Collins Books

For those dissatisfied with the ludicrous baggage of the world's gods and religions in seeking answers to questions on the origin of mankind and the source of human behaviour, Robert Ardrey is a good place to start. Though some of his conclusions are now outdated by modern research, no one has written with more poetry and skill on this topic than Ardrey. Throughout his quartet of books on human origins and behaviour [African Genesis is the first of the four] Ardrey shows how mankind is less of a fallen angel and more of a risen ape; and that man truly is still only a halfway house between the ape and the human being.

After a Broadway flop American playwright Robert Ardrey [author of the play Thunder Rock and the script for the film Khartoum among others] toured East and Southern Africa in the early 1960s. This was a time when astonishing fossil discoveries were being made in the Olduvai Gorge by the Leakey family and by others showing that humanoids had originated in Africa some 2 million years ago. Ardrey talked to the fossil-hunters, the palaeontologists and the anthropologists and learned all he could of the new discoveries and their implications for human origins and behaviour.

Ardrey's main thesis is that mankind was born in Africa over 2 million years ago, and for most of that two million years the species' success has been largely dependant on its ability to kill. Without that underlying hard edge the species would have vanished aeons ago along with all the others that failed to survive. And only if we take that unpalatable truth about ourselves into account can modern mankind be truly understood.

In this book Ardrey's hero is Australian-born palaeontologist Raymond Dart who discovered and named the first Australopithecus Africanus skull in the 1930s, and who correctly identified Africa as the first home of the human species and A. Africanus as a human ancestor in the face of ridicule and rejection by the scientific establishment for 30 years. The book is moving and beautifully written. If you want to understand human nature, and the possibilities for both the past and the future of the species, there is no better place to start than African Genesis.

African Genesis is a book that deals with experiments, scientific facts, and evolutionary developments. Even though its old you still have to respect all of the different information in this book. Ardrey's first explanation's are the importance of territory. He used two studies done by other Anthropologists. One with ants the other with birds. The red ant experiment was done by Eugene Maris, it was simply a little bridge that the ants wouldn't cross to leave their territory, but would cross when coming back. Eugene Maris's other works are explained in great detail in this book. His other experiments were more interesting. The bird experiment, done by Eliot Howard, explained the importance of a male establishing its territory before anything else; with birds and apes. It explains an error in Darwin's teachings of man, claiming that sexual tendencies are the first priority. Howard, in all his long career, never knew of a male bird, with territory, to lose a mate; nor a male bird without territory to gain one. Ardrey shows some of these same examples later in the book with gorillas.

Its stuff like this that makes me believe evolution over creation. Reading though the chapters the relationships of us to Australopithecus africanus or erectus is amazing. According to this book A africanus was a carnivorous smaller type of gorilla, erectus was a vegetarian and was bigger than africanus. Ardrey's Romantic fallacy deals with many animals that had true emotions and showed some examples. You see its all evolution. The last chapter is a laudatory approach to free speech. Ardrey is humble about agreeing with him or not, but not to ignore natural sciences brought to us. We are an unfinished revolution he says. He continues and then relates back to Africa's origin of man. The next book I will look for is where this one left off; for this left off at our stage. I would have liked him to continue and explain how all the different races formed if we came from Africa. But that may be too much for this book. What matters is after you read this book you have a clear understanding of Darwin's decent of man. You know that evolution is a long process and has many debates (like Ardrey's 24 paragraph debate of evidence that the use of weapons is a human legacy from the animal world). Anybody that is interested in the evolution of man and African anthropology, you'll want to start with this book.

For those dissatisfied with the ludicrous baggage of the world's gods and religions as the origin of mankind and the source of human behaviour, Robert Ardrey is a good place to start. Though some of his conclusions are now outdated by modern research, no one has written with more poetry and skill on this topic than Ardrey. Throughout his quartet of books on human origins [African Genesis is the first of the four] Ardrey shows how mankind is less of a fallen angel and more of a risen ape; and that man truly is still only a halfway house between the ape and the human being.

After a Broadway flop American playwright Robert Ardrey [author of the play Thunder Bay and the script for the film Khartoum among others] toured East and Southern Africa in the early 1960s. This was a time when astonishing fossil discoveries were being made in the Olduvai Gorge by the Leakey family and by others showing that man had originated in Africa some 2 million years ago. Ardrey talked to the fossil-hunters, the palaeontologists and the anthropologists and learned all he could of the new discoveries and their implications for human origins and behaviour.

