English Books

One of my Junior Engineers asked me some months ago about my process for debugging. This book gave him a much better answer than I did at the time. It pretty much exactly summarises everything I have learned in over ten years of embedded software development, and presents it in a very readable and compelling form. Highly recommended for all levels of developer.

This is an excellent book on debugging. Whether you're debugging mechanical systems, electrical circuits, or software, the methodology presented is extremely practical and systematic. The author presents nine debugging rules that can be applied to any problem. The text is well-written, engaging, and humorous. The author also included a wealth of war stories that are worth the price alone. Highly recommended.

Quite liked it. I now have a game plan for approaching bugs in a nonrandom manner (including intermittent bugs):


Understand the System
- Read all related documentation
- Draw a system diagram and understand how things are connected
- Know the capabilities of your debugging tools


Make It Fail
- Start from a clean initial state
- Consider automating lengthy steps
- Make it fail in situ; don't waste time simulating the environment
- For intermittent bugs: list possible factors and try varying them one at a time; output a logfile and look for patterns


Quit Thinking and Look
- Watch it fail
- Use Remote Desktop / VNC
- Add logging and monitors
- Don't start thinking until you've limited the number of possible causes


Divide and Conquer
- Binary search
- Use test data with an easily identifiable pattern
- Start at the failure point and work backwards
- If you discover other bugs that may be related, fix them before continuing your search


Change One Thing at a Time
- Don't panic
- Back out changes that have no effect
- Compare the logfile with that of a good system
- Check earlier versions


Keep an Audit Trail
- Keep a detailed written log


Check the Plug
- D'oh!
- Have the components been properly initialized?


Get a Fresh View
- Try explaining the problem to someone (or something)
- Ask an expert: co-workers, the vendor, documentation, bug database, the web
- Report symptoms (including possibly unrelated observations), but not your theories


If You Didn't Fix It, It Ain't Fixed
- Fix the root cause
- Make the problem happen again by undoing your fix

I worked with Dave Agans for over 10 years and I can tell you first hand the man knows what he's talking about. From developing hand-held controllers in the late eighties to single-board OS/2-based videoconferencing products to software collaboration tools, we have debugged problems of every ilk. Whether the problem was an FPGA bug, a faulty component in a board, a race condition in a device driver or a dangling pointer in a DLL, Dave always approached the problem with his same set of debugging rules, and they never let him down. Read this book. It's engaging and fun to read. But more importantly it will make you a better debugger, whether you're debugging hardware, software or your lawnmower.

This book is absolutely indispensable for anyone working in any job where things occasionally work in an unexpected manner. It's concise, funny, well-written, and full of immensely useful tips on how to go about debugging problems.

One of the great things about this book is that it's generalistic in nature, not specific. Agans's decades of troubleshooting experience has given him great insight on how to go about debugging in all sorts of environments, so he lays out nine rules for approaching any problem:

Understand the System
Make it Fail
Quit Thinking and Look
Divide and Conquer
Change One Thing at a Time
Keep an Audit Trail
Check the Plug
Get a Fresh View
If You Didn't Fix It, It Ain't Fixed

[...]

Debugging isn't an art performed only by folks with some odd genetic disposition, it's a critical craft which can and must be learned. I was fortunate to have some good troubleshooters as mentors during my days working radar inflight in the Air Force, but I've fallen out of many of the good practices those folks beat^H^H^H^Hinstilled in me. Agans's book is helping me pull out of the thrash and churn mode of debugging.

This book's only 175 or so pages long and is well-worth adding to your library. Actually, substitute "a critical addition" for "well worth adding". I'm also going to make sure this book gets added to the professional development reading list I'm working on creating.

This is the third book in a series which you will either love or hate. It is also one of those multi-book series which must if at all possible be read in the right order, which is

1) The Game of Kings
2) Queen's Play
3) The Disorderly Knights
4) Pawn in Frankincense
5) The Ringed Castle
6) Checkmate

The disordely knoights of the title are the knights of St John of Malta. This book also features a battle of wits and intrigue betweem the central character, Francis Crawford of Lymond, and his great enemy Gabriel.

There are two reasons why this series, and indeed the author's similar "Niccolo" series, should be read in chronological order. The first is that the plots are incredibly complicated and if you read them out of sequence you have no chance of understanding what is going on. The second is that many of the characters meet their deaths in ways which are exceptionally unpleasant both for themselves and for the characters who survive them. If you read one of the later books first, advance knowledge of how characters are going to die, and the effect it will have on surviving characters can have an impact on the pleasure you would otherwise have had in reading about them for the first time.

