Clarke Books

Pauline Clarke took the known history of the Bronte children, and created a powerful fantasy around this. Lynne Reid Banks, years later, did the same with a different non-historical toy in "The Indian in the Cupboard", but Clarke did it first. Of course Clarke's story about toys that are brought to life by being played with, in itself, is not original. Nor is the idea of the interaction between human and small people (for "small people" read "toys") original - not since Gulliver went to Lilliput, or, a year or two before Clarke, since Mary Norton invented a race of small "Borrowers" - another outstanding classic of children's literature.

Branwell Bronte, the ne'er-do-well son, would-be painter, and drug addict, had a set of toy soldiers, in the otherwise grim rooms of Haworth vicarage. These were a stimulus for all the children to play and tell stories, often stories about the soldiers, and their exploits in imaginary countries. The toy soldiers were given names, and characters. They were truly loved by Branwell and his sisters. Small wonder then, if the toys were somehow to be lost, and then more than a century later to be discovered by a small boy, who in turn loves them - and they come back to life, full of Bronte spirit and imagination.

The story of their "Return" turns into a quest, both for them to be restored to their rightful home, and for them to be allowed to be themselves, safe from prying humans, from museum dryness, and from interference, however well-meaning. Their "Return" is a quest of growing up, becoming independent, becoming people. Toys imbued with childish characteristics by the children who loved them, created them, and played with them, can only grwo up so much. Max, the twentieth century boy who re-discovers them can grow up far more.

This is a neglected classic - in its time a Carnegie Medal winner - the British equivalent for a children's book of an Academy Award.

It should also be noted that Clarke wrote many other outstanding books for children - sadly, also neglected - fantasies, historical novels, and plain (?) everyday (?) comedies of family life. She ought to be far better known. You could spend a year reading and not find anything as good as "The Return of the Twelve", also known as "The Return of the genii" in Britain.

Very highly recommended.

The idea for this book seems so obvious in retrospect that it's a small miracle that no one thought of writing it before 1962. It was really just a stroke of luck that author Pauline Clarke happened to be the one to put pen to paper and write the tale herself. Or rewrite it, depending on your interpretation. "The Return of the Twelves" takes a classic storytale form (toys coming alive in the presence of children) and ups the ante tenfold. It acknowledges the ingenuity of the Bronte children (placing far more importance on Branwell than he probably deserved) yet makes it lively enough to be perfectly understood by kids today. It's odd to say, but as fantasy tales go, "The Return of the Twelves" is timeless in all the best senses of the term. It's one of those little known children's books that everyone should at least have a passing familiarity with. One of the great little known books for kids.

Max has a secret. An incredible, mysterious, overwhelming secret. When he discovered a cache of old wooden soldiers in his family's new attic, he thought they were fun and all but nothing particularly special. Sure, his dad said that may be over a hundred years old, but that still wasn't too shocking. No, it was the fact that the soldiers were alive. Magnificently alive. Finding himself now a benevolent deity to a crew of twelve lively individuals, Max befriends his tiny pals and discovers their secrets. They were once the property of the Bronte children, years and years ago. Their exploits have been well recorded in "History of the Young Men" (by Branwell Bronte) and their names and personalities established therein. Yet when an American collector offers a high price for the Twelves, wherever they might be, Max finds his new friends threatened and acts of heroism and derring-do quickly follow.

The real genius of the book comes from the fact that Clarke began with something real ("History of the Young Men" WAS created by the four Bronte kids) and adapted it seamlessly with fantastical elements (living soldiers). The effect is that the book works like a slightly more mature "Indian in the Cupboard" or even "Toy Story". In the hands of a lesser artist, this tale would've been trite or cheap. Certainly the soldiers never really act like real men. They're perfectly content to scale great heights in the attic or act like toys in fake battles against chessmen. Still, Clarke is to be commended for giving each soldier an individual personality and history in keeping with that determined by the original Brontes.

