Owen Books

When this book was selected by my book club, I did not want to read it. Christians being tortured in 17th century Japan. Also, it seemed very Catholic to me and I am not a Catholic. It just didn't sound good. When I finally overcame my reluctance and started to read it, I found myself mesmerized by the beautiful writing, the sense of time and place and, surprisingly by the story itself. By the time I finished the book, I found myself profoundly moved and forever changed by the questions and conclusions it posed. A book that I did not want to read has become one of my all-time favorite books. I suspect I will still be thinking about it until the day I die.

A simple but a great story that explores some very important issues. Do you wonder why God is silent while people suffer and die? This book explores that issue, and I think it does offer some worthwhile insight.

The book was in great condition and arrived promptly to my door. For me, the typeset was a bit small, but the book appeard to have been brand new. Silence has been very thought provoking. A must read for anyone of Catholic background.

As author stated in the preface of "The Life of Jesus", he is for "Japanese readers who have no Christian tradition of their own and who know almost nothing about Jesus"
1. Two Roman Catholic priets/missionaries from Portugal crossing dangerous oceans to reach Japan. Then giving up everything:Pride,
faith, freedom, and love(?)
2. Courageous Native Christians. Accepting their martyrdom with silence.

There is no balance between these two. There is no reality.

This is a book written by a Japanese for Japanese readers.

How proud is God? How should God's people uphold his honor? How exactly should the gospel transform human society?

These questions lie at the heart of Silence. Written in the wake of World War two by the Japanese novelist Shusaku Endo, Silence tells the story of the persecution of Christians in seventeenth century Japan.

Although proselytizing efforts by Francis Xavier had been successful in the previous century, the 1600s brought about ecclesiastical quarrels between Roman catholic and protestant missionaries. These squabbles often went hand in hand with political and military shenanigans between competing European powers in Japan. Japan's leadership came to view Christianity as an essential part of this distasteful western mess, and severe persecution quickly became standard fare for the newly budded Japanese church.

Endo's protagonist, the young Portugese priest Sebastian Rodrigues, enters Japan secretly in the midst of these persecutions, along with a monastic colleague, Francis Garrpe. They encounter crude but strong faithfulness among the Japanese believers, who undertake great sacrifice in order to protect the padres from the authorities.

Eventually, however, they are betrayed by a weak-willed Japanese Christian, and their trials begin in earnest. Rodrigues's faith is tested to limits which comfortable modern western Christians may never be able to properly understand. His captors torture him psychologically in order to make him renounce his faith. This is not a simple temptation or test of honor; it is not Rodrigues's mere conscience at stake. If he submits to the authorities by trampling on Christ's portrait, his peasant flock goes free. If he does not, they will be tortured to death.

This test is one of the most soul-churning passages of literature I have read. What will Rodrigues do? Will he apostatize? How important is his honor? How important is God's? As the pastor of these simple peasants, is it better to renounce his faith to save their lives, or better to embrace martyrdom and doom them?

Initially, I found myself cheering for Rodrigues's perseverance and martyrdom, but by the novel's end, I was shaken and unsure. In the West, Christendom has a long and hallowed tradition of persecution stories, from the early believers in Jerusalem, to the church in Rome, and in various places throughout the centuries. Although Christ gives approbation to those who are persecuted for his sake, human sinfulness, such as it is, can even distort the meaning and value of martyrdom. Even the brightest lights in Christian history sometimes succumb to an unspiritual triumphalism. With the benefit of time, we often come to see some of Christendom's triumphs as accreted with sin and pride.

The first believers in Japan did not have this cultural background narrative to inform their consciences. They had only an immediate pagan background confronted with the fresh, non-accreted startling news that God has suffered, endured shame and humiliation, and forgiven their sins. This gospel surely would have motivated them to endure great persecution, but at the same time, the gospel is the story of a man who suffered in order to release his friends from condemnation. In that light, martyrdom for its own sake is dubious at best.

What is true religion? The bible maintains that true religion consists in looking after orphans and widows in their distress, and keeping oneself from being stained by the world. Those two mandates, it seems to me, should never be at odds with one another. If Rodrigues had refused to trample on the fumie (the term for the sacred image of Christ), he would definitely not have been looking after orphans and widows, but rather sending them to certain doom. However, would his simple act constitute "being stained by the world?" Would he be a Judas and an enemy of the gospel? There is a prominent strain of Christianity, very much in the tradition of the western theology of glory, which says "yes". Endo's answer, more in tune with the theology of the cross, is "no".

