Ford Books

This manual is great for any piece of writing. It is very helpful even when editing or proofreading. You won't regret having bought this book.

My daughter used the 4th edition in high school English class and loved it so much that she wanted the next version for college. It seems easy to use and a good reference.

I purchased this book for an English course three years ago. Unfortunately, sometime in the last year or so, I lost it. I actually had to buy it again because I keep going to the bookshelf to reference it, and then remember it's not there. This book is just as useful in my everyday life as it once was in college. You probably need it too.

This book (or something like it) is a must for an author's reference library.

It talks about the writing process: how to get started, writing drafts, editing. It talks about structuring sentences, punctuation, mechanics, etc.

It's got red tab dividers, so you can easily consult the book.

A good handbook to have.

It is a good handbook for writing. It is brief, to the point and easy to follow. Great tips for research and becoming an improved writer.

I am somewhat embarrassed to admit that until recently I had never heard of this book. However, I saw it on Harold Bloom's list of books comprising the "Western Canon" and, since I like Collins, I decided to read it. What I find! I am at a loss to understand why this book is not better known, because in this book Collins truly rivals Dickens in plot development and characterization. "The Moonstone" and "The Woman in White" are classics, but "No Name" is better. Yet it is almost unknown, and I understand that for a long time it was out of print.

The less you know about this book the better. This is because it is one of the most ingeniously plotted books I have ever read, so it is best to be taken by surprise with the plot twists. Suffice it to say that it is about two sisters in a well to do Victorian household who discover, after both their parents die in fairly short order, that they are illegitimate and have no rights of inheritance. Norah, the older sister, passively accepts her fate and finds work as a governess, but Magdalen, the younger sister and the book's central character, becomes obsessed with revenge and with getting back the fortune which is rightfully hers. In this she is assisted by a charming rogue named Horatio Wragge. Read the book and see what happens! I think you'll agree that it is one of the best reads of your life.

Wilkie Collins, best know for "The Moonstone" (which I have read and loved) and "The Woman in White" (which I have not read yet) is at his best in "No Name". I do not compare it to the "Moonstone" for the "Moonstone" is a great mystery for which the reader must wait to the end for it to be revealed. "No Name" is not a mystery but one great chessmatch, that oddly enough is not played by Magdalen and Noel Vanstone. It is played by the wonderful character of Captain Wragge and Mrs. Lecount. Reading and seeing the game as it is played out is one great ride.

Although many, at the time the book was published, were shocked at the ending. I found it to be very good. It was shocking to those at the time that Wilkie would allow a woman who had done the things Magdalen had done to find happiness. As a reader, I was very much glad that she did find it (one litte bit of the ending revealed) for she deserved it (in my opinion).

In the beginning of the book, I came to very much like Magdalen and wished her success in her quest to regain her rightful inheritance - although I knew what she was doing was wrong. I also found that I very much liked Captain Wragge, for all of his "moral agriculturalism", he had a soft spot for Magdalen which came through in the story. For her part, Magdalen, trying her best to be unemotional and strong, kept her soft side when it came to Mrs. Wragge (even though she was her downfall).

All in all, this was a very good book that kept my interest through the 700 pages. For those of you that liked the "Moonstone" and the "Woman in White", "No Name" will no disappoint and I recommend it to anyone that enjoys Wilkie's style of writing.

P.S. I did not write too much about the story line for I did not want to give too much of it away.

This is the best-plotted book I have ever read. The intricacies of the ingenious cat-and-mouse game kept me unable to put the book down (despite its length, and my general impatience as a slow reader). Unlike other books I've read by Collins, this one is also extremely funny, largely because of one character who is an incredible rascal and scoundrel. This is really one of the most enjoyable novels I've ever found.

4 1/2 stars, but I rounded up.

No Name is the story and portrait of Magdalen Vanstone... or as Wilkie introduces his novel in the preface, "Here is one more book that depicts the struggle of a human creature, under those opposing influences of Good and Evil, which we have all felt, which we have all known." It's a fairly accurate description as throughout the course of the story, we see the evolution of the character of our heroine; we see her heading down a shady path, but yet somehow from a 21st century perspective, Magdalen manages to make it seem not so immoral. Often times I see her trying to act as morally as she can in the unmoral situations she chooses to involve herself in. Part of No Name's strength, arises from the deftness in which Collins creates Magdalen. She posseses such an enormous range in character and emotion that if No Name were ever to be made into a movie, actresses would vie to have her role.