Which is not to say that the book doesn't have its flaws. I mean, it was originally written in 1962. I think you can guess the state of the gender roles. Also, there are odd plot points that come up at interesting moments. An evil toy seeker near the end of the book adds a bit of "Huh?" to the overall proceedings. But as it is, the book has pretty much held up well. There are some scenes of genuine tension when the Twelves escape from Max's attic and attempt to make it to the Brontes' original home. And there are mysteries that remain long after the story finishes.

Overall, this is a fine piece of literature. Nothing dates it so much that kids today reading it won't be enthused by the characters' foibles, betrayals, and loyalities. And any boy or girl who stares at their dolls lovingly, hoping to bring them to true three-dimensional life, will empathize with this story. It's a lovely enchanting tale.

When 8 year-old Max discovers a box of 12 wooden soldiers
in Napoleonic uniforms, hidden in the attic of their new home,
he is naturally delighted. But is there a link between this old house and the Bronte museum nearby? His find becomes a rare
treasure when he realizes that The Twelves are alive, having
been endowed by their four genii (the literary Bronte children)
with incredible abilities: to think, speak, behave and regenerate their lives at will! Each man has his own name, appearance and identity, reflecting the various aspects of the children's own personalities. But how long can Max keep his precious secret, with two suspicious older siblings nosing about?

This charming tale of miniatures answers the questions posed by Margery Williams: what is real and how do toys come alive? Max must learn to trust first his sister, then even an adult, as he struggles to prevent the unthinkable: crass commercial sale and heartless exportation to America. What devastating deportation to the Young Men, as a result of media curiosity and a mercenary older brother. Is there no way they can be saved for literary England and preserved in safety where they truly belong? Young Max behaves in a surprisingly adult manner, as he insists on permitting the Twelves to chart their own destiny. Keeping their military dignity intact, they attempt and accomplish marvels of logistics with minimal aid. This is a cute, imaginative tale (which might inspire some interest in the original Four Genii), for children of all ages.

This large-format book really does justice to Rodin's work, with a very large number of photographs covering all his major works, often from several perspectives.

"Rodin: A Passion for Movement" by Dominique Jarrasse is an objective exploration of Rodin's major works based on three dimensions; movement, (as the title suggests), light and shade and the fragmented figure. These elements are explored through articulate text and beautiful, high-resolution photographs and drawings. The focus of the book is on Rodin's motivation and his alchemist method of modeling his figures to achieve the exact postures, which would give the sculpture a sense of movement. He paid an enormous amount of attention to the interplay between light and shade, taking from the masters, most notably Michelangelo. However, a great deal of controvesy surrounded Rodin's work based on his constant rejection from the academic community. In spite of his mastery, Rodin wasn't accepted because of his affinity for the fragmented figure, which he saw as a finished piece of work. This notion was affirmed by his quote, "I will never again make anything complete. I will make only antiques."(P. 46) The book begins with an analysis of "The Burghers of Calais", a monument to the six martyrs who surrendered the keys to the city of Calais to King Edward III during the Hundred Years War. The author explores the psychological undertones of each of the six men and Rodin's efforts to exact the pain and distress felt by these heroic men. Rodin paid close attention to the facial expressions of each of these figures in an effort to personify the different emotions these men and this monument symbolize. He chose a circular composition to depict the moment where these men were walking to the town hall, to meet King Edward and to meet death, creating a sense of eternal movement. Rodin established himself in the art world at the age of forty with a commission for the Musee des Arts Decoratifs. He found inspiration for this grandiose work from Dante's "Inferno", which he titled "The Gates of Hell." This work became "essentially an ode to sculpture" (p. 53) and took over twenty years for him to create. He reused fragments from other works that he created and many of his more famous works are found in this sculpture. At the top sits "The Thinker", which was Rodin's depiction of Dante. Rodin said, "His head on his fist, he wonders. Fertile thoughts slowly rise in his mind. He is not a dreamer. He is a creator." (p.90) Rodin was constantly studying and revising his fragmented forms. In Rodin's opinion these fragments were the essence to his work. Gustave Kahn explained, "The fragment is beautiful in itself, and the study of the fragment, a useful and legitimate thing." (p. 210) Throughout the book, the author includes a variety of photographs, however it would have been more informative had the author included many more of these studies and variations on each work.

