Roberts Books

This is an excellent book that thoroughly covers the intended material. Great for spine. Get it!

I regard this as the best single text in radiology, and it's one of two that I use on a daily basis. I only bought it because someone stole my last one.

The writing is superb. The index is very useful and the pictures tell me nearly everything I need to know - starting with basic anatomy.

Not the most in depth source for MSK radiology but a great overview of important topics and their MRI findings.

Why can't all radiology books be written like this. I just wish that authors in other fields of radiology can write books like this. This book tells you what you need to know and not how much the author can write about a subject. It's good for anybody from resident to practicing radiologist. If you read MSK MRI, you have to get this book.

This is an excellent book for the following reasons:
-Size of text. This is the perfect size for an introductory text for a resident rotation. Small enough to throw in your backpack.
-Cost. On par with the Requisite series.
-Concise presentation. The text is easily readable for someone who has experience with plain film MSK, and takes time to explain the relevant anatomy when it's important.It goes over the most important topics over each major joint, leaving out the more obscure topics for the larger textbooks.
-Illustrations and images. Illustration are simple black-and-white drawings, which are much more effective than some texts that borrow illustrations, which are often way too busy (poor illustrations of the relevant anatomy). The images range in quality from OK to excellent, but shows normal first and pathology second for comparision. The images are liberally labelled with arrows denoting pathology and normal anatomic structures, which is a mark of an excellent text. I detest texts who present images without pointing out the findings. It's lazy, unhelpful, and sometimes you can't figure out just what the abnormality is! Tree-in-bud? Crazy paving? Pencil-in-cup? Radiology is filled with signs and descriptions, some of which are ridiculously or poorly named. Unfortunately your stuck learning them, and nothing is more infuriating than reading through a topic like arthritis with unmarked images showing subtle findings like "erosions" without clearly illustrated images.

This book is worth the asking price. MSK MRI is a rotation most residents don't receive until their 3rd/4th year, and it's the quickest way to hit the ground running.

Mr. Lloyd Lofthouse did an amazing job with My Splendid Concubine. I thought Sir Robert Hart's story was a beautiful one of romance for both his concubines as well as the country of China. I have to admit I have never heard of Sir Robert Hart but after reading his story I have a great admiration for what he did in addition to his determination to learn the culture there and become a Chinamen. You can definitely tell all the labor of love Mr. Lloyd Lofthouse put into writing My Splendid Concubine. Mr. Lofthouse wanted to tell the earlier years of Sir Robert Hart and when he was an interpreter for the British Consulate in Ningpo with his concubine Ayaou. Thank you, Mr. Lofthouse for making sure Sir Robert Hart's story got told.

My Splendid Concubine, a Novel by Lloyd Lofthouse, is the portrayal of Sir Robert Hart's early years in China during the mid 19th Century. Not much is actually known of those years as Hart reportedly burned his diaries which would chronicle those years. He returned to Ireland late in his life in 1908 and died in 1911 at the age of 76. A highly revered man in England as well as China.

Lofthouse weaves a tale of intrigue, lust, love, loyalty, danger and disaster in Hart's early years while working as the Interpreter at the British Consulate in Ningpo. The book will captivate you, revealing China's cultures, customs and ancient organized civilization that foreign governments brought corruption into play proving once again the almighty dollar, pound sterling or yuan is King.

I would highly recommend this Novel to all, but beware, the rating is not PG, meaning some passages even made this sixty year old blush, albeit an enjoyable embarrassment. Steamy, exciting, intriguing danger waits at every turn of the page, trust me in this.

Want a book to keep you reading and leave you wanting more - this is it! It is a fascinating experience watching Robert Hart learn a new language and culture. You are inside his head and heart to hear, see and feel the struggle between his strict Irish Christian upbringing and this new life that he enjoys so much.

It was strange and wonderful time. It was a time of new and a time of old. For Robert hart it was an escape from his life and familial disgrace into a new beginning of which he could have never conceived. Born and raised in Ireland and practicing a lifestyle of abandon and irresponsibility, Robert Hart accepted a position in China with the British Customs Service in order to escape the shame he brought upon his family. Once in China he vowed that he would live a chaste and pure life. This he struggled to do until he met Ayaou.
He had seen many foreigners in China take local women as concubines and looked down upon them as whoremongers not worthy of his respect. The passion evoked in him by Ayaou made him question his vow and he determined to learn as much as he could about this expansive land of China which has a culture many, many centuries older than that of Europe. He did so to learn to accept Ayaou's love and return it honestly and completely. In his quest he met mercenaries and smugglers and teachers and poets. Follow along with him as he experiences and grows into a new life in this little known chapter of a man who was in every respect one of the fathers of Chinese modernization.
Lloyd Lofthouse has crafted a novel that tells an intriguing and amazing tale of a man's life that is objective and yet compelling. It is evident in the detail and touching honesty from both Hart's perspective and that of the Chinese who touch his life that Mr. Lofthouse has a great of understanding the unique nature of human cultures and the clashes that arise when East meets West. In addition the historical depictions and vivid descriptions of the settings make this a book of most impressive stature. The only flaw, and it is minor, is that the reader is left with some questions as to the future. One hopes that this is a hint at a sequel as there is undoubtedly much more to be told of Robert Hart and his journeys of growth and accomplishment.
Reviewer: John Helman, Allbooks Reviews.

