English Books

This book was excellent. In perfect condition. Exactly what I needed for class. Got to me even quicker than I expected. Completely satisfied.

Pretty self explanatory, but the side coloration page layout is great and the book comes with a cd rom, so you don't have to lug it around with you.

The book arrived in new condition, but it took over 2 weeks to get here.

I'm a first year nursing student and I would definately recommend it to anyone going into the medical field

I like this mosby book for reference. It's very reliable and informative. Helps me in my hospital job.

i have not read this or any n the adversary cycle yet. I have read a few RJ novels and they r great. My question is about the continuity of the novels. the research i been doing is nothing but more confusing. can anyone explain?

This is a great great book. If you are familiar with the authors' adversary cycle you will know this was the last book of the six. Let me say that he saved the best for last. This book is a horrific page turner from start to finish. Trust me when I say you will enjoy.

Wilson wrapped up his entire pantheon of characters from his horror novels in this one. I first read this without having read The Touch, Reborn, or Reprisal. Although I couldn't understand all the subplots, I got enough of it to sense the enormity of Wilson's undertaking -- he was essentially plunging into Hell the world he had created and included in all his novels. Now, years later (after having read the mentioned novels), I find the story even MORE enjoyable. I gave this 5 stars even when I was a little lost -- now I wish I could give it more.

Rarely do you come across a horror novel that truly chills you to the bone. This is one of those books. The days get shorter and creepy crawlies come out of holes that pop up all around the world. The monsters and their need for flesh make this a difficult job for REPAIRMAN JACK. Will he make it out alive. You'll just have to read it for yourself. My only critisism of this book is I thought it was rushed at the end, and the loose ends were'nt tied-up.

I just finished the Adversary Cycle with Nightworld and have read all of the Repairman Jack novels that lead up to this final novel. Unfortunately I have to say that Nightwold was a disappointing end to Repairman Jack's world as created by F. Paul Wilson. I loved all of his previous books, even "The Touch", which at the time seemed completely unrelated to any of the rest. My main gripe with this book was the final confrontation, which seemed way too easy and was clumsily written. I found it difficult to understand the scene and exactly what was happening. It also seems silly that the antagonist, while powerful enough to remake the planet to his own liking could be so easily vanquished. And finally the antagonist seemed incredibly out of character in the end. I don't want to spoil it, so let's just say that he didn't go out the way he was written through out the Adversary cycle. Worst of all, the "support" the protagonist needed from the crowd of New Yorkers in order to defeat his enemy was worse than cheesy it was plain ridiculous.

My next gripe was with continuity and was more of an annoyance than a problem. If you haven't read any on the Repairman Jack novels, particularly the newest ones, this won't be an issue for you. In Nightworld, Jack learns a great many things that he has long since known about, and as a result needs to be convinced of what is happening to the world around him. My final issue is, unlike Reborn and Reprisal, Nightworld isn't very edgy, it just doesn't have that suspenseful feeling that wouldn't let me put down either of its two most recent predecessors. Sure there plenty of disgusting scenes such as a man being gouged by a 10-foot millipede which lays eggs in his abdomen that hatch and eat him alive. But that was more gross than scary, which is true of most of the book.

I would have liked to see more scares thrown at the population of Nightworld like the antagonists ability to control the dead, not just scary insects and killer winged beasts. What I was really hoping for was a greater explanation of the to eternal opposing forces, which are fighting for the planet. No luck there.

That said, I still enjoyed the book, as it brought back characters from all of the previous adversary cycle books and my favorite, Repairman Jack. And while it wasn't the best ending to an otherwise excellent series, it still was a somewhat satisfying ending to the story arc. I just think it could have been better, and wish Wilson had waited to write Nightworld after he decides (hopefully not soon) to end the RJ Series, that way the two story arcs could have merged and ended at the same time. But if you've read the previous books in the adversary cycle you'll of course have to read Nightworld and I would recommend doing so, albeit with low expectations so that you won't be too disappointed or if you completely disagree with my review you're pleasantly surprised.

