Charles Williams Books

This book is an excellent source of information for anyone with an interest either in the American Civil War or in warfare in general. For the casual reader, one can find interest in the stories of Read's early career and of his swashbuckling adventures. To the historian, one can find interesting insight into the importance of sea power, during the Civil War. This concept has a sort of Alfred Thayer Mahan ring to it, who wrote about sea power as important to nations during the nineteenth century.

Admiral Dewey said "America never produced a navy officer more worthy of a place in history" and thanks to Jones he has it and we've got a great book to read! Read captured over 20 union ships and burned most of them - he was captured once, made several nearly successful escape attempts, and at one point had over 30 Union ships at sea just to try to stop him. The main part of the book reads like an action novel, but it's all real - as he moves from river warfare to commerce raiding and back, but it has a detailed, 23 page section of notes and an 11 page bibliography. So you'll learn a lot about the naval side of the war, and lots of information is there for those doing research - but read it first for the story - you'll love it!

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**Hey, SOMEBODY [Ted Turner maybe?] ought to make a MOVIE out of this! ** ======

Lt. Read's true story, captured in this well-documented & very readable biography, has All the earmarks of a great, action-packed adventure! -- This Civil War "sea story" has everything: Lt. Read graduated last in his class from the U.S. Naval Academy; he fought on the Mississippi River in various ships, including an ironclad; he raided as far north as Portland, Maine; he was a prisoner of war & made multiple escape attempts... What a fantastic story line for a movie! But this is all true!

This is a very well-written account of a heroic figure, and it's one that will hold you in suspense! (...other than the fact that you already know how the war turned out.)

Bravo, Robert A. Jones!... I like your book!

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Do not be discouraged by the fact that this work is the author's first book. It is an excellent work with the content being ratified by some of the world's leading experts.

Aimed at any ordinary member of the public who is concerned about the need for protecting and conserving Coral Reefs, William Gray hits his mark spot on. The book is skilfully divided into 6 main chapters which allow the author to carefully build on what has been written so far as he brings the level of knowledge of the reader slowly forward.

Beautifully illustrated throughout with outstanding photographs and excellent graphics, I learned a lot from this book. It is the one book every scuba diver and concerned person should read on this topic.

NM

Do not be discouraged by the fact that this work is the author's first book. It is an excellent work with the content being ratified by some of the world's leading experts.

Aimed at any ordinary member of the public who is concerned about the need for protecting and conserving Coral Reefs, William Gray hits his mark spot on. The book is skilfully divided into 6 main chapters which allow the author to carefully build on what has been written so far as he brings the level of knowledge of the reader slowly forward.

Beautifully illustrated throughout with outstanding photographs and excellent graphics, I learned a lot from this book. It is the one book every scuba diver and concerned person should read on this topic.

NM

This stunning, comprehensive guide to coral reefs and islands goes beyond your average natural history book. It takes you beyond the page and transports you to the breathtaking world of coral reefs and islands. The text is evocatively written and supported by stunning photographs and detailed illustrations. Educational and informative. ~A must-have!

This is an excellent book; I have no doubts about it. William Phipps has done a fine job in presenting a compact, detailed overview of the life and religious views of Charles Darwin. Darwin was an agnostic, or became an agnostic when he rejected or questioned conventional Christian doctrines, and remained uncertain about whether there existed a Creator or Designer. Note, this does not mean that Darwin was hostile towards religion or towards Christianity. In fact, Darwin maintained a healthy respect for religion and Christianity into his later years. He does seem very clearly, however, a self-professed agnostic, unsure of or critical about religious or specifically Christian doctrines, but not an atheist, and not hostile towards religion. This much Phipp's truly scholarly and compact book makes clear. Phipps has done a fine job, and this makes great introductory reading for anyone interested in the topic of Darwin's religious views, or the compatibility of Christianity with evolution (Phipps also suggests they are compatible). There is also some fine material here on Darwin's peers such as Asa Gray, the Harvard scholar and Christian who accepted Darwinian theory, as well as Thomas Huxley, the famous agnostic.

