New Zealand Books

After 10+ years treating these conditions, the principles and methods outlined in this book have really improved my capabilities as a clinician. Its great to see patients become truly independent of the therapies and drugs they had relied on for years.

Product was just as described, great quality, and delivered promptly and safely. I would wholeheartedly recommend this dealer to others.

Very relevant especially after taking the McKenzie Course,
Part A.

This is an excellent reference textbook and guide to mechanical treatment for mechanical spinal dysfunctions for health care professionals. The mechanical diagnosis into the proper syndromes and application of mechanical treatments needs to be provided by a highly trained practitioner (preferrably a Certified MDT)that has attended the McKenzie courses. The proper applicatin of the manual techniques cannot be learned by simply reading the text.

"Treat Your Own Back" and "Treat Your Own Neck" books are excellent for the layperson.

This is an excellent reference textbook and guide to mechanical treatment for mechanical spinal dysfunctions for health care professionals. The mechanical diagnosis into the proper syndromes and application of mechanical treatments needs to be provided by a highly trained practitioner (preferrably a Certified MDT)that has attended the McKenzie courses. The proper applicatin of the manual techniques cannot be learned by simply reading the text.

"Treat Your Own Back" and "Treat Your Own Neck" books are excellent for the layperson.

Rykwert is extremely knowledgeable regarding architecture and western civilization in general. The book holds my interest in spite of its length and technical slant.

Never judge a book by its cover, or its title. Alluring as it sounds, Seduction of Place has nothing to do with place but rather endless facts about architecture and urbanism from two centuries ago. In a nutshell, this book reads like a frustratingly drab encyclopedic entry with 3 pages of photos.

You'll get the sense that something is amiss after reading the first 25 pages about the Industrial Revolution. The relevance of urban growth and new manufacturing techniques is clear enough, but describing who invented what and when is hardly helpful in understanding `place.' Starting from the first chapter, you'll be presented with a dizzying array of minor historical tangents of names, cities, academic/political trends, and suddenly be transported to something new altogether like a discourse on styles. For example the 4th chapter, "Lived Space and Virtual Space," covers architectural and urban trends in early Soviet Russia, communist China, then skips to the UN building in New York and finally finishes on Disney Land. There are a few paragraphs about reliance on virtual devices, including facts like: "sexual intercourse -for instance- may be achieved over long distances." This is one of many examples of sentences appearing out of nowhere, much like the conclusion to the third chapter which skips from a critique of the box-like World Trade centers to graffiti on empty street walls. If you are interested in modernism's failure at the street level, simply go to Jane Jacobs for a detailed and empirical account of how New York's "place" eroded.

Rykwert rattles off most of the European Utopias and historical interpretations but never goes beyond the surface. Lonely Planet does a better job with Paris, London, Chicago, D.C., Brasilia, and New York. What's so seductive about New York? Beyond a search for a `heart' (he settles mostly on Rockefeller Plaza), NYC is all about tall buildings creeping North along the island. Paris meanwhile is about preserving the historic core after Haussmann creates the boulevards. Of course Mr. Rykwert has spent much time in both cities, but his writing displays no field-tested opinions about these two "places," let alone the question of seduction.

Rykwert finally loosens up and sheds the lecturing historian tone during the afterword, giving some personal perspectives on the future of the city. In all honesty, I felt as I though I was reading Rykwert at the introduction and the afterword. In between is just a dry lecture that has nothing to do with the seduction of place. Nothing.

From a lay perspective, "tradition" arises from a repeated series of human acts. In many cases, those acts were first spontaneous or induced by some external event.

Can you "create tradition?"

The most interesting part of this book to me was Rykwert's analysis of Celebration, Florida. This was, of course, Disney's effort to create a brand-new "small town" from the ground up. He correctly diagnoses the effort as being dominated by profitable real estate development. In fairness, he distinguishes Celebration from a typical suburban development because of its dependency on "Olde World" design principles.

What he foresaw, almost inadvertantly, is the more widespread use of this modality for commercial/residential developments now springing up in revived, older suburban areas. These have been commercially successful and have created the sorts of delightful spaces he describes in his coverage of older urban spaces.

It's a good book, albeit a little dogmatic.

What's Joseph Rykwert's perspective and what's his view of the city? It's not very easy to peg down. It's not that of "sociologists, traffic experts, and politicians" as he says that he's "always been struck at how little the physical fabric of the city - its touch and smell as well as its sights - occupies their attention". Maybe he's more inclined to take an economists view and see things as Jane Jacobs does. Then again maybe not. Rykwert says quite plainly that cities do not develop "naturally". The perspective is definitely not that of a speeding, disinterested motorist. Rykwert refers to the impact of cars as "catastrophic" and says "I am not, nor have I ever been a driver." Now we're getting somewhere - a supporter of New Urbanism? Not quite. He has this to say about one of those showpiece communities: "the whole business of 'community' at Celebration is about...real estate". Rykwert is equally critical of a few architects (modernists), certain building designs (government and institutional), a couple of city plans (Brasilia and New Delhi), and some approaches to urbanism (the New Town concept of post WWII Europe).