I am inclined to agree with the latter.

I purchased this book in January of 2008 as it was recommended by the college I was attending. I have referenced it many of times for various assignments. 7 out of 10 times this book will have the drug I am looking for. There are many new drugs out there that are used on a regular bases in the hospital that you will not find in this book. Save yourself the money and the shelf space and either get a PDA or a newer edition.

This is a great resource. The CD and program (QLU) are particularly helpful as I've been writing care plans for nursing school. I graduate next month and this will continue to be a valuable resource as I work in pediatric home care!

THIS BOOK HAS A LOT OF INFORMATION ON MEDICINES AND NEWER MEDICINES THAT SOME BOOKS DON'T HAVE.

Excellent drug book. I began nursing school with a PDR. A classmate had this book and after being in clinicals with them I found that the Davis Drug book was more useful and easier to read.

This book got me through my first year of clinicals!!!!!!!!
As a nursing student we were required to know all the information possible for the medications our patients would be taking. This drug guide helped me so much! It comes with a CD you can put on your computer so you can just type in the name and look up information about certain drugs. If you don't have a computer at the time though, this book is small enough to just carry around with you and contains every bit of information you will need to know about medications. It was very helpful!!!

The reason books become classics is they convey wisdom pertanent to all ages. This history is one such classic example of Rhetoric, RealPolitik, Politics of Personality, as well as the higher themes of Honor, Loyalty, Duty, Courage. etc.
I'd give the book five stars but this translation is only adequate. I loved having the greek on the page opposite the english translation, as well as the convenient, carry-anywhere size of the text.
A must read if you wish to be considered truely educated.

Thucidydes' History of the Peloponnesian War was one of the most important books ever written in the history of Western civilation and world history.

In opposition to Herodotus who wrote earlier, to whom Thucidydes was a student and reader of, Thucidydes was a realist and discussed the interests, positions, and power politics that occurred between the Athens and Sparta and their respective leagues (allies; combined military operations by treaty). As opposed to Herodotus, who is sometimes known as the father of history as Herodotus was arguably the first person to write history in the sense that we know it today, and who still utilized unseen forces, gods, spirits, etc., as guiding world history, Thucidydes focused more on the human aspect and what he could gleem from his travels and research. Thus, many historians point to Thucidydes as being the true progenitor of history as we know it today.

The political intrigue, the military and political strategic considerations, the actual boots-on-the-ground description of the battles, etc. are vivid, detailed, and make for compelling reading. I especially like the stories concerning Athens and Sparta's fighting on the island of Sicily.

All students of rhetoric will also find some of the finest examples of it within its pages (i.e., Pericles' funerary oration, etc.). The descriptions of the debates within the assemblies shows the considerations that both the Athenian and Spartan led leagues and their populations had to consider.

This is the first book on international relations known and is the first work to utilize a realist interpretation of international politics. It is studied at the war colleges and by all scholars of international relations, and by all serious students of grand strategy.

This book is excellent, in the Greek sense, that is Arete.

There are four main translations of Thucydides available for the English reader:

Thomas Hobbes' 1628 version. Although made over 300 years ago this translation is still considered a classic by many in the English-speaking world. Hobbes is best known for writing "Leviathan" that classic work on Politics that all College students in the Western world for the past 200 years had to read. Do you like Shakespeare? If so give this edition a try. Hobbes vigorous and lively Jacobean English prose will enchant those more literary minded souls - however, Hobbes version has been noted for some inaccuracies due to his lack of proper understanding of the original Greek language text.

William Smith's 1754 translation. Most know of Crawley and Hobbes works but Smith's excellent 18th century version has been almost forgotten. I think you can only get it in a used edition on abebooks dot com. Smith's prose is as majestic as you you expect for a 18th century translation. While a bit hard to read for most modern readers Smith's prose is worth the effort if you stick with him. Some things were not meant to be "dumbed down". I compare reading Smith's Thucydides to plowing through Whiston's translation of Josephus.

