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I've just finished reading this book for a second time and it's struck me even harder that its almost criminal that Crystal Spirit is not more widely known.

It has a gripping narrative that held me from first page to last, and the second half is full of memorable scenes of the Spanish Civil War.

As a specialist historian of this conflict it was clear to me that Granelli had obviously done a tremendous amount of research, which is magically brought to life on the page in near flawless detail. There is little of the polemicising that often blights other treatments of the same subject matter, but the novel is not politically inert and apologists for the Nationalist regime will find little to reassure them here.

Granelli pulls off a difficult balancing act; producing an easily readable, driving narrative that rattles along with the locomotive momentum of a Dan Brown blockbuster but with the literary intelligence of a far more accomplished writer. For me, he achieves the ultimate success of a book well-written and accessible.

For those who know little or nothing about this obscure period of European history, which in many ways sowed the seeds nurtured by subsequent conflicts in Europe and which flowered in the cold war of the sixties and seventies, Crystal Spirit could also serve as a valuable précis as the central character, David Hicks, is present of all the major battle fronts. The first section - set in a Welsh valley in the 1930's - is also sharply defined, a sort of a matured, literary version of How Green Was My Valley. Ultimately, the books moves to a very satisfying and moving climax, managing to convey great sentiment without sentimentality.

I doubt that the book has sold many copies because I only found it by accident, but it deserves far wider distribution. I recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone interested in good literature.

With the current vogue for "modern political/historical" movies such as "Enemy at the Gates" it seems a shame that some enterprising mogul hasn't optioned it...

I think, in the book, there is much useful information to refer, I want to see it very much!

The writer divided up the main characters in Eliabeth's life and put each of them into a single chapter, with how their relations were with the princess/queen. After a very involved-full life, Liz was alone towards the end, most everyone she knew were gone. Lots of pictures from the time period to clue us in on what the write is talking about. I am now on my way to ordering the writers version on Mary Queen of Scots, Elizabeth's cousine. ~@~smile~@~

This is a first rate scholarly study of the the oldest aeronautics laboratory in the United States. Its strength rests in its understanding of how scientific and engineering research really works. It's a very dynamic story with wonderful depictions of some of the most colorful research personalities in the history of American aeronautics, e.g., Eastman Jacobs, Fred Weick, Germany's own Max Munk, John Stack. Hansen's sequel to this book, entitled SPACEFLIGHT REVOLUTION, is even better.

This is a sort of Cliff Notes version of Einstein's life and science. I do not mean this to be a disparaging comparison. Rather, it refers to the clarity and completeness of the presentation, with a lack of pomposity and excess verbiage. This book presents the essentials of Einstein's life, his science and its impact on science and society. It is not the book for you if you want a very detailed, dense, biography. This book does, however, cover all of the essential facts, including those (such as the birth of an illegitimate daughter) that are often neglected - even in much more extensive biographies. The essentials are given in almost an outline form, with "essential facts" highlighted as separate entries. His whole life is covered, from birth, early childhood and schooling, his family life (including his step children and grandchildren), jobs held, and his various moves (from Germany, to Italy, to Switzerland, to Prague, to Berlin and finally to the US). There is an appendix that gives a timeline that summarizes all of the important events of his life that are discussed in the book.

As noted, his science is also covered, but not in as detailed a fashion as is found in a modern physics text. There is a discussion of all of the 1905 papers, including the one that he used for his doctoral thesis. This paper is often neglected in discussing Einstein's work, even though the authors point out that it is cited more often than his more famous papers on Relativity of the Photoelectric Effect. His work on General Relativity and Unified Field Theory is also discussed. All this science is presented in a clear manner and is put in the context of what preceded it and how it impacted science and society. All of his work is discussed, including his patenting of a noiseless refrigerator and a hearing aid. While the science is accessible to anyone who has taken high school physics, there are discussions that people with a more extensive physics background should find interesting. (I never knew that he calculated Avogadro's number, before it was even designated as such.) The text is augmented with diagrams and some mathematics (again nothing requiring more than high school physics and math). His work is clearly put into the context of the 19th century physics that he drew upon and on the 20th century physics that he dominated. Brief, one or two paragraph, biographies are given of those scientists whose work influenced his and those whom he influenced.