This is a lovely book with beautiful illustrations that remind me of my catholic school days. If you are looking to pray for something specific, there is a plethora of saints to choose from. Each saint is accompanied by a short narrative along with a novena to pray for nine days. Highly recommend.

Worth everyday spent in prayer. Amazing photos, beautifully written Novena bio's of Christ, Mary, Saints, and Angels (including the Holy Spirit).

What caught my attention was the Novena of Saint Barbara.... I've never seen a prayer like this one written for her.

Of course The Sacred Heart and OL of the MM are the ones closest to my heart.

I purchased the hardcover version. Still beautiful w/o the dustcover in white with gold lettering and a gold cross.

This is a beautiful book. The sections on the Infant of Prague, the Mother of Sorrows, and Our Lady of Mount Carmel are especially valuable. One mistake, however: The picture of Saint Catherine in the section on Saint Catherine of Siena is of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, not Saint Catherine of Siena.

Authors Barbara Calamari and Sandra DiPasqua give readers another invaluable resource for saintly intercession, prayer and personal edification with The Novena Book: The Power of Prayer (Penguin Studio, hardcover, 176 pages). As with the previous Calamari/DiPasqua books I've reviewed, The Novena Book combines informative and readable text with stunningly beautifully illustrations in a manner few other manuscripts can match. Their works grace my living room both because they are a treat to the eyes of my visitors and because I turn to them frequently for my own spiritual and educational formation.

In The Novena Book: The Power of Prayer Calamari and DiPasqua take a comprehensive look at the concept of Novenas. The introduction highlights the powerful nature of this prayer format. At the heart of the book is a lengthy series of chapters on Saints, Angels, the Madonna, and the Divinity. Each section on the saints provides a brief biographical or informative statement, an illustration, and a Novena. Rounding out the volume are additional prayer resources and a helpful topical index. The book features Novenas to several well known saints and to a few who make become your new favorites. I'm looking forward to sharing Novenas with my sons as we anticipate the rapid approach of the holiday season. The Novena Book: The Power of Prayer is the type of book you'll want to give as a gift, but be sure to purchase a copy of this treasure for your own spiritual library.

I've been an Amazon customer for years and have never felt compelled to write a review until now. I bought the book to learn more about St. Jude's novena and found myself completely immersed in reading all of the other saints' biographies. It is beautifully illustrated, well written and well organized. A must have for every library.

Really wonderful book...lots of beautiful imagery. Great story.
Pay attention to the timeline of the different characters though...Sivitri's story is set in an earlier time than Nat and Saroj...I missed this at first, but caught up when it became obvious that their YOUNG lives were not parallel.

This is an exquisitely written and superlative, multi-generational novel, delicately woven with gossamer threads of human experience. It is a story of human frailties, passions, and cultural traditions. It is a spellbinding tale of several people who become unforgettable to the reader. It is an epic saga of individuals who are connected across time in a way none of them could have foreseen. A wellspring of cultural differences bear upon their futures and send them along paths none of them could have envisioned. It is, above all, a story of forbidden love that would impact on others for generations to come.

This is the story of Savitri, a native of India, a Brahmin beauty, a healer, who fell in love with David, the son of the wealthy English family for whom she and her parents worked. Her love for David would remain constant, despite those in her own family who would seek to destroy it.

This is the story of David, the English boy who grew up in British colonial India and never forgot his childhood sweetheart, despite the cultural and racial roadblocks placed in his path by those who did not have the gift to look into the soul of another.

This is the story of Nat, the boy who straddled two cultures, Indian and English, whose mysterious ancestry threatened to prevent him from being united with the woman who held the key to his heart and soul.

This is the story of Saroj, a Guyanese beauty of Indian descent, who wanted to leave the old ways, the ways of mysterious south east Asia, the ways of India, and embrace those of the west, only to find that her soul mate was one in whom both cultures had made peace.

This is, above all else, a spellbinding story of love and passion that runs so deep that time would sustain it forever. Underlying this story are the threads of a mystery that are subtly woven into its fabric. This novel is a panoramic and sweeping saga that will cause the reader to be swept away by its depth, its richness of language, and its vividly drawn characters, and descriptive detail. The author, a very gifted writer and talented storyteller, has written a novel that will keep the reader riveted to its pages until the very last.

