Abbey Books

This little book is a wonderful reminder of God's goodness. It encourages us to remember his faithfulness from happy moments to help us sense his presence when the day brings struggles. It gently speaks of his love which is stronger than any doubt, fear or failure we may be experiencing. The thought that trust is a two way street and that God trusts us, too, is an encouragement and a responsibility. It expanded my sense of relationship; that not only do we depend on him, but in decisions we make each day he counts on us.

I have probably mentioned here before that I have a long-standing love that I am nearly able to defend for the Thieves' World series. I have never lost my taste for the chaotic writers' world that started with the eponymous first book and ended with Stealer's Sky. I know that the quality is uneven. I recognize that sometimes the writers liked each other more than they liked us. But that, for me, was part of the fun. Anyhow, I have been rereading the series slowly over the last few years, and am disappointed to report that I am nearly done.

Book 11 is not one of the strongest books in Thieves' World. Although Book 10 is called Aftermath, book 11 has a strong Intermezzo feeling. Evidence, I guess, that the series was winding down. Magic has largely disappeared from Sanctuary; Daphne seems to be gaining a sense of perspective; Prince Kadakithis grows up; Ischade is still tortured. I was particularly fond of the Diana L. Paxson section on "The Vision of Lalo". This gives me hope that someday I will find a book that she has written which I actually enjoy.

Writers in Book 11 are: Robert Lynn Asprin, C.J. Cherryh, Jon DeCles, Chris Morris, C.S. Williams, Robin Wayne Bailey and Diana L. Paxson.

Considering that this seems to be the only book in print on Abbey and his works, I'd have to say it is certainly the best of it's kind. I am a fan of Abbey's work, especially his Shakespearean subjects. Unfortunatly, I have been unable to learn much more about him with the expection of this book. It seems, in his day, he was considered an illustrator more than an artist and suffers from the classification in much the way that Norman Rockwell has. It is a shame, because much of his work is very beautiful and yet seems lost, even in this age of information super highway. This book is not so much a biography, as it is a simple chronical of his works relating to Shakespeare. It makes an interesting connection between his work and and the general notions in late 19th century Theatre about how a Shakepearean production should look. Unfortunately it reads very much like a University essay which has tackled a very narrow bit of subject matter. This and a lack of many full color images of Abbey's work is dissapointing, but when it seems to be the only source available, I will be thankful that it, at least, exists.

Flannery takes a myriad of information and transforms it into an incredibly interesting work. I have only once before been so drawn in by a book of such histrionic magnitude. The subject itself needs no attraction; however, Flannery keeps the eyes wide open from page to page, chapter to chapter. I highly recommend this book to anyone having an interest in W.B. Yeats or theatre itself. It tells an interesting tale of much of Irish--as well as English and French--drama, poetry, and its' theatres.

Abby Whitaker knew the true meaning of grief and loneliness. Young, poor, and tragically widowed, she had little hope of finding happiness until a surprising letter arrived - and changed her life. Her uncle, the black sheep of the family and a seeker of gold in Alaska, had died: if a family member did not arrive in remote Juneau within a month, the house would be sold.

Abby knew that Alaska was a land bursting with opportunities. How perfect a place to start life over - the land of the midnight sun!

But once the perilous sea journey was behind her and she set foot in the strage, icebound frontier settlement, ABigail learned that her uncle had left huge gambling debts and that his death had not been an accident. His house was eerie and hollow and icy cold and the tall gold miner who offered to cut firewood for her stared at her most strangely. His piercing eyes - pools of dark mystery - drew her into their depths and made her heart race with fire even as icy fingers of fear crept up her spine.

Abigail tried to ignore her sense of foreboding. She tried to ignore the creaking stairs, the lantern mysteriously lit, the cryptic warning against the very man who had begun to claim her heart....

This book has current information about women in all facets of the criminal justice system.It is a great tool for college students with a law or criminal justice major. Some of the topics are law enforcement, criminals, and prisons.It's a very "arresting" and thorough text.

Twain spoils a promising premise with bloated preachifying, colorless prose, and an uneven, nigh-absurdist plot arc.

I have always received the best service when I have placed an order from you. Outstanding!!!!!

With each Twain novel I read, I am amazed at how he can be so funny while packing such astute insights about life. This novel is no exception as Twain strikes the balance between the two again here. The premise for this novel is perhaps Twain's most original idea (when did Tom Sawyer ever time travel?) and the story and characters satisify at every turn. While this isn't Twain's best work, I think that some of his funniest moments are in this novel. I recommend Tom Sawyer as the place to begin reading Twain, but if you are already a fan then this book is a must-read.

