Bridges Books

Jimmy Dolan was thirty years old when he returned to his Connecticut hometown in search of the driver who killed his father in a hit-and-run accident. There he also finds himself confronted with dark secrets from his own past and is caught up in a web of guilt, betrayal and revenge. The Road To The Island is a complex and enthusiastically recommended novel showcasing a human drama that is superbly crafted and absolutely riveting. Author Tom Hazuka demonstrates a genuine talent capable of evoking strong emotional responses in the mind of his reader. Also highly recommended is Tom Hazuka's novel, In The City Of The Disappeared (1882593316, ...).

A quick read, yet complex, and provocative. It brought to life my memories of living in a small New England town. Hazuka has captured the flavor of what t to have been raised during the glorious fifties, and coming of age during the tumultous years of the Vietnam War. It is the story of Everyman.......on his search for life's answers. Answers which sometime come at a heavy price. It shows that the past is always with us. The choices of our youth often come back to haunt us. In Hazuka's novel, he returns us to his grandparents' farm. He recalls with bittersweet memories how life used to be. Charmingly told, it focused on what makes each of us unique.It ponders death, growth, and personal challenges. New relationships, and change are the bridge which makes us human. I laughed, and I pondered, and I cried. It is a story which is an allegory of our time. It should be a must read for all of those Baby Boomers who are now of middle age. Upon hitting forty, we should be reflecting back upon what our own individual life has meant.....and more importantly, what we can make it mean in the future. It is the struggle to find our true selves in this world. Clearly told, beautifully written, it is a crisp, sharp novel. A real find! Here's hoping that Hazuka comes out with another novel soon.

Tom Hazuka shows his readers that contemporary writing hasn't become a wasteland for words and self-absorbed babbling. As far as unreliable narrators go, Jimmy Dolan is the best. One of my favorite things about the book is that it has a John Irving-esque way of connecting seemingly unrelated events. Dr. Tom Hazuka is an excellent writer. If you don't purchase this book, you are making a terrible mistake. Read review of this book in the Chestnut Hill Local newspaper, November 26, 1998.

Hi Mrs. Perkins. You'll probably never ever read this but it's cool anyway.

This novel was excellent reading. It captivated me as a female reader. To see that a man can be so sensitive and is able to view family dynamics in such a sensitive manner is commendable. The author's work is as well imaginative. The fictional characters' personalities have great depth. The author's introspection into all of the personalities is powerful. It is a must-read novel.

The first line of the Foreword to Scientology: A History of Man reads: "This is a cold-blooded factual account of your last sixty trillion years." How in the world could anybody claim to give such a factual account?

I am not a scientologist, but I've read enough of Hubbard's work to know that he had an extraordinary approach to gaining knowledge--an approach that appears to be quite unique in man's modern history. I feel that the people who ridicule Hubbard for his rather amazing statements about mankind's history fail to appreciate Hubbard's unique approach.

Hubbard noticed early in his researches (before beginning his work on man's history) that man is vulnerable to a unique type of injury: Whenever he is forced into a state of pain or trauma, he has a mechanism (which Hubbard calls the "reactive mind") that takes over the task of protecting the organism from further injury. It's an old safety measure that is part of the makeup of most living things. But it has no capacity to reason and instinctively associates all sensations that it encounters during one of these periods of injury into a big "mass". When some similar set sensations is encountered later, the reactive mind is restimulated to re-experience aspects of the original injury. When the reactive mind is restimulated (Hubbard calls this the "keying in of the engram"), it literally takes over the operation of the body (you've seen people fly into a crazy rage -- that would be a dramatic example of the reactive mind taking over).

Much of Hubbard's work, especially in the beginning, was to free people up from these engrams, using a technology that he developed ("auditing") that allows the cognitive mind to become aware of these engrams (engrams have their power because we are totally unconscious of them). Every detail about each injury that has caused an engram is stored in complete detail in the reactive mind, and can be directly accessed with the proper technique.

Hubbard began to find that human beings have engrams whose origin pre-dates their birth. He also found that even when someone is free of all his engrams originating deep into ancient history, there are still certain types of limitations that man, as a fundamental pure spirit, has had imposed upon him.

It was in Hubbard's effort to free up man's spirit, working individually with many hundreds of men and women with a variety of technologies, that he was led to his discoveries about the ANCIENT history of man. This work is not the work of a historian or a novelist. It is the work of a humanitarian whose investigations into the human spirit led him to uncover unchartered territory. These are not speculations of a crazy man but a road map pieced together gradually over many years, resulting from endless probing into the consciousness of clients, always with the aim to free up imposed limitations on the spirit.

It is perfectly possible that some of the details of Hubbard's account of man's history are wrong. What makes his account compelling is that he derived it from thousands of hours of interviews in which this material was consciously recollected by clients. Is that any less reliable than our more familiar way of learning about man's history even as far back as 3000 years -- where we rely on bits and pieces of rumors and relics in order to piece together a story about our past?

