Peter Books

I prefer Bartlett's for one major reason: You know where what you're looking for came from. There's plenty of good material in here, don't get me wrong, but if it's a Shakespeare quotation, I like to know *exactly* where it came from in MacBeth, so I can find it and cite it!

It does have an interesting organization-- by theme-- which is different from Bartlett's and can make flipping through it amusing. In that way, you can actually pick this up and just browse instead of reading 16 pages of lines from Paradise Lost, all together.

However, if you're looking for something practical, something you can use to give people an answer if they ask you, "Hey, that was interesting, where did it come from, exactly?," you're not going to be able to answer the "exactly" part. Just be aware of that.

Well worth the price of the book - excellent collection of quotes. Wonderful source of reference. I look forward to "wearing it out" as one other reader has!!!

I have had this book for 9 years and it continues to be my favorite. I have several other quotation books, but I always keep coming back to this one. It covers many topics that are categorized in a user friendly format which makes searching for the perfect quote a breeze. I recommend this book for the quotation fanatic!

A lot of quote books focus on the timeless and famous or the "witty" and not-so-meaningful. Peter's Quotations is a clasic among public speakers and essayists because it focusses on what these people are likely to need. It addresses broad, abstract topics such as "kindness" but also lays out the lawyer jokes. The topics are a good mix of the immortal and the current and, while often witty, are never ridiculous or campy (well, almost never campy). I've used it for years as a debater and public speaker, as a coach, and as a teacher. The best indication I can give you of its outstanding usefulness is that I buy a new copy for my speech team every year because a graduating senior always steals the old one. I'm on my third personal copy because I've worn two others out.

Not a "real" quotation reference like, say, Bartlett's, but a great compendium of mostly modern quotes. The book has a sharp, sassy, punchy, pointed sensibility (which only lags, unfortunately, in Dr. Peter's own added asides which are uniformly below the standard of the rest of the book). This is a quotation book that you will read cover to cover. Organization is handy so that when you want to find that pithy bon mot that struck you the last time you read the book, you'll be able to locate it easily. Highly recommended.

The Pride of the Lyons is a well thought out and thought provoking story. The writer draws the reader in and captures their attention beginning to end. The stoy is well written and keeps the reader interested page by page
with it's twists and turns. I throughly enjoyed reading this story.

Sorry but why can't he just be a private eye who happens to be Gay. This generation of gays has an unfortunate obsesion with "gay-ness" being the core of their identity. How sad. He also seemed to have no sense of self in terms of why he was doing anything he was doing. That being said the confrontation in the bar was handled well and the character almost came to life for me. Too bad the govenor couldn't just have been regular philandering, enough of the gay angle if it's not a gay focused mystery. I like horses and horse racing so I'd probably keep reading for a while to see if he softened up on the gay pride and focused on the mystery.

The author takes you on a titliating journey through a myriad of interesting landscapes, places that most of us have never, nor will ever find ourselves. I sat on the edge of my seat, on more than one occasion, as this page turner left me wanting more. I truly felt acquainted with Kentucky's politics, horse-racing, and underground world, after this read. I give this book my best review! Read it or miss out!

This excerpt for "The Pride of Lyons" is absolutely wonderful. The first line draws you in provoking your curiosity. The plot line itself keeps you captivated by throwing unexpected turns the readers way. With slight hints of humor that keep it even more stimulating. This excerpt kept me on my toes and entertained, and I would love to read the rest of it.

I'm impressed. This story jumped right out of the starting gate and into the plot. Definitely an interesting approach to the detective novel. I wasn't expecting a gay male protagonist in place of the usual gristled drunken womanizer. Mr. Peters maintained the feel of the genre with colorful descriptions of people and places that make for an excellent read. I'm intrigued and interested in where the story will take me, best of luck in the contest because I'd love to read the rest.