Like the books, the central character, Francis Crawford of Lymond, is brilliant, violent, and extremely complicated. Unlike the books he is very flawed. Lymond is a mercenary with particular interests in Scotland and France, and gets involved in nefarious deeds all over the world as 16th century Europeans knew it. Dunnett brings the splendour, cultural ferment, and violent cruelty of the Renaissance world splendidly to life.

If you are at all squeamish, or do not like having to make your brain work overtime to follow a book, leave this series alone. Lymond's story is neither "chewing gum for the brain" nor a comfortable read. And even if you prefer flawed heroes to knights in shining armour, Lymond may infuriate you from time to time. But if you can put up with these features, these books will richly reward the effort you make in reading them.

There is no middle ground: you will either hate the Lymond series or recognise these books as one of the greatest works of historical fiction ever written. Or very possibly both !

If you are considering this third in the Lymond series, it is fairly similar to the first two. I came to the series having very much enjoyed Dunnett's House of Niccolo series. Having read the first three Lymond books, I do not think they are as good. Mostly, we are constantly being told how brilliant, deep, and charming the protagonist is. Niccolo is supposed to be very talented as well, but Dunnett demonstrates that through the plot, rather than force it down our throats as she does here. It makes it much harder to like or admire Lymond as a character.

There are some other irritating quirks in the writing. In the first of the series, for example, we hear way too many times about the Crawfords' "cornflower" eyes. I wanted to put needles in them by the end. In this book, characters are always saying things "grimly."

Unfortunately, the story-telling is pretty good, so I have to mutter under my breath as I read. Without spoiling the plot, by this point you know to look for the villain, who is pretty obvious. On the other hand, I thought there were more clever bits to the summing up than in the first two books, some of which I had certainly missed. But if you have fantasies about horrible deaths for the hordes of competent, sensible women, the high-strung protege du jour, etc., I sympathize.

The Lymond Chronicles (I've read the first three, have not read any other Dorothy Dunnett - yet) are not for everyone. I have both volumes of the Dorothy Dunnett Companion by Elspeth Morrison, and refer to them often to look up the many allusions to historical events and figures, to music and literature, many of which are unfamiliar to any but the most learned reader. That said, they are incredibly rich and never bog down. As with any operatic work (and these stories are!), one must suspend disbelief (no human being, especially one as young as Francis Crawford, could be so accomplished in so many areas). Reading these books is a roller-coaster ride through great swashbuckling, dark intrigue, hilarity and sometimes tenderness. I am amazed that Dunnett never leaves something dangling, no matter how unimportant it seemed when first mentioned -- except, of course, that The Disorderly Knights ends with two important characters tied to the tracks. I have to go out and buy the next book in the series this afternoon.

Francis Crawford of Lymond is sent by the French King to the Island of Malta where the Knights Hospitallers are threatened by an invasion from the Turks. While there Francis is caught up in the politics of the Knights, in particular one Graham Malett who the reader will discover is not at all what he and his convent raised sister are what they appear to be on the surface. As Dunnett slowly peels back the layers of her story, the reader is taken from Malta to embattled Tripoli and then back again to Scotland as Francis intrigues to discover Graham's hidden agendas. To say much more would give away the whole plot, but be prepared for some memorable moments that will stick with you for long after the book is finished. The scene with the sheep (LOL), the nail biting suspense in Tripoli as they try to defuse the flame before Tripoli is blown to bits and of course the final climax during the sword fight between Lymond and his greatest enemy.

Throughout, Francis Crawford is a fascinating hero, and is as suave, debonair, flawed and fascinating as only a 16th Century version of James Bond could be. This is a complicated tale, and one that a reader has to pay close attention to, if you let your mind wander you may have to back track occasionally as I did. Dunnett is also very subtle (sometimes too much so!) and you do have to wait until the very end when all is revealed during a heart stopping sword fight in an Edinburgh cathedral, and a big surprise for Francis that will have you scrambling for the next book in the series, Pawn in Frankincense: Fourth in the Legendary Lymond Chronicles. Five stars.