When Magdalen and her sister's inheritance are taken away due to unexpected familial circumstances, Magdalen resolutely follows a reckless path of revenge. While not exactly your Victorian equivalent of your "Kill Bill," the novel seems closer in spirit to Alexander Dumas's novel: The Count of Monte Cristo. Of course it doesn't have the swashbuckling quality of Dumas's novel as there are no fight scenes to the death. Collins's novel is set in a domestic scene with a female protagonist and the action is far tamer. It is equally gripping though because it's the chase of the revenge that's the fun part; the deceit and swindling involved, the careful measuring of your enemy's abilities that is part of charm. Collins was genius to embroil a female in a revenge type of plot and I'm just amazed at how much free agency Collins bestows upon Magdalen - a female living in Victorian times. He completely cuts her off from the ties of society and gives her free reign.

While I was reading, I felt that the novel could be loosely separated into 3 quite different parts - each with it's own distinct pacing and mood. It goes quite well with the divisions of the triple-decker novel they had long ago. I'm not spoiling much because the novel covers such massive ground, but the first part covers the idyllic times of the Vanstone family and we come to see how the inheritance is stripped from the Vanstone daughters. The second part (the best and my favorite) follows Magdalen as she pursues her revenge with the superior help of the rogue Captain Wragge, a self-proclaimed, "moral agriculturist" (I'll leave you to discover what he means by it). Wragge is one of Collins' best creations (he even beats out Count Fosco in my mind). A short, brown eyed, green eyed creature with enormous talents and verbal abilities, he is very resourceful, calculates very well, and is able to adapt quickly to whatever is needed in each situation. One of the highlights of No Name resides in Wragge's chronicle describing Magdalen's progress. The other crowning achievement is the cat and mouse game played between Captain Wragge and Madame Lecount (the housekeeper and keeper of the interest of Magdalen's victim). Both are directors of people and there is a large amount of plotting and counter-plotting that goes on that keeps the pages turning. It is here that No Name rivals that of The Woman in White, and if Collins had continued to write in this vein, No Name could have been on an equal footing to Woman in White.

However it is in the third part -dealing with the fallout of the revenge- that No Name becomes more flawed. I would say especially so in the ending. Quite a lot of Victorians found the ending distasteful, but the modern reader might find it a little dissatisfying for a completely different reason.

As No Name was delivered right after Collins's magnum opus, The Woman in White, there was a possibility of being in its shadow. However, Collins more than safely overcomes such a hurdle. He's crafted an entirely different story. Although in a way, I almost see No Name as an inverse of Woman in White. Think of a story looking and rooting from the side of Sir Percieval and Count Fosco--the nefarious plotting to take away an inheritance--and in a way, it is the story of Madgalen and Captain Wragge. Of course our sympathies are on completely different sides and this is due to the strength of Collins's characterizations. But that said, the books feel almost nothing alike.

In the end, although not as tightly plotted as The Woman in White and a bit more flawed, No Name is more ambitious, covers more ground, more character development, a lot more stories, introduces way more secondary characters, and is pretty amazing as a whole. It's a massive novel in which Collins fleshes out so many people (and for Collins that usually means, so many people to like) and Collins is able to accomplish a measurable change and growth in the character of Magdalen. The more I reflect on the novel, the better it gets for me, and the more amazed I am at all that Wilkie attempted and accomplished.

I recommend reading the Oxford World's Classics edition for its excellent introduction by Virginia Blain. It hits spot-on about everything that is good and bad about the novel as well as going into the themes of acting and of plotting (both human plotting and writer plotting).

Engrossing, densely textured read.
Could claim greatness on the basis of the Wragges and Madame alone, but also contains one of the most original heroines in Victorian fiction,and draws a fascinating portrait of venality, social corruption and hypocrisy -- at times, it reminded me of both 'Pere Goriot' and 'Les Miserables'.
And it's full of those little concrete details that make nineteenth century fiction so deliciously materialistic. Don't miss out on the Oriental Cashmere Robe!

I'm interested in purchasing this book for my 9 year old son. However, the Product Details claims this book is at a Baby/Preschool Reading Level. I think my son would be turned off by it being at such a low reading level. Could someone please clarify this for me? Thanks!

My son loves this book! Has some great tips for dealing with ADD and great fun too! He just wished the book was longer!

My son and I read this book together shortly after he was diagnosed with ADHD and it wasn't very helpful for either of us. I thought it was a waste of money and time.

I purchased this book for my 9 year old grandson who has ADD. When he received it one afternoon after school, he read it completely before putting it down. His Dad said he laughed about a number of the entries and kept saying, "That's me! I do things like that." This book eases some of the stress of dealing with ADD by putting it in a humourous light and helping its ADD readers understand that there are others in the world who experience the same frustration they do. I highly recommend this book if you have a child with ADD and it is helpful for the parents as well.