Although I usually enjoy Twain's writing style, and his sense of wry humor, there was something about A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court that was less than satisfying.

Some of the situations that the protagonist gets himself into are "classic" Twain. When the narrator is transported back to the time of Camelot, he begins to speculate about rituals, customs and general style of life. There is one part where the townspeople are convinced that he can perform great magical feats (he actually has Merlin as his rival), and when they corner him about performing one, he has to think of a way to please them or face punishment. He realizes that he can remember when an eclipse is going to come, and there is the way out of his situation. There are many adventures, where the narrator becomes critical of their ways, as a time warp will do. He is a fish out of water in many ways in this new world, not understanding, for instance, their need to have extravagant adventures: "Hardly a month went by without one of these tramps arriving; and generally loaded with some tale about some princess or other wanting help to get her out of some faraway castle where she was being held in captivity by a lawless scoundrel..." Because of his ability to perform great acts, he becomes known as the Boss, and helps to free some poor peasants from terrible punishments.

Maybe what made this less of a story was that it became too "preachy" and filled with social commentary. Although this is what usually makes Twain's novels, here it seemed to detract from the over all story. I was much more interested in hearing about the next adventure, but the narrator continued to rattle on and on about what he felt was wrong with this society. You get the feeling that Twain, not the narrator, is speaking after awhile. In the end, I guess it wasn't really the book I expected it to be. Still, it has its moments, and there are some parts that will have you chuckling to yourself as you read.

I consider Twain to be one of my favorite authors, but this is one of his lesser achievements.

I have always loved Mark Twain since reading Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer as a kid. At one point I had even memorized "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" as a seventh-grader in Catholic school. Twain has always held a sentimental place close to my heart, so when our book club chose to read and discuss A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, I was all for it.

I had heard vaguely of Twain's atheist mindset and his antagonism toward religion in general. But until I read Connecticut Yankee, I had no idea how much irrational and unfounded antipathy Twain had for the Catholic Church in particular. The pervasive theme in Connecticut Yankee is that our modern enlightened world is far superior to that which went before and that the "bad old days" of slavery and oppression were almost completely the fault of the Catholic Church. This anti-Catholic sentiment can hardly be denied as Twain himself urged reviewers not to mention it when the book first came out. "Please don't let on that there are any slurs at the Church," he told a sympathetic reviewer in the Boston Herald. "I want to catch the reader unawares, and modify his views if I can."

So Twain engaged in what we know today as the "last acceptable prejudice." By way of a simple comparison, let us imagine that, instead of Catholics, Twain had chosen Jews, Mormons, or Evangelicals as the villains of Connecticut Yankee. Would it still occupy the exalted position it does as an American classic? Or would it be relegated to those dusty shelves where reside other scurrilous works or racist manifestos to be studied as a historical curiosity of a meaner age?

For me, the most annoying aspect of Connecticut Yankee was Twain's almost total ignorance of history--or, perhaps more accurately, his decision to turn history on its head to better fit his polemical aims of blaming all the ills of society on the Catholic Church. This is a classic example of what happens, I suppose, when a journalist with a wide breadth of knowledge but no depth attempts to novelize about a historical subject. To address some of Twain's errors:

1.) Slavery in antiquity was in no way the fault of the Church. That pernicious institution long predated Christianity and was endemic to classical pagan societies. Indeed, the Church has a long history of making the lot of slaves more tolerable and being among the premier abolitionist institutions in the world.

2.) The idea that the Church suppresses intellectual freedom is a fable made up during the Protestant rebellion, though it is heartily embraced by Twain. Far more erudite scholars than I have examined this fallacy in detail, so rather than address this topic in detail here, I would point the reader to Tom Woods's excellent book, How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization.

3.) Twain writes naively of democracy, putting in Hank Morgan's mouth the notion that "Where every man in a state has a vote, brutal laws are impossible." One wonders what Twain would have made of our modern America, where not only every man, but every woman has a vote, and yet the ghastly practice of abortion is not only legal, but enshrined as a human right. Democracy of itself does not ensure enlightened government. Without the temper of religion, democracy is as likely to produce brutal and repulsive laws as the worst monarchy. De Tocqueville understood this. It's a wonder that Twain did not.

There are many more, but this review is already more prolix that I had intended.

