Butler Books

I bought this entire New Testament series commentary to help me in teaching an adult Sunday School class. I'm glad I did! All of the books include a verse-by-verse description that is very helpful. A teaching outline is included for each chapter, along with discussion questions and an area with a more deeper discussion of certain topics important to that chapter.

As a new teacher, I have found this series invaluable in preparing my lessons. I think you'll like this one.

A New Type of Dictionarv - "The Hospitalitv English-Japanese Dictionarv"

On a population basis, Australia has more students studying Japanese than any other country in the world except Korea. Even primary schools teach Japanese, often with the assistance of young Japanese who come to Australia to participate in language programs. This means that young Australians are often able to study Japanese in some form or another from primary school right through to university.

But Japanese is not an easy language to master. The writing system is extremely complicated: in order to properly read Japanese, a student needs to memorize 96 syllabic characters and around 1,900 Chinese characters or kanji, each of which generally has at least two different ways to pronounce it. On top of this, Japanese language relies strongly on different levels of politeness, and students rarely achieve any real ability to properly use these levels of politeness even after 4 years of study at university.

After graduation, quite a large number of these students find employment in the tourism and hospitality industries, requiring to use their Japanese language skills on a daily basis in dealing with Japanese tourists and business people. Unfortunately their ability to use correct and polite language is often insufficient to avoid giving offence and creating misunderstanding on the part of their Japanese clients.

With this type of problem in mind, Yoko Pinkerton of Monash University, together with three other highly qualified authors, has recently produced a new type of dictionary -"The Hospitality English-Japanese Dictionary" - which lies somewhere between a traditional dictionary and a phrasebook. Yoko has had extensive experience in the hospitality/tourism and business client contact areas, and also in teaching Japanese to Australians at university level. As such, she has an acute awareness of the difficulties faced by students of Japanese, and the problems they face when attempting to take what they have learned in the classroom and put it into practice out in the real world.

"The Hospitality English-Japanese Dictionary", written in "romaji" (a system for writing Japanese using the English alphabet) so that even students of Japanese who can't read the Japanese Script can use it, is designed to ensure that users avoid the common pitfalls of using "pidgin Japanese", and at the very least learn to speak correct Japanese at a suitable minimum level of politeness. Then, when users of the dictionary feel they have mastered this minimum or "standard polite style', they can progress to using the "extra polite style" of language which is especially desirable in tourism, hospitality, and business situations. For ease of use, unlike regular dictionaries which generally only list abbreviated or "impolite" forms of words, "The Hospitality English-Japanese Dictionary" lists standard polite style expressions first, followed by extra-polite style forms. The content has also been carefully edited to ensure that words which would not normally be useful in client contact or tourism situabons have not been unnecessarily | included, to facilitate looking up required words and expressions speedily and easily.

The introductory notes of "The Hospitality English-Japanese Dictiona~y"contain helpful information about speech styles, adjective and verb structures, and pronunciation, while at the back of the dictionary are detailed appendixes covering such topics as "counting words" and "kinship terms" which are very important in Japanese but not generally listed in other dictionaries. Favourably reviewed by such Japanese language experts as Dr. Anne de Kretser of the Melbourne Centre for Language Education, "The Hospitality English-Japanese Dictionary", is a must for any one who needs to use Japanese language in hospitality, tourism, or business situations.
Etsuko Akasaka

Mr. Ferry has produced a handbook for training Hotel Butlers that can be used in a wide variety of hospitality venues from large properties with numerous suites served by butlers to smaller boutique resorts and spas offering butler service in very intimate settings.

The objective of this manual in all of these situations is to train and promote great service and inspire butlers with attitude, skills and focus to wow guests as though they were being served in their own homes.

First there is the discussion of butlers in a historical context and their evolution from servants to professionals over the years. The hotel butler is in a different role than the single family butler because multiple guests replace single employer as the central focus of service. The purpose of the butler remains the same " to smooth the lives of those who he or she serves" Understanding this role is key, and Mr. Ferry then moves on to the skills that enable the butlers to execute their mission with efficiency.