Ardrey's main thesis is that mankind was born in Africa over 2 million years ago, and for most of that two million years the species' success has been largely dependant on its ability to kill. Without that underlying hard edge the species would have vanished aeons ago along with all the others that failed to survive. And only if we take that unpalatable truth about ourselves into account can modern mankind be truly understood.

The book is moving and beautifully written. If you want to understand human nature, and the possibilities for the future of the species, there is no better place to start than African Genesis.

I feel like I'm being a little generous giving this one four stars for two reason: (1) It's quite dated - So much has been learned and written, both in formal and popular science circles, since this book was first published in 1961, the arguments Ardrey puts forth are not quite as true to the mark as they once appeared to be, but more importantly (2) Ardrey's style of writing is much less suited to today's readership than it must have been 40 years ago. He ceaselessly anthropomorphosizes his animal characters far past where it's proper. This tends to detract from his overall arguments in today's more savvy readership.

Still, Ardrey had a point to make. And it's a good one. The struggle for survival in the natural world is the game our ancestors played as well, and we're here because we were good at it - better than our ancestors competing for the same niche. That's why we're here and they're not.

This book is also a starting point from which popular anthropology has its base. It was very shortly after this point in time that the Leakeys came into the public arena in a big way. So it's interesting to see where the forefront of the public view was at this point in time. There's a fairly decent summary of the work done up to that point as well. Fellows like Dart, who pioneered the field of modern physical anthropology, tend to get forgotten in the frenzy of activity that followed in the 60's and beyond. For these reasons, the book is worth getting.

Finding Ardrey's "African Genesis" may be a chore. But the Amazon book search worked for me, ...

African Genesis is a book that deals with experiments, scientific facts, and evolutionary developments. Even though its old you still have to respect all of the different information in this book. Ardrey's first explanation's are the importance of territory. He used two studies done by other Anthropologists. One with ants the other with birds. The red ant experiment was done by Eugene Maris, it was simply a little bridge that the ants wouldn't cross to leave their territory, but would cross when coming back. Eugene Maris's other works are explained in great detail in this book. His other experiments were more interesting. The bird experiment, done by Eliot Howard, explained the importance of a male establishing its territory before anything else; with birds and apes. It explains an error in Darwin's teachings of man, claiming that sexual tendencies are the first priority. Howard, in all his long career, never knew of a male bird, with territory, to lose a mate; nor a male bird without territory to gain one. Ardrey shows some of these same examples later in the book with gorillas.

Its stuff like this that makes me believe evolution over creation. Reading though the chapters the relationships of us to Australopithecus africanus or erectus is amazing. According to this book A africanus was a carnivorous smaller type of gorilla, erectus was a vegetarian and was bigger than africanus. Ardrey's Romantic fallacy deals with many animals that had true emotions and showed some examples. You see its all evolution. The last chapter is a laudatory approach to free speech. Ardrey is humble about agreeing with him or not, but not to ignore natural sciences brought to us. We are an unfinished revolution he says. He continues and then relates back to Africa's origin of man. The next book I will look for is where this one left off; for this left off at our stage. I would have liked him to continue and explain how all the different races formed if we came from Africa. But that may be too much for this book. What matters is after you read this book you have a clear understanding of Darwin's decent of man. You know that evolution is a long process and has many debates (like Ardrey's 24 paragraph debate of evidence that the use of weapons is a human legacy from the animal world). Anybody that is interested in the evolution of man and African anthropology, you'll want to start with this book.

As Mrs. Brogan nurses her son along with Dan and Sun Dance, she weaves a marvelous tale of her childhood. It reminds all children that their parents were small once too and thinking that maybe parents are as dull as you might think. The shocking conclusion will leave you waiting on pins and needles for the next book in this funny, exciting series.

Amber Cat was a good book; of course, it was confusing, as all 2 of the 2 books (Dog Friday, Amber Cat) that I read so far by Hilary McKay were. It was confusing as in it didn't exactly give some important details; some so important that you couldn't exactly picture the few scenes, although there were options floating around my head when I read these parts, but none were right, and I will now never know, given to the fact that the author didn't explain the parts and details well enough so that I could see them in my head. But the book made a point, unlike a lot of other books, and it didn't carry on and on with one boring subject, as some other books do also. I also think that Sun Dance's mind was a little jumbled, and that Mrs. Brogan's stories about her childhood were very fascinating and sounded fun. I think that when Robin was going to build a raft, it was not a good idea either. Harriet was very interested and I really enjoyed reading about her and everybody else.