If you can only get one book on rabbits, this is the book to get! Considered by many rabbit breeders, exhibitors, owners to be 'THE' book on rabbits. The authors are rabbit owners/breeders themselves and they know whereof they speak. Easy to read and understand, it includes a history of rabbits, genetics, feeding, housing, breeding, medical care, the merits of rabbits as pets, rabbits in therapy, just about anything you would ever need or want to know about rabbits. This book is well worth every penny of the cost. It's a very modest investment when you want to provide the very best for your rabbit, or rabbits, no matter why you have them.

I just checked this book out from the local library and after skimming through it, marking what I want to go back and read in detail, I am convinced that this is a book that I can't be without! This book has TONS of detailed information, including several chapters on the genetics of rabbits. It is the first book that I have found that just doesn't gloss over rabbits as a whole, but actually gets down to the nitty gritty. There's a lot of detailed information about the diseases, how to have a successful rabbitry (if that is your goal), food guidelines, the importance of vitamins, etc. Do yourself a favor: get ahold of this book!

This reference is an excellent source of information in regards to management systems, feeds & feeding, breeding, production, etc. What I find lacking is how little effort seemed to go into the breed illustrations. Rabbits depicted are poorly posed and therefore make a very unsatisfactory representation of the breeds' description. If you can get past that little bump, the book - for its wealth of knowledge is an excellent resource for rabbit breeders or those considering embarking on that adventure.

This reference (notice I didn't say "book") is incredibly valuable for first timers with no animal experience through long time, large scale producers. When I started out with my first pet rabbit, I used the '96 edition all the time for freak-out moments like a crusty ear or just to satisfy my curiosity. Now that I'm almost done with college and ready to start up my own herd again, the 2000 edition proves twice as useful. Make sure you put your name and address on the inside cover!

This is a classic in raising rabbits commercially. Not the latest edition (the 8th edition is the newest), but still very useable. The main difference between this edition and the newest is that there are no color photos. This book contains practical important information on raising rabbits commercially that simply cannot be found elsewhere. Not a how-to book for pet rabbit owners, but a serious manual for producing high quality healthy rabbits in an economical manner. I would not attempt to raise rabbits commercially without this "bible" on the bookshelf.

I ordered this book and finished it in one day.The other reviewers were extremely accurate when they said it was hard to put it down.Peter Kalafatis has created a fast paced masterpiece that not only shows brutal honesty but an uncanny talent for allowing the reader to actually visualize the story at hand through his writing.He brings out very good points about about the system as well as his feelings about the tragic death of his brother.I highly recommend it.

Set aside time, because you won't be able to put it down. A Rebel Life is a heart wrenching reflection on growing up in a system that is designed to crush those who can't conform to it, and demoralize those who do to reluctant resignation. It deals with guilt, grief, rage, anger,loss, and loyalty. This is a no excuses book, and takes a blunt look at the roles we all play and why we play them. Its a piercing tribute to a life cut short.

This book was gripping and cinematic from the first page, opening in a happy place before a disturbing phone call changes the authors life direction completely. Once at odds with his own troubled past, wherein he lived off the grid of society. A disowned dropout, a violent skinhead, a semi-absentee teenage parent, and eventual suburban gang organizer. Our narrator finds himself mulling over the different paths of his life when he finds out that his beloved younger, and recently estranged brother has senselessly died by what appears to be a self inflicted drug overdose. Between the time of the phone call, and the time of the funeral he begins to realize that it was he, not necessarily his brother who had made the wrong choices as of late. He had been lulled into conforming, while his brother still slipped past all of the traps that attempt to make you woosie with material love and the desire to aquire. It was now clear to him that his brother got the ultimate punishment for his sins of disobediance. Society saw fit to kill him. It was murder by the Rich against a true rebel.
How would our narrator seek his revenge? You will burn through the pages in one painful, yet beautifully written sit until you find out in the last page how he chooses to manifest his rage.
This book is an instant classic.