As always, Twain's writing sparkles in Connecticut Yankee and his lampooning of the style of Mallory is very funny. His characters, however, viewed 120 years later, are crudely drawn. Hank Morgan is an Alger-esque self-made man whose compendious knowledge of all subjects is just a little too convenient. The legendary Arthurians are all soulless pawns that Twain moves around to further his polemic. No insight is offered into their characters at all. They are all cruel and completely self-serving--as they must be in Twain's mind because they belong to the aristocracy. The story ends on a bizarrely depressing note for a tale that was predominantly a humorous satire for the first seven-eighths of its length.

In short, this is not a book I will be reading to my kids as a bedtime story. For me, it is to be considered a shameful period piece, written at a time when it was acceptable and even laudatory to be a Know-Nothing and make up slanders about the Catholic Church. That it is a cleverly-written slander is only another mark against it. Amusing slanders are pleasing to read but have the potential to do real harm both to the target and the reader.

I bought this last year and thought it would be a great decoration for my room. The finished product looks great and it includes a cool little short story, but the durability is very, very poor. The walls aren't very strong, they keep sagging inwards, making the abbey look as if it is going to collapse. you also need to sellotape some parts during construction. the abbey keeps moving around on the plastic 'playmat' and the little paper figures look quite ridiculous. I would not reccomend this to a little toddler, maybe some between 4-7 years of age.

Best toy ever!!!

This is a super cool set for Redwall fans. There is a secret code that you can figure out. It comes with a plastic map to build the abbey on top of. It comes with all your favorite Redwall characters to punch out and play with. It has a book with it called "The Redwall Warrior's Code."

I am so happy I got this set! You should get one too.

I was disappointed in this book. I bought it for my 8 year old. He loves the Redwall videos, but this model was difficult to put together (even with my help) because the directions weren't clear and it didn't stay together after we did find which "tabs" went together. Also, it is not sturdy enough for child's play. I wish I had read more of the negative reviews to that I wouldn't have bought it.

Donate your money to the charity of your choice. It will give you more satisfaction and enjoyment. The "cardboard" in this model is more like paper than the paper dolls in days of old.

Build Your own Redwall Abbey arrives as a 9 by 12 folder which, when opened, contains in the left pocket a cardboard sheet of 16 punch-out characters and miscellaneous objects, and a nice 16-page pamphlet that tells the story of The Redwall Warrior's Code featuring Cornflower and Matthias. I think the style and the content are consistent with the author's Redwall novels. In the right-hand pocket are an instruction booklet; a foldout sheet that depicts the abbey grounds and opens to about 1-1/2 by 2 feet; 19 pieces which are clearly labelled and fold-out, tuck in and eventually become a rather impressive tabletop abbey, including the great hall (complete with the tapestry hanging over the mantle), the Redwall stairs, a storeroom, bedrooms, the kitchen, gatehouse and outer walls. The gatehouse and walls are particularly satisfying, going up easily and looking great. The material is thin cardboard and the manipulations are more interesting than just simple folds. No cutting or gluing is required though a little bit of tape helps stabilize the model. I think this is a good quality accessory for fans. Assembly takes about an hour and when complete the abbey is fun to look at. There are lots of cool details like candlesticks and birds in the beams and "Redwall" written near the stairs, though I did miss the dishevelled tomes of the gatehouse.

One thing I like about the Redwall universe *is* the availability of interesting supplemental material -- the quiz book, books for younger readers, this abbey. Personally, I would love to see Mr. Jacques publish a Redwall cookbook -- the dishes at the feasts always sound so delectable.

Though this is a bit expensive for older kids and is not sturdy enough for young children or older kids who want to use it as an action figure hangout, I would recommend this fun set-up for ages 8 and up. Because the instructions are clearly written and supplemented with lots of illustrations, this would be an excellent and rewarding intermediate level model for children ready to graduate to a project requiring written insruction, and would be a fun project for parents and children working together. Enthusiastic adult Redwall fans will like it, kids will adore it.

He's flip, he's serious, at times at the top of his entertainment (always second to the polemics) game. When Abbey's "on", as he is in parts of this book of essays, he's untouchable. His Snideness is at his most philosophical, his most opinionated, his most, uh . . . truculent, in this stimulating book. Along with Desert Solitaire (see my review), this book will not be leaving my bookshelf anytime soon.

There are 3 sections: Travel (the most entertaining), Polemics & Sermons (actually more like Rants & Raves), and Personal History. The one disturbing/detracting aspect to the book is this: With all the leg-pulling, hyperbole, and outrageous pronouncements dished out, Abbey's glaring racist side can't be disguised. His calloused remarks about the Mexicans and Hispanics are passed off as snide humor, but the insensitivity is pretty unsettling. It reveals a deeper prejudice, something that a guy like Cactus Ed should have been well aware of but I suppose it was his perogative to sound like a redneck anyway.