The mid-Victorian (1874) Richard Crawley version is the one that most English speaking people were familiar with until the Penguin Books edition came out. This is a much easier version to understand than the Hobbes and Smith translations. While still retaining a very formal prose style it captures the Greek much more accurately than any previous version. This translation has the best balance between literary style and accuracy to the original text. This is the edition that many of our Grandparents and Great Grandparents read in school or College. Modern Library puts out a very affordable edition.

Rex Warner's Penguin edition. This is the version offered here. Warner is excellent for those who want to avoid the archaic and more challenging prose of Hobbes, Smith, or Crawley. He is very clear and lucid in his rendition of the text. This edition is more suitable for modern readers who want an easy to read prose that maintains accuracy. I think that Warner's translation is the only serious rival to Richard Crawley's version. For those of you who are first embarking on your exploration of Thucydides I would recommend this edition.

If Herodotus is the Father of History, Thucydides is the first truly great historian. Building upon the foundation laid by his predecessor, Thucydides refines and sharpens the art of history into what it should have been all along. He is one of a few ancient historians whose reputation has almost never suffered among subsequent generations of historians.

Thucydides begins his history with the causes of The Peloponnesian War, a 27-year struggle between imperialist, democratic Athens, oligarchic Sparta, and the scores of constantly shifting allies that fought along with them. Though left incomplete at the time of his death, Thucydides's history spans the years 433-411 BC, encompassing the beginning of the war and its escalation through battle and political machination, Athens's ill-fated Sicilian expedition, and the interference of the Persians in Asia Minor.

This translation by Rex Warner is excellent--highly readable and lucid. The introduction and appendices offer lots of helpful information and can be read either before or after the History itself, depending on the reader's prior knowledge or preference. If I have any complaint about this edition, it is that the maps are too small and too few, leaving some important locations unmarked.

Full of real-life drama and moving tales of wartime desperation, Thucydides is just as relevant today as he was when he first perfected the art of history. Reading Thucydides is well worth your time.

Highly recommended.

A true masterpiece of historical literature. As modern today as it was when written. Any understanding of human and national behavior is incomplete without a thorough understanding of Thucydides' magnificient work. One of those works you could read every year of your life and never quite come to terms with the totality of the lessons it contains.

I have been learning English for 5 years and thought my vocabulary was more or less good, but...reading this book made me realize that my vocabulary is really poor. I am happy to have this book! I really liked the part where it explains the common usage errors, such as common and mutual, former and latter, fewer an less, that and which etc. I feel much more confident now when using these words. I have also never heard before the words EGREGIOUS, PAROCHIAL, REBUKE, STAGNATION and lots of other words, I am not sure I will use them some day, but at least I know these words now and it just feels good! :)

...abridged dictionary with a couple of example sentences for each word...infinitely better books are available -- search for George Feinstein, D.J. Henry, Margaret Richek.

Easy, fast, effective and fun way to improve your vocabulary. It will be a good investment!

I think there are two ways to inprove your vocabulary....or maybe three: 1) Read literature written with an "educated vocabulary" and either circle the new words or make a word list of the new words---books like those written by Charles Dickens "A Tale of Two Cities" or "David Copperfield" for example, or, 2) go through a dictionary from front to back 10 times for repetition---alittle hard for most of us to do, right?, or 3) Work through a work-book like this one that will teach you words selected by the author. I think this is a very good book for doing #3 above....use a word work-book. Two things are for sure, the ONLY way to learn new words and remember them is to put the words into your "long term memory". And, the only way for the average person to put words into their "long term memory" is through "REPETITION"---Going back again and again to your "word list" or to your circled words in the book to remind youself and test youself on the words and their meanings. This book will help identify the "new words" you need to learn and it will provide for "repetition" of those words so the words will go into your "long term memory". And....and....then you'll know some "edicated" words to use on your teachers so they'll think you're "smart"! :o) But, seriously, one way tests test for "smartness" is to give a vocabulary test. The theory is that "if a person knows alot of words they are smart". This may or may not be true but that's the way The SAT and other tests test for intelligence. Thus, this book is very worth your time and effort. Get a copy of the book, impress your teacher, and maybe you'll be admitted into a college someday so then you can become a teacher yourself who teaches these words to students. Or, you could become like Frank McCourt, a world famous author. One thing I am sure of though is that having an "educated vocabulary" WILL permit you to do things you would not be able to do without it. Any comments? boland7214@aol.c

I used to work as a professional SAT Reading coach, making big bucks; the key issue for most of my students was vocabulary. Rather, VOCABULARY. (The other is slowing down and thinking as--not after--they read.)

