Robertson Books

Brian Lalor has written a charming, witty guide to Ireland. Lalor, trained as an architect, and a marvelous artist, shares his intelligent insights on his home country in this up-to-date Blue Book. Included are the well-known as well as unusual places. This is an indispensible guide for a novice or experienced traveller to Ireland. Brian Lalor is a fine writer and a grand observer.

As my other reviews will indicate, I'm normally a big fan of the Blue Guide series. Alas, this volume isn't up to the standards of many of the others in the series. It needs revising and retooling.

The problems with this guide aren't necessarily the fault of the current author. Brian Lalor, an artist and archaeologist with some significant accomplishments to his credit, appears to be potentially well-qualified to take over the stewardship of this volume, which is now in its 8th edition. But a lot of the current text dates back to earlier editions and other authors, and thus it is hard to know who was originally responsible for some of the mistakes I noticed. Other mistakes reflect a failure to update this volume adequately. Given the sheer amount of data a Blue Guide includes, I'm sure that updating a volume is an incredibly daunting task. But some of the problems here are nevertheless hard to excuse.

For example, if you're interested in touring the Waterford Crystal factory, the text advises you (p. 202) of the following: that you have to apply at the main tourist office on the quay in Waterford (you don't); that tours are offered only on weekdays (this is wrong); that children are not admitted (they are); that photography is not allowed (it is, except in certain areas where the craftsmen are actually cutting the glass and don't need to be distracted by camera flashes); and that glass is not sold at the factory itself, but only in shops in town (actually, the company energetically hawks its crystal on the factory premises, and good buys are to be had there).

Even when I first read all this before arriving in Waterford, I found these assertions hard to believe. Yes, there was a time in Britain and Ireland when they would have been capable of being obtuse enough about commercial matters not to sell Waterford Crystal at its own factory, but I found it difficult to imagine that had been the case since, say, about 1985. And, indeed, this particular block (blot?) of blatantly erroneous text dates back to at least the mid 1980's - I found it in the 1988 edition of this Guide at the local library after returning from our trip. But it is a major embarrassment that it had not been corrected by the time this edition came out in 1998.

Another big complaint I had about this volume was the dearth of town maps. There are only 9 in this volume - Derry, Dublin, Galway, Limerick, Armagh, Belfast, Cork, Kilkenny, Waterford. In contrast, the Blue Guide to Greece has more than 70. At a minimum, this volume should also include maps of towns like Cashel, Tralee, Kilarney (and its environs), and Ennis, among others. There are some good maps of old priories, but there could stand to be even more. It is partly because of its abundance of useful town maps that I would recommend getting the Lonely Planet Guide in addition to, or even in place of, this one. (The Lonely Planet Guide is also very detailed and often more accurate about historical matters, locations of archaeological sites, etc. It definitely isn't just for the young backpacking set.)

Other illustrative errors and complaints:

(1) I passed on seeing the celtic crosses at Kilkieran because this Guide said they were mere "remains." Later I saw photographs of these crosses, and they appeared substantially intact.

(2) The Guide indicates it takes 30 minutes to reach Skellig Michael by boat from the mainland. Actually, it takes more like 90 minutes.

(3) The Index is incomplete and error-ridden. Skellig Michael isn't listed at all; Craggaunowen is on page 281, not 294; and some key people who have a number of references in the Guide (e.g., St. Brendan) are completely omitted.

(3) One of the easiest ways to reach the monastery island of Inchagoill in Lough Corrib is by boat from Ashford Castle in Cong, but the Guide indicates that boats are only available from Oughterard.

(4) There is often an absence of adequately specific directions to help you reach referenced sites: for example, how to reach Ross Erilly friary from the main road, or the ring fort where the Clare gold hoard was found on the grounds of Drumoland Castle.

That said, this volume still has a wealth of information. I did use it with profit on our trip, and I found Brian Lalor's pen-and-ink sketches throughout quite charming. If I could give this book 3.5 stars rather than 3 stars, I would. But if a book is part of the Blue Guide series, it has very high standards to live up to. And I'm afraid that the current edition of this Guide doesn't entirely measure up.