You see it at every level of society: conform or be rejected, sometimes violently, and with no alternatives. Peter Kalafatis' book makes stunningly candid and frighteningly accurate observations on the world today.
More and more I have been noticing the growing differences between the classes, and the complete eradication of the middle class altogether. This violent extraction of an entire social class will produce waves of turmoil that ripple through the future of our society. But it is not just the other classes that destroy the middle class (the rich exploiting and the poor feeding off of) it is ourselves as well. "A Rebel Life" examines the repercussions of what is happening in the war of the classes - it lifts up the flowerpots and examines in detail what crawls underneath - and it is us...
Whoever you are, whatever you do, you need to read this book!

This book was amazing. From the minute that I picked it up I didn't want to put it down. It has so much heart to it, and each page is worth turning. Not for a minute did I want to quit reading this one. The way Kalafatis expressed himself was great, and each new letter made you feel that much closer to him. Each page assured you that he was a real person. I would read this book again with no questions asked. Great book! Buy it! Read it! Find out for yourself.

To anyone who knows the work of photographer Glen E. Friedman, best known for his F-ck You Heroes monograph on 1970s through early '90s punks, rappers and skaters, his latest book, Recognize, will come as a bit of a shocker. Recognize consists of photographs of clouds, mostly taken from the air - at cloud level - that capture in sharp detail the hues and variations of the color white. They re-create the experience of being in an airplane, of seeing amazing clouds just outside the window and feeling the near spiritual beauty of that moment. As a representative of the element air, Recognize fits nicely between Richard Misrach's aerial views of the sea and Luc Delahaye's panoramic land views of war. The approach of these photographers is that of a curious observer who is at once consciously detached and uncontrollably involved. Friedman captures the clouds with a humility and simple wonder. His photos achieve what so many others only aspire to - they show the spiritual within the physical. Thus the book's title makes profound sense. Recognize, it says, in simple, clear letters. Recognize your humility, recognize the power of nature, recognize the beauty of the world. It is rare to find a photography book like this, one that genuinely and with total directness conveys the spiritual qualities of the material world.

We are very pleased that Friedman should turn his attention to photographing our fluffy friends in all their respendent glory.

The shots are, pure and simple, majestic cloudscapes unsullied by any piffling little distractions like the ground.

It is fantastic.

We had not realized it was such a large format - It means that you can really see the detail. Given that clouds have a fractal quality - that's obviously a good thing.

We highly recommend it.

Glen E. Friedman is an artist that keeps us off our heels. In RECOGNIZE, we find ourselves in a familiar place, off the busy streets, and looking head-on at what we often let pass overhead and unnoticed. We all have been there, more concerned with the destination rather than being in the moment and enjoying the window seat. So few of us have really stopped to look. Thankfully, Glen has captured fleeting moments of weightless bliss on film. Paging through RECOGNIZE is like hitting the slow-motion button on a film that we never really understood because it was going by our eyes on fast-forward. After floating through Glen's latest, you'll undoubtedly recall what you saw on your next trip to the sky. Hopefully you'll remember to slow things down and recognize the beauty this time.

I bought this book not as a Glen Friedman fan, but as a confirmed cloudlover; the idea of a large format book dedicated entirely to cloud photography held irresistible appeal, and helped me overcome my initial reluctance given the prohobitive pricetag of this slim volume. The pretentious, arty blurbs mean little to me (apart from making me smile) - in the end this book essentially delivers what I hoped for, large photos of clouds, mostly taken from airplane windows. Quietly thumbing through this book is a peculiar, peaceful experience (much as gazing out of an airplane window can be). Yet I find little in any of the photographs that sets them apart; I would go as far as to say that I shot cloud images myself that, with a little compositional cropping, would not look incongruous in this collection. It is, I suppose, impossible to make something truly personal out of a subject so objective and ubiquitous, which is why the highflying artistic pretentions of 'Recognize' could not but fall flat. That leaves the images themselves, and ultimately I find rather a lot of them somewhat disappointing. For one, I missed the detail other reviewers have commented on; most of the images are coarse-grained, some looking almost like watercolors. Unlike the cover image, half of the photographs are almost abstract, mere grainy washes of color. Then, the quality of the prints is occasionally less than optimal: on this large scale images invite close scrutiny, and the printing blemishes that appear in several of them, how ever small, stand out like sore thumbs. Furthermore, it was particularly galling to find two pages stuck together, and both damaged after I peeled them apart, even though the book came straight from its shrink-wrap. All in all, a mixed bag. This may be of interest for those dedicated to Friedman, but cloudlovers might want to consider John Day's 'Book of Clouds', which at a quarter of the price gives you many more cloud photographs than Friedman, without the artistic pretensions (and on a smaller scale), but often equally compelling (if, unfortunately, as often equally grainy too).