Robin Brogan,Mrs. Borgan Robin's mother and Robin's best friend Dan are the main characters of the story. The Amber Cat is a sequel to Dog Friday and if you like it you will for sure like the Amber Cat. I read Dog Friday first and liked it but if you read Amber Cat first you might not understand it very well. The Amber Cat goes back to when Robin's mother was a kid. Robin's mother has a friend that was alive when her parents were kids. Mrs. Borgan was telling this story when Robin , Dan, and Sun Dance had the Chicken pox. Robin's uncle Charlie was there one summer when they were kids. He hasn't seen Robin since his dad died. Charlie, Robin's uncle, was coming to visit Robin and his mother. The Amber Cat goes back to when Robins mother was a kid.Why I like these books is because they are strange books and thats the tipe of books that I like. Robin finds a dog and since he found him on Friday Robin calls him Friday.

This book is about a mother who stays home with three boys while they have the Chicken Pox. She tells them an amazing story about when she was 11 and played at the beach with her cousins and a mysterious girl named Hillary. The author made me feel like I was right there watching them. I felt like I was in a secret world. There were many characters with interesting personalities. The ending left me thinking everything through again in my mind. I would highly recommend this book!

This was one month's selection for our Mother-Daughter reading group. Half the group couldn't get past the first three chapters (that's never happened before!), and the other half of the group persevered and finished the book, and LOVED it. The beginning is very confusing and there are so many characters introduced, that it's hard to keep track of who's who. Right up until the last chapter, there are things that are unexplained, so it's like putting a puzzle together AFTER you've read the book. This is a book best read silently by yourself---too complex to read aloud. The author does a wonderful job of weaving magic about how we influence the lives of those around us, as well as those who come after, and how others who came before have influenced our lives. My daughters (9 and 10) and I loved this book.

In short: a strait-laced Professor is asked to write a tell-all book about the less-than-perfect Petrefacts.

To the average writer, this scenario could probably get a little tee-hee from the readers, but leave it to Sharpe to throw into the mixture the riotous "Ablution Bath", some midgets (or PORG - Persons of Unrestricted Growth), a sex toy factory, an outrageous interrogation / Silence Of The Lambs-themed chapter, and a crazy carwash incident and you get Tom Sharpe at his best yet again. Even the scene where Lord Petrefact explains to Croxley what he'd like served for dinner is a gem on its own.

Now, I'm the type who throws a book to the nearest bin when the ending is less than ideal but somehow, whenever I read Tom Sharpe's books, as far off as they are to having conventional happy endings, I always manage to put them back on my shelf with a huge smile on my face. So do yourself a favour and grab this book - I'm sure you owe yourself a good long laugh!

Tom Sharpe writes some very wicked satire. His victims are typically the upper class, snobby English or, in his earlier works, the hypocritically rascist South Africans. Although very popular in the UK, his books are almost unknown in America ... too bad!

In 'Ancestral Vices' we have a loosely stiched story about a crusty and warped aristocratic family, a befuddled biographer, victimized dwarves, and a murder. It's a total farce. However the author's wit and humor are lethal, and the story somehow holds together until the very end (or near so).


Bottom line: perhaps not a classic but 'Ancestral Vices' does Tom Sharpe some justice. Recommended.

Introduced to Tom Sharpe's work by a Brit friend, I can't get enough of this amazing author! "Ancestral Vices" literally made my cry with laughter. Yapp's horrifying experience with the "Ablution Bath" sent me into gales of giggles, as did the run amok motorized wheelchair scenario. Lord Petrefact, Willie Coppett, the sex toy factory...all of it was enough to make a cat laugh. Sharpe is warped, twisted, and totally delightful! Simply, hysterically funny!

This book is funny - if you can stand grown-up humor and aren't one of those sexophobic weirdos. And besides being hillariously funny (had to laugh out loud just thinking about it), it is very highly intelligent, massively satiric, thrilling and thoroughly British. Not too intellectual, but not for dimwits either. If you don't like this book you are probably dead.