A tale of two different sorts of critters living around a rubbish tip
and in the bush. One bunch is fun loving and literally malleable, the others are funny looking, pretty grumpy and domineering.

The Gumbles are innocent and sometimes easily fooled, while the
grumpy, lizardy-scaley looking bottersnikes take advantage of this.

I grew up with this tale of lazy, grumbly bottersnikes and pleasant, squishy gumbles, and their various antics in the Australian bush were a mainstay of my childhood. Wakefield's creations are original, gorgeous and hilarious - the garbage-dwelling bottersnikes shrink when wet, and their ears become red-hot when angry. Their mission is to enslave the giggly gumbles, by shouting "Gotcha!" and squishing them into jam tins (was jam ever really sold in tins?). The main characters quickly become favourites, and Wakefield's love for the Australian environment and its inhabitants underpin this classic. I know the gumbles books have become rarities, but if you're lucky enough to get your hands on a copy, don't let it slip through your fingers.

"BUT THEY CAN'T BEAT US" BY RANDY ROBERTS

The 1986 film "Hoosiers", based on the true story of tiny Milan High School's 1954 state championship, told the story of legendary Indiana basketball. Certainly, the state has great tradition, going back to John Wooden and Piggy Lambert, right on up to Rick Mount, Bobby Knight and Larry Bird. Now, Purdue University history professor Randy Roberts tells a little different story about Midwestern sports. The Crispus Attacks High School basketball team from Indianapolis, a team comprised of poor, urban black kids, overcame terrific obstacles to capture for coach Ray Crowe the 1955 and 1956 state titles.
Crowe's talented squad was led by Oscar Robertson, who would go on to a hall of Fame career with the Cincinnati Royals and Milwaukee Bucks. The "Big O" would also capture a Gold Medal at the Rome Olympics'. In '55, Crispus Attucks became the first all-black school to capture a state championship. In '56, they were the first to go undefeated.
Crispus Attucks "helped define and enshrine the Hoosiers' myth by being its negation," according to Roberts. This is an inspiring story of race, joy and achievement during a critical time in this nation's history. While Crispus Attucks was winning on the hardwood, hard-fought civil rights were being won for black people in the Supreme Court (Brown vs. Board of Education). What is often forgotten is that many of the key battlegrounds of the civil rights era were not in the South, but in the North--that is, the Midwest.
Roberts' story of social upheaval, racism and the dawn of a new era in politics centers on a school that was built for blacks. Actually, Crispus Attucks was built so white students would not have to sit next to black students in the 1920s. The school first had to petition the Indiana High School Athletic Association just to compete in the state tournament.
Roberts' also tells how "The Big O" spurned Indiana U. because coach Branch McCracken was said to be a racist. Indiana native John Wooden tried to get him to U.C.L.A. (can you imagine that?), but Oscar envisioned a long bus ride (he was afraid of air planes) and chose Cincinnati instead.
Roberts has written a number of sports history books. In "But They Can't Beat Us", he tells the story of Robertson, a shy kid who shined in athletics. He tells the story of Coach Crowe, who instilled his team with pride and discipline. Through hard work and talent, the Tigers' were able to forge one of the great stories in prep sports history. For fans of high school sports, and particularly Indiana basketball, "But They Can't Beat Us" is a must read.

This book is the story of Crispus Attucks rise to basketball fame despite the prejudical climate in Indiana at the time. There is a history lesson in explaining what prejudice existed and how the Crispus Attucks family dealt with it. The book cronicles the high school story of Oscar Robertson in particular and the Crispus Attuck Tigers from 1950 thru Oscar's final high school game as the number one player on Indiana's all star team vs the Kentucky all star team lead by "King Kelly Coleman". I was an Indianapolis high school resident during this period and can speak for the historical accuracy and emotional insights brought into focus by the author Randy Roberts. For those of you who enjoy basketball, this book is a worth while purchase.

