Sherman Books

This fantasty about a curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art --oops, excuse me--the American Museum of Art, and her artsy friend who happened to be a dark elf left me feeling kind of blah. Lamashtu, the ancient Mesopotamian lion-headed goddess is conjured from hell to spread plague on the subways of New York. Denise, the curator and Ilaron Highborn, the dark elf must band together stop her. So far, so good. But another evil dark elf is mixed into the plot, and he and Ilaron duel to the death one dark and stormy night in the Museum. I was disappointed when the author didn't make more use of the Mesopotamian wing of the Museum, with its gigantic winged bulls. For some reason, the duel is fought in the American wing, and then Ilaron and Denise confront Lamashtu on the Museum roof. Yet another demon-god is conjured up to do battle with Lamashtu (talk about 'deus ex machina'). I just felt the author could have stuck with the Sumerian-Akkadian-Babylonian mythology cycle and written a much better, more consistent novel.

I just can't say how much I love this book. Alot. Extremely much. Denise and Ilaron are characters you won't forget, and after reading this book, you'll be dying for a sequel.

Ilaron is a "Dark Elf" escaped from Sidhe-Land to lead a normal life as an art collecter and dealer. He's delicious. He's got long black hair and wicked cool shades. Yum yum yum. Denise is an museum curator, helping Ilaron fight bad Sumerian demons. No, no, really, there's more to it than that, but I shan't be giving it away.

Elves. Swords. Subway Trains. The perfect modern elf fantasy... I'd recommend this book to all Fantasy and Sci-Fi readers. Josepha Sherman never disapoints.

Dark, mysterious Ilaron teams up with plucky Denise Sheridan, a museum curator. Through Ilaron, Denise discovers that the worlds she reads about in her beloved fantasy novels may not be completely fictional after all. Ilaron is handsome, strong, wealthy, and he harbors a secret past that no one on this earth could imagine. Once a cult leader fixates on Denise and attempts to offer her as a sacrifice to call an ancient goddess, Ilaron and Denise are thrown into a chaotic, dangerous quest to stop the destruction of this realm. Together they must fight Lamashtu, an arrogant, bored and powerful goddess, as well as Kerezar, a dangerous nemesis from Ilaron's past.
This was a relatively enjoyable read. There is a great deal of humor as both Ilaron and Kerezar struggle in a world full of technology and bizarre pop culture. Denise is interesting enough as the heroine of the story, but she buys into Ilaron's story of his secret identity a bit too quickly to be believable. What you won't find in this book is strong writing or a complex plot. Everything is pretty straight forward and moves quickly toward the predictable climax. SON is probably best suited as a young adult novel; the reader does not really have to guess at anything throughout the story. It's amusing, it's a quick read, and there are moments in the book that are quite enjoyable. Overall, I found it lacking challenge and depth, but if you are looking for something that is quick and light, this might be just the thing.

There are a lot of positive reviews here, and they're right on. I thoroughly enjoyed this, and I was impressed when Sherman actually had Denise reciting a real Mesopotamian prayer.

The initial demon-worshipping villains made perfect sense to me - there are lots and lots of inadequate people out there dreaming of power from nowhere. There is a problem, at least to me, with the notion of "dark elves," but that's because I've decided that elves, dark, light, hangin' out in LA, NYC, or fairyland, are getting old.

Why the 3 star review? Because I liked it, and I will buy a sequel without hesitation, but I only liked it. We are guilty, here, of review inflation. Was this Lord of the Rings? No? Then don't give it a five. This was fun, it was adequate, and I don't regret buying it, or reading it, or recommending it. What I want to make clear is that it isn't profound, or life changing.

Another thing - part of me wants a sequel. But if Josepha Sherman decides to leave Ilaron and Denise right where they are, that's fine, too. Especially if it means she's going on to a new project, as entertaining as this one.

Good book, read it, and pass it on.

Although all of the favorable reviewers seem to agree that this book begs a sequel, it isn't dependent upon one because the conflict is resolved by the end of the story. It's just that the two main characters, Denise Sheridan and Ilaron Highborn, have finally become a team by the end of the book, and the reader just wants to see more of them.

This book provided an interesting view of the Unseelie court of Faerie, somewhat different than that of Laurell K. Hamilton or Emma Bull. This is a place of no sun, no joy, no love. Pain and torture are everyday occurances and advancement within the society is through assasination. There is no such thing as family loyalty. It is a much darker and bleaker place than other depictions.

Ilaron Highborn is considered to be a heretic within that culture because he has decided to turn away from the Darkness. Even though he renounced his claims to the Unseelie throne, no one believes him because no one tells the truth there. He escapes to the human realm and sets himself up as an art dealer. Ms. Sherman has created an interesting character in Ilaron, and fleshes him out by explaining the adaptations he's had to make to deal with exposure to the sun and the ever-present iron, which is deadly to the Faerie. Denise Sheridan is a curator of Mesopotamian art at a NYC museum, which is a thinly disguised copy of the Metropolitan. She is an annoyance to the museum director who considers her department not flashy enough to bring in the crowds and the money. Her work brings her into contact with Ilaron, and her historical expertise ultimately puts her in jeopardy.