Skills involved include how to handle many of the more common situations that arise in terms of etiquette and navigating the "sticky wickets" or complicated situations that often arise. Then there is excellent discussion of some of the systems that are used for butlers to communicate effectively- the white board, the passport, the radio systems and protocols. Packing and unpacking, shoe care, laundry, setting the table and serving the proper English tea are but some of the many details of the butler trade that are covered in expert fashion.

The book ends up with a wide range of check lists that are wonderful templates ready to be customized to the particular hospitality location. Guest Room readiness checklist, list for organizing a dinner party and a guest record form are just a few of the great organizing tools that Mr. Ferry has provided.

"Hotel Butlers, The Great Service Differentiators" is a clear guide to explaining butler service and how it can be done to a high standard by motivated professionals.

"Household Careers provides succinct and comprehensive information on a wide range of 'hidden careers' on the home front...a valuable resource for domestic workers, entrepreneurs, small business advisors and career counseling agencies."

There are two novels in BOOK 5 of the LaPlata County Series. Each novel is complete in itself, but the novels build on the one before it. BOOK 1 contains COUNTY DUBLIN, the starting of the Wilkerson Dynasty and BLOOD ON THE MOON when William Wilkerson and his Black half brother and their full blooded beloved Black friend go to Texas after wild horses for the Mississippi farmers. They share many adventures among the Indians and Mexican. BOOK 2 has AMITE COUNTY, a Civil War story told by an eleven year old boy. MISSISSIPPI WOMAN tells an exciting story about the Wilkerson's move to Fort Worth and then the two sons going to LaPlata County Colorado. BOOK 3, INDIANS AND SOLDIERS gives an account of the cavalry moving the Ute tribe out of LaPlata County. RANCHERS AND RUSTLERS is about two of the soldiers who have ranches in LaPlata County. D.H. Wilkerson starts homesteading land the homesteaders abandon. BOOK 4, HOMESTEADERS AND SHEEPHERDERS, the Wilkerson adventures are told by five-year-old, Son Wilkerson. D.H. is the continuation of the growing up of Son Wilkerson and his exile in Arizona and New Mexico. BOOK 5 has I KNEW A MAN WHO HAD SIX SONS. D.H. goes insane and burns to death while Son Wilkerson is almost killed in a plane in Korea. Son comes home blind and writes LaPlata County Series to find out why the Wilkersons and the other people of LaPlata County are so hell bent on going to war. SQUASH BLOSSOM, the final novel in the series is about a Ute woman and her son who escape the exile in Utah only to be taken by a cruel Navaho to Shiprock, New Mexico. Squash Blossom's great grandson comes back to LaPlata County and buys a piece of land. Words can't describe the adventures, the characters, and the fun the author had in writing LaPlata County. I started LaPlata County as a story a small boy tells about living on a homestead between Hay Gulch and Alkali in LaPlata County, Colorado during the depression of the '30s. From this original story, Homesteaders and Sheepherders, I went backward to the little boy's ancestor coming from Dublin to Virginia in the early 1700's. James Wilkerson died in Norfolk, Virginia but his descendents went to Mississippi, Texas, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, the Atlantic, Pacific, and to Korea - and to hell and back. My family owned the land in LaPlata County, Colorado that is the basis for this story. This is not an autobiography or a true confession, but at the of age of seventy years I still keep the LaPlata Mountains and the land on Alkali alive in my mind and heart! And I remember helping drive our sheep into the mountains.

With many books, translations are negligible, with two obvious exceptions, one is the Bible, and surprisingly the other is The Iliad.