Robertson explores the cratered terrain of loss in this thoughtful Australian novel, penetrating beneath the surface gestures of those who have endured death and must go on, day by day, reclaiming the fragments of their lives. The novel begins with outrage: a distraught father mows down helpless children at play, even his twin sons annihilated by the looming menace of his speeding automobile. Only eight-year-old Pearl survives the massacre, obscured from the man's vision as she crouches in the cab of a vehicle. An old soul at eight, Pearl has been five-year-old Riley's caretaker until his brutal and untimely death, the children regularly escaping their mother's chronic dissatisfaction and fits of temper, leaving the flat until it is safe to return. Lily is distracted without a man to define her, barely able to endure the two children who carefully monitor their mother's moods and adjust their behavior accordingly. Now Riley is gone, swept neatly out of Pearl's life; she has not yet found a way to cope with the long days without him.

Then there is Adam Logan, a sculptor newly inspired by the overdose of a young woman near his studio. His cast piece of the girl has brought Adam some success and cache in a competitive art world- and a taste for the intimacy of the experience with death as inspiration. Attending a meeting for a memorial for the dead children, Adam's eye falls on Lily, Pearl hunched quietly at her side. Attuned to the susceptibility of such females, Adam senses opportunity, moving slowly into Lily's orbit as the author explores the attraction of mourning to those touched only peripherally, but drawn into that emotional vortex. And it is Adam who serves as a bridge to another character, newly-widowed Sonia. The Danish woman has not acclimated to Australia as had her craftsman husband, Pieter. Pieter embraced Australia's indigenous beauty, using natural woods to create exotic and original pieces of furniture that literally works of art to collectors. Yearning for the lost center of her world, Sonia flounders between grief and the years that stretch ahead, only recently agreeing to a retrospective of Pieter's work.

Sonia also reluctantly gives permission for Adam to use Pieter's studio, disturbed at first, but later comforted by the sound of another nearby. At the heart of all these stories, death is a hard, immovable presence, a truth that cannot be avoided, only assuaged. In its aftermath, Robertson's characters dance around the edges of one another's lives with the inclusion of a few others, another mother who has lost a child reaching out to Lily and the smart young woman spearheading Pieter's retrospective. Robertson's melding of individual and loss is nuanced, muted by the immensity of their experiences, Australia's vast beauty looming as though another character in the drama, a place either loved or left. Surprisingly, it is Sonia's sons who define place and bereavement from the perspective of the survivor, the memory-keepers who sort through death, searching for seeds to plant for the living. Luan Gaines/2008.

An eight-year-old girl tries to make sense of the unexpected death of her younger brother; a struggling artist strives to venerate the bodies of the dead in his work; an ageing wife of a well-known Danish furniture designer laments the loss of her husband; and a middle-aged woman grieves the murder of her only daughter, taken from her so suddenly and without warning.

It all starts off like any other day at the sports oval, in the shade of the Moreton Bay, the straight white goalposts, and the tall spreading gums. Perfect weather for a children's picnic, but when an angry father in a dark blue Nissan Patrol pulls into the shade at the edge of the oval and demands his twin boys, events go horribly wrong and everyone is run down.

Riley, Pearl's young brother is also killed. Their mother Lily, unable to cope is set adrift, powerless to understand what has happened even as she sees the chaos around her, the police cars and ambulances, the "people's unchoreographed movements," the bodies on stretchers under white sheets, the bodies of those children. In the end there are "six children dead and two women, and the one child, Pearl, who had escaped."

As Pearl and Lily try to heal their grief, the narrative turns to the young and handsome sculptor Adam Logan who with his with his "Bonds T-shirts and his slim hips" who has in recent months gained notoriety with his illuminated death cast of a young girl who had died of a heroin overdose three days after her sixteenth birthday.

This "portrait" of Kathy is at once controversial and also cathartic, the installation bringing Adam an unforeseen measure of success. When the authorities decide to commemorate a memorial to the dead children, Adam realizes that this will be a unique opportunity to broaden his artistic horizons. The vulnerable Lily ends up falls for Adam, swept away by his sexy charms even though Adam proves to be a rather self-interested character. The affair starts something inside him, something that will perhaps deliver him to new possibilities.

Even so, Adam tries to be here for Lily's grief, for its inspiration, all the sadness the whole bad experience, feeling its shape, its limits, its volume and texture and mass. When he offers to use Riley's ashes in his exhibition, Lily is all to willing, but Pearl is shaken, even as she confesses the idea to her Gus, her therapist whom she has been seeing for three months, ever since that terrible day at the oval.