I envy you if you are just about to read this book because there are 6 in this series and I have read them all! By this book I felt that I knew Francis Crawford (the hero) intimately. I worship him for being the kind of person we all secretly want to be: incredibly smart, strong mentally and physically, kind (although not apparently so), poetic, musical...basically your Renaissance ideal, yet with enough flaws in him to make him endearingly human. In this third book of the series he meets someone who is seemingly his equal, which brings out his character even more. I can't categorize this book as an "adventure" or "historical" novel because it is all that and much more. Read it carefully (although the urge to flip the pages to find out what's next is strong, it's a real page-turner) and you will be as hooked on Dorothy Dunnett as I am.

Used to listen to this on tape and wanted to replace it with cd so I could listen to it in the car. If you want to get a taste of life in 1660's London, this is it. The written diaries are also fascinating but fairly hard to read, so Kenneth Branagh helps us out here. Anyone interested in English history will be very pleased with this diary. If you don't yet know who Pepys is then, for sure, you need to buy this. I've listened to it at least twice over the years and alway hear something new with each listening. Highly recommended!

I chose to listen to this book because I felt I "should" be better acquainted with what can arguably be called the most famous diary in history. I looked upon it as a chore that would improve my mind.

I may have, indeed, improved my mind but it turned out to be no chore! What an absolute delight. I've read many historical novels that weren't half as exciting, funny and fascinating as this book. I kept having to remind myself that this man REALLY lived through all these things -- the plague, the great London fire, the machinations of the court.

Plus, his willingness to expose in frank (and sometimes bawdy) detail his personal life, health, sexual dalliances, etc., brought *him* as well as his times vividly to life.

I doubt if trying to read through the actual diary would be as much fun, but the editors' careful selection of entries culled out the best bits while never losing continuity.

And what more can I add to the praise of Branagh as narrator? The man is a phenomenal talent and shows it in this book. Never over-acting, he manages to convey a perfect tone (for instance, just the hint of a whisper at the more personal parts, as though Pepys was confiding in us).

All in all, this book convinced me that improving my mind doesn't HAVE to be tedious.

Of course it is not the complete Pepy's diary but is wonderful to listen to while on long drives. Kenneth Brannagh as the reader brings life into the English language of yesterday. I wonder if a movie is in the offing.

Samuel Pepys' Pepys' Diary is an outstanding classic which comes to life in audio cd format, narrated by Kenneth Branagh whose background in film and direction lend to a vivid narrative indeed. Pepys' classic has lasted centuries because it records in vivid descriptions the bygone world of 17th-century London life: this vivid written word in turn translates well into audio and brings a rich history to life.

I loved these tapes. I concur with the reviews that they are addictive - better for a long country ride than a harried rush hour. Then let Pepys (Branagh) be your witty and engrossing travel companion.

It obviously helps to be familar with the Restoration to enhance your enjoyment of these diaries; though many with even a general background will still find them entertaining. Highly recommended.

I bought this book to help with my transition to a director's position at a nonprofit organization. It contains very useful and concrete ideas, in addition to case studies from different organizational types (i.e., an example of succession in public agency, a non-profit organization, etc.). I would definitely suggest this book for anyone thinking of systematizing succession.

Rothwell's book is one of the more comprehensive and well researched books covering this growing topic. It includes a wealth of information following all of the major steps of the Succession Planning process. The book contains useful worksheets and task process flows that allow a reader to rapidly introduce the core concepts into their organisation. A great resource.

easy to understand and absorb great intro reference

The need for succession planning is reaching crisis proportions, yet few organizations are willing to face the crisis and do something about it.

There's nothing magic here---just a realistic, comprehensvie, flexible approach to get the job done. The strenghts in this book:
- Finding the right devleopmental activity for the right level of management
- Design, gain support, and implement, and maintain your succession process.
- Lots of extras, including assessments and a plan to devleop a mentoring program.

A great value.

Rothwell provides not only an excellent review of the current literature but countless worksheets for practice. If you are interested in succession planning issues this book is a must. I would also recommend "The Leadership Pipeline" by Charan, Drotter, & Noel. And buy a copy of "Strategic Organizational Learning" by Beitler. Beitler has several free articles on his website "[...]" that are also helpful.

Laura Taylor
Baltimore, MD

Two years ago, while in high school, I formed an Independent Study class with a couple other students to learn Esperanto. It's a relatively esoteric subject for most people, so we were worried we would be unable to find an effective text book. We ultimately decided on Esperanto from the Teach Yourself series, and were pleased beyond our expectations. I was amazed by not only how easy the language is to learn, but by the wonderful format and selection of vocabulary presented by the book. The book does not patronize you with repetitive material, and instead uses every page to pack in more of the language. Complete with wonderful appendicies (and a comprable dictionary), I felt that I learned more from that book than I did from my first three years of formal classes in Spanish. Although I have used a more advanced textbook since, shortly after finishing the TY Esperanto book, I had very little trouble tackling La Hobito (the Hobbit), Genesis, and poetry in Esperanto to test my success and build vocabulary. I fear, if interest fades or not enough materials like this remain available, this wonderful experiment with linguistics will die. Don't be afraid to help Esperanto stay alive, and Teach Yourself Esperanto.