I bought this book based on the reviews, flipped through it once, and though I thought the pictures were good, I didn't at first find them particularly remarkable.

But in the weeks following my purchase of the book, I've changed. I've gone from adding up numbers on license plates while driving to leaning out the window, gawking at clouds. I carry a digital camera with me now. Sometimes I just stand in the driveway capturing shot after shot of the light moving through the clouds. I watch the weather forecast for "Partly Cloudy" days. I surf the 'Net looking for cloud-watching sites.

Before I got this book, I didn't really notice clouds. I've never had a photography book affect me the way this one did.

It can be difficult to find a fairy tale collection that manages to hit on a wider spectrum of stories, rather than the hish-hash collections of everything that everyone has memorized or the collections that go out of the way to find the most unknown and unusual. This has both, from the familiar to the distinctly different, and told in a classic Victorian voice. There is a story for everyone here, romantic, macabre, and even funny, and from a variety of countries and cultures. It's a good, basic show of different types of stories, and each one is memorable! Defintely a must-have for the fairy tale collector!

I originally heard about the Red Fairy Book in the Annotated Hobbit, it was listed as one of J.R.R. Tolkiens influance's.
Anyways I found it and started to read it, and I must say it is the best fairy tale book I own. It's much more lush and interesting than Grimms, though Grimm is great, this book is so far my favorite.
Quite possibly the best fairy tale book ever written.

I bought Lang's Red Fairy book on a lark, expecting it to be just another re-collection of Grimms' tales and various English and French fairy tales that I had already been exposed to. I expected it would be nice, light bedtime reading and little else. When I saw that the first tale was the Twelve Dancing Princesses, I settled in for a rehash of a tale I've know since childhood.

Was I ever surprised! The Twelve Dancing Princesses was related in a manner I had never read before, the end result being a much more engaging storyline. The hero and his bride were given names, personalities, and a depth that is missing from practically every other fairy tale collection I own. The result is a story that is short enough to be read to a child at bedtime, but lush, engaging, and interesting enough to grip even the most jaded folktale enthusiast. Just a small list of the differences in the Twelve Dancing Princesses story from the "traditional" versions I already owned:

1. The hero seeking the elusive answer is not an old, jaded soldier, but a young, thoughtful peasant boy.

2. The princes who fail to find the answer do not have their heads cut off by the murderous king (a plot device which made no sense, because it discouraged questors who might gain the answer, not to mention that the kingly fathers would likely object to this treatment of their sons), but rather "disappear" completely - a development that is carefully explained in the story.

3. The princesses come to accept the loss of their nightly amusements and relish a chance to grow up, put away childish things, and become queens.

4. The princess who marries the questor marries him out of love and acceptance, and the marriage is a joyous one, not a form of humiliation and punishment of the 'proud' princess.

Each of the stories is this way - old, familiar, completely recognizable, and yet totally new and compelling. I cannot recommend this collection highly enough, and once I finish the Red book, I will happily move to the next colors in the rainbow.

As Tolkien's enthusiastic, I read The Red Fairy Book because I wanted to know about Tolkien's early influences.
Andrew Lang's books were the first books that Tolkien ever read, he owned The Red Fairy Book and even after long time he remembered it fondly.
If you are searching for Tolkien in this book you will not be disappointed. You will find there the source for the name of Pippin for instance, you will find in the stories grains of ideas and themes that later found themselves in LOTR.

But you will find there more than just LOTR references. You will find great stories, some of them a little naive for the cynical reader, but all of them interesting. Even if you are adult, this book will conquer you completely. This is a book for all the members of the family. You will love it and your children will love it. Some of the stories are suitable for very small children to read to them before bedtime.