But there are two other characters that orbit the lives of Lily, Pearl and Adam. The middle-aged Anna visits Lily to try to help her through her grief even as she shows Lily photos of the Memorial for the Unrecovered, for her daughter who was murdered and dumped at sea. Anna can't seem to rise about her anguish and sorrow as she frantically tries to talk to her dead child.

Meanwhile, the aging Sonia befriends Adam who works in the workshop at the back of her stylish house. A native of Denmark, who came to Australia with her husband Pieter in the early seventies, Sonia, the innocent bereaved wife, imagines her life over the years with Pieter, until he had a deadly heart attack. Now she spends her days in a type of willing seclusion, wondering the isles of Ikea while pondering the influence of her husband's life work.

Willing to face the truth, these characters face their grief head-on, Lily hides behind her affair with the egotistical Adam, all to willing to hand over Riley's ashes to him. Pearl, continues to focus on the memories of Riley and he persists as a powerful force in her life, just as much as when he was alive. Anna's hurt heaves, pronged and bulky inside her. She cannot live her life exacting penance from others for her own grief, yet there's a place inside her that remains black and barren.

As these people continue to connect with each other, often in surprising ways, author Deborah Robertson writes with a sort of delicate and detached irony, even as she tries to give heart to what truly makes a person grieve. Contrasting the different ways we assemble our personalities from the fragments we perceive about others, the author also explores the nauture of memorials and how they influence how we mourn and how we ultimately cope with death. Mike Leonard February 08.

During World War 1 air combat came to reflect American innovations and teamwork: today Linda R. Robertson, a professor and directory of Media and Society Study at Hobart and William smith Colleges, provides a survey which tells how the first American air force was created and promoted. From symbols of the 'gentleman fighter' which offered a more seasoned, well-mannered view of the bloody business of battle to accounts and debates of civilian encounters with the U.S. air force during world War 1, THE DREAM OF CIVILIZED WARFARE: WORLD WAR I FLYING ACES AND THE AMERICAN IMAGINATION is important for any who would consider how American forces began.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

The author attempts to show how the media, in concordance with and partially controlled by the government, used aviation to sell the public on the idea of the neccessity of U.S. military involvement in World War I. This book does suffer from indifferent editing and occasionally a sentence has to be reread in order to follow the authors reasoning (due to unusual use of punctuation and sentence structure). The author also suffers from not giving enough information, especially in the footnotes, to show that she has done some in depth research for some of her statements. Whenever she mentions specific data, it must be kept in mind that she is using the propaganda information about which she is writing, and not the critical research data that has been developing over the years.

Furthermore the book would have been helped by more background information about U.S. attitudes in the decades preceeding the war. The author does mention in passing that she is aware of the recent histories being published based on modern research and makes one or two prescient comments about the history of the war as it has, until very recently, been presented.

Although there are plenty of areas for disagreement with the authors ideas, overall this book should be a welcome addition to the recent scholarship covering WW I in general.

Get ready to meet the only girl with an eye on her finger!Emily Eyefinger is about how Emily's special eye can help the police and hosts in quiz shows.She can also help in alot of other ways!Duncan Ball has created a wonderful world with lots of friends Emily has: Malcomn Mousefinder, who finds mice and Janey Star who is a star!Read all the Emily Eyefinger book today!

Emily Eyefinger, secret detective
Emily Eyefinger, and the hidden treasure
Emily Eyefinger and the black volcano
Emily Eyefinger and the devil bones
And heaps more!

Emily Eyefinger is about a girl who was born with an eye on the end of her index finger which she cherishes. It has a bubble on top of it to protect her eye, because when she gets dirt or other stuff in her eye all of her eyes start to water. This book is full of many different adventures Emily has as an individual, being the only person she knows with an eye on her finger

Robertson thinks that the current multi-racial polyglot in the America will eventually break up into ethno-states. The multiracial polyglot will fall because it is based on false premises of equality that denies differences between the races. The false morality of equality must go.

