Owens Books

This is the most powerful oral history book on the Vietnam experience I have ever read. These vets take you to the soul of their horror and grab you with the insanity of their current situation - it still eats at them every day.

I first learned of the book when I saw it listed in a bookseller's catalog. Intrigued by the description, I purchased the book and quickly read this engaging memoir about the early years of a fascinating woman.

The granddaughter of two Liberal Members of Parliament, Shiela Grant Duff grew up in the shadow of the First World War. When she graduated from Oxford in 1934, she dedicated herself idealistically, almost quixotically, to stopping a repetition of the conflict. Determined to learn the causes of war, she took the advice of Arnold Toynbee and became a foreign correspondent. In 1936 she moved to Prague, where she met a number of leading Chechoslovak figures and played a minor role in the Munich crisis two years later, acting as an intermediary between Winston Churchill and members of the Czechoslovakian government as they attempted in vain to halt the course of events. After the crisis she returned to England, where she spoke and wrote on Czechoslovakia in the months leading up to the outbreak of war in September of 1939.

Grant Duff's memoir is an enjoyable account of a life and a career fired by idealism. Though the Second World War casts a shadow across its pages, she does not temper her account with hindsight or cynicism, making her optimism and determination more comprehensible as a result. Adding to her story are those of her many friends whom she interweaves into her account, showing how they effected her life. Of them, it is her friendship with Adam von Trott that takes center stage, from their first meeting at Oxford to the growing estrangement between them that gives the book's title its meaning. Using generous selections from their correspondence, she shows how their relationship declined in parallel with the deterioration of peace in Europe, adding poignancy to this wonderful memoir which enlightens about the decade and the people who lived through it.

This book is worth reading. It is truly wonderfully written. Dr. Owens has lead an incredible life. He truly genuinely displays his care, and describes what he has experienced and learned flawlessly. I recommend everyone to take time to read this novel at least once, if not twice.


:)
Aisha Sapp
Houston, TX

Halegua's hypnotic writing is lovely white noise (not quite) muting the bigotry that impacted our society mid-century and that sadly still exists. I'm concerned that this small but amazing story is not better known. In its stylistic radiance and for the courage of its author to speak the unspeakable, even the unredeemable, it should be recognized, discussed, cherished.

As a peds hemonc fellow, I enjoy reading Nathan and Oski's hematology text. However, that book is so extensive that I never finished reading one single topic. I always dreamed for a quick reference that covers the subject without sinking in too much molecular details which may not be clinically relevant. This book is my dream coming true, a text that fully covers subjects, but still easy to read. Nice tables and illusrations.

In writing her memoirs, Perdita plays the wounded and put-upon heroine with the expertise of the actress that she was. She irritated me at times, but she never bored me. What a wonderful story her life was. Her memoirs are also a terrific glimpse at late 18th-century high life. Also, a fascinating introduction explains a lot about the woman.

I picked up this book on a whim and was hooked from page one. MacAlpine's wry sense of humor and his subtle blending of reality and the fantasy make it a pleasure to read. MacAlpine's masterpiece is evocative of the magic realism of Latin America, but in a distincly American way. He tells the story of a mysterious man, found almost dead on the banks of a river by a robust washerwoman, who moves in with the washerwoman while he tries to regain his memory. However, the past he slowly remembers is not his own but that of Hamlet (he is helped, in subtley comic ways, by his new surroundings) and his presence stirs the memories of all the residents of his little town, his new home. Marvelous fun to read.

Few institutions have had as much influence on American history as the institution of slavery. For at least three centuries slavery has generated discussion, heated debate, or active denunciation. Perspectives and Irony in American Slavery is an attempt by seven distinguished historians to offer, not consensus, but seven perspectives which range from Eugene D. Genovese's interpretation as seen from a world view to John Blassingame's essays reflecting the slaves' view of their community.

Carl N. Degler's essay develops the idea of irony in American slavery, one of the major themes of this work. Examining slavery in its international setting, Eugene D. Genovese interprets in his essay the relationships between emerging capitalism and slavery and the conflicts between the industrial revolution and the old landed classes. David Brion Davis concentrates on American attitudes toward slavery by viewing the abolitionists' arguments against slavery as being shaped, in part, by the southern defense of slavery: both sides of the conflict, according to Davis, ironically failed to develop along the central force of slavery.

Stanley L. Engerman, co-author of the controversial study, Time on the Cross, emphasizes the importance of market functions as he interprets the southern slave economy. William K. Scarborough's essay of the slave owner, concentrates on the large plantations and offers a perspective which emphasizes the paternalistic nature of slavery. John W. Blassingame examines slavey, not from the planter's house, but from the slave quarters and offers insights into the complex relationships and status symbols within the slave community. Kenneth M. Stampp's essay concludes this volume by presenting his interpretation of the role of historians and their continuing investigation of American Negro slavery.

Perspectives and Irony in American Slavery is an outgrowth of a symposium entitled "The Slave Experience in America: A Bicentennial Perspective," sponsored by the University of Mississippi in October, 1975.
--- from book's dustjacket

Very readable and humerous. Easy to read and very practical information. Really good information for any person and would make a great gift item for a student heading off to college. Also good for seniors living alone.

Way back in the early days of roleplaying games, the fring publishing company known as Judges Guild provided some of the most imaginative and provocative game supplements of their time. Gaming has come a long way since then. Dungeons and Dragons has undergone a mighty facelift. Would the new, revived JG be up to the challenge of the state-of-the art?

You bet they are! The Player's Guide to the Wilderlands represents much of what got people like me hooked on fantasy games in the first place: vast, unexplored wildernesses, exotic cities with strange denizens, mossy ruins of vanished civilizations, and just a little humor to keep things edgy. Production values, once the weak point of JG products, have been brought up to contemporary standards. The regional map is gorgeous.

The book contains background and game information on the Wilderlands, including a rough sketch of major cities (plus a more detailed look at the City State of teh Invincible Overlord), details on the exotic races of the Wilderlands (Amazons! Blue Skinned Avalonians! Hawk-men! All available as PC races!), a listing of many of the Wilderlands' gods and religions, a brief history, and a geographical gazetteer.

If you are tired of the Forgotten realms, are no longer frightened by Ravenloft, and seek an alternative to Greyhawk, go forward to gaming's past. Give teh Wilderlands a shot.