If you are searching for so called "sophisticated" books, this book is not for you. It contained simple stories, some of them with moral and it is lacking complex motives and emotions, after all, it is fairy tales.

When I was in third grade, my school had the Red, Blue, and Yellow Faerie books, and as I was an avid reader I read all 3 of them. The one I continued to check-out and reread over and over again however was The Red Fairy Book. I have fond memories of many hours spent turning the pages of this book, and admittedly, it could be that I am looking back thru rose colored spectacles, it made such an impression on me that I am now collecting the whole fairy book series.

This book is a fascinating read to see how everything started. It explains what baseball was like B.R. (before Red Sox) and gives us a sense of our fandom ancestors. It truly is like a family history with all the crazy characters and situations that come with every family.
I'm most amazed to find that the past is very similar to the present in that the team was formed by luring great players, including Cy Young, away from other teams (today's free agency), and dumping salaries. Not to mention the parallels between the fans and their taunting of the Pirates players in 1903 as today's fans mock Yankees players.
The only problem is that there is SO much to talk about, everything is given equal time, and if you want to immerse yourself in more detail about specific moments, then you're out of luck. But that's why there are books on each subject like the selling of Babe Ruth or the Impossible Dream, etc.
This book gives you the overview. It's up to you to take your education further. -- Andy Wasif, author Green Monster University: Creating Die-Hahd Fans Since 1901

Must read for the followers of RED SOX NATION

What else can be said but win another RING.

Half the book are quotations, and some quotations run for pages and pages. In my opinion, that's unprofessional. It's like the author published his rough draft. He must have been paid by the word.

A long time Red Sox fan, I've been let down countless times. The biggest being in 1985. But, after the 2004 season, all my anguish and woe as a Sox fan diminished after they swept the Cardinals in the World Series. When this book came out, I immediately picked it up and read it as fast as I could. From the first page on, the book just grabbed me and I couldn't let it go. The pictures are well taken and well represented in the book. After the 1970s, I could remember these moments in Sox history. Then I read about the 1990s, about Pedro and D-Lowe. Then the forgettable 2003 ALCS. Then the greatest pages of all, the 2004 season, with the book ending on a high note, for once! All the Red Sox books I've read, all of them have ended badly, this one though, ended great! Read this book, you won't regret it.

As they say in the book
"And when Red Sox fans in the future travel to stadiums around the country, they "1918" caps and taunts of "Bucky Dent" or "Bill Buckner" will ring hollow. Bucky who? Who cares? Bill who? Doesn't matter.
"History starts today" became the battle cry. The Red Sox had done it. Red Sox fans, like Humphrey Bogart, will always have Paris."
- Red Sox Nation: An Unexpurgated History Of The Red Sox

I've been a Red Sox fan since the early 1960's - around the time that Carl Yastzemski, my all time favorite player, came up - and in common with all Red Sox fans, have suffered through some of the most heart-breaking losses imagineable..

And, unfortunately, this book does not pull any punches or try to sugar coat the losses. It's all there - the loss to the Cardinals in 1967 after Yaz almost single-handedly carried the Red Sox to the Impossible Dream and took the Cards and the brilliant Bob Gibson to a 7th game.

Or the 1975 World Series against the Big Red Machine - the Cincinnati Reds. Again, the Sox went the distance only to lose in Game 7. But they gave us a win in Game 6 which, in my opinion, was the greatest game ever played in the best series ever played.

But it also brings back the heartbreak of the 1978 season when they blew a huge lead in August and ending up losing to the Yankees after Bucky F*****ing Dent's homerun.

Or the 1986 World Series against the Mets when they lost Game 6 after being just 1 strike away from winning. Thanks Bill Buckner / Calvin Schiraldi and Bob Stanley.

And let's not forget the 2003 "Cowboy Up" season..!!