Hubbard's investigations, particularly as seen in this book, are truly worth studying. The book is fascinating to read, and when you keep in mind where it all comes from, it is all the more fascinating. Our history as a race may well be far more intriguing than the best science fiction.

A fascinating book covering the findings from the early work of Mr. Hubbard into past lives and the history of the spiritual beings on this planet.

Hubbard pulls no punches about what he found. He doesn't try to be "acceptable" he merely states what he found.

What are the true capabilities of a spirit (i.e., you)?

What is the relationship between a being and a body?

How did we come to be in the less than perfect state we are now in?

These and many other questions are answered in this fascinating book

I read it three times in one week! A great book which not only reveals spiritual origins and truths but as an added bonus gives new insight into the phenomenon of alien visitation and the purpose of these visitors. L. Ron Hubbard was not afraid to write down his discoveries for all the world to read. The book also provides the reader with a better understanding of the "internal spiritual energy" that flows through the human body. This book is a must for anyone who seeks to understand the nature and capabilities of the human spirit.

I love this very special book! It helps me put many things in life and my life in perspective. I hope my experience as a Scientology practitioner who has advanced to a high spiritual state and helped many others do the same, can influence a few to read this concise volume. It's not a beginner's book but only for those few who wish to see beyond what is currently being fed to them. It's a book I'm only able to recommend infrequently at this time to the rare person who displays advanced openness regarding his/her spirituality.

If you ever wondered about past lives and reincarnation, but were not content with the events of the last few thousand years and want a look at a much longer time scale, then this is it. While current reincarnation theories usually only refer to spiritual growth (because the only ones that can tell their stories were those that grew), the content of his book tells what happened and shows that on this much larger scale that there had been more decay than growth. It points out types of events which caused that decay, and thus points back upwards to a true resolution towards spiritual growth for mankind.

When reading this book, I ran across a paragraph that specifically applied to me -- something had happened to me that was very similar to what was in the book. It was amazing. Only a few other times has something I read caused so much self betterment in so little time.

Agnes Sanford has written many books, but none as eloquent and polished as this one. Her life spanned an incredible time in the world -- she was a college student during WW1, a young housewife during the depression, getting started on her career at the start of WW2, and of course witnessed the cold war and social upheaval of the 60s and 70s. Reading the autobiography, one sees that she arose from the need of the turbulent times she lived in. From a "charismatic" Christian viewpoint, certain aspects of her life are incredible as her work was blessed in the framework of mainline conservative Christianity, not pentecostalism, although her works were of the kind claimed mostly by the latter. Even if you found her style in other books old-fashioned, you will find this book incredibly sophisticated!

If you want to read a great autobiography, especially if you are interested in the spiritual, this is one of the best you'll find. Agnes shares her upbringing in China, and move to the United States, all the while being perfectly candid about depression and other personal issues. Through truth seeking, study and work, Agnes blossoms into a spiritual leader of great stature. She is especially interesting in healing, and becomes incredibly successful to this end. Inspiring!

This spiritual autobiography resonated uniquely with my own journey, though it took place in the beginning and middle of the last century. Agnes Sanford writes completely from her heart, sharing her experiences, and even sometimes speaking directly to what the reader might be thinking. There are no false pretenses of who she is, but only the truth of the person Agnes, and of her life experiences and tremendous faith. SEALED ORDERS contains both the author's challenges and joys and everything in between, as well as educating on her experience with the culture of China and how it related to her whole life, spiritually, economically, and sensually (meaning senses).

I love this book and highly recommend it to anyone who is being called to the ministry of healing.

Classic feminists (not of the NOW variety) will love this book, for they can identify with its author in many ways. Women who are not interested in worldly careers but are content to fulfil the time-honored role of nurturing will be inspired to imitate her. Of course, since she is a Christian, it is a given that a woman who follows her discipline is also a believer in Jesus Christ.

The spiritual autobiography, "Sealed Orders" by Agnes Sanford takes the reader on a journey from China to California. Sanford's parents were missionaries yet Agnes reveals that in the midst of religious activity, "I did not know Him yet," She certainly did come to know God, eventually, and became a pastor's wife. Her creative spirituality manifests during this phase with the dramatic church productions with which she took part: "The whole church was filled with an emanation, a radiation, of a spiritual power. No wonder people were moved to tears." Mrs. Sanford's travelling ministry flourished upon her move, with her husband, to a church in New England. She was on a "mission" to proclaim to the world that Jesus is alive, and his power is available for physical and inner healing. Agnes Sanford's story is certainly not a saccharine rendering of her life. Instead, one description summarizes the book this way, "A spiritual giant of this century finally tells her own story--unvarnished and transparent, exactly as the Lord would have it." Of course, for those reading the book because of interest in the "literary" Agnes Sanford, there is much to please you. Sealed Orders is a wonderful account of a fascinating woman who just set out to do a specialized work of God (healing), a work that she felt had been neglected. I find the closing words of the book to be mystically compelling: "And yesterday morning for the first time, as I looked out to the misty hills (for though I am too high for smog, there is often a fog from the ocean), I could see the light around the trees. I do not know what this light is. But I cannot imagine it or dream it into reality...for it testifies to my spirit of the Spirit of God permeating all the universe. So may the light shine until the very creature--the earth itself--its ugliness turned into beauty, becomes indeed the kingdom of our God and of His Christ."