Tom Sharpe is the most hilarious writer. Ancestral vices is another piece of mad cap mayhem from the master.Fast paced laugh out loud parts. Its always one thing after another with Tom sharpe. Left-wing academics(Yapp)put up against,right-wing capitalists(the Petrefacts),throw in a sex toy factory a bunch of country bumpkins,and dwarves and this is what you get. Like I said total hilarious mayhem.

I have never met such a book. It is a plain pleasure to take it, sit down with a cup of tea and spend some hours (!literally!) on observing the life of those people or looking for all the hidden jokes made with the perspective, composition, citations, self references... So in fact anyone in my family is happy because of this Journey: my 3 years old son as well as my wife and me.

BTW we are Polish, so, as you can guess, there is no language barrier. Anyone on the world could take this book and just start to read and appreciate it.

Wonderful book. I take it on trips if I need a gift for a wide range of children. With no words, the reading level is not a factor. Full of visual jokes, historical buildings, modern characters hidden in the crowds, famous art and buildings, childrens games, similarities from one page to another ...

The parents love it even more than the kids. It takes days to spot all the interesting things hidden in this book and it's a painless way to talk about history and art with a child. PERFECT for babysitters to use.

As in other Anno works, an anonymous Everyman is seen in each two-page textless illustration. In this book, the traveler begins his trek alone, buys a horse and rides through progressively more populated scenes -- magnificent scenes, filled with literary and artistic allusions, mini-stories, children playing, panorama and touching detail -- all at the same time! Scenes are viewed as if you were just outside the picture and about 40 feet high. The reader/viewer cannot see the details of people's faces, but much human experience and emotion is contained in small details -- children despairing after a lost balloon, flirting lovers, a mother touching her child, etc.

Your child will appreciate this work through many 'reading' levels, and you will constantly make new discoveries yourself.

Mitsumasa Anno's books are not to be missed, and Anno's Journey is a beautiful example of the author/illustrator's work.

I am so glad I discovered this book. My children enjoy telling a different story every time we open it. The fact that there are no words in it makes the children invent a new story each time, and I believe it develops their imagination better in a way, than with a storybook with pictures. I also like the art involved in this book, the minute details that the author/artist had included are adorable! I enjoy reading it myself! Each page reveals several goings-on in a small town, it is so easy to imagine yourself walking among the characters.

A testament to the peace and charm of simple drawings executed with grace. A wordless book that, while made for children, is still able to captivate even the most jaded of us hipsters with its simplicity.

The author is an expert in quilting. She generously shares her experience and knowledge with the readers in a format that is easy to understand and appreciate. The samples are adventurous in both color and structural design.
A must-have in your library.

Sally Collins' Art Of Machine Piecing [...] tells how to use precision piecing methods to help attain quality quilts. Almost fifty traditional blocks are represented in the course of explaining how machine piecing works.

Sally Collins has outdone herself with this book. In our modern day society, there is an emphasis on speed - everyone rushes around trying to squeeze in as many activities and projects into each minute of every day. This sometimes has the unfortunate consequence of less attention to detail and the result is sloppiness. In this book, Sally shows the quilter how to slow down and enjoy the process of creating each quilt block.

She starts her book with a chapter on Philosophy and Creativity and her deep love for quilting is very evident in the words that she uses. Phrases such as "..take pleasure in the journey", "..experience the joy and bliss that quiltmaking gives each of us". She views errors as "gifts...opportunities for success" and says that "problem solving is a real key to finding the joy in quiltmaking". With these statements, she removes the fear of making mistakes and turns errors into learning opportunities. She states that quality workmanship is not just about perfect sewing, but also knowing how to solve problems as they occur. One would be tempted to skip this introduction and jump right into the technique and block sections - this is a mistake. It may sound a bit corny, but after reading these pages, I was inspired at the prospect of making miniature blocks rather than being intimidated as I know most quilters are by the tiny pieces used in small scale blocks.

She follows the introduction with a detailed section on tools and explains what they are used for which is very helpful. A chapter on Color and Fabric is next and she does a wonderful job explaining the importance of color and fabric selection in general and also how to select appropriate fabrics for small scale blocks. There are a number of helpful example images that accompany the text. As we progress further into the book, we begin to learn about designing blocks and drafting. She goes into detail on how to draft blocks from beginning to end, a discussion that I found fascinating. Sprinkled throughout this chapter and each of the ones that follow, there are tip boxes titled "Noteworthy" that are filled with valuable information.