While this isn't a romance, per se, there is a growing relationship between Ilaron and Denise based upon two rather lonely people from totally different cultures coming to understand and appreciate the other. Of course, this being an urban fantasy, there other beings involved - the ruler of the Unseelie who is trying to destroy Ilaron, a group of cultists who want to kill Denise, and a released Assyrian/Babylonian Demon of Disease who is set loose in NYC and wants to destroy Denise because she has the knowledge to banish it. Innocents and not-so-innocents are harmed, battles occur, and ultimately one side triumphs. I really enjoyed this book and hope that someday there'll be a sequel.

Bible Code Bombshell BIBLE CODE BOMBSHELL corresponds the last word of its name. Amazing and convincing scholarship about the trustworthyness of the Bible! The book encouraged me and strengthened my faith. I have studied statistics, so I was able understand. Nevertheless, I had to take my time. On the other hand, I wonder how many of the ordinary people can understand what is said in the book? Well, they can pick up many other good books that are convincing enough.

Bible Codes, a subect for the open minded, have fast become a subject of controversy to some and hope to others. Since my introduction to the codes I have bought programs, books, and haunted the net for more info and opinions plus learning some basic Hebrew, all because I am truly fascinated! Much is said about skeptics becoming believers including the authors of Bible Code Bombshell. This book puts forth over 300 codes referencing the life of Jesus and would have you believe that God did indeed write the Hebrew Bible. Even if you remain skeptical about that, the book could go a long way in convincing you that "something" extraterrestrial or otherwise, knew a lot about our history that had yet to happen. If you are a person who needs statistics for assurance, you will find them here. Any way you look at it, it is a fascinating subject and the book gives you a lot to consider regardless of your religious or philosophical bent. I suggest you read it with an open mind.

This book makes the claim of being a "bombshell", presenting proof of Jesus being the promised Messiah. However, Mr. Sherman supports his claims by "codes" that make no sense with respect to meaning (semantic structure). It is obvious that the Hebrew Old Testament (Tanakh) is encoded. This has been proven beyond reasonable doubt by the thorough statistical research of Eliyahu Rips, Doron Witztum, Harold Gans and others. These eminent scientists have also warned researchers of the Bible Code not to stretch the evidence to "prove" their religious convictions. Now, this is exactly what Edwin Sherman does.

How, then, is the Bible Code misused in this book? To begin with, I need to say that a few of the codes Sherman presents are both intelligible (expressing comprehensible meaning) and statistically significant (extremely unlikely to be a product of chance). The problem is that he doesn't stay there. Instead, he seeks to "read more into the codes" by extracting longer ELS strings of letters, interpreting and translating them to fit his point of view (traditional Christian Messianism). These "sensational whole-sentence codes" have a tendency of not making any sense. And why would God encode messages in the Bible if they read as gibberish? Wouldn't they be there to actually CLARIFY our confusion regarding relevant matters? Of course! Codes have to make sense to be considered as divine messages. And that is only an initial, foundational requirement. As has been proven by statistical standards far beyond most research today, there are codes in the books of the Bible. My own codes research, however, indicates that these codes go beyond traditional religion; beyond the claims of orthodoxy - Christian or Jewish, or of any other brand. Truth is not confined by dogma!

I get the impression that Sherman is out on a religious mission, garbed in the "respectable" language of science. In this pursuit, he is willing to sacrifice the credibility of his claims. What does it MEAN that the "mighty name" of Jesus is "gushing from above"? (This is a major "code" in the book). The answer is obvious: nothing or everything - depending on your agenda.

The Bible Code can be seen as a Rorsach test. People tend to see whatever they want to see in the ink stains! And what they see says something about themselves, and little - or nothing - about the Truth. This is the kind of "research" we ought to shun. As Scripture says: "And the truth shall make you free".

Sherman extracts long "codes" that make no sense, and then "prove" their authenticity by using the principles of statistics. By doing this, he actually harms his own cause - to prove the Godhood of Jesus. Statistics can only be applies to coded messages, or words, that make sense grammatically and semantically. It is easy to take almost any long string of letters in skip sequence and "prove" that it is coded. Commercially available software easily calculates "statistics" of this kind. The problem is that those statistics are produced without any consideration given to the meaning of the letter string. Thus it is the easiest thing in the world to construct "long codes" and freely project meaning onto them by "translation" of "words" in the string by applying word breaks at the desired places. If "snooping" (as it is called in statistics) is to be applied in Bible Code research, this has to be done with UTMOST care and consideration. Sherman's "bombshell" is basesd on the utter abuse of this research method. Bible Code Bombshell is just one of many "Bible Codes" books by Christian authors, seeking to prove their point by pseudoscience. Look for another book to read! There are excellent books written about the Bible Code, but this is definitely not one of them.