In the midst of the culture wars over creation versus evolution, this book deserves a wide readership beyond those interested in Darwin as a person and scientist. This is not narrowly limited to Darwin's personal beliefs, but discusses theological responses to such issues as biblical literalism and the comprehensibility of god. The focus is on Darwin's period, but Phipps also reaches back to early Christian theologians and forward to present thinkers. It is, on the one hand, encouraging to see such a passionate middle ground, and on the other discouraging to see that the same battles are repeatedly fought. I wish that I had been steered towards such profound and subtle thinkers during my own crisis of faith.

Darwin is such a major cultural figure and so abundantly documented that it is impossible to do justice to him in a single biography. I therefore welcome such specialized biographical works, particularly in the hands of someone as careful and thoughtful as Phipps. I read the book with great interest and have been left with considerable food for thought.

Michael Ruse has written some complementary books on similar topics, including The Evolution-Creation Struggle.

Very interesting and readable account of how Darwin's views on religion and evolution developed over the course of his life. As well as being a towering figure in modern science, Darwin was also a highly principled and compassionate person, as this book makes clear. He struggled all his life with the contradiction between the orthodox Christianity he espoused as a young man and the ideas that science inevitably lead him to, and this may have been a factor in his persistent ill health. It is outrageous that a man as brilliant and humble as Darwin has been so villified by ignorant bigots with anti-scientific agendas. Far from being a racist as hypocritical biblical creationsists often claim, Darwin hated racism and slavery, and longed for the day when all men would see each other as brothers:

"As man advances in civilisation, and small tribes are united into larger communities, the simplest reason would tell each individual that he ought to extend his social instincts and sympathies to all the members of the same nation, though personally unknown to him. This point being reached, there is only an artificial barrier to prevent his sympathies extending to the men of all nations and races." (The Descent of Man)

Darwin (and Phipps) also explode the idea that the theory of evolution preaches selfishness and apathy towards one's fellows:

"Darwin thought of humans more as protectors of one another than as predators on one another. When two tribes are in competition, he stated, the one that warns its members of danger and engages in mutual defense is more likely to succeed. The 'fittest' are not necessarily the brawniest, nor even those who sire the most offspring, but those who live cooperatively." (Chapter 6)

The point is also made that a god-magician who must continually interfere with the universe in order to keep it going smoothly is less worthy of worship than one who works indirectly by allowing the full potential of the universe to unfold through scientific law - a point always lost on the biblical creationists. It's a pity that these "creationists" are the people who most need to read this book but are the least likely to do so.

With apologies to the NY Times for this title, this is the book to have on all things moose. Everything is coverered in this comprehensive bible of the moose. From habits, descriptions, pictures, diagrams, and charts to a study of this fine creature's impact on our culture, this is the definative study of a subject that could not be any more worthy of an examination this extensive. The moose is really about all that is good in this world. Brave, handsome, strong, and yet loveable. What more could you want? Don't let the price scare you away reader. Be like the courageous moose and plunk down the 65 bills(plus shipping and handling) for something that will enrich your life time and again.

I would like to take this oportunity to thank all of the people/scientists, biologists, volunteers, etc. who helped put this awesome book together. The information in this book is coming from hands-on time consuming experience. This book is truly a mooselover's bible. I hold the men and women who devote their lives to researching this beautiful animal in the hightest respects. I just hope someday I may be part of the group of people contributing their knowledge into a future book as great as this one. I would like to say a special hello and thank you to the people of the Moose Research Center (MRC) at Kenai Peninsula, Alaska. I hope to be offered the wonderful opportunity of being able to volunteer at MRC. Moose and this book combined have opened up whole new doors to life's avenues for me. Again, thank you for your time and efforts in bringing this great book to us. I love it

If you're a moose-aphile, then this is your book! Every aspect of the moose is covered and includes great pencil drawings and photos. While written for scientists, most of the book is still quite readable for the layperson. I haven't read most of the book, but I do thumb through it regularly, and I always read something else that I never knew about the moose!

