Bryan Books

In this lucid, absorbing work, Brian Sykes reveals the story behind one of the most momentous scientific discoveries of the 1990s, and demonstrates how we are descended from seven prehistoric women. Among them:

URSULA The oldest of the seven daughters, Ursula lived approximately 45,000 years ago and was one of the first modern humans to set foot in Europe. Her clan began in ancient Greece, and the descendants later spread to France and Great Britian.

HELENA The Children of Helena have become the most prodigious of all Seven Daughters. Born on the border of France and Spain, Helena's clan took advantage of the warmth after the final Ice Age and spread throughout Europe.

KATRINE An ancestor of the renowned Ice Man found in Italy in 1994, Katrine was born about 15,000 years ago, making her one of the youngest daughters.
--- from book's back cover

accomplished contribution, adding new insights to the well worked field, at times relentlessly funny, ...idiosyncratic, and deeply felt. an absolute must-read!

Stevie Davies has written the only critical appraisal of "Twelfth Night" that is as delightful to read as the play itself! Her prose is lyrical and compelling; it resonates musically. She explores the characters' thoughts and emotions in great depth and never wastes time decrying their limitations. An observant, witty and compassionate critic, she preserves the delicate magic of wistful love and homesickness of "Twelfth Night".

From Book Jacket:

Donald Davidson (1893-1968) was a poet, historian and essayist whose work is still included in standard anthologies of American literature. One of the Nashville "fugitive poets," he also contributed to I'll Take My Stand and wrote a history of the Tennessee River which is still considered a classic. He was also a noted scholar of American folk songs and Singin' Billy grows out of this preoccupation. His book and lyrics provide an authenticity to the work which is unsurpassed in literature utilizing folk themes; and his words provide the perfect complement for Charles Bryan's brilliant and melodic score.
This musical was first produced in 1952 at Vanderbilt University. It has as its hero, William Walker of South Carolina, an influential figure in the musical culture of the antebellum south. His song-book, Southern Harmony (1955), was one of the great popularizing agents of the "shape note" or "Fa-Sol-La" type of part-song, long used in the singing schools and today known as "white spirituals." Walker was affectionately known to thousands as Singin' Billy. A few of the Southern Harmony spirituals are presented in the opera, either in approximately their original, somewhat archaic form or in forms adapted to the musical-dramatic context.

These cards helped me tremendously with learning the bones!!! I took the cards and laminated them, then put them on a ring, and lastly highlighted the parts that I "had" to know for class with a wet-erase marker. Then I took the cards everywhere with me and studied studied studied!!!
AWESOME CARDS!!!!!

This book is a wonderful adaption of the 1976 version of the Cinderella. The book gives details not revealed in the movie, and is full of beautiful color and black and white images from the movie, along with promotional shots not found anywhere else. It's a great investment of any fan of the film.

The story of "The Slipper and the Rose" is the one of Cinderella, but with a unique twist -- it's done from the Prince's point of view. The film starts out with Prince Edward (Played by Richard Chamberlian) returning from a neighboring kingdom frustrated because the woman he was sent to consider for marriage wasn't at all like he desired. He then informs his parents "When I marry, as indeed I must, it shall be for the convience of love and not for the convince of convince." The rest of the movie then follows him as he longs for the woman to whom he can give his heart, while at the same time letting you get to know Cinderella as well (Played by Gemma Craven). Her story is the usual story -- her father dies at the beginning of the film, leaving her to be a servant to her step mother and two not-so-ugly step sisters. She however is a simple girl who only longs for the days when she was happy, and doesn't exactly want to go to the ball. ("Me? Go to the ball?"..."Not wishing [to go] exactly. More wondering what it must be like.")

They are joined by a cast of wonderful characters, such as a fairy godmother who sometimes wishes they had never been invented, and a king who subtly hints he regrets marrying the Queen, and only says about his son's future wife "Well make sure she has teeth. He has an obsession with them having teeth." The story is the great classic with enough of a twist to make it refreshing. The music was written by the amazing Sherman Brothers (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Mary Poppins), and won an academy award, as well as being selected for the royal film performance of 1976, which was attended by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.