It is in the natural order of literature that famed authoress Anchee Min's (Red Azalea; Becoming Madame Mao) significant other, Lloyd Lofthouse, is the latest author to join the ranks of China historical fiction writers with his highly-anticipated debut novel, My Splendid Concubine, which traces the true-life exploits of Sir Robert Hart.

Lofthouse's Hart is not the idol that encyclopedias portray him as; he is a flawed man. Enticed into purchasing his first concubine, boat-girl Ayaou, Hart is at once disgusted and stirred by the thought of "taking bids on her virginity," but admits to himself that "it bothered him more that he found the idea tempting."

Regardless of the novel's title, Ayaou is not Sir Robert Hart's "concubine." For all intents and purposes, she is stolen property liberated by Hart from a rival. Hart's true splendid concubine is in fact Ayaou's little sister. Only fourteen years old, the blossoming Shao-mei is admittedly even more desirable than Ayaou. "I'm not a finished woman, but I am a woman." She slid her hands down the length of her nude torso to her vulva..."

My Splendid Concubine is rife with the sexual dalliances of a white man adrift in China ("What a strange night, a strange place and strange girls"). Lofthouse also plaits his page-turning story with amusing cultural anecdotes that surely must have come from the author's personal observations of China ("Live here long enough, see crazy things").

Lloyd Lofthouse is to be commended for writing a novel that so cleverly balances an engaging tale of culture and romance with a wealth of period detail that will educate readers about dynastic China as thoroughly as any university textbook.

Though a "moral hero" in China, My Splendid Concubine depicts another half of Sir Robert Hart: the dark half. Conscious that historical fiction readers demand potboilers over academic fare, Lofthouse plays on Hart's notoriety, and obviously has fun while doing it.

But behind the scandalous, revisionist adventures My Splendid Concubine is a comprehensible and remarkably accurate narrative history of real-life man whom the author quite obviously admires.

[Read Tom Carter's entire five-page critical review of My Splendid Concubine by Lloyd Lofthouse on Amazon's "amapedia"
http://amapedia.amazon.com/view/My+Splendid+Concubine/id=822593 ]

Beautiful fabric covered books and slip case with gold lettering look like they belong in a classic library. Content is of course the best reprint of plates. Cost can put many off, but the tremendous amount of content could only be made up with 15+ other uniform books, making it a decent value

I had purchased the original edition (all 4 volumes) when it was first released. These 4 volumes represent a sizeable and credible amount of documentation on the broad sweep of Napoleonic uniforms. The earlier reviews says it all - a must have for the Napoleonic library uniformologists.
There are caveats, however, on the quality of the documentation and the drawings. Honestly, the captions are adequate only. One should be familiar with Napoleonic uniforms in general to fully appreciate the limited captions for each drawing. There are infrequent references to modern day American forces parlance which is out of context. There are also some errors in identifying bits of items.
The accuracy of the uniforms is based on usually secondary sources - generally accurate but there will be nitpickers who will spot the occasional errors, slip ups and variations.
The drawings themselves are quite attractive - rough sketches done up in watercolour washes. Thus, the precision required by reenactors and model makers (number of buttons, exact shade of colour etc) is not there. Some of the drawings are obviously repeated poses done with different uniforms.
I have given this set 5 stars, based collectively on the amount of documentation versus the cost - truly a bargain.

These volumes are an excellent continuations to volumes I and II. They are a great addition to the library of anyone interested in uniformology or the Napoleonic wars. There is only one caveat. When I purchased vols. I and II, they were a newer printing, with better binding, an extended index, and an attractive, cloth bound, gold filigred display case. These volumes are the original publishing, which I find less attractive, and which do not match my other set. However, this is a total nitpick, as it is the inside of a book that counts (and, also, I believe they haven't yet published the matching 2nd and 3rd volumes to my vols. 1 and 2, nor do I know if they ever will.) The books are full of beautiful, accurate illustrations of and much information about Napoleon's allies and enemies. Including the armies of Westphalia, Sweden, and many others that are rarely seen in publications of the era. I also highly recommend vols I and II.

