Campbell Books

Although the first two chapters are a bit tedious, the book takes off in the third chapter with Duncan's conversion experience. His entire life is filled with demonstrations of God's ability to transform the human heart. I highly recommend this book. I hope it comes back into print!

This is a great tale of intrigue, surprisingly accurate in reporting the intrigue surrounding the clash of law, business and government. It may take you a little while to get into the flow, but keep at it, as the endgame is the best part.

From the back cover: In July 1979 the new Thatcher government announced its plan to sell off British Airways as part of its extensive programme of privatisation. The airline's transformation from grossly inefficient nationalised industry to successful private sector competitor was unprecedented. But behind the scenes a clandestine trans-Atlantic legal battle - triggered by the Laker collapse - kept the proposed sale close to the brink of disaster.

Written by a former Financial Times journalist who monitored the story from the first, this is the inside acocunt of how the politicians and businessmen, lawyers and bankers turned BA's story into the stuff of a thriller novel.

Throughout this book, Katy Campbell demonstrates both her extensive experience in Instructional Design and her solid grasp of the research literature, offering a practical, comprehensive guide for instructors at all levels new to developing online learning. Effective Writing for E-Learning Environments provides a unique combination of instructional and message design and is rich in resources and references for the interested reader. Campbell definitely practices what she preaches! She engages her readers in interactive instructional activities and challenges them to extend themselves beyond reading the concepts presented to engaging and working with them. I highly recommend this text as a companion to the many existent books on Instructional design practice.

You shouldn't be read then.

I had no problems with this book. It arrived in a timely fashion.

I was born and went to school in Edinburgh, but have been an exile for 30 years, visiting as often as I can. My library on Edinburgh and its history is extensive, yet every chapter of this book gave me new and fascinating details about the city, past and present. The reading style of the book is lively and approachable, with interesting quotations, and I plan to acquire my own copy as soon as this one goes back to the library, so that I can add personal notes.
The information is accurate, as assessed by my visit at Easter, and the illustrations good, if a little sparse. The only addition I would suggest is a map showing how Campbell divided the city into regions, marked with the appropriate chapter numbers.

I have recently had the great pleasure of reading this wonderful work by Dr. Quinn. It does shed more light on Spenser- it is doubtlessly an excellent work, one to be truly referred to for reference in the future. It is pure excellence.