For the quilter interested in improving their accuracy in assembling blocks, the chapter entitled "Workmanship" is without question, the most valuable one to read - and should be read through several times to reinforce key concepts. Sally discusses various factors that cause problems from cutting to sewing to pressing. The bottom line is that the quilter needs to pay careful and close attention to each step of the process. Her quilting experience is evident in the tips on pinning, blocking, and measuring that she includes.

The last chapter before starting the block section deals with various construction techniques, such as assembling half square triangles, English Paper Piecing, and using bias bars. But, she does not stop there - she ends the chapter with a detailed and well illustrated tutorial on matching seams, a very important factor in sewing quilt blocks and one that is rarely addressed in instructional quilting books.

The Block Collection consists of forty-nine blocks with familiar names such as Churn Dash, Dresden Plate, or Bear's Paw and six of the blocks are her own designs. Each block is accompanied by a color photograph and includes template outlines and color coded measurements for three, four, and six inch blocks. She always includes a tip or two appropriate to the block, perhaps about construction or color selection. Each of these blocks is used in her quilt that she discusses in the last chapter. I was fortunate to see this quilt at a show and can vouch for its beauty and attention to detail. I spent several minutes looking at various blocks and marvelling at how well she put it together. If you are interested in making a similar one for yourself, she includes the instructions for the quilt along with fabric requirements.

She concludes the book with more eye candy in the form of a Gallery of full color photographs of quilts that she has made using the blocks in the book to whet the appetite of the reader. An alphabetic index and a brief biography of the author can be found on the final pages of the book.

It is well worth taking the time to read the book from cover to cover before embarking on the blocks. The instructions are clear and concise and well presented from a visual standpoint. This is definitely one to add to the collection!

this is a wonderful book for a quilter of any level of skill or experience.

i have no plans (right now!) to work at the scale the author enjoys, and i do not intend to enter any comptetitions, but i still want to do the best work i can. just one quick reading has improved my technique. thanks to ms. collins, i am more aware of how i am cutting, piecing and sewing, and more aware of what the machine is doing, can do, or will do. some of what she writes about i knew, some i never considered, some advice i've seen in other publications, but having all of this information in one source reinforces the lessons.

even if you have other technique or block books on your shelf, you will benefit from this one. as other reviewers have mentioned, ms. collins accepts the time and attention that good craftmanship requires, and encourages her readers to put that time and attention into their work.

This book is a must read for ANY quilter, whether working with regular or miniature pieces. Thanks to Ms. Collins for sharing all these terrific ideas.

Very wonderful writing and not that I know anything about the reality but it does seem realistic.

Ashenden was particularly admired by Raymond Chandler, and that is what first interested me in it. It is the story, based on Maugham's own experience, of a British spy in the first world war. The 'story' is more a series of separate episodes, and I can easily imagine why it appealed to Chandler -- as well as the laconic detachment of the writing, there is almost a feel of Hammett here and there, notably the episode of the Hairless Mexican. Much of the action centres round Geneva, a city I personally like, and there is a peculiar fascination in the voyage of the lake-steamer going in and out of the war-zone as it alternates between Switzerland and France. This kind of spy did not have much in common with the heroes of Len Deighton or John Le Carre -- the job reminds me more of how J K Galbraith described the life of an ambassador, ninety percent boredom and ten percent panic, like being an airline pilot. It has its grim side too as you would expect. One of the most memorable pieces is the story of the traitor Grantley Caypor. Some years ago Ashenden was serialised on the BBC, with Caypor superbly played by Alan Bennett. What that production did not even try to reproduce was what happened at the moment of Caypor's execution, unforgettable in Maugham's cold prose.

Worth a read for historical reasons as it is one of (if not the) first modern spy novels. That said, it is very far away from the intricately woven page-turners featuring brainy CIA types bedding winsome females that we tend to think of as being sp novels today. Maugham served in the British intelligence corps in WWI and drew heavily upon his own experiences in writing this book, indeed the epynonymous hero is a well-known writer by profession. Each chapter is almost its own vignette, illustrating some experience or aspect of the intelligent agent's life. The theme is that the agent's life is marked by dullness and inability to know the "big picture." Ashenden is based in Switzerland and undertakes his assignments (none of which involve gunplay or physical prowess) dutifully, yet the reader feels, with a certain ambivalence. There is one especially haunting scene where, for once, Ashenden witnesses firsthand, the repercussions of his actions.

