V Books

Not just a catalogue of books, but a guide to help students (whether in school or in the real world) **recall** that education (and, indeed, human existence itself) has a higher purpose.

One could spend a life-time chasing down Fr. Schall's lists and reading them; you regain that life-time when you apprehend what the book is trying to tell you (and why Schall put it on his list in the first place).

Superb work, and unequalled as an originating impetus for pursuing the life of enquiry and the love of wisdom.

James V. Schall's Another Sort of Learning is a books of essays, "contrary essays" it claims in a subtitle too long to type and too fun to read aloud, about reading, studying, teaching, longing, thinking, evil, sanity, values, lectures, devotion, prayer, sports, and a few other things. Easily, Schall could have entitled his book "On Everything" if only Hilaire Belloc had not used that one for a book of essays in 1909.

The book begins with a quotation from Mad Magazine, and ends with a reference to Aristotle. In between the end-pages you will repeatedly encounter names such as Samuel Johnson, G.K. Chesterton, Hilaire Belloc, Russell Kirk, Augustine, Plato, Machiavelli, Josef Pieper, Eric Voegelin, Thomas Aquinas, Flannery O'Connor, Stanley Jaki, John Henry Newman, Dorothy Sayers, and Maurice Baring. It is a book largely about reading and thinking.

What keeps one going back to the book, if not only to reread the essays, is to consult the book lists. Part of the beautiful subtitle states "Sundry Book Lists Nowhere Else in Captivity to Be Found". Each chapter contains at least one delightful book list; and then there is the bibliography. You will find "Eight Books on Evil and Suffering", "Five Books Addressed to the Heart of Things", "Sixteen Books on Belief and Disbelief", "Eight Collections of Essays and Letters Not To Be Missed", and so on.

It is easily read, in any chapter order, and at any speed. It is a perfect start to a journey in worthwhile books. Schall's Another Sort of Learning is "Not To Be Missed".

To begin with, any book which, in its preface, seamlessly links Eric Voegelin, E. F. Schumacher, and Mad Magazine deserves attention. James V. Schall has written a delightfully odd, but profound book (in fact, "Oddness and Sanity" is the title of one of his essays) for folks like me who got all the way through college without managing to get "educated" (and digging into the difference between the two is only one of the book's many virtues).

The whimsical subtitle captures the essence of the book perfectly: 'Selected Contrary Essays on How to Finally Acquire an Education While Still in College or Anywhere Else: Containing Some Belated Advice about How to Employ Your Leisure Time When Ultimate Questions Remain Perplexing in Spite of Your Highest Earned Academic Degree, Together with Sundry Book Lists Nowhere Else in Captivity to Be Found'.

The book contains 21 thoughtful (and thought-provoking) essays on an eclectic range of topics. From my own experience, though, the best feature of this book is the book lists at the end of each essay - 37 lists in all, composed of 290 books (not accounting for titles appearing in multiple lists). I consciously took Schall's advice on maybe a dozen books or so, but in reviewing it recently, I was surprised at how many more I've read since then. One could do a lot worse than following Schall's advice.

Are you conservative? Are you religious in the Christian Catholic way? Then this book is for you. I mean this in a wonderful way. Even if you didn't answer yes to both questions you will find this book valuable. The title says it all so no more description is necessary.

One great thing it did for me was to clarify my thinking and point me in the right direction of what I should be learning about, what is really important to spend my time learning about. Ever walk into Barnes & Nobel and feel confused and overwhelmed by this question, "Good heavens, what book and I gonna buy now because their are so darn many ones to pick from?" This book will answer that question for you.

I savored every word on every page as I read through this book. Then I went to my Amazon.com account and added virtually every bood he suggested to my 'wish list', yes all 200+ of them. Then I ranked them according to my interest and started builing myself a serious conservative, classic library in our home. It will take me years to buy all of them and even longer to read them all - but I'm detrminded!

A book that I wish was better known. Unlike the most modern books that are meant primarily as entertainment this book harkens back to the day when books were rare and cherished and thought about word for word. You could spend a long time thinking about the ideas in the book. I especially like the chapter "On the Difficulty of Believing and Not Believing" since I have so much trouble believing. Along the same vein I like that Schall isn't preaching here - his goal is not a conclusion but a process - he wants you to think. Really a nice handbook to philosophy and thinking.

