Victoria Books

This is an extraordinarily useful reference book for readers of all levels. I go back to it for information all the time! The book is definitely worth the money, but I wish there were a paperback edition.

Deftly organized and edited by Xiao-Bin Ji (Assistant Professor of History, Rutgers University), Facts About China is an extensively packed, 751-page resource comprehensively covering the geography, climate, history, belief systems, economy, governmental institutions, chronology and more, regarding the People's Republic of China. An authoritative and "user friendly" reference offering up-to-date and relevant information (especially for prospective travelers and visitors), Facts About China is an impressive, seminal, and very highly recommended contribution to Chinese Studies reference collections.

Very easy to use and very helpful. Know the event but don't know the date? Just look it up in the index arranged alphabetically by issues/problems. Doing a project for a certain time period and don't know where to look? Check out the second half of the book with an index arranged chronologically (by date, from oldest to current). I definately recommend it for all you fast fact seekers, especially those who don't have much time to spare.

Capably edited by Ronald J. Formica (Managing Editor, New England Publishing Associates), Famous First Facts About The Environment is a highly specialized and thoroughly "user friendly", 573-page reference book. Half of the volume collects nearly 4,000 facts about environmental "firsts", from activist movements and geophysics, to zoos, aquariums, and museums. The second half is an in-depth index that allows the reader to quickly and easily look up the appropriate fact for just about any environmental subject matter. An exacting and thorough gathering of fascinating environmental facts, Famous First Facts About The Environment is an essential, core reference for school and community library Environmental Studies collections.

"Far" is an exquisitely written novel about Martha, a 30-year-old Baltimore woman who refuses to conform to what most people think "normal" women should be like, and finds herself isolated form everyone as a result of it. Martha is perfectly content being completely self-sufficient. She has no desire to get married or have children, and instead becomes involved with Edward, a man who appears to accept Martha for who she is. However, when Martha begins to think that Edward may have other things in mind, she quickly relocates to a small southern town to manage a jewelry store. There, Martha has an affair with a married high-school guidance counselor and strikes up a rather odd friendship with her next-door-neighbor, Louise. When Martha discovers that her younger sister, Carly, has become involved with Edward, she eventually returns home in search of some sort of resolution.

The best thing about "Far" is author Victoria Lancelotta's beautiful prose. Her poetic language alone is a good enough reason to read this book, but the story itself is a haunting tale about love, loneliness, independence, and being a woman. This is a very unique and intriguing book that's unlike anything I've ever read before. It's a must-read for all women out there.

This is such a beautifully written book that I feel like a real dunce trying to review it, but here goes.

This book describes a womans life the way women really think, with sex described as snapshots of images, whiffs of smell and remembered small sounds. This way of describing sexual encounter really works well, it also works for describing other things from memory, especially for a character such as this: who drinks too much and may have ADHD. Well, OK, Martha is more complicated than a mere assigning of syndromes and learning disabilities can explain.

She is complicated and interesting; or, she is a shallow, promiscuous woman who comes to terms with her jealousy towards her sister (beautiful without make-up, who could stand this!).

The secondary characters are finely written and believable.

This book is entertaining and sexy, so if you have been reading Bridget Jones and the like, please know you will enjoy this as well. With any luck you will never go back to chick fiction after this read. The book is artfully written, so for God's sake buy this book and expose yourself to some proper literature with poetic descriptions of time, place and human interaction.

Ultimately I want to say "Far" is very smart, so readers don't have to be. LOL

I would love to be able to say I had written such a book.

I completely agree with Sharon Owens' review of this book. It was my favorite book as a pre-teen. My family never had enough money to send me to summer camp, but I was able to go through this book. I really identified with the main character, 12-year-old Chris. I remember reading it over and over and enjoying it more each time. It inspired me to write some short stories of my own. I very highly recommend this book!