It is remarkable that the world's shake-up about the climatic catastrophe in December 2007 coincides with the 100th birthday celebration of Edward Teller. The Bali conference of the IPCC (International Panel about Climatic Change) during the week of the Nobel Prizes to Al Gore and for IPCC to its chairman Rajendra K. Pachauri on 10th of December 2007 is close to Teller's 100th birthday on 15 January 2008. Teller emphasized not long before he died in September 2003 to John Nuckolls "The future is uncertain and scientists and engineers should cooperate globally to shape the future". If nuclear power stations may be an essential component next for solving the climatic catastrophe, there is a crucial contribution by Edward Teller where a very rare documentation is just given in the "Edward Teller Lectures".
For the carbon dioxide pollution in the air one will have to recognize the priorities, e.g. that the 120 years development of the motor car is so perfect and essential not only for individual mobility but for all the whole economy, trade and supply of most needed goods. Petrol is vital to be used before alternatives may be developed and installed on a trillion dollar level in the future. Where to cut CO2 emission had to come from other sections, e.g. from extinguishing the burning of rain forests emitting 6 billion tons CO2 per year. And by gradually reducing fossil energy in the electric power stations, heating houses etc.. Windmills or solar energy generation will help but this is not generally economic. When Robert Dautray received his Edward Teller Medal, Teller mentioned how to fight the oil crisis of 1972 (page 51): "the French have a really unjustifiable advantage over everyone else: they are logical! And this logic tells them that the nuclear way is the way to go..." Indeed it needed many years until 85% of all electricity is produced nuclear now in France. The statement of Teller in 1993 is now so important after the most experienced and successful environmentalist James Lovelock against a furious crowd of media opponents is showing that it is now too late to stop the catastrophe and that a rise the of oceans by 60meters can only be postponed by using nuclear energy.
The French solution with light water fission reactors is now well established by technology and economics for general use, but Al Gore in his book "Earth in the balance" of 1993, p. 328, correctly aks for better advanced designs of nuclear fission reactors. Just for a much better solution absolutely safe and free of any misuse for nuclear weapons, Teller described his rarely documented scheme in the book (p.51) of a completely automatic thorium breeding reactor built 200 meters under ground in rocks. Any development of this kind of alternatives was prevented by the antinuclear media indoctrination and valuable time lost. New steps in energetic future developments should well be expected parallel to other options as e.g. producing solar cells by electron beam technology to avoid the usual "alchemy" criticized by Gore (see amazon.de, H. Hora "Klimakatastrophe Überwinden").
Beyond James Lovelock's appeal to promote nuclear fission reactors, he also looks to fusion energy in the future. The option to solve this problem with lasers is just the topic of the book. It contains the summary of laser driven spark ignition in John Lindl's Edward Teller Lecture or that of George Miley underlining the use of neutron lean fusion fuel as Gerold Kulcinski said in CNN on November 13, 2007: one space shuttle load of helium-three mined at the moon surface can produce all energy of the USA for half a year. The crucial contributions to this field by Michael Key, by Laurence K. Suter, Robert McCrory or Steve Hahn should be mentioned as examples of the addresses of the 21 recipients of the Edward Teller medals awarded by the American Nuclear Society before 2005. A most advanced scheme by Nuckolls and Wood (p.13) may lead to a fusion gain by using the new Petawatt-picosecond lasers for fast ignition similar to the recently discovered block ignition [Physics of Plasmas 14, 172701 (2007); Laser and Particle Beams 25, 37 (2007)]. The fusion energy gains of 10,000 per incident laser energy even at rather low compression of the fusion fuel may lead to energy generation several times less expensive than any present energy source.
This is an exclusive view to solve the global energy problems at least by some specific aspects for next developments where Edward Teller's contributions were of incommensurable value. The "Edward Teller Lectures - Lasers and Inertial Fusion Energy" are a very competent summary mostly by the long years specialists in this field honored with the Edward Teller Medal of their scientific results gained from exploring this most exciting field with so many unexpected new phenomena now going to be used in the biggest lasers in the world (National Ignition Facility NIF in Livermore, or LMJ in France) costing more than 3 Billion dollars each. Like the lectures on this topic by Teller himself, the awardees make understandable their specific scientific results for the experts, as well as for the broader interested reader, and for students, scientists and engineers. This is merging as a brilliant jewel of new physics into the fatefully important demands for solving the future of mankind under the shield of Edward Teller's pioneering work and inspirations.

Este libro y los 4CD que acompañan han demostrado cumplir con lo esperado. Durante lecciones con niños de entre 3 a 9 tanto en grupos como solos han dado un resultado fantástico. Una niña de 9 años que es tratada por hiperactividad, lo que ocasiona distracciones permanentes, en los días más dificiles simplemente dejo sonar el "CD1 - Afina tu mente", y la clase transcurre con normalidad. No es adecuado su uso permanente, sino en los momentos en los cuales parece que existe un ambiente tenso y falta de concentración de los niños. Es altamente recomendable vale la pena cada centavo.

Eldritch Blue is a publication of Lindisfarne press. It is a POD book. My overall impression is quite favorable. The production qualities are very high. It is a good quality trade paperback, that should be very durable and provide many years of rereading pleasure. It is somewhat pricier than a comparable Chaosium anthology, currenty at $21.00, but then it has more good stories than the typical Chaosium offering.

In some respects, it is a better concept than the Chaosium series, as there is no attempt made to offer a comprehensive picture of the development of a particular aspect of the Cthulhu mythos. This leads to the inclusion of really poorly written stories in the Chaosium anthologies, just because they may be hypothetically important in getting a picture of the larger concept. (The dreadful goat leg stories in the Shub Niggurath Cycle spring to mind). Eldritch Blue is more concerned with gathering together a selection of stories exploring the issues of love and sex in Lovecraftian fiction. I can't recall the page number in Eldritch Blue but for the money it was a generous sampling of stories. The other thing to note, is the overall quality of the stories was better than a typical Chaosium anthology, if not as high as Dead But Dreaming or Cthulhu 2000.