Unlike many so-called far right authors, he remains optimistic and does not indulge in hatred, resentment, paranoia, and anger against other ethnic groups. He is forthright, but not condemning about organized Jewish politics and how that goes against white interests. He seems to be a well-adjusted racist. He is not disturbing like other authors such as William Pierce or Oliver Revilo.

Robertson covers many aspects of what an ethno-state would be like. Art and government would improve because it would serve the interests and predilections of only one race. The confusion and quagmire of multiracial states would be lessened. Racial tensions within the state would be dissolved. Ethno-states would preserve true diversity that would not lead to amalgamation through racial and cultural mixing. Morality would improve because there would be one standard of morality by consensus within an ethno-state. Order would be enforced more by morality and less by legality, so lawsuits and laws would diminish. Altruism would be for one's own ethnic group only. Decadent altruism that helps a competing race would not be allowed. People would be continuously challenged and properly educated in the ethno-state to enhance merit and evolutionary progress. People in the media would be required to have degrees in politics and history before they are part of the media, which powerfully shapes our worldview with either truth or illusions. He thinks that the current media people are unqualified for their positions and are unable to present the news accurately and come to the correct conclusions about events.

There's more about Robertson's opinions. Through eugenics and racial separation humankind would evolve further, rather than regressing back to the lowest common denominator and leveling that multiracial states come to. Darwin is Robertson's god and evolution is his theology. He wants a scientifically controlled society according to these principles. The two great goals for him in life is to for each of us to reproduce the next generation and for society to make evolutionary progress. He prefers philosopher kings over the democratic system we have now in which dummies and smarties get an equal vote and dummies often rule. The constitution is not a sacred document to him and he thinks that ideas about governing should change with the times. The founding fathers would have written a totally different constitution if they were alive today. He is somewhat puritanical and is adamantly against pornography. He frowns upon neo-Marxism and its politics of envy and its hatred of superiority.

Robertson is a "nice guy" racist that does not believe in aggression toward other races. He respects other peoples' right to live peaceably in their own ethno-state. Aggression between ethno-states would not be permitted. Dealing with aggression would be the hardest problem to solve and this is a weakness in his theory. He suggests that we stay where we are in the United States and create a patchwork of ethno-states under small categories such as Irish, English, German, African, Italian, Jewish, and Latino states. "Let a thousand flowers (ethnostates) bloom" seems to be Robertson's goal.

This is a good book of political theory that will have to wait to be practiced. He is hoping for the collapse of the old order so that a new order with new ideas can be attempted. I will say that time is short because the white world is diminishing quickly through low birth rates and mass alien immigration into white societies.

By creating an ethno-state we can get away from a multiracial society that with its inevitable racial conflicts and obsession with racism. We would get away from the anti-white state that goes against white interests in the media, immigration policy, and employment. Robertson says he wrote the book partly as a reaction to environmentalists who should be concerned with preserving human biodiversity as they are with animals and plants.

Although the media and government may impose on us a belief in diversity, actually most people prefer that everyone else be like them in all categories. This book follows the principle of like attracts like.

Robertson makez an excellent case for smaller, ethnically homogeneous states to replace the strife-ridden imperial states like the modern United States. Although Robertson will undoubtably be vilified as "Nazi" or "fascist" by liberal bigots, he is in fact advocating a more democratic state that is actually responsive to its citizens, not to international corporations and special interests. The ideas are sound, but there isn't too much on how we might actually implement his ideas.

215 Pgs

In this novel Jeff Robertson tells a story of a heartfelt street drama. Derrick and Nate develop a strong relationship early in life. Derrick looses his mother to a drug overdose on his birthday and Nathanial's mother (Momma Williams) took him in as her own. Shortly before the two graduates from high school Nate losses his mother to a fierce social disease. Leaving the two to fend for themselves in their mid teenage years, they set out for a world of "Living Large." Nate has big dreams of becoming the head of an organized drug crew, while Derrick just goes along for/with the ride.

Escaping trouble seems to be easy for the crew. Killing, Dealing, and Stealing comes fast and leaves quickly. This story ends up with a Detective hot on a lead that may point directly to the head of the crew. How far are they willing to cover up and stand strong? Will they get what they deserve? I can only wait to see in part Two.

