Clarke Books

I've listened to lots of Irish music, and have always loved the sound of the tin whistle, although I thought it would be too complicated for me to play. This great combo of tape/instruction book demystifies the process, and within a short amount of time one can play lovely pieces. Having the tape really helps to focus the player on the music. Recommend for the beginner and intermediate to advanced players as well.

This is the songbook and cassette combination that taught me to play the penny whistle! This book takes from the basics of playing the whistle, through advanced ornamentation such as crans, rolls, cuts, and strikes. Including several dozen songs, this book is an excellent resource for any whistler.

This was the first tinwhistle how-to-learn book I ever had. I have since added 3 others, but none is as good as Bill Ochs' book. I actually taught myself to read music with this book! For a simple instrument that will give a huge range of expressive possibilities, I can't think of anything better than a whistle. And the Clarke is the best-looking of them all!

This book got me started on the pennywhistle. It includes a Clarke tin whistle in the key of C (another version of the kit is available in the key of D). It's an inexpensive introduction to an easy and versatile instrument. I would recommend this book to anyone who's just starting out (and is ambitious).

I bought this book about three weeks ago and can already play a few simple peices.The accompanying cassette makes playing tunes all the more easy. I play guitar and am really into Celtic sounds. On a personal note, my grandfather used to play one quite well according to my mom but I was too young to remember. Now I am even more motivated ! BUY IT ! You won't regret it.

What a wonderful take on the classic Clement C. Moore poem. On the left pages the traditional poem is rendered, but on the right we hear from a little boy -- a creature who was stirring! Although he knows it is naughty, he can't help but take a peek (and maybe a little joy ride!) on Santa's sleigh. With brightly colored, page-filling, eye-catching illustrations, this book is a great way to introduce new readers to the classic poem or freshen up an old classic.

As a read-aloud, the left side/right side layout can be a little confusing, but should be pretty clear if you give the classic poem and the sections told from the little boy's point of view different voices and emphasis. The big, bright illustrations are also great for groups. But this would be a great little lap-read too.

A small boy knows he is supposed to be asleep on Christmas eve but he risks the "naughty" list in order to get a peek out the window when Santa's sleigh arrives.

Moore's well known poem chronicles Santa's visit on the left page while the boy's adventure with Santa's precariously parked sleigh develops on the opposing page.

One alert kindergarten lad pointed out that the boy's words were printed in white while Moore's poem is printed in gold. I was so pleased he had noticed and it makes the last page of the story even more fun.

Lovely golden end papers open the book. Goodrich's illustrations are humorous and the kids followed the story easily. It was a fun read.

This is a great take on the great old classic I love. I purchased this book as a Christmas present for my six year old great nephew, so I have not given it to him yet. I love the illustrations and think he will too!

Kids will enjoy this story, parents too, and everyone can marvel at the fantastic illustrations. Carter Goodrich is an amazing artist. In "A Creature Was Stirring" he captures a great Christmas feeling with his colors and the few characters of the book are full of life and personality. He has a particularly interesting take on Santa. The story is cool too, it offers a fresh spin on the old "'Twas the Night Before Christmas", telling the story from the perspective of a little boy, which I am sure kids will love. The original text is used in the story as well, so you get a nice new version with the classic there too, good deal.

Buy this if you want a great Christmas story for your kids and the child inside you, and also if you have any interest in Carter Goodrich, illustration, animation design, or great drawing and painting in general.

Magic abounds in Carter Goodrich's splendidly illustrated second story tucked alongside the familiar 'Night Before Christmas.' A little boy's insomnia culminates in his own brief flight in Santa's sleigh, while stockings are stuffed at the hearth below. Night and snow and reindeer and pillows are all illustrated with a deft colored pencil/watercolor mix that intrigues the artistic eye. Goodrich shows a new side of himself, a pleasant surprise to fans of his New Yorker magazine covers.

Another provocative work by Harun Yahya. This book compels the reader to focus upon the frail realities of human existence. The reader is exhorted to reflect meditatively upon the meaning of life and the purpose of us being here. This pertinent, but often ignored issue is coherently explored in the context of Islamic spirituality.