Many questions on the SAT reading section amount to vocabulary questions.

What this means is that if you want to improve your SAT scores, if you are an ambitious student trying to get into one of the top schools, there is no two ways about it: you have to study vocabulary.

And study vocabulary.

And study vocabulary.

You cannot study simply one book, or even one series of books. You have to study several series.

However, the Princeton Review Word Smart series is the best that I know of. You should start here. Even if you think you have a good vocabulary, start here just to be on the safe side, and you can move on later.

You would recommend studying any of the vocabulary books that I've ever seen--but I recommend mastering the Word Smart series. These really are by far the best--if you are shopping here, it probably means you need these books.

If you were one of my students, your parents paying lots of money, I would force you to master these books, and I would ride you like a horse until you did. And then your scores would come up, your parents would love me and tell all their friends, and I would get more jobs and more money. That's how it works.

Anyway, these are certainly the best vocabulary books on the market. Even if you're studying vocabulary for some other reason, these are probably still the best.

Good luck!

if you are a buffy fan this is a must, If you never give buffy a chance, this is a must, if you dont have a clue about buffy this is a must... Once you read it you will want to read more and know everything about the slayer mithos.
Great starting point for those unfamiliar with Joss Whedon work...

A fun read. Good storytelling and great artwork. Fray is not Buffy. She is a street rat and a thief, and very spunky. Worth reading!!! ~~~Liandre

Which means snappy dialogue, great action scenes and interesting plot. The art is excellent, and there's even a giant dinosaur in there somewhere! It's very different from Buffy, Fray is more like the anti-buffy; a thief('grabber), working FOR the mutated bad guys and running from the cops. Oh, and she's a brunette. Highly recommended, especially if you're a Buffy fan.

Certainly better than "Buffy: Season 7", Fray captures some of the goofy spirit that made the television show so enjoyable for so long. However, despite Whedon's best efforts (or maybe because of them), it still feels like a toothless attempt at TV series.

There are no emotional connections deep enough to surprise or shock the reader, although that doesn't stop Whedon from 'shocking' revelations at every turn.

The art is better than average, and supports the gimmicky future that Whedon has built.

Still, a mildy entertaining (if self-indulgent) contribution to the Buffy mythos, if not to the comic book industry as a whole.

I have officially been converted. I can now say that I'm a Joss Whedon fan. I never watched his previous vampire sagas, Buffy and Angel, however, I did catch his excellent series Firefly, his sci-fi series which was more up my alley.

Fray is also a futuristic tale, taking place 200 years into the future of the Buffy universe. It has been a very long time since the last slayer, and the time has come when one has to be called upon. Enter Melaka Fray, a thief with a complicated history. While she's a crook her older sister, Erin, is a police sergeant. To top it off, four years ago her twin brother Harth was killed by a vampire when he was helping her steal and she has never forgiven herself for it. A demon named Urkonn finds Mel and reveals to her that it's her destiny to become a slayer.

That is the set up, and the pay off is quite enjoyable. The story moves along at such a rapid pace that it was impossible for me to get bored. Whedon's writing is very cinematic with plenty of conflict, twists, and surprises. We're introduced to Mel plummeting from a skyscraper and hitting every flying car she can on the way to break her fall. There's a lot of action in every chapter, but plenty of humor, drama and witty dialog in between to balance it out and keep me satisfied.

The artwork by Karl Moline works really well. I had never seen anything he worked on prior to this. I always took the time to appreciate the landscapes of this alternate future, and he's just as adept at illustrating a good fight scene as he is at getting across a character's emotions through facial expressions and body language. Inker Andy Owens, does well and the colors are provided by Dave Stewart whose work I'm very familiar with who is joined by Michelle Madsen here.

A very enjoyable read all the way through. And if you need proof that you don't have to be a Buffy fan prior to reading this to appreciate it, then consider this it. Bring on the sequel!