Very good reading but don't take too literally the answers given, there are reasonable alternatives

could not find in several book stores in my area. got it in two days from amazon. great service Much better then bible code I

DEEP WATER

By Laura Anne Gilman & Josepha Sherman (2000)

RATING: 4/5 Stakes

SETTING: Season Three

CAST APPEARANCES: Buffy, Giles, Willow, Oz, Xander, Cordelia, Angel, Joyce, Willy

MAJOR ORIGINAL CHARACTERS: Ariel (selkie), Dr. Julian Lee (marine researcher)

BACK-OF-THE-BOOK SUMMARY: "Willow's soft spot for critters finds her spending a cold winter morning along the coast as part of a volunteer rescue team, cleaning up an oil spill that has damaged the marine habitat. While climbing over some rocks, she discovers another unexpected victim of the spillage--a selkie, a shape-shifting seal girl who won't be able to return to the sea until the oil is removed from her coat. Willow takes the creature back to the library so that Giles and the Slayerettes can help her to restore her magickal coat. However, though `Ariel,' as the posse dubs her, is endearing in her innocence, Buffy can't quite shaker her innate suspicions of the creature whose nature, like the ocean, is ever changing. Unfortunately, the spill has forced more than a selkie from the cold water. Merrows look very much like traditional mermaids--with one important and fatal difference. As if things weren't complicated enough . . ."

REVIEW

The basic plot of Deep Water is relatively simple--Willow discovers a young selkie that has taken the form of a ten-year old girl. Stranded on the beach because of oil on her coat, the selkie is unable to return home unless Willow and Giles can discover a way to return the coat to its natural state. Of course, nice selkies aren't the only denizens of the ocean--a band of bloodthirsty merrows has decided to make the beaches of Sunnydale their home. Throw a semi-crazed marine biologist and a war between merrows and vampires into the mix, and you have all the makings of what could be a rather cheesy addition to the Buffy canon. Indeed, Deep Water isn't even the first time the Scooby Gang has faced monsters from the ocean--the Season Two episode "Go Fish" featured a demonic swim team similar in essence to merrows.

However, the authors of Deep Water somehow make the book work. Not only is the story well plotted and paced, the novel contains a rarity among Buffy books: real humor and strong dialogue. Of particular interest is the portrayal of Buffy's jealousy over Giles' father-like bond with the selkie girl. Cordelia has some great moments in the book and the turf-war between merrows and vampires is exciting and bloody--indeed, it's one of the only times I can ever remember cheering for Sunnydale's most-pummeled inhabitants.

Although Deep Water isn't a deep or moving novel, it does contain the wit and action of a solid Buffy episode and is therefore worth picking up.

Set in the third season, Willow gets involved in helping rescue animals after an oil tanker leaks near Sunnydale. Among the usual birds Willow finds a naked young girl clutching an oil soaked pelt. The girl is a selkie, a seal-like creature that can appear human. The oil on her pelt is preventing her from retreating back to the sea. The Selkie's magical nature makes magic a requirement for the cleaning. As Willow and Giles try to determine how to help Ariel (the selkie) the rest of the gang soon finds there is other trouble afoot.

Ariel is not the only magical creature to come ashore. Some sort of predator has also come ashore. This predator attacks human and vampire alike. The vampires are running scared at the new threat and that does not bode well for Sunnydale. Soon it becomes hard to work on Ariel's problem without fighting off the new predators. How will Willow get Ariel back to sea? How will Buffy and Angel eliminate the new predatory threat? Who else seems to be tracking down Ariel? You will have to read the book to find out.

Deep Waters brings a unique twist to the Buffy novels by introducing a Selkie and Merrows, both ancient sea creatures. A Selkie is a shape-shifting seal girl and Merrows are nasty creatures similar to mermaids. Willow, on one of her environmental rescue efforts, comes across a dainty oil clad creature and returns her to the library to learn what it is and how to get it back to the ocean. During their research, they discover she is a selkie and that her skin must be cleaned of oil before she can be returned to her natural habitat.

The Merrows, who also were affected by the oil spill, are downright nasty creatures and begin to kill people and wreak havoc on Sunnydale. It's up to Buffy and the gang to keep the town safe from the Merrows and at the same time restore the Selkie (given the name Ariel) to her natural environment.

The book is very funny at times due to some great dialog. There's also alot of Celtic history provided along with the good old fashioned bad guy slaying. Buffy fans will not want to pass this one up.