I remember reading this book about the age of 12 or 13. It is about 5 girls who spend the entire summer at sleep-away camp. Their adventures and life lessons really struck a note with me and I remember reading this book over and over again. I would love to find a copy again for myself to add to my collection of childhood favorites. I would also love to see it re-published so that young girls could again learn from the lessons in this book.

Military historian Bryan Perrett offers a dual history of America and Great Britain's top medals for bravery in this fascinating book from Weidenfeld & Nicolson.

Perrett's book is an interesting read. He examines various battles beginning with the Crimean War and concluding with the end of World War II. Curiously, though almost 400 Victoria Crosses and Medals of Honor were awarded in post-WWII conflicts, these awards are only covered in a one-page summary. Why these awards were given such short shrift is unknown. Likewise coverage of VC/MOH winners very much favors the English award. Some 20-odd chapters deal with VC winners; ten deal with MOH winners.

In any case Perret sets the stage for each battle - Balaklava, Gettysburg, San Juan Hill, Mons, Jutland, Iwo Jima, etc. - and then describes the VC/MOH actions against this backdrop. He also supplies information on what happened to each winner after their "moment of glory" including post-war careers; an interesting touch.

Given the number of VC/MOH winners and the lack of coverage for post-1945 winners, Perrett's book cannot claim to be definitive. It does do a marvelous job of describing the often incredible feats of valor performed by some incredibly brave men.

Recommended.

This is one of Bryan Perrett's finest works. It describes certain battles from The Crimean War to WWII that were notable for awards of either the Congressional Medal of Honor or the Victorian Cross, with the emphasis on the latter undoubtedly due to Mr. Perrett's English military background. The emphasis of each chapter is really more on the battle in question, with the individual stories of the medal recipients woven into same. It is also interesting to find out what happened to some of the recipients after their military service and medals, which the author shares, and unfortunately some of these heroes came to a sad end in their civilian lives. The greater emphasis in the book is on the 19th century British colonial period and World War I. Mr. Perrett always goes to great lengths to lay out the units involved in each conflict, and to explain what led to the battle and what outcome it had in the overall conflict. This is an entralling read, especially if you enjoy military history. Also highly recommended by the same author and somewhat in the same vein are "Heroes Of The Hour", and "Last Stand!".

Forever and a Day is one of the most well thought and imaginative books i've read in a long time. Any one wanting to read something different and unusual will want give this a go!

I have read most of Victoria's time travel books & thought this would be the same. I was wrong, but I was glad I did read it. This is a story of reincarnation between to people who have never had a happy ending. A thousand years ago, Giff, in a previous life asked for a spell to make Linda love him. He was granted it but the scorcerer, after granting it saw Linda & wanted her for himself.

We have then Giff being killed before they made love. History repeated itself over & over again. That is until this lifetime. Mord is the evil entity who has cursed them, but this time Giff knows what to do to rid Mord from their lives...

But, can he do what her must & survive?...

This book is well written and easy for the student to understand. I have used it to successfully earn college credit for Eng. Comp I and II. She's a wonderful instuctor and has written this book with the best interest of the students in mind

A synopsis by the author: Formulas for Composition explains the elements needed to write an effective academic essay in easy-to-understand terms. Chapters in the book take readers through basic essay structure, argumentative/persuasive essays, research papers, and literary analysis essays. The book's innovation lies in the math-style formulas that describe each type of essay. The formulas can be used by readers as devices to help them remember what needs to be in a well-structured essay. Furthermore, for those people who love math but say they are "no good at writing," the formulas provide an explanation of essay writing in a way they can more easily understand. Then, on the back cover, where authors usually write a boring blurb about how great their books are, readers will find "Twenty Easy Ways to Fail a Course," a tongue-in-cheek look at what students should avoid doing in order to pass their writing class. The book is new, but I have used these formulas successfully for years in my teaching.

This book is thorough and comprehensive in scope. It tells you exactly what you need to know to apply for a grant from the many organizations it lists. A good measure of its worth is that it's in its 11th update.