A rich, colorful explosion of Indian culture spanning from Madras to Demerara, this novel is so vividly told and so skillfully woven that you'll find yourself visualizing the story as you go along, in full color with surround sound, smells and all.

Three children, two countries, three stories, three different decades - separate, yet cohesively bonded into one epic saga.

Nataraj (Nat), plucked from an orphanage in India by a white doctor, is given the chance to receive a good education, and quickly discovers within himself the power of healing.

Sarojini (Saroj) lives a comfortable life in British Guiana, until she encounters racism and hatred, and repeatedly defies her ethnically blinkered father, having recognized inner beauty in other people despite external appearances.

Savitri is a cook's daughter from Madras, the central character of the book, who despite her strict Indian family, manages to tie herself to the white family who employs her father, leading to a heart-rending sequence of unfortunate events.

Flitting like a butterfly between the three stories, the author explores deep, dark issues of humanity, but these are not permitted to consume the story, as they are beautifully counterbalanced by love and respect, by breathtakingly descriptive passages and exotic settings.

It's a period piece, a geography lesson, a mystery, a tragedy, a drama, a soap opera, but most of all a love story, not only for the central characters, but for the author to pay tribute to two countries that have made their mark in her heart.

If you like sweet, sappy love stories, or rich Indian culture and tradition, or even if you just liked the movie "Monsoon Wedding", this book is highly recommended for you.

Amanda Richards December 12, 2004

When I started reading this book, I was sure I would end up awarding it five stars. The writing was lovely, the characters were engaging and the settings were lush and exotic. I especially loved the book's sophisticated structure, i.e., telling the story of each of the three main characters in alternating chapters and gradually letting these stories converge and overlap.

I'm sorry to say that the further into the book I read, the more disillusioned I became. Many of the characters who seemed to hold so much promise at the beginning of the book became flat and stereotypical, e.g., the domineering Indian father, the rebellious teenage daughter who isn't going to do things her parents way! Another problem for me revolved around the character of Savitri. As hard as I tried, I simply couldn't reconcile the child Savitri was with the adult she became. For me, they were two completely different persons.

I simply didn't like the character of Saroj. She was a spoiled brat as a child and a spoiled brat as an adult. This is a character who underwent no development at all and as a result, was very unsympathetic.

The real problem for me regarding this book was all the coincidence (and I mean a lot). Almost every plot twist was the result of coincidence. While I don't mind one or two coincidences in a book (it is fiction after all), I do object when most of the plot is built on outrageous coincidence. I began this book with admiration; I finished it with a very bitter aftertaste.

I do think Maas has a special talent for writing about children. The early chapters revolving around Nataraj, Saroj and Savitri as children far, far outshine the later chapters which are more than somewhat trite.

I've heard criticism of Maas's writing style as being "too flowery." While a few passages were overwritten and "purple," most of the writing was pretty straightforward. Maas does have a tendency to "tell" her story rather than dramatize it in scenes and I found this much more annoying than the occasional "flowery" passage.

This book's downfall, however, is the extreme use of coincidence. It caused what began as a lovely story to end as sheer tripe. Would I read a second book by Maas? No. She lost me with this one.

As lush and as breathtaking as the bougainvillea, the hibiscus, and the vibrant oleanders that enrich the landscape of Madras, India, Sharon Maas weaves a mesmerizing tale of custom, culture, love, and human resiliency in the pages of her novel, OF MARRIAGEABLE AGE.

And these accolades come from a guy who wouldn't know a 'sari' from Saran wrap--who before now couldn't even find British Guiana on a world map the size of my brother-in-law's ego. And not only that, the story involves--shuddering--romance, a sure-fire factor to guarantee a premature toss into my ever-growing 'yawn bin.' Yet the author's fluid, engrossing, compelling, tragic, poignant story of three remarkable characters spread across the world--in three different places and times--easily overcame my chest-thumping machismo and allowed me to enjoy, to savor, Maas' seductive tale.