This book depicts most of his major works with many color photographs. Likewise, a short narrative accompanies each photo describing the artist's inspiration, background and overall effect of each piece. A good book to accompany any novice wanting to learn more on Rodin.

What a great book. Things we should all know about the past, and not hide. I'm not in agreement with the slaves, but otherwise I think I could live in the Roman culture. What a pity we have been led to believe that sex is ... a sin,ugly, etc - Resist the evil forces that try to lead us, and try to conform us! We should be free ....

The greatest injustice a potential reader of this book could commit would be to see it as merely a handsomely illustrated presentation volume. As John R. Clarke writes in the introduction to this work, it presents a more adequate synthesis and overview of the findings and researches he has pursued on Roman sexuality over the last two decades or so. The essay, a series of discrete chapters, reveals the finest descriptions of Roman sexuality informed by the analysis of ceramic, fresco, and engraved art.

Most clever about Clarke's approach, similar in this respect to his earlier, more site-specific work, is the emphasis put on the interpretation of the artworks by recreating what Roman viewers would look for and find. Roman taboo and Roman prescriptions for the realm of sex differ profoundly from ours and Clarke explicitly draws the distinctions. He explains the narratives on the Roman walls with convincing acuity.

Images from Pompeii figure prominently here. Still, the author has also sought out and discusses more recent findings from Roman France as well as special items that seem finally ready to be shared by their keepers in private collections and museum holding rooms in Switzerland.

Clarke imaginatively and convincingly tries to set the images and objects of art into their original contexts. For example, the images of the Suburban Baths at Pompeii according to the author depict positions and situations that would induce laughter from Roman bathers, male and female alike, thus warding off the evil eye. I am not convinced that a frequent bather would continue to find the same fresco images comical and therefore a protection, but Clarke's understanding of Roman sexuality is stunning and gracefully communicated.

For those who wish to read a beautiful exposition of Roman intimate pursuits and daily encounters with the erotic, I recommend this book highly.

"Roman Sex" is a study and showcase of ancient Roman sexual practice as it was expressed in art 100 BC-250 AD. Issues related to sex, such as birth control, birth rates, or courting rituals are beyond the scope of this book. References to sex are plentiful in Roman literature, which was invariably written by elite males. Erotic art, on the other hand, adorned the homes and buildings of a broader swath of Roman society and therefore represented the attitudes of middle and working class Romans as well.

There are about 100 beautifully reproduced photographs of erotic paintings, mosaics, sculpture, and ceramics in "Roman Sex", primarily from Rome, Pompeii, and Herculaneum. But this isn't just a "coffee table" production. Historian and author John Clarke takes care to place the art within its original context, most often in people's homes, and in so doing asks us to put aside the modern ideas of "pornography" and "hetero-" or "homosexuality" that are barriers to viewing sex as the Romans did. Sex in its many forms was a gift from the gods. And erotic art was part of the daily lives of many Romans.

"Roman Sex" explores erotic art in the home, the sexual place of women, art in brothels and baths, the phallus as good luck talisman, and erotic art from Roman France. There is some exquisite art work on display in this book, as well as some paintings that are difficult to make out. The gestures and purposes of some pieces remain mysterious, and the rigid sexual hierarchy of Rome's elite makes for some amusing scenes. But we have the benefit of Clarke's scholarship in deciphering what it all meant to the Romans. "Roman Sex" provides a window on the erotic lives and values of Romans through their beautiful art.

Set in a future that is, by turns, bleak and beautiful, wildly fantastic and grittily real, this is, I think, a fine first novel by Clarke. Don't let the action-figure cover fool you - this is no computer game turned fiction. It's true science fiction, sure, that gives its characters more to do than blast things out of the sky. Not that there aren't things to blast, of course, for where would an action tale be without enemies? But everyone has a story and all characters have dimension. A simple tale of revenge is enriched with a sympathetic and complex cast. Unexpected and distinctive chapters enlighten a disturbing otherness. Indecision, obsession, emotional inhibition, narrowmindedness and a careless media are as much enemies to this future society as "Karaashi fighters." Everything is in place to make this a thoughtful read, whether or not you "like" science fiction. I was pleased that both the women and the men were capable and courageous. I want one of those AeroDarts to fly...