Sir Geoffrey's is a great work, worth every minute spent reading it. One gains an understanding of the times, the society, the national and international politics, the economy, the religious issues -- and the fascinating Tudors and their administrators. A wonderful piece of work. Too bad the publisher Routledge packaged this masterpiece in a miserly volume meanly produced by The Guernsey Press. The type, which looks as though plates were made by photocopying some earlier printing, is like the fine print in a sales document -- so miniscule one must squint even in very good light. On many pages the text flows into the narrow gutters so that one must forcibly press the book open to make out what lies next to the binding. Because of the cheapness of the edition, reading it will be slow going for you, unless you do as I did: Force each two-page spread onto the flat bed of a photocopier, set the enlargement at 120%, and copy the text. Once I did that, the reading went smoothly. Shame on you, Routledge and Guernsey Press, for giving us such a fine work in such a shoddy presentation.

Elton is the most dangerous of historians -- clear, logical and able to charm with his (sometimes) dry wit.

Although fair due is given to all the monarchs:

Henry VII is capable and prudent;

Henry VIII is less capable, less prudent and in above his head;

Edward VI is selfish and malleable (but he was young);

Mary is sincere and narrow (Here Elton makes one of the few unfair statements in the book. He says, truly enough I expect, that during "Bloody Mary's" reign fewer people were killed for the cause of religion or rebellion than under any other Tudor. This ignores the brevity of her reign and makes no allowance for what might have been if Catholicism had been forcibly reintroduced.);

Elizabeth is truly a great ruler;

...the real hero is Thomas Cromwell who, in engineering Henry's divorce, established England as a state ruled by law.

A wonderful book.

Direct, opinionated, sometimes even combative, Elton delivers a tour de force in historical survey. This book is a highly readable, meticulously researched, and thoroughly engaging review of the period from the beginning of the reign of Henry VII to the death of Elizabeth. As survey of English history during the time of the Tudors, you can't do much better than this book.

The character and accomplishments of each of the rulers stands out as a uniquely individual: Henry VII, the fiscally responsible monarch who established the Tudor claim to the throne and restored the monarchy to solvency; Henry VIII the religiously orthodox ruler who nonetheless broke with Rome and established the Church of England; Edward, the protestant fanatic who (fortunately?) did not live long enough to have much impact; Mary, sincere but of limited ability as a queen; and of course Elizabeth.

Elizabeth's portrait is perhaps the most interesting, since she reigned longest and cast such a huge shadow over the time. The view is a balanced one. Elton is not over-awed by his subject, as so many biogrpahers of Elizabeth seem to be. He acknowledges her political deftness and sure-fire judge of men's ability, without losing sight of her failings and personal weaknesses. Her fiery temper and vainty are not forgotten and not every decision she makes is hailed as correct - nor is she dismissed as being merely "lucky" for her entire 45 year reign, as the occassional critic of Elizabeth seems to imply.

The true hero of the work, however, is none of the monarchs, not even Henry VII whom Elton seems to think quite highly of. It is Thomas Cromwell, who essentially ran the government during the crucial years of Henry VIII's break with Rome. Elton credits him with "revolutionizing" the beauracracy of the country as well as guiding policy for the entire span of his service. Hea rgues that the revolution in Henry VII's time was guided primarily by Cromwell and merely "consolidated" under Elizabeth.

Along the way, other men of ability and position who influnenced the course of history are given time as well. There is the brilliant but ultimately unsuccessful Woolsey, who Elton believes set the stage for the collapse of support for Catholicism in England, William Cecil (later Lord Burghley), who was Elizabeth's chief minister and right hand man throughout most of her reign, and the tragically unstable Essex who was his own worst enemy, to name only a few.

A great introduction or refresher for those interested in learning more about a period that was crucial to the formation of the England that become the world's dominant power.