What a great read - meet all the characters of Salt Cove and have a wonderful time....

This was one of the most delightful and well written novels I have read in a long time. Usually novels written in the format of a different person's perspective for every chapter are disjointed; this novel is magnified by it. Some of the best writing I've discovered in a long time (best to sip this one slowly as every page is special!) along with an incredible plot. Kudos to Weller for nearly a perfect novel.

Also recommended: The Last Convertible - A Man in Full - Boy's Life - Mila 18 - Plum Island - The Charm School - Rookery Blues - Shipping News - Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood - Pillars of the Earth - Ladder of Years - Summer of Night - Salem Falls

You would not think a simple story about an old bridge and a big city bent on tearing it down would make for compelling drama. But then, there's nothing predictable about The Siege of Salt Cove. The characters come alive, and the story draws you in, and pretty soon you can't put the book down. It's both a comical and poignant tale. But it's the distinct voices of the characters that really stay with you. You feel you know them, and as you turn the final page, it's awfully hard to see them go.

This is a wonderful fictional study of a lovely real district of Gloucester, MA, where you can visit the wooden bridge and hike around the rocky shoreline and the quaint village. The characters are singular and their viewpoints are represented with a wonderful mix of humor and pathos. Particularly moving is Jessica's internal struggle to supress her longings for a man who is not in her age range but turns out to be quite suitable for her on many levels. Suspense is well maintained throughout and the ending is very satisfying. I just loved it!

When the Massachusetts Department of Public Works decides that the picturesque, wooden footbridge linking the village of Salt Cove to the mainland of Leicester is unsafe and will be summarily torn down, the three hundred full-time residents are outraged. And when they see the proposal for the new bridge, a concrete monstrosity strong enough for fire trucks and wide enough for two-way vehicular traffic, they vote for all-out rebellion. Stalwart, unbending Yankees with family histories rooted in the rocky soil of Salt Cove, they are not about to let outsiders tell them that they will benefit from this concrete assault on their aesthetic sensibilities. The idea of two-way vehicular traffic is even less appealing, as it will bring outsiders into the village. With New England determination and some hard-headedness, they decide to take on the state and wage a mini-war in an attempt to break a state-imposed siege of the village.

Recording the events is Jessica Stoddard, a 73-year-old spinster and life-long resident of Salt Cove. Fiesty and independent, Jessica fears no one and tolerates no nonsense. Directing the rebellion is a quiet man in his early forties named Toby Auberon, a relative newcomer to the village, regarded as a hippie, who has leased the now-automated lighthouse and, until now, has kept his legal background a secret. Jessica, Toby, and an additional thirty (or more) characters narrate their own versions of the events in Salt Cove, each of these beautifully realized voices unique and easily recognizable, and many of them hilarious. Quirky imagery combines with these singlar voices to create especially memorable pictures of people and events.

Told with tongue in cheek and a good deal of mild satire, this is a loving picture of village life by an author who respects his characters and sees them in the context of a wider world. And however implausible the developing love story may seem between Jessica and the much younger Toby, Weller makes us understand and appreciate its sweetness, especially in contrast to the outside events. As the government escalates the siege to include Humvees, National Guard tanks, underwater demolition experts, the FBI, and SWAT teams, Salt Cove counters with its tireless citizens, a crazy militia unit from Missouri, a missile found in a fishing net, and plastique explosives. The inevitable bloodshed is a jarring event, a harsh blow which comes just when the reader is loving the characters and smiling at their actions. Full of New England eccentrics who willingly risk all, the novel realistically depicts governmental insensitivity to locally important landmarks but ultimately leaves the reader smiling. (4.5 stars) Mary Whipple

When software development moves to embrace agility, project managers can struggle over the new approach and their roles. That's where The Software Project Manager's Bridge to Agility comes in, making it a top recommended pick for business and IT technology collections alike. It covers techniques, transition points, learning to trust teams and use agile techniques to reduce risk, and more. Even more essential are chapters on avoiding common mistakes, and coordinating efforts with project management and non-agile teams.

This excellent book is targeted directly at Project Management Professionals (PMPs) but will be extremely beneficial to any project manager who is interested in agile development. After three short chapters that introduce the general principles and activities of an agile software development project, the authors attack the meat of their subject. Each of the nine chapters of part two corresponds directly to one of the PMI's project management knowledge areas.