I think this is a great reference guide for people who are new to parenting. I had never really been around a baby before I had my own, so I was clueless on how to play with her outside of peekaboo and rocking her. The pictures are nice and it's an incredibly easy guide to follow. Also, as a new parent looking to pick this up, don't get your hopes up. Yes, there are alot of activities to do with your little one, but don't expect your baby to be interested enough to participate in some of them. My daughter wouldn't have been interested in at least HALF of what is offered (especially if it has to do with any tummy time), but that's because at the end of the day, she's gonna do what she wants to do. It's just a great tool to keep playing with your baby fresh and interesting. As the parent of two now (that are less than two years apart), I have to find activities that will entertain both of them, so while I liked giving the book a look through, I wouldn't buy it. If you have the ability to give your baby some good one on one time, this book is for you.

My daughter is only 14 mos, so I have to admit, this review is based on the first part of the book. The best thing about this book is that I learned some new songs and accompanying singing activities that my daughter seems to really enjoy. The regular activities are pretty basic and you are probably already doing a lot of them. For instance, stacking, looking in the mirror and pointing out body parts, and playing with bubbles! I'm glad I bought it used :)

If you are someone who has not worked with children or been around children for an extended period of time this book would be very helpful. It has creative and fun ideas for playtime with the ones under 6 months that my husband found very useful. I recommend it for husbands, grandparents and new moms.

I love this book! It is filled with great ideas, and organized by age range. The pictures are large and very helpful along with the descriptions of the activities. Even if you think you may have thought of some of these ideas on your own, it's hard to know when to introduce each activity and what specific skills it is building. This book is a great resource.

i found the activities in this book uninspiring. i was already implementing 99% of them just in my everyday interactions with my infant. i was hoping for something that would further enhance the development of my child, but it turns out the things that naturally occur to a parent are just fine. my baby is only 3 months, so perhaps the activites for older babies will be more interesting. the play for newborns was a disappointment.

The tabs are sturdy on this book and there are lots of them! The only draw back is that on some of them the little punch out that lets you get your finger get under the tab to lift it, was still in place. That made its a challenge the firs ttime we tried to read it! There also aren/'t a lot of pages, but I guess you get your bang for your buck, especially if you kid is a big Thomas fan!

This book is a wonderful learning tool. On one page the flaps contain numbers 1-10, another page has railway cars carrying each letter of the alphabet. And what kid doesn't love to lift all those flaps!

My son loves Thomas & Friends and flap books, so this was a hit with him. One of the flaps was not completely cut, so he has messed it up trying to get it to open. I guess I will sit down and try to get it opened up and then reglue the top back down. Other than that...great book!

My 3 year old loved this when he got it last year however he ripped off the flaps so luckily when a friend got him another one he knew enough not to rip it. It encourages parent/child interaction which every child needs for development. The flaps are somewhat difficult to open initially so adult helpful supervision is recommended.

This book is so sturdy! My 2-year old loves to rip off flaps on lift-the-flap book but he hasn't done it on this one! It's great - we can make up stories about everything going on under the flaps and I will ask my son to find things for me that are under the flaps. It also can teach letters, numbers, and the alphabet, but my son doesn't care about that - he just wants to lift the flaps! We have had this book for almost a year and he still loves it. We will have this book a long time.

I'm a college student that has read plenty of classic American novels and when a teacher gave Kokoro to the class. I was kinda intrigued but the first 50 pages made me feel like i was wasting my life away and i convinced my friend to read me a couple pages so i wouldn't have to look at it. I read the book in four days and I'm ready to torch it because i could sell it back to the bookstore for $3 but I don't want anyone to suffer like i did.

This is an absolute classic in Japanese literature & full of truth and wisdom. This is a bible.

this book is a classic in japan, how eer i think its kind of dull, I had to read this book for a history class, it gives a good perspective of japan during the 1900's.

A young student befriends an older man in Tokyo. The older one's intellectual abilities, and his sophistication gains him the title of 'Sensei' - roughly approximating 'teacher' or 'master' - from the younger one.

Though he likes him well enough, Sensei does nothing to encourage the young man's growing attachment to him. This only increases the student's interest in Sensei's life, who responds finally to his overtures of friendship and respect thus: 'I do not want your admiration now, because I do not want your insults in the future. I bear with my loneliness now in order to avoid greater loneliness in the years ahead. You see, loneliness is the price we have to pay for being born in this modern age, so full of freedom, independence, and our own egotistical selves'.

The novel is structured in three parts. The first two are narrated by the student, and the third is a 'testament' in letter form by Sensei, outlining the story of his life, and explaining why he has for so long withdrawn from the outside world.