With all that's wrong it's amazing that this book didn't turn out to be a miserable reading experience. That's partly due to Rykwert's writing skill but moreso because of his very obvious love for the city. THE SEDUCTION OF PLACE and affection for city space is obvious. The depths of his thinking about the urban form is manifest and Rykwert offers a synopsis of what's wrong and also what's to love about a city. "My polemic is not against the disordered, even chaotic city but against the anonymous and alienating one." With this we finally understand what his perspective is. It's that of a person open to experiencing the personality of a city; that of someone at ground level. Our difficulty with coming up with a clear view of the city might be due to the fact that we haven't experienced the city as Rykwert has and it doesn't yet occupy the same space in our hearts and minds. He invites us to begin. "The very condition of openess is what makes our city of conflicts so attractive to its growing crowd of inhabitants. The lack of any coherent, explicit, image may therefore, in our circumstances, be a positive virtue, not a fault at all, or even a problem."

Joseph Rykwert's new book is perhaps his most radical, although he elaborates on themes that have preoccupied him for more than 4 decades. Never has he so emphatically stated his conviction that the cities we desire can become the cities we have, but only if we take hold of our capacity to effect meaningful reform. Rykwert's position is particularly encouraging and insightful at a time when most of us perceive the built environment as the result of abstract and impersonal economic and political forces seemingly beyond any individual influence. Rykwert's stance is a challenge to architect's, urban designers, planners and other citizens who cannot imagine an alternative between revolution and acquiescence other than surrender to conditions as they are. Such inertia is countered by Rykwert, as are rationalist and quantitative approaches to the city, with affirmation of the city as a fundamental setting of and for human will, dreams, and desire. It follows then, according to Rykwert, that any successful making and re-making of cities depends on a set of rational principles that are flexible enough to accomodate chance, elaboration, and improvisation. Features Rykwert believes can become the special qualities of contemporary and future cities (if they are not eradicated). Rykwert's consideration of the city investigates the full-range of attempts to make cities places of and for people; a thread he pursues from ancient cities, to the revolutions of 1848 to the Seattle demonstrations in 1999 in opposition to the World Trade Organization. It is for these reasons, and many others, that Rykwert's book is a must-read for all lovers of cities and perhaps especially for all those who don't yet love them.

I bought this book in England on my honeymoon, back when I did this sort of work a lot. Then I stopped. But now I'm back at it and I can't stop. And this book has been invaluable. In fact, the quality of the knotworks I can make using these methods are one of the reasons I can't stop doing them during any little bit of free time I have.

The technique is a bit intensive. And time consuming to set up. And it does make you want to scream at times. But the results are fantastic. My biggest problem with it is that the author sometimes assumes you know where he's going with it, and seems to skip a step along the way. I think he just assumed the intelligence of the reader would make the same leap he did, but it's still annoying. But with practice, I've gotten quite good at it. And, as I said, the results are worth it.

Wonderfully written with detailed pictures from the Book of Kells as well as others showing the underlying layout of the actual knotwork. The techniques shown are SO easy and SO basic, it's a wonder that this isn't more popular. I thought to myself before I purchased this book that it was going to take a lot of practice and time to get it right, but the first day I was actually drawing knots! The second day I was learning how to bend them into borders and other shapes. If you ever thought that you'd like to learn how to draw knotwork, you can! Buy this book and you'll be drawing within hours.

This book is the only one that I have seen that shows you enough of the construction of celtic knotwork to enable me to modify existing designs. If you simply want to copy things, the dover art series is the book for you. If you wish to get into the details of the art enough to create fresh designs or to 'straighten bent borders' and 'bend straight borders' or cut things in half, this is the book for you. After reading it I found that I also noticed things in existing art that I had never looked for before. Prior to reading this book I had tried to freehand modify certain designs, and met with fairly, though I am a fair sketcher. With this book I was able to modify a design for my purposes, and then using a chalked grid, draw it from scratch on leather, to use in quillworking.

Mr. Bain tries far to hard to complicate the creation of these figures, and I am thankful that I did not purchase the book for this purpose. For tattoo designs, especially borders and bands, this book provides many great examples, that, with the right artist, could be rendered into fantastic, complicated, and original designs. I recommend it highly to tattoo enthusiasts but not to the student; you'll go blind before you acheive these designs through the methods proposed.

Yeah, the method is technical. A T-Square and triangle are helpful. But for complex, good looking designs, this is the book to use.

Why is it different? Most books (elder Bain, Sturrock, Meehan) use a center line method--you draw the center of the knot using the grid, and then yuo trace out along either side. But the problem with this is that the line widths vary easily, and thus the knots don't look so good.

This book uses a Edge line method--the edges of the knots are drawn with the grid. So all of the pieces of the knot are the same width. Which makes it look much nicer.