Of all of the books that I Baught for my classroom about ADHD and kids with it, this one has to be the best...although school has not started yet I know this will be one of the first books that I read to them. I wish there were more books out there like this one.

This is a book that if purchased, should be kept nearby. It was borrowed by an old friend and never seen again, because he wanted to keep it. I had to get a new one and someone stole that one too. Must be good, because I never got a good chance to read the whole book.

Sincerely,
Author of "Knowledge For Tomorrow" -- Quinton D. Crawford

The author started off with a respectable historical review of how the fed came about. It was eye opening and provided a lot of information which was not widely available. (For example, who were the shareholders of the fed).

The later chapters got wackier and wackier. He started making claims that he either neglected to or were unable to substantiate and thereby greatly diminished his credibility.

It was an entertaing and easy to read book. But I would classify if as part fact and part speculation.

When reading the book for the first time in 1999, it was a mind blower. It described the various steps taken by a money trust to take over the World, punctuating the evolution with episodes about the various financial crisis, the foundation of the Federal Reserve including the infamous Depression, the end of Bretton Woods, the 1973 oil crisis, the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the Y2K bug which was a plan for Europe's old money to take over the World again. At the time it opened several mind barriers.

But since (15 November 2001) I also discovered "Return of Depression Economics" from Paul Krugman explaining fundamentals in economy in an easy way, "False Dawn" from John Gray explaining the dangers of over borrowing which causes our present and probably temporary downturn, "Essays on the Great Depression" from Ben S. Bernanke explaining why the countries which abandoned the gold standard quickly (Britain 1931, Germany 1933) recovered much faster than those who did not (US 1934, Belgium 1935, France 1936). And those who did not use gold but silver did not suffer at all (China, Spain) because the metal was never in short supply.

If the Federal Reserve had not been there, if the Bank of England had not showed the way to the solution in 1931 and if this solution did not become a global standard after 1971, we would all be in a bad shape today. The reason why the dollar fares better than the euro is not because economic fundamentals but because the Federal Reserve has more room to manoeuvre and avoid crisis (recent slowdown in employment proves it) than the European Central Bank influenced by Germany who was rightfully traumatised by its 1923 hyperinflation period. Gray explains how a depression or an hyperinflation leave a deep trauma to a generation that lived true one of those events. Unfortunately fighting inflation is only one side of the coin. Recession and depression also exist.

Global finance is shaped by all those rules. September 11, 2001 showed why insurance companies and other financial institutions pool together to reduce risk. This is not a conspiracy, just the desire to diminish exposure. In 1929, central bankers were a new specie initiated by the Warburg before and after WW I to prevent problems (US, Russia, Germany, Japan, Bank of International Settlements) on the model of the banks found in France and Britain. Nobody ever had to cope with a global depression before and several states including the US did exactly what made it worse: raise interest rates, raise taxes, close their borders for foreign goods (see last chapter Krugman and also Bernanke). Since 2000 Fed reduced the rates, US government diminished taxes and lawmakers in industrial countries insist to keep borders open to avoid the unnecessary collapse of global trade. Rather trade adapts to demand.

Last but not least "All Connected Now, Living in the First Global Civilisation" from Truett Anderson explaining how our system became global thanks to telecommunication (telegraph, telephone, telex, fax, internet). Circa 1850 people started to install electric communications lines and everything else followed the wire to become global (business, finance, politics, culture, religion, social movements, information, etc...).

So a good book but reader must search for further reading to find the true meaning of the paradigm shift that occurred between 1850 and 2001.

Excellent work, Mr. Ford! I wish I had learned some of this in my years of "Higher Education". Thoroughly documented and in-depth. What every Tax Paying American should no about the economic world in which we live. This book opened my eyes to the simple truth that money does make the world go around, and who is spinning it.

I purchased this book a couple of years ago, lent it out to someone I don't remember so I'm buying it again! It's an easy-read, yet very detailed in its implications and suppositions. I THOROUGHLY enjoyed this book. Mr. Ford has an awesome amount of insight and unparalleled objectivity for such a subject as this. If you have a sincere desire in understanding how our society is as screwed up as it is, Mr. Ford has a couple of more than compelling reasons as to why. Definitely worth your time - enjoy!

Excellent book !. For many chemistry students it has been the first book in order to see chemistry as a beautiful and funny science. Dr. L. A. Ford is no longer living but this masterpiece will remain for many years as an element for motivation in teaching and learning chemistry.

This book reminds me of how we've gone a society of educational discovers to one that irrationally sees harm in a simple chemistry set.