A complex picture is painted of Einstein the scientist, the husband and father, and the icon of science and the 20th century (he was voted as the man of the 20th century by Time Magazine). His pacifism and religious beliefs are discussed, as are his reactions to Nazi Germany and his attempt to help other Jews fleeing the Nazis. He work on the atomic bomb (or more correctly his lack of this sort of work) is also discussed.

All in all, this is a great review of the man, his science, and his influence on society as a whole.

Well, not quite - but close. _The _Essentials of Buddhist Philosophy_ by the eminent and prolific Japanese Buddhist scholar Junjiro Takakusu (1866-1945) essentially follows the skeletal design of an introductory overview of Japanese Buddhism by the Kegon monk Gyonen (1240-1321) called _The Essentials of the Eight Schools_ (Hasshu koyo) composed in 1268. It was written for "beginners" (shogakusha) and was widely circulated and used as a basic text in Japan until the Meiji Restoration (1868) - six centuries!

Takakusu's _Essentials_, like Gyonen's, begin with two short chapters (but rather dense for "beginners") on "Indian Background" and "Fundamental Principles of Buddhist Philosophy" from a Japanese Mahayanist perspective. Then follow separate chapters on five of the six "Nara" schools -- Kusha, Jojitsu, Hosso, Sanron [i.e., Madhyamika], and Kegon [Avatamsaka]. The "New" Ritsu school is not examined until the end of the list.

Predictably, the Tendai and Shingon schools established in the early 9th century are next in line, followed by Kamakura's Zen, Jodo, and Nichiren schools. (Gyonen briefly notes the Zen and Jodo movements, and Nichiren not at all. In 1268 the mix had not yet jelled.) Students of Japanese religion might be interested to know that a complete translation of Gyonen's _Essentials_ by Leo M. Pruden appears in the Numata Center series (107-1; 1994) with a survey of woodblock editions, glossaries of technical terms and cited texts, and an index. It is an interesting supplement to Takakusu's _Essentials_, but does not replace it. (Also see OKUBO Ryoshun, Shin hasshu koyo. Kyoto: Hozokan, 2001 for a modern adaptation by a variety of experts.)

Takakusu's _Essentials_ provides a substantial index, kanji for many names and technical terms; and, perhaps as useful as anything else, (tentative) English equivalents. Also charts, with English, Sanskrit, and kanji, of the 75 dharmas of the Kusha School, and the 100 dharmas of the Hosso school. No, it does not take time to examine the socio-historical context underlying all of this, but it does provide a clean, detailed outline of facts for ready reference.

A good buy!

This is my absolute FAVORITE Materia Medica. For a non-professional, but serious user of homeopathy, it is brief, insightful, and easy to use. But it is very hard to find copies of the book!! It has made it much easier for me to remember symptom pictures for various remedies and I will often use it in conjunction with a Repertory before (or instead) of delving into one of the larger/more detailed Materia Medicas, such as Kent or Boericke. If I have a vague idea of several possible appropriate remedies it can be easier to look them up here and compare them than using a Repertory.

This is my absolute FAVORITE Materia Medica. For a non-professional, but serious user of homeopathy, it is brief, insightful, and easy to use. But it is very hard to find copies of the book!! It has made it much easier for me to remember symptom pictures for various remedies and I will often use it in conjunction with a Repertory before (or instead) of delving into one of the larger/more detailed Materia Medicas, such as Kent or Boericke. If I have a vague idea of several possible appropriate remedies it can be easier to look them up here and compare them than using a Repertory.

This little novelty came right away after placing my order. Fast and efficiernt delivery. The book is interesting enough, maybe a good beginner for someone intereted in the Pilipino style.

Fish Hassell started flying in 1914 dodging the county sheriff trying to collect the Wright Brothers fee for doing so. Over the next fifty years he flew bootleg whiskey for the Chicago mob, stole half the Mexican Airforce, crashed his Stinson on a polar icecap while searching for a northern air route to Europe. He became a SAC base commander during the Cold War. In 1969 Fish's little Stinson was rescued for the Greenland's icecap. In 1988 she was restored and can now be seen on display in the Hassell Wing of the Rockford, Illinois Museum Center in Rockford, Illinois...