Sliger and Broderick, each an experienced PMP, cover the changed responsibilities of the project manager transitioning to agile. A highlight of each chapter is the small table with columns for 'I used to do this' and 'Now I do this' that succinctly summarizes the often profound differences between traditional and agile project management.

This book is necessary reading for any project manager making the change to agile as well as for any ScrumMaster or agile coach working on a large projects. The book takes a giant stride toward dispelling the myth that the only role for project managers is to buy pizza and soda and get out of the way.

When I saw this book, I knew I had to read it, though I was very skeptical about it. Mapping the PMBOK practices to agile practices, is that the right thing to do? Why would you want to do that? What are the authors trying to prove?

The first chapter already helped me forward and removed some of my skepticism. This book is really what is says it is. It's a bridge for the traditional PMI project manager to understand what the difference is between traditional projects and agile projects and it's written in the language of a traditional project manager, the language of PMBOK. From that perspective, I've come to see this as an smart and important book thatm hopefully, will help lots of trainer project managers to understand what agile development is trying to do and why.

The book start with an introduction by Stacia, who describes her experience moving from a traditional environment to an agile environment and the difficulty she faced of changing the way of working she was used to. An excellent introduction that sets the tone of the rest of the book.

The rest of the book consists of 3 parts (plus some appendixes). The first part is the "standard introduction" part in which Agile development gets introduced, in which the first mapping of Agile development to the PMBOK is made and ends with a chapter on a generic agile lifecycle model, which is a guideline for the rest of the book.

The second part is the main part of the book and is structured around the different chapters of the PMBOK. This part actually maps to the PMBOK even on sub-chapter level, done quite well. Within each of the PMBOK chapters, the authors explain the problems the PMBOK tries to solve and how Agile practices solve the same problems, but in a different way. It summarizes this in every chapter with a comparison between traditional practices and Agile practices.

All the chapters seem to cover all the major agile project management practices. It starts with integration management and discussing how all things integrate together and how changes are managed. From there it moves to scope control and explains the differences between traditional WBS task breakdowns and working in a more feature-based way. Time management is next, covering the different planning cycles in the generic agile lifecycle framework (they introduced in Chapter 3). Next is cost management, and quality management. Chapter 9 covers human resource management and was a really nice chapter in which the authors describe well the difference between traditional project resourcing and trying to work with fixed teams that can actually learn new skills when needed. By this time, I felt the major topics had been covered, but there still needed to be communications management and Risk Management to make the mapping of the PMBOK complete. Here I felt the authors started repeating things that were covered earlier, but thats the risk when copying a fixed structure. The last chapter in the PMBOK mapping is procurement management and this chapter was a disappointment to me. The authors are of opinion that there is not much difference in this area, while personally I would not agree with that. Anyways.

The third part covers "the rest" with the main chapter probably be 13 which discusses about the changes in responsibilities between a traditional project manager and an "agile project manager". It describes in fairly much detail the changes in behavior and even tries to cover how to get past this difficult change and why people would want to go through the change (whats in it for them). Also chapter 15 answers one important question: What to do with the PMO. The authors suggest transforming it into an agile supporting organization which they still call "Agile PMO".

Chapter 16 (Selling benefits of Agile) and Chapter 17 (Common Mistakes) are useful chapters for people who are driving the change. It helps them answer some of the common questions and deal with some of the resistance. These chapters conclude the book.

In many areas, I'm still skeptical and do not always agree with the authors. I don't know if it's a good idea to change peoples and organizations role and still keep the old name, like "agile project manager" and "agile PMO". Scrum has solved this by simply calling it different: when the behavior is different then also call it different. Hence the ScrumMaster. Also, the authors strongly stick to the "project thinking" and seem at assume that thats a good way of a managing work. Same with contracts, the authors don't seem to think there will be much change in that area. The book has not convinced me the PMBOK is a good idea either, instead just confirmed my earlier criticism.

All tht said. Realistically, I understand that much of these aspect will not change or not quickly. So, this book introduces new concepts in a familiar language. I do think this will be needed and the authors done a great (perhaps the best possible) job in explaining agile concepts in traditional terms without losing it's meaning. This was the purpose of the book and it certainly succeeded in that.

For project managers looking at agile development, this book is an absolute must.
For agilists, the book is still a good and useful read! (also to understand traditional thinking)

Great work!

This excellent book is targeted directly at Project Management Professionals (PMPs) but will be extremely beneficial to any project manager who is interested in agile development.

After three short chapters that introduce the general principles and activities of an agile software development project, the authors attack the meat of their subject. Each of the nine chapters of part two corresponds directly to one of the PMI's project management knowledge areas. Sliger and Broderick, each an experienced PMP, cover the changed responsibilities of the project manager transitioning to agile. A highlight of each chapter is the small table with columns for "I used to do this" and "Now I do this" that succinctly summarizes the often profound differences between traditional and agile project management.