Nataraj. Savitri. Sarojini. Three unforgettable characters, three lives involved in a cataclysmic clash of cultures--of the ancient, and the modern: three lives as intertwined and interdependent as the notes on a piece of music. Maas directs and orchestrates their lives with an engaging talent that draws the reader in, makes him or her care--and care deeply--what happens next. The author draws from an abundant well of both personal observation and painstaking research to breathe life into vivid people from three continents--and her work resounds with ringing credibility.

This is good stuff.

OF MARRIAGEABLE AGE is an absorbing read, and highly recommended. The ending is a bit sappy, but what the heck, Maas' characters are due a few hard-earned breaks. And said ending might stick to the roof of my mouth, but it still tastes awfully good.
--D. Mikels

Just a comment about the reviews of this great book. Without rehashing the accolades and criticisms: If you think the character portrayal was disrespectful to "the Few," you have obviously, never spent any time in a tactical aviation unit. The dynamics of the young pilots' relationships with each other was pretty close to reality.

This book is spot on if you want to know what squadron life is like! (minus the chateau of course)

I looked for this book after catching the end of the miniseries on TV. I guess the author broke a lot of "rules" about characters and probably other things, too, but I loved it. You might be introduced to a character, learn all about him, and find him dead two pages later. This gave me a sense for what it might have been like to live through those harrowing years. The readers, just like the aviators themselves, don't know who's going to make it through. An absolutely fascinating drama. Highly recommended!

Having grown up "over there" reading this book makes you wonder how indeed we did win the Battle of Britain. Great book.

This is one of my favourite books ever, perhaps rivalled only by Robinson's other masterpiece, "Goshawk Squadron", both of which I have read and re-read again and again over the years. The writing is simple, subtle and brilliant, the dialogue sparking and witty, the atmosphere vivid.

Was this what life in the RAF was really like at the start of the Second World War? The author's unemotional writing carries with it a gritty and entirely convincing sense of reality; you cannot help think that this is really how it was.

From the opening sentence to the final full stop, Robinson delivers a tense and entertaining story whose characters spring to life from the pages. If many of his personae are necessarily only lightly sketched and interchangeable, others are multi-dimensional portraits that remind me forcefully of the kind of people I went to school with or suffered under as a pupil. (I served my time in a British Public School. By the 1960s we were living in 1890).

We meet Ramsey, headstrong and impatient, but he is in such a hurry that we have little time to get to know him. Fanny Barton, an athletic but uncertain New Zealander suffers from social insecurity and a nervous introspection that drives him to hasty and poorly considered decisions. Lord Rex is confident and breezy, but his aristocratic charm disguises an unpleasant ruthless arrogance, and sometimes callous cruelty. Despite his experience as a pilot in the First World War, the much older adjutant Kellaway comes from an earlier epoch, and ideas of gallantry are not completely erased. Skull Skelton, the intelligence officer, by contrast, sees the folly of war for what it is - and gains few friends from his outspoken views. Moggy Cattermole is thoroughly unlikeable from the beginning. When we meet him he has just stolen a giant gollywog from someone by punching him in the eye. As the story progresses his unusually ugly character is slowly revealed to the reader. By contrast, Chris Hart III is an upright, cynical, war-weary American, viewed by some as an unwelcome colonial intrusion into a thoroughly British war.

On the ground, Robinson evokes the colours and scents of wartime France and England, and mercilessly - but without fuss - shows us the muddle, misconceptions and incompetence of the administrative machinery of 1939 and 1940. He lets the reader see the unthinking class snobbery of the young pilots, making us reassess these otherwise often likeable individuals and realise that by upbringing they must in many cases have been blinkered and insufferable, arrogant self-anointed masters of the universe. But you cannot dislike these pilots. They live intensely and with gusto, and the reader is swept up into their funny, unscrupulous, devil-take-the-hindmost world where a quick turn of phrase and disregard for personal safety are badges of honour.

By the outbreak of the air war in 1940 the Spanish Civil War had convincingly demonstrated that large formations of fighters were horribly vulnerable to attacks from an enemy using more flexible tactics. The RAF ignored the lesson that the Luftwaffe had taught the Spanish Republican Air Force and stuck to the outmoded air gymkhana for no reason but doctrine. Robinson shows in this book how the RAF gradually came to accept that doctrine does not win air battles.

