleshes it out with two of the show's most complex relationships - that between Connor and Angel (who last buried Angel in the ocean) and that between Gunn and Fred (who seem caught in a web of interlocking guilt and obligation). The result is an action story with moments of poignancy and depth.

In fact, the story has a bit of everything. Demon dogs, creepy wizards, dark soldiers, and wild chase scenes populate the narrative. The characters, who have come through some rough times, are rebalancing their interplay, and Passerella captures the increasing maturity of the cast as well as the high tension of a summoning to end all summonings. One of this year's best Angel books.

This book was really great i loved how indepth it got with Connor and Angels relationship. I also thought it had a little bit comic in it to lighten the mood just like the show. (I thought it was hystererical when Connor was putting up a distraction so wesley could get by the monolith and Lorne,Cordy and Fred saw it on the news. (Cracked me up) Gunns tourist distraction was funny too. Great you shoukld definatley pick it up!

Great book!!! I loved it!!! Excellent story about Angel and Connor as well as Cordy, Lorne, Gunn, Fred and Wes.

I really loved this book! I cant seem to put it down!

A chilling stone monolith carved with two demonic faces has arisen in the middle of Hollywood Boulevard, leaving many interpretations of it's actual cause. Some believe it is nothing more than an elaborate publicity stunt for a new horror movie, while religious extremists believe it's the sign of an upcoming apocalypse. The Angel Investigations team though come to truly understand the full extent of the threat that the monolith poses to mankind. And with Hyconian demons causing havoc through the streets of L.A., it soon becomes clear that differences will have to be set aside if they're to come out victorious.

Angel: Monolith is a heart pounding, thrill-packed, adventure in Joss Whedon's Angel-verse as seen through the observant eyes of the Bram Stoker Award-winning horror author, John Passarella. Passarella has seamlessly handled the tricky task of bringing life to these characters and situations within the pages of his novel while adding his own unique sense of style to make an instant lasting impact. What makes this novel extra better is the fact that it's written through the pen (or PC) of a fellow fan who has obviously paid serious attention to the way the characters behave down to the even slightest of details.

The action is cranked high throughout but really takes an epic turn in it's final pages in which Angel and co. can't seem to stay six feet away from danger. This isn't the only brilliant factor though in this outstanding novel. The character involvement is far superior to that of any other Angel novels as Passarella has cleverly placed his story in a complex time for it's characters during it's fourth season. This leaves a much stronger plot for the author to develop his story around, one in which relationship triangles and un-easy bonds between characters are tested to their furthest limits, especially that of the two central characters, Angel and his demon-hunting son Connor.

The plot that Passarella has cleverly weaved within the current situation with the Television show is unlike any other previously experienced and you're guaranteed not to read anything like it anywhere else.

Novels by John Passarella always leave a strong sense of satisfaction behind long after you've passed the final pages and undoubtedly, Angel: Monolith is no exception of this. Passarella has perfectly struck the right balance between thrilling action and a strong story making this Angel novel much more widely appealing as a whole than any other, action-heavy, novels.

Angel: Monolith is an essential purchase for every Angel fan's collection.

Highly recommended. Buy it now!

Vico's immense view and creativity is expressed at the outset with his Tableau of Civil Institutions: a graphical representation of his incredible work; this alone underscores the reason for Joyce's sparked imagination. The greatness of this work is in its deep structure and layers of examination. I came upon this work looking for references to Sanchuniathon, a little known historian preceding Herodotus. Vico inspires many epiphanies particularly the regarding the kernel of wisdom as piety, mythologies: the allegories of myths, and the origin of aristocracy, democracy and monarchy. Vico moves across many subjects making extensive and resolute political analysis of each one including, notably, the origin of Roman Assemblies and the oath of enmity the heroes swore against the plebeians. Any student of politics can find notions truly relevant to the present, such as under: Section 13 Chapter 1 "Further Proofs Drawn from Mixed Commonwealths Which Combine Earlier Governments with Later States" Where Vico writes: "The newly free peoples found themselves masters of their own sovereign powers...By pursuing their own private interests, free peoples let themselves be seduced by the powerful into subjecting their own public freedom to the ambition of others." To sum, as almost only a great epic can yet in an entirely explicative, vast and reflective manner, Vico dives deeply down to the grit and spirit of the ties that bind us and that forge our societies: citizenship, marriage, religion and death.