Sensei's testament is a profound self-examination and self-criticism, mostly revolving around his selfish and manipulative actions, in his own student days, when he and his friend (a fellow student) were both in love with the same girl (now Sensei's wife). This behaviour leads, in the end, to catastrophic results for his friend. From that period on, though Sensei has appeared outwardly normal and happy, his life has been completely blighted.

What makes the novel such a significant work for Western readers (other than its literary excellence) is the distinctly Japanese point of view it brings to an old story. This new perspective brings up a large number of worrying (because unanswerable) questions. How much, for instance, does Sensei's failure to forgive himself for his earlier mistakes arise from his culture's sense of 'honour', and how much from human nature?

Kokoro translates as 'the heart of things', a perfect title for a book that delicately, subtly and finally disturbingly, probes the mystery that is the core of human life.

By using his experiences living in the late Meiji period of Japan, Natsume Soseki wrote an insightful novel entitled "Kokoro," which was translated in English language by Edwin McClellan. The book is broken into three sections, "Sensei and I," "My Parents and I," and "Sensei and His Testament." The first section reveals the first interaction between the Student and Sensei at the beach, their conversations, and the college graduation of the Student. The second section deals with the life of the Student's home in the countryside of Japan, his father's illness, and the receiving of Sensei's last letter. And the last part of the novel is a letter from Sensei to the Student in which he discusses his dark past and why he decided to meet his end. From reading "Kokoro," one can get an understanding of how modern social transformation influenced Japanese life.

To show as an example: when a person lives through two different eras, it can alter his feelings and his sense of living in the Japanese society. In a sense, the transformation can alter one's sense of identification with his country. In Kokoro, the character Sensei has a lack of identification with Japan in terms of where he fits in the society, which partly leads to his deep loneliness. Since the fall of Tokugawa Japan and the Samurai class, there may have been number of people who refused to change their ways or move on toward the new Japanese society, which was the Meiji era.

But, toward the end of the Meiji period, the new change called the "modern era" was approaching, which created an effect on people who were already born in the Meiji era. As a man filled with guilt, fear, and loneliness, Sensei felt that he should leave the world physically due to the fact that he had no place in the new modern Japan. One example in the novel which best explains loneliness as a result of the modern transformation is when Sensei expressed his insight to the Student: "loneliness is the price we have to pay for being born in this modern age, so full of freedom, independence, and our own egotistical selves," which was a comment that made the Student stood speechless and kept silence (p. 30).

The novelist Natsume Soseki wrote an insightful work, with a clear read as translated by Mr. McClellan. With a humble opinion, this book is given as five stars and to be recommended.

A study in scarlet is the first Sherlock Holmes adventure with Dr. Watson, the classic crime-solving partnership. I read it in Spanish (my first language) when I was around 9 years old and I love it at that time.
I just finish reading it, 21 years later and in english, and I still think is a great book.....short enough to read it in a week, probably less, nevertheless, complex enough to catch your attention.
I haven't finish The Sign of 4 yet, but so far it seems to be as good as a Study in Scarlet!

A lovely origin story. Dr. Watson, returned from a war and in need of lodgings is led to Baker Street. In this fine location resides one Sherlock Holmes.

They are soon on the trail of a mystery that involves a corpse, and a word scrawled in blood on a wool. Then there are dodgy mormons and a bit of wild west action.

A body is found in an empty house, but there are no wounds, or signs of struggle. With Scotland Yard officials baffled, Sherlock Holmes is called on the case. Watson and Holmes meet through a friend of Watson, because that Holmes is interested in sharing a suite on Baker Street with someone. Soon after moving in together, Holmes is asked by two top - ranking Scotland Yard officials for help with a case. A man was found dead in a house, with no wounds or signs of a struggle. Holmes finds the killer, a man from the United States name Jefferson Hope, and arrests him. But, before being put on trial, Hope dies from a heart failure. I would recommend this intriguing mystery novel to anyone.

One reason for my recommendation is because of the complexity of the mystery. To the normal person, the mystery may have seemed unsolvable, but Holmes somehow, even from the very beginning, seems to know the answer. Even with most of the facts at your hands that the average investigator would have seen, there seems to be no way to know what happened, and who the murderer was. But, Holmes figured it out, and it is even explained how that he figured it out.