There are experiments that I've heard told and retold, some of which I seriously attributed to exaggeration. For instance, a glass beaker submerged in a liquid that has the same refractive index as glass, rendering the beaker completely invisible. Or, another, volumes of smoke made as if by magic.

It turns out they're all in here! Don't let the physical size fool you, because this book is chalked full of some of the most amazing and impressive chemistry experiments you've ever seen.

The problem, however, is that the typical home reader won't be able to get their hands on these chemicals anymore. So while you can read about them, you can't conduct the experiments yourself.

About the only people who'd get practical benefit out of this book would be college chemistry professors who want to lure students into the profession. This would be an impressive way to do it.

This book gives lots of chemical demonstration ideas. However, some are entirely too dangerous to do. You must use a lot of common sense when considering doing any of these demonstrations. Some are not safe at all. Mercury and CCl4 are EPA regulated. It's not advisable to put ethanol in your mouth to spit out in front of students... This only demonstrates bad lab techniques. Make sure you do the first experiment in the book outside or in a fume hood. It releases a strong odor and an acid vapor. Definitely not something you want your students breathing!

This text is a lot of fun, a rapid-fire compilation of visually interesting experiments. *However* it is out-of-date on safety. Despite a recent revision the text appears unaware of the great danger posed by materials such as carbon tetrachloride (a chemical which has since the 60's been all but banned), mercury, benzene, phosphorous, thermite, etc. To say "be careful" is not enough when talking to a lay audience. Please be cautious, the experiments may sound thrilling but the harm can be nasty and permanent.

Each experiment first explains the "action" or the effect intended to produce. Secondly, necessary elements are listed along with their appropriate quantities. Thirdly, a very fortunate addendum to each experiment explains why the reaction occurred and how it did. Finally, most experiements are augmented by a primitive diagram, whose descriptive efforts vary according the action(s) of the chemist, but nevertheless aid the reader with some significance to visualize where certain items should be oriented.
Anyone interested in this book will understand it is not for anarchy or extremely plexiform experiments to uncover the human genome. Mad scientists, this book is unfortunately not for you, but anyone intrigued by paradoxical chemical experiments, such as fire submerged in water, a burning bush that is not consumed by its flames, and other such fascinating elements, will be pleased with its contents.
These experiments usually do not require manifold ingredients so they are ideal for high-school chemistry classes, introductory college chemistry, or entertainment during a meal. A waiter who can perform such legerdemain at events will not remain a waiter long, and those of you who are addicted to gambling and teasing friends certain things are impossible will immediately recognize the value of this book.
I have rated this book 4-star primarily because the majority of the experiments are prosaic or have no genuine purpose to belong the the publishment. However, those experiments that really are "chemical magic" scintillate like stars amid the black heavens, illuminating their observers and imparting them joy at a further comprehension of experimental chemistry.

Ford was our longest living president at 93, outliving Reagan by 46 days. He became president without a single vote. Nixon put him in office as someone who would grant him a pardon. Ford became known for his clumsiness, tripping and bumping his head at every opportunity. He put his foot in his mouth in a debate with Jimmy Carter when he declared that Poland was not dominated by the Soviet Union.

Writing a short biography on a president who served such a brief time is a difficult proposition. It is to Brinkley's credit that he did not try to do more with his subject than what the subject deserves (such as Kevin Phillips failed work on William McKinley). Fortunately, Ford is not as an obscure, or I should say unimportant, a presidential figure as some others (e.g., Chester Arthur).

The most dramatic issue for Ford was his pardon of Nixon. The author concludes that Ford acted correctly. Perhaps this is true, that is debatable. I lived through the same time (I almost voted for Ford in '76) and I am not sure that the country would not have been better served if a trial did occur. It may have prevented the recent efforts to devise an imperial presidency and the resulting calamity in foreign/domestic policies. Ford thought that a 1913 Supreme Court decision made clear that Nixon accepted the pardon and his guilt. That was not an accurate conclusion. His position would have made more sense if Ford required Nixon to have explicitly agreed with that conclusion. Ford didn't and Nixon spent much of his remaining years still deflecting blame.

Left out of the bio was the significant revelation after Ford's death that he criticized Bush's Iraq War, but he directed that his thoughts not be published until after his death. In strengthening Ford's stature by highlighting his character, the author seems to have conveniently lost the chance to consider if his silence was consistent with the character issue. In fact, Ford was a party man to the death. His silence, therefore, is consistent with that stance, but was that of high character?

Regardless, I too accept Ford as a very decent person and his presidency was at least (but no more) of average significance. His Helsinki agreement is rightly cited in this book as a landmark act. He was, though, a poor national candidate and that prevented an extension of his presidency.