And it makes it simpler in some ways. Since the edge lines are made with a ruler, after all of the layout work (which there is a lot, I'll admit) there is little freehand work needed, jus' for the curves. (And a circular stencil makes this so much easier).

B.C. has got to be right as he's the only attorney in all of the world to have witnessed Northern Virginia, Vietnam with the USMC, Europe, GMUSL, and Saipan and lived to give such a review. Go Bill.

P.F. Kluge captures the essence and the flavor of Micronesia, from the Federated States of Micronesia to Palau and Saipan, CNMI. Th author worked as a Peace Corps member and helped to write the Constitutions and public speeches. He returned a generation later and found that the American efforts and aid turned "a fish and taro" subsistence economy into a "Spam and cheese cargo cult." I would liked to have read about America's accomplishments, which there are many, discussed more in detail. Of course, he covers all the craziness of the politicians and their selfish motivations, and also talks about some of the special, favorite people in the islands. If you like the islands (anywhere) you'll relate to this narrative and enjoy the writing. I found his recollections realistic and found the overall book entertaining and educational. Recommended reading.

I am reading P F Kluge's book on loan from a friend. Not only is it entertaining prose but it is perceptive, fresh and even 10 years on very relevant. Although it is written around a trip to the islands, this is no travel book. It is hard nosed social commentary.

Fortunately I am working in Micronesia, with people who remember Kluge. This makes the book more personally relavant. His observations are sometimes stark and even biting, almost to the extent of being satirical. They are not however untrue. Perhaps in their vividness they overpower other more positive aspects of Micronesia as it is for Micronesians.

This should be mandatory reading for anyone dealing with the renegotiations of US funding support for FSM and other Compact countries. I am finding that all too often it is convenient to forget the history of US involvement here and how the impacts of decisions made in Washington and elsewhere in the Trust Territory administration are as much to blame for the 'mess' here as is the conduct of this small population of Micronesians.

I am just a short term Aussie with no liver spots, so I can say these things. Mr Kluge is an American and states them with the clarity of an outsider and the intimate knowledge of an insider.

Find out what happens to the tails of turkeys, why it is dangerous to have sex in Chuuk, how to identify a Peace Corp volunteer by the look in their eyes. This book has it all.

While outsiders trickle into their idea of an island paradise, Micronesians flow out to their idea of a consumer paradise. Only occasionally do we really meet. When that happens you have lasting friendships which Mr Kluge's book chronicles so well.

Enjoyable enjoyable enjoyable. I will read it many times after I depart in a years time because it captures images of the recent social history islands so well.

I've been living in Palau for over four years and finally got to reading this book. What a pleasure to sit on my balcony in the warm air reading this brilliant book. A really good laugh at times.

I have a nightmare that I will leave Palau and then not find my way back. This book is about someone who faces that nightmare.

Wonderful insights, of course things move along and Palau is not the Palau of old. I know the author recently re-visited Palau, I'd be interested to know if he found it as welcoming as always.

I know a budding author here who is keen to follow in his footsteps in terms of retelling Palau in a foreigners words. I only hope she uses the respect and humour this author chose to use.

Good book.

Having lived and loved and worked and traveled in Micronesia for nearly 10, unforgetable and unregretable years; having known people who knew P.F. Kluge during his Peace Corps journalism years and closely known some of the principal personalities in "Edge," I can vouch for the book's veracity. However, it reads more like enchanting fiction, without romanticizing, than merely an engaging factual account. I can recommend, without reservation, this delightful read to anyone contemplating visiting or relocating on an employment contract to these islands. It's much cheaper than a plane ticket and provides a preview of what to realistically expect, unlike travel or recruiting advertisements. For better or worse, it will assist in deciding if you are able to fit into small island life.

This book consists of brief excerpts from journals, letters and diaries of those foolish or brave enough to push beyond the known world along Australia's seaboards.

These explorers demonstrated unfathomable foolishness, unquenchable curiosity, bullheaded ethnocentricity, and, in too few cases, a passion for discovery for its own sake. As a reader you will be horrified, entertained, and enlightened by their adventures and misadventures.

I just returned from a trip to Australia and took this book along with me to read. It was perfect for a visitor with little knowledge of Australian history beyond Hughes' "Fatal Shore" (another great read).

This is an anthology of excerpts from Australian Explorers journals ranging from early sixteenth century European Explorers to Australians in the early 20th century. Flannery's introduction for each provides an excellent, concise biography and set up to each explorer's excerpt. In many of the excerpts, an explorer faces death and disaster. The most intriguing initially was Charles Sturt writing of his attempt to find the mythical lake in the center of Australia. He brings a boat, experiences weather so hot it bursts a thermometer his party carries, they suffer from extreme scurvy, and Sturt's desire to be the first to reach the center of Australia. The second explorer I read in this collection was Ernest Giles. His except focuses on an expedition with his assistant Gibson, who goes for help and manages to get lost, and then Giles slowly makes his way back to base camp. Reading The Explorers fascinated me enough that I wanted to read more about specific explorers like Giles, but also about Australian explorers in general.