I rate it 4.5 stars only because this book is way too big to carry to class--it's like putting a baby in your backpack. On top of the syllabi you have to lug around, the weight is ridiculous. In terms of the actual content, it's an excellent desktop resource. All drugs are organized by disease state. Literally, the drug Bible (tissue paper pages and all). I recommend it for at home/pharmacy use only, otherwise you might need a forklift.

Applied Therapeutics is a very detailed, thorough, and informative compilation of assorted health care matters.

The text is easy to read and the numerous sample cases studies in each chapter ensures that the reader fully understands and is able to apply the information presented. It is also an excellent method to reinforce the enormous amount of information health care providers are presented with in daily practice.

The free CD-ROM (which you must request on their website with a coupon code attached in the back of the book) is a very portable version of this hefty textbook.

A word of caution: This is defintely not an "introductory" book. A little working knowledge of biology, pharmacology, and disease states is a must.

Overall, awesome textbook for interning students.

Very Nicely Done!!! There are some Typos, but overall it is an awesome book. A must for any pharmacist/pharmacy student!!!

Not just a drug reference, this is a clinical book.... teaches critical thinking and application of drugs, recommended by many PharmD's. You'll use it for ever.

The best book anywhere on the subject of applied therapeutics. The format is easy to follow, a series of logical questions and answer leading to intelligent therapeutic conclusions. Each section is written by a leading expert in their field.

this transaction was completed very nicely and we are happy with the book

What can i say about this wonderful masterpiece that have not been said by me in other reviews or by other fans? First for those who do not know about the history (others bear with me). Rin is a young girl who is looking to avenge the murder of her family at the hands of a rival sword school; she meets Manji, a samurai cursed with inmortality until he kills a thousand evil guys. What follows could have been a cheesy samurai opera where, in every chapter Manji kills an "evil" guy until they find the boss of all the minions and kill him after a dramatic battle. Well, that is not the case for this series. Mr. Samura manages to make the best story i have read so far by playing with the meaning of good and bad masterfully, the first books had its compliment of gore, but from the third book so far, each fight gets harder not because of the physical might or swordmanship but for the moral reasons to pursue vengeance, at every corner Rin must face real flesh and blood adversaries, not just plain evil antagonists, each with a reason for what they did. This is the second part of a story that centers around Rin, we finally find out what she really thinks, and specially how she feels, about what she is doing. She and Manji find one of the guys responsible for the death of her family, he is now a mask maker with a little boy under his care. Instead of blindingly killing him, Rin tries to figure out if he really has reformed or if it is just another mask he is wearing now . And she also has to solve the dilemma that by killing him she would make an innocent boy a vengeance filled monster just like her. The ending is great and you really begin to ask yourself if you could keep going after all, even with such good reasons as the one Rin has

The night her parents were murdered before Rin's eyes, Kawakami Araya raped her mother. Now she meets him again, but has he changed that much since that night?

Samura delivers the followup to another bloody story of revenge, as Rin seeks out the men who killed her parents. With the help of Manji, an immortal ronin, she might just accomplish her task.

As usual, Samura delivers magnificent artwork, interesting characters which I cared about, and unrivaled drama that I love in Blade of the Immortal. With an excellent translation to increase the quality of the manga, On Silent Wings II will not disappoint any fans of the series, or any new comers to the manga.

(Readers please not that this is a review of the second part of this two volume series. I am making every effort to avoid any spoilers, but it is impossible not to give away some information. Please keep that in mind if you read this review before actually reading Part One)

This volume opens with a very dark episode recalling the rape and murder of Rin's mother. While this story has been told before (see 'Blood of a Thousand') the focus is quite different. For at the end of this grim vision we find Rin in the house of mask maker Kawakami Araya, one of the worst of the killers. Recalling her grandfather's warning about the price of vengeance Rin has decided to try something different. She demands an apology rather than the artist's life. Kawakami, frightened at the possibility of exposure and the effect on his young son, rejects her offer, and at first it looks like history might repeat itself. Manji intervenes, and the usual titanic struggle ensues. The artist has a fighting style all his own, which provides an interesting variation on the usual mayhem worked on Manji's immortal body.