Both the graduate school office and the office of career counseling at my college have this book, and the staff guard it jealously--with good reason. It clearly describes each foundation and their guidelines for the type(s) of grants they make. In perusing this book, I didn't find a guide to writing a grant (probably because I was seeking foundation information), though other excellent books on how to do so exist elsewhere. If you want to cut to the chase, and save time and energy in targeting the right foundation(s) to meet your need, the hefty pricetag is worth your investment.

I'm not what you would consider an opera buff, and I'm a little young to have lived through the era that Ms. Villamil so deftly describes, but a family member gave me a copy of this book for Christmas with such a glowing recommendation that I launched right in. What a wonderful story of the arrival of the American singer to claim his and her place in the spotlight of the operatic stage. I loved all the detail -- particularly the vignettes of the singers who didn't quite make it (I'm not a singer, but how I can identify!) -- and the way the author wove it all together with the events of the times. I think this book is a performance worthy of one of those rave reviews the New York Times might have given one of those American rising stars who sang with such charm that the applause rang on and on. Brava!

Victoria Etnier Villamil's "From Johnson's Kids to Lemonade Opera: The American Classical Singer Comes of Age" documents the period of American opera between 1935 and 1950. As the title implies, the book is heavily focused on the tenureship of Edward Johnson as the Metropolitan Opera's GM. Johnson was a different GM from the severe, old-World impresarios like Giulio Gatti-Casazza or Maurice Grau. He was for one Canadian, and a former tenor. The operatic scene was also changing -- radio was bringing opera to the masses in their very own living rooms. Sound films were popular, further blurring the line between fine art and popular music. The Great Depression and world turmoil made the US a less hospitable place for European artists to sing. It was at this time that the American opera singer finally came "of age".

Villamil's book attempts to cover a huge range of singers and subjects, but it also purposely avoids the feel of an encyclopedia. The tone is even chatty and casual at times, perhaps replicating the down-to-earth, girl/boy-next-door personas that the American artists of the time painstakingly created. Sometimes, it seems as if Villamil is trying to digest a seven-course meal. The book could be better-organized: it's (roughly) chronological but some very important topics come out in bits and pieces, when perhaps one long detailed chapter would have made more of an impact. An example would be the remarkable stories of several African-American singers like Dorothy Maynor, Marian Anderson, or Robert McFerrin.

There are two wonderful things about Villamil's book: one of them is the remarkable index of American singers at the time. Original names, as well as brief biographical and career outlines, are provided. The other value of the book is that it makes a spirited defense for an era that's often derided even among opera connoseuirs. Johnson was accused, perhaps fairly, of unimaginative repertoire, uneven musical standards, and repetitive casting. By writing so colorfully about a whole cohort of American singers "Johnson's Kids" seem undeservedly forgotten. Villamil restores their place within operatic history. American artists did not have to affect Old World airs -- suddenly, their midwest charm (Helen Traubel), Jewish immigrant story (Beverly Sills, Richard Tucker, Robert Merrill), or facility with different styles and languages (Eleanor Steber) became a boon.

Like all "kids," adulthood was not so easy for the Johnson kids. Within a few years, Rudolf Bing took over, and his old-world European prejudices were reinstated at the Met. Some (Richard Tucker) survived the change, others (Helen Traubel, Astrid Varnay) did not. But if Johnson's "kids" grew up, their impact was long-lasting. Today, American stars like Renee Fleming and Susan Graham are sought after on all stages of the world.

Having never been to Victoria before this book has been extremely helpful and informative. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is going to the beautiful City of Victoria or Vancouver Island.

Canada is so close to where I live, however, I don't know enough about the destination to truly feel that I will experience all that it has to offer. This guidebook helped me to plan out exactly what I felt would be worthwhile for me. I've got a great itinerary put together in anticipation of a great trip.