This is a good book. It makes you realize that Ford was really a hard working, intelligent, well qualified person at the time that he was selected to be Vice President. It also brings to life, the 70's. As the country gets ready to celebrate another birthday, we can also celebrate the persons who have been willing to get involved in service to their country.

My dad enjoyed Gerald Ford as President because of his honesty, integrity, and rare human quality.

Well known historian Douglas Brinkley has written this brief biography, as a part of the American Presidents series of works. In the series editor's Introduction, Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. notes that (Page xv): "The president is the central player in the American political order." Gerald Ford was an accidental president, taking over after Richard Nixon's downfall resulting from Watergate and his subsequent resignation.

Gerald Ford's name at birth was Leslie Lynch King, Jr. His father had a violent temper and the marriage did not last long. His mother later married Gerald Rudolf Ford; after a time, her son was renamed Gerald Rudolph (an Americanized version of the stepfather's middle name) Ford. As a youngster, he excelled at athletics and even had the possibility of a pro football career. However, he chose law school and, shortly after that, electoral politics. He saw action in World War II.

When he was elected to the House of Representatives 1948, he began to formulate the ambition to become Speaker of the House. His chosen career was in the legislature. The book does a nice job profiling his rise in the House, with carefully crafted advancement through the ranks; it also depicts the start of a long-time friendship between Ford and Richard Nixon.

When Ford finally became Minority Leader in the House, he used his conciliatory approach well. As Brinkley says (Page 31), ". . .he played the good coach, giving his squad wide latitude to speak their minds. In exchange, he wanted no bickering. Ford's open forum proved smart strategy." Some tho9ught him rather slow of thought, but his amiability and ability to work with others represented a great strength.

When Nixon was elected President, he tended not to work so well with Congress--including his own Republican mates. Ford did not distinguish himself with his unabating support for Nixon after Watergate became a public matter; after former Attorney General John Mitchell reported that the White House was not involved, Ford clung to that long after so many others had seen through the falsehoods.

Then, the unlikely story of his rise to Vice-President and his subsequent ascension to the presidency after Nixon's downfall. The book does a nice job in a brief space noting the major decisions/actions of the Ford Administration, some working out well and some not so well. Here, we read about Whip Inflation Now, swine flu, the withdrawal from Viet Nam, the Mayaguez incident, the Helsinki Accords, and so on. The internecine Republic nomination politics of 1976 essentially doomed him to lose to Jimmy Carter. Then, the amazing life after the presidency and people's changing reflections on his accomplishments. . . .

Another well turned work in the American Presidents series. These short volumes cannot go into the depth that I would sometimes like, but the tradeoff is accessible books for people who might not have the patience to wade through a 600 page tome.

This would be a much better series in a copleat box set of the radio series. It would be even better (5 Star rating) if the first two portioins of the radio brodcasts were availble on CD in the USA.

I look foward to listing to the first two sets of CD's when they become availble.

Tom

Sometimes people get stuck of something they like and expect the next effort to be the same. Other time people get mad at the new effort for being the same as the last.
Personally I find the Tertiary Phase has all the same of the old and great new stuff to enjoy.
This version of the book "Life, the Universe and Everything" harkens back to the original radio shows. Most of the original cast is back as well as small tribute to Adams by using some of the voice over he used in a book on tape. There are great elements such as the party the never ends, The man who gets an award for the most gratuitous use of the word #@%@%$%, the kriquett warriors, bistro math(a mathematical method that is based on how to split up a check at a restaurant) and such. It is a great buy and I recommend trying to get the first two parts as well.

This BBC radio performance is fantastic. A disasterously incomprehensible last act does little to diminish the return of Hitchhikers in pure form. The return of the "real" Arthur Dent and friends (Simon Jones et al) is a welcome and amazing experience, and the soundscape is a perfect match to the original Hitchhikers' series from so many moons ago -- which is really amazing when you consider that the old series was put together on old fashioned magnetic tape. The sonic environment of the Hitchhikers universe is as curious as you may remember it - and even a bit improved upon, as more advanced stereo means you can even hear characters circling one another, or running about through the swishy tall grass of a field trying to catch a fast-moving couch, or engaging in repartee with their other head (for those who have more than one).

Not as funny as the original series? Perhaps, but Douglas Adams' books evolved through the years, becoming more philosophically searching (his fascination with the possible comedic implications of quantum mechanics on mere mortals) and less slapstick. And frankly I am pleased that this evolution in tone is carried through to this radio rendition. Though make no mistake, this series is still a comedic romp.

I've just listened to this Teriary Phase and am immediately ordering up the next two Phases courtesy of Amazon.co.uk. It saddens me that author Douglas Adams is no longer with us, but his cast and crew have made the best possible gift of his talents to the rest of the world through this performance. Bravo.