These episodes are exceptionally thoughtful. Rin is beginning to see through her own illusions and question not only whether vengeance will heal her own hurts, but also whether it offers any hope of closure either. As such, she is maturing, not just becoming a woman, but developing wisdom as well. Even though there can be no real end to the violence as long as the itto-ryu swordsmen seek the lives of both Rin and Manji. Surprisingly Manji, who normally plays the cold-hearted killer, shows surprising thoughtfulness and sensitivity to the young woman's internal crisis. Writer/artist Hiroaki Samura brings home the essentially tragic nature of violence while retaining the basic context and theme of the overall manga.

As is always the case, the artwork and imagination seem to step completely beyond the bounds of the simple, black and white media. The dark fight sequence and its aftermath underline what is happening in the story line. This fine artwork and the stories willingness to question its own meaning are two of the things that set this series apart from the typical historical manga.

community-help@amazon.com.

I stumbled onto "Blade of the Immortal" translations in comic book format. Attracted by the art, and the unusually deep dialogue between the opponents (as dramatic as Kazou Kioke's "Lone Wolf and Cub", but much more up-to-date in sensibility and subject matter) I immediately began looking for back issues, which was difficult. Many retailers don't seem to order many issues of this book. Fortunately the trade paperbacks started coming out soon after.

"Blade of the Immortal" starts off as a fairly typical samurai revenge story, with some unusual horror movie twists. We meet Manji, a guilt-ridden outlaw and expert swordsman, who is cursed with an odd form of immortality. No matter how grievously he is injured, he cannot die. Manji makes a deal with a magical buddhist nun. He will gain the release of death, if he slays 1000 evil men. Soon we meet Rin, a young girl, the daughter of a swordsmanship teacher who witnessed the horrific murder of her parents at the hands of the Itto-Ryu, a renegade sword school. Tortured by nightmares, she seeks revenge, but realizing she has no hope of surviving a direct confrontation with even one Itto-Ryu swordsman, she convinces Manji to serve as her bodyguard and stand in. Taking up Rin's quest seems a perfect confluence of both of their desires: her need to put her parents memory to rest, his to earn his redemption.

The stories take you through dramatic encounters with various members of the sword school. All are dangerous swordsmen with unique styles of combat. Some are quite literally monsters. Each has a unique story, an unique reason for having become a renegade, and this becomes the source of much thought provoking drama before, during and after the battles. All are memorable characters, in particular Shimuzu (Book Two: "Cry of the Worm"), a fellow immortal and Maki, a swordswoman forced into prostitution who fights like the wind (Book 3: "Dreamsong").

Harioki Samura has great timing, the panel layouts make the fight scenes breathtaking and exciting. Also wonderful is the developing relationship between Manji and Rin, a kind of older brother, little sister dynamic that lends the book much humor and necessary warmth (given the bloodiness of the battles).

Beginning with "Rins Bane" (Book 4) Rin's internal debate about the morality and human costs of her quest, takes center stage, and make this one of the deepest and most interesting books to cross the Pacific in years. There's still plenty of action, and the relationship between Rin and Manji continues to deepen, but it's the debates about the sanity of the bushido code, about memory, about filial duty, and hints of political intrigue to come, that make this book an thought provoking and engrossing read.

If you have any taste for the high drama and action, as well as the deeper issues running through comic books like "the Authority", you have to give "Blade" a try. This is the best dramatic manga translation I've read, and it compares favorably with "Lone Wolf & Cub" and "Neon Genesis Evangelion". I really don't think you will be disappointed.

This book has an excellent ballance between practice and theory. It presents the bootstrap as the powerful tool it is through the ellucidation of practical issues. I strongly recommend this book for everyone interested in improving statistical practice.

This book is loaded with good text book examples and covers a wide variety of bootstrap applications. It is great as a reference book on the bootstrap or as a course text at a graduate level. Chernick (1999) is a little more up-to-date and covers the classifcation error rate estimation problem that is not addressed in this text. Chernick (1999) also has many more references. Efron and Tibshirani (1993) is another fine text that is a little more intuition based with less mathematics. Fieller's problem with ratio estimation and some other gems are well covered in Efron and Tibshirani but not here. Davison and Hinkley do the best job on time series of any of the bootstrap books with details about moving block bootstrap and some interesting applications. The second edition of my text Chernick (2007) just came out and is far more up to date with an improved treatment of time series. But Davison and Hinkley is still by far the best book for a course because of the many exercises and practicals.