So, there you have it, a pretty decent offering from a real iconoclast. If you haven't read Abbey before, I would read Desert Solitaire first and try this one on after.

Parataxis

The Cloud Reckoner

Extracts: A Field Guide for Iconoclasts

This is an entertaining firsthand account of Abbey's adventures as he travels through some of the most remote and beautiful locales in the world. The first chapter, in which he travels through Australia, is by far the most entertaining, and Abbey's wit really shines here. He also makes strong arguments throughout the book about why preserving beautiful natural areas is so important. Some of the subsequent stories come off as so much fluff, in which Abbey is trying to find events of significance and/or peril in the face of a mundane trip. The events seem to me to be interesting enough without having to be dolled up.

All of the material in this cassette is available elsewhere, but nowhere else can you hear the intonation, humor, and on occasions rants of Cactus Ed in his own voice. I have played this for friends who have never heard of Abbey and universally comment that they have never heard anything quite like it. Whether he's drinking with pigs in the desert, musing on planting a tree under the nuclear umbrella, or playing cat and hiker with a puma, there is wisdom and absurdity in every spoken sentence. If they ever get another copy and you beat me to it - mine has worn out - you have won a real prize.

This collection of previously published magazine articles is vintage Abbey, alternatively moving and funny, sacred and profane, flip and dead serious (well almost) and at all times entertaining. Divided into three categories - Travel, Polemics and Sermons, and Personal History - the subjects range from the Great Barrier Reef to technology to women to Winnebagos to hallucinogenic drugs - with many stops in between. The introduction, wherein Abbey comments on nature writing - and various nature writers - is itself worth the price of admission.

Do not let this book be your introduction to Edward Abbey. There is plenty of brilliance here, but an established fan will be able to appreciate that brilliance best.

Great buy, we improved processing time by 40%, many new techniques for setting up initialization parameters and SQLs.

There is a wealth of information in this book for both new and experienced DBAs. For the new DBA the book presents a panoramic view of database tuning that begins with installing a new instance, coverage of each facet of tuning, and putting it all together as a holistic approach. Experienced DBAs will probably discover that they already know most of the techniques; however, having them collected in a single book that systematically addresses each facet of the tuning process makes for a useful reference.

What I especially like about this book is the collection of rules that are on almost every page. These would have been even more useful if they were repeated in an appendix and cross-referenced to the chapters in which they appear. This would allow DBAs to skim through the rules, then jump to the applicable chapter and drill down into the details. I also like the chapter on Other Database Issues. Even experienced DBAs will discover something new in that chapter.

Some parts of book are irritatingly redundant - the authors state a rule or fact, then restate it again a few paragraphs later. This does not, in my opinion, diminish the overall value of the book, although it can slow you down when you're concentrating on a specific topic.

I found that the best way to read this book for maximum benefit is to do a pass from start to finish with a yellow highlighter. This approach allows you to tag information that may be new to focus upon during the second pass through the book. Also note that the book is true to its title - it thoroughly covers tuning, but only touches upon capacity planning, which is closely related and often included in similar books. This is not a criticism of the book (after all, the title is accurate), but to inform potential readers of what's actually covered.

The book does not add anything over the Professional Series Oracle 8 Tuning Book. Hits a lot of topics superficially. I was expecting a book like this to dig deeper than the Professional Series based on the experience of the authors. Consider this book an abbreviation of the Professional Series meant for the non-professional public. Cost is also about half the cost of the professional series books. This review is appropriate for the Oracle Press books in general. Frank Davis --- Oracle8 Certified Database Admininstrator

I have purchased many Oracle books but this one is one of the best. Recommended to advance users(DBA/Developer's)...... Very well explained examples, enough detail about the syntax used in SQL tuning. Covers all the important topics of Oracle8 tuning and performance such as partitioning table, Parallel Queries, Explain Plan, TKPROF, SQL Trace and performance pack of Oracle Applications. This is a review from an Oracle Instructor and Consultant.

This is not a book to read straight thru; you don't sit down after dinner and take this up as something to read and refresh your skills. It is a handbook. A book to refer to. A book to use on site at work. In that light it is excellent and the only reason it received 4 stars was I could not download the queries nor did they come with the book on a diskette or some electronic media. I found this to be an unfortunate flaw in an otherwise good cookbook to have on hand.