When I found this item on the audiobook rack at my local bookstore (the one with the cafe stapled onto it) it took me at least an entire minute to figure out what it was I was looking at. I thought it must be a reissue of the original radio episodes (from 25 years ago) or a new reading by somebody or other. Gradually it dawned on me like a sledgehammer through molasses that this was an all-new radio series based on the third Hitchhiker's book performed by the (surviving) original radio cast, four years after the untimely death of author Douglas Adams.

"Mine," I judged as soon as I sorted out just what the hell it was. I was delighted to find that Stephen Moore was still alive and had returned to voice Marvin the Paranoid Android again. Peter Jones has unfortunately passed on, but makes a posthumous appearance in this new series, as does Douglas Adams himself!

From the moment I popped it in my CD player and began listening to it, tears bubbled into my eyes. Here again was that wonderful old theme song (an Eagles tune, isn't it?) and, my God, the same BBC announcer from 25 years ago! Okay, so I first heard the original shows fifteen years ago, but still, did I expect to ever hear another series?

Ultimately I've loved this Tertiary Phase. Adams wrote the first episode (before getting distracted by Hollywood again) and the entire series is well done. The music and sound effects are all you could hope for. The original cast is again brilliant and sound almost exactly as they did 25 years ago. The new cast members are excellent as well, with Richard Griffiths (Mr. Dursley from the Harry Potter movies and Swelter from Gormenghast) taking over the role of Slartibartfast. I've listened to the whole thing four times now, and like it better with each listening.

The worst I could say critically is that the pace is the tiniest bit sluggish, the performances the slightest bit geriatric, the energy just a little less than the original shows, and the humour, well, a tad bit less. Not enough to affect my rating however. I've been dying to know if the BBC was going to do adaptions of the final two Hitchhiker's books...

...and they have! The Quandary and Quintessential Phases have already been broadcast, with the same cast and producers as the Tertiary Phase. They should both be available commercially within the next six months or so. Just enough time for me to have another bath.

I've been a fan of Hitchhiker for a long time, so naturally bought the CDs for Tertiary Phase.

I only heard the first two CDs of the set, and haven't developed the interest to finish. Why?

First, note that the original person who did the voice of the guide died, and the replacement just doesn't compare - at all.

The plot seems to be zany for zany sake, and not funny. The talking mattress doesn't help the plot but is more of a distraction.It's like the author just hobbled the book together in a hurry to make some easy money. I don't think his soul was in it. Too bad, because I would have loved for the series to go on.

This is a good book for the experimenter in us all. You can build and experiment with electrostatics.

I'm well into it now, so I've gotta finish, but damn! This thing is neither cheap nor easy to build.

At a casual glance, the instructions look fairly straight forward, but once you've got your materials (a shopping list at the beginning would be super helpful) you realize that the drawings leave some things to be desired (like, in many cases, dimensions)...if the drawing you're looking for is there at all. With a little head-scratching though you can sort it all out.

I've spent somewhere between $250 and $300 on the materials alone. You can buy a Wimhurst kit from Edmund Scientific for $120 but, y'know... its not as cool as making your own...

Tool-wise, its good to either have, or know somebody who has a drill press, lathe, router and various saws and sanders. I don't mind 'cause I'm a tool junkie- I needed a (good-ish) excuse to buy a lathe- but start factoring that in to your overall cost...

All that said though, the plans for the dirod in A.D. Moore's book don't look any clearer.

If you want to build your own spark machine, its probably good to understand the principle behind the machines and just start going at it. The drawings and diagrams in the book are good for setting you off in the right direction if nothing else... after all: the first people to develop these machines started off with nothing more than an idea- you get to start with some reasonably good drawings and a knowledge that if you stick close to the plans you'll get something that works.

Homemade lightening is only really valuable for it's in depth explanation of the authors own devices. There is also a lack of explanation of electrical theory in this book which the author probably justifies by saying that it doesn't have a strong basis anyways. Since throughout the later chapters he lividly explains how current theories have huge holes in them. The latter half of the book works outside of everything you've ever learned about physics, which was something of a disappointment. Some solid explanation of electrostatic principles with updated graphics would have been much more satisfying then the chronology of weirdness presented at the end. The total effect of first, not explaining electrostatic principles, and then providing highly technical and unsolved problems to the reader, leaves the reading either, in awe of R.A. Ford, or simply confused. A.D. Moore's Electrostatics is better for understanding electrostatics and for not having odd theories thrown at you. Another thing, Ford keeps saying how you should `visualize' the electric field to understand it, yet he only has one diagram of fields, and that's of gravity.