Another reason for my recommendation is the way that Holmes solved the mystery, and the way that his thoughts were presented. Despite the complexity of the mystery, Holmes figures it out in a matter of days. He took notice of such things as the height of words written on the wall, and from that came to a brilliant conclusion on the height of the killer. He even noticed the size of the shoes that the victim and the murderer were wearing. The way that Holmes solved and explained the mystery was very interesting.

The last reason is the story behind the crime. Jefferson Hope, the murderer, explains everything about the crime before he dies, from motives to the difficulties in killing his victims. It turns out that many years before the crime, Jefferson Hope had been in love with a fine young lady, and was planning to marry her. But, a Mormon, who believed the girl should marry him, so killed her father, and took her away. The girl later died (from "unhappiness"), and Jefferson swore revenge on the one who took her away. He ended up following the two who killed her love, Strangerson and Drebber, all across the United States and Europe. After many years, he finally put them to rest in London, but was caught.

I would recommend this book to anyone, particularly fans of mystery novels such as this one. Doyle's descriptive writing and vivid use of vocabulary made this book a pleasure to read. If you're looking for a wonderful mystery, then you should read this book.


-Bill L.

I recently picked up THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, which has been sitting on my shelf for over a year and I'm glad I did. The first book in the compendium of his early works is A STUDY IN SCARLET, to which I restrict my comments.

The story is broken into two parts. The first chronicles the murder and pursuit by Holmes, the second provides the background and motive for the murder and ultimately the resolution of the case.

A STUDY IN SCARLET is the first of many Sherlock Holmes novels and is a good place to start if you, like me, are aware of Holmes' preeminent status as the literary world's best detective, but have not yet taken the opportunity to read his adventures.

The first book introduces Holmes and Watson and chronicles how they came to be companions. It also gives an insight into the pains Holmes has taken to develop his sleuthing skills. This introduction is intriguing and will pull you along until the crime is discovered, at which point you'll be hooked.

The development of the rest of the first part is equally intriguing as the mystery becomes clearer and clearer to Holmes, though no more clear to the reader. One is truly impressed by all that is "elementary"* to Mr. Holmes, but imperceptible to we mere mortals.

The second part of the book takes place primarily in Utah at the time the valley was settled by the Mormons. Brigham Young and the burgeoning Mormon society are menacing and effectively occupy the role of the antagonist for the second part.

For those unfamiliar with the Latter-Day Saints, please note that this account is purely a work a historical fiction and is wholly inaccurate in its depiction of Brigham Young, Salt Lake City, and Mormons at large. For that, I deduct a star for the hazard it may present to those unaware of the true character of the Mormon faith. Personally, I found the second part more distasteful than will the average reader because I am a proud Latter-day Saint.

Still, with these flaws, the book is a wonderful introduction to a literary character with whom all should be familiar. I recommend the book.


* I must say that I was disappointed to find Holmes' catch-phrase "it's elementary my dear Watson" missing from this volume (though I don't deduct any stars for its absence). Surely, it appears in later works. I was waiting for it, but, alas, it didn't appear.

As Agatha Christie's "The Mysterious Affair at Styles" introduced a grateful reading public to Hercule Poirot, perhaps the second best known fictional detective of all time, Conan Doyle's "A Study in Scarlet" marked the debut appearance of the acknowledged master of detection, the one and only Sherlock Holmes!

John Watson, a medical doctor recently retired from the British military to recover his health and recuperate from wounds received in Afghanistan, is looking to stretch his limited budget by finding another gentleman with whom he can share accommodation. When a mutual friend introduced him to Sherlock Holmes, one might slyly suggest that the game was afoot and the rest, as they also say, became history. Already characteristically melancholy and moody, a jaded Holmes, who labeled himself the world's only consulting detective, is invited by Scotland Yard's Lestrade and Gregson to assist in the investigation of a baffling pair of murders.

With "A Study in Scarlet", Doyle is clearly new to the craft of writing mysteries and the great detective's debut outing suffers from characteristic first novel and new character jitters. The style itself is markedly different from everything that follows in the Holmes canon with the story being told from a third-party perspective. The background to the mystery is revealed through the mechanism of a flashback to the western USA at the time of the Mormon migration to Utah. Feedback from the reading public must have been immediate and - we'll have to hand it to Doyle - he must have been a quick learner. Watson was thereafter appointed official narrator and diarist to the master and Doyle never looked back.

