Bonds Books

He's the perfect man. He's amiable, always willing to cuddle you in his arms, he won't talk back and he won't leave before breakfast if you don't want him to! Too bad he's a blow-up doll and Lana Martina is stuck with him. An ever-present reminder of her single status, Harry graces Lana's apartment and represents the sum total of her romantic life. Until a mix-up in advertisements sends her Greg Healey-lawyer, entrepreneur and older brother to Will, who decides that singles ad from "Coffee Girl" sounds like the perfect girl for him. Greg, on the other hand, decides that letting Will have free rein could end up disastrous and instead insists he should be the one to check out Coffee Girl. If she checks out, then he'll introduce the two. Little does Greg know that Coffee Girl isn't who he thinks she is and worse! - she's a shop owner set dead center in a part of town that he's bent on razing and paving over. The sparks fly immediately between the two and it looks as if Will might never meet the woman of his dreams.

Although I was aware immediately that Greg looked out for Will's welfare, I never was quite sure what had happened to Will in the past that resulted in his present mental/neurological condition. It was written that he'd taken a nasty fall as a child, but I didn't get the feeling that that had been the cause or vice versa. Also, I didn't feel that Lana's self-centered bimbo brained mother was dealt with severely enough. Personally, I itched to reach out and slap her for her obliviously callous and selfish way of treating her daughter.

After Too Hot To Sleep, readers might be surprised at the toned-down love scenes in Seeking Single Male, and how long it takes to get to one. That's not to say the book isn't good. It is. Two levels of sensuality, same great level of writing.

I enjoyed it - I did feel like the end was a bit slow - but I really like the author and would read another of her books. It was a good way to pass the day away. The novel was very cute.

In Lexington, Kentucky, extremely shy Will Healey wants to answer an ad in Attitudes magazine from a SF (single female) seeking an SM (single male). Though he feels protective towards his brother and has doubts about women advertising in the personnel ads, Will's brother lawyer Greg decides to help his sibling because he knows how hard this must be on the isolated Will. Greg tells Will he will check into "Coffee Girl", mostly to insure himself that the woman is not a hooker.

"Coffee Girl" is actually coffee shop owner Lana Martina. However, the ad in question was not the one placed by Lana. She just seeks a roommate not a playmate. As Lana and Greg become acquainted they fall in love. However, even with the matchmaking encouragement of Harry the blow-up doll, a relationship between this couple seems doomed because neither one seems to want it. He worries about his brother's feelings while she wonders if he is gay. The final obstacle is he owns the property where her shop is located and he plans to sell the place.

SEEKING SINGLE MALE is an entertaining romantic romp filled with warm characters that make the story line fun to read. Though at times a stretch in reality, fans will not cares as the tale works because of the intriguing, often offbeat interrelationship between cast members including Harry. Stephanie Bond provides readers with a triumphant contemporary with Harry moving on to his next book in Chicago.

Harriet Klausner

SEEKING SINGLE MALE, by Stephanie Bond, consists of a riotous madcap comedy for an otherwise circumspect lawyer when a mix-up occurs regarding personal ads. Answering an ad placed by Coffee Girl on behalf of his shy brother, Greg Healey arrives at The Best Cuppa Joe in downtown Lexington, Kentucky expecting anything but what he gets.

Greg expects to meet the woman who advertised, "Single female in mid twenties single male for good times. Horse lover a plus. I'm a good cook. Coffee Girl." So when Lana Martina introduces herself, asking if he fits the ad she placed, and immediately invites him to her apartment, Greg assumes the worse. Intrigued by the vivacious beauty, however, he can't resist following her. Little does he realize her ad was for a gay male roommate.

Greg dislikes complicated woman, and they don't come any more complicated that Lana. He especially realizes that fact when he shows up at the town as representative of the landlords who own a strip of shops slated for demolition. The hazing of the building housing The Best Cuppa Joe, as well as the building next door, is essential to Greg's plans for renovating the downtown area. Little did Greg expect the woman who assaulted him for kissing her, while showing her apartment, to represent the shop owners.

The city counsel charges Greg and Lana to work together to come up with a compromise that will benefit both parties. The rezoning would allow Greg to escape his corner office and enter the courtrooms where he longs to practice law. But Lana can't afford to relocate her shop, and is the culmination of years of dreams that she won't easily relinquish.