This book is eye opening in that it awakens you to the fact that many traditional explanations of electricity do not explain all of the properties of electricity. A wonderful reference work. The illustrations are old, perhaps because the research seemed to stop around the 1930's. His chapter 6 on "Theories of generator operation" is excellent. His statement that "It is fair to say that there are as many theories as there are inventors of original generator designs." inspirers you to learn about all of the other designs. The book is packed with extensive references and I have recently acquired many of them. Although his references concerning Nikola Tesla are not pronounced, at least he mentions him in chapter 21 "Some philosophical conclusions and insights". Final answer: If I lose the book, I'll buy another!

There's a lot of material floating around the web and bookstores that deals with Tesla and related topics. However, when it comes to good old fashion electro-statics, there is no where near the same volume of information. In fact, I've found four books pretty much cover the field -- at least for my money. Something to consider when contemplating a purchase of books on niche subjects such as electrostatics, books tend to go out of print rather fast. The print runs are small, and often the author or publisher will not reprint. This means, get the book while you can. It might be oop and only available on the secondary collectors market later.

Homemade Lightning (R.A. Ford) -- If you are interested in putting together an electrostatic device, this is the book for you. Lots of how-to with pictures and explanation. I think as a first book this is your best bet. And as a book for creating running examples, this is your best bet. However, I don't believe I would want to have just one book on the subject. The other three books mentioned below add their own dimension to the subject and are (in my opinion) worth the few dollars needed to create a mini-library on the subject.

Electrostatic Experiments (G.W. Francis) -- The subtitle for this book is "An encyclopedia of early electrostatic experiments, demonstrations, devices, and apparatus." The book lives up to its name. A great book for an overview of the field. I know it sounds a little silly, but the nice bright white paper and crisp illustrations are a real boon to this book. The font is well chosen and the leading is easy to read. In this book you will find reference to odd-ball experiments that other books just don't get around to talking about. For example, Eggs illuminated. (p.200) and Illumination of oranges (p.201). If you are looking for demonstrations or ideas for creating new displays for lecture or theater, this book has plenty of inspiration.

Electrostatics (A.D. Moore) -- A nice home experiments how-to book. The book is a little chatty in parts. I liked this. The author speaks with a direct, sitting across the table, style.

Static Electricity (J.H. Pepper) -- This material is extracted fom Cyclopaedic Science Simplified 1889. I use this for historical reasons and to poke around in. The book since it was written in 1889 assumes a fair degree of background by the reader. Great pictures and some nice explanations of how things work. You just need to be able to penetrate the older text.

I too used to read this book at night as child. It has stuck with me almost 45 years later. Brilliant and wonderful little book. Glad to see so many others feel the same way.

This was a part of my childhood and I have always loved it, but I feel so close to it that I can't quite judge it objectively. Of course it is absurd to treat it as theology or as serious religious instruction for children, but it has an immense charm nonetheless. My copy, which I received in 1965, has four repeated pages in the middle, and I wish I could get another copy to see what I have missed, but the second hand copies I've seen are hugely expensive.

I hope whoever owns the rights will try to have it reprinted, and I wish I knew more about Lauren Ford.

A lovely book with excellent illustrations but for those with sentimental memories, it's pretty much a failure as a lesson in Creation, Fall, Redemption or the birth of Christ. I would never give this to a child to read. At least not without guidance afterward to explain how the Scriptures really spoke to this.

Typical errors include: "After God had worked hard all week long to make these things it was Sunday, so He took a good long rest" (Sabbath, and yes God rested, but its important to teach children what Jesus taught later, that the Sabbath was made for MAN to rest, not for GOD to rest)

Another: "...you must never eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge because if you do you will surely die" (it is the tree of knowledge of GOOD and EVIL)

Another: "...HE (GOD) listened to men singing as they worked the fields and to a band of children playing ring-around-a-rosy" (ring-around-a-rosy originated during the Black Plague)

Another: ..God is upset at a child abandoned by its parents in a war and left starving at home, and sends the Angel Gabriel to take the child up and fly it to its parents. (????? this is not one of the mysterious ways in which GOD is known to work - much less would GOD choose to return a child to the parents who abandoned her)

There are many, many problems in this book. Joseph is a mystery man, there are multiple north poles and no south pole, there are so many errors and talking down to children (children can understand the idea of male and female animals, two-by-two - no need to call them a 'lady and a gentleman animal of every kind'

I appreciate that some people are sentimental about this book but I would recommend anyone thinking of giving it to a child read it very carefully first.

this is a marvellous book for children and adults. It is a shame it is out of print. It is a treasure, especially now after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

I used to read this book when I was young if I couldn't fall asleep at night or had a scary dream. I am fortunate to have my father's copy. I would like to give this book to all my nieces and nephew. I am disappointed that it is out of print and that the used copies are priced outrageously high. I hope it will be reprinted soon.