You know, I never bought the "curse of the Bambino" nonsense and this book only confirmed what I always suspected / knew. The ONLY thing that the Red Sox were cursed with were Managers who, at times, were clearly brain dead - they were simply in over their heads and couldn't do the little things that separate the great coaches from the merely good or "mortal" ones.

For example, Don Zimmer sticking with Mike Torrez late in the one game playoff with the NY Yankees back in 1978 when he should have gone with Bill Lee's fresh arm. Unfortunately, Zimmer thought "Spaceman" Lee was a flake and so he decided to keep him on the bench. Between this bonehead play - and Zimmer's decision to get rid of one of the greatest pinch hitters around (remember Bernie Carbo's heroics in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series..??), is it any wonder that the player's couldn't get the job done..??

Or in 1986, John McNamara elected to keep a gimpy kneed Bill Buckner at first instead of pulling him for a healthier, better fielding replacement.
And we all know what happened..!!

And, of course, we can't forget Grady Little staying with Pedro Martinez late in the game in the 2003 ALCS when every Red Sox fan - alive and dead - was screaming at Grady through their TV to "pull this guy and get a fresh, strong arm in there..!!!??. After giving up a bunch of hits, Little pulled Martinez, but by then the damage was done..! And when Boone hit that home run, it was deja vu all over again..!

No - there never was a "curse" - just some of the most incredibly inept and stupid managing in the history of this great game. Some day, Zimmer and Little and McNamara should all get together and compare notes on who the biggest bonehead is..!

But enough of the negative stuff.

I loved the commentary from the players /fans / reporters etc that are sprinkled thorughout the book. It really gives you a flavour of the time and the emotions that we all experience when you're a Red Sox fan. The bookj talks about the beaning of Tony Conigliaro, who never properly recovered from that terrible accident. We can only wonder how great his numbers and career might have been had he been healthy.

Or the numerous stories of Ted Williams - or the Yawkey's (Tom and Jean), Luis Tiant , Jim Rice, Freddie Lynn and on and on it goes.

Of course, we all know that it has an incredibly happy ending with their World Series win in 2004. Yes,three years later in August 2007 as I'm writing this, it still feels great to be able to sit back and know that these guys won it all in our lifetime...!!

And to win it the way they did against the Yankees is still the BEST memory I will ever have in baseball. No matter how many incredibly painful ways the Red Sox found to lose throughout the years, ONLY the Yankees have been ahead 3 games to 0 in the ALCS and then proceed to lose the next 4 games. Yes - the Red Sox have had some bitter losses, but only the NY Yankees have choked so bad that no other team in baseball history has ever equalled it. The World Series win was the BEST cake in the world - and beating the Yankees the way they did was the best icing on the cake a Red Sox fan could possibly ask for..!!

I hope the Yankees and their fans still choke on that thought from time to time.

Anyways, if you're a Red Sox fan - and you should be if you're not - you MUST own this book. it's a great read from the first to last page and it's a pleasure to read about the teams and players that pre-dated your own interst.

It's a pleasure being a Red Sox fan..!!

"In this unusual Christmas picture book, the author/illustrators combine a breezy, rhyming text with humorous pencil and watercolor illustrations." Gisela Jernigan, Children's Literature

"The verse and illustrations are reminiscent of Dr. Seuss classics." American Bookseller, Holiday Pick of the Lists

"A somewhat bizarre though humorous story about a Christmas tree that ends up at Rockefeller Center and the Redbird that inhabits it. The whimsical illustrations and clever rhymes keep kids interested but might leave parents scratching their heads." Boston Herald, 12/97

"Redbird at Rockefeller Center shows what can happen when two authors/illustrators have wonderful imaginations. Peter Maloney and Felicia Zekauskas have created a hilarious tale sure to bring lots of holiday cheer. The verse is full of rhyme and flows naturally. The rest is non-stop humor. The laughter factor is enhanced by the whimsical illustrations Maloney and Ms. Zekauskas create. Check out the lady's hair; it's a sight to behold. Youngsters and the young at heart will chuckle at this tale. This is a title you won't want to miss." Richmond Times-Dispatch, 12/97