This book is necessary reading for any project manager making the change to agile as well as for any ScrumMaster or agile coach working on a large projects. The book takes a giant stride toward dispelling the myth that the only role for project managers is to buy pizza and soda and get out of the way.

Finally a book in the agile series that acknowledges agile and PMI are compatible. As a PMP and CSM, one of my long time frustrations has been too many agile authors create a stereotype of an overly bureaucrat waterfall process being managed by a dictator project manager. That may be a great way to sell their books, but their rejection of sound project management principles has been a disservice to the industry--the classic mistake of throwing out the baby with the bathwater.

As the title states, Sliger and Broderick sets out to bridge this divide and does a super job showing how agile management practices fit into the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK). They reinforce this message with extensive quotes from the PMBOK that explicitly address incremental and iterative development. I especially like their chapter summaries which compare and contrast project manager approaches to specific practices under a plan-driven and an agile project. One of their key messages is that project managers should allow the team to focus on the current iteration, allowing the project managers to focus on removing impediments to future work. This is sound advice no matter what development framework you are using.

Sliger and Broderick discussion on how agile is being extended to product and release planning and how it's adapting to interfacing with PMOs and non-agile teams is also very relevant. While agile purest reject such notions, these are issues that my clients are facing today. Sliger and Broderick succinctly summarize the current thinking on agile product and release planning and provide sound advice on adapting agile to meet these real-world needs.

One shortcoming in the book is that the authors imply that agile is the silver-bullet that should always be used. I wished they would have acknowledge that while agile methods are appropriate in many situations; plan-driven methods are the appropriate choice for other situations. (See Balancing Agility and Discipline: A Guide for the Perplexed by Barry Boehm and Richard Turner)

I highly recommend this book and will be adding to our seminars reference lists. It is especially useful to experienced project managers. As the product description (see above) states they often struggle while transitioning to agile. However, I don't think they are doubtful about the approach, but instead are confused by the hype they encounter. It will also be useful to agilest who starting to see through the hype in other books. Sliger and Broderick have cut through the hype and reinforce the point that effective project management principles still apply.

Like the previous reviewers, I discovered this book in my teens. It must have been shortly after it was first published. I have since re-read the book many times, and even had to buy another copy after my first one was lost. I have always regarded it as one of the best science fiction books ever written. It has action, heroism, romance, a thought provoking premise, a grand vision--everything you want in a science fiction novel. I just picked it up again, and found it to be just as fresh (and contemporary) as when I first read it almost 50 years ago. My brother loves the book too--we have passed our copy back and forth over the years. And yes, it would make a great movie.

A great novel with (at the time) revolutionairy ideas of travel via 'wormholes'. The character is typical of Sci-fi writing of the time, and there is a leading character that has to be an early personification of 'Giles Habbibula'.
Well worth the read, and great book from THE Grand Master of Sci-fi.

According to Alexei and Cory Panshin, in the critical work The World Beyond the Hill, Star Bridge's genesis goes back to 1944 or so. Jack Williamson, inspired by Isaac Asimov's Foundation stories, decided to do his own "managed history/galactic empire" novel, with the working title of Star of Empire. Williamson had problems making the idea work, so that it took 10 more years plus James Gunn's assistance to finally make a story out of the idea.

And what a story! I first read this novel at the age of 9, just a few years after it came out, and have periodically re-read it every so often since then. I outgrew much of what I read in my teen years and before, but this book is one of those stories that I still enjoy now as much as I did then.

This story succeeds on more than one level. Most obviously, it is a fastpaced adventure story. On another level, it's one of those stories where things aren't quite what they seem at first glance. Or at the second (third? fourth?) glance. That, I think,is what keeps me coming back to this novel -- the thought that I may see something in it that I missed on the previous reads.

One thing that completely perplexes me is how unknown Star Bridge is, even among science fiction fandom. It is in the top rank of Williamson's work (that goes for Gunn, too), yet I find that even big fans of Williamson often have never heard of it. Hopefully there will be enough demand for used copies of this book that someone may do another reprint. I think it's about time -- and it would really be cool if it were to be made into a movie.

Why has this book never been made into a movie? It has it all...adventure, romance, a Metropolis-like futuristic empire, the idea of near-instantaneous space travel.
Well, that part of the book was probably the inspiration for the original Star Gate movie. But this book's plot was much more coherent than the revolt against the sketchy, androgynous tyrant of Star Gate. The character of Wu is one of the best executed and most thoughtful in the history of the SF genre, IMHO.

I first read "Star Bridge" in sixth grade at the age of 11; I'm now almost 43, and I still hold this as one of the greatest SF books I've read.

Williamson's imagery and wordcraft set the standard for many of today's modern masters. His antihero Horn, the eccentric man-with-a-secret Wu, and his decaying human empire are shown in high relief, and the imagery evoked burns itself into your mind permanently.

Find and read this book; do what you must to acquire a copy, and savor it slowly. Horn's passage through the Tube and hyperspace is one of the most stirring examinations of consciousness I've yet to read; it still moves me.

