Butler Books

Fascinating look at elegant living, through the expert perspective of an actual English butler (his service began in 1922). The book is roughly equal parts reminiscences about the way the great houses operated, and step-by-step instructions on serving port, polishing shoes, setting the table, and caring for silver. His instructions on folding clothes for travel are thoroughly effective. Sprinkled throughout are more extreme tidbits, such as the proper way to iron a newspaper (so that Gentleman #2 has a "fresh" newspaper, once Gentleman #1 has finished with it). What comes through, loud and clear, is Mr. Ager's craftsmanlike pride in the work that he did. Flicking the dust off a suit jacket takes skill, and hearing him teach that skill is a pleasure.

This paperback edition of T.K. Derry's "Campaign in Noway" is the official history of the British intervention in Norway between April and June, 1940. It is written at the operational level of war and from the perspective of the British theater commander. The actions of Norwegian, French, Polish, and German forces are addressed at lesser levels of detail.

The Second World War began with the invasion of Poland in September 1939, but in April 1940, the Western Front was still quiet. Germany opened hostilities with a lightning thrust into Norway by air and sea. The British Fleet missed preempting the invasion by perhaps hours. British authorities immediately decided to send help to the beleagured Norwegians, who were being rapidly overrun.

As Derry narrates, the British intervention was clumsy, poorly planned, and ultimately unsuccessful. The deployed British forces were for the most part inadequately trained and unprepared for the harsh conditions in which they fought in Norway. More importantly, the Germans essentially negated the overwhelming naval superiority of the British by quickly gaining air superiority over most of Norway. Under constant air attack, British forces were compelled to withdraw from successive landing points in Central Norway.

Only around Narvik in the far North were the Allies nearly successful. Narvik was at the extreme reach of the German Air Force, and the British fleet quickly wiped out a German naval flotilla, trapping the German invasion force in the mountains adjacent to the Swedish border. This late success came just as the Germans began their invasion of France, and allied troops were withdrawn from Norway.

First published in 1952, "Campaign in Norway" is an excellent case study in force projection as it was practiced at the beginning of World War II. Derry is entirely fair in assigning both credit and blame in discussing the joint British military effort. His narrative is enhanced by a small selection of maps, diagrams, and photographs.

This book is highly recommended to students of the Second World War and of the Operational Art.

By happenstance, I started listening to The Canterbury Tales on Palm Sunday, the same day that the narration begins. As I pulled out of my driveway on an April morning, I had Chaucer's famous description of spring in my ears as a Christian procession marched by, led by a bag-pipe player. I was on a trek to Niagara Falls, but I was hearing the account of a different sort of pilgrimage, written 600 years ago, but still sounding beautiful to the ear. In fact, I much preferred listening to these tales rather than reading them silently myself from the page. This is poetry, and the scansion and lyricism can easily get lost as the modern reader struggles with the early spellings and olden vocabulary. Be advised that the first tale, that of the knight, is extraordinarily long, formalistic, predictable, and maybe even just kind of boring. It must be a purposeful tip of Chaucer's funny-looking hat to the epic poetry of Homer. But don't give up early! Chaucer rewards the patient with the following tale from the miller which is the exact opposite--short, mean, and bawdy! You'll be shocked at just how old some of the English language's four-letter words are. This pattern continues as Chaucer has each of his pilgrims take turns telling stories in their own voice, and the diversity and contrast is enjoyable. BEWARE: Although this is advertised as an unabridged reading, I was dubious when I saw its rather short length. After listening to the entire program, I looked at my very thick printed version and found several tales there that were not included in the audio reading. Nonetheless, such editing may be for the best--except for purists and academics--as this version certainly offers the lay reader/listener a representative sample of what Chaucer could do with an earlier version of our language.

Sarah A. Butler's book is an excellent primer on pastoral care for those who are entering a caring ministry either on a professional or lay level. The sections on "Listening" and "Focus on Feelings" are good basic stuff, but absent in most introductory pastoral care books. I am making this book mandatory reading for basic Clinical Pastoral Education students and it should be mandatory for any lay ministry training. Experienced parish pastors and chaplains will find it a good review that provides needed "capatability checking" for their own pastoral ministry. The "Spiritual Application" sections at the end of each chapter are thought-provoking and pedagogical.

This book gives an overview of recommended procedures for child molestation victims in criminal court. As a person who is not familiar with court proceedings, I found this book helpful in understanding what each phase of the criminal process entails.

This engaging alternative history examines the evidence of weights and measures and comes to the conclusion that there must have been an advanced culture in prehistory. The structures of the Stone Age were built by using a very precise unit of measurement, called the megalithic yard. The book explores the science behind prehistoric units, their mathematical origin and means of reproduction, and proves that these are linked to the dimensions of the solar system.

The reader must have a basic knowledge of arithmetic but overall the book is an easy read and very revealing. Amongst the topics discussed are writing, Egypt, Sumeria, the Minoan foot, solar and sidereal days, pendulums and the importance of the planet Venus. It turns out that the British Pound and Pint are both derived from ancient measurements. The units of the hour, minute and second were developed more than 4000 years ago from the movements of the moon.

The text also encompasses subjects like the harmony of the spheres, Sumerian degrees and the calendar, and explains that the metric system is not a recent invention. There is a section on Thomas Jefferson and his achievements; this great man apparently realized that he was rediscovering parts of a very ancient system.

Amongst the most captivating sections is the chapter on music and light. There is a definite correspondence between the rotating mass of our planet and human music. Also, megalithic mathematics produces its own musical structure. The authors conclude that there must have been an advanced people that instructed the rest of the world in science and technology. They also refer to the Masonic concept of the Great Architect of the Universe.

There are seven appendices that include further information on earth days and the megalithic year, megalithic music, the Phaistos Disc, the amazing barley seed, and the connection between megalithic principles and Freemasonry. The colour plates include approximately 20 full colour photographs and there are many black and white illustrations throughout the text. The book concludes with an index.

I also recommend Lost Civilisations Of The Stone Age by Richard Rudgley, Stone Age Soundtracks by Paul Devereux, and Forbidden Archaeology by Michael Cremo and Richard Thompson.

If you would like to understand Noh drama, I strongly recommend this book for its notes and example plays combined with The Flowering Spirit: Classic Teachings on the Art of Noh which discusses the actor's and writer's perspective of Noh. I think the broader world is waiting for a fuller Noh-style drama which reaches everyone. Perhaps these books will help bring this about.

This was a Gwendoline Butler book that I did not have. I enjoyed reading the book. The book was in very good condition.

From Back Cover:

The papers hinted that behind the deaths of Thomas Barr, M.P., and his secretary, Sheila Daly, lay scandal and depravity. But Detective Coffin believed the causes lay buried deep among the secret emotions and shadowy pasts of the quick - and the dead - of his own district.

Certainly the estrangement of the M.P. from his beautiful wife, Camilla, was involved. So was the suicide of the dead secretary's husband. And the seething anger of Martin Kelly, an ex-cop with a grudge. But touching the crime more strangely still was the hundred-year-old mass murder of the Steinberg family...and the sinister trace of soil which had come from atop their grave.

For all you Coffin series lovers this book is a must read. It gives the
reader insight to the coffin mystique . One of Ms Butler 'best