Provoking the dour Greg is easy, and doing so is sinfully delightful for Lana. If only they weren't evolved in this stick business fray. With obvious attraction and a direct opposition of interests, their effect on each other cannot be less than cataclysmic.

SEEKING SINGLE MALE is one of those delightful afternoon's read where you know the characters will wind up together, but the rocky path keeps the you in stitches. Spirited heroines just seem a perfect contrast to stodgy lawyers who long to break out of their molds, and Stephanie Bond definitely presents them with flair. In addition, her subplot consists of a gentle love story that can't help but also provide enjoyment. Not to mention a ridiculous blow up doll of a man, with anatomically correct parts who gets passed among single women. What a hoot! Highly recommended.

EXCELLENT BOOK, EASY READ, EXCITING AND YOU WILL THINK YOU ARE THERE WITH THE AUTHOR EVERY MINUTE SHARING THE HUMOR, THE ANGER AND THE HEART POUNDING SUSPENSE.

Alley writes a page-turner based on an unfortunate experience with a thuggish leader of a Chinese government enterprise in the wilds of Hunan province.

The lessons of the book can be summed up this way:

1. If you are a rich businessman hoping to do business in rural China, at least hire your own interpreter and take them with you. Better still, take someone who knows the basics about business and customs in China and whom you can trust to represent your interests. Not doing so is like going into battle alone and unarmed.

2. While in China, do the museums, and do stop by a rural schoolhouse where the children have never seen a real foreigner up close. You will at least begin to understand and respect the Chinese as people.

3. Leave your personal and political biases at home. Anything bad that happens to you in China is not necessarily or entirely the fault of the Chinese form of government, China's lack of freedom and all those other things Americans cherish, China's different ways of conducting business, or China's relatively low standard of living. [Alley apparently still has not learned this one.]

4. Never trust to represent your interests "middlemen" whose main source of funding is the other side and who have obviously been sent abroad to represent Chinese interests.

Showdown At Changsha: A Story Of Perilous Business Negotiations In China is a plainly told memoir of Tulsa Oklahoma businessman John Alley's trip to the People's Republic of China. Caught in a remote village and forcibly pressured by his "hosts" to sign a contract that would ruin his company, John Alley's own survival was quite literally at stake. A chilling true story of danger, political and business machinations, and inner courage, Showdown At Changsha should be read by any businessman, vacationer, or student contemplating a trip to mainland China.

THIS IS A FASCINATING STORY DESCRIBING DOING BUSINESS WITH THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA AND THEIR RUTHLESS BUSINESS METHODS.ANY COMPANY OR BUSINESSMAN THINKING OF DOING BUSINESS IN CHINA SHOULD READ THIS FIRST HAND DESCRIPTION TOLD IN AN OPEN AND HONEST MANNER. THE AUTHOR PULLS NO PUNCHES AS HE DESCRIBES WITH HUMOR YET IN FRIGHTENING DETAIL HOW CLOSE HE CAME TO PRISON OR DEATH WHEN HE WAS HELD CAPTIVE IN CHINA. I FELT LIKE I WAS SITTING IN THE ROOM WITH THE AUTHOR, A NATURAL STORY TELLER.

Jory Strong is a favorite author of romantic erotica. I found this book to hold my attention with a good romantic story line. It's well written and interesting. Connects to Supernatural Bonds 1, Trace's Psychic, and Supernatural Bonds 2, Storm's Fairies. Would recommend it to anyone who likes romantic erotica and the endings don't disappoint.

I really liked this book. I love dragons, werewolves, vampires, the immortal type romance books where the men recognize their soul mates and pursue them. This book had a strong lovable hero and a fiesty but not to strong heroine that knew she had met her soul mate. overall I give this book 4 stars.

This book was hot from the get go, no pussy footing around it just got right into the good stuff and holy hell I needed to pause at some points and just imagine I was Sophie, the story line was alright it did tend to drag at points but the sex was better, overall I would read this book again, it is a keeper on the shelf. 10\10

This is the third installment of Strong's supernatural bonds. I have waited for this book for quite a while and although the story is good there is not much of it in this book. Over 2/3's of the book is bedroom material. I like some heat in my fantasy novels, but, this book was almost all romps. What story we do get is good there just needed to be abit more story. If you read it for the heat-factor, then you will be pleased with it.