My only criticism of Flannery's book is that it ends. I found myself wanting to read more of each story. But within a moment of turning to a new chapter, I was engrossed in another adventure. The Explorers is an outstanding selection of historical pieces and a fine example of the editor's art. First-person accounts like this truly offer a window into the minds and times of the people and places involved. (I recommend "Eyewitness to History" for those who enjoy this book.)

What possesses a person to set off into the trackless wastes of Australia, with the almost certain knowledge that death lies waiting to welcome them into his scrawny arms?
Reading this book gives you some of the answers and some of the idea of the pain and suffering undergone by these explorers (and in some cases the hapless Aborigines coerced into seeking water).
There are some amazingly good writers within these pages, quite unexpected when you consider that many of them were ex-convicts or self-taught (and comparing them to some contemporary American explorers); there are some delightful descriptive passages and the occasional bout of whimsy, especially the anecdote of how 'Rocket' got his name - I was in hoots!
An excellent read, which encouraged me to order several old copies of explorers' accounts.
Thoroughly recommended!

Australia's small history makes a book like this diffifult to stay interested in. Of course, we are a lucky country fortunate enough to have prospered from these fine explorers and Flannery captures this brilliantly. But there is a time when the discoveries of a new animal or native remind the reader of how quickly one can lose their mind to something else as one can't help but take it for granted or compare their countries history with one far greater and more enlightening from a place such as Great Britain or America. However, Flannery is aiming to make Australian history sit right up there amongst the cream of the crop for a rich past - we as the reader know this isn't possible but feel a sense of pride in what these explorers did to help develop our free and thriving country. The author does not have much to contribute within the book. He writes a few brief footnotes or may stretch himself to an introduction of a small to mid paragraph for each. Yet, we must remind ourselves this is a history book so there is not much room for creativity. I suggest this book is worthwhile for someone passionate or interested in the Australian history, but if you are made to read this whether it be school or uni do it in sections. Otherwise, you will find it tedious. In the end you will find it rewarding - especially (as an Australian resident) when you next visit Botany Bay, Cape York or wherever it may be.......you will stop and think at just how lucky we are.

Good adventure novel. Interesting characters, especially the "human" ones. I thought the hero, Malcolm, was too good to be true, too "saintly" to be real. The ending leaves you hanging though. I hadn't known when I started reading this book, that it is really Book 1 of a two-part story. Make sure you can get hold of the second book "The Marquis' Secret" before you started reading "The Fisherman's Lady".

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"The Fisherman's Lady" and its sequel "The Marquis Secret" are available in a single volume, "Malcom".

This and "The Highlander's Last Song" are among his best.

An excellent gift for a University lecturer or a politicians wife.

MacDonald inspired men like Tolkien, Lewis and Chesterton. If you like tension between characters you can't beat MacDonald. The man was a genius.

Enjoy.

This book was my introduction to George MacDonald's adult fiction, and I think his best! Don't miss the sequel, The Marqui's Secret. As a child I grew up reading C.S. Lewis, John White and MacDonald's writings and developed a love for the keen insights and deep thoughts in MacDonald's novels as well as his inspirational books. Interestingly, he was the spiritual and literary mentor for both Lewis and Tolkein. They are not a lightweight romances like modern authors tend to write, but classic love story both men and women read and enjoy.

Excellent reading! This was my introduction to George MacDonald's books. Not a soppy romance as today's authors tend to write, but even one that men would enjoy reading for leisure! As I am a GREAT fan of C.S.Lewis' and Tolkien's writings, I was fascinated to find that both these author's drew a lot of their inspiration from MacDonald's writings. I have since read "The Princess & the Goblin", "The Princess & Curdie", "The Golden Key", and "The Light Princess". My husband is currently reading Phantastes and we have also bought Lilith, still to be read. I look forward to getting "The Marquis' Secret" if I can, as I really would like to follow the full story!!

I HATE abridgements. How dare Phillips assume that Christian readers, or any other readers, can't read a 400 page book. I just finished a contemporary novel of 933 pages. Because Phillips chose to cut about half of the book, what we have is a series of disjointed scenes with no clear transitions between them.

What is left after Phillip's butchery is charming, enjoyable, great fun, and clearly writing of a very high order. Macdonald provides interesting characters, deft plotting, a fascinating picture of 19th cent Scotland, and useful moral reflection. If he was not of the very first rank of writers, he was not very far below it. There some respects in which I find Macdonald to be superior to other Victorian writers, for expample, his understanding of the responsibilities of rank, and his refusal to sentimentalize his women characters.

Unfortunately, Phillips did not get the point. The original novel, to judge from the excellence of the half Phillips left us, was much more than a "Christian romance", it was a Christian work of art. Phillip's condescending assumption that Christians cannot read and respond to Christian literature as art, not just as tract, is unsufferable. Does he wish to spoon feed the Bible to us as well? This is particularly upsetting to me, because most of Macdonald's adult novels are out of print, and virtually unobtainable in their entirety.