The artwork was by Susan McAdam. The cover was a very striking work, and I think very mch emphasized the theme of sex and horror quite well. The interior artwork was enjoyable, although not all as successful. I particularly liked the illustrations for Mail Order Bride, Seduced and The Obsession of Percival Carstairs. Overall the art matched the mood of the story and enhanced the experience, adding to the enjoyability of the book.

For the most part the editing was good, with only a few annoying typos. One was partcularly glaring to the rheumatologist in me, in Stacked Actors, but I don't know if it was the editor or the author responsible for misspelling Raynaud's disease. And mislabeling it, when what was meant was Raynaud's phenomenon. Oh, well, no one else would notice.

Do I have several gripes? You bet! First of all, Bob Price always finds a way to drive me crazy! The silly title of his introduction did not sit well with me.

I also found the editor's notes after each story to be near excruciating. They show what I think is a basic wrong-headed view of what Lovecraftian fiction is all about. I'll give an example later, as best as my memory allows. On the other hand, they appear after each work so they are not spoilers, and you can easily skip them. The biographical notes at the end were good.

And as usual, some of these stories are in other anthologies in my collection and some I have read online, leading to duplication. This will always be an issue for the dedicated HPL mythos fan.

Moving on to individual stories (****spoilers may follow****):

Promethes: Where Walks Istasha, by James Ambuehl - well, I'm not a big fan of mythos poetry....

The Tale of Toad Loop, by Stanley C. Sargent - An OK mythos fiction work. Nothing special but not out of place and worth the read, if not a reread.

Goat-Mother, by Pierre Comtois - I found this story to be one of the jewels of the anthology. It was well written, tightly plotted, refreshingly different and had excellent horror elements. I look forward to more stories by Mr. Comtois! Now this is where I had some heartburn with the editor's notes. First of all, I would rate this story as one of the 3 best centering around the Tcho Tcho people I have ever read. The other 2 were Black Man With A Horn by TED Klein, and a novella by Arinn Dembo in the Delta Green: Dark Theaters anthology. All 3 are marveous stories. All 3 works have completely different takes on the Tcho Tcho. And that's OK! Nothing about Yog-Sothothery has to be internally consistent. I guess I use the term Mythos out of convenience because it is shorter to type, but it is not really a unified mythos cycle, where there are rigid rules of interpretation. Vagueness, lack of precision, whatever you call it, allows enormous room for creative authors to develop new ideas on familiar themes for us fans. And for pity's sake, Lovecraftian fiction has no need whatever to correspond with the scientific strictures of our natural world. Who cares about the details of reproduction of these noxious creatures that Pierre Comtois created, and where they fit in with earth biology phylogenetically? The scenes were delightfully creepy and allowed the reader's imagination to run wild. My only word of caution to Mr. Comtois is that there was no need for an italicized ending. The horror was self evident and did not need the emphasis. Bravo!

Beast of Love, by Tracy and James Ambuehl - Now if anyone knows how to dispose of a mythos protagonist it is James Ambuehl! This was a typically fun Ambuehl read, and I look forward to his upcoming new stories in the Lindisfarne series.

The Spawn of Y'lagh, by Randall Larson - This didn't do much for me. It was a very conventional mythos tale, not particularly well written. On the other hand it wasn't dreadfully bad, and it did not detract from the anthology.

Mail Order Bride, by Ann K. Schwader - This is a brilliant story, about intermarriage with the Deep Ones from an entirely original angle. The prose and characterizations were acute. Any gripe? Well this story is already in Strange Stars and Alien Shadows, so it commits the sin of duplication, but in a tale this fine, we'll consider it venial instead of mortal. I wish Ms. Schwader would hurry up and write some more new mythos stories

Family Recipe, by Charles Garofalo - A tightly written story, again about the Deep Ones intermingling with humans, with another original twist. It was a very fun read, although I like other stories here better. I would like to read more by Mr. Garofalo.

Cat's-Paw, by E. P. Berglund - An excellent Shub Niggurath story, with well-drawn characters and enjoyable prose. It held up the high standards of the anthology.