People might have many different reasons to use bootstrap techniques and they might have various backgrounds therefore this is a good book for readers that want to learn the bootstrap. If you do not have strong background in statistics then the practicals section will help you to programm and analyze the data. If you have background this book does show you the theory behind.

This book is loaded with good text book examples and covers a wide variety of bootstrap applications. It is great as a reference book on the bootstrap or as a course text at a graduate level. Chernick (1999) is a little more up-to-date and covers the classifcation error rate estimation problem that is not addressed in this text. Chernick (1999) also has many more references. Efron and Tibshirani (1993) is another fine text that is a little more intuition based with less mathematics. Fieller's problem with ratio estimation and some other gems are well covered in Efron and Tibshirani but not here. Davison and Hinkley do the best job on time series of any of the bootstrap books with details about moving block bootstrap and some interesting applications.

This is a well-written book, and I had the basic bootstrap notion figured-out and implemented within a few days, though it will be some time before I develop any serious depth of mastery of the material. For those unfamiliar with the bootstrap method, by a system of resampling from an existing sample of data it provides a means of establishing the standard error for pretty-near any statistical measure (like the standard error of the mean in traditional statistics), as well as the determination of general confidence intervals for those measures, even when the distribution of the data is non-gaussian or unknown. I do find the author's symbolic notation a bit confusing - perhaps TOO compact, and many of the symbolic expressions would really benefit from an associated clearly written paraphrasing (difficult for me to remember all the conventions after putting the book down for a few days). Still, to go from being barely aware of the technique to applying it to the data analysis in a current research project over a period of several weeks suggests that this text does a heck of a good job at conveying the intended introduction.

For loved ones with any sort of mental abnormalities within the family this is a wonderful story of dedication, love, and tireless patience. I was amazed at these two parents and how they stretched themselves in every direction to help their suffering daughter.

BROKEN GLASS: A FAMILY'S JOURNEY THROUGH MENTAL ILLNESS tells of an unhappy child who grows up to have a serious personality disorder. Elene reached her teens in the middle of the counterculture years: her professor father here shares his story of the family's struggles with Elene's ongoing mental health issues, charting hospital and doctor snafus and interactions, family adjustments, and ups and downs which eventually led to helping her raise her own children. An eye-opening story evolves with plenty of lessons for other families struggling with mental illness.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

I have read "Broken Glass" and found it extremely good.
I notice one of your reviewers calls it a novel. I can understand that
because it reads like a novel, a real page-turner. But it really is
not fiction but what the author says, a heartfelt account of a
father's relations with his daughter. Being a parent to a beautiful daughter, this book makes me realize that I should always support my daughter as Dr Hine always did.
I assume Dr Hine is right in saying everything is told as it was.
I have friends who can be called mentally ill, and reading
this book has helped me enormously in my feelings toward them.
Dr Hine is thoughtful, kind, and generous, and he understands and
explains all the paraphernalia of the mental health world. I completely agree with the W. Los Angeles reviewer, this book should be a must for people majoring in Health and Human Studies. A high recommend.

Dr Hine thanks for the beautiful, very descriptive and magic way of your writing, I also enjoyed your "Second Sight" book very much (a must) !!
I guess I'm an avid fun !!

Robert Hine has written the seminal book on parenting a mentally ill child."Broken Glass" chronicles Hine and his wife Shirley's heart-breaking and often harrowing experiences as they watch their daughter Elene veer into the world of mental illness. Never has the debate of "Nurture vs. Nature" been answered more clearly,for despite a loving home,two educated,cultured,concerned parents and the benefits of a middle-class upbringing(music,dance lessons,travel) Elene becomes increasingly more disorganized and disturbed. Hine's descriptions are unsparing,tender, and without attendant sentimentality.What makes this book rise to the top of its kind, is that Hine takes the reader beyond differing diagnoses,treatment modalities and eventual hope for a cure. He places us in the hearts and minds of aging parents who wrestle with their own aging issues, as they alternately assist Elene and attempt to employ "tough love" methods. Elene, now grown with children of her own, continues to have episodic bouts with mental illness."Broken Glass" delivers a mandate to a mental health delivery system and legal system that often fall short of understanding and meeting the needs of a mentally ill citizen.This book should be a required text for nursing,medical,social work and law schools.