Most people come to Vico for one of three reasons: historical perspective (fans of Spengler), philosophical curiosity (fans of Marx), or literary insight (fans of Joyce). Regardless of the motivation, the reader will be confronted with a highly unconventional text at first: the open of the book is an overlong explanation of the bookplate. Then we are faced with a collection of Nietzschian aphorisms. By the third part of the book, if the second part hasn't trigged an interest, the explication of parts 1 and 2 grab and take hold of the reader. The result? Once the reader finishes the book, the seemingly obtuse open seems perfectly reasonable for in the course of the text for Vico assimilates history, anthropology, philosophy, philology, and genealogy into a comprehensive whole which is perfectly symbolized by the bookplate. Though, at times, his premises seem rather far-fetched (Vico himself notes this), the intent of the work is rarely obscured. The only complaint? Perhaps Vico could have expanded the work more to make his attempted scope and range cohere better. But then, Frazier did this in a similar work (The Golden Bough) and we have 12 volumes to show for it!

That Vico is largely unknown, even by the so-called experts teaching in our universitiues, while mediocrities and worse of the past half century are lauded and taught widely is yet another indication that our educational standards are dumbed down considerably. Vico is difficult to read, and we are increasingly an intellectually lazy people who prefer simplistic platitudes that sooth our postmodernist prejudices.

I give this Penguin edition only a 4 not because New Science is not itself a 5 or because the translation itself is weak, but because Vico requires copious notes. Most who read this work will do so on their own, and they need considerable help unless they are already as well read in the Classics and works of the Medieval and Renaissance eras as was Vico himself. Perhaps soon we will see an edition that meets that need, which also might encourage a few more to teach Vico, before we fall into the re-barbarism.

Several people asked where Vico is taught / who studies Vico. The Graduate Institute at St. John's College (Great Books program) studies Vico in the History segment, which is really Philosophy of History, for 8 classes, 1/4 of the one of the three History classes. The Great Books people seem to have thought Vico was worth reading. The late philosopher Eric Voegelin wrote an essay in the compendium "Order and History" singling out Vico's work for its insights and calling for scholars to take up the "New Science." At Emory University Donald Philip Verene runs the Institute for Vico studies. There are also many collections of essays on Vico by both American and European scholars. St. John's College library in Annapolis has a good number of them.

"Reading Vico" is a new experience: This ain't a novel, it's written in numbered axioms and conclusions, but it's rewarding work, like Plato's Republic or Tocqueville's Democracy in America. You see versions of Vico's ideas in movies today like I Am Legend. As to how to approach the book--I would suggest reading according to the schedule/order listed on the St. John's College Grad Institute website. You can download the Graduate Reading List for the History segment--it's free. Don't stop until you reach the end--therein lies the big finale (it's much better if you don't read ahead)!!

When I read Vico in a public space--subway, park bench, stoop--I always fear that someone will approach me and ask what his "general thing" is. Even after reading this book for a few years, I still really don't know. I'd probably say something like "it's about history and poetry and salt marshes and thunder."

Still, Joyce said that reading Vico made his imagination grow. I completely agree. Even if you get frustrated with a few vague aphorisms, you can always blame the fact that Vico fell off a ladder as a child and damaged his brain--whatever. Read to understand, but if you don't understand, still read. This is a truly remarkable book.

This was a pretty good Sabrina book. Sabrina keeps popping into TV shows and books, because of a spell Hilda tries to put on Amanda. This book has some funny parts, but in some places it was a little boring.

Sabrina pops in and out of books and tv shows, because Amanda has put a spell on her. It's a great book, and it's real funny!

The Sabrina books are naturally good. Now You See Her Now You Dont is a really humorous book.It's all about a youth potion a random popping spell and Sabrina's bratty cousin Amanda.I think Sabrina fan's will really enjoy this fascinating book.

What's going on? All of a sudden, Sabrina keeps popping out of real life & into a novel or TV show! Then a few seconds later she pops back to the real world again. So far, no one has witnessed her strange disappearances. But how long can she be that lucky?

Sabrina is sure it's just another pop quiz from the Quizmaster. But she can't she can't come up with the right solution, & there's a party at the roller rink tonight. What if she's skating & just disappears into thin air? Won't everyone think that's a teensy bit weird?

Even worse, every time Sabrina pops out, she's gone a little longer. If this keeps up, she could disappear from real life completely!

What's going on? All of a sudden, Sabrina keeps popping out of real life & into a novel or TV show! Then a few seconds later she pops back to the real world again. So far, no one has witnessed her strange disappearances. But how long can she be that lucky?

Sabrina is sure it's just another pop quiz from the Quizmaster. But she can't she can't come up with the right solution, & there's a party at the roller rink tonight. What if she's skating & just disappears into thin air? Won't everyone think that's a teensy bit weird?

Even worse, every time Sabrina pops out, she's gone a little longer. If this keeps up, she could disappear from real life completely!