Sophie Alexander is a writer and friend of Aislinn, who married Trace in TRACE'S PSYCHIC. Aslinn who is half elf gave her a crystal that will let her know when she finds her heartmate. Sophie is determined to find the Dragon's Cup that was stolen in STORM'S FAIRIES.

Severn Damak is a Dragon Prince and he is just as determined to find the cup. When he goes to Aislin's shop what he finds is his mate, Sophie. He must bond with Sophie in the Dragon World where he will reveal his other body as a dragon. He is not allowed to become a dragon in our world.

Severn's mother a dominant female arrives with the dragon she has chosen for his mate. Audriss is a dominant female and is determined to have Severn. While he keeps Sophie safe from his mother and unwanted fiance, he also must find the cup and keep the servants of the fay court from stealing the Cup again.

With all this going on you would think it would be an exciting read, but most of the action takes place in the bedroom and various places. The actual adventure is short and only takes a few pages. So you choose, either to pay 12.99 for this one or not. Personally, I would have liked more story.

Loved this book, probably got it the wrong way around but read this one first, as soon as I had finished it I dove straight into How To Be Famous. I really enjoy Alison Bonds writing, really down to earth and laugh out loud funny - I felt like I was taken on a journey to behind the scenes LA.

A great read.

The BBC reported that screen legend Ruby Valentine was found dead in Los Angeles from an apparent overdose. The office was gossiping about the death when Kelly Coltrane's dad Sean tells her to come home immediately which she does because it has always been her and him with no mom. Sean shows her photos he took of Ruby, explaining they were friends who had an affair and a baby girl, Kelly.

Kelly tells her boyfriend Jez before deciding she needed to know her mom especially why the renowned actress rejected her and now apparently committed suicide. She flies to California to learn who Ruby Valentine was. As Kelly becomes engulfed in the Hollywood lifestyle, she begins to find some startling clues about the life and death of her mother starting with the agent Max and Sunset Boulevard

THE TRUTH ABOUT RUBY VALENTINE is an intriguing contemporary tale that focuses on the price of fame. Ruby gave up plenty to become a Hollywood icon including her daughter, who seeks some connection beyond the DNA to her famous mom. Kelly is a fine lead protagonist as she does not hesitate to do what she believes is right, which helps her retain some of her equilibrium once she gets caught up in the glitz. A final twist feels right for this exciting book that looks at the downside of becoming famous.

Harriet Klausner

'The Truth About Ruby Valentine' is a great book, but in my opinion it's lacking something.

I did like the way it's written. There's flashbacks about Ruby Valentine and how she became the celebrity she is today. The other parts are present day about Kelly Coltrane trying to find out things about the mother she's never come to know.

Overall, a great book to lose yourself in.

In this day in age, celebrities reign supreme. Look anywhere and you are sure to run across detailed information on their whereabouts, what they like, what they wear and what they love to do. So it's not a surprise when twenty-five year old Kelly Coltrane, like many young women, fantasizes about living the same glamorous life broadcasted in her glossy gossip magazines.

But tragedy strikes. Screen legend Ruby Valentine commits suicide and the whole world mourns her untimely death. Kelly is definitely not prepared for the news that comes next. Her dad confesses to her that Ruby was her mother. Though shocked by this news, Kelly sees this as an opportunity to get some answers and a taste of the alluring Hollywood scene.

Throughout this journey, the things she learns about her mother, her new family and most of all herself is completely unexpected.

THE TRUTH ABOUT RUBY VALENTINE reads like a really good movie. It was very realistic and you got the sense of the true meaning of finding oneself. I especially enjoyed the way Alison Bond masterfully incorporated flashbacks of Ruby's life in between Kelly's story. It was truly well written and you will definitely find yourself escaping with the characters.

Understanding DB2 9 Security by Rebecca Bond, et al (IBM Press) offers nice, well-thought-out coverage of DB2 security for DB2 DBAs, developers, and really anyone in need of securing DB2 data. This book offers a nice comprehensive guide to securing DB2 particularly in terms of leveraging the powerful new security features of DB2 9. This book is well-organized and offers in-depth coverage of some perhaps-difficult DB2 security issues such as identification and authentication controls, label based access control (LBAC), encryption ("at rest" and "in flight"), auditing and intrusion detection, using SSH, and managing patches and fixes.

The book is written for users of DB2 on Linux, Unix, and Windows platforms, and not for the z/OS flavor of DB2. But since there are many similar issues, DB2 for z/OS admins will find much to interest them, too.