Not only am I a big Buffy fan but I am also a huge fan of all of the creatures that dwell within the ocean. I think that is one of the biggest reasons why I really enjoyed this book. Buffy and friends end up meeting Ariel (nickname deriving from the popular Disney film) when Willow discovers her while helping clean up an oil spill on one of Sunnydales beaches. Through out the book Buffy and the gang battle monsters, do their research into the things that dwell beneath as well as Buffy has time to reflect on the fact that she had died previously by drowning at the hands of the Master (flashback to the Harvest and thanks to Xander for the resusitation). This fact in the end helps Buffy overcome her fear of water and to be able to defeat the big "baddie" in the end. There was a lesson here within the pages as there is in most Buffy books, if you face something that you are afraid of, it is not as frightening anymore. The fact that we run away from what we are afraid of, makes that thing more powerful. All in all, I enjoyed this book and am glad to be able to add it to my "Buffy" library.

I was going to give Deep Water 3 stars about half way through the book. To be honest, I wasn't really that interested in how they were going to help Ariel the selkie girl. But, when the merrows from the water came in and starting terrorising the town of Sunnydale, that is when this book starts to get really encapturing with it's plot. Willow really takes the lead in this book, with Buffy actually working fantastically as a supporting character just this once, her sarcastic lines and cool comebacks have never been quite so clever. But, that's not all that is clever about this book. The mythology is amazing. I can see why it took two people to write this book, because the myths and legends tale, also the old Celtic and Irish stories must've been very hard to put into a modern day novel that would enthral everyone. Not only that, but they have to work out all those Buffy--kickin' moves, of course! There is no shortage of action, that all comes at the end, but mostly, this is a story about the old legends of selkies, which, suprisingly, is fabulous. If I could flaw this book, I would say that the character of Dr. Lee is annoying and unnecessary and sometimes it just becomes a little bit...stupid. Buffy: Deep Water remains a good fantasy.

False advertising you could call this. The cover says Fantasy and Science Fiction, except there is none of the latter.

Unless you call the plane story a really inconsequential sort of alternate history perhaps, or Garth Nix's superhero Western.

If you are looking for SF, do not buy this book.

Whoever wrote the cover needs a whack upside the head.


On the whole it appears to be aimed at kids going by what the editor is saying, and that appears to be the case as this is very lightweight stuff.

Firebirds : Cotillion - Delia Sherman
Firebirds : The Baby in the Night Deposit Box - Megan Whalen Turner
Firebirds : Beauty - Sherwood Smith
Firebirds : Mariposa - Nancy Springer
Firebirds : Max Mondrosch - Lloyd Alexander
Firebirds : The Fall of Ys - Meredith Ann Pierce
Firebirds : Medusa - Michael Cadnum
Firebirds : Byndley - Patricia A. McKillip
Firebirds : The Lady of the Ice Garden - Kara Dalkey
Firebirds : Hope Chest - Garth Nix
Firebirds : Chasing the Wind - Elizabeth E. Wein
Firebirds : Little Dot - Diana Wynne Jones
Firebirds : Remember Me - Nancy Farmer
Firebirds : Flotsam - Nina Kiriki Hoffman
Firebirds : The Flying Woman - Laurel Winter


Hell boy tithe grapple rescue.

3 out of 5


Bank life inheritance withdrawal.

3 out of 5


Tree bloke.

2.5 out of 5


Soulless upbringing.

3 out of 5


Job description.

3.5 out of 5


Riddle me this deadman.

2.5 out of 5


Reptile garden ornament.

2.5 out of 5


Wizard vs King and Queen a bit rough.

2.5 out of 5


Tengu shafting.

3.5 out of 5


Superspeed shootist sheriff slays sister on the way to silver bullet showdown with supervillain shyster.

3.5 out of 5


Plane advance.

3 out of 5


Cat overload.

3 out of 5


Soul asylum.

3 out of 5


Elfgate.

3 out of 5


Magic, the gathering.

2.5 out of 5

This is a collection of some of the finest authors in the biz, and I think every single one of them would be proud of their work here. I loved this book, and although I do admit that it is a little misleading calling it an anthology of fantasy and sci fi when there's pretty much no sci fi in it, I forgive it that small glitch because it's just so good.

If you're an intelligent reader, or someone who likes incredible reimaginings of traditional tales, or someone who likes their authors to think outside of the box and move into truly bizarre and undiscovered realms, then this book is for you. And if you're the kind of person who doesn't just want action and adventure, but who likes stories that truly make the reader think and feel and wonder, then you will definitely like this. I actually cried several times whilst reading this, I was so moved. But don't get the impression that it's a sad book, because it isn't. It's just that a few of the stories were really poignant in an emotional sense to me.

There's something here for everyone. There's even a poem and a comic book story. I would thoroughly recommend this book to any of the fans of the writers contained within it, and also to readers who have never read any of these authors' works before, since it's a great introduction to their talents. Bravo, Firebirds.