Considered by many afficionados of the Spy Novel genre` as the first of it's kind. Written in 1928, the book is a series of stories loosly connected to reveal the sometimes tedious, sometimes adventureous events in the work of a spy in MI5 during the latter stages of World War I. Maugham is given credit by Graham Greene and Eric Ambler as being their inspiration and Ian Flemming borrowed much from the book, including M who was "R" in Maugham's book. Maugham was given the impossible task to squelch the Bolshivic revolution with 56,000 pounds given to him by the government of Lloyd George and he fictionalizes this in the story "Mr. Harrington's Washington." The story "The Hairless Mexican" inspired Hitchcock to write and direct the movie "The Secret Agent" with John Guilgud and Peter Lorrie. This book to my thinking is one of the hidden classics in literature, written by a writer highly underrated because of his popularity and some of his later works that he did purely for money. A must for lovers of the Edwardian period and those who ever wondered where the Burbury Trench Coat came from.

"Ashenden" by Somerset Maugham is one of the grandfathers of the spy fiction genre. In reality, it's not really a novel, but eight short stories featuring Ashenden, a novelist-secret agent during WWI. Each story is unique, some focusing on the violence and duplicity of the secret world (e.g., "The Hairless Mexican," "Guilia Lazzari," and "The Traitor"). Others are less about espionage than quiet character studies (for example, the final story, "The Sanatorium," has nothing whatever to do with spying, but is set in a tuberculosis sanatorium and--though a it's a bit sentimental--is a brilliant character study of the patients and, in particular, of those who find love in the midst of adversity). I found it deeply touching.

I must admit this the first I've read of Maugham and was impressed with his ability in a single paragraph to get to the very essence of a character (perhaps the best example being his vivid characterization of the funny, but tragic Mr. Harrington in "Mr. Harrington's Washing"). Each of Maugham's characters are distinct and finely drawn.

Maugham at one time analyzed himself as in the first rank of the second rate writers. He may not be Dostoevsky or Cervantes, but he was a fine writer who deserves to be read-I think it's more accurate to say he's in the second row of the first rate writers.

I only found out about "Ashenden" from one of the terrific essays of Michael Dirda (the reviewer for the Washington Post) in which he constantly brings to light lost classics.

"Ashenden" is readable, convincing, and (despite its WWI setting) relevant to the events of today. The secret and desperate world of war and espionage will be with us forever it seems; Maugham's themes are timeless and his writing is a model of clarity.

This is a lost classic that should be read.

Known for the wit of his English mysteries, Barnard takes his time setting up the plot elements of "The Bad Samaritan," which revolves around the back-biting congregation of St. Saviour's church.

Rosemary Sheffield, the vicar's wife, has lost her faith, an event she finds liberating. Her husband's congregation does not share her sanguine view, however. Upon her return from a short holiday, which has made her acutely aware of the Bosnian war through her friendship with a refugee waiter, Rosemary finds plots afoot to oust her from her role in church activities.

While not particularly attached to these activities, Rosemary resents the plotters' methods. And when her refugee friend turns up at the vicarage, she must aid him and thwart the tide of gossip as well. The murder, when it finally occurs, bringing in Barnard's black detective Charlie Peace, serves to force all the undercurrents out in the open. As much a witty novel of manners as a suspenseful mystery, "Samaritan" is distinguished by its crisp writing and wry perception of character.

An engaging mystery of the British cozy variety, wherein a vicar's wife loses her faith and becomes the object of vicious parish political maneuvering that ends in homicide. I bought this book with the intention of reading it over the coming week. In reality, I stayed up reading it most of the night that I purchased it. Highly recommended!

The main ingredients for a wonderful literary feast: Take one Rosemary Sheffield, a pastor's wife who has lost her faith, add one young man named Stanko who has fled Bosnia and what results is gossip, rumors of scandal and even a murder. All of this is liberally seasoned with wit, detail and irresistable dialogue. The psychological suspense will keep you guessing what will happen next and there is just enough complexity to maintain interest without slowing the pace. Very moving, very satisfying and highly recommended!