While you're at it, check out the new IBM Press book Mainframe Basics for Security Professionals: Getting Started with RACF. It is not specifically about database security, but it is interesting for mainframers concerned about security and RACF nonetheless.

I thought from the qualifications of the writers that this would be an excellent book. Instead it falls into the mediocre category, rehashing in poorly editted language information that is presented better elsewhere. The clarity of the "explanations" of core concepts leaves much to be desired (e.g., Kerberos) and is dreadfully short on usefulness (Okay, how do you get an AIX version of DB2 to authenticate using Active Directory?). Maybe I just wanted too much: I mean, it's an okay book, just not great.

Understanding DB2 9 Security isn't for the light programmer's library: it's an in-depth, comprehensive guide - the only one - to securing DB2 and harnessing the new features of 9, and comes from a security deployment expert and the IBM DB2 development team itself. As such, college-level holdings strong in advanced computer database and security holdings will find it a top pick, covering everything from security processes and plans to implementing design in the DB2 environment.

This is a must read book for DB professionals implementing DB2 9, now or in the future. The book is written in a simple stratight forward and logical manner that makes for very easy reading, yet it provides complete coverage of the topic. The book provides comprehensive technical and managerial information regarding the security of DB2 systems.

One of the best books. The best book I ever read on Investing. You will LOVE this book. You will learn a LOT! I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT.

This book is a broad introduction to the concept of investing. It is broken into five major sections:

1. Getting Started, which talks about goals, credit card debt, budgets, and basic investment vehicles
2. Doing the Research, which discusses retirement plans and ways to find information you need to invest
3. Mutual Funds, Stocks, and Bonds, which finally dives into the details on those investment vehicles
4. Making Choices, which introduces various investment strategies
5. Working Toward a Goal, which wraps things up with portfolio examples, the level of participation in your investments, and retirement

First off, I want to note the author's tone and his style of writing - Little presents information in a very easy-to-understand manner, with simple examples and witty jokes. The book does not feel tedious, and you can fly through it quickly.

Each of the five sections consists of multiple chapters, which Little calls "Hours." The idea is that you can, of course, learn about investing in 24 hours - so there are 24 chapters. At the end of each chapter is a hands-on workshop and a quiz. While the quizzes are basically a joke (the answer choices are beyond obvious), the workshops are a great practical way to get your hands dirty and start looking at the wealth of information available to investors. Little provides multiple websites (although some are, of course, outdated) and other ways to get the information you need. I suggest you follow through some of the book's workshops - i.e. look over some annual reports, think of investment goals, etc.

A big plus for this book is that it provides very practical information. It describes (although very briefly) the financial documents that a company publishes (balance sheet, income statement, cash flow) and some ways that companies can be evaluated using some basic ratios - EPS, P/E, PEG, P/S, etc. Unfortunately Little does not spend a lot of time on how to use these values to help determine the financial strength of a company. He just instructs the reader to compare the values to those of other companies in the same sector/industry.

In Hour 6, the diagrams used to demonstrate how to read stock/fund price changes are unfortunately botched in a major way. The columns are not wide enough, and values are truncated or carried over to the next line. This is very confusing. In addition, some of the columns referenced in the text don't seem to exist at all in the diagrams. This is a huge miss by the editors - very disappointing.

While Little attempts to target a very broad audience by demonstrating investment strategies, goal planning, and risk management for various age groups, the overall feel of this book is that of one written for a very specific group of people: individuals who are suddenly realizing that retirement is not so far off - and that it's time to start planning for it.

Little constantly reinforces the notion of tax-protected accounts (i.e. the 401k and the IRA family) - yes, we get it, it's nice to have tax-deferred and even tax-free growth, but some of us would like to use the money we make before retirement. Little furthermore explicitly recommends moderate-risk investment strategies (even though he describes aggressive strategies, as well), spending many pages on why mutual funds are great. He also has a section on how to get rid of credit card debt and find money in your budget to begin investing. Finally, Little targets "retirement" as the example of every long-term goal he discusses.

Don't get me wrong - Little does an excellent job making the reader comfortable with the notion of investing. He stresses again and again that you don't have time to lose - and you need to start NOW. But it always feels like he's addressing the middle-aged individual who needs to get his/her finances in order and start thinking about retirement.