This helpful book is aimed at parents who struggle everyday with their mentally ill children. The author, Robert Hine, not only helps the reader understand mental illness in children, but also provides the tools and resources to help assist parents deal with such a challenge. Parents play an important role in the first line offense of mental illness in children. In being able to identify the early warning symptoms, it is the author's hope that we can reduce the stigma and improve the quality of life for such children.

This book should definitely be a required text for those majoring in Health and Human Studies. It is also a great resource for practicing mental health services providers such as, social workers, psychologists, nurses, etc. Needless to say, law enforcement officers and law practitioners are not immune to the type of problems parents and mental health providers encounter because they also assist individuals with severe mental and emotional problems.

The focus of the book is on communication and patience and its approach is humanitarian, emphasizing empathy in dealing with the child welfare system and the juvenile justice system, as well as practical in suggesting guideliness for dealing with specific situations. Elene is among the few fortunate children whose parents never give up on them and support them in all aspects trying to figure out what's in their children's best interest. Broken Glass is the type of book you will want to read to the end. It is a remarkable story about Mr. and Mrs. Hine's strength and determination to travel in any direction on any road at any given time, just so that they could provide their daughter with the tools to achieve self sufficiency.

Dr. Hine, thank you so much for sharing your beautiful story of heartache and triumph. Your unbreakable spirit shines throughout this book.

If you've made the tour of apologetics works, you know that they suffer from various maladies: too boring, too scholarly, too simplistic, etc. Somehow this work cuts through all of that, remaining clear and understandable while also remaining obvious that Meister can do the intellectual heavy lifting (think iceberg).

But perhaps best of all is not just great content and presentation, but the logic of the book is striking and developed throughout. Meister draws his conclusions without overstating the case, and builds a cumulative case for Christianity instead of claiming that each point independently supports Christianity (like a house with too many pillars). It is refreshing to read well-thought-out arguments with the appropriate conclusion made.

All that is to say that this book is an important contribution to the field of apologetics, for Christians and non-Christians alike. I highly recommend it.

Building Belief is a resource for seekers and believers. Meister uses a pyramid to build from one truth on to the next, each building on the last--a very useful tool for those who want to be ready to give an answer. Meister does not shy away from the arguments against Christianity; he boldly weighs the evidence that leads the reader to see the truths of the Christian faith. This is a great resource for those who want to brush up on their apologetics, but it is also "user-friendly" enough to give to anyone who is struggling with questions about the Christian faith.

This book is rich in wisdom, yet an easy to understand read, it will shake your belief system and move you to change or strengthen your current beliefs. It's a fundamental read if you question what you believe or why you believe what you do.

Dr. Meister's "Apologetics Pyramid" starts with the broadest of topics: what is truth, and climbs to the peak with the good news of Jesus Christ. Everything in the middle of the book tackles issues on worldviews, morality, and the historical claims of the ressurection. Meister not only gives evidence for this belief but also gives equal space for opposing viewpoints. Along with suggestions for further reading defending his belief, he even gives suggestions for further reading against his views as well. Building Belief: Constructing Faith from the Ground Up is a very fair and balanced book for believers and skeptics alike. One that you will want to read more than once.

I would highly recommend this book for anyone seeking to find truth in religion.
Meister is very good a bringing difficult concepts down to the rest of us who don't live in ivory towers.
On top of that, I love the way Meister asks his readers to "use" his book rather than just "read" his book. And he gives both sides of the story regarding religion - which, to me, is paramount when trying to discover what in this life we're going to believe. (And just in case there is any confusion, we should believe what's true.) He prods readers to not just look at evidences for the validity of Christianity, he also encourages readers to check out other world views and concepts contrary to Christianity. He invites further study of Theism, Pantheism and Atheism - the three world views he says every religion can fall into. He even recommends further reading of the best that he's read in each area. And, in the end given all the evidence, he allows you to make your own decision.
While I enjoy Lee Strobel's books - The Case for Faith, The Case for Christ, The Case for a Creator - the one criticism I have of them is that Strobel interviews only Christians. Of course, the people he interviews are no doubt learned, top-of-their-game scholars who give a very compelling case for the validity of Christianity.
But Meister challenges readers to explore everything and land where the evidence seems most reasonable regarding religion and where to find truth in religion. He contends there is truth, religious beliefs are not merely subjective and based on our own personal preferences. The book is valuable for Christians and non Christians alike.