I ordered this book through my local library, because I was interested learning about Esperanto. Once I had it, I realized I would need a permanent copy for myself. I searched everywhere on the internet for it, but because it is out of print the only place I found it was here, on Amazon.com. The price was $30.68, which is outrageous for a book of not even 200 pages. But I paid it, because this book really is priceless!
If you want to learn Esperanto, you need this book.

The Teach Yourself Series is a great modality for learning and/or acquiring a second language. Esperanto: A complete course for beginners, is exactly what it says! I have used other TY books, and the quality and level of material learned is excellent for adult learners either studying alone or in a group setting.

Definately worth the money.....recommended without reservation!

This was one of only two Esperanto books at my local Borders. I bought both, and loved this one. After merely months I can chat online and read web pages and (simple) books! I bought it without the tapes, which I didn't know existed until several months later, but that's my only regret. The alphabetized word lists in the back serve as a surprisingly helpful (for the size) dictionary until you buy a full one, which I still haven't yet. You can't go wrong with this book! Acxetu gxin! (Buy it!)

I only have great things to say about this book. I'm enrolled in a free Esperanto introductory course, and I just have to say that reading this book alone has helped me get further along than the class! Of course, I can't negate that the class has been at the very least synergistically helpful. I would recommend taking a class to anyone, but even if you do, or if you can't manage that luxury, this book will be just as helpful.

"The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well... To know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson. The 19th century Transcendental philosopher.

In my spiritual family tree, Emerson occupies the great great+ grandfather slot (right there above Dyer and Maslow). :)

I truly love the man. You can feel his energy emanating from his powerful essays and if you haven't read his work yet, I highly recommend it. I'd suggest you start with "Self-Reliance" and then maybe "Nature," "Compensation," "Spiritual Laws," "Heroism," and "Circles."

If you're like me, his eloquence, eminent quotability and passion for each of us to experience the transcendent joy that results from connecting to our Highest Self will often leave you in awe.

Emerson's essays are, of course, absolutely superb, and this Modern Library edition is handsomely bound, as are all of the books in this series. The editing, however, is lacking and leaves something to be desired. For example, the header at the top of the page in the Essays: First Series and Essays: Second Series merely states that fact, rather than the actual essay name, which makes it tedious to return to a particular essay--you must first go to the front of the book, locate the correct page number, and then find that, rather than just thumb through the book.

The essays themselves are introduced quite unceremoniously and in a rather understated manner, to say the least. "The American Scholar" is merely introduced with the two brief sentences, "This is the Phi Beta Kappa address that Emerson delivered at Harvard in 1837. It was received with great enthusiasm." The uninitiated reader would have absolutely no sense of the significance of this address. Only if you happen to peruse the brief commentaries all the way at the back of this volume will you stumble upon Oliver Wendell Holmes' famous assessment, "This grand Oration was our intellectual Declaration of Independence." Similarly, the Divinity School Address is introduced merely as, "This address was delivered before the senior class of the Harvard Divinity School on Sunday evening, July 15, 1838. Emerson had been invited to give it, not by the officers of the school, but by the senior class. What Emerson said was so objectionable to many clergymen that the officers of the school publicly disclaimed responsibility for it. Nearly thirty years passed before Emerson was invited again to speak at Harvard." Again, no context is provided to assist the uninitiated reader in appreciating the true significance of this address.

As a collection of Emerson's writings, however, it is indeed both a handy as well as a handsome volume of his "essential writings," and of course, I highly recommend Emerson's writings themselves. "Self-Reliance," "The Transcendentalist," "The American Scholar," the Divinity School Address (which is listed in the table of contents as merely "An Address"), and "Nature" are not to be missed, seminal essays in American literature, and indeed ought to be revisited often and with regularity. "Self-Reliance" and "The Transcendentalist," in particular, are perspectives sorely needed in our society, and it is rather sad that over the course of nearly 200 years, the spirit of the movement that Emerson engendered is nearly lost, if not altogether lost. "Character" is another fine essay which I highly recommend. A fine companion to these essays is the recently published Ralph Waldo Emerson: The Infinitude of the Private Man by Maurice York and Rick Spaulding.