(Important - this review does apply to 2007 Greenhill, edition of Vol 1-2!) Everyone knows what the book is about. The set is intended for serious collectors, and it was quite disappointing to find such a poor shell for such an excellent material inside. It looks like the Publisher wanted to have deluxe-like binding but at low cost. As a result you will get thin cardboard storage box covered with light cloth of inferior quality and books covered with the same cloth with no protective dust-jackets. I have no idea - why the Publisher did not use thick cardboard laminated box and laminated dust-jackets. I wonder how long will this cloth stand intensive reading and skipping over. To my mind - you will need to order custom-made covers quite soon. It was very bad idea, in particular, to cover the box with cloth of such quality - if you put the box on bookshelf and intend to use books often, the lower part of the box will wear out quite soon. As mentioned before "protective" box is made of thin cardboard, offers very little protection to book and may cause transport damage if carelessly packed (like mine, obtained from Amazon). Apart from crease and bump to the box (what caused ugly bump to book corner - due to the poor material of the box) one volume has some awful dark stain on cloth cover (books are delivered sealed!). This will not increase the value of the set, which is not coffee table. It looks like binding company employees have some problems with washing hands and cleaning work place. So, if you are serious collector and have extra money - try to obtain "heavy duty" first edition rather than this example of cost cut-minded publishing and underpaid Chinese printing / binding industry. If you do not have extra funds - try to obtain this set at less price and be prepared to order new covers in the future.

"There are three sorts of uniforms for every period of history: those described in uniform regulations; those shown by the artists of that period; and that the soldiers really wore." Roger Forthoffer

In the early 1950s, John Elting, who was teaching at West Point, was put in touch with Herbert Knötel, the son of the famous uniformologist, Richard Knötel. Herbert was living in war-ravaged Berlin and was trying to make a living selling military art. Colonel Elting initially began ordering two watercolor pictures every month from Knötel. He was able to convince his wife that he should increase the number he ordered every month, because he needed them for his work as a professor and that they would make a nice collection. Colonel Elting decided that he wanted the collection to be representative of the Napoleon's Grande Armée and began commissioning Mr. Knötel to paint specific uniforms or units for him. Mr. Knötel died in 1963, but during the decade before he died, he had painted over 1500 watercolors of the Napoleonic Era that were purchased by Colonel Elting. Over 900 of these paintings were of La Grande Armée and they form the basis of this book.

Napoleonic Uniforms consists of two massive volumes, each with over 450 color plates. Virtually every type of unit and the different uniforms they wore is represented. Not surprisingly, the Imperial Guard has the largest number of illustrations, with 173 plates. Colonel Elting did not just include the French units. The foreigners who served with La Grande Armée are also well represented with 144 plates!

Volume I is devoted mostly to the combat arms and is broken into five parts:

Part Topic of Plates Number of Plates

1 The Royal Army 18
2 Emigrant Troops 7
3 Revolutionary Troops 39
4 The Army of Egypt 46
5 La Grande Armée: Command and Staff 51
5 La Grande Armée: Light Infantry 37
5 La Grande Armée: Line Infantry 57
5 La Grande Armée: Special Infantry Units 21
5 La Grande Armée: Chasseurs-à-Cheval 44
5 La Grande Armée: Hussars 60
5 La Grande Armée: Dragoons 29
5 La Grande Armée: Lancers 19
5 La Grande Armée: Heavy Cavalry 31

Total Plates in Volume 1: 459

Volume II finishes Part 5 and ends with Part 6. Two-thirds of the plates in this volume cover either the foreign units or the Imperial Guard.

Part Topic of Plates Number of Plates

5 La Grande Armée: Artillery 28
5 La Grande Armée: Engineers 14
5 La Grande Armée: Gendarmes, Police, and Disciplinary Organizations 24
5 La Grande Armée: Service Troops 22
5 La Grande Armée: Foreign Troops -- Foreign Regiments 19
5 La Grande Armée: Foreign Troops -- Swiss Units 29
5 La Grande Armée: Foreign Troops -- Miscellaneous German Units 12
5 La Grande Armée: Foreign Troops -- Italians 8
5 La Grande Armée: Foreign Troops -- Poles 21
5 La Grande Armée: Foreign Troops -- Lithuanians 6
5 La Grande Armée: Foreign Troops -- Balkan Troops 17
5 La Grande Armée: Foreign Troops -- a Sepoy 1
5 La Grande Armée: Foreign Troops -- Spaniards 19
5 La Grande Armée: Foreign Troops -- Portuguese 5
5 La Grande Armée: Foreign Troops -- King Joseph's Spanish Units 7
5 La Grande Armée: National Guard, Schools, and Guards of Honor 25
5 La Grande Armée: the Navy 15
5 La Grande Armée: the Imperial Guard 173
6 The Royal Army 1814 - 1830 13

Total Plates in Volume II: 458

Herbert Knötel first sketched the figure in pencil and then painted the image with watercolors. Since the paintings are one of a kind and were not meant for mass production, you can often see the pencil lines faintly in the background. You also can see faint traces where the painting was secured in a photo album. Occasionally, the corner of the plate is slightly crumpled. Below each figure would be a hand-written caption stating what the figure was. Interestingly, if you look closely you can see where the original pencil caption had been erased and someone wrote over it with ink. Unfortunately, there is no indication if this was done by the artist or later on by Colonel Elting. These are not imperfections that detract from the value of the plates. Instead they leave the reader with a sense that he has the privilege of viewing someone's much treasured, private collection.