Find out why one man can move an empire...

My preconceived notions about this conflict I picked up from the movie,"Braveheart",have to be somewhat revised after reading this book.Mainly the equipment aspect,seeing that William Wallace would have probably worn a full suit of the latest European style armor imported from the "land of the Franks".The tartans he wears in Braveheart give Mel more the folksy hero look I'll admit,but in actual combat who's looking to be a "folkhero".Wallaces' army from my read of this pamphlet style book,was alot more organized and while there were some"Bezerkers" in his ranks alot more of them would have been equipped European style aping their French sympathies.Rather than a bunch of outraged natives defending their turf,Wallace's army appears organized and capable of pulling off a well executed trap and getting there"firstist with the mostest",beforwe the English could fully deploy their forces.Excellent maps and overhead views.Great artwork as always with Wallace in full armor rather than bluish and kilted.
King Edward the First was tied up in continental politics at the time of Stirling Bridge and so the English command at the battle was left to a subordinate,who bungled the affair.In the second part of this Osprey book,the Battle of Falkirk,Edward(Longshanks)the First was present and what a difference as the Scots were defeated.This makes the 4th book on the Scottish/English wars I've read in the Osprey series and there are even a few more I haven't yet read.I'd hoped to see and understand the origin of this conflict but I've concluded it's probably prehistoric when pre-Picts said they were tired of being bossed by ancestors of McRiley's,(something like that)!

This Osprey title examines two of William Wallace's most climatic battles, both of which are portrayed (entertainingly but inaccurately) in the movie Braveheart. It does service to the most heroic battles in the history, and indeed the mythology, of Scotland.

Of the several campaign titles I have read, I found this one to be the most interesting and appealingly presented. In the usual format it begins by summarizing the events that led to Stirling Bridge-starting with the scandalous yet accidental demise of King Alexander III of Scotland in 1286, and the subsequent efforts by Edward I ('Longshanks') of England to subdue the Scots. It then gives a summarized chronology, and then goes on to profile the commanders on both sides, including the ruthless King Edward, the mediocre John de Warenne, the obese and oppressive Hugh Cressingham, and the infamous William Wallace and his compatriot Andrew de Moray (who is, like many of these people, completely left out in Braveheart).

The armies are next detailed. They were surprisingly similar in composition-and the Scots were mail clad halberdiers and pikemen, rather than painted warriors wearing kilts and not much else (the three plates by Angus McBride excellently illustrate the soldiery of both sides-and makes Wallace into the knight he was likely armed as). The events leading up to the battles, and the battles themselves are discussed in clear detail, and the history of Scotland 1298-1314 is summed up as a conclusion.

Altogether, it is an excellent source on these two great battles in Scottish history, and the brilliant (and indeed freedom-loving and arrogant) warlord who led them.

The Osprey Campaign account of the two major battles of William Wallace's rebellion has a solid, authoritative feel to it. Pete Armstrong's text is not particularly elegant and would have benefited from stricter editing, but he more than makes up for this with a thorough knowledge of his subject and an infectious enthusiasm for it.

It makes sense to combine these two battles in one volume because, together with a description of the background and linking events, they constitute an account of Wallace's entire campaign. Little is known about the man himself, so justice can be done to him in a relatively short book like this.

The maps, 2D and 3D, are informative and attractive. The illustrations of battle scenes are excellent, giving a real sense of how things must have looked, minus the mud and blood and guts, of course. The various sketches of seals and coats of arms will be rather too much for most general readers, but those depicting arms and armor should be of interest to everyone.

The Wallace episode is an important and absorbing one in the ancient conflict between English and Scot, rivals as only neighbors can be. It has accreted plenty of mythic elements also, which books like this may help to dispel.

I know that many people like the Hollywood movie "Braveheart" with Mel Gibson, and have "learnt history" from that inacurrate, fantasy film. But if you want the real story about William Wallace's war against Edward II, take your time and read this superb, new volume from Osprey, written by the respected historian David Nicolle. Here we're introduced to Wallace the armoured knight, leading his disciplined mailclad scottish pikemen, not the longhaired and kilt-dressed savage in head of his pictish hordes as inacurratly portrayed by Hollywood. Perhaps equally important for the victory at Stirling bridge was also Andrew Murray. So enjoy this fascinating peice of history, and laugh next time you watch "Braveheart"!

Amateur historian Pete Armstrong provides a good summary of William Wallace's famous rebellion against English rule in Scotland during 1297-1298. The two principle battles of this rebellion were Stirling Bridge and Falkirk, the first a Scottish victory and the second an English victory. Overall, Armstrong provides both insight and detail of this epic phase of the Scottish struggle for independence from English domination.