Yahya's brilliance lies in making us positively aware of the utmost significance of religion in our daily lives. Allah's existence and His relationship towards His noblest creation are beautifully expounded. Without imposing upon the reader, Yahya allows us to arrive at our own conclusions. His earnest plea is that the reader should reflect profoundly and sincerely before doing so. This is a plea that deserves respect. Every thinking person should own this book.

Miracles Of The Qur'an by Harun Yahya is an engaging, informative, challenging examination and presentation of scientific miracles within the Qur'an, the holy work embodying the scriptural core of the Islamic faith. Beautiful, full-color photography illustrates the faithful words of an author who seeks to share his faith in the Qur'an as God's Book and the Book of Truth. Carefully researched in terms of both science and faith, Miracles Of The Qur'an is an impressive, informative, captivating, thought-provoking study, and strongly recommended reading for students of Islam.

I have read two books by Harun Yahya and one thing which i noticed was that his work is very repetitive. You will even come across ditto paragraphs in his different books. Having said that, about this particular book I would like to say that it is a very good read for someone who is trying to search the origin of life and particularly for someone who is trying to question the existance of God. The book is not about the attributes of God, but rather about his existence.

Harun Yahya wrote a lot of book that gives an insight to Islamic wisdom, how a muslim in general should spend his life--according to the values of the quran.

This book makes one realize how little thanks we show for everything we have.It just exhibits how ignorance can be purged, life made more productive; by pondering upon the nature around us. A must read book

There are books that can make your day different from others and there are books that can change your life. And this one is absolutely from the second category. The author has published numerous books and booklets explicitly proving the existence of Allah, emphasising the marvellous creation of Allah against the materialistic and atheistic ideologies, and of course their most efficient and significant view: the Evolution Theory.This is the only book I have ever read that makes me think really deep. A book that absolutely deserves its title!

A terrific overview of the various steps needed to build the space elevator. Can't wait to see it happen. Hope it's soon.

I love this book. I'm interested in space projects and science fiction. This was a great combination of fact and fiction. Both informative and entertaining. It's great for the laymen. You don't need to know much about space technology to understand and enjoy this book.

I have no science degree and spend little time pondering space elevators, but the subject is interesting and this book is well organized. Different authors took specific topics and created one or two chapters each. Famous sames such as Kim Stanley Robinson contributed. I received this as a present prior to a week at the beach and enjoyed the book more than expected, flipping to chapters that interested me and skipping others.

By coincidence, I visited the Wright Brothers' museum near Kitty Hawk while on vacation. It is striking how rapidly air travel developed from the "cranks and weirdos" stage around 1900 to a substantive business. I do not know if the analogy translates, but you never know.

Seen as merely a thought experiment for over a century, the space elevator is now understood to be achievable in our foreseeable future. It promises to open up the Solar System to all of humanity, and this book gives you a peek at that future. Interweaving both science fiction stories involving the space elevator along with non-fiction articles on the basic technical, financial, legal, social and political issues surrounding the space elevator, this book will give you an entertaining and informative crash course in the space elevator. After reading this book, you will understand both why we want to build a space elevator as well as how it will be built.

This collection of fact and fiction centers on the proposal by a startup company, Liftport, to create a new way to get into space: an elevator. The idea is not new, and the specific means they propose to do it has been discussed in technical papers; nevertheless this is likely the first popularly accessible book that describes the new near-term practicalities of construction, operation, and business for such a system. Liftport plans to get their first elevator up and running before 2020, and this book describes how they may just be able to do that.

The format of the book is a collection of independent essays (the factual portions) and stories, some of which are reprinted from separate novels (by Arthur C. Clarke, David Brin, and Charles Sheffield) and the rest seem to have been specifically written for this collection. The quality of the fiction is rather variable; unfortunately some of the authors would perhaps have benefited from reading the technical sections, as some details are rather jarringly wrong. For example, the "Hermit of the Skies" would not plummet and burn up from the top station, but would be thrown out away from the planet - that's sort of the whole point. In "High Space", you can't be in orbit 300 miles above Earth's surface and stay over one spot - you have to be going a lot slower than orbital speeds. And the troposphere is the lowermost portion of Earth's atmosphere, not what you would hit first on the way down! But of course the technical details aren't the central point of the stories, so maybe it's silly to be picky about it.