I wish Little would spend more time on stocks rather than concentrating so much on mutual funds. He groups stocks into 3 very broad categories - value, growth, and income. While this might be the way that some mutual funds label their holdings, I feel that this classification of stocks is a gross oversimplification. Peter Lynch does a much better job of this in his One Up on Wall Street. But then again, Little's goal is not to teach the reader everything about stocks - but rather get him/her familiar with the basics. His ultimate advice is to go with stock index funds rather than individual stocks.

Finally, I wish Little would spend a bit more time on advanced topics such as options, futures, and shorting. He defines each concept, but he dismisses these vehicles as overly risky - yet he doesn't describe the risks very well. He also mentions that options can be a good hedge to protect your investments, but he stops there. I feel that Little could have spent more time describing HOW to use these vehicles, and WHY they can be so risky. Simply saying that, in options trading, you could lose all of your investment (meaning the premium) is not enough.

In conclusion, I have mixed feelings about the book. I was very skeptical half-way through, but the book picked up in the middle and taught me some things I didn't already know - so I am glad I finished it. It got me to look at a balance sheet for Goldman Sachs and try to figure what's going on. However, keep in mind that, unless you have absolutely no knowledge of investment vehicles and their markets, this book will not teach you a lot. It will get you started - perhaps you will muster up the guts to invest into an S&P 500 index fund via your 401k plan... but to do anything else, you will need more. Nevertheless, if you are new to investing and are realizing that retirement is not far away, this is a great book to get you started.

Pros:
+ easy and quick read, lots of examples, witty jokes
+ practical information - financial docs, stock ratios, general tid-bits of advice, examples of portfolios
+ useful workshops that make you try things on your own

Cons:
- diagram errors in Hour 6
- some things are repeated many times
- could spend a lot more time on stocks and on advanced topics (options, futures)
- feels like it's targeted for a very specific audience

Congratulations to Mr. Little for having written a fantastic easy-to-get-through primer on the investing world. All essentials are explained and explained WELL, and no relevant terms are left out. For an investing manual, this read went by fast!

The author didn't make you feel like a dummy, even though the subject matter could've easily led to a condescending approach. Ken Little's tone was like that of a friend. Examples: "Don't get too hung up on being precise with these terms, because their definitions are very fluid. Toward the end of this hour we will introduce you to a widely accepted way of classifying mutual funds that is not arbitrary." (page 163); "The lesson here is that you shouldn't get tripped up over broad terms such as 'growth' when considering stocks. If you want an objective determination, use one of the several systems available, such as Morningstar.com. This will help you compared like stocks and avoid ridiculous questions such as, 'Should I buy AT&T or Amazon.com."

The book was divided into 24 chapters, with each chapter organized to take up one hour of time for the average reader to get through. And because this book is sincere in trying to get the reader to learn and be serious about what he has just read, every chapter/hour has a short multiple-choice quiz to test the reader's understanding and retention of the material for that chapter. That's a nice touch.

This book takes a proactive stance in getting the amateur investor up and running. For beginners who are intimidated about getting their feet wet and those who don't know where to start, the book frequently offers lists of "5 things you can do today."

This book is a great instruction manual for novices, a good reference guide, and is very well-crafted. Bravo.

For information and a clear perspective on Western European (and American) music history, there is not much better. Bonds prefaces each section or era with a "prelude", providing information on the general history of that era outside of the musical world. Then, we see how everything moves together. The overall assessment of Western European Music History is covered meticulously from the Ancients to modern day (or nearly so).

This is one of the new breed of general music history texts to hit the market in the past decade. Correcting many of the errors made by the Grout and vastly more readable, this text is filled with unique side bars, charts, lists, photographs, time lines, etc. I keep one copy of this at home and one at the office along with Craig Wright and Bryan Simms' Music in Western Civilization (which is my all-time favorite music history text). If you only want to buy one book (and this is not required for a class), purchase the Wright/Simms. If you don't mind spending the extra money, I would purchase the Bonds and the Wright/Simms as a superb addition to any professional musician's library.