Stirling Bridge & Falkirk 1297-1298 begins with a nine-page introduction that explains how Scotland's dynastic problems led to English intervention. The sections on opposing commanders and opposing armies are decent, but perhaps not as informative as they could have been (a diagram of tactical unit dispositions might have been helpful). The maps are a bit skimpy in this volume, as there are only four 2-D maps instead of the typical 7-8; they are: Edward I's invasion in 1296, the campaign of 1297, the campaign of Falkirk and the campaigns of 1300-1307. There are also three 3-D "Birds Eye View" maps - two of Stirling Bridge and one of Falkirk. The three battle scenes by Angus McBride depict William Wallace at Stirling, the Scottish attack at Stirling and the English cavalry at Falkirk.

One aspect of this book that is particularly welcome for military historians is the attention that the author devotes to issues such as the terrain over which the battles were fought. Clearly, the restrictive terrain at Stirling Bridge contributed significantly to the English defeat on that battlefield. Similarly, the lack of suitable defensive terrain at Falkirk led to the Scottish defeat. It is also clear that both sides were plagued by logistic problems and the lack of intelligence about enemy movements.

The Toll Bridge is a story about development. The main character, whom is named nicknamed "Jan" within the book decides to seperate himself from his previous life, to clean the slate and start over, to find out who he is and what he really wants for himself. This becomes possible when he gets a job collecting tolls at a bridge (hence the title), which also offers him accommodation in a house where he lives alone. However this isolation is shattered with the arrival of Adam, a character who represents the complete opposite of Jan. The Toll Bridge is about the relationship that develops between Adam and Jan, and Gill who is the daughter of the owner of the Toll Bridge. However the bridge is not only physical, it also represents the mindset of Jan as Gill puts it "You don't know whether you're coming or going." Like a bridge that has two paths to take. Into the future, or back into the past. As the book develops, the characters interact with each other and bring up many issues that are relevant to development of the individual. However, an incident at a party soon smashes the world of the Toll Bridge into pieces, and Jan and Gill soon discover that Adam is not the same person they grew to know - Adam is on the other side of the bridge. This is my favourite book because it contains so many sub-plots that create a complete picture of the development of the individual personality, and evokes thoughts within the reader about their own "character".

The years in wich you leave school and start working, or maybe better the years that you leave your parents, start building your own life are probably the most intresting years of ones life. Some people wonder what they want to do and take some time to find out. Jany is such a boy. He decides to leave his parents, at least for a while, and he takes a job at a tollbridge. It is easy working and he can be alone and think about his future. His self-chosen lonlyness is rudely broken at the arival of Adam. Adam seems to have some troubles, so he moves in the toll house together with Jany. Then there is Tess. Between these boys and girl starts a strange kind of friendship, all are very different people. The story is written from the perspective of Jany (mainly, some parts are written by someone else), we learn what he thinks. we are a whitness of the changing of his personality, a change due to his confrontation with Adam, and the 'catalyst' Tess, catalyst in his developing towards a grown up. The book is great because the characters are real, it are real people. Reading it they are for a while part of your life. Jany is very open and fair in what he tells what happens, what he feels and what is spinning in his mind. You can feel page by page what is going on inside him. The only thing I didn't like when I read the book was that one of the characters stoped existing at the best part of the book, without any warning that they would not live happyly ever after. But that is an important literal trick; Jany wants to find out who he is, Adam wants to forget who he is. This book is a book for all ages, although it's probably written for the age 16 - 20. It is a must-read if you like other books of Aidan Chambers (like 'Now I Know', or 'dance on my grave') or if you like to read books with a more difficult structure

The Toll Bridge is a story about development. The main character, whom is named nicknamed "Jan" within the book decides to seperate himself from his previous life, to clean the slate and start over, to find out who he is and what he really wants for himself. This becomes possible when he gets a job collecting tolls at a bridge (hence the title), which also offers him accommodation in a house where he lives alone. However this isolation is shattered with the arrival of Adam, a character who represents the complete opposite of Jan. The Toll Bridge is about the relationship that develops between Adam and Jan, and Gill who is the daughter of the owner of the Toll Bridge. However the bridge is not only physical, it also represents the mindset of Jan as Gill puts it "You don't know whether you're coming or going." Like a bridge that has two paths to take. Into the future, or back into the past. As the book develops, the characters interact with each other and bring up many issues that are relevant to development of the individual. However, an incident at a party soon smashes the world of the Toll Bridge into pieces, and Jan and Gill soon discover that Adam is not the same person they grew to know - Adam is on the other side of the bridge. This is my favourite book because it contains so many sub-plots that create a complete picture of the development of the individual personality, and evokes thoughts within the reader about their own "character".

This book, this wounderful wounderful wounderful book. Is the best one i have ever read. Aidan Chambers is one of the best authers i've ever incountered. He's masterful at teaseing the mind and leafing through are idel imagination, he makes charticors seem so real and alive its as though u are with them in that very room, breathing three air, touchign there skin, feeling their sun. This is a beautful book about a Teen age boy trying to excape his life of lies, then finding one liveing in a world of make believe, and the wounderful bonds that people can form together. I cryed. and i never ever ever cry.