This is the best edition in the Arden collection I have read until now, by Charles Forker. Very helpful to understand meaning with clear footnotes and a serious introduction in which, for example, you learn about historical and fictional facts in the play, and many other clues.
I agreed with a reviewer of another Arden work who said: "The text itself is full of stumbling, often unhelpful endnotes - what students surely want are explanations of difficult words and figures, not a history of scholarly pedantry. The edition concludes with textual appendices."
It happened to me before but fortunately not in this work, which is excellent. The editor makes the difference. I hope Arden Series follows this line!

i'm very grateful,both for the quality and the delivery time.
thank you very much.

This play is the first of four histories involving the rise of Harry Bolingbroke into King Henry IV (parts I & II) and then his son, Prince Hal, into Henry V. These four plays are always popular with audiences and have many virtues, although they are quite different in affect and theatrical means. This play is full of poetry and carefully composed verse. The two Henry IV plays are blessed the Falstaff's glorious prose and Henry V has its own interesting dualities in Prince Hal finally becoming the King - are his comments sincere or full or irony or is he blind to the irony of his own making? But those are other plays.

As this play begins, the York line is in power as Richard II who came to power as a child. Henry Bolingbroke is the son of the Duke of Lancaster (John of Gaunt) and is also the Duke of Hereford as the Earl of Derby. Richard shows through his actions and weak decisions (both weak in strength and weak in acumen) that his hold on the throne is open to challenge. When Bolingbroke decides to make the challenge is open to debate, but he picks a fight with Mowbray and both end up banished instead. This causes a tremendous rift with the Duke of Lancaster and when he dies, Richard decides to seize Lancaster's possessions in Ireland instead of letting them pass to Bolingbroke.

Since Bolingbroke is now the new Duke of Lancaster he decides he is no longer the banished Duke of Hereford and returns to England. A number of rumors and challenges lead to Bolingbroke taking power and when Richard returns from Ireland his loss of his kingdom is accomplished without his realizing it. The rest of the play is the fall of Richard and the rise of Henry IV with the attendant strain on the loyalties of the peers.

Shakespeare's genius for verse and the exposition of character is blazingly manifest in this play and that is one of the reasons for its popularity and the walls of books written about this play. Richard's inwardness and self-absorption is quite communicated to us quite differently than Henry's boldness and aggression. The way the peers show their divided loyalties, anger, fear, and duplicity is also wonderfully done.

This Arden edition is from the third series and has some of the features of more modern scholarship. It is also almost exhaustively noted and resourced. The reader of this edition is given more than 150 pages of introductory material on the origins, language, meaning, and performance history of the play and can choose which to read and which to leave for another time. The notes on each page of text include notes to help the reader understand the text, but also notes on the history versus the play and Shakespeare's sources (such as Holinshead). There are longer notes at the back, and a textual analysis in the first appendix, a doubling chart for performance in appendix two, and a genealogical table for the third appendix (very useful). There is also a list of reference works and an index.

I am a huge fan of the Arden editions and enjoy reading the plays with all this helpful material and I strongly recommend this edition of this play.

From the first paragraph of their introduction: "The purpose of this work is to give a living picture of St. Paul himself, and of the circumstances by which he was surrounded." Actually, they did far more than that modest sentence indicates. Either Conybeare or Howson (or both of them) personally walked and sailed everywhere that the Apostle traveled! Their account is a great travelogue, an historical tour-de-force, and an insightful Christian analysis and examination of Paul's ministry. Included in the book are the authors' own translations from the Greek of Paul's inspired writings!