David Morgan has written a fascinating book on the history of the Mongols and Genghis Khan. The book provides an overview of the government, religion, and politics of the Mongolian Empire and provides a very good start to understanding the Mongols. This is an excellent source to learn about one of the greatest military and social leaders in history, and is recommended for anyone who seeks a greater understanding of role of the Mongols in world history.

Morgan writes an academic book of 13th century Mongolian history, culture and building of their societal infrastructure in 1986. Avoiding the titillating slash, burn, rape and pillage aspects of their conquests, a popular depiction of the Mongolian Yellow Horde, his scholarly topics give an insider's view of Medieval Mongolian society, politics, warfare, taxation, communications, laws, and adoption of conquered peoples' technology, culture and religion.

The first illustration is a 2-page spread, Map 1 (of 3 maps) of The Mongol Empire (pxii-xiii) providing an eye-catching beginning, which stretches from Korea to Italy, and emphasizes a central grayed patch of the subjugated Middle East south of the Black to the Aral Seas. The book includes 33 b&w illustrations about 1/2-1 page each, 12 pgs of references, and a 12 pg index in the original 1986 edition (reviewed). The second edition appears to be a briefly re-edited original and adding a final Chapter 9, "The Mongol Empire since 1985," about 20+ pages, unread.

It is amazing that they did this all on horseback, an indigenous part of 13th century Mongolian culture. Siberian and Mongolian peoples have a non-materialistic culture reflecting the resource-limited landlocked region. It is amazing that this was a family-owned enterprise and its Fall was exacerbated by not building a firmer and broader governmental base of infrastructural strength and succession. For example this period included a new adoption of a written formalization of the Mongolian language (p10) (like Arabic) and conversion from a Shamanistic religion towards Islam (p44). Included is the dispersal of Mongolian bloodlines (Chap6) begetting the Cossack, Tatar and Turkic peoples and expansion of the Islamic and Moslem religions adopted from Persia in modern-day Iran.

Morgan's book is a very good read that will broaden and deepen one's understanding on how the Asiatic Mongols created a vast empire, which enslaved more than half of the world's population, during a fundamentally important century in world history. His book's admitted limitation (p6) is his lack of fluency in Eurasian and Middle Eastern languages, so he is inherently limited to English translations and their biases.

Thus his book is limited to compiling previously published works, unfortunately not really getting inside the heads of the Mongolian leadership and uncovering and interpreting the whys and wherefores of their culture and motivation. Even after perusing the 6th Century BC Chinese Sun Tzu, "The Art of War," one is still left with an unsatisfied curiosity and understanding. Perhaps a more intimate multicultural, multidisciplinary anthology on this topic will be researched and written in the future.

The Rest of the Story

The 13th century was an exciting Renaissance era of the High Middle Ages in Medieval Europe. Innovative examples were the start of non-secular universities of higher learning and adoption of the magnetic compass, gunpowder, and printing on paper technologies. Surgical medicine and mechanical clocks was invented at the time and engineers started harnessing super-human/animal power using windmills, belts and gears with machinery. Gothic art and architecture was started at this time with building fortified castles for protection and roads for trade, not war (Roman).

Later in the 14th Century, Eurasia's Black Plague killed off half of its population, a wasting systemic immune disease caused by bacterium in fleas spread by rodent hosts, originally carried by the Mongolians (p133). The spread of this disease was exacerbated by long periods of war, climatic change, crop failures and subsequent famine in conquered China and Europe. This self-limiting event effectively ended the Mongolian empire.

Even with fast horses and a nomadic society with armies of half million (p88) and their supply lines, it is hard to imagine crossing the formidable cold, high deserts of current Central Asia. Serious consideration of recent work in Palaeo-Climatology is needed to believe a century of successful Mongolian conquest. Unbeknownst to the author, a much more favorable lush grass steppes existed 700-800 years ago. Now referred as the Medieval Warm Period, the geologic record in Northern Europe coincides with a peak in solar activity named the Medieval Maximum (1100-1250). Also there is a fundamental Milankovitch theory on cyclic climatic change due to the earth's eccentric orbit and tilt wobble.

The climatological Jet Stream across Central Asia follows a southeasterly direction from the Eurasian Arctic towards the Mongolia and Tibetan plateaus, bringing much more rain to the Middle East and Central Asia, further enhancing the nomadic life style and encouraging imperialism. Palaeoclimatolgists have shown that Central Asia, the Caspian Sea region and Altai Mountain range had "a milder, less continental climate with more precipitation approximately from the 9th to 12th centuries" by analyzing sediment cores in Lake Baikal, the deepest and largest lake in Eurasia, just north of the Old Silk Road in Siberian Russia.

