Burke Books

This book was first published in England, in 1921, a little over 100 years after the murders by Burke and Hare. The language is therefore of a more learned nature, and not even remotely as graphic in description of crime scene, etc., as modern novels. This is either an irritation if you're looking for gritty tabloid-style facts...or pleasing if you enjoy language as an art. The author, William Roughhead, has most definitely judged both Burke and Hare in the writing- therefore allowing his adjectives to convey the evil nature of the duo, but doing nothing there to allow the reader to draw their own conclusion.

The author's villification aside, the book is a must-have if you're researching Burke and Hare. The better part of the book is a reproduction (in modern type-face, thank heavens) of the notes of the trial itself. Also included: both of Burke's confessions, letters Dr. Knox wrote to defend himself, prints of Burke, Hare, Laird, and M'Dougal, drawings of the apartment where most of the murders occured, and more. It's an interesting read, but invaluable as a source of original information.

Following the obligatory rah-rah section on members of the present royal family (up to 1973, anyway), this volume is mostly a detailed lineage of all rulers of England, Scotland, and Wales, beginning with Cerdic the Saxon. Doubtful or questionable names or con-nections are carefully noted. From George II on, the list of descendants is complete and very detailed. An excellent reference tool, especially for the post-1700 period.

This is an oversized volume filled with photographs (about one-quarter of them in color) of the residences of royal families, including those of Britain, France, Austria, the German states, Greece, the Balkan states, Scandinavia, the Low Countries, the Italian peninsula, Spain and Portugal, and the micro-states of Monaco and Liechtenstein. Besides the architectural discussions (interesting but not germane to this bibliography), there's a great deal on how public buildings established the image of monarchy, whether autocratic or democratic, in the public mind. Fontainebleau, Versailles, Windsor Castle, Charlottenburg, Hampton Court, the Russian Winter Palace, Schönbrunn, Neuschwanstein, and the "pink palace" in Monte Carlo all have very different messages to impart. The author, who spent a decade on the editorial staff of Burke's, also is very knowledgeable about the dynastic trials and tribulations, successes and bragging rights that produced these showplaces, as well as the failures that led to many of them being converted to state-owned museums.

This is my second copy of this book, the first having been so eminently stealable that it was filched many years ago.

Mark Bence-Jones clearly spent an enormous amount of time researching this book. It is encyclopaedic in nature being an alphabetical list of most of the country houses of Ireland. Each house has a short paragraph giving a potted history, frequently with a photograph and usually commenting on its current condition at the time of publication in 1978.

Since the book was published so long ago, reading it can be painful as so many of the houses described have ceased to exist, vandalised by local councils or developers who have frequently swept them away to build a sea of identical little boxes on the parkland.

This is an essential book for anyone with an interest in old houses, but it does have its defects. One serious omission is an index. Since the listings are in alphabetical order the author has not seen the need for an index, but this means that the houses can only be found if the original name is known. This can make it hard to find information on a ruin, particularly as when the metric 1:50,000 maps of Ireland replaced the old 1":mile series, the cartographers in their wisdom decided to drop the names of houses, erasing much of the country's local history at a stroke. An index by county would have been most useful and, given the comprehensive nature of the book and the large number of entries, writing one's own index is a major task - I speak from experience!

Overall there is no substitute for this book and I would describe it as essential reading. As with all reference books of the type there are omissions; some quite hard to understand as, although there are many small houses covered, some very large mansions have been overlooked.

Beware of the second edition; although no entries have been deleted, it represents an extremly lazy updating. The original is so good that it really shows up the weakness of the second edition. The new entries were not incorporated into the text, they were tacked on to the end as an addendum. However they are brief, not as well-researched as the original entries and there are still glaring omissions of important houses.

Despite these criticisms I would whole-heartedly recommend this book.

This book is useful for both the studious geneologist and casual peruser, containing comprehensive, in-depth geneological information as well as a wealth of photos and anecdotes.

My mother is originally from Gregory. I am eager to look into this book and see the interesting history unfold amoungst the pages.

This was a small book that gave information on a actor popular at the time. It has young picture of the actor b/w and color. It includes his bio and what movies he was in. It is a cute little pocket sized book. Something you want to have with you if you ever want to carry Christian Slater in your pocket. I wish someone had written a book about Christian Slater but this one will do.

I picked this up because the plot sounded intriguing and I wasn't disappointed. Interesting characters, fast paced, interesting twists. The plot summary described above does it justice. Particularly liked the detective. Well done.

Yes!
As a professional grant writer I've evolved a system that works for me. But I love finding new tools and new perspectives that will make my applications even more effective. That's what I found in The Complete Book of Grant Writing.

Two things I especially liked -- the perspective of an experienced grant evaluator and the many useful templates. I've already incorporated the Team Review Rubric into my practice.

This guide will keep a place on my reference shelf.

This is an excellent book that will help companies focus there business on strong relationship with the community they live in. The one weakness I see is an over emphasis on philanthropy. I am not so sure that throwing money at the community will really buy a good relationship. This book should be read by anyone who is involved in the management of a manufacturing facility.