Bishop Books

Just happened to pick this sucker up. Wow. If I ever make it up to Canada this book makes me want to bring my bike.

Given that Jodi is a pretty hardcore kind of athlete (and a generally nice person as well), I believe that the summaries of the rides are accurate and valid as personally experienced by the writer. Don't hesitate in checking this one out - the East coast is beautiful and this handbook can only help make it even better. Ride on!

Excellent guild to the trails in Mammoth Lakes area and Bike Park. I was hoping there would be an updated version out now covering the 3 or 4 new trails in Mammoth Bike Park built w/in the last 3 years...

Overall, still a great book and I recommend it for people relatively new to the area.

This book is concise, informative and one of the most useful trail books I've seen. The trail descriptions are terrific and the guidance is very helpful. The maps and elevation change charts are a great tool to assist in choosing a trail at Mammoth.

In this book by Henry Kuttner from the 1950s, homo superior has arrived, and again, they are in hiding. The book contains several pieces about this new race, and they are telepathic. It deals more with their problems, and what it is like to be a telepath, or what it is like to have problems with these abilities when you have been telepathic before, and that sort of thing, compared to the more action oriented approach of Van Vogt, for example.

There is some conflict between the various political groups within the telepaths, and the overall story is told from the point of view of one of the last survivors of the early days, after he has crash landed in bad weather.

Mutant : 1 The Piper's Son - Henry Kuttner
Mutant : 2 Three Blind Mice - Henry Kuttner
Mutant : 3 The Lion and the Unicorn - Henry Kuttner
Mutant : 4 Beggars in Velvet - Henry Kuttner
Mutant : 5 Humpty Dumpty - Henry Kuttner


Mutant telepaths don't need barbers, and don't bother challenging them to knife fights. The kids can be tricky to get right.

3.5 out of 5


Telepathic cabal with unbreakable communication presents a serious problem.

4 out of 5


Mistrust between the groups of mutant telepaths and others intensifies.

3.5 out of 5


Telepath battles and strategy.

3.5 out of 5


The telepath conflict evolves into a desperate fight to stop a killer virus.