I am not generally a fan of science fiction but this book made a convert of me! It is an enthralling story with a strong and intelligent female lead, and is fastpaced and well written. In short, a great read!

A cool story with a lot of great characters - and for once, a woman is the lead character in a sci-fi novel!

Millions of people have or will find themselves in the dangerous situations Louise Laurel describes: single-income families struggling to survive and get ahead, parents pressured to accept society's slipping values, anyone out of work with nowhere to go, children who are tempted by peers, and combinations of all these. Where many books might list "steps to recovery" in a more academic method, Louise Laurel shows by true examples how to overcome life's many obstacles.

It must have taken a ton of courage to reveal Louise Laurel's (Daphne Clarke's) whole life to a world of strangers, but the people who read this book will be thankful the author chose to do it. As I finished the book, I kept thinking how wonderful it would be if the author would give talks to groups of people who might be facing the predicaments she discussed. From her writing style, it is obvious she would be an excellent public speaker.

The book content provides meaningful events and situations that are helpful in working with children in today's society. I love the spiritual implications reflected throughout the book. Such a book should be rewarding to young mothers. The authors shares unique values obtained obviously from family heritage.

The author describes how to raise children in a positive way and avoid the mistakes parents easily make that devastate their children and their family. This description is given through the personal life of a high achiever (Daphne L. Clarke (Luise Laurel)), a person who started with nothing and ended up with everyting: a happy family and financial security for all of them.

A difficult path (actually any path) in life can result in any extreme, positive or negative. For most of the people who are not priviledged at the beginning, the odds are easily biased on the negative side. Devastation, personal and financial, easily occurs (and is also known to occur to the best and most priviledged families too..). Daphne Clarke shows that it does not have to be like that. If we are prepared for the hardships in life, and at the same time we keep good balance of our personal financial situation (a mostly neglected element), we can avoid most hardships, raise our children successfully, and realize our potential - we may even dream for more.

A family (even a very poor one) with values and a reasonable financial stability (even at a minimum level of income) can provide the new generation with that special love familiar to all traditional cultures (the ancient Greeks called this special love storge), and allows dreams to come true. It finally allows society to better utilize the best resourse of them all: people.

This is a great book for anyone coming to Las Vegas. It covers everything from where to go, what to do and where to go to be seen. The in places and the hottest night spots, everything that makes Vegas, Vegas. If you are planning a trip to Vegas and want to know the ins and outs, here is your guide for the most up to date information on our city.
Ken Summerville
VEGASBUFFETS.COM

This book proves that Norm Clarke is the "go to" guy for anything and everything that has to do with what's in or not in Las Vegas. It is so much more than a guide, although it has lists for must-see resorts, hottest nightclubs and the Strip's best shows. It is also filled with fun facts on Vegas history, wildest wagers, and famous local characters. Not all of his statistics are accurate (Mickey Rooney only got married 4 out of 8 times in Vegas, not 8 out of 8, and he married Ava Gardner in Ballard, CA, not Sin City), but I still recommend this book as a great source of information.

"1000 Naked Truths" is an indispensable pocket guide for your next trip to Las Vegas. This book has insider tips for getting the most of out Sin City, whether you are on a budget or not. If you are raring to purchase a $1000 dollar martini - Body English at the Hard Rock Hotel is the place to go. At the other end of the spectrum might be the Double Down Saloon. Norm Clarke also takes the guess work out of where to hang to see the most outrageous celebrities and provides detailed scenarios for the ultimate bachelor parties. He also supplies a very handy list of the "top 10 places to propose" and "the top 10 oddest jobs" to be found in Las Vegas.