Additionally, NE China was wetter during the Medieval Warm Period upon analyzing pollen cores in the Maili Bog in NE China's (Manchuria) Jilin mountainous province, indicating more monsoon rains during that 200-year period. Thus conclusively palaeoclimatogists have shown that a warmer and wetter climate existed in 13th Century Eurasia thus facilitating a great surge in a hungry, mobile Mongolian population and resulted in conquest, imperialism and world domination.

And the palaeoclimatological Little Ice Age starting in the 14th Century effectively ended the Mongolian Empire precipiated by Europe's Great Famine of 1315-1317.

From teaching in the UK, Morgan emigrated to the States and is now the senior member of a staff of three in Middle Eastern History. He has been Professor of History and Religious Studies (Islam), U Wisconsin, Madison since 1999. He was recruited to grow its Middle East studies program, the smallest part of the Dept of History, College of L&S. He was Director of Middle East Studies, 2002-6, with research interests in the history of Iran and Islamic Central Asia. With a Middle East History section having 1 TA and 5 grad students, even with the CIA's current emphasis on growing America's understanding of Middle East's language, ideology and culture, only a small dent is being prepared at U Wisconsin. BA 1966, Oxford; PhD 1977 U London, thesis: Mongols in Iran; on faculty of U London's African and Oriental Studies program for 24 yrs.

In the wake of Jack Weatherford's extremely popular "Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World," I'm guessing interest in Genghis Khan and his Mongolian Empire is reaching new heights. I must admit that I, too, was introduced into the fascinating world of the Mongolians through Weatherford's bestseller, so I owe him alot for introducing to me what I consider a new passion in life.

Weatherford's work, while being extremely well researched and well written, is extremely revisionist, and gives a very forgiving and optimistic account of Genghis Khan, his predecessors, and their abilities. Weatherford takes great pains to combat the traditional stereotypes of Genghis Khan and the Mongolians as barbaric, mass-murdering hordes. At the same time, I feel that since for many people Weatherford's book will be the very first people read about the Mongols, alot of people will get an impression of the Mongols that is a little too favorable and optimistic, and this is where David Morgan's "The Mongols" comes in.

"The Mongols" is, in a word, sober. On one hand, it definitely breaks away from the precedent set by medieval scholars in viewing Genghis Khan and the Mongols as purely forces of wanton destruction. Whenever Morgan evaluates a primary source, which he does often, he takes great pains to weed out any political motivations to skewer numbers and accounts that existed at the time, of which there were many. This means that Morgan never overestimates Mongol detruction, but he doesn't underestimate it either, which what Weatherford seems to have done, basing his book on select sources. I therefore recommend "The Mongols" as a good, middle-of-the-road source for establishing the historical events of the 12th to 13th century. When reading "The Mongols," one always gets a sense that Morgan is a level-headed, unbiased thinker, which is the perfect type of historian necessary for a period as tumultuous as the years of the Mongolian Empire. It's a good followup to "Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World," together the two books give an good picture.

Additionaly, since this book is part of "The Peoples of Europe" collection, this book includes a special focus on the Mongols interactions with Europe, including both direct interaction in the invasions of Russia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe, and indirect interactions in the forms of the emmisaries, missionaries, merchants, and diplomats that were excanged between the East and the West. Much to my surprise, being a part of "The Peoples of Europe" series did not exclude a very thorough and extensive coverage of Mongol activity in Persia, Central Asia, and China, so when viewed as a whole, Morgan's work is still a very complete coverage.

David Morgan's hisory of the Mongols is a "must read" for anyone serioussly interested in Mongolian history and culture. This is a well written, highly readable and comprehensive study of the largest empire the world has ever seen.

Morgan's book is easily the best introduction to one of the more interesting peoples of history. It's as much an account of the historiography of Mongol studies as it is a study of the Mongol people, as Morgan details the extant sources available to modern scholars for the subject. This is important, given the scope of the Mongol empire, which at its peak reached from China to Hungary, encompassing all that was in between. Such breadth of conquest places great demands on historians, limiting anybody who is not a polyglot of the languages of the era to base their study on the region in which they specialize and translations of the other languages. A student of Persian, Morgan makes an excellent case for the quality of the sources in that language.

Still, the lack of a written Mongolian language (not developed until the reign of Chingiz Khan) means that much of the history of the empire is lost to us, and that what does exist is produced by outsiders. Nevertheless, Morgan does a first-rate job of describing its expansion and operation. He explains that the Mongols owed their incredible success to their use of mounted warriors, a natural role for a nomadic people. This heavy use of horses both gave them and also limited their conquests: Morgan theorizes that inadequate pastureland may have been a critical factor in the withdrawal of Mongol invaders from both Hungary in 1242 and Syria in 1260. But the most revealing factor of the importance of the Mongol army in its historical achievements lay in the overthrow of Mongol rule; it was in the areas where the Mongols were able to maintain their nomadic lifestyles (and thus their military advantage) that Mongol control proved most enduring. In all, Morgan provides a good, concise overview of a fascinating subject.