Each plate consists of a single mounted or foot figure. There is no background scenery and there is no ground-- all there is are the figures themselves. As mentioned already, the plates cover a wide range of units and uniforms. They depict the soldier in every type of uniform - whether on parade, in the midst of a campaign, or the mundane everyday chores that are the life of a soldier on garrison duty.

Some of the choice of plates were a bit surprising - such as one of a regimental fencing master and another of a senior blacksmith. But this just adds to the charm of the collection. One of my favorites is a line infantry soldier who is foraging. He is sitting bareback on a small horse, with a pig draped over the front and a couple of geese slung over his soldier. All the plates contain incredible detail and the faces are filled with expression. Those soldiers that are on campaign are often shown to be scruffy - even with a touch of five o'clock shadow on their faces - while those on parade are spit and polish.

Below each plate is a short paragraph providing a few lines on the history of the unit and about the uniform itself - whether it is compliance with the uniform regulations or if not, how it is different.

This edition includes a functional index in each volume. It has entries for the different nationalities, different types of troops, and personalities. It does not list specific units or regiments, but instead refers the reader to the contents at the beginning of each major part.

Napoleonic Uniforms closes with a short essay on sources and a glossary. I found the essay fascinating because it compares the styles and the accuracy of numerous different artists. He closes with a bit of advice:

"You will find inconsistencies in the best sources. Variations are inevitable, even for the same unit during the same year. An infantry regiment might have one battalion at its depot, handsomely uniformed according to a compromised between regulations and its colonel's whims; another battalion on the Polish frontier would be in patched field uniforms; a third in Spain would be improvising shoes from raw cowhide and cutting up the cloaks of dead Spaniards for trousers. Some of the colors in the original drawings may no longer accurate: crimson fades to a pink; pigments containing white lead will turn black. Also, officers often wore their old uniforms into the field, and the best artists sometimes made mistakes. But there are lost collections to rescue and new discoveries to be made."

The book is quite stunning! From its gold embossed red cloth covers with stitched binding to its beribboned red slip case it is destined to be a collector's item very quickly! I have both the original edition of "Napoleonic Uniforms" and Greenhill's new release; the originals were not as nicely packaged. The originals are extremely scarce and if you can find a copy, it will be a very expensive purchase. The cheapest used copy will cost over $700, while 'new' ones are being offered for $1750. I strongly recommend that you do not delay in ordering your copy of this new edition. If you do not order it now, in a few years you will be looking at used copies going for four or five times of what they cost today.

This book is wonderful. I paid full price for it and would gladly do so again in order to give it as a gift to others. I highly recomend it.

I have owned this book for several years and read it cover to cover, most parts more than once. It is a good read and I like the way it is set up, and the author's enthusiasm is appreciated. There is much good information inside, but unfortunately, there is misinformation to a degree that I think is inexcusable. For example, the drawings of "evening primrose" actually show primrose, which is a totally different plant in an entirely different family. But the text clearly describes eating the root of evening primrose. So it seems like he didn't even know what evening primrose was, had never tried it, but copied his information on how to use it, even the description of its flavor, from another book. The text sure makes it sound like he's had experience from the plant. I think its disingenuous and a disservice to the reader. This is the most glaring example of many errors. Otherwise, it is a good book.

I was amazed at all the information this book gave me. I have learned so many things, to see all the bounty we can have in our own backyard! Practical and easy to read. I recommend this book to all nature and food lovers.

I haven't met many people who can point out at least ten different plants in the average yard and can tell you how to cook them. Mr. Henderson does an outstanding job of identifying wild, and not-so-wild, edibles common to almost every neighborhood. His recipes are easy to follow and delicious.

Even if you are not planning to run right out to the nearest shrub and harvest its leaves for dinner, I recommend this book. Mr. Henderson's prose is worth reading, whatever the content. His witty, humorous style enlivens a book full of excellent information.

The Neighborhood Forager is a very informative and enjoyable book. It not only tells about the plants in our backyards and by-ways but gives historical information, recipes, warnings and dyer's tips.

Mr. Henderson writes with humor and personal anecdotes which makes the book a good read even if you're not into foraging.

I'm a huge fan of the Clearwater Crossing series. I really liked this book. Even though Eight Prime earned enough $$ to buy the bus for the Junior Explorers, they decided to stay together. Seeing Jenna and Peter react to their kiss was interesting, and Melanie and Jesse may be getting closer than we expected. I can't wait to read the next book in the series. If you want to talk about the series, feel free to email me.

I love this series so much. I always look forward to the new books coing to stores. I loved how Melanie was still trying to cope with her mother's death and how she and Jesse went to Iowa to see her mothers grave. That was sweet!

This clearwater crossing book was the best. It showed so much emotion when Peter lost Jason at winter camp. The whole community showed such apprieciation and concern for finding t he boy. They all helped so much. This book really showed how many things go on during a hoilday and to remember what is really important to you not just to find pleasure in getting a gift from others but to care for everyone and not be selfish. This book definitly deserves 5-stars plus.