When a member of the Church of England parish of St. Savior's is found murdered following a picnic, the crime investigation is undertaken by Detective Constable Charlie Peace and his boss Mike Oddie. Charlie is a likeable protagonist who prefers working alone. The dirty tricks and vicious maneuverings of the people of St. Savior's remind him of his own upbringing in a predominantly black parish in Brixton. Charlie plows ahead seeking answers to his questions as he interviews people repeatedly. When Charlie acts friendly, the wise suspect is on guard. Barnard's twenty-ninth novel has enough twists to keep it entertaining and the plot is very tight and believable.

Rosemary Sheffield feels that she needs some time to find herself! The wife of a pastor, she has "lost" her faith; she has become quite disoriented. Off she goes on a seaside holiday to "find herself." And , once again, veteran writer Robert Barnard maintains his true-to-form style in "The Bad Samaritan." While at the resort, Rosemary meets--and befriends--a young Bosnian named Stanko, who's fled to England to escape the horrors of his homeland. Rosemary finally returns home and, anon, soon appears the young man, whom she helps to get a job in her town. Of course, it's not long before rumors begin. The rumors evolve into murder and Barnard's amiable pair Detective Constable Charlie Peace and his boss Mike Oddie are called in to find the murderer. Barnard's writing, full of dry wit, sharp dialogue, a viable plot, all combine to make "The Bad Samaritan" a excellent read. Barnard paces his novels with a brilliance that makes simply turning the pages worthwhile. Well-versed in literature and human nature, Barnard knows that "one good deed deserves another" and "love thy neighbor" are not always to be taken literally! (Billyjhobbs@tyler.net)

We pay plenty of attention to winners in history, but there have to be even more losers out there. Losers who may have been clever, may have been original, may have dreamed the big, impossible dream, and worked hard on their paths to fame and riches, but because of mere fortune, or cupidity, or bad choices, found the path did not lead to success. Failure just is not interesting, or at least most failures are not. But some are, and Paul Collins tells about some amazing ones in _Banvard�s Folly: Thirteen Tales of Renowned Obscurity, Famous Anonymity, and Rotten Luck_ (Picador). Collins has done good research to bring us these funny true stories and has a dry, sharp style that is a delight.

The title tale is about John Banvard, who in the 1850s �was the most famous living painter in the world, and possibly the first millionaire artist in history.� Why haven�t you heard of him before now? Because time swallowed him up. Banvard sailed down the Mississippi and sketched all he saw on the 3,000 mile voyage. He then painted what he had sketched, producing the biggest picture ever, said to be three miles long. The panorama was rolled up, and he displayed it on stage as it rolled by, while he gave narration and was accompanied by piano waltzes he had commissioned. His performance pieces were slow at first, but became a sensation, as he played Boston, New York, and then London, where he impressed the royal family and Charles Dickens. Banvard spent time in London museums, being taught to read hieroglyphics; he then sailed down the Nile to make another panoramic painting. He was troubled with those sincerest flatterers, imitators; he had made a huge fortune, but his invention was so popular that scores of other panoramas were on tour. He decided to set up, instead, as a museum keeper, his huge display of curios in a massive New York building, described as the best museum in Manhattan. In this, he was in competition against P. T. Barnum, who was by far the most capable promoter, and Banvard returned to the frontier where he was once again a poor and unknown painter. A few panels of his many paintings are all that remain of his work.

Here you will find the astonishing story of Englishman William Henry Ireland, born in 1775, who because his father never thought much of his writing, started forging plays by Shakespeare, and created a literary sensation. We read also the sad story of Delia Bacon, who was one of the first lunatics to write profusely on the theory that Shakespeare was not Shakespeare, but was a front for a collaborative effort by Walter Raleigh, Edmund Spenser, and Francis Bacon. A lighter note is the story of Robert �Romeo� Coates, whose beyond-hammy acting brought down the house, when his Romeo died not once but three times. There is a chapter on Blondlot�s N-rays, probably the most famous incident described in the book, an incident of scientific self-delusion. There is one on John Cleves Symmes, an Ohioan who did everything he could to convince his countrymen about the holes at the poles of the Earth which would lead to its hollow core. There�s one on A.J. Pleasanton, who shined blue light on everything imaginable and improved it.

And more. Collins has done an amazing amount of research into long-lost books and pamphlets to bring us these astonishing instructive stories and amazing cautionary tales, the sorts of tales that the proverb �Truth is stranger than fiction� was coined for. He has wry comments within his storytelling which makes reading his words great fun, and the stories are incomparable. Losers were never so fascinating.