Miles Franklin wrote this novel when she was 18 - her language and humour are fantastic. Interesting view back into the good old days. The lady does have a few outlandish ideas for a "liberated" woman. I did enjoy this novel, wondered how much the author borrowed from her own life - since she was an unmarried writer. Definitely worth the time, I plan on reading the sequel.

I love this book. There it is, right out in the open.

Sybylla is so headstrong, so determined that I read right through the book in a matter of days. It's fun to see a young woman in the 19th century yearn so much for independence and her own destiny. That the book was considered shocking is an understatement - Franklin stipulated that the book not be reprinted until a decade after her death.

Sybylla has no illusions about life and love - she's watched her father go from a strong man she adored to an alcoholic, seen her mother become cold and bitter. Sybylla, more than anything, is convinced that she will have a brilliant career. Some hope comes early when she goes to live with her grandmother, but that ends abruptly and Sybylla learns some more hard lessons.

The book isn't gloomy, despite the sad realities of Sybylla's life in the bush. It's one of the most enjoyable books about young women out of the era. Sybylla's is no Anne of Green Gables, but she's just as enjoyable and fun to read. Of note is the very well-made 1979 film adaptation that only disappoints as we are not privy to Sybylla's thoughts which is most of the joy of the book.

I'm not exactly sure, but I think that MF wrote this book when she was still fairly young (16 or 17), and it sends shivers down my spine to think of a young girl with such energy and pride so long ago. This is a story about a girl in Australia end of the 19th century, and what happens to her when she visits other families and places and the decisions she makes. Some of the decisions she makes seem to be fairly self-destructive, and it's interesting to think about why she made them - too young to know better, too scared, not able to compromise. The heroine is a very strong character, flawed but understandable. I really, really like this book (incidentally, my ex-boyfriend found it almost unreadable). I think of it as relating to feminism; but that's just my bias. It's actually just a good yarn.

Hmm. Australian women have their own history. Is this interesting to anyone other than myself?

This book is a bit like a grown-up Little House in the Prairie but set in 19th century outback Australia rather than the Wild West of the US.

This is a story of a young, spirited woman who rebels against convention and the desire of her relatives that she marry the wealthy, and (it has to be said) highly desirable, local squatter (swoon! swoon!). Unlike Laura Ingalls, Sybilla chooses the road less travelled and refuses to marry. She follows her dreams instead.

What makes this book so remarkable is that it was written 100 years ago yet the voice of the narrator is so fresh. The book is funny and inspiring. I first read it when I was a teenager and my love for it has never diminished. If you cannot read the novel, try to see the film with Judy Davis and Sam Neill which brings the book wonderfully to life. The movie is as much of an Australian classic as the book.

Career or marriage?

My Brilliant Career is a wonderful novel that arose amidst the swarm of hop-and-skippity poems of Henry Lawson and the doggerel style of Banjo Patterson (and written by a woman as well!!)
It follows the story of a girl growing up and challenging the iron clad conventions of the 19th century society, spanning from deep poverty out woop-woop (Aussie talk for nowhere) to the dizzying heights of Sydney with the 'squattocracy'.
Sibella grows up in a typically large Australian family amidst the outback and she is sent to 'be groomed', to live with her aunt and grandmother, the genteel ladies of society. We are immersed into Sibella's head, feeling her frustration, embarrassment and happiness shine through the chapters. The few illustrations dotted amongst the novel also doesn't hamper our imagination of the character, done in sweepingly soft brush strokes that give us Sibella's essence rather than confining us (as is usual) to the one face.
She must decide between the (very temptingly handsome) rich man who courts her, and who she too loves very much. Yet if she chooses him, it signals the end of a serious career as a writer. So what would you do? More importantly, what does Sibella do? Read it and you'll find out for yourself!

So is a book about a well known person who is evil and hurts countless people a good read because he was famous and rich?

Life isn't a tabloid. Success isn't about wealth, power, and fame.

The book is a stunning gem on par with Marcel Pagnol's "My Father's Glory" or perhaps rather tindged with a speckling of Le Clezio's "Mondo".

Sometimes the most powerful stories are also about the most simple ordinary people.

"Romulus, My Father" is to literature what Ray Davies songs are to popular music; a crafted story about real people dealing with real issues, believeable and true; little bits and pieces of moody rainy afternoons and sunny summer holidays at the seaside that are woven together just perfectly.

Now go escape to your world of fantasy books and leave the real literature to people who are trying to learn about life, love, and reality, rather then escape it.

A lawyer . . . figures.

THANK YOU.

THE VILLAGE GREEN PRESERVATION SOCIETY

Romulus, My Father is about how a kindhearted and truthful man taught his son the meaning of life and its values, what to expect and what to feel. He gave he's son a chance to witness first hand through his life about friendship and the joy of life. The self-respect and self-gratification of being able to work. Romulus teaches his son of passion, infidelity and in the end how to cope with mental illness as a man. Setting a true example by being able to survive the true hardship of living and working in a foreign country.