Hi! I have all of the Clearwater Crossing books and really like them. I think it's neat that finally there is an author that writes about religion and the difficulties that teenagers face every day. I think this is a series that someone can learn things from and learn a good lesson from! Not everyone is perfect in the real world and these books prove that everyone has problems to face. I reccomend this series to anyone who likes reading a good book. :-)

This book, as are all of the Clearwater Crossing books, is truely enjoyable. I read my copy in about five hours of staigt reading, ending at four in the morning. I would have liked a little more of a spiritual perspective when the Junior Explorer gets lost (I'm tring not to spoil anything that isn't spoiled by reading the back of the book) but that doesn't appear to be Roberts' style. Again, Ben is really down played, so we never see him except when he is involved with the other characters. The cliffhanger is a bit less dramatic this time, and it lacks some of the crisis situations of the second and fourth books.

Oh, and if you're wondering who the new people are on the cover: I'm afraid I don't know either. We don't seem to be adding any important characters.

Barbara Seranella, No Man Standing (Scribner's, 2002)

If you're looking for something to take to the beach, look no further. Talk about a quick read: I started it between a wedding and its reception on Saturday and finished it Sunday evening, despite having the reception, post-reception drinks, and a brunch the day after that turned into a five-hour affair.

The fifth Munch Mancini novel begins with Munch's old friend Ellen Summers getting out of prison the day after her mother and stepfather are killed in a rather gruesome fashion. Ellen has an explanation of why someone would have been after her mother, but the explanation has too many holes in it to completely make sense. Combine this with Ellen's real father coming back into the picture, a crazy woman stalking Munch, a new romantic interest (on the police force, no less), and you've got yourself a novel.

Quick, witty, and absorbing, No Man Standing is pretty much the perfect beach novel; easy, fun, and with short enough chapters that you know, when you finish one, it's time to expose a different side to the sun. ***

In NO MAN STANDING, ex-bad girl Munch Mancini is now eight years down the straight and narrow after giving up alcohol, drugs, sexual promiscuity, and bikers. An ace auto mechanic and owner of a struggling limo business, Munch is moving into a new house with her adopted daughter, Asia, when an old friend in need shows up.

Ellen Summers was Mancini's best gal-pal in the rough old days, and is just released from her latest stint in the California Institution for Women, a penal facility. Summers is being sought by vicious killers who want returned a very large sum of counterfeit Franklins that she found and hid before her most recent imprisonment. The first bodies in a growing pile are those of Ellen's Mom and stepfather. Meanwhile, Munch is being harassed by the jealous ex of a poor choice of lovers, and she doesn't need the heavy baggage that Ellen has brought to her and Asia's doorstep.

By design or not, assigning Ellen a major role in this fifth book of the Munch Mancini series was true inspiration by author Barbara Seranella. Summers is at least a pale reflection of Seranella's protagonist before she became a contributing member of society. For those steady readers of the series, who perhaps thought that Munch was becoming too middle-class, or for those being introduced to Munch for the first time, Ellen is a much-needed reminder of Mancini's former low-life edginess. That aspect, plus the ending plot twist of NO MAN STANDING, extends my interest in the series as a whole, the storylines of which will need to be unpredictable to keep me returning for more. While the last chapter gives a too obvious hint to the evolution of Mancini's love life in the next book, I trust the author will surprise us.

The back flap of NO MAN STANDING reveals that Barbara Seranella ran away at fourteen from the showcase upper middle-class enclave of Pacific Palisades, CA, joined a San Francisco hippie commune, rode with outlaw bikers, and became an auto mechanic. Since I also spent several idyllic childhood years in Pacific Palisades before my uneventful and unrebellious teens, I wish we could sit and compare notes to determine where I went wrong.

I am continually impressed by this author. Her characters are wonderfully developed and the stories fast-moving. She just gets better and better.

I discovered Munch Mancini on a rainy, dreary Friday while cruising www.Amazon.com and went to the library and checked out all the books in the series and had a spectacular weekend Munch read-a-thon. I loved every single book. She gets better and sharper with each consecutive story. Ms. Seranella's stories have the flavor of hard-core reality with just the right touch of suspense and plot twists. No writer I've ever read has the drug scene down the way she does....you can feel the despair and hopelessness of the characters radiating from the pages....and then comes Munch, a ray of hope as one who escaped the druggie lifestyle, a true survivor. Thanks Ms. Seranella for a great series. Keep 'em coming!!

Love the character, love the stories that only get better with each book, love everything about it. Can't wait for the next one.

Mr. Bittlestone argues that the Paliki peninsula in present day Cephalonia is the location of Homeric Ithaca. He tries to support his hypothesis with literary and geological arguments.

First, let me say that although I live in Cephalonia, I was born and raised in Thessaloniki, so I don't have a vested interested in this affair any more than the author. I 'd like to believe that I am just as impartial as he is.