You can hear the creak of the rigging and smell the gunpowder in this time machine of a novel that takes you back to the War of 1812. Wallace makes you understand what an important time in American history it was, and brings you near with a love story that could break your heart. Its people and times come clear in Wallace's knowledgeable descriptions of love and loss--and an important victory--in this 19th century tale.

Willis Holm, NYC

Here is a story of history, romance, suspense, and exciting battle scenes from the War of 1812. The reader is presented with a novel that is hard to put down.

Jonathan Coyne and the love of his life Liz Wade provide the reader with a humanistic love story of separation, loneliness, but never-failing love for each other. Phil Wallace ranks with many fine authors whose books I have read, including DeMille, Wood,Patterson, Sheldon and Grisham.

Mr Wallace has combined touching romance and swashbuckling adventure with page-turning intense momentum, and done it all in a highly accurate historical setting. A fast read but very memorable.

As a sailor myself, I appreciated Mr. Wallace's expert handling of the sea scenes and work on board ship in his "Call of the Sea." The storyline was engrossing and historically interesting and the protagonist was a person you would really like to meet--I found myself pulling for him and for the eventual reunion with his fair lady. A good read.

The answer is unequivocally "indeed!" It is an easy read by an apparent Renaissance Man (read the bio). He has created a fascinating high-seas drama with a strong love interest. Fiction and actual history work especially well together as Washington burns and Baltimore is besieged during the War of 1812. The book is not just for lovers of sailing, the sea and naval history although it will appeal to them especially. It is for lovers of adventure, romance and the drama of life in general. Like Merrill Streep in my favorite movie, Out of Africa, Phil Wallace simply knows how to tell a good story. You will be engaged, engrossed, enchanted and entertained. Do NOT miss this one!

VIENE DE ADENTRO PARA AFUERA..
Afuera, toma la palabra, la opinion y las decisiones de la persona a la que hemoe regalado nuestra libertad...
Cuando esa persona muere o se aleja, nos convertimos en los seres mas indefensos que existen... incapaces de tomar hasta una pequeña decision...
La filosofia y la tecnica de esta obra es como una enorme pinza que rompe nuestras cadenas y nos hace libres..LIBRES POR FIN !!!
Eso no depende de la persona de la que dependemos: DEPENDE DE NOSOTROS MISMOS

DOLOROSA, INVALIDANTE,MEDIANTE LA CUAL TU MENTE ESTA ATADA A OTRA PERSONA O A OTRA COSA...
Este libro me permitio salir de mi CODEPENDECIA DEL ALCOHOL Y DE MI HERMANO MAYOR !
BENDITO SEA !

AQUI ESTA LA LLAVE DE LA LIBERTAD!

THOSE INSIDE CHAINS CALLED CO DEPENDENCY!
We learn not to use crutchs, to walk securely on our own feet without depending of Mom, Dad, Husband, friends or any adictive substante!

Really efficient

¿Has oido hablar de la CODEPENDENCIA ?
Esa es la bola de plomo que todos arrastramos..
Una cosa es AMAR Y OTRA ES DEPENDER !
Cuando dependemos, ESTAMOS ATADOS...¿No dependes de nada ? YO CREÍ QUE NO DEPENDÍA DE NADA NI DE NADIE! ¡ Y ESTABA EQUIVOCADO !
Dependía, para mi felicidad y tranquilidad, de encontrar a mi espoa con buena cara... o yo también hacia morros !
Este libro me liberó: YA NO SIENTO HORRIBLE CUANDO LLEGO A CASA Y MALENA ESTÁ DE MALAS... Ya no influye sobre mi..
Y hay codependencias más agudas: Pueden ser a una persona,a un objeto, a una actitud compulsiva o al hábti del alcohol o las drogas..
SI QUIERES SER LIBRE Y FELIZ, APOYARTE EN TI MISMO Y AMAR SANAMENTE, ESTE LIBRO ES INDISPENSABLE...