This is my first encounter with a Margaret Truman mystery; I choose this audio book after reading her obituary. I did enjoy the experience overall - she had a very engaging writing style. There are spot-on descriptions of characters that fall into classic archetypes. And the book is full of rich detail on the Washington and arts milieu. I especially appreciated how facts about Lincoln's life and death were made relevant through various characters. However, I found the story itself serviceable; there were several plausible suspects to keep me guessing, but not much action or twists.

Johnny Wales is six feet, four inches. He is employed as a stage hand at Ford's Theatre. He trained as an actor and stage technician at the University of Wisconsin. He hears park rangers conducting tours of the facility. Next, Johnny runs into a dead girl, Nadia Zarinsky, an intern who worked for a senator.

Johnson and Klayman are partners in the police force. A homeless man, Joseph Partridge, claims he saw a man hit the woman. Mackenzie Smith is teaching a course entitled Lincoln the Lawyer. Mac's wife, Annabel, is a gallery owner. Her friend, Clarise Emerson, is the theatre director. Clarise has been tapped to lead the NEA. She is a former wife of the senator. Johnson and Klayman interview an English actor and employee of the theatre, Sydney Bancroft. Johnson is a scholar of jazz, and Klayman a scholar of Lincoln. In fact, Klayman has enrolled in Mac's class. Since Clarise's son is charged with the homicide and Mac and his former partner represent him, things start to get interesting.

In the end, Clarise withdraws her name from NEA consideration. The actual murderer is discovered in very vivid fashion. The couple of Mac and Anabel Smith are pleasant characters as are the twosome of Johnson and Klayman. The intelligence and taste Margaret Truman brings to the task of crime writing are welcome qualities.

Margaret Truman's mysteries get better with each new one that appears. In this one, she uses Ford's Theatre as her site. Anyone who has visited Ford's Theatre will agree that she picked a place with the right atmosphere for a mystery. Someone murdered Nadia Zarinski in the alley behind Ford's Theatre. She was an intern for Senator Bruce Lerner, and there are rumors of an affair, so he is a suspect. The murder also casts an unwanted spotlight on Clarise Emerson, Lerner's former wife, head of the Ford's Theatre Society, and presidential nominee to chair the National Endowment for the Arts. Aging actor Sydney Bancroft claimed that Jeremiah Lerner, son of the Senator and Clarise, had been dating the victim. A surly brat, he ran when confronted by detectives, and was soon arrested for the murder. Clarise begs law professor Mac Smith to help her son. Mac and wife Annabel, an urbane couple, are in many of Margaret Truman's mysteries. Mac agrees to help, and the real mystery unfolds until it reaches a surprising climax. This is a splendid tale, with real characters (not cardboard) and a nice pace.

This was not one of Truman's best books. I kept waiting for some action and mystery... and then it did not come. The other Capital Crimes book I read most recently (Murder at the Smithsonian; Library of Congress) had a lot more intrigue. I did like the many DC references, but those are in all of her books... hopefully Ms. Truman will have some better books to offer in the future.

In her latest novel, Margaret Truman stages "Murder at Ford's Theatre" with a cast drawn from recent headlines and past novels in her Capital Crime Series. The murder of Senate intern Nadia Zarinski, romantically linked to her boss, outside the historic theatre now run by the senator's ex-wife and Hollywood producer, Clarisse Emerson, who is preparing for her confirmation hearing as the next chairperson of the National Endowment for the Arts sets off a media frenzy all too familar in the nation's capital. The case is so sensational that Truman's favorite Washington couple, George Washington University law professor Mackensie Smith and his wife Annabelle, are compelled to play leading roles once again. Supporting cast members and Lincoln buffs, detectives Klayman and Johnson, representing the Metropolitan Police Department, and Sydney Bancroft, aging British thespian and Ford Theatre artistic director, add colorful moments to this fast paced drama.

It is impossible for me to criticise Truman's work. Her attention to detail especially about local landmarks and legends in Washington, DC provides the reader with a sense of place that locals recognize and visitors remember. I don't doubt that Truman strolled the cafes and galleries of Dupont Circle sipping latte at Kramerbooks & Afterwoods researching the details about historic Ford's Theatre that she got correct right down to the spelling.

Above all, "Murder at Ford's Theatre" is first rate suspense. Whether you live inside the infamous beltway or not, add this book to your list right away.