The book makes a good case for the existence of an ancient channel between Paliki and Cephalonia, although it does not prove that the channel was navigable. Even if it were navigable, the existence of a channel does not prove that Paliki itself was Ithaca. As far as I am concerned, Paliki was close enough to the rest of Cephalonia to be regarded as one kingdom, just like the United Kingdom is composed of several isles. Also, the author has not considered all the alternatives. What if Strabo's channel was further to the North-East, across Pylaros? There is a narrow valley running across Pylaros, and one of the maps in the book clearly shows a fault line running through it.

According to Homer, Mount Neriton is pre-eminent. What Mr. Bittlestone calls Mount Neriton is rather unremarkable. It is not visible from afar. On the other hand, Mount Ainos on mainland Cephalonia has been a navigation landmark for centuries. It is hard for me to believe that Homer refers to an insignificant mountain on Paliki, while ignoring majestic Mt. Ainos just across from the strait.

What does "panypertati" mean, with respect to Ithaca? The author interprets it as furthest out to sea. "Panypertati" in Greek means tallest or topmost. In what way is Paliki tallest or topmost? I could not find a satisfactory answer in the text.

There are ambiguities in Homer himself. He claims that Ithaca has a mountain visible from afar, yet the island itself lies low in the sea. How is this possible? He claims that Ithaca is the westernmost of four islands, yet it is surrounded by three islands. Although the co-author, Mr. Diggle, interprets amphi as "near" rather than "on either side," how can we be sure of the intended meaning? To me, all this means that you cannot rely on a literal interpetation of Homer. By the time the epics were first recorded, Homer was long dead. In the intervening centuries there may have been any number of changes to the original verses. During much of their life the epics were oral tradition, and therefore continually evolving. In the appendix, Mr. Diggle explains that there have been different versions of the epic, a fact that Mr. Bittlestone has not considered once in his text. I think I would rather stick to the spirit of the poem rather than try to decipher it word-by-word with strict logic. Trying to interpret art using science is a potentially controversial proposition.

Some of the author's initial speculation regarding the location of Odysseus' palace (e.g., figs. 19.17-19.18) remind me of the interpretations of a Rorsach inkblot: One can see what one wants to see. All these signs on the landscape could be manmade, albeit much more recent. As far as dry stonewalls in the Greek countryside, like the author says, they may delineate livestock corrals, or property boundaries more than anything else. The soil in Paliki naturally is stony, so to improve land productivity farmers removed the stones by hand and made walls out of them to mark their property. I understand that the author is eager to discern signs to support his hypothesis; On the other hand, people have been seeing artificial canals on the face of Mars. Finally, we should do not underestimate the power of pranksters. Mr. Bittlestone is not the first visitor looking for homeric Ithaca, and the locals know that.

The author suggests that the final act of the Odyssey unfolds in winter or early spring, yet Telemachos sailed to Pylos with a following wind from the west. First of all, a favorable wind from Paliki to Pylos should be northwest, not west. This is not a minor point. Island people have a very acute sense of wind direction, so if the wind is northwest (maistros in modern Greek), Homer would say so. Second, northwest is the predominant wind direction during the summer. In the winter and early spring the predominant wind direction is from the southwest.

As far as convincing the Greek authorities to share his vision, I think that Mr. Bittlestone overestimates the English proficiency of Greek bureaucrats. Unless he translates the book into Greek, nobody (of importance) will read it, and even that will be an uphill battle.

Mr. Bittlestone does not prove that the Paliki peninsula of Cephalonia was Homeric Ithaca. He just shows that it is possible that Paliki was ancient Ithaca. Whatever the case, it makes for an enchanting reading. I am looking forward to the continuation of his searches.

*** UPDATE (17 JAN. 2008) ***

Tonight I had the rare privilege of chatting briefly with the author, Mr. Bittlestone, during his visit to Cephalonia. He kindly clarified a few points for me, such that Ithaca could be lying low AND have a tall mountain at the same time. He ruled out the possibility of Strabo's channel running through the Pylaros valley based on the angle of the rock strata.

I did not get a satisfactory explanation as to what "panypertati" means with respect to Ithaca. Mr. Diggle, his co-author, translates panypertati as "furthest out to sea." Two authoritative modern Greek translations of the Odyssey (by Maronitis and Kazantzakis-Kakridis) translate "panypertati" as taller, not furthest out to sea. This is very puzzling...

Mr. Bittlestone's logic is that if assumption A is correct, then B is correct, and if B is correct, then C is correct, you get the idea. If all the assumptions in his train of thought are correct, then there is a good chance that he has found the real Ithaca. The problem is that some assumptions rely on a specific interpetation of key terms, such as panypertati, amphi, and island. Here is an example:

Assumption A: Strabo's channel existed

Assumption B: "amphi" means "near" as opposed to "on either side"

If Assumptions A and B are correct, then Conclusion C is unavoidable:

Conclusion C: Paliki was the westernmost of a cluster of four islands. Now, continue with the assumptions:

Assumption D: Asteris island really was a peninsula

Assumption E: Strabo's channel was navigable

Because we accepted C as correct, and if Assumptions D and E hold, then Conclusion F is unavoidable:

Conclusion F: Telemachus avoided the suitor's ambush at Asteris peninsula by circumnavigating Paliki through Strabo's Channel.