I have had my own personal copy of a 1893 edition since 1978. I have read and studied this book over and over many times during these past years. I still find it edifying in any facet of my ministry and teaching. It has opened up the world of the times of Christ and the Apostle Paul's world, helping me to better understand the civilization which gave birth to the Church age. It is not an easy book to read, and a dictionary at hand does help clarify the thinking of these writes. Based on the available knowledge and information of their day, their research is impeccable and presented in an understandable format. This is not a book for just anyone, nor someone who is only interested in a cursory look at its presentation. I highly recommend it for a serious student of both The Bible and its History of time and places. When you consult the list of "Contents and Chapters," and the "Appendices," you are immediately led into a small study unto itself. The writers are chronological with subject matter that is apart from the basic book. The uses of notes are excellent for clarification and searching the Scriptures to substantiate the writings. This is a serious translation of the Epistles of St. Paul by two eminent scholars of their day.

This work was written in the 19th century, so the language can be challenging. This is not casual reading. That being said, I have found it to be one of the best biographies of Paul. So many of the others seem really to be the author's projections of some point of view they hold onto the apostle Paul. The authors at times run off into speculation, but these are clearly marked. I am sure it is dated with respect to the archeology of the middle east and Greece.

I have read quite a lot on the Civil War and the events leading up to it. I would highly recommend this book to anyone with any interest in the period. It is a a history of the Northern polical crisis from the time of the election in 1860 to the firing on Sumter. It is completely from the Northern perspective, the South perspective is completely ignored (it was about 4/5 through the book before the election of J. Davis is mentioned). With that in mind, the story that comes to life in this book is fascinating. This is a period that tends to be glossed over by most histories. The author does a phenominal job at putting the reader in the mindset of the times as the crisis evolved. I learned quite a few new things and enjoyed it.

The normal historical point of view for November 1860 to April 1861 is Southern. Lincoln and the efforts to find a comprise are noted but the main story is what the South is doing. This book changes that by concentrating on Northern politics and reactions. Secession and all the maneuvering for and against it, take place off stage. Except for South Carolina, leaving the Union was a wrenching process. Many Southern states resisted secession until the very end. Kentucky was not able to make a choice and Maryland may not have been able to choose. Their stories are the subject of most histories about this period.
What about the North? How did the political, personal and public opinion shape a response to the crisis? This book tells that story and what a story it is. The Democrats, badly damaged by the events 1860, try to blame everything on the Republicans. While they work to construct a comprise to save the Union one more time. The Republicans are not united nor are they sure how to proceed. A substantial part of the party sides with the Democrats in trying to find a comprise. Another large faction is ready to allow the South to leave the Union. Large numbers feel that secession is wrong but that the Federal government lacks the authority to force states back into the Union. Many question if it is desirable to use force to maintain the Union and if doing so would not destroy the Union. Added is the plea of Southern Unionists for something to stop secession.
Lincoln, Douglas, Seward stride across these pages. Each man with multiple agendas that create and destroy alliances. Each man trying to lead his political party, maintain the Union and do what he feels is best for the nation. Shifting priorities, new developments, regional pride and abrupt changes of position make this a rollercoaster ride even if we know the story.
Russell McClintock is an excellent author. He tells this story in a straightforward manner with minimum back tracking. This allows each event to be placed in the proper perspective of the time and almost makes the reader forget we know the story. While moving from Washington to Springfield to New York, we never lose the story line nor the reason for the trip.
The decisions made during this time were difficult ones. The issues were complex and the correct response unclear. This book captures that and explains it to the reader in an informative and enjoyable way.

McClintock's first historical non-fiction fully engages the reader in the politics and personalities that defined the most important four months in the history of the United States, the months between Lincoln's election and the firing on Fort Sumter. Although clear that the ultimate decision for the war lied with Lincoln, McClintock provides insight into the significance of other key players, from Democratic leader Stephen Douglas to Republican party leader William Seward. However, more than just a politcal history, letters and quotes from common townspeople provide a complete view of the perceptions of the time. As an avid reader of history, I can safely say that this work combines the detail of Shelby Foote with the adventure of David McCullough. Bravo McClintock!

Comprehensive guide on everything you need to know about living in the USA. A must-buy for those who intend to migrate to the Land of Opportunity. Best value for money.