The longest fiction section, "The Rings of Earth", by William H. Keith, is among the best of the contributed stories. The vision it paints, of a future Earth-bound society knowing of "gods" above, and the stunning reality of the ending, is almost worth the price of the whole book.

The technical essays describe the project in good detail, though somewhat redundantly and at different levels. It would have helped if the editors had given the authors a better picture of what the other parts of the book would cover. I wrote (and donated) one of those essays, so I'm somewhat familiar with the way it worked - I have met a number of the authors in person as well.

The elevator physically consists of an anchor station on Earth's surface, a counterweight beyond geosynchronous orbit in space, and a strong ribbon connecting the two. A "lifter" climbs the ribbon; technical essays cover each of those components. Additionally, power to the lifter must be supplied without physical contact which would add precious mass - a power beaming system is described that could do the job. Construction steps and safety issues are also discussed.

The remaining essays discuss business, law, and political issues more than technology. How the elevator will make money, what it will do to the space launch business, is covered in several chapters. Who will have legal jurisdiction is one central question - from these essays it seems clear the United States will at the least have a strong claim, but inclusion of many international partners would probably be safest.

One of the applications that may be enabled by the cheaper space launch services the elevator will provide are solar power satellites. An essay here by Ralph Nansen discusses the enormous potential and environmental benefits from this alternative energy solution.

Finally, the Liftport staff call on all of us to "get involved" - including sponsoring a contest to win options on 1000 Liftport company shares. This book demonstrates the company has a potentially feasible plan to radically change the relationship between Earth and space - if they succeed it will change our future. Are you ready to join?

The title says it all. We are living flowing organic beings, so to live in harmony it makes sense to use organic practices to be optimum with whatever we do. This book is a great overall look at many of the aspects of home and being and how to do it in a simply sustainable way.

I found this text to be a totally informative and intelligent read. I am constantly using it as a reference book. It outlines organic living for the garden, family and home. Wonderful antedotes and tips on living an organic lifestyle in the everyday world grace the pages. Clear and concise writing together with inspiring photographs make this a great and colourful resouce.

This book has really good points i am a younger reader in early twenties and am trying to go organic. The book seems like it is for people who have alot of time. I have a full time job and go to school and the author in this book just doesnt make living organic practical. But dont get me wrong the book opened my eyes to how many harmful things we do to are bodies and our planet.

Excellent information on how chemicals in every day things are harming us. The authors also list alternative products to use, and at the end of each section the authors give resources on where to get them. Basically its a book on how to live an organic lifestyle, which is much more healthier.

Its filled with information I never knew before, very very informative, and very much worth the money. I'm glad that I bought this book.

If you have ever wondered why some of your friends are vegetarian, and why this movement is growing so fast, or why people recyle, etc. this is a great place to find the answers. A very inviting reading on why these things are important, how you can get involved-and might I add-feel "normal" about it. Toss off keeping up with the spending habits and overconsumerism of your friends, and get back to the basics...eatting meat without hormones or antibiotics added; recycling, and taking responsibility for yourself and the planet. If you don't, who will?

Tells of the struggle between man and animal(s) in horiffic detail. At times it sounds like a safety guide for the great white hunter of the early 1900's and earlier. Also of teriffic historical value. This is a wonderful book and I recommend it to anyone who loves to read all books (with the exception of romance novels as a choice of entertainment, you may not like this particular tombe). This book had me on the edge of my seat and saying "holey s#%@" the whole time and struck up some interesting and involved conversations in the break room at work! I loved it but I guess I won't be wanting to visit Africa or Asia in this lifetime! Humans are enough danger for me! Great book!!!

To keep it short, I was handed this book when I was 10yrs of age, by a father who worked in the herpetarium. Not only did it, and even now as an adult, shock me, it made me give nature a greater respect. An excellent read for naturilists and those curious to animal nature in the extreme.