I found Firebirds kind of flat. I think the best children's stories can be read at many levels. Think of "The Hobbit," which appeals to readers ranging from roughly third or fourth grade all the way up to adulthood. At the simplest level there is just an easily accessible story which appeals to a very young and uncomplicated person. At other levels the story should appeal to more sophisticated readers: there might be complex moral decisions, satirical references only an adult would catch, interesting use of language, etc. I know that all the authors featured in "Firebirds" are capable of writing for multiple audiences, but (other than Wynne-Jones's "Little Dot") I found the work presented here somewhat disappointing. It wasn't horrible; it just didn't have the richness I expected from a collection of writers this talented.

Firebirds is a short story book by Lloyd Alexander, Michael Cadnum, Kara Dalkey, Nancy Farmer, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Diana Wynne Jones, Patricai A. Mckillip, Garth Nix, Meridith Ann Pierce, Sherwood Smith, Nancy Springer, Megan Whalen Turner, Elizabeth E. Wein, Laurel Winter, Emma Bull with illustrations by Charles Vess. The book is edited by Sharyn November.
Firebirds is a collection of stories all based on different themes. Each author has a different style of writing. Firebirds has two genres, fantasy and science fiction. I liked this book because the endings were always surprising. I didn't know many of these authors and reading these short stories gave me an idea of how they wrote. All the stories in Firebirds were interesting and different. I would rate this book an eight on a scale of one to ten because some of the stories weren't very interesting. I haven't read many short story books but this was one of the books that I enjoyed. Many of these stories are parts of books that the author has written or sequels.
Some of my favorite stories were Beauty by Sherwood Smith and Little Dot by Diana Wynne Jones. Beauty's about a princess named Elestra. Elestra didn't have any beauty and no one really cared about her. In the throne room, there was a tree that was really a person turned into a tree. One night the Elestra goes into the throne room and is captured by Flauvic, the person who was tree. Beauty's a story that makes you wonder what's going to happen. Little Dot's a story about several cats and a human named Henry. One day Henry is told that there is a Beast that's eating many animals. Find out what happens by reading Firebirds. Little Dot's an engrossing story that captures your attention.

"Firebirds" came into my hands with high praise from sources I respected, and I was not disappointed. I was not overly impressed either. The collection of stories is fairly broad, but the focus is clearly on fantasy (broadly defined, not just swords and sorcery, although there is that too). I have no idea why it includes science fiction in the title, I can't remember a single title I would classify as SF.

There are several stories that revisit old tales to give them a new spin: "Cotillion" (D Sherman) places Tam Lin in 1960's New York, "The Fall of Ys" (MA Pierce) questions the character motivations of the original, "Medusa" (Cadnum)retells the story from the title character's point of view, "Lady of the Ice Garden" (K Dalkey) sets an Andersen tale in Japan. With the ties to classic tales and the strong female leads all around, these stories are particularly well suited for classroom use.

Changelings also play a prominent role: "The Baby in the Night Deposit Box" (M Whalen Turner) in which a magical child is raised by a bank; the surprisingly effective "Hope Chest" (G Nix) which combines elements of horror, political dystopia and, of all things, the Western; "Remember Me" (N Farmer)in which a changeling's differences ostracize her family and "Flotsam" (N Kiriki Hoffman) an overly ambitious about a little boy lost among worlds that ultimately fails to move the reader.

Most of the stories feature female leads, but the two stories with male leads were standouts for me: "Max Mondrosch" (Lloyd Alexander)an understated and oddly comical story about the horror of modern life and "Byndley" (P McKillip) a more traditional tale of a wizard, a fairy queen, and the things that can be stolen in the forest.

Of the remaining stories, I would recommend "Beauty" (S Smith), an "odd princess out" o fthe sort that have become popular since "The Ordinary Princess". "Black Fox" (E Bull) also bears mention as the only graphic entry in the anthology, illustrated by Charles Vess.

"Mariposa" (N Springer), "Chasing the Wind" (E Wein), "Little Dot" (D Wynne Jones, for the magical cat lovers) and "The Flying Woman" (L Winter)were all fine stroies, but none of them proved memorable for me.

The title is definitely recommended if you are a fan of fantasy short stories or the Firebird authors. If this is not something you read every day, I would recommend a Datlow/Windling anthology, such as "The Faery Reel" or one of the Year's Best Fantasy and Horror (Datlow/Windling and Datlow/Link).

I found the book entertaining as well as informative about General Sherman and some of the other personalities and events of the Civil War. The author has done an excellant job of researching his topic. It will be best received by readers who are true history buffs.

This is a biography of William Tecumseh Sherman by Stanley P. Hirshson, Professor at Queens College, City University of New York. On the surface, it seems to be an un-biased story of the life of a very complicated man.

Like so many Civil War generals on the Union side, Sherman was almost a failure in civilian life. He tried his hand at many professions, but never really made enough money to support his growing family. In the army, however, he had moments of brilliance. And brutality, evidenced most clearly in his march to the sea. He could send his men into a town with orders to destroy it, then wander through the same town afterward looking for friends who lived there when he knew them. He admitted that many of the soldiers he commanded during that time were not much more than thieves and ruffians.

