Domain Books

This book, although fiction, is true history. It was written by Henty in 1894. It's a classic adventure novel right up there in the ranks of Swiss Family Robinson. Henty was an outstanding writer of his time. It's very easy to get lost in this book, I'd be suprised if anyone could read it without putting it down. It's full of references and dialect of days long gone by. I want to jump into a time machine and go live with Tom for a while and quit worrying about traffic and work. I am fortune enough to own an original 1894 hard copy of this book that was given to me by a family friend and will cherrish it for ever.

This book presents a factual side of western history in an exciting way! That is very rare these days. From the first few pages, you are drawn in by young Tom's determination to join his uncle in Colorado and the dangers, joys, and sorrows he encounters along the way. I read this book in five days; it is an impossible put-down! All those who love history or just great stories will love this book.

This book is highly valuable. I use it regularly with my graduate students to help them understand the research processes around inventory development. the early chapters on quality evaluation of items are especially useful. in my view this book should be considered the standard recommended text in the topic area.

At a time when the measurement profession has become very advanced and technical in orientation, the introduction of this book has come to address an urgent need or should I say filled a yearning gap. In particular the new edition with topics on Rasch model, generalizability theory is most welcome. In a sentence, the new book is special and uncommon by putting together both the theory and practice of test development. For this reason, it is one in its own class.

Winner of the 2006 Text and Academic Authors Award
Winner of the 2006 New England Book Show Award

This is the clearest explanation I've found on copyright and fair use. Copyright laws make no sense to me, but this book breaks it down in digestable chunks.
The examples really help, for the most part they were actually interesting and sometimes funny. The exercises were good too especially on how to find Public Domain pictures and sound. I can't say that I will ever really understand copyright laws but at least I get how to use somebody else's files now.

Johnny Crow's Garden was a perfect book for visually and verbally alert kids when I was tiny (about 1964). It's still vigorous; I relocated it and have it on our bookshelf today. Leslie Brooke is a great illustrator and his simple story speaks, over nearly 100 years, with universal chuckles and themes to keep us amused while turning the pages. Read it to your children as my mother read it to us, and the words will stay all your children's lives, prompting them to seek out more books.

If I run up to you on the street and shout the words, "Name all the best-known crows in children's literature!" into your ear, you're going to come up with some pretty eclectic references. There are the crows that the Scarecrow kills in, "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz", and...um...well there's "Arabel's Raven" but that's about a, uh, raven. Truth be told, crows are few and far between in kiddie lit. Any knowledgeable scholar of children's books, however, would instantly tell you about, "Johnny Crow's Garden" as illustrated by Leslie Brooke. Of course, I'd never heard of the book until a library patron walked up to me praising it to the stars. Originally published in, I kid you not, 1903, the book is as fresh, funny, and wry as any publication hitting the market today. Though the publisher Frederick Warne and Company is now defunct, Penguin Books (who uses the imprint) would be very wise indeed to republish this now classic series.

Originally a nursery rhyme, the poem "Johnny Crow's Garden" has sort of fallen out of favor. The only way a person may remember it is as in Brooke's charming book. In it, each animal that comes to Johnny Crow's garden has a distinct problem, situation, or preference. By "garden" we're basically talking about Johnny Crow's estate. Most of the action takes place on his grounds. He is depicted here as a very realistic looking bird, as are all the animals that visit with him. Brooke fills his illustrations with tiny in-jokes and running gags. A pair of penguins never are directly mentioned in the text itself but are so delightful to watch that it makes perfect sense that they'd be the last guests to leave at the end of the book. There's a view of a whale boring fellow animals with an enormously long tale. Storks give a philosophical talk (rhyming "stork" with "talk" could only be done with the best English accent, I suspect) from a book that reads, "Ludovicus Carrollus de Jabber-Wockibus". Still funny today. Throughout the book Johnny keeps an eye on the other animals, putting down quarrels and odd abuses of power. When a cat stakes out a mouse's house (the mouse knowing full well to use the side entrance rather than the front) Johnny gives the cat a bowl of cream and sends it on its way. And when the fox goes a little power mad and starts locking all the other animals up in stocks (making you wonder why Johnnny had so many stocks on his premises in the first place) our heroic crow lets them go. As you read the book the individual animals all take on different personalities and characteristics so that by the time you reach the final dinner you've made the acquaintance of a fine group of critters.

Many of the pictures in this book are simple line drawings but on occasion, in the 1968 edition anyway, there's a full color illustration. Very nice. Apparently (and my sources a bit touch-and-go on this subject, so let me know if you feel anything I write here is false) illustrator Leslie Brooke approached Frederick Warne and Company in the late 1890s about publishing some children's books based in nursery rhymes. The Johnny Crow series was the most popular of Brooke's books and has a couple sequels in case you're interested in seeking them out. Project Gutenberg (an online library of public domain children's books) has this book available, just in case you want to take a look at it before buying your own copy. I'd give you the web address but Amazon likes to censor such things.

All in all, discovering, "Johnny Crow's Garden" is a great picture book find. Not many books exist for one hundred years and don't age a jot. This is one of the very few and not only is it readable, it's also witty and lovely. An amazing treasure of a book and a great "get". Highly recommended.