Machiavelli is not the only one captivated by Cesare Borgia, it seems! What a delight to find a manga series that focuses on someone in the western world. So much of the manga I read is (rightly) based in Japan, with Japanese culture and customs that I don't understand. But to read about Cesare Borgia - who seemed a tedious character when we were forced to read "The Prince" in high school history class, but who has been explored in various historical fiction recently - really, what a great idea. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

Too bad Borgia wasn't contemporaneous with Catherine de Medici. What an awful, scheming, compelling couple they would have made...

I love the way miss You Higuri researches her work, it makes reading her books really interesting and exciting. The art is beautiful and the emotional aspects of the characters is well portrayed. I love all her works, she is very talented. Cantarella is one of her more provoking works, it contains some really cool plot developments and some very sexy content, plus some moral issues that will leave you wondering. Read all 5 volumes, it only gets better.

Thank you Ms. Higuri for writing and illustrating this series on the Borgias.
In this volume we get introduced to all the characters: Cesare, Pope Alexander, Vanozza Catanei; Juan, Lucrezia, Michelotto, Julia and the famous poison Cantarella. Cesare is not born of Vanozza, and is sacrificed by Rodrigo (Pope Alexander) to demons for the papal crown. We see his struggle to be loved by his father and his discovery of the secret of why his father fears him, a definite great start to an epic story. The illustrations are incredible with a lot of detail to the costumes and background I look forward to the rest of the volumes. It also seems like a set-up for some romance between Cesare and Michelotto as Higuri is mostly known for Gay manga. Intriguing...

I read the first three volumes of this manga only a couple of days ago and I can say that I am hooked. When I picked this book, I wasn't sure what to expect but I didn't regret buying it at all. This is my fourth Go! Comi manga. I used to read only Crossroad and Tenshi Ja Nai but I am glad that I gave Her Majesty's Dog and Cantarella a try. Move forward with the good work, Go! Comi.

It is amazing to see the way Cesare Borgia transformed from an innocent boy into one of the most legendry characters in history. How the evil consumed his body after his father sold his son's soul to Satan in exchange for being a pope.

His brother, Juan, hates him since they were kids. On the other hand, his sister, Lucrezia, worships him but this brotherly love has turned into a not so brotherly, forbidden love, as she grew up. She is looking at him as a desirable man and not her brother, which brings the story into an edge of excitment. I wonder what will happen between these two in the upcoming volumes. And what about Michelotto, his companion and best friend? It seems that there is quite an attraction between the two buddies but where will it lead to?

I never read about Cesare Borgia before, so it is a good chance for everyone to know about him. We have You Higuri and the Go! Team to thank for bringing us such a beautiful historical romance story. All my thanks for the Go! Team for keeping bringing us such good books and we will always be waiting for your new.

The first story I read by you higuri was "Ludwig II" that also had an historic context but couldn't bore me...
Higuri's mangas contain a lot of text and for normal readers it can take up to 45mins of read (I take 20mins to read a "normal manga )so if you like spending a lot of time wiht your manga; you won't be deceived!

her art is gorgeous, you could just keep staring at the pages (which could explain the 45-60minutes of read ^^;; )flipping them back and forward endless of times.
The emotion of her characters are really well drawn, they evolve as the story evolve (they aren't flat characters unlike some cliché manga...)and keep on surprising you with some of their acts.

well to get back at the point; "Cantarella" is wonderful.
but what's Cantarella exactly about?

**first of all; if you want to keep the story interesting; don't search for too much information because you could end up on non-desired spoilers that could just totally ruin the story.**

In the first volume you meet with Cesare Borgia from the Borgia family (doh!) that are well known for their poison.
You've got his brother Juan (which is favorised by the father) and his sister Lucrecia, who will later become an important character. If I remember right, Cesare is the pope (well at that time not yet...)'s illegitimate child.
his mother gets struck by lightening I think, but Cesare survives while his mother dies.
what happened in fact is that Cesare was sold to demons by his father so he could become pope.