James Clarke has a writing style that can hold the attention of even the most dicriminating of readers. I have recommended this book to many friends and without exception they have all come away with a certain amount of awe at the realization that, we as modern men, seem all to often to have forgetten: that we are simply protein to many animals, in many parts of the world today. Clarke gets away from the false and foolish notion that is propagated by many "bunny huggers" and "Disneyites" today. Namely, that wild animals are really just lovable furry critters that are waiting for someone to pet them. He is very, very objective and gives the facts on malevolent animal/human relations in a way that is not dry and bland the way many are presented nowdays. He does this by quoting many sources newspapers, naturalists, hunters, explorers and many official and medical records. Above all, I came away from this book with the feeling that I had been given the facts and allowed to makeup my own mind instead of someone making it up for me!! Oh, and read the book to find out what animal is the greatest Man-Killer of all time. You'll be suprised!

James Clarke has a writing style that is able to hold anyones interest. I have recommended this book to many friends and without exception they have all come away with a certain amount of awe at the realization that, we as modern men, seem all to often to forget: that we are simply protein to many animals in many parts of the world today. Clarke gets away from the false and foolish idea that is propagated by many "bunny huggers" and "Disneyites" that wild animals are really lovable furry critters that are just waiting for someone to pet them. He is very, very objective and gives the facts on malevolent animal/human relations. He does this by quoting many sources newspapers, naturalists, hunters, explorers and many official and medical records. Above all, I came away from this book with the feeling that I had been given the facts and allowed to makeup my own mind insted of someone making it up for me!! Oh, and read the book to find out what animal is the greatest Man-Killer of all time. You'll be suprised!

So you thought the elephants down at the zoo were cute did ya? Ever know that in 1944 one zoo elephant ate its keeper! What about those harmless hippos they look cute in those cartoons but in Africa they're known as the most meanest animal on the continent. This book isn't for the PETA crowd and it is far from politically correct but it is a fascinating look at animals eating and attacking man! Turn about is fair play and with out our firearms and sometimes even with them we're still one of the slowest weakest members of the animal kingdom. Read and enjoy!!

Volume II of New Testament Apocrypha represents a comprehensive collection of the pseudo-apostolic writings of early Christianity. The introductions are quite good. The translations, however, are marred by frequent use of achaic, pseudo-biblical language which has thankfully been done away with in most modern translations of ancient texts. Do we really need to read words like "haply", "whilst", and "such-like", or a phrase like "do ye repent you" in the late 20th century? For those just interested in sampling a variety of these works, and more, a good portion of the translations of this book are available at a lower price in "The Other Bible". For the hard core, however, this book does contain material unavailable elsewhere.

. . .this volume does for the Acts and Apocalypses of the Apostles.

This book "New Testament Apocrypha: Writings Relating to the Apostles Apocalypses and Related Subjects" , like the companion volume, is THE definitive scholarly English-language edition of the sub-canonical, post New Testament era Acts of various Apostles, lives of various Apostolic personalities, and Apocalypses and Revelations of all sorts.

Again, like the first volume, each text is expertly translated (with textual variants properly explained) and is preceded by a scholarly introduction discussing issues of critical importance. Appropriate references are also provided, so that the student or researcher has a "jumping-off" point for further study.

Any serious student of the New Testament and post New Testament era cannot affford to be without both of these texts. I highly recommend them both.

NOTE: See my other review on vol. 1 of New Testament Apocrypha

Schneemelcher did it again! This is the second volume in the greatest translation of the important works of Apocrypha existing. It includes all of the different Acts of Apostles, the Apocalypses and 3 writings of the Nag Hammadi codices. I really enjoyed the commentary and history summarization before each document. Whether complete or fragment, this volume offered terrific insight in the post NT writings and offered interesting (yet, still false) additions to the acts of the apostles, in particular, Peter, Thomas, Andrew and Paul, including accounts of their martyrdom (though I believe Thomas was only fragments). Anyone serious about studying church history, or any student or Origen, Eusebius or Justin is definitely going to want to have this and vol. 1 in their library, and I also recommend Robinson's "The Nag Hammadi Library In English" to supplement this in any codices not contained in Schneelmelcher's work. While the Apocrypha, despite what some "scholars" say shouldn't be taken seriously, they are important to study and this is truly the best collection of Apocryphal NT texts out there.

In this volume, and its companion, Wilson's English language translation of Schneemelcher's magnum opus, is presented in a most scholarly, critical edition. This book is a must, not only for the serious student of sub-New Testament literature, but also for pastors who wish to be informed as to the highest scholarship in this field.