"Romulus, my Father" is a brilliant story!
This book has encouraged me to read and enjoy books.

Through this book we learn the of the hard time Romulus has gone through in his life, these are real life situations and is a clear perspective on a world that shuns imagrants.

A top read, i highly encourage you to read it!

Review by ~Mad Max~
Aged 15

Raimond Gaita tells his father's story with such love for him and the people in their lives. He shows how a child can love the people in his life and find the good in these people in spite of the circumstances and trials that often surrounded them. He showed the strength and kindness of his father as well as that of Hora, his father's friend, and many others in their community. He also shows, without evident bitterness, the illness and weakness with which some were afflicted. This author drew me in so well, in the end, I was moved to tears.

Raimond Gaita's fine book is a swansong for a much loved father, an ordinary, struggling immigrant faced with the harsh reality of living in an invironment of deep myopic mistrust. This book is hugely revelatory for a son, a daughter, or loved one of any number of immigrants to Australia, and a must read for those who are looking for the real Australia, a land made by the legacy of 200 years of immigrantion, a land of harsh conditions, a rugged country and a population as much intollerant and racist as it is wonderous and diverse. The rural image of the dry scorched earth sits in the psyche of the reader as does a sons love for the father who although named Romulus was a Remus in many ways, a battler and underdog to the end.

As most of the other reviews already state, it is overall a wonderful book. The characters are interesting and the story moves forward making you want to know what comes next. The only critique I have is that I felt that towards the end it just all got a bit cluttered. It felt to me like the author was trying to resolve EVERYTHING in a few pages. To me the end was rushed. But I did overall enjoy reading it and would recommend it to others.

Wow! I just finished the last page, and that was the word that came out of my mouth. For a first novel, this author should be proud. This is an incredible story of one man's harrowing journey through the intense Amazon jungle to pursue his dream, collecting rare and unidentified butterflies. As you begin the story, you think this is going to be the main theme, a group of male naturalists battling the sweltering heat and bombardment of stinging and biting insects extraordinaire, enduring all hardships to capture their prized specimens. But oh how wrong that assumption is. This story starts slow, and rather meandering, increasingly getting eerier and eerier, the suspense building quietly and with a level of intensity that has the reader constantly on the edge. It soon becomes apparent that there is more than meets the eye out there for our hero Thomas, in a jungle ripe with not just the flora and fauna these men seek. We find much much more than colorful butterflies and howling monkeys. Oh yes,..mischief, mayhem, mysterious and monstrous acts unravel. I liked the back and forth strategy that the author puts in place by alternating what is happening both in Brazil for Thomas, and back in England with his lonely wife Sophia. It sets the pace to keep the suspense and allows both characters stories to become interesting. If you are tired of the same old plot lines and mundane novels that you pitch half way through, try this innovative and creative debut. You will not be disappointed. It's writing style finely crafted, and plot well rounded in story line and character depth. Bravo!

I really wanted to like this book, based on other people's opinions of how good it is. Unfortunately, the characters leave me cold, I don't care why one of them is mute--the whole Amazon/rubber thing disinterests me (I was hoping that would change). 75 pages were enough for me. I recommend "Away" and "The Dive From Clausen's Pier," both page-turners.

Nouveau riche Brazilian rubber barons throw away money on the frivolous things like sending their soiled clothing to Europe for cleaning. They treat their pets like royalty and their employees as expendable slaves discarded if unable to perform the horrific field work. Anyone who objects to the abusive maltreatment is killed.

In 1904 English naturalist Thomas Edgar comes to Brazil in search of a rumored new butterfly species. Several months later, he comes home, a shell of his former enthusiastic self. Although outwardly she shows her spouse little emotion beyond welcoming him home, his wife Sophie, horrified by the scars all over Thomas' body and his withdrawal, needs to know what happened to her silent her idealistic husband because she plans to heal him with her love.

THE SOUND OF BUTTERFLIES is a fantastic historical tale that provides a vivid light on a cruel Dickensian period in Brazil. The story line moves back and forth between January 1904 in Brazil and May 1904 in England connected by a journal, letters and the perspectives of what happened to the naturalist from that of his wife and himself. Adding to the fascination of this powerful early twentieth century character study is the parable of searching for the perfect specimen in a world of cruelty, abuse and imperfection. Rachael King provides a somber glimpse of inhumane treatment and its aftermath on one person and his spouse that still resonates today in a world of genocide, ethnic cleansing and rationalized rendition.

Harriet Klausner

For some reason I wasn't expecting this to be a historical novel when I picked it up, but I was quickly drawn into the period it recreates. I definitely was captivated by the story of Thomas' search for a fabled butterfly (and the recognition and security it would bring him) and the story of Sophia's search to discover why her husband returned from Brasil a mute.

I was equally captured by how skillfully the author explored the growing autonomy of women in turn of the century England.

All the reviewers comment on the skill and beauty of the language so rather than talk about that I'll just point in their direction and wait for Rachael King's next novel to be published.