A Great Read !

Derrick Jones leads a hard knock life: his mother is a druggie and he's a misfit. A timid Derrick develops guts when he teams up with Nate, a familiar face that helps him fend off the neighborhood bully. A familial bond is formed, and Nate's mom welcomes Derrick into their fold without ever passing judgment on his circumstances. Derrick, who is deemed the name 'G' by Nate, tragically loses his mother on the day that Momma Williams throws him a birthday party.

The boys grow up as brothers and enter down a destructive path that proves profitable yet lonely. Nate leads a crew of youngsters as a stern commander-in-chief and becomes a cold, cruel, and callous killer. For the love of a brother, G remains loyal and dismally follows Nate's lead as it slowly tears his character down.

The Evil Side of Money has a few emotional parts that lightly touch you, but in all it proves to only be a decent read. It is a tale of loyalty, love, trust, and murder, all things that one might pay or endure for the sake of acceptance. There are true life lessons, including the heartbreak from familial bonds that are brought to the forefront. The Evil Side of Money has quite a few editing discrepancies, but it is basically boils down to the usual hood story.

Reviewed by Tazzyt2bossye
for Urban Reviews

Stephen Leacock is one of my favorite humorists - perhaps somewhat obscure these days, but as sharp and as witty as ever. Think of him as a precursor to Garison Keillor and you can't go too far wrong. This book is slender, too slender for my tastes, and I do not regard it as a feast, more like a selection of hors d'oeuvres. The introduction by Robertson Davies is not, as one might expect, a fawning admiration of Leacock, but serves him up, warts and all, on a platter. Positive but with qualifications.

The selections are very good, though I can think of some pieces I would have preferred, it must have been a very difficult task to limit the Leacock to just these fifteen. And they are gems, each one. I thought I might quote a little here and there, but found myself unable to stop - all the review would be selections from the selections. Do yourself a favour and buy a copy if you like Leacock. Davies' introduction is worth the price alone, and the selections are a bonus, and you may then read all of the pieces I would have included in their entirety.

If you don't know of Stephen Leacock, run, do not walk, to the 1-click button and give it a click. You'll be glad you did!

Stephen Leacock is one of my favorite humorists - perhaps somewhat obscure these days, but as sharp and as witty as ever. Think of him as a precursor to Garison Keillor and you can't go too far wrong. This book is slender, too slender for my tastes, and I do not regard it as a feast, more like a selection of hors d'oeuvres. The introduction by Robertson Davies is not, as one might expect, a fawning admiration of Leacock, but serves him up, warts and all, on a platter. Positive but with qualifications.

The selections are very good, though I can think of some pieces I would have preferred, it must have been a very difficult task to limit the Leacock to just these fifteen. And they are gems, each one. I thought I might quote a little here and there, but found myself unable to stop - all the review would be selections from the selections. Do yourself a favour and buy a copy if you like Leacock. Davies' introduction is worth the price alone, and the selections are a bonus, and you may then read all of the pieces I would have included in their entirety.

If you don't know of Stephen Leacock, run, do not walk, to the 1-click button and give it a click. You'll be glad you did!

I used this book as part of a Linear Algebra 2 course and found it to be clear and enjoyable to learn from. The chapter on the history of the major pioneers was particularly delightful. This book contains more than most Linear Algebra 2 courses cover (at least more than we did) so I wouldn't necessarily recommend it as THE book to buy to learn Linear Algebra. As its name indicates, it is more of an enrichment book in many ways. I think that this book, like many put out by Springer, helps flesh out an otherwise daunting subject, showing part of its mathematical beauty that is visible on the undergraduate level.

Or you may lose a few pages.
The first day of use a pair of sheets came undone. I glued them in and now another set is coming out. The mathematical material looks well done and is nice pedagogical work. I would have given the book 4 or 5 stars for that, but the physical packaging--a responsibility of the publisher--is terrible. Why didn't they sew in the pages of a math text, which always can be counted on to receive heavy use? The first day of use and it begins to fall apart, too! Glue alone is not enough; I've owned cheap paperback novels which were bound more durably. Shame on Springer, a venerable science publisher!