The first time I read this book I had just turned thirteen. It was very different from anything else I had read. I identified very well with 17-year-old Jan, and was fascinated by the deep thoughts the book evoked in me. Now, five years later (I read the Swedish translation, which was published in '92) I still identify with the main character. I have read the book five or six times, and each time is a new and different experience; as I mature, so does the book, and aspects I never saw before are brought into the light.

"The Toll Bridge" provides a very rich reading experience, dealing with everything from depression and finding oneself, to Kafka and human relationships. It's a page-turner, with unexpected events colourfully bursting out with each new word. The next sentence cannot be predicted, and the end surprises me every time I get to it.

After my first encounter with this book I have expanded my reading, enjoyed many Nobel laureates, and other acknowledged literary works. I place this novel on the same piedestal as Marquez's "One Hundred Years of Solitude" and Morrison's "Beloved." What separates "The Toll Bridge" from these others might be the fact that it is more welcomed by the "non-reading public."
I recently recommended the book to my boyfriend (more or less forced it onto him), he hadn't touched a book since high school, and even then not very willingly. Two nights later I woke up from his sobs, when I asked what the problem was he simply answered: "I can't help it, I just finished the book, and it's just so beautiful."
If that's how much it affected a macho 25-year-old, just think of what it will do to you.

I recommend this book to every person in every age-group. It's an experience you shouldn't miss. Read and enjoy.

Linn

It is not a book only for engineerings, for all architects, artists and commen people, for those who cares about the decline of our man-made surroundings, itis quite worth to read! The thinking about the relationship between the structures and the democracy is also very believable.

Billington goes through the evolution of structural art/expressionism in great detail. It is helpful to have a preexisting knowledge about the various engineers/artist discussed in this text, however, it is not necessary. This book is very interesting and encourages the engineer to consider the aesthetic consequences of structures.

It is an inspiring book to read (and re-read) and is packed full of historical bridges and other structures (like thin concrete shells). I highly recommend it to engineering students with an interest in structures.

Billington adds a whole new dimension to engineering by interpreting a scientific discipline in a subjective light. He offers criteria for aesthetic appreciation and brings forth the subtleties in an otherwise inaccessible field. Well written and unintimidating to even the most science-phobic reader.

From my own experience, I've always been frustrated with the tendency of the architecture community to either completely overlook the aesthetic works of the great structural engineers or shamelessly claim them as their own. This book is beyond a simple consensus of great engineering works; it is Billington's clear and rational case for the distinction of the discipline of Structural Art - the engineer's means of expression - from that of Architecture.

This book is just the thing any student or young professional in structural engineering should have along with their library of technical books. Instead of explaining the aesthetics and beauty of structures in vague architectural terms, Billington looks at them in terms of the technical (formwork, stress diagrams, material economy, etc.). When has an architectural critic discussed the elegance behind a moment diagram?

I think anyone who loves architecture and great works of engineering will appreciate this book. If you like this, I would also recommend Billington's 'Robert Maillart and the Art of Reinforced Concrete' and Salvadori's 'Why Buildings Stand Up'.

This book has engaged my artistic mind in the search for opportunities to become such a designer as the individuals biographed so explicitly by Billington. The unseeming artist, architect, or engineer is left believing that even he/she has the potential to add to the realm of amazing structures. An inspiring read.

My other book, Over Water Construction Using Falsework, might sell better if shown with Underwater Construction Using Cofferdams.
Harold V. Anderson, Author of both.

This is subject matter not required or found everywhere. It is good that it so completely addresses such a narrow subject. It was an easy read for one involved with this type of work, and provides up to date methodology.

Harold Anderson, who received the prestigious Golden Beaver Award for Engineering, has done it again. This book contains technical data for design, as well as, practical suggestions,and wisdom, based on the real life experiences of one of the industry's leading engineers. This book should be required reading for all Civil Engineers, and contractors that design and build bridges, wharfs, and/or docks & piers. Of all the books and journals on cofferdam construction, this one is by far the best.

As an author of a cofferdam tutorial and long time designer and builder of cofferdams I am impressed with the research and obersations presented by Mr. Anderson. I learned a few new points. This book presents the details of design considerations and includes practical construction instructions. These procedures are then augmented with a discussion on problems and failures that have been encounterd and the solutions for avoiding or correcting the problems. This is by far the best work I have seen on this subject, comprehensive and to the point. It is a must have manual for anyone who designs and/or builds cofferdams.

I have had the pleasure to have worked with Harold Anderson throughout my professional career and am very please to see the transfer of his years of experience with marine cofferdams to fellow engineers by way of his book.

The reader will find the book to be a practical hands-on tool. Harold takes the reader through the history and failures, points out many of the pitfalls to be avoided, and has included numerical examples which can be used as design guides. I highly recommend this book to students, professionals, and marine contractors alike.