In the air, Robinson immerses us in a vast and frightening arena of battle. His descriptions of flying a Hurricane are so well executed that the reader can almost feel the vibration of the airframe and smell the hot oil and hear the exhilarating roar from the Merlin engine. In some books you can predict which character will live and which die; in this book you get the feeling that you had better not get too attached to any of the jaunty, interesting individuals that inhabit its pages. Death is as unexpected and final here as it must have been to the young men and women who saw these events at first hand. Robinson delivers battle in the air with a mastery that leaves the reader shocked and shaken as death scythes in from below, from behind, from nowhere, in an abrupt shuddering blur from the empty sky.

I have read many war novels. "Piece of Cake" has few rivals.

The Battle of Britain. Dashing, fearless young patriots out of Shakespeare take to their machines to save Albion from Nazi bombers. Battling hopeless odds and a vastly superior enemy, these lions of the sky prevail against evil, save democracy, and land back at base in time for their tea.

Or not.

Derek Robinson's "Piece of Cake" has to be one of the most brutally cynical, myth-debunking pieces of historical fiction ever put to pen. In its 650+ pages it methodically, and at times gleefully, ravages the heroic sterotype of Britain's fighter pilots cemented by the hundreds of books, movies, and documentaries which have come out since the war. In the language of the book, it puts paid to all that bumf and tells the truth --or rather, Robinson's version of it.

"Cake" is the story of Hornet Squadron, a rather average collection of fighter pilots flying Hurricanes, between September 1939 and September 1940. It details their involvement in the "phoney war," the Battle of France and lastly, the Battle of Britain. From the very first chapter, when a number of the pilots wreck their car while driving home drunk from a pub, then steal a tractor, and finally horses, to get back to their base, the reader begins to realize that we few, we happy few, we band of brothers, is nowhere to be found here. With the occasional exception, Hornet Squadron is a collection of snobbish, selfish, sophomoric, not-too-terribly bright adrenaline junkies who joined the RAF in the hopes of blowing things up without legal consequences. It's a case of be careful what you wish for, times two.

For a story with so many characters -- the squadron has more than a dozen, and chaps are always getting knocked off and replaced -- Robinson does a terrific job of keeping them all fresh and distinct from each other. Each reader will have his own favorite "good" guy -- goodhearted flight leader Fanny Barton, the cold-blooded American volunteer Christopher Hart ("CH3"), the crazy as a loon Flash Gordon, or possibly the non-fighting duo of "Uncle" Kellaway (the squadron adj) and his sidekick, an Oxford don turned intelligence officer "Skull" Skellen, who spend a lot of time arguing about squirrels. There is no question about the squadron's biggest bastard -- not since "GoodFellas" Joe Pesci/Tommy DeVito did I hate somebody as much as Lance "Moggy" Cattermole, the big, smooth-talking sociopath who seems to enjoy tormenting and using his squadron mates even more than he likes to machine-gun German pilots as they hang helpless in their parachutes. Robinson takes positive delight in showing how how Hart's theory that "up there the world is divided into bastards and suckers" also applies on terra firma.

"Piece of Cake" was a contraversial book not only for its thoroughly unglamorous depiction of the RAF jocks but because it expands on the touchy and undiscussed issue of the RAF's kill claims. The pilots, who in fairness can hardly be blamed for making mistakes given the nature of air combat prior to the installation of the gun camera, claimed about 2.5 German aircraft destroyed for every one that actually was. The vastly overstated statistics issued by the RAF made their way into the postwar literature and contributed to the mythos surrounding the battle. In point of fact, the Germans had about 900 fighters to the Brits 600, and the Me 109 was badly hampered by its extremely short range and the necessity to try and protect the bombers. The odds were somewhat closer than the Brits care to believe.

"Piece of Cake" wasn't written to disparage the courage of the British pilots or denigrate their accomplishments, but to show them for what they were -- young, often immature officer-boys of varying character who sometimes died stupid and futile deaths. In other words, human beings at war. In this sense, Robinson does the RAF a favor, for heroism is much more impressive when it comes from real people rather than Hollywood cartoons. After all, peacetime flaws often make for wartime virtues. Or as Hart says to Fanny Barton about Moggy: "He really does like killing people. You don't know how lucky you are to have him."