The Social Structure of Islam. Prof. Reuben Levy. Cambridge University Press. 1957, reprints: 1962, 1965, 1969. 536 pgs. [The 1957 edition is a significant revision of the original 2-vol work titled: The Sociology of Islam, printed in 1931 (vol. 1) and 1933 (vol. 2)]. Contents: Chpt 1: The grades of society in Islam (mawali, ashraf, transoxiana, slavery, islamic fraternities). 2: The status of women in Islam heris, duties, plurality, legal age, wali, mut'a marriages, veiling, saints) . 3: The status of the child in Islam guardianship, adoption). 4: Islamic jurisprudence (Koran, ra'y supplements, qiyas supplements, hadith, al-Shafi, fiqh, the four Madhhabs). V: Moral sentiments in Islam (faith, conduct, commandments, lying, evil, responsibility, good v evil, Sufi, Ghazali, Greek ethics, adab, the ideal and expedient,). 6: Usage, custom and secular law under Islam (sunna, sharia, urf, ada, zakat, taxes, dhimmis, qadi). 7: The caliphate and the central government (umma, khalifah, Kharijis, Shia imams, coinage reform, the treasury, spoils of war, revenues in 780-810 by province, public expenditures, stipends, vizier). 8: Government in the provinces of the caliphate and in the succession states. 9: Military organization in Islam. 10: Islamic cosmology and other sciences. As a compliment to Levy, it seems that many books written about Islam today are mere rewrites of this book. Regarding Islam in 1950, Levy wrote: "Islam is at a standstill in the western world.... Political considerations apart, it would seem that the creed of Muhammad the Prophet is not suited to peoples reared in the Greek and Roman traditions and codes.... In (Southeast) Asia...the rigidity of the Islamic code is in its favour as conductive to simplicity, and it is there that the strongholds of Islam must be sought, amongst people either not given to speculation or else content to regard fulfillment of ritual as an end in itself." (39) "It is still further in the favour of Islam that it does not endeavour to alienate the convert from his tribal relationships, and it preserves -- even...enhances-- his social status. Amongst other advantages it may sometimes secure him immunity from slavery." (52) As noted in a Pakistani newspaper review: this book "is a monumental and, perhaps, the only exhaustive work on the subject which students of sociology, ethnology and comparative religion can hardly afford to miss. For students of Islamic history and civilization, it is indispensable." Very informative, with nice, tight writing; fine analysis with little moralizing. The author was emeritus Professor of Persian at the University of Cambridge, England.

I loved it! Great book to unwind with. Makes you want to get out and enjoy life and nature. Hope everyone enjoys it as much as I did.

This short book tells about an unconfirmed legend of history. Robert the Bruce has united the Scotts against the English but has been beaten six different times. The armies scatter and The Bruce takes shelter in a cave. Bone-weary and left with little hope, Robert the Bruce considers surrendering. However, a little spider catches his eye. The spider is attempting to weave its web, but is struggling. Six times the spider attempts to swing from one end of the cave to the other and fails. Robert the Bruce tells the spider to give up, but then the spider tries a seventh time and succeeds. This brings hope to the weary king that he, too will be successful. He leaves the cave and gathers the clans again. Sometime later, the Scotts meet the English on the field of Bannockburn and though they are severely outnumbered, the Scottish beat the English and Scotland is free.
This is a great little story and the illustrations that accompany it have an impressionist feel to them. Great book to read to children familiar with William Wallace and also is a good book introducing them to Scottish history.

My study group and I used these cards to study for our anatomy test (Gross Anatomy) in med school. This is a very valuable source for any students taking Gross Anatomy or undergrad anatomy and physiology. However, our study group also used
Spinal Anatomy Study Guide: Key Review Questions and Answers by Patrick Leonardi, which we also purchased on amazon.com. Both of these sources (flashcards and study guide) helped us achieve A's and B's in our Gross anatomy classes. My advice get both books.