The Faces at Pine Dunes, by Ramsey Campbell - Ramsay Campbell - what can I say- it was a wonderful story. I just wish Mr. Campbell would write some new mythos stuff. Also, it is reprinted from other anthologies.

Dagon's Mistress, by Neil Riebe - This story was only fair, with a conventional mythos plot that had an unusually upbeat turn. Mainly the prose didn't grab me, and the ending didn't ring true for a mythos collection.

The Thing on the Doorstep, by H. P. Lovecraft - Of course, one of HPL's best, so marvelous. However, I counted and I have 6.23 zillion other copies in collections I already own. Reduplicate duplication doubled.

The Prodigies of Monkfield Cabot, by Michael Minnis - An interesting take on The Thing on the Doorstep, being a prequel rather than a sequel. It was good, although the plot twists and prose did not sparkle as much as the best stories in here. Nonetheless, not out of place, and better than many stories in Chaosium anthologies. I will certainly get all the collections Lindisfarne publishes of Mr. Minnis' work.

Seduced, by Ronald Shiflet - Brilliant. Just brilliant. Plot, prose, characterization, all superb. One of the very best Shub Niggurath stories I have ever read. Bravo, Mr. Shiflet. I will run, not walk, to buy his collections on this label.

Stacked Actors, by Peter A. Worthy - Now this story gave me a bit of heartburn. I am a fan of Stross and of Delta Green, so I like the subgenre, but this just didn't do it for me. Per the author summaries I know Mr. Worthy is living in Scotland, but I don't know where he is originally from. However, there was no reason to believe this as a story occurring in England. None of the idiom rang true for me; it all seemed very American. Furthermore, the story was way too in medias res. It seemed over half the story was filling us in on background, instead of giving us exposition of the current plot. It also had a very lifted-from-an RPG-scenario feel in a way the best Delta Green does not. Maybe there was too much risk of DG overlap if set in the US? At any rate, if we visit these characters again I hope the emphasis is on the current story, with more attention to plotting and characterization than to setting the stage.

Have You Found Him, by Jean Ann Donnel - A well-written fragment, but too short to really grab me.

The Violet Princess, by Stephen Mark Rainey - A wonderful story by Mr. Rainey, as we all expect. The prose just captured the isolation and frustrated longing of the protagonist beautifully. And I loved the ending.

What Sort of Man, by Walter C. DeBill, Jr. - Another excellent story in an excellent collection, about a man whose family trades with aliens from Carcosa to acquire unusual antiques for their business. Anything I write might give away the plot, so I'll just say I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The Obsession of Percival Cairstairs, by Charles Black - OK conventional mythos story, predictable but not unenjoyable. Commits the sin of the italicized ending trying to add punch where better prose would have helped more. Not a bad story, certainly would have found a place in a Chaosium anthology.

A Mate For the Mutilator, by Robert M. Price - Price's fiction doesn't really grab me. I liked the plot idea, but the characters were not well developed, and the prose didn't match the best in the anthology. OK, not bad, just not the best I have ever read.

To Cast Out Fear, C. J. Henderson - An OK Anton Zardak story - not my favorite subgenre, but written about the level of Lin Carter, so a plus for fans.

The Surrogate, by Kevin L. O'Brien - Well, I wished I liked it better. Mr. O'Brien knows how to compile an anthology but his writing does not move me. First of all the prose wasn't that great. For example, would any prostitute, even in the Mile High City, ever refer to herself as a doxy? The characters were bland and undeveloped, so it was hard to care what happened to them. I also could not for the life of me figure out why the mother or the prostitute liked her son at all. There was no patina of horror to shade the whole story as is usually required for good mythos fiction, and there was nothing stated or implied that would show if the creature was controlling their minds to make them do its bidding. The prostitute at least should have been utterly numb with fear. And, frankly, Jim Ambuehl would have had her get eaten in a respectable mythos story ending creepfest.

So, I had a highly favorable impression of Eldritch Blue. A handsome production packed with new stories, for the most part extremely well written, with the best soaring to the highest heights of mythos fiction. Any fan would be well advised to spend their hard earned Cthulhu bucks on it.