It is a very cool book, one that will provide ample intel about "what's hot" in Vegas right now and the best part is that after a short reading of it, you can seem to be as connected as Norm is.

Michael Hanlon has written a book which captures the excitement of getting Galileo to Jupiter. This includes lots of engineering and management fixes to keep things on track, as well as the euphoria when everything finally works, esp. with the atmospheric probe and the Jupiter orbital insertion. He also describes very well the neat science learned while in orbit, esp. the Europa ocean debate.

My only problem with the book is that it's kind of at the PR-level of knowledge. That is, if you were following along with the mission, then there's probably not a lot new to learn here. (If you weren't following along, then feel free to disregard this review! :-) There are some interesting new tidbits, like the proposed work on an underground lake in Antarctica, to prepare for a drilling mission on Europa.

Journeys of exploration have always been risky ventures. When the trip involves several years over millions of kilometres, the odds of unblemished success grow enormous. Engaging in such a venture in the realm of space, almost beyond the reach of human control suggests hazards beyond imagining. This book describes such a venture, perhaps the most ambitious ever undertaken. That the measure of success achieved was so great is a tribute to all those who planned and implemented it. Michael Hanlon gives us a ringside seat in his portrayal of the journey of the Galileo Mission to Jupiter. Although not a participant, he ably captures the dedication and skills of the Mission Team. Further, he's able to place us in the space vehicle as it traversed one of the most bizarre journeys ever undertaken.

The Galileo Mission was spurred by the preceding Pioneer and Voyager missions of the 1970s. These four robots cruised through the outer solar system, returning stunning views of the largest planet and its associates beyond. In doing so, they raised numerous and unanswerable questions about our neighbours in space. Unlike the previous probes, Hanlon takes us through the planning that led Galileo's flight to Venus, back past Earth to its final destination far out in the solar system. The efforts put into the flight brought Galileo to within 5 km of its intended position when it arrived at Venus - a staggering achievement.

All the planning and engineering couldn't prevent problems, however. NASA's attempt to open the main transmitting antenna failed when some minor pins failed to release. When Galileo arrived at its primary destination, the antenna looked like an umbrella wracked by high winds. NASA used other methods to maintain communication, resulting in the stunning images seen here. It was a frustrating experience for the mission team, yet Galileo added a treasure house of new information about our neighbours in space.

We are so accustomed to the notion that we are the sole home of life, that the problems surrounding Galileo's termination render this issue the most bizarre of the trip. Europa, the ice-coated satellite of Jupiter, may contain living organisms in its hidden sea. In order not to contaminate that life, if it exists, Galileo had to be purposely sacrificed. Hanlon describes the options and why each was considered worthwhile. Galileo went to explore the Jovian system and was still transmitting images as he completed this vividly descriptive work. He is to be commended for a gripping account. We may be the only life in this group of planets, but Galileo's records give us a major argument to continue our search for life elsewhere. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

In `The Worlds of Galileo', Mike Hanlon, one of Britain's leading newspaper science editors, relates how NASA's Galileo spacecraft overcame a series of severe problems and went on to revolutionise our understanding of the Jovian system.

Drawing upon interviews with the key participants, Hanlon explains the project's origin in the cash-strapped 1970s, the political travails of the early 1980s, and the redesign in the aftermath of the Challenger accident. After the spacecraft's epic voyage out to Jupiter, he focuses upon the astonishing `fire and ice' moons of volcanic Io and Europa, where there appears to be an ocean beneath a thin shell of ice.

Hanlon handles the geological discussion with ease, so this is a highly readable account. Certainly, Sir Arthur C. Clarke, who contributed the foreword, was impressed. Finally, St Martins Press is to be congratulated for having produced a very handsome volume with colour imagery throughout.

The games in this book are exciting and beautiful, and the annotations are informative and entertaining. The players (relatively unknown Soviet masters) rarely make obvious mistakes, and their games exhibit a very high degree of creativity and imagination. This is a charming book to have, a great addition to anyone's chess library.

Many thanks to Dover Publications for an inexpensive, attractive reprint of a terrific game collection!