For example:

"Rage--Goddess, sing the rage of Peleus' son Achilles,
Murderous, doomed, that cost the Achaeans countless losses,
hurling down to the House of Death so many souls,
great fighters' souls. But made their bodies carrion,
feasts for dogs and birds,
and the will of Zeus was moving towards its end.
Begin, Muse, when the two first broke and clashed,
Agamemnon lord of men and brilliant Achilles."
-Translated by Robert Fagles

"Sing, O Goddess, the anger of Achilles, son of Peleus, that brought countless ills upon the Achaeans. Many a brave soul did it send hurrying down to Hades, and many a heroes did it yield a prey to dogs and vultures for so were the counsels of Zeus fulfilled from the day on which the son of Atreus, king of men, and great Achilles first fell out with one another."
-Translated by Samuel Butler

Our story takes place in the ninth year of the ongoing war. We get some introduction to the first nine years but they are just a background to this tale of pride, sorrow and revenge. The story will also end abruptly before the end of the war.

We have the wide conflict between the Trojans and Achaeans over a matter of pride; the gods get to take sides and many times direct spears and shields.

Although the more focused conflict is the power struggle between two different types of power. That of Achilles, son of Peleus and the greatest individual warier and that of Agamemnon, lord of men, who's power comes form position.

We are treated to a blow by blow inside story as to what each is thinking and an unvarnished description of the perils of war.

This book is the first epic poem ever written, and it still ranks among the best. Reading this book is fundamental to understanding the rest of Greco-Roman literature, as it is referred to constantly by the great Greek and Roman authors. The story itself is very good, telling of the Greek beseigment of Troy, attempting to take back Menelos' beautiful wife Helen, who was stolen by a Trojan prince. The great heroes of Greece (Ajax, Agamemnon, Diomed, Achilles) battle Hector, defender of Troy, and his army. The gods on Mount Olympus are divided, some taking the side of the Greeks and some the side of the Trojans. The gods frequently shift the balance of the war, and the deterministic worldview of the Greeks is easily seen. At one point Agamemnon, king of the Greeks, says that he only did things because the gods had subconsciously forced him to. At another point Homer mentions that the Greeks' wall fell because "It had been built without the concent of the immortals, and therefore it did not last."

At any rate, it is a very insightful glimse into the mindset of the ancient Greeks, and is very insteresting. I would highly recommend reading this book. I do have one complaint, though. For some reason all of the gods' names are Roman instead of Greek. For example, Zeus is always changed to Jove. I fail to see why this is necessary, unless they were leading you into a reading of the Aenied. If this is the case, Butler should have explained it. Other than that, however, this was an excellent translation.

Overall grade: A

The Iliad and The Odyssey by Homer, Translator: Samuel Butler. Incl Historical & Geographical background

The Iliad and the Odyssey are two ancient Greek epic poems. These poems believed to be the oldest extant works of literature in the ancient Greek language.

At the isolated Butler's Station a number of people will come together in a violent death struggle. There's Bulter and his son and the woman who'd decided to stay. First to arrive the sole survivor of an Apache ambush, U.S. Cavalry Sergeant Blaine who's badly wounded. Then come the outlaw brothers Reece, they're planning an ambush of their own of the soon to arrive stagecoach carrying three lawmen and their prisoner, Sid Reece. And following the stage are the Apaches who are planning to burn Butler's Station to the ground and kill all within it. Thus the lawmen and outlaws must join forces to battle this common enemy but can they trust each other?

Richard Wyler gives us an action packed story and great characters. His description of the Arizona landscape was well done and I could almost feel the oppressive heat. The struggle the white characters have with trusting each other, the expectation of these people turning on one other at any moment, the burning desire of the Apaches to kill the whites, all combine in this fast moving tale to provide an gripping read.

It says on the front of the book `A classic tale of the West', reckon I can only agree with that statement!

Well worth your money.

Hubert was a man of astonishing intelligence and humour. This comes through well in this book of essays, which provide a good taster for his work. This book has great relevance for the world of today, and provides many insights into the troubles in Ireland, the Basque region, and the Balkans. What marks Hubert out for particular greatness as an essayist was his distinct brand of subtle, but mischevious, humour. He was always prepared to poke fun at sensless authority wherever it appeared, whether in the state, religion or the Academic world