Alison R. Lanier's book is part cultural explanation, designed to help those from other countries understand Americans, and part relocation guide, offering practical advice ranging from food customs to how to select a good school. The book, which anticipates newcomers' needs and helps ease their transitions, is more than a guidebook; it's a training manual. Intercultural expert Jef C. Davis, who updated this sixth edition, explains how post-9/11 aftershocks have changed things for visitors from abroad. He includes useful advice on cooperating with airport security, staying safe in major cities and complying with immigration regulations. Davis realizes that, due to its cultural and ethnic diversity, America tends to elude effective characterization. The book also offers information on some groups within U.S. society, from Native Americans and Asian Americans to gays, retirees and the disabled. One small caveat: the sobriquet "American" should rightly include folks from Canada and all of South and Latin America, grammatically if not in common social exchange. U.S. citizens are Americans, indeed, but hardly the only ones. Such petty Yanks aside, we like this useful, time-tested presentation of logistical and cultural knowledge for making a new home in the U.S. Now about those sidewalks paved with gold...

Now in a completely updated and revised sixth edition, Living In The USA rightly continues to be regarded as the ideal guide for recent emigrants and new visitors to the United States, a country which has undergone substantive changes in the last five years since the events of September 11, 2001. This comprehensive, 243-page guide is now enhanced with timely information on American subcultures (including Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, retirees, gays and lesbians, as well as the disabled), contemporary American social and political issues (including the rise of religious fundamentalism and the tensions between security issues and personal liberties), rapidly changing immigration rules, conditions, and American business conditions (including negotiation, life in the office, and time spent at work). From American values, to American social and civic life, to money, medical care, food customs, communications, housing, child care, education, privacy, and so much more, Living In The USA covers everything the newly arrived need to know whether they intend to stay a week, a year, or a lifetime.

Moon Launch! Is a sister book to "Gateway to the Moon" (GTTM) GTTM is an excellent history of the development of the space center launch complex, while "Moon Launch" is a great history of the development of the Saturn V rocket.

The book details the development of the crawler, the launch complexes, and the Saturn V. Details of each Saturn flight are explained, including manned and unmanned flights. I found the countdown charts particularly interesting because they highlight the complexity of assembling, preparing, and launching the Saturn V rocket.

Today, we take for granted man went to the moon. This book explains the incredible details that had to be accurately addressed just to assemble and launch the rocket.

Another must-have book for the library of an armchair astronaut.

First published as part of the NASA History Series under the title "Moonport", the University of Florida Press very wisely decided to split the book into two easier to read volumes. The first volume primarily tells the story of how Florida swamp land was turned into the world's most sophisicated launch centre. The second volume which will suit the more casual reader goes into detail about the Missions themselves with an extensive chapter on the Apollo 1 fire, a subject which NASA is still touchy about. All the Apollo missions are described and looking back in perspective, I am dismayed that it is nearly thirty years since men last walked on the Moon.

For anyone interested in space, this is an essential book to have and read again and again

In 1978 Charles D. Benson and William Barnaby Faherty published "Moonport: A History of Apollo Launch Facilities and Operations" as NASA Special Publication-4204. It was an outstanding history of the design and construction of the lunar launch facilities at Kennedy Space Center. Of "Moonport," a reviewer in the "Journal of American History" said in 1979, "The authors had access to official documents, letters, and memoranda, and they have apparently consulted all the relevant historical, technological, and scientific secondary materials...all the involved historians obviously spent con-siderable time studying and intellectually digesting technical reports and manuals in order to give their lay readers such lucid accounts of highly complex procedures and operations...it is important to public knowledge to have professionally trained his-torians employ historical methods to ex-plain significant events and place them in a meaningful historical context. Here is a broad lesson...that contemporary society can ill afford to ignore."

"Moonport" has been out of print for many years, and comanding a high price on the second-hand book market, but now it has been reprinted in a convenient paperback version. "Moon Launch!" contains the second half of the text of "Moonport," chapters 15-24, and the appendices, of the earlier work. For anyone interested in the race to the Moon, this book is a must read!