This second volume, dealing with the apocryphal Acts of many of the Apostles (John, Andrew, etc.), and also with Apocalyptic material, demonstrates how the Early Church viewed the Apostles, as well as how heretical sects tried to "appropriate" the names and careers of early Christians in attempts to justify their own theologies. This volume also demonstrates the importance of Apocalyptic writing, both in Jewish and Christian circles. Finally, like it's companion volume, this book shows how early popular piety influenced early Christian writings.

Both volumes are highly recommended.

the Nag Hammadi find was my first introduction to something other than the bible as a way to god. there's so much more to religion than just believing.this book is part of an intellictal growth.thanks

The New Testament Study, by Bruce M. Metzger is a very informative book that has helped me tremendously with my knowledge and understanding of the history behind the Bible.

I purchased this book for my online religion class. Metzger's book is very informative for all of my class needs.

Purchased as a text book for a College religion class. A text book I actually enjoy reading.

Surprisingly, this particular work of Metzger's is not as impressive as
most of his other scholarly works. However, it must be acknowledged it
is designed more as an introduction to the New Testament, giving only
brief overview to NT issues.

It is primarily concerned with the background and content, giving little
attention to the growth of the NT. The first section goes over the
background -- the politics, social life, religious life, etc of New
Testament era Palestine (not quite called that at that point in
history).

The rest of the book is taken up with giving an overview of every book
in the New Testament, tedious reading if one has already read it several
times, as Metzger rarely adds anything new. He has a short chapter at
the end about the canon, which is a brief synopsis of his book on the
subject (The Canon of the New Testament: Its Origin, Development, and
Significance), and includes an appendix about transmission and
translation, both synopses of two books he has written on those subjects
(The Text of the New Testament: Its Transmission, Corruption, and
Restoration, and The Bible in Translation: Ancient and English
Versions). It is better to read those books than merely rely on the
small attention given in this book.

The main impression one gains from an impartial reading is that Metzger
is definitely not impartial in the writing of this book. He is not so in
any of his books, but in this book in particular, it is obvious he takes
an apologetic slant in several instances. One thing that struck me as
just a little intellectual dishonesty was on page 105: he talks about
the many statements and insights given by Paul as one of the most
influential forces by Christianity and states that NOT ONCE has any of
those things made it into the Gospels as sayings of Jesus. Then on page
117, he talks about the "large number of allusions to sayings of Jesus,
so many that some scholars have thought it likely that Paul may have had
in his hands a collection of Jesus' sayings," and puts a note (14) with
many examples where it appears Paul has quoted Jesus. It is very
possible that Paul has quoted Jesus in all of those instances. He never
mentions it is just as possible since Paul wrote all of those letters
before any of the Gospels were written, the gospels may have been
quoting Paul. There is just no way to know, but it is obvious which way
the sequence of writing points.

While he acknowledges (as appropriate for a scholar such as he) there
are many problems -- discrepancy after contradiction after difficulty
after inaccuracy, as well as plenty of adjustments by the church over
the centuries, for good measure -- he nevertheless shows his faith in
the truth of the New Testament. He has more faith than possible for many
scholars in the position of knowing as much truth about the New
Testament as he does. One may still respect Metzger for immense
scholarship in his real specialty of textual criticism of the NT.

This is one of the few college textbooks I did not have to use my highlighter to read. Metzger is extremely easy to understand; he structures his book chronologically, covering, albeit briefly given the spatial limitations of a short introductory text, most every topic the reader must understand to gain a basic knowledge of the context of the NT's development. The reader first will gain a basic understanding of the cultural context from which the New Testament arose, then will learn about the life of and sources for understanding of Jesus Christ, then finally will see the same for the apostolic age. His prose is lucid and lacks the pedantry of much New Testament scholarship, which will assist the reader in understanding such scholarship.

In assessing Metzger's positions, the reader must keep in mind that, as he plainly states in his preface, Metzger writes as a Christian. As such, he does not dispute traditional authorship for the majority of the New Testament (with the notable exception of 2 Peter), and argues that the evidence for Christ's resurrection is "overwhelming." Readers looking for the consensus of scholars on issues so contentious to conservatives will not find this book to their liking. That said, Metzger generally does well, given how little space he has, of presenting most sides of various debates and leaving it up to the reader to do further research necessary for finding his own opinion. Since this must be the objective of an introductory text, the text succeeds.