The book starts slowly and ends the same. Most of Sherman's story is the Civil War, four years of privation, desperation, and triumph. Maligned by his enemies, again as were most successful generals, his fights after the war were political, although he never sought political office. Rather his ambitions were for himself as the highest ranking officer in the U.S. Army, and for the Army itself.

Although this is a scholarly work, it is an easy read, especially for a Civil War buff. There are moments when the reader will feel she is attaining some insight into his personality. But those moments slip away quite often. Because of this, the reader might wonder if something is being held back. For instance, I would like to have seen more details of the post-Civil War Army policies toward the Native Americans, something Sherman had much to do with.

This is a must read for the Civil War scholar, American military history fan, and those interested in 19th century America. Sherman lived in much of the U.S. and details of these places in his time add to our understanding of life when our great-grandparents were young.

As Prof. Hirshson's student, I can say that this book reflects the author quite well. It is an accurate account of General Sherman's life. The book is well written and while reading it, I was able to imagine Prof. Hirshson giving a lecture to me as opposed to just reading through it. The language is very user friendly.

Prior to the Civil War there had been a major change in how wars could and would be fought. The Civil War was the first major war to be fought under this new paradigm. (The next big shift would come in WWII).

I think William Sherman understood how to fight the Civil War better than any other soldier on either side. He was brilliant both in seeing how to win the war and applying that knowledge. And his campaigns were among the most brilliant of the war.

This book is a well written book that gives a strong picture of William Sherman, concentrating mostly on his time during the Civil War itself. And it is a fascinating story told very well.

Decent maps provided although they could have been a lot better.

A readable book. The author's "hobby horse." i.e. mental illness in the Sherman Family, ergo, Sherman himself, is pretty thin. This is certainly not a "end all" work on the life of this particular general, but it is well worth reading. I was not overly thrilled with the author's transitional techniques at times, nor his speculations as to motivation as he, the author, did not give us enough actual proof. Would recommend the book for your collection, but would not recommend you try passing yourself off as a "Sherman Expert" after you have read it.

The Longman Anthology of British Literature - 2B / 0-321-10669-5

Anthologies are usually either purchased because they are required reading for school or because the purchaser would like to round out a private library with worthwhile literary selections. This review is written predominantly to help the latter in their purchasing decision.

This anthology belongs to the three-volume set of The Longman Anthology of British Literature (Volumes 2A, 2B, 2C). Each volume contains gorgeous color plates of contemporary artwork and portraits. The authors are arranged not only by the dates they represent, but also by the causes that they provide perspective on. This arrangement makes the literary selections more meaningful when read as a group, and provides a great deal of insight on pertinent issues which influenced the authors' writings. This arrangement does mean, however, that many selections are scattered throughout the work, so if you wish to read all the selections by, say, Charles Dickens, you will have to wade through the index to find all the places his writings are located. All in all, the organization is a good one, unless you specifically prefer having all the writings of an author located in the same place, in which case another anthology might be best - perhaps the Norton anthologies.

The authors represented in this volume are:
- Alfred, Lord Tennyson
- Arnold, Matthew
- Ashford, Daisy
- Beerbohm, Max
- Beeton, Isabella
- Belloc, Hilaire
- Bird, Isabella
- Bronte, Anne
- Bronte, Charlotte
- Browning, Elizabeth Barrett
- Browning, Robert
- Burton, Sir Richard Francis
- Carlyle, Thomas
- Carroll, Lewis
- Clough, Arthur Hugh
- Cobbe, Frances Power
- Colenso, John William
- Darwin, Charles
- Dickens, Charles
- Disraeli, Benjamin
- Douglas, Lord Alfred
- Douglas, Lady Alfred (Olive Custance)
- Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan
- Eliot, George
- Ellis, Sarah Stickney
- Engels, Friedrich
- Fitzgerald, Edward
- Gaskell, Elizabeth
- Gilbert, W.S.
- Gosse, Sir Edmund
- Hardy, Thomas
- Hopkins, Gerard Manley
- Hughes, Thomas
- Huxley, Thomas Henry
- James, Henry
- Johnson, Lionel
- Kemble, Fanny
- Kinglake, Alexander William
- Kingsley, Charles
- Kingsley, Mary
- Kipling, Rudyard
- le Gallienne, Richard
- Lear, Edward
- Leverson, Ada
- Macaulay, Thomas Babington
- Mayhew, Henry
- Mill, John Stuart
- Morris, William
- Nesbit, Edith
- Newbolt, Sir Henry
- Newman, John Henry Cardinal
- Norton, Caroline
- Nightingale, Florence
- Pater, Walter
- Potter, Beatrix
- Rossetti, Christina
- Rossetti, Dante Gabriel
- Ruskin, John
- Stanley, Sir Henry Morton
- Stevenson, Robert Louis
- Strauss, David Friedrich
- Swinburne, Algernon Charles
- Symons, Arthus
- Trollope, Francis
- Whistler, James Abbott McNeill
- Wilde, Oscar

(Note: For some reason, the amazon reviews for Volume 2B and Volume 2C seem to be grouped together, so I will group my reviews for both volumes together, as only one review is allowed per grouping.)