If the words of Whitman do not prompt one to at least explore the ideas of Ralph Waldo Emerson, nothing I say will be able to (or should). I suppose though many readers have merely seen Emerson's name after a famous quote or heard it mentioned by others and are curious about what he wrote.

The books contains his most essential, influential essays. Each contain classical Emerson thought, unique, hard to pin down, literary... Emerson was known for "trumping the logicians" and appealing to the soul of man. Indeed he does.

I have not read this book in its totality, but of the works I have, I have read thoroughly, as thoroughly as I have read perhaps anything, and I must say there is something undeniable about Emerson's reasoning. It is not logical in the dry fashion of philosophy, yet it is poetically, "humanly" appealing.

All I can say is read Emerson. He was and is one of America's most influencital writers. Some like him, some hate him, some appreciate though not totally agree with things he sets for (like myself). This particular book presents a good overview of his most renowned works, is affordable, and has a nice introduction. Highly recommended.

Glory to thee o Emerson.
Hail o poet philosopher!
Look, look...Even CICERO bows to thee!
Demosthones presents thy laurel!!

Emerson know some truth, yes, yes...and wasn't I told of this fact, yes I was but I ran away until I could bear the truth no longer of Emerson's greatness...

Emerson...friend, friend

Ralph Waldo Emerson could be called America's first Great Man of Letters (sorry Washington Irving). He is the one who started the transendentalist movement in America, influenced Whitman and Thoreau to name a few, and was one of the first framers of the idea and the character of the American man.

This very generous volume contains the best selection of Emerson's essays, poems and other writings to give to the reader the image of a great poet-philosopher.

Particularly the modern library volume, which is the one I spoke of, this volume contains commentary from Emerson's contemporaries such as the Great Matthew Arnold!

And of course, for all of you Nietzsche lovers out there, as a boy, Nietzsche loved Emerson's writings and you can even see some of Emerson's ideas and words in the writings of Nietzsche.

a beautiful book. my 3- yo daughter is very interested in fairies and we love looking at the inventive things the fairy has in her house. it is also a beautiful message about taking care of animals and letting the wild ones be wild.

A wonderful bedtime story for young children. My little one loves the relaxing poem with the beautiful pictures. The story tells a valuable lesson of caring for those around you. She calms down and goes to sleep very quickly after reading this story. My 2 year old demands to be read "Fairy Market" before any nap or bedtime. She loves it.

This is a wonderful book, beautifully illustrated. The story is one of gracious appreciation of others. Highly recommended.

This has been a favorite in our house for 20+ years. With our first child and now with our youngest. The pictures are wonderful, your child will love finding new things every time they read the book. And the messege that is taught, each time the fairy purchases a new animal and then sets it free after she admires it or when she shares her coat with the frog so he can stay warm. The message of caring for others is expressed in an easy to understand way. Great book for children and adults to share.

This gentle rhyming story is paired with beautiful illustrations. Story of the seasons and about being a compassionate person. A must-have in your library- especially if you love fairies!

I am so pleased that this is back in print and for that matter I'm pleased to see that quite a few other Heyer novels are back in print. If you have never read Georgette Heyer before, this is a good one to start with. Other reviewers sum up the plot quite nicely so I won't reiterate that. What I will say is that her characters here are some of the most charming she has ever created. Sir Bonamy Ripple is marvelous. He does provide some expected comic relief, but he also has some moments of insight and observation that made for unexpected delight. Happy reading!

I loved this book specially lady Denville who stole away the spotlight from the twins and the heroine Cressy in my opinion. She is beautiful, kind, simple, extravagant and had no clue in financing. In the meantime she loves her sons and they adore her. I loved the bond that the twins have for each other and how they come to each others rescue no matter what. The most funny part for me is when Lady Denville asks Rippley to marry her :) Just loved that part.

What can I say Georgette Heyer is the best.

Anna

If there is a more delightful creation than the lovely and extravagant Lady Denville, the thistledown mother of the handsome twin heroes of "False Colours," I haven't come across her. In spite of her maddening inability to economize, her sons, the responsible, but totally charming Kit and his brother Evelyn (Lord Denville), who sails nearer the wind, love her dearly. When she is nearly capsized by enormous debts, Evelyn proposes to Cressy Stavely intending thereby to break a trust that limits his access to the money he needs to bail his mother out. But on the eve of a party meant to introduce Denville to Cressy's relatives, especially to her redoubtable grandmother (whose consent is essential), Evelyn is nowhere to be found, and Kit takes his place. How will Kit manage to find his missing brother, keep his flyaway mother from sinking under her debts, and avoid falling in love with Cressy? These questions are answered in a book overflowing with effervescent conversation, Regency humor, and some surprisingly poignant character developments.