"As a newcomer to the real estate development market, this book opened my eyes to the world of plant design. The author's guidance instilled a sense of confidence in me to be able to speak intelligently to my designers." - Donald A. Wilhelm, Author of This Time's a Charm; Lessons of a Four-Time Cancer Survivor

Planting Design Illustrated by Gang Chen seems to me to be possibly the only book one would need to read to understand all the basics involved in good design.

I read this book as a complete novice concerning plants and planting design and found that it was easy to read and understand. Showed it to some of my gardening friends and they found it equally fascinating.

This book seems to me to be the Feng Shui of planting design too. I loved everything about it.

The illustrations were perfect also...not too complex, but full of every detail needed to understand what the author was talking about. The only thing that would make this book better would be a CD/DVD of the illustrations!

This book will become my planting design bible!

Planting Design Illustrated

I am both a recreational gardener and am in the horticulture profession. This book is helpful to anyone planning a new garden or renovating an older garden. Chen explains spatial layering, planning for five senses and four seasons in a way that assists both the layman and the professional. The list of plants is organized to plan for scale and is easy to adapt to your gardening zone. Drawings are easy to understand and pictures are representative of what the author is trying to convey.

This book on Planting Design is extremely descriptive and very informative having been written by a capable Architect. As a previous City Planner, I wish, I had such a thorough text as this when doing site plan reviews and landscaping requirements.

It would be my suggestion to a reader who is interested in the Planting Design approach on a personal scale, to dedicate some general review time of this text, gaining orientation to some of the technical terminology as found in this fine text on Planting Design. Specifically, the study presented on the early historical Oriental contributions to formal or informal gardens certainly would serve as a useful guideline for future construction of any gardens.

I found Chapter 6 especially informative in a complete and easy story manner. It dealt with Planting Design principles, concepts, and methods coupled with Oriental case studies. This is a perfect study tool for landscape design and planting; readily applicable to the home landscape.

The early Oriental uses of planting designs as described provide an informative insight into the cultural aspects of plant material evolution into today's usage. The historical correlation of bamboo to the various reflection of human nature aspects is very enlightening.

My recommendation suggests one take the time to gain an oversight by reviewing the index and gently viewing each chapter's heading with descriptions. Then delve more intently to possibly uncommon plant design terminology such as "scale", "heavenly creations", "mass planting" or much more.

While this is not a "picture" book on design, it is packed with information and data that can be applied to any scale or size project. It does not require a "castle" to enjoy the same feelings found in the early, large gardens in France or the Orient based on these elements of Planting Design as narrated in this text. For individuals wishing to spend time creating wonderful gardens, keep in mind what you learn regarding the "basic spatial relationships" to plants, structures, and man.

Although I had a some prior knowledge of landscape design and requirements when I was approving plans for commercial projects, I personally feel this text is an excellent study and informational tool for anyone interested in Planting Design.

This book was enriching. What I liked most about this book was it made me feel like I was being advised by a professional with an open point of view. This is not a paint-by-the-numbers book, but a work that will stir your imagination. It is an excellent resource for both professional and novice.

Planting Design Illustrated is full of useful information. It provided me a practical and philosophical edge on planting my next garden. I am not a professional landscaper, but I do love to design with plants. I was challenged at first by the writing style but once I became used to it, I discovered information that will help me when expanding my 2 acre meditation garden in Costa Rica.

Chen brings concepts and places them along side practice. It proves to stir the imagination for those putting the shovel to the soil. If you want to design your home landscape or like me, bite off more than you can chew with a large project, then this book should be read first.

Planting design will help you create a strong foundation for your landscape and gardens to grow on. If this book had had some professional editing I would have given it 5 stars. It's a great resource for those serious about doing things with both awareness and good technique. However the content is a serious 5 stars.