"When the humongous spruce in her yard is chosen to be Rockefeller Center's Christmas tree, young Kate is heart broken. But off it goes, with a newly hatched and very confused cardinal hidden in its branches. Energetic cartoon scenes, festooned with feathery splashes of cheery red, reflect the story's quick pace and tongue-in-cheek charm perfectly. Beyond this picture-book's New York City setting and its value as holiday reading, the birds' mass cooperation creates a natural link with Leo Lionni's Swimmy (1963)." Booklist, 11/97

Keith Thomas's Religion and the Decline of Magic was the first of my books for summer reading, and I doubt that any novel that I choose will be half as entertaining or any text as informative. By the conclusion I felt that I was completing an odessey throughout the early modern era with a sympathy and understanding of a world far different then ours in some respects, yet, as Thomas succinctly points out in the conclusion, profoundly similar. No other history book has granted me a deeper sense of understanding about human drives for stability and for explaination in all things. This is a book that grants insight and understanding far beyond its proclaimed subject matter, with positive and sweeping consequences for the objective thinker.

I first read this book as a history graduate student many years ago, and it still remains one of my favorite books of all time. Thomas set himself a daunting task--ascertaining the effect the change in religion from Catholicism with its beliefs in miracles, saints, transubstantiation to Protestantism with its adversion to miraculous beliefs had on the popular imagination.

Thomas tapped little used sources, the Church court records which included trials for witchcraft or magic to see if he could trace a decline in belief in magic. Thomas concluded that magical belief did decline from the 15th-17th centuries. In my opinion, he proved his case.

Anyone who has done historical research will stand in awe of Thomas' command of sources and his ability to synthesize. Anyone who is more than a little fed up with ahistorical screeds on witchcraft prosecutions a la Margaret Murray, will applaud Thomas's reasoned and credible explaination of the reasons behind witchcraft prosecutions. Basically, witchcraft prosecution in 16th century England filled the same function as it does in contemporary Africa--an attempt to control the uncontrollable.

Originally published in 1971, Keith Thomas's landmark book has lost none of its impact over the last 30 years. This book almost singlehadedly founded an entirely new school of historiography in the fields of astrology, magic, religion, and witchcraft. Before 1970, these subjects were largely the domain of storytellers and "new age" authors, who, making little claim to objectivity, would embellish their "histories" with fanciful and/or romantic myths. With this book, Keith Thomas rescued astrology and witchcraft from their terrible predicaments and elevated them into serious issues capable of being studied as history. It is no exaggeration to say that almost every major text published in this field after 1971 was profoundly influenced by Thomas's work. If you are planning to seriously investigate the topics of religion and magic, then this book is indispensable. Even if your investigative scope does not include England, this book is still required background reading.

The first chapter (The Environment) alone is worth the price of admission. In this astonishing piece, Thomas highlights the miserable condition of early modern life. After setting this background, Thomas goes on to discuss the "magic" of the Medieval Church, the various belief systems surrounding it, and the impact that the Reformation had upon the long standing "rituals" of the Catholic church. Becuase the Calvinists placed little trust in the Catholic rituals, many people "felt disarmed in the face of the devil." As a result, much of England and Europe began to fear the impact of astrology and witchcraft on everyday life. But as the quality of early-modern life was so bleak, many English men and women resorted to magical healing and astrology in order to seek refuge from their plight. So, on one hand, many feared astrology and magic, but those same people often sought solace in it as well.

After discussing in detail the significance and practice of astrology in early-modern England, Thomas then goes on to outline the history of the crime of witchcraft. The discussion of witchcraft is probably the highlight of the book. Never had any previous historian (and few since) so clearly outlined the form and function of witchcraft in English society. After a brief chapter on Ghosts and Fairies, Thomas finishes up by drawing connections between the various issues he discusses.

The book includes a comprehensive index as well as excellent bibliographical essays at the beginning of each chapter should anyone want to pursue any topic further. Simply put, this book is a masterpiece that has received few (if any) notable detractors. This book is required reading for anyone interested in this field, and highly recommended to everyone else.