3.5 out of 5

By the early 1950s, the great husband-and-wife writing team of Henry Kuttner and C.L. Moore had moved to the West Coast to acquire degrees at the University of Southern California, and were concentrating more on their scholastic pursuits than their (formerly prodigious) sci-fi/fantasy output. In 1953, the pair released "Mutant," which would turn out to be their final, novel-length work of science fiction as a team. "Mutant" is what is known as a "fix-up novel," consisting of four short stories originally published in 1945 and a final story released in 1953, cobbled together with some interlinking material. Taken as a whole, the book is another great achievement for the pair; a wonderfully well-written, thought-provoking, multigenerational piece of hard sci-fi. "Mutant" tells the story of the Baldies, a population of telepathic, hairless (natch) humans that has been created as a result of hard radiations following the so-called Blowup. Distrusted and feared by the nontelepathic majority, their lot is indeed a hard one, despite their obvious advantages. The authors have seemingly given much thought to the question of what it must be like to be a mind reader, and many aspects of the telepathic society (their dueling customs, relations with nontelepaths, their alloted occupations, intermarriage, etc.) are examined in some detail. Kuttner and Moore, using italicized type and bracketed paragraphs, effectively convey telepathic conversations amongst several people; one of the book's major strengths, I feel, and this years before Alfred Bester achieved a similar feat in his 1953 masterpiece "The Demolished Man." Each of the novel's five sections is a concise little gem, and each tells the story of one of the "Key Lives" in Baldy history. "The Piper's Son" (which first appeared in "Astounding Science-Fiction" in February '45) introduces us to Al Burkhalter, a Baldy who works as a semantics expert at a publishing firm and is starting to have trouble with his arrogant Baldy son. "Three Blind Mice" ("Astounding," June '45) tells the story of Dave Barton, a Baldy field biologist who uses his powers to study animals in the wild. (Ever wonder what it's like to read the mind of a shark, a rabbit or a goldfish? This is the book for you!) Barton is here given the assignment of tracking down and killing three Baldy Paranoids, a subset of the mutant population that does not want to live peaceably with the nontelepaths, but rather to exterminate them. Barton returns (40 years older and more experienced in his fight against the Paranoids) in "The Lion and the Unicorn" ("Astounding," July '45), and here makes contact with a young Baldy who has been living with a group of nontelepathic, nomadic pioneer sorts, the Hedgehounds. This tale also deals with a Baldy scientist who is working desperately to counter the Paranoids' secret telepathic bandwidth. In "Beggars in Velvet" ("Astounding," December '45), Burkhalter's grandson must deal with a pogrom that the Paranoids have instigated against the Baldies in a small town in the former British Columbia; a pogrom that has the dire potential to spread worldwide. Finally, in "Humpty Dumpty" ("Astounding," September '53), we are shown the efforts of the Baldy scientists who are endeavoring to find a means of inducing telepathy mechanically and making the secret available to all humans. In each of these tales, the Baldy minority may be seen as representative of any minority of your choice (Jews, blacks, you name it), and the desperate efforts of the Baldies against the Paranoid troublemakers and the hostile nontelepaths are shown in a very positive light by the authors...even when cold-blooded killing becomes necessary, as it often does. Thus, "Mutant" turns out to be not only an exciting and wonderfully well-thought-out piece of work, but a socially relevant one as well. How nice to know that Kuttner and Moore, in their final book together, once again smacked one right out of the park! Though the rest of the 1950s saw the team produce several sci-fi short stories, and a very fine solo novel from Moore (1957's "Doomsday Morning"), as well as a detective series from Kuttner featuring psychoanalyst Michael Gray, "Mutant" essentially drew the curtain down on their sci-fi-novel collaboration. Kuttner, sadly, succumbed to a heart attack in early 1958, when he was only 44 years old. It is my earnest hope that the recent release of the big-budget Hollywood film "The Last Mimzy," based on Kuttner's famous 1943 short story "Mimsy Were the Borogoves," will serve to stimulate a fresh interest in these two pillars of Golden Age science fiction.

As a fan of Boris Akunin's Erast Fandorin mysteries, I picked up _Pelagia and the White Bulldog_ to see what his new character, Sister Pelagia was all about. I have mixed feelings.

The mystery itself is a bit odd ... you feel the initial mystery: who has been killing white bulldogs, a new breed that is being developed in rural Russia - is solved the first third of the book; yet Akunin is merely toying with you, as the death of the dogs (while tragic) is merely an hors d'ouvre to larger and more sinister crimes. This was fantastic, and while it took a bit to get used to the fact that the crime Pelagia was working on was not necessarily that to which she was called for, it was worth the investment of sticking with the story in the end.

Sister Pelagia, a young nun and new protagonist, is likable and, as a previous reviewer noted, similar somewhat to Christie's Miss Marple, I have mixed feelings about her - I much prefer Erast Fandorin. However, the reason I give _The White Bulldog_ four stars is the tendency of Akunin to go off on tangents. For example, an entire chapter is devoted to a discussion of the village in which the crimes take place, without any real bearing on the mystery itself. Similarly, the final courtroom scene where the murder is unmasked is a bit dragged out (almost giving a blow-by-blow of the opening remarks of both prosecution and defense.) I could have done without these painful details, and found myself wanting to "get to the meat" of the story. Tighter editing (perhaps in the original) would have solved this.

Nonetheless, I enjoyed the story. While I wait for the next Fandorin mystery to be translated, I can certainly entertain myself with this trilogy. A recommended read for mystery lovers.

So pretty. I have started it recently and although I am not done yet, it promises to be a Miss Marple like book. The little "walking disiter" sister - too lively and curious to be a nun- invokes Sound Of Music somehow.

I am enjoying the book. Will write a review again shortly, when I have finished it.