My Aunt, who is now 86, read this book in England, when she was much younger. She mentioned it to me, as I use the Web, and I purchased it for her. She has told me that she very much enjoyed reading it again. She also said she had watched a BBC TV series on the same book, but I can't find it for her. Can you?
Yours sincerely,
Peter E Bradley

My friend Mary Sue sent me Precious Bane when I was very ill, hoping it would get me reading again. She was right.

The time of the tale is not clear. It was written in 1926 but has a Hardy-like tone which would place it in the mid-to-late 19th century. The location is Shropshire, England. You can reference a Shropshire word list on the Internet, but after a while I preferred to let the dialect flow over me and learn some of the meanngs the way we first learn a language.

The premise is that it is customary in Shropshire to hire a sin-eater, usually someone poor, when someone dies, who will take over the sins of the dead person. The Sarn family is too poor even to do this when the father dies, so the son, Gideon, offers to be the sin-eater in return for taking ownership of the family farm. He works the farm with his sister Prue.

The second plot is a love story. Prue is a woman with a hare lip, a beautiful body and character above reproach, who is struck by lightning with love when she first sees Kester, an itinerant weaver.

Other scenes of interest take place during market which introduce various characters, reveal through gossip the attitudes about them and explain customs.

I read that Precious Bane is tobacco, but it seemed rather to refer to foxglove, which takes an important turn in the plot.

The writing is excellent. The characters are true. Some readers compared this book to Cold Comfort Farm. I have read Cold Comfort Farm, and although I enjoyed it didn't find it to be similar, as the heroine is a flapper in the 20's.

The only thing that might have perfected the book would be to liken Gideon's sins specifically(he had many) to the sins of his father, which she didn't do. The lack of detail didn't seem to detract much, as the point was explained at the beginning.



Thank you, Mary Sue.

This is one of those rare stories that seeps into your soul and leaves a lasting impression. The language itself, while a bit difficult at first becomes a song you want to sing and long to hear it spoken. The story, sometimes achingly sad and violent is ultimately triumphantly romantic - with a sequence of events that leaves the reader breathless and yearning for more. Shortly after reading Precious Bane, I was lucky enough to discover a small theatre group in Chicago performing the stage version. My husband and I were in a packed theatre of about 30 people, where I sat front and center with the actors not more than two feet in front of me. Knowing the story line as I did, I made a spectacle of myself sobbing through the second half of the play. I'm sure the actors were gratified that they had such a strong effect on their audience. Suffice it to say, no one who picks up this book will be disappointed, nor will they ever forget it.

The story is this: A young woman, Prudence Sarn, is born with a harelip, which makes her subject to superstition and ridicule from the small-minded country folk who surround her in early 20th-centry Shropshire, England. Because of her deformity, Prue is told again and again that she will never marry; her brother, Gideon, more or less conscripts Prue into serving him on the family farm, telling her that if she follows his plan that she will at least have money and respectability someday. Prue follows along with this plan, envisioning the day that she will have enough money to make herself "beautiful as a fairy" - a dream that takes on concentrated exigency in Prue's mind when she falls in love with the handsome weaver Kester Woodseaves. Prue thinks that no man could ever love her as she is, "cursed and hare-shotten," and when one tragedy after another strikes the Sarns, she wonders if true happiness will ever touch her life.

It's rare that a book moves me to tears, but in the course of reading this novel I grew so attached to Prue that I felt as if she were speaking to me as a sister. The delicate, simple distinctions of this story ring true in every word; it was as though the secrets, disappointments, and beauties of the English country were visible in the spaces between words on the page. At first the language, written in vernacular of the time, was hard to read, but once I grew accustomed to it I was transported to a remote and seemingly miraculous place where Prue discovered and treasured profound beauty in unlikely places. The same can be said of discovering Prue herself, whose compassion, wit, love, and faithfulness shine in everything she does. I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone - it is undoubtedly a story about love, but not in the conventional rom-com or Harlequin-paperback way that's so prevalent nowadays. This is a story about strength of spirit, about unconditional goodness in the face of cruelty, mockery, and calamity. If that's not a real "love story," I don't know what is.