I first read this book in 1972 or 1973. Seeing that it was back in print, I bought a copy last month and had just as much fun with it as I did the first time I read it. This time I went through all the games with a strong computer program. There are 100 games in this book, and there are around 300 major analytical errors, but they don't detract from the enjoyment of the games, nor from the overall high quality of the writing.

**Some Spoilers!***

Love how Clarke uses factual science like the most obvious crater on the moon to house the monolith, the tycho crater, as well as the very strange Saturn moon that has an all white side, Iapetus. How more obious can an alien make it for us to make first contact by keeping monoliths in the center of these obvious places? Besides the changes from jupiter orbit to the Saturn moon as staging grounds for the stargate I found the book to be similar to the movie/ book "Contact" by Carl Sagan. Not sure if you've seen or read, but i think Carl has read 2001. A signal from deep space was sent to earth in Contact and from the moon monolith to deep space in 2001. His story involved his character going through a wormhole to end up in a familiar earth environment (the beach) so as to be comfortable. Very similar here going through a stargate although in 2001 feeling comfortable is achieved in a hotel room, from that point however the stories change.

I did know that Bowman became something more from watching the sequel 2010 but not from 2001. Wonder why Kubrik left all that out.

Because it is a real classic of science fiction, but not just a genre-representation. It's a fine piece of literature, sci-fi or not. It tells the story of David Bowman and his travel to Saturn. His mission is to find about the first extraterrestrial signal of intelligence, detected in a monolithe which has sent it from the Moon to Saturn. On their way, Bowman and his colleague share the command of the spaceship with a computer, HAL, which suddenly awakes to life and consciousness. HAL goes mad and tries to destroy the mission, for reasons that will keep you thinking for a long time, with no clear result. Although you probably know the plot, I don't want to ruin it for other people.

This is a chilling book, enigmatic, disturbing and almost criptic in its overwhelming ending. It speculates about technological advancements, about the risks of artificial intelligence, and it opens the door to unsuspected and strangely verosimile possibilities about the Universe. If you haven't done it, see also Kubrick's movie: watch the Universe dancing Strauss's the Blue Danube and Bowman crossing into another dimension.

This is the third and final volume in the Al Capsella series. Time has flown since the second novel and Al and his friend Lou Pine are sixteen and beginning to assert their independence from "the Watchdogs," their parents. The summer holidays are near and Lou can't stand the thought of one more holiday with his parents at "Bilbar" their family vacation shack. The boys are dreaming of a holiday with discos, girls and freedom. Can Al come to the rescue with a scheme that will deliver their hopes?

This book strongly evokes the sense of change that so characterizes the late adolescence's life experiences: holiday jobs, learning to drive and final exams all feature. Even the socially inept Lou seems to have finally got himself a secret girlfriend. The novel's strongest point is that it manages to combine true teenage angst with a zest for life and a sense of the comic. Teenagers are encouraged to 'lighten up' while facing real difficulties.

All the novels in this series have a strong Australian flavor, so they are excellent in showing U.S. kids a different life style. This book particularly has a cross-cultural sub-plot.

"Are you boys going home from vacation?" everyone asks Al Capsella and his friend as they board a bus for Scutchthorpe. Alas for Al, he is going to Scutchthorpe for their vacation. But he won't need his surfboard unless it gets pretty windy by Reilly's Dam (a lot of things get lost in Reilly's Dam). The truth is, it has been a little while since I read this book and I don't remember every detail. But it might be the funniest book I've ever read. I couldn't recommend it to people after I read it because as I was trying to explain it I would start laughing uncontrollably. I think it is a complete book, I am 21 now and would read it again without hesitating, I think the last time I read it I was 20, so don't be afraid if you've passed your teenage years. I loved the other two Al Capsella books, maybe the Heroic Life is better, but this one is definitely the funniest. I especially recommend this to people who love Gordon Korman. For anyone who has ever wondered why birds fly south for the winter, J. Clarke might just be able to answer your question. This book just shouldn't be out of print!