I leave it to others smarter than I to judge whether or not Doyle's historical characterization of the Mormons is justified or accurate! Suffice it to say, that the mystery is entertaining but the details are, quite frankly, entirely unimportant beside the overwhelming fact that this was the first time the world heard the name "Sherlock Holmes". It took Doyle only a few pages for example to treat us to an aphorism that we would come to hear over and over again, "It is a capital mistake to theorize before you have all the evidence."

This novel is a cornerstone in the annals of crime fiction, an extremely important piece of the history of English literature and a darned good read! Enjoy it!

Paul Weiss

One of my players got this for me, so thank Goddess I didn't waste my own money. It doesn't have the magic items from the Dungeon Master's Guide -- the very core of magic in D&D! Do I need to go into further detail, other than to say that while Wizards of the Coast was selling this book, they were already hard at work on version 4.New.Coke, which makes all 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 3.5 books OBSOLETE? They knew this when they sent this to press and knew it when they sold it to gullible buyers who didn't know they were being ripped off. Save your money! If you are reading this review, Wizards of the Coast (and their money-grubbing parent company, Hasbro) have already made it obsolete. PLEASE DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THIS BOOK! Far better is "Pocket Magica (Arcana)," which contains all of the items from the 3rd edition DMG and many magic items which appear in books publiushed by other companies.

* One star out of five (and only because there's no half-star rating)

Simply stated, this is a good book.

To expand on this,the Magic Item Compendium is similar to the Spell Compendium in which it takes the magic item properties of many previously made source books(as early as Complete Adventurer to as late as Magic of Incarnum in the WOTC revised 3rd edition D&D series), as well as many prominent magic items. The book promises over 1,000, but if this is true I can't say. It does have many other properties right on, such as having lower cost items than featured in the main books. But what really caught this book for me is it's flexibility.

Sure, one could argue that having a book merely composed of magic items would be pretty much useless unless your campaign allowed for a lot of said magic items. But, these could be easily 'dispelled' by the books overall purpose: Taking all of the magic item properties of most of the source books previous to it's making and putting them in one handy tome. There are magic items (and their properties) from the Eberron setting, from the Draconomicon, from the Complete Adventurer book, all without having to buy the said source books! Even if one where to have said source books, the Magic Item Compendium focuses specifically on finding these properties and items within and presenting them in a well organized fashion for any DM looking to create new, more interesting items of choice.

Another handy feature of the Magic Item Compendium is giving items levels by price, and tables to show what priced magic item a player of x level would most likely have.

This book, like many wotc books, isn't without it's woes. It has about 7 pages worth of errata, or corrections, on the wotc site, meaning if you want the book to be free of error you'll have to retrieve the errata file.
Not to mention that while the magic items and are neatly organized and easy to read from, all of the meat and bones new rules (magic item levels, creating relics and item set bonuses, etc.) are all in the back of the book, after all of the actual items the rules refer to have been presented.

Other than a few minor complaints, the book is solid and a good addition to any campaign.

It's good but still unorganized like the Spell Compendium, the table helps a lot though, unlike in the spell compendium. They should have added the page of each item in the table in my opinion.

I loved it as soon as I pulled out of the box and touched the shiny new cover. Opening it up was like entering a whole new world. The items are fresh and exiting. Easy to read and a joy to locate a new item that lays in wait for the unsuspecting adventuring party.

The only thing I have to say that is negative is:
it would be nice to have pictures of every item. But how realistic is that?
But how NICE would that be too!!!! With all the other details and research a DM has to do, it is nice to look at an image and describe it, alter it, or just hold up the book and say, "it looks like this."

So, if you can live without a picture of every item... then this book is what you need next to you at every game session! There are new and refreshing items...something for everyone!

Happy Gaming and I really think you will love this addition to your DM collection.

For a while there, it seemed like WOTC was so into their 4th edition that they would not be publishing anything good for a while. But alas, here is something really good! this suplement has a ton af great information in it. Really great idea for adding powers to magic items, creating small ones and large ones. No matter how strict the DM is about magic, eventually you will be able to create some of these great ideas. And for the DM, hey, the bad guys need good armor too!