"The Rhetoric of Religion" is the unofficial third volume in Burke's second trilogy (a claim also made by some for "Language As Symbolic Action"), following his "Rhetoric" and "Grammar of Motives," although it is clearly neither the summation nor the completion of his line of inquiry begun in those other volumes. What makes this volume stand out is more the applied use of his concepts than their theoretical development. Burke offers a short discussion on "On Words and The Word" before proceeding to a detailed analysis of verbal action in St. Augustine's "Confessions." For me the key section is his analysis of the first three chapters of Genesis, where he works backwards to explain the creation of the Creation story, the best explication of Burke's Iron Law of History. Returning to his literary roots, the final section finds Burke offering a conversation between God and Satan in "Prologue in Heaven," where Burke literally puts his case before the highest court.

Ultimately, the point is one that Burke has sounded before: that we should not be using terminologies developed in laboratories for our study of human motives. Instead, Burke offers his theories of transcendence and the model of the symbolic act as developed over the previous four decades. Consequently, "The Rhetoric of Religion" is not a book with which to begin your inquiry into either Burke or the field of rhetoric and social theory, but rather the volume that provides a more practical application of his work. Like "Language As Symbolic Action," it should be read after going through his "Rhetoric" and "Grammar" volumes.

Kenneth Burke is one great mind of the 20th century. In this book he studies religion, particularly Saint Augustine's writings and Confessions. Through this particular study he reveals his method that is one great tool indeed. He considers language to be made of signifying elements that are the association of a certain object (sounds or letters) and a meaning. Those elements are brought together through morphology or syntax to build compound words or sentences. But Kenneth Burke goes further than Saussure and considers the signifying elements that are repeated in a text and how they are positioned in relation with one another. It is from these networks of signifying elements that he derives the deeper meaning of a text. The relations can be built along lines of similarity or difference, or even opposition. The networked elements can be similar as for their sounds or letters, though different as for their morphological or syntactic environments, or actually opposed morphologically or syntactically, or simply semantically. This is extremely complex and rich and it leads to very powerful remarks. The second step is in line with the first. No individual element, sentence, image, simile, or any other linguistic entity has a meanig all by itself. The real meaning comes from the networks in which it is positioned and how it is positioned in this network. The third step is that the stating of any signifying element implies the possible stating of its antagon. Order implies disorder, time timelessness, etc. The creation of perfection implies imperfection and God states a thou-shalt-not which implies disobedience, doing what is not supposed to be done. This is fundamental. A society does not forbid something that does not exist. If a law says we must not do something it is because it is actually performed. If a society does not forbid something it can be because it does not exist at all or because it is perfectly seen as acceptable. The absence of a law does not imply anything one way or the other. The existence of a law implies that what it forbids exists and what it authorizes exists too, as well as, in both cases, what it does not forbid or what it does not allow. Kenneth Burke injects this approach into his linguistic reading of religious texts. This is extremely powerful and you have to read the book to see how he exploits such principles. From Genesis Kenneth Burke finds out time was created by God as his first creative act, hence it implies that God's eternity before creation was timeless and that God's eternity after the end will be timeless. Eternity is not the flow of time without a beginning nor an end, but eternity is the absolute absence of both flowing and time, hence eternity is a certain static present that fills in the whole conceivable expanse of duration. Time in this conception is only contained within the alpha of the beginning and the omega of the end. If we consider the Fall, it is the result of the thou-shalt-not that implies temptation and disobedience. The Fall implies then a salvation but this salvation can only be gained through a sacrifice that will reprieve the Fall. Burke follows this sacrifice through the whole Bible to show how it is brought to perfection with Christ : God sacrifices his own son to redeem men and women equally and give them the possibility to choose the right actions through perseverance that can only come from the grace God has given them, the grace that enables them to recapture their virginity in their communion in the reenacted sacrifice of the son that will reinforce the will of men and women to persevere in doing the right things. It is this grace and this communion in the reenacting of the sacrifice that boosts the will that makes perseverance possible, which is the Holy Spirit in man. This is the Word in its creating power and it implies communion with that godly energy, as well as with the sacrifice of the son and with other human beings. The conclusion that we can draw from this book is that the concept of God comes from the desire of man to transcend his material limits. He is subjected to time, hence he invents timelessness as perfect eternity. He is subjected to natural conditions, hence he invents supernatural conditions beyond his natural environment. A perfect religion, and there are many, will state that time cannot exists without timelessness, the flow of time without static eternity, nature without supernature, and that reality is the union and perfect balance between these antagons, hence static immobility that is seen as precarious from man's natural experience and having to be eternally regained or rebuilt from both man's and God's points of view, man's both natural and supernatural, material and mental experience. This approach regains a real understanding and the true power of religion : its inner logic, its inner energy. It is no longer an opiate but an empowerment and it will always be that provided it does not refuse to see changing natural conditions and to change the supernatural construct that needs to change along with natural conditions if the balance between the two has to be maintained. Beyond natural material elements man will always conceive of stronger forces and energies that are the real engine of our changing world, our changing time, and will dream of a world where change will no longer be necessary because perfection will be reached, hence timeless permanence. If we know this is a dream that drives us in life, we can assume it and hence accept to live in the real world and try to make it approach this dreamed perfection.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU

This book is a collection of mini Freddy stories. Unfortunately for me I brought this book thinking it was new material based on the title of the book. It is still a good book and the fact I like anything with Freddy, it makes a nice collection in my book case. Next time I read the stories, I will just go to this book instead of the previous paperbacks I brought that are already collected in this hard cover book.

Putting it to you simply, if you enjoyed the movies then you will enjoy reading this book. Freddy is evil as ever, and also enjoys dishing out his sick humor to his victims. This book actually contains 3 different stories. 1. Suffer the Children 2. Dreamspawn and 3. Protoge. Be warned though. Just like the movies there are plenty of gory violence, cursing, and of course lots of sex. On a scale of 1-5 I give Suffer the Children a 4.5, Dreampawn a 4, and Protoge a 4. Enjoy!

Actually it's quite rare to find a music book that can collect also some very nice sonatas of anonymous composers of the 17th century. The violin notation is good enough but the viola da gamba and the continuo parts are quite poor. There are some overall lacks in expression and interpretation signs as well. In this way a "do-it-yourself with a pencil" revision is needed. However it seems a good edition and a precious resource for baroque musicians even if, according to the current information reporting about such a large number of compositions founded in the Kromeriz documentation, I could expect to find some more pieces here....

good clean readable sensible and clear! this music is difficult to get hold of.

For the last few years Chris Bishop has been putting together books from Amber press on subjects such as Panzer Divisions, Luftwaffe Squadrons, Kriegsmarine U-Boats, and now this one on SS: Hitler's Foreign Divisions.

As far as these books go they are well put together, with a goodly set of photographs, well illustrated, and encyclopedic to a point. However, they are not exhaustive and no doubt that was never the author's intent.

For the general collector or reader interested in WWII German subjects these books will fill the bill. For the deep set, hard minded militarist they may only offer information they already know. As long as one realizes the short comings of a general coverage in a little over 150 pages this book will please. Anyone expecting an exhaustive coverage will I am afraid be disappointed.

Semper Fi.

If you are interested in learning about the foreign waffen SS, this book is a must have. The book looks amazing on the outside(i have it on my coffee table). The content is essential and very interesting. There is no informantion pertenant to this subject not in this book. Great book anyone very knowledgable or completly ignorant to he subject would enjoy.

I first picked this book up at the local library, and after the max three renewals and one late fine, I decided that I should buy the book. This one is for any senior exec. who would like to see a way, (but not necessarily the only way,) to organize their company for success into the new millenium. The author makes some very good cases for his vision of the new company structure, one which I personally think is both workable and think makes sense. While he doesn't necessarily provide a clean blue-print for re-organizing or building from scratch, he does give a great thumb-nail sketch that any reasonably intelligent business leader or entrepreneur could follow. I personnaly plan on building my next company on this model....I challenge you to read the book and do the same!

If you are even thinking of doing business in the new economy, get this book! Bill Bishop's simple straightforward approach will guide both the technosavvy start-up entrepreneur as well as the established bricks-and-mortar CEO breaking out of the traditional marketing mindshell. Bishop persuasively describes how to rethink the strategic planning process and guides the reader step-by-step with case examples in both the service and manufacturing sectors.