As a general history intended for the academic market, Bonds's contribution ranks as a formidable contender with K Stolba's and Grout/Palisca's works. Visually appealing with many period paintings, illustrations and tables in color, the book also entertains with well-written text which illuminates the cultural context of developing genres.
Composer profiles and "Focus" features break up the text and provide essential insights. Particularly valuable are the "Primary Evidence" highlights which contain extensive quotes from primary resources. Five appendices include "A Guide to Selected Research Materials in Music History" and the set text for the ordinary of the mass with English translation.
Fourteen CDs and two score anthologies (available seperately) complete the perspective on occidental high art music. Nevertheless, the text stands well alone and would complement the library of anyone interested in western art music history.

This book is used for graduate students at my school and is a good first introduction to Rasch analysis.

2nd Ed. = 314 pages + (refs and front material); 1st Ed.= 234 pages + (refs and front material).
Updated throughout, highlights of the Second Edition include:
Additional 80 pages of text; More than 25% of the rest rewritten.
A new CD that features Bond&FoxSteps, a full-size introductory version of the latest Winsteps program; all the data files for the book's examples, preprogrammed to run using Winsteps with built-in .pdfs of step by step tutorials for each B&F example. Minifac, data set and Facets example.
A new chapter (#5) on invariance that highlights the parallels between physical and human science measurement.
A new empirical example demonstrates the Many Facets Rasch model.
An increased focus on issues related to unidimensionality, multidimensionality, and Rasch factor analysis of residuals.
New examples using thermometry and the measurement of sport performances, and the growing use of student satisfaction data in university and college reviews.
A new appendix on analyzing data to help those new to Rasch analysis get started.
More explanation of the key concepts and of item characteristic curves make the text easier to follow.

This is a reasonable introduction to some aspects of Rasch modeling that could stand considerable improvement come, as almost certainly there will, a third edition.
Reading the book is an annoyance because of the very large numbers of copy editing mistakes. For example, the text in the first paragraph on page 249 makes reference to information in a figure that is clearly not in the figure referred to. The table on page 245 is printed the wrong way, with tabs between decimal points and the figures on the right, making it seem as if, for example, the item estimate for the item in question is an absurd 33.0 or even 330. The text is full of such mistakes. Practically speaking, one might argue that such printing errors are actually useful to those who wish to understand the text, inasmuch as the ability to notice that such mistakes are mistakes functions as a check on the depth of one's understanding. On the other hand, I fear to think what those with no background in Rasch models would make of the page 245 table.
Rasch models are (at least in the circles I move in) notorious for the difficulty of explanitory texts, this despite the simplicity of the concepts involved. (Rasch models in testing, for example, are much simplier than those for traditional true-score treatments of testing, but the true-score tradition abounds with clear writers who aim for and hit audiences of novices.)
This book does a little to make Rasch model concepts more clear to less-initiated readers, but the tone of the text often flips between clarity, with all new concepts explained clearly, and academic prose for the initiated only (as in the discussion of residuals interpretation). Likewise, though the text includes much data from actual tests or research projects, there is a lack of any actual items or item stems from the tests or research from which the examples are drawn. The invented examples here (e.g., with Chapter 7, on rating scale design) are poorly thought out and do not betray familiarity with relevant literature.
The organization of the text could be improved as well. Although the included glossory is an aid, keeping topic for the most part in one place in the book would make it much more useful for beginners: information on fit interpretation, for example, is spread throughout the text, with information that would illuminate introductory writing about fit being delayed until Chapter 12.
Criticisms aside, however, "Applying the Rasch Model" is fun to read (at least for those somewhat familiar with probabilistic models in academia), and I do not know of a better introduction in print. On the other hand, I have not kept up with the literature of late, so perhaps there is something better than this.

I need review the biology of fishe

I need review the biology of fishe

When I took ichthyology in college, this was the textbook. The instructor was not terribly excited about it, but thought it was better than the one used previously. This is a good overview that covers a lot of territory. If you are looking for a catalogue of fishes, this is probably not what you want, but if you want to know something such as feeding strategies, you'll find just about every one of them covered along with an example. One of the problems with covering a lot of topics is that undue attention is given to examples that otherwise might not merit such attention. For example some large fish families don't get that much attention while others which may be smaller, but more specialized, get more attention to illustrate how they are different. The result is that if you are looking for detailed information about a certain group, you are not going to find it. However if you want to know about fishes as a whole, this will get you there. There is a black and white photograph, but otherwise the illustrations are all drawings. Some of the drawings are obviously taken from photographs while others are more stylized. Many of the drawings are anatomical illustrations showing organs and structures in a way that could not be photographed anyway. The price of the book probably has to do with being a college textbook. I paid a lot less for it 22 years ago. The passage of time has not diminished the usefulness of the book and this edition is a later one than the one I have. For today's market, I would say that this book is good value for the money.