The Longman Anthology of British Literature - 2C / 0-321-10580-X

Anthologies are usually either purchased because they are required reading for school or because the purchaser would like to round out a private library with worthwhile literary selections. This review is written predominantly to help the latter in their purchasing decision.

This anthology belongs to the three-volume set of The Longman Anthology of British Literature (Volumes 2A, 2B, 2C). Each volume contains gorgeous color plates of contemporary artwork and portraits. The authors are arranged not only by the dates they represent, but also by the causes that they provide perspective on. This arrangement makes the literary selections more meaningful when read as a group, and provides a great deal of insight on pertinent issues which influenced the authors' writings. And unlike the previous volumes in this collection, the author works are kept together in one area, not scattered throughout the collection. All in all, the organization is a good one, and this anthology is a fine addition to any private library.

The authors represented in this volume are:
- Auden, W.H.
- Beckett, Samuel
- Boland, Eavan
- Bowen, Elizabeth
- Brooke, Rupert
- Carter, Angela
- Churchill, Caryl
- Churchill, Sir Winston
- Collins, Michael
- Conrad, Joseph
- Dhomhnaill, Nuala Ni
- Eliot, T.S.
- Gordimer, Nadine
- Graves, Robert
- Greene, Graham
- Gunn, Thom
- Hardy, Thomas
- Heaney, Seamus
- Hughes, Ted
- Jones, David
- Joyce, James
- Kelman, James
- Larkin, Philip
- Lawrence, D.H.
- Mansfield, Katherine
- Muldoon, Paul
- Naipaul, V.S.
- Parnell, Charles Stewart
- Plath, Slyvia
- Orwell, George
- Owen, Wilfred
- Rhys, Jean
- Rosenberg, Isaac
- Rushdie, Salman
- Sackville-West, Vita
- Sassoon, Siegfried
- Shaw, Bernard
- Smith, Stevie
- Spender, Stephen
- Thiong'o, Ngugi Wa
- Thomas, Dylan
- Walcott, Derek
- Waugh, Evelyn
- West, Rebecca
- Wodehouse, P.G.
- Woolf, Virginia
- Yeats, William Butler

I got this book for an English Romanticism class, and apart from assigned readings by the teacher, the book also has biographies of the poets and writers -- really interesting read!

I had this book for a class, it is good and explains the periods and some major authors

The Longman Anthology of British Literature - 2A / 0-321-10579-6

Anthologies are usually either purchased because they are required reading for school or because the purchaser would like to round out a private library with worthwhile literary selections. This review is written predominantly to help the latter in their purchasing decision.

This anthology belongs to the three-volume set of The Longman Anthology of British Literature (Volumes 2A, 2B, 2C). Each volume contains gorgeous color plates of contemporary artwork and portraits. The authors are arranged not only by the dates they represent, but also by the causes that they provide perspective on. This arrangement makes the literary selections more meaningful when read as a group, and provides a great deal of insight on pertinent issues which influenced the authors' writings. This arrangement does mean, however, that many selections are scattered throughout the work, so if you wish to read all the selections by, say, Hannah More, you will have to wade through the index to find the three or four places her writings are located. All in all, the organization is a good one, unless you specifically prefer having all the writings of an author located in the same place, in which case another anthology might be best - perhaps the Norton anthologies.

The authors represented in this volume are:
- Austen, Jane
- Baillie, Joanna
- Barbauld, Ann Letitia
- Bellamy, Thomas
- Blake, William
- Burke, Edmund
- Burns, Robert
- Clare, John
- Clarkson, Thomas
- Cobbett, William
- Coleridge, Samuel Taylor
- Cowper, William
- de Quincey, Thomas
- Equiano, Olaudah
- Gilpin, William
- Godwin, William
- Gordon, George (Lord Byron)
- Hazlitt, William
- Hemans, Felicia
- Kant, Immanuel
- Keats, John
- Lamb, Charles
- Lamb, Mary
- Macaulay, Catherine
- Moore, Thomas
- More, Hannah
- Newton, John
- Paine, Thomas
- Polwhele, Richard
- Prince, Mary
- Radcliffe, Mary Anne
- Robinson, Mary
- Ruskin, John
- Scott, Sir Walter
- Shelley, Percy Bysshe
- Smith, Charlotte
- Smith, Eaglesfied
- Southey, Robert
- Spence, Sir Patrick
- Thompson, William
- Wakefield, Priscilla Bell
- Wheeler, Anna
- Williams, Helen Maria
- Wollstonecraft, Mary
- Wordsworth, Dorothy
- Wordsworth, William
- Yearsley, Ann Cromartie
- Young, Arthur