This tale, written in 1905 by an English author living in Argentina, is a fantastic gift for anyone who sees the world with a child's eyes. It is amazing to find a true naturist atmosphere in the story, which is the respect of all living forms, absolute trust in the goodness of people, the full skin contact with nature. The fact that the little boy finds himself without clothes for many days in the wilderness or meeting other people, and doesn't think about its lack anymore, is equally refreshing for today's reader. It is a true chef d'oeuvre which every family must read to their children.

I read this book as a teenager as it was given to me by an uncle. I still have the book today as it was my favorite. It is an exploration into fantasy and reality and I would recommend it for reading to anyone.

For those who don't need the ponderous descriptions of the countryside of Louis L'Amour but do enjoy a well written western. This is Kelton at his best.

Elmer Kelton is one of the great storytellers in the western genre. If you like Louis Lamour or Giles Tippette, you will find Elmer Kelton's books just as enjoyable. His characters are complete, complex, likeable people who are dealing with what life throws at them. Llano River is not the typical story of a gunfighter. It is instead, the story of a man with "no backup in him", who takes a difficult job, and then finds himself faced with reconciling his job with his feelings. Kelton is just a good storyteller, and his characters and the Texas landscape come to life for us. I would recommend any Kelton book to lovers of western fiction.

Good suspense tale of the civil war. It is a little known side tale of the civil war.
Not much is known about the fighting that went on in New Mexico with the Union forces and Texas.

Lt. David Buckalew and what few men he has left are on their way back to Texas after being beaten by the Union Army. On the way they find out about a bunch of weapons and powder hidden on a ranch. They decide to capture it and take it back with them to help their cause. They are only 20 men strong and this number will drop. The weapons and powder are hidden on a ranch owned by people who back the Union. They are successful it starting toward Texas with it but it is a long way from over. Bucklaew and his few men have to fight the people for the Union also a group of Indians led by Comanchero Floyd Bearfield, who wants the stuff to sell. Bucklaew is a green Lt., therefore, his men may more attention to Sergeant Noley Mitchell than to him. Can he get the material back to Texas? Will the men ever respect him? The book moves fast and will hold your attention. Some people get killed you don't want to and some live you don't want to. A good Western book, but then Kelton usually writes a good one.

This book is for dedicated fanatics. It allows the storyteller to function on a scale either much larger (such as the management of whole countries and the building of castles) or much smaller (modifiers on hunting depending on which breed of dog you use, for example) than the standard Pendragon campaigns.
This makes the book a valuable tool for experienced players, but less number and detail - oriented ones (such as myself) should be carefull about getting lost in all that information. Another thing to watch out for is the mood, wich on the surface seems quite generic - maybe this was origionally intended as a stand - alone tactical wargame?. Fortunately, they decided to do a guide to role - playing nobles instead, that allows you to do things like design a proper coat of arms or run the twelve nights of Christmas. It also has a full list of Arthurian British annual tournaments, something quite nice to know!.
The only part of the book i didnt much care for was the hunt adventure: some people should really read their beastiaries better...
But still, details like the pictures of the inside of a medival castle or what mood nobles are in on a hunt more than make up for it.
This is not a vital book, but after you have played the game for a while you will come to value it highly: its the most important Pendragon book after "Mystic Tournaments".

The Lordly Domains book is a self-contained resource for players and GMs on owning land and the responsibilities of being a noble. It includes a simple but extremely effective system for stronghold design and siege warfare and (most fun of all) a system for running your fiefdom with rules for expanding populations, the annual harvest, taxation, raids, the happiness of peasants and the expensive business of visits from your liege. Although the book is a resource for the King Arthur Pendragon system, the rules are comprehensive and essentially self-contained and can be easily slotted into any role-playing system set in a feudal society.

The book is split into a series of chapters, the aforementioned sections on lands and fortifications are concerned mostly with the fundamentals of owning land while additional chapters on grand events (including tournaments, hunts and feasts), heraldry and a description of castle interiors give life to the rules. There is also a full adventure to set PCs on the path of owning land and rebuilding a ravaged society as well as additional adventure seeds to inspire the GM.

Overall I have found that the rules for owning land friendlier and more entertaining than the rules for sieges - and would suggest that GMs do some pre-game preparation before a siege to reduce the amount of time spent rolling dice. However, that is a small criticism of a what is generally a fluid system and a great resource.

This is one of my favorite novels. This story has a great romance, and so much adventure it made my heart pound. I have read this book many times because of the scene where he gives her his tatoo, I love that scene. I have every book by Katherine O'Neal and I guard them with my life. I only wish she could get new ones out faster. Katherine, if you ever read this review, Thank You So Much.

I just finished this book last night, I was up until 4:30AM reading it! I was hooked! The Vallee de mir was fantastic! It's made me want to learn Portuguise and Swahelii, and to go to Seyshells. The characters and setting were fantastic! I've read all but one of Katherine O'Neal's books and let me tell you, this is one of the best!

Rider haggard at his best. This amazing Fantasy story takes place in ancient Egypt. The hero, a prince, has to go through many extreme challenges to win the throne and the heart of his beloved women. The book gives a great insight on Egyptian religions and culture. It is a great book for Egyption culture fans, adventure and fantasy lovers, and for anyone else too...

when i was about 11years old,i came across this book back home in west africa.it is a story about an egyptian royal family.ramses .it is captivating to the point where,it made me to cry,laugh,and be kept in feverish suspense,but at the same time gave me an understanding of what power,position greed,and betrayal means. an absolute must read.