Included here are Edward Bond's first plays, the first in a series put out by the great English publishing house Methuen.

After years of hearing about the famous scene in Saved, and wanting to read it, and maybe even see it, I finally got to do the former, and am here to pass on that this is a remarkable play, not to be missed if it is being presented near you, and is also a great read-who likes working their Cockney dialect?-and has a wallop of a core to boot.
Very much an ensemble story, Saved does have a main character, but it's scenes are mostly two-person short/quick dialogues, full of angst and boredom. The scene of infanticide is in the middle and serves as the apex of the nothingness that embodies the lives of these post-war, post-angry young man English, who's pursuits are none, other than occasional work, a night out, eating...you know, the basicness that allows for cruelty, when no valuable purpose is apparent.
What makes Saved remarkable though is Len, the central character, who's constant interest and seemingly clueless tenacity turns out to be it's moral core that resounds with a curiosity and compassion that make for a real courageous and bold vision of modern life.
Len's involvement in the family, his presence at their home, his dogged attachment to Pam, his lone interest in the baby, his questioning of Fred, his excitment at Mary and willingness to bond with Harry all make for a picture of hope and wonder in the midst of so much hatred, fear, nihilism, desperation, ignorance, boredom.
A true classic. Highly recommended. Needs to be seen to be truly appreciated.

Unfortunately for Early Morning, I never was able to fully grasp the irony, absurdity, farce or socio-historical commentary Bond was making because I was almost completely confused throughout. It did remind me a bit of Churchill's Cloud 9, what with English betraying their famous sense of poise and upright presentation to reveal a vulgar, cannibalistic, vile crassness. The disclaimer on the page opposite the original production notes, that "The events of this play are true," need not be pondered very long, what with Queen Victoria, Prince Albert, their sons Arthur and George, Disraeli, Gladstone and Florence Nightingale all conspiring to murder, seduce, eat and out do on another, even after they are in Heaven.
The deeper message of Early Morning seems to be the continuity of the pomposity and indifferent behavior of the Royals and the politically mighty. Their nature is to consume and destroy, they are not benevolent, and even a figure as revered as Florence Nightingale can be abused and reduced to base desperations.
I still had difficulty reading this, so maybe I best hold off until I see it staged (the chances of which are not good, as I'm in L.A.), but I could only recommend this to those interested in Bond and theatre specifically.

With The Pope's Wedding I could only gather that Scopey, the young protagonist of the piece takes over for his girlfriend/wife Pat as the hermit Alen's caretaker and soon becomes possessed by Alen, in the end becoming him. The language of The Pope's Wedding, like Early Morning was difficult for me to puzzle together, because unlike Saved there are more complex dialectic structures and slang within speeches and dialogues. There is also a lot of pivotal stage directions about the hermit Alen and then Scopey. This proved Beckettian too. I suppose it is a stretch to figure this one out, but judging from Bond's essay about the violence in Saved that is featured here and the essay on the nature of human violence that is longer and more philosophical, The Pope's Wedding-which I interpret as an ironic term of a passage into isolation and senselessness heightened by empty hatreds and bored violence-as opposed to "faith." Because nobody in The Pope's Wedding, like Saved is doing anything with their lives. Unlike Early Morning, which presents a similar point but more abstractly, absurdly and with a historical bend.

I highly recommend Saved, but would only suggest Early Morning and The Pope's Wedding to those interested in Edward Bond and his art.

as fine a writer as england has produced since the second world war. these plays represent bond simply and completely, as a man of passion and vision and a writer that any reader or writer MUST reckon with if they wish to have an understanding of modern drama. genius, and handed out when the word is knowingly overused. here it is earned.

If you are considering the plays of Bond there is no better place to start than here, at the beginning of his career. This volume contains his first three plays. Whether you have seen thse works performed or not is irrelevant. Just reading them is an interesting experience. This is essential modern literature! Bond's introductions (to all the volumes of his collected plays) are also essential. They have a socialist leaning but are not too preachy. Bond's self-educated working-class position gives his articulate essays a powerful punch. (A punch modern society needs.) I would buy these volumes just for these introductions, they are that good!

After this, go on to PLAYS:TWO for the brilliant LEAR.