This is an amazing book which should be read by all those who enjoy British literature. It is a touching, romantic story. The writing is sensual in that there are sounds, smells, sights, tastes and textures to be experienced in its textual descriptions. The natural setting almost becomes a "character" in and of itself because you could not take the story out of the beautiful, natural, country setting Webb creates.
Look at other reviews to understand the plot. However, it truly doesn't make sense to try to recount it. Be patient when waiting for the "hook", when you won't be able to put the book down, it will come. Also, allow yourself a bit of time to learn to read and hear in your mind the syntax and sound of the words. Mary Webb takes you to a different place and time and you come to understand what it would be like for a young woman with intelligence, family devotion, character and longings who happened to be born with an external defect.
May this book become one of your favorites as it has become one of mine. (If anyone knows how I might obtain a video/DVD of the Masterpiece Theatre version with Janet McTeer and Clive Owen, please let me know.)

LOVE THIS BOOK! We have had it for a year now, and my son is starting to recognize some of the pictures. We are constantly using the examples from the book. It's a fun book and great for any age. It's even been helpful for our neighbor who just started reading.

My 16 month old loves this book, especially all the pics at the end. She points to each one until I say the name.

we adore this book! my three year old loves it just as much as my baby. I love the illustrations and the simple narrative. my daughter's favorite part is "burping" at the end!

My one year old son and I read every night. The colors and the simplicity of the idea makes it easy for him to understand and learn. So further emphasize the difference in quiet and loud, I use my voice, and he laughs.

I bought this book for my niece who is 16 months. She too can be a quiet and a loud baby at times. This is a great book for toddlers because of the bright colors and length of story.

Grandpa bought this book to read to his 21 month old granddaughter. She loves books. We have a good time reading this story. Not too short, not too long. We enjoy looking for the animals hidden in the jungle flora on the opening pages of the book. The rhyming verse story is well done. The pictures are big and colorful. Grandpa has to make the sounds that each animal makes, especially the sound of the big, hairy gorilla thumping his chest. We have a fun time looking for the small ants that are found on each of the story pages (added bonus). There are other similar books written by this author that I would consider purchasing.

My son loves this book so much that when it started falling apart, I bought another one! He asks for this book every night. Highly recommend!!

This book is beautifully illustrated. The vibrant colors invited my students to be actively engaged while we were reading it together. The rhyme scheme of the book made my students laugh and learn at the same time. Humor is always a good way to learn. I would reccomend this book to anyone.

This book has been a favorite in our home since we got it over 8 years ago. The pictures are beautiful and fun. The rhymes are great. It is one of the few books that I do not tire of reading over and over and over again to the kiddos.

Only draw-back is that it is permanately stuck in my head. Can't go to the zoo without finding myself saying the rhymes. Oh, who am I kidding, that's not a draw-back...it is kinda fun! hee hee

This is such a cute book. Bright and colorful pictures to look at, with a story that isn't too repetitive. Readers will not mind reading time and again to children

great product, great price and i really like. a great way to get the book on a student stipend.

As both doctor and founder of a EchoScribe Inc, a leading internet based medical transcription company, (www.echoscribe.com) I must recomend Stedmans as the dictionary that all physicians must own. There is also the PDA version that is also a good carry. It not only provides a quick reference, but in writing medical letters, and transcribing documents, this book is a "medical must have."

I am a transcriber and Stedman's Medical Dictionary is necessary for my work. It is invaluable. I also love the illustrations for clarification.

This medical dictionary provides simple definitions on key
terminology in the field of medicine. Some simple definitions
include the following:
- antigen involves the immune response
- a virus is incapable of growth beyond living cells
- bacterium multiply by cellular division

The volume contains the human anatomy in full color pictures.
For instance, the following parts are depicted:
- skull
- head and neck
- musculature
- cerebral hemispheres
- disc anatomy
- heart anatomy
- classic fractures and radiography depicting the events
- foot joints i.e. interphalangeal joint, tarsometa tarsal
joint, ankle joint

This medical dictionary is perfect for the science student
in your house. In addition, the book will complement the
existing personal library of medicinal acquisitions.

A great resource, I recommend the CD version for saving a lot of time and effort ... only if you can have a computer on while you're studying.