(Mild spoiler) The only quibble I have with this lovely book is that a very significant character related to Evelyn never appears, which I found very unsatisfying. In fact the end seems a bit abrupt, partly for that reason. However, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this novel--almost totally enjoyable.

Kit is a good-looking man, but not drop-dead gorgeous. As a younger son, he is also not titled or unbelievably wealthy. But he is a quick-witted young man, with a terrific sense of humor, a kind heart, a deep sense of loyalty to his missing twin brother and a lot of love and tolerance for his erratic mother - all of which lands him in a scrape, when he takes his brother's place at an engagement party. It was meant to spare Cressy any embarrassment; this lady had gathered all her relatives to meet the Earl of Denville, her fiance. But Denville is missing, so Kit fills in...and then has to continue the masquerade, when Denville remains at large.

In short, Kit is a perfect Beta hero. Cressy is not the best of Heyer's heroines, partly because Kit's mother steals the limelight whenever she appears, along with her snuff-stained and very fat admirer. Not all of the secondary characters are as well-developed as one might wish, so I would not consider this among Heyer's best books, but it is very charming and the resolution of everyone's problems is extremely entertaining.

Eccentric relatives cause all kinds of trouble for Cressy and Christopher, but they use their wits to overcome all. Some clever dialog and a current of humor enliven the novel.
The Sourcebook format makes a more comfortable read than the usual paperback. My only complaint is the impostors on the cover. They are nothing like the Cressy and Kit I have in my head.

Above all, this is designed more for advanced learners, native speakers, and particularly users who are familiar with the Taiwanese Zhuyin symbols as all the entries are organized by Zhuyin instead of Pinyin. As Pinyin becomes a more commonly used romanization system for Mandarin, users who don't know Zhuyin or are more familiar with Pinyin may find it inconvenient to use. The main entry (the listed character) does provide the Pinyin of the character in addition to Zhuyin and Wade-Giles symbols, but the sub-entries (the compound nouns and phrases) are only listed with Zhuyin and with no Pinyin reference. I do like the fact that it offers traditional characters. (I believe that a simplified character version is also available out there.) Despite my personal preference on the romanization system, it is a relatively better Chinese-English dictionary compared with those in the market. It has a fairly comprehensive collection of sub-entries under each character with good definition and translation. Last but not the least, the reference pages at the beginning with the traditional radical system and at the end with all three romanization systems listed are pretty useful for learners who are really into learning traditional characters and/or need references on different phonetic romanization systems. So if you don't mind looking up words with Zhuyin symbols, it is a pretty good Chinese-English dictionary.

This may be of use to Chinese speakers from Taiwan who are translating into English. However, for native speakers of English who translate Chinese into English, or for students who need to look-up using pinyin, this dictionary will be of limited value. There is a pinyin index but it is not as convenient as a fully pinyin dictionary. Furthermore, although head character entries have pinyin readings, character compounds listed as sub-entries under each head character lack pinyin readings. It is more comprehensive than Oxford's Chinese-English English-Chinese (ISBN 0195911512) but I only use it rarely for characters I can't find in Oxford.

I have used this dictionary for nearly 10 years, and I believe that in that time, working regularly with classical documents, I have encountered no more than 5 characters not included in this dictionary. Certainly for students of modern Chinese, this is as complete a dictionary as you will likely ever need. Characters are listed by several different indexes in both the front and the back, including one index for characters with ambiguous radicals! My only objection is that alternative character forms are inconsistently listed in the indexes, meaning that characters that at first appear not to be included may be included under different forms. Others will not like the absence of the most contemporary usages and colloquialisms; in return, however, they will get a wide range of definitions used in both classical and modern Chinese, a remarkable number of phrases, both classical and modern, and a constantly useful range of biographical and historical names, which can otherwise be very difficult to locate. All in all, my dictionary of first choice on a shelf that includes at least 10 of them.