This book uses a very clear paradiagm to analyse the different kinds of messages we give our kids. It teaches a person to be aware of the effect of what we are saying. It also can enlighten a person to the way in which they speak to themselves and to foster positive self talk. I would highly recommend this book.

I read this book in the wee ours of the morning when my child was a crying infant. It has been a great part of bringing her up as a self assured young lady.

Now I am buying a copy to give to my daughetr because she has a child of the same age.

Jean Illsley Clarke has given parents and families a real gift with this book. Our family has benefitted so much from her insights, that we were able to understand and apply right away.
Ms. Clark also wrote the foreword for the children's picture book If I Ran the Family, which presents many of these same principles for parents and kids to read together.

This is the most user-friendly parenting advice book I have ever read, out of a mountain of parenting books. It gives these practical suggestions for enhancing your child's and your own self-esteem. The concrete examples and clear explanations of the reasoning behind the suggestions make this my favorite parenting book.

There is good advice here, and know I will refer to the book often. But, there were two things that bothered me while I read it. First, some parts are hard to follow. An example is when the author gives real life examples of families. Family members and friends are often mentioned when they haven't been introduced yet, so as I read along, another name suddenly pops up,and I must stop and figure out "who is this?" Only after going back and then reading all the way through the paragraph again do I figure out the relationships. Second, the advice is really only based in the things we say to our loved ones. Communication is great, but simply saying these "magical phrases" alone is not enough. Before saying any of these affirmations to someone, it might be useful to ask questions to understand where they're coming from and if they even want affirming. It seems like the author presumes you already know when these affirmations are useful.

Thousands and countless books have been written on business management but few could challenge the approach and view reflected by David Butcher in this book.

David pointed out correctly that most management books and those courses conducted by prestigious business schools have been using the traditional rational approach to minimise the possibility of offending their potential sponsors. This approach is also less likely to be challenged as that model has been taken to be the correct model and all successful businesses should follow rational model.


I admire David for putting down his pen on writing this book on how politics play a very significant part in business success. This book presented a comprehensive view on how constructive politics could be used.

I suspect that due to the limitation on the pages contained in this book and that David wants the reader to be independent in using their own intelligence and awareness in applying the principles presented here, the readers will be disappointed if they hope to find specific ways of obtaining success given that they are paying a high price for the book.

However, I find that once the reader has a clear concept on the role and importance of politics, they should be able to draw out their own agenda and progress towards business success.

Many managers feel uneasy about organisational politics. I knew it
could be helpful to understand but was never very sure how other managers across many organisations feel about politics. This book is great to read! It shows how
politics is central to being a manager. Positive Politics is all about
reconciling different interests and positioning causes. Once you realise that companies are
full of competing interests, lots of people who sometimes work together to produce
something worthwhile, well you can really start to make things happen.

This book will change your behaviour (like it describes in
chapter five!), you will build alliances and coalitions to get real work done
but in a constructive way. It does make a difference.

I think the book is really interesting. There is no management fad
stuff here-just good honest plain speaking about the reality of
management. Politics can be constructive!

I was recommended this book by a friend who'd been on a course at Cranfield where these guys teach. I've been in management for years, and haven't read anything like it. It really got me going, I tell you. It was like a lot of common sense, but put in a way that gets you thinking. I mean, I've been using politics and all that stuff for years, but this got me to think about it, to understand why. Hoping to get on one of the courses next!(using the techniques they suggest, of course)

Wow - this is a real find. Read how to understand politics and make it work for you because you have to! Gets past the 'dirty dealing' stuff to show you just why management is all about politics and becoming powerful. Tell your friends - but not your enemies!!

This was really interesting. I hadn't thought of my work as a manager being all about constructive politics. The book shows you how thinking in these terms can help you work through all the power, relationship and influencing problems you face at work.
It challenged me to think much more about the company I work for and gave me practical ideas about how to improve my day to day work. I find myself thinking differently about my job and believe it or not I feel more relaxed about all the c**p that gets chucked at me because I can work out what is important and what isn't. I reckon I can it really make a difference...
Buy it!