However, as we have seen, some of these assumptions rely on specific interpetation of key terms.

My greatest concern with Mr. Bittlestone's theory is that he takes a specific version of Odyssey literally. He claims that Homer had no reason to commit a so called motiveless crime by changing the facts of the myth. On the other hand, 200 years may have elapsed between Homer's time and when the epics were first recorded. In the intervening years, the epics were memorized and passed on to the next generation as oral tradition. There is no way telling what changes have happened in the intervening years. As an amateur stage actor, I have to memorize lines, too. When I fumble a line, I will make up something believable and go on. The Odyssey contains 12000 verses, who knows how many have been improvised after Homer. Language is a living, organic thing that constantly mutates, not fixed in perpetuity. Although Homer may not be guilty of a motiveless crime as Mr. Bittlestone puts it, there may have been accidental crimes along the way. This problem may reflect fundamental differences in the backgrounds of the two personalities: Homer is a product of an oral culture, Mr. Bittlestone is the product of a decisevely written culture.

To me, Mr. Bittlestone appeared like a man that has passed the point of no return. That is, he has invested so much intellectually and emotionally in his theory, that there is no going back. All the same, I wish him luck because I believe he is onto something.

The book has been translated to Greek. Let us hope that it will be more accessible to Greek intellectuals who can exercise a more expert judgement than me. I sincerely wish to thank the author for taking the time to chat with me.

There are lots of speculative archaelogy/history books out there by authors who are not specialists in the field and many have interesting ideas to share. Sadly, most are flawed in their interpretation of evidence or wander off into the realm of complete speculation. This book is not one of those books.

Bittlestone is not an archaelogist, he's just someone who had an interesting theory that could explain the controvery surrounding attempts to identify Homer's Ithaca (home of hero Odysseus) as an historical location. Most would have just written a book right then full of whatever evidence they could find. Instead Bittlestone went to the experts and got them to review his ideas and then modified them based on what they said. The result is a theory that real professionals will likely pursue further in the future rather than ignoring it as uneducated speculation by an amateur.

Even with that, however, his theory isn't airtight. There was one major issue that he raised that he seemed to gloss over when it came time to prove his point, but that stood out precisely because he didn't do it anywhere else. Perhaps he didn't have time to fully explore this particular issue or maybe he didn't find any evidnence for or against it, but in the end it is a relatively minor issue in his theory.

The book is a little dry in it's writing style but makes up for it with tons of pictures, charts, and diagrams to help you understand the more technical details.

Highly recommended if you are interested in the real world of Homer's stories or if you find speculative archaelogy interesting.

a very convincing review of the story of the Odyssey in terms of modern geological and other scholarship

I bought this book for my husband and he said it was everything he could have ever hoped it would be. He is so pleased with it and he reads from it or just browses through it just about every single day.

Any admirer of Homer's Odysseus will love this work. It is important in reminding us also never to underestimate the work of amateur historians and archeologists. Through convincing geographical example and a thorough knowledge of ancient classics, the author takes us on the investigation to find the home of the ancient Odysseus. The result is a very convincing tale and perhaps the best hope yet that the ingenius warrior's home is real and has been discovered. A wonderful collection of photographs and maps enhance the study. Very well done and very convincing.

Some of the information in this book may now be out of fashion and sometimes wrong, it is a great pleasure to read "Scouting for Boys". The ideals defended by B.P.: courage, generosity and compassion are as much a necessity today as they were a hundred years ago, when that book was first published.

The idea of an active, "hands on" education still find its echo in today's most recent education innovations.

Of course, the key message lies in the the initials of the author: Be Prepared!

Excellent book detailing the original , if somewhat dated thoughts , of the founder of the Scout Movement- Sir Robert Baden Powell. A must have read for all interetesed in the movement and it's principles

At the very beginning of the twentieth century, retired General Robert Baden-Powell, the hero of the siege of Mafeking, coalesced his ideas for an organization to train young British boys in scouting for the British Empire. Not a very organized thinker, Baden-Powell borrowed heavily from all sorts of unrelated resources - newspaper articles, military dispatches, fiction, and much more - and produced this, his first book on scouting. Originally published as six separate books, this book brings all of them together, complete with original illustrations.

Now, as might be expected from its roots, this book reflects a lot of the biases and ways of thinking from Edwardian England. But, leaving that aside, this is a fun and interesting book that shows clearly the forms that have stayed with the Boy Scouts movement to this very day. The introduction was written by Elleke Boehmer, a professor of Colonial and Postcolonial literature, and is a fairly predictable deconstruction/analysis of B-P and his movement.

Now, as a newcomer to Scouting (my son is a Tenderfoot) did I find anything useful in this book? I sure did. Robert Baden-Powell was very knowledgeable about the subject, and this book sure shows it. (I never thought of tying my shoes like that!) Of course some of the information is out of date, especially the first-aid information, so it isn't really usable by the boys "as is." But, this is a nice resource, one that shows you where Scouting started.