Fantastic! I was expecting a big and good dictionary. And had the surprise in receiveing a wonderful, very well printed, fine paper dictionary - not tzu tian ( words
dictionary) but ci tian ( phrases dictionary )! Hardcover and with a nice box, besides, with a special plastic cover! And for each of its more than 7 thousands entries, more than 6 or 8 examples, with pronounciation, what makes more than 56 thousands expressions! Zhuyin Fuhao and Pyin Yin ! Fantastic is not enough for this treasure!

This is a very good hard-cover Chinese-English dictionary for those who are interested in a dictionary that features traditional characters and uses Zhuyin (bo po mo fo) for pronunciation, such as anyone interested in visiting Taiwan. The characters are organized by radical number and stroke count, and a Zhuyin phonetic index is in the back of the dictionary, as well as phonetic indices for two other phonetic systems (Gwoyeu Romatzyh and the U. N. Mandarin Phonetic Symbols). Since the dictionary is a Chinese-English dictionary, it is very useful for looking up Chinese characters you read and words you hear. For each character entry, there are often multiple (up to several dozen in some cases) common phrases of two or more characters in length all starting with that character. As I am a native English speaker, I have found that the dictionary is well complimented by an English-Chinese dictionary so that I can also look up words and phrases I know in English and would like to say or write in Chinese.

I recommend this dictionary to native English speaking students of Mandarin Chinese with traditional characters.

For me this was an amazing discovery. I read a review of it in a literary magazine in the waiting room of my optician and when I got home I immediately ordered it from Amazon.
What caught my eye in the review were the names of the inhabitants of the February House - Auden, Britten,McCullers... in that amazing year. I knew of their work individually but to read of them living under the same roof was a revelation.What a cauldron of creativity! All against the background of the war in Europe and the period leading up to Pearl Harbour.As I read the book I felt as though I were there. I hope that someone will make a documentary about it or better still a dramatised reconstruction. The two Truman Capote films have blazed the trail.

A friend just recommended this book to me and it's fabulous!!! I live in an artist bldg and it's nothing compared to the energy of Middagh Street. The book is a great read and the research is most impressive. I cannot wait to read the one she's writing about the Chelsea Hotel!

Sherill Tippins' volume fills a tantalizing gap that fans of Auden, McCullers, Britten, and Gypsy Rose Lee have long wished could be filled. Most overdue is Tippins' portrait of George Davis: failed literary wunderkind; editor extraordinaire (who "discovered" McCullers and got much-needed writing jobs for her and W. H. Auden in the lean months before Pearl Harbor); husband to Lotte Lenya and the catalyst that re-invented her for American audiences in Marc Blitzstein's staging of Weill's "Threepenny Opera"--the list goes on and on. Davis and Auden are central to Tippins' account and to the amazing colony of artists who called 7 Middagh Street in Brooklyn Heights their home in 1940-41. But Tippins gives everyone in that circle his/her due. Her depictions of Auden's rocky romance with Chester Kallman, of Benjamin Britten's coming to terms with his artistic destiny in England, not America, and Gypsy Rose Lee's ability to charm and disarm everyone she met are more than engaging--they are extremely moving.

Tippins' research is exhaustive and impeccable, and she lets her characters speak naturally and eloquently. I could not put this book down and practically read it at one sitting. I was hungry for the kind of information Tippins delivered, and I finished the book with the deepest satisfaction. Gracefully written, carefully organized and researched, and extremely relevant: this book wins on all counts.

Sherill Tippins has done an amazing job of finding the significant narrative threads in the chaotic convergence of creative lives that occurred in the months before Pearl Harbor when Harper's Bazaar editor George Davis and British expatriate poet W.H. Auden rented a brownstone on 7 Middagh Street in Brooklyn Heights and actively recruited other creative artists to live with them. Among the co-renters were Carson McCullers who had recently published her highly acclaimed first novel, "The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter," soon-to-be famous British composer Benjamin Britten and his parnter, singer Peter Pears, unpublished novelists Paul and Jane Bowles, Broadway set designer Oliver Smith, writer Richard Wright and his wife, and burlesque sensation Gypsy Rose Lee, who it turns out was the most reliable in the rent-paying department and joined the little "creative commune" on the condition that she could bring her own cook and maid. Her fiscal reliability and drive along with Auden's willingness to take on the unpleasant role of house disciplinarian (collecting rent and other "dues" and establishing and enforcing many house rules) are probably sufficient explanation for why this menage managed to last the two or three years it did.