You also meet with Chiaro (aka; michaelotto) who frequently pays a visit to his father who's in prison.
They've got a mask in the family and when putting it on; it's as if they change and become very skilled assasins; that way the legendary assasin michaelotto could survive for years and years...
Chiaro will become very close to Cesare, following him around everywhere until the later volumes where they will eventually part for a while because of some circumstances

-> spoiler <-
(Higuri is known for her stories involving homosexual characters - Ludwig II, various oneshots such as "boyfriend", Gakuen heaven, etc...- so it's only obvious that all the squaling fangirls will get some slash as well...(which pleased me a lot anyways) BUT! if you can't stand such stuff, don't back down to buy it; apart of the hints, the story is worth it!

if you have any questions about the story, you can always ask me.
hope this helped^^

This is possibly the finest single volume history of the Sioux War of 1876. I never realized from the Army's position what a concentrated effort, involving thousands of soldiers, this was. I also never realized that the Sioux inflicted not one but two significant defeats on the Army, both by 2 different groups of Indians and each within just a few days of the other.

From the Army point of view this was a determined campaign, involving 3 separate, converging columns over thousands of square miles. From the Indian point of view this was an uncoordinated, chance thing, with 2 different groups rendezvousing with each other within just a few days.

This is an excellent work about a strange pseudo war whose centerpiece is the Custer massacre. John S. Gray provides a meticulously researched, somewhat controversial, account of what appears to have been a totally unnecessary war. The maps are very well done, allowing a greater understanding of the tactical issues and terrain faced by both sides.

fair, balanced and packed with incredible information
worth 6 stars !

This is a great book to learn everything about the 1876 Sioux War from the political and economic situations that fueled the conflict (gold and the Black Hills, dissolving the 1868 Peace Treaty), the behavior of the independent Sioux, Grant's ultimatum, the Sheridan three prong attack on the Sioux, the political (Custer and Grant) and weather problems hindering he start of the campaign and General's Crook and Terry's frustrating attempts to catch the Sioux and Cheyenne who fragmented into smaller groups after the Little Big Horn. Also covers Crook's March campaign that resulted in a controversial but failed battle on the Powder River and the critical battle of the Rosebud in June 30 miles southeast of the Little Big Horn which occurred just 8 days prior to Custer's annihilation. Crook, the great Indian fighter with twice Custer's number, becomes displaced out of the Sheridan attack plan due to the furious attack by the Sioux and Cheyenne. Gray also documents how the winter roamers left the agencies to join the summer roamers (Sitting Bull, Gall, Crazy Horse, Two Moon) which peaked with one of the largest villages ever on the North American continent at the time of Custer's attack. The book completes the story by detailing the aftermath of Custer's battle with Crooks and Terry's joint and separate campaigns and the addition of General Nelson Miles. Not a total story on Custer, for that you should read Gray's "Custer's Last Campaign" but start with "Centennial Campaign" to get the complete picture.

In 1981 I made a phone call to a retired medical doctor named John Gray. I told him I had just finished reading his book, CENTENNIAL CAMPAIGN, and would love to talk with him. I figured we would talk on the phone, so I was surprised when he invited me to visit him in his home in Ft. Collins, Colorado. I accepted his invitation without hesitation.

We spent the entire afternoon talking about his book. There was one question that I was anxious to get answered. Why did he write less than a page about the Custer fight itself? Gray didn't really know what happened during that battle, so there really wasn't much to say. I laughed but it made sense.

This book is not about the Custer fight, but about the entire campaign of the Sioux War of 1876 and it is filled with new revelations about the causes and events of this war. Most interesting is Gray's narrative about the White House meeting between Grant and his aides concerning how they should deal with the Sioux problem and why they started a war.

The book is filled with detailed maps of the Indian movements during the campaign, where and when they camped and for how long. The same is done for soldier column movements.

There is an excellent analysis of the size of the warrior force at the Little Bighorn that historians accept to this day. The numbers will surprise you.

If you have not read much on the Sioux war, then I highly recommend this book. You'll learn that the Custer fight was just one of many events of a long brutal, bloody war.

This is the best book on this subject! You should also get his book on the last stand.