I'm using the Longman Anthology of the Romantics and their Contemporaries (3d edition) for the first time in my 3d-year Romantics course (enrolment 88 and counting!) -- I would like to thank the editors for doing a fantastic job -- the introductory essay (pp. 3-29) is truly unparallelled for clarity, scope, and intelligence -- absolutely filled to the brim with great, challenging ideas. The headnotes provide a meaningful, detailed historical background. Excellent, well annotated selections -- the notes are great too -- not condescending, not entirely ruled by the editors' obsessions, finely articulated. What a sane, sensible, well balanced, erudite anthology! Congratulations and thank you !

This is a most wonderful novel: the author based her story on the few remaining fragments of a medieval ballad and builds a complete novel out of her imagination and competence about medieval England.

The only flaw I see in it is the use of ancient spellings to render the texts written by the characters: a most unnecessary display of erudition.

A woman wronged, an immature but kind young king, an evil sorceress: all these classical ingredients are mixed into a story which mightily differs from a classical fantasy plot.

The evil sorceress, who of course is beautiful and pityless, has her good reasons to be such a villain: not that Ms Sherman justify her conduct but she gives us reasons to understand it and even to pity her.

The young king is courageous and good natured but he was thrown too early into his responsabilities and through a painful coming of age he has to become wiser and stronger to cope with them; to become a real king he also has to give up his personal hopes of happiness and this, if believable, is nonetheless very hard to stomach.

The wronged woman has a strong personality; she can tell right from wrong and act accordingly, but she is not likeable. Even before the evil sorceress wronged her by killing her family and her hopes for a happy life she was hard, determined, even cold. We have to take sides with her without liking her.

This is perhaps the reason why an extremely well written novel is so hard to like: the orderly world of fantasy, where black is black and white spotlessly so takes unpleasant shades of grey, different from the usual device of the main hero being a former thief or rascal.

I was not able to hate the sorceress, who I looked upon as a wild animal fighting bloodily for her survival; I looked with kind of disgust upon the rise of the woman up the hierarchy of the king's court, at her gaining the king's love without being able to love him at least a little in return.

Ms Sherman has chosen the stony path to a good story: the result is bitter but the quality of her writing and the development of her characters are such as not to allow any rating below the five stars.

The sexual gender issue and the homosexuality of the king have delivered this valuable novel to a minor queer fiction publisher... A shame such a book is not distributed worldwide as it deserves.

I was unfamiliar with the ballad on which this book is based, so the unfolding story herein was a complete surprise to me. I absolutely adored this book. The prose is lovely and the story is bittersweet. The tale of a young woman who discuises herself as a man and serves a handsome lord who falls for her--in her male guise, much to her distress. Classy and destined to be a classic. Highly recommended.

I enjoyed this book because of the author's pagan themes. Christianity and the Old Religion of the area seem to rub together well enough. While there is an evil sorceress, Margaret, who is trying to indirectly kill her daughter, Elinor, witchcraft has its positive side in that the people of Albian relied on their hedgewitches to scry the future and cure their ills.

Elinor, who disguises herself as a man in order to find employment in the King's kitchen, is an interesting figure. She is not a great warrior queen or lightning-fingered mage. She is a middle-aged woman just trying to survive after having everything taken from her. What Elinor lacks in humor or liveliness of spirit, Sherman suffuses her with discipline, focus, and total devotion to the tasks at hand. This makes for a rather grim character, but all the more compelling.

While I wished that the book could have been more "gay positive", the story would probably have rang less true. The young king is struggling to cope with his sexuality while, at the same time, trying to provide for the needs of his kingdom and subjects. His resolution at the end of the tale, while not the most satisfactory, is perhaps more "realistic" because of it.

Recommended.

I had read some of Ms. Sherman's short fiction and enjoyed it a lot. Unfortunately, this novel disappointed.

The lengthily titled Through a Brazen Mirror: The Famous Flower of Servingmen is based on a ballad, and as such should have had a workable plot. Essentially, a sorceress is trying to kill her daughter because of a prophecy that the daughter will be her death, but she can't kill her directly because of the rules of magic. In her efforts to kill the daughter indirectly, she kills the daughter's family. The daughter dresses as a man and goes to join the king's household, where she rises to a high position. The king falls in love with him/her, of course. I found this basically solid plot to be expressed very slowly and without tension. Character motivations never really seemed strong. The essential tragedy of the story, the fact that the young king is in love with the man he thinks the daughter is, only comes in at the very end and isn't adequately supported throughout the novel. Margaret, the morally ambivalent sorceress, never convinced me somehow.

The novel is written