I liked this book, especially Bishop's methodology of how to think about and serve the customer. However, I questioned the writer's use of the words "all" and "most" throughout the book when the evidence is an interpretation about how the world works. Then again, management instinct is often built on experience. I recommend this book to corporate managers, plant managers, team leaders and small business entrepreneurs transforming their business model for the digital economy.

I was very dissapointed. The whole idea of the book is great, but the book is just a big dissapointment. Anne Bishop needs to attend alot of writers workshops.

This was an amazing series filled with realistic, characters that had real flaws. The fantasy world created within these pages is filled with it's own political battles for power, familial ties and a love that tries to transcend time. In this world, women have the final say, and the men that love them have to do all they can to keep them safe. This is a highly recommended series to anyone that enjoys reading about love, political battles for power or the dark fantasy genre.

The Black Jewels Trilogy is a puzzling paradox: full of sound and fury, and yet the apocalypse signifies little.

The writing is an odd mix of trying to be dark and black and sepulchural, but that language, along with the brutality of the Blood, never gets a reasonable counterbalance. There are Queens upon Queens upon Queens... yet we never see a vignette of a Queen doing her job well, as a contrast to the corruption that underlies the entire Blood structure. The Blood are supposed to be caretakers of the land and the landens... and yet the landens hardly make an appearance, so the reader never gets a sense of what that relationship is like. Nearly everyone that the main characters deal with is a Prince or a Queen or a Warlord or some permutation thereof, or else that minor character is a one-note caricature. Bishop creates some interesting concepts, but the exposition needed to make those concepts come to life is left out: how does one catch a Wind, for example? Instead, there are pages devoted to being a "snarly male" and what amounts to a great deal of posturing with ultimately no resolution besides vamping around and glowering, with gory bloodletting as the author wishes.

Our heroine, Jaenelle, is dreams-made-flesh, the Blood's own Witch, and (sadly) a Mary Sue. All the good guys who see her love her immediately; she quickly makes friends of all the other characters we're supposed to like, she has Unbelieveable Cosmic Powers and thirteen uncut Black Jewels; she has "haunted sapphire eyes," she has her own brand of ultra-black Jewel. She is best friends with the Unicorns and Tigers and Spiders and Scelties and Dragons. She is able to provoke a "response" in Daemon Sadi (look! it's "Demon" with an "ae" in it! how witty!) when no other female can do so in thousands of years. Couldn't we have seen a flaw in Jaenelle that didn't involve her propensity to completely overextend herself in the service of others?

The overarching premise of a corrupt system waiting for a messiah to come and reform it is workable, and there are some good moments in the series - one that springs to mind is the scene between Witch and her grandmother Alexandra, when Alexandra rejects the very savior she wished for. Ultimately, the world ends... but this reader was left unaffected.

When I read the first book - I was so appauled by the graphic violence and horror, that I had to skip over some parts. It' was truly disturbing at times, and when I finished the first book ( i read each book seperate first time) I wanted to Burn it! But something about the main characters stayed with me, and I couldnt help but think about them and wonder what was to come of them. So i got the second and the book, and fell in love with this trilogy. The second and third book wasn't as dark ( which was a relief for me as I'm ultra sensitive) and I got so engrossed in the story and their world, It stayed with me for a long time. I was truly sad when the story ended. Also if anyone has had any abuse, or sexual abuse in their past, they may relate to the journey of healing Janelle goes thru.

I also read Dreams Made Flesh and Tangled Webs and enjoyed them immensely!
This world was an unforgetable journey that I truly enjoyed ( once i got past the first book )

It was great to have the three books in one. No delay, right on to the next. Anne Bishop is a new author for me and I enjoyed immensely the story in places I would not have imagined. Characters were well developed, but not hard to follow. Many tortuous twists and unexpected events. Her ending left me wanting to find out more. I don't know if there a 4th but I would read it if so. She has quite an imagination and created a compelling read about strong women and their strong men. Only weakness might be the romance angle but I remained hopeful to the end.