Tippins wisely focuses her attention on the leading figures (without neglecting to name the many others who partied but did not reside at 7 Middagh--Salvador and Gala Dali, Lincoln Kirstein, George Balanchine, Erika Mann and her brothers Klaus and Golo, to name a few). One passer-through, Anais Nin, christened the dwelling "February House" because so many of the residents had February birthdays. Tippins has a good knowledge of the works of these creative people and is able to see how one of the artists intentionally or inadvertantly influenced a subsequent work of one of his or her co-residents. For example, McCullers was struggling with the novel that would later become "The Member of the Wedding" when she was able to appropriate an experience from Chester Kallman's childhood to explain her heroine's profound sense of alienation and abandonment (Kallman was Auden's lover).

Tippins other great achievement here was her ability to slice through history and palpably recreate the political atmosphere in pre-war New York and to do so in a way that reflects on both British and US perspectives. She takes a good hard look at the criticism expatriates like Auden, Christopher Isherwood, Britten, and Pears faced from the British press and fellow artists who chose to remain in Great Britian during the war. She is similarly insightful in her analysis of the role the Mann family had in trying to get an apathetic America to respond to the European crisis. A lesser writer might not have bothered with these issues and chosen to report only the salacious and saleable anecdotes about the goings-on of the February House residents.

I highly recommend this book to anyone even passingly interested in one of the artists who lived at 7 Middagh Street (you're sure to learn something new), to anyone who ever wondered how great works of art come about, or to anyone interested in knowing how history and art intersect. I'm sure I'm going to use Tippins's Selecte Bibliography as a basis for future Amazon.com purchases.

Thomas Wolf once famously said "only the dead know Brooklyn." There might be some truth in that, but some of us know Brooklyn, N.Y.,U.S.A., pretty well,and are still very much alive. Quite a few people are aware of Brooklyn's brownstone belt, that swath of historic houses stretching from the East River to Prospect Park and beyond. Many of these people would declare Brooklyn Heights the ultimate Brooklyn brownstone neighborhood. It's beautiful, and gets scenic views of Manhattan. It's got history galore--an important Revolutionary War battle was fought here;and it's been, and still is,home to a lot of well-known important people.

One little-known fact is that a number of celebrated people shared a house on Middagh Street, in 1940-41, right in the middle of the Second World War. That house, which came to be known as February House-- a number of its residents had February birthdays-- has long since been torn down to make room for the Promenade that provides storied views of Manhattan. But among occupants of February House were poet W.H.Auden, writer Carson McCullers, writers Jane and Paul Bowles,composer Benjamin Britten, and stripper Gypsy Rose Lee.

Writer Sherill Tippens has produced an interesting, pleasantly gossipy book about the house's residents and their accomplishments. Jane Bowles began "Two Serious Ladies," her only completed novel here. The young lesbian Carson McCullers had just tasted, at the age of 23, great success with her novel "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter." She began two other great successes, "The Member of the Wedding," and "The Ballad of the Sad Cafe," between drinking bouts, right here on Middagh Street.

Auden and Britten, both homosexual, but not involved with each other, were being raked over the coals at the time by the British press for choosing to sit out World War II in the U.S. But they were working: they collaborated on the opera "Paul Bunyan,"not critically well-received. Auden who continued to live in the Heights, on his own, to pursue his lifelong, unrequited love for the young American Chester Kallman, was working hard in the interstices of his personal soap opera: He produced "The Double Man" in February House. Britten produced "Peter Grimes;"considered one of the great masterpieces of 20th century opera. Meanwhile, he pursued his own personal soap opera: many critics believe this opera echoes developments with his partner, tenor Peter Pears, at the time.

The most unexpected resident of February House would have to be Gypsy Rose Lee, burlesque artiste. She was talked into joining the fun by George Davis, homosexual himself, fiction editor of "Harpers Bazaar" magazine, whose idea February House was, and who worked hard to keep it alive. Davis had published some of his own writing, but he was best known for the talented writers he kept on discovering.

In Gypsy Lee's case, she brought some money, a lot of common sense,and a cook to Middagh Street. The house's residents needed all the above. Her reward for her support: George Davis, great editor, midwifed her book, "The G-String Murders," a publishing sensation for many years.

George Davis continued to live at 7 Middaagh Street after its time as an artistic commune had passed. After Kurt Weill's death, Davis married his widow, Lotte Lenya, and devoted his life to introducing America to Weill's great works,such as "Three Penny Opera,"from which we get "Mack the Knife."

There are some informative photographs, extensive notes and acknowledgements in February House. Tippins evidently did a lot of primary research, but she managed to organize the voluminous results in a very readable style. February House well rewards the reader.