Oh, and I must say that I actually enjoyed the somewhat jumbled organization of this book. It isn't as scholarly and antiseptic as modern Boy Scout books, and the stories and tales laced throughout make the reading much more fun. Plus, I did find the focus on some subjects, such as logic and deductive reasoning, to be quite interesting. I loved this book, and highly recommend it to you!

I was an Eagle Scout as a boy, and now I'm the founding Scoutmaster of my sons' troop. As such, I was anxious to get a copy of this hard cover version. Baden-Powell's work is a classic and well worth the read. The problem with this edition is the Introduction by Elleke Boehmer. Without it, the book is a 5-star. Ms. Boehmer appears a non-believer. Reading her is like taking a pessimistic art critic along side while viewing an art gallery. Far more benefit (for all concerned) would occur without her input. For each positive she states about BP, she mentions a negative. She also spends just over two pages discussing homosexual tendencies (pp xxxii-xxxiii) within BP's works, something which is out of place in this work. I started to list several quotes, but I think one sums it up best of all from the back cover: "She has never been a scout, but she did once shake hands with Lady Baden-Powell at a jubilee celebration in South Africa." I guess that must make her an expert.

This original text of BP's "Scouting for Boys" is an excellent read. You can skip the introduction, however. The intro is a steaming pile of horse excrement written by someone seething with contempt for BP and the Boy Scout movement. Why it was included with the book is beyond me unless it's to provide bum fodder whilst camping. Remember, a scout is thrifty!

This is THE comic book price guide to own. You've got different experts on comic collecting giving their opinion about collecting comics and also a complete comic book price guide for just about every comic you can think of. Excellent resource!

This is my first time buying the Overstreet...It's great because the authors realize what a changing investment comics are. So they tell you, 'this isn't the end all guide' but it's the most respected/encompassing guide you'll find. Besides EVERY type of comic, big little books, promotional, victorian age, gold, siver, etc, they also give you a grading scale from .5 - 10 that breaks down what to look for in a fair and balanced grade of a comic. There's a million adds for everything comic related you could ask for, a list of stores around the country (and few around the world), web-sites. A lot of dealer's/collector's/auctioneer's opinions in the year in review...soooo many lists...it's awesome!! If you love comics, loved them and forgot how great they are and are getting back into collection...BUY THIS!! you can't go wrong with buying it every year just to see trends and read some great stories of collections past...Thanks Overstreet!!!

I have bought the Overstreet Comic Book Guide 3 times now. The 13th Edition 1982, 35th Edition 2005 and the 38th Edition 2008. I seem to buy one whenever my interest in collecting comic books picks up. I like the informative Market Reports by the advisors and have broadened my reading of different genres because of it - right now, bronze age DC horror and westerns. The color pictures are always fun to look at, and the price guide is essential especially if you are buying back issues on ebay or at your local comic book shop. I always find myself flipping through it or looking up a specific title. I highly recommend this book.

there is many information that you can use and know other sites that you didn't know before, so you can check prices and where to buy the best bargain.
paper is also great. glossy.

CGC is great but this is the "bible" for the industry. Long live the King!

I put off reading this book because for some reason I did not think I was going to enjoy it. Boy was I wrong!! Great book, well written, excellent characters. I enjoyed it immensely.

I loved the very real characters in this book. From page two I was so hooked I knew I had one wonderful book in my hands. And it was! I'll be reading all the Alafair Tucker mysteries by Donis Casey. Life is too short to miss out on such an enjoyable experience.

I was very pleasantly surprised by the genuine seeming characters and accurate historical (1911) setting of this mystery novel. The book's unique title and Oklahoma setting (where I once lived) attracted me to the book. Farm wife and mother Alafair is a very appealing heroine and though I never quite got all of her nine living children totally straight most of the other minor characters are also well developed. The book has an authentic flavor of rural Oklahoma from the "down home" cooking to the speech patterns. The mystery is solid (though my eyes may have glazed over a bit when it concerned guns) and though I guessed the real murderer well before the book's end I didn't predict the full circumstances surrounding it. I am glad to see Ms. Casey has all ready published the second in the series of Alafair's detective adventures (HORNSWOGGLED) and according to her web site a third will be published this fall.

I usually don't care that much for mystery books but the time period & the title drew me to this book. I wasn't disappointed. I loved the family & all the children. A little romance mixed in makes this book really good. Don't miss the next one by this author with the same family & another good mystery.

This is a great story. The characters become real immediately. Interesting. Smiles. Real life. Surprising, but reasonable, ending. I first checked this book out from the library, scooping up a bunch of new mystery books. I got a kick out of the title. Liked this one so much, I bought it. Looking forward to this author's subsequent books as well. My mother at first refused to read this book (she didn't like the title). Later, after I'd purchased it, she started to read it, became engrossed in it and hardly put it down until finished.