Nowadays Andy Warhol's 15 minutes truism is rendered mundane by the endless parade of incongruous celebrity imposed by today's incessant Media spectacle. This book brings the idea that we are very likely mistaken in our estimation of contemporary fame profoundly to life. The fact that some of the greatest artist our culture has produced labored in obscurity among their contemporaries is a familiar one. This eye-opening book explains why this is so.

By focusing on the past when Media was not so omnipresent we see that the random and ever changing quality of popular tastes always pertain. Through his re-telling of these 13 now obscure curiosities the author achieves valuable insight into the sometimes ludicrous, often venal whims and fancies that propel some issues and their advocates into the vanguard of the public mind.

The prose occasionally suffers from what I'd call journalism. As I read the first story I wished the author had been able to breathed greater life into the facts presented. In the hands of someone more ambitious some of these tales might stand more clearly as metaphor or epiphany. Of course they might just as easily have lost their focus on the valuable idea that contemporaneous enthusiasms are almost inevitably misguided. And in hindsight most, like the delightful story of Psalmanazar, could not be improved upon.

Don't ignore the further reading supplement. Finding it somewhat dry at first I almost did. It's interest lies in the gathered details presented of how one finds such obscurities.

Perhaps writing a book about failure, anonymity and obscurity is tempting fate ever so slightly - it would almost seem ironic if this book was a runaway success. Yet, it deserves to be; Collins crafts a book in which we empathize with the characters: we genuinely want their lives to be successes, despite knowing that ultimately, they wont be. At times, I felt like screaming at the book 'No! Don't do it!'

Painful as the 13 (not coincidentally chosen, I'm sure) stories are, they make compulsive reading. My favourites included the one about a visionary man who intended to build a pneumonic public transport system in New York City, and the story of the medical powers of blue light.

There were, of course, some chapters that I didn't find as arresting - not because they weren't well written, but because they weren't on subjects that I am interested in - however, curiously enough, when I gave it to my mother to read, she found the chapters that I didn't like as much the MOST interesting.

This is Paul Collins's first book, and I just hope that it doesn't wind up being his last, because the overriding feeling at the end of book was of wanting more, and what better indicator is there of a good book?

The author brilliantly captures the misery of those who tried, succeeded and then stumbled into oblivion.

Bulls epitaph "HE SOWED,OTHERS REAPED" sums up most of the stories, although greed, a flare for the untruth, and insouciance played a leading role in many of the cases. The ultimate failures of these people is treated with good humor but also with respect and to some of us, it gets a bit too close to home for comfort.

An extraordinary and facinating collection of tales. Beautifully written and obviously researched in great depth.

When McSweeney's magazine first ran Paul Collins' work, they printed a sort of reverse disclaimer, saying something like "Paul Collins does not lie. Paul Collins teaches at a Christian college." I thought of this constantly while reading this book, because it veers in and out of (sur)reality. But, although it reads like fiction, it's all apparently true. If I had my way, there would be twice as many illustrations (A couple of the subjects aren't even pictured. Maybe something can be scared up for the paperback). The photograph of Rene Blondlot is too hilarious to be believed. Also, I think some of these characters merit their own books, especially Banvard, Psalmanazzar, and the subway man.

But this book is really fun, especially for the car obsessed. Four different colors of bears race around a crazy race track, going "over" and "under", "around" and "behind" and playing dirty tricks on each other in rhyme. Not a cloying book like many others in the series. A favorite for ages 3 to 4.

My 23 month old is really into cars. He wants to read this book over and over and over. It is really cute and teaches 5 colors and five car "sounds", along with up, down, around, and through. I think it's hilarious when the "big mean green car" plays a dirty trick and my son says "OH NO!". It also teaches the lesson of persitence and patience. Very fun book!

This is such a cute book, both for toddlers but also for new readers. It rhymes thoughout the book and basically, is the story of the tortoise and the hare but with racecars. It's really, really cute, rhymes well, and makes learning to read quite the fun time. Highly recommend!

Our 23-month-old toddler really loves this book. If you have a child who loves cars, get this book! It's really charming, humorous and fun for the parent, too.

My nephew has this book almost memorized, he enjoys the story so much. The race cars are illustrated in bright colors making learning fun. The excitement builds throughout the book, and the story teaches a message about persistence. I would recommend this book for any public or private library.