Other people have praised the contents of this book, as well they should. So allow me to add something that might sway prospective readers.

I read this book at the conclusion of a year-long tutorial on this period of English history. Having focused on economic, social, military, diplomatic and religious histories of the time, I could not have been better prepared to read this book. It was, hands, down, the most perfect book I could have picked up after all that.

However, I realize that my circumstances will likely differ from others. Some people won't dive into this book after having waded through multiple texts on the centuries in question. This book shouldn't be appealing to academics or (in my case) failed academics alone. So, to those curious who haven't specialized in this field or even had the happy luck to muck about in it, like I did, I will say two things.

One, I enthusiastically recommended this book to several college buddies, none of whom were history students. While they had some questions that needed a glance at an encyclopedia, all thoroughly enjoyed it. Based on their responses, I'd say anyone with any background or interest in/familiarity with anthropology, religion or early English literature will enjoy this book.

Two, I read this book right before meeting my stepfather-in-law, a Presbyterian minister, for the first time. And just based on asking him questions and bringing up the subject matter provided us with hours of fascinating conversation. If you know anyone well-schooled in religion who enjoys talking about its history (and is not offended by the suggestion that sometimes religion can err), this book will be great conversation fodder and a delightful present.

That being said, reading this book was a wonderful experience. It combined the rigors of excellent scholarship with the pleasures of dryly witty writing and engrossing primary-source material. (I cannot say enough about this. It's a misfortune of the rigors of historical research that many of the people with the stamina to endure it don't seem to possess a similar aptitude for writing. Thomas may not be as pithy and light as A.J.P. Taylor, but his prose is far above historical-text average, and what he lacks as a stylist is more than made up for by the funny, bizarre and vivid primary-source passages he quotes.)

Ten years ago, this book might have been more difficult for non-historians, non-theologians and non-anthropologists to pick up and just read for fun. Now, with Wikipedia and countless other online tools, references to English history that might otherwise have seemed cryptic or arcane are easily searched and can only add to the full experience of enjoying Mr. Thomas' work. It might feel like work for a little while, to constantly refer to an online encyclopedia to clarify points about Charles I or Oliver Cromwell, but that will pass. Don't be afraid to jump in! It's a challenging text at times, but it is well worth the effort.

This book covered most every aspect of religion and the Reformation. Beginning with the wonderful opening chapter that explains the environment of the current era and ending with the equally as powerful conclusion that ties the whole book together. You are exposed to astrologists, witches, cunning men, sorcerers and realize how they each worked against, and with, the Church. We see how the rising of Church of England ebolished the idea of "magic" and miricals, an important factor in the decline of Catholocism. I highly reccomend this as an advanced reader to anyone interested in how the "pagen" influence and Church power intermingaled in an age when community was giving way to individulism. Brilliant.

My mother read this book to me as a child and I liked it so much I clung to it like gold, but somehow it got lost through the years. I was surprised and excited when I found it online and would love to share this book with my husband and children. I thought I was the only child who read this book.

My boys loved this book when they were little. A fire in the house destroyed this among many others and I have been looking for 15 years to get another copy.

This was my favorite story next to Scuffy the Tugboat. Unfortunately all of my books went to my older sister's kids, and they did not take very good care of them, so they are all lost now. I have my first child coming in July (Ian Gabriel) and I'm looking for a copy of this book (and from the reviews, it looks like I'm not alone). Maybe the publisher will decide to reprint it.

I have been looking for this book for 20 years in antique shops in the Midwest to no avail. I even thought that maybe this book actually did not exist and was only in my imagination. I am happy to see that it does exist and that other people enjoyed it also. I can just see that pancake with that big smirk on his face!

My son's favorite book from an infant until he could read. We have been searching for it for many years. At bedtime he could pick 3 books for reading every night and somehow The Runaway Pancake was always on the top of the pile EVERY night. He knew the story so well he would say it right along with me reading it to him long before age three. We lost this badly worn book in one of our moves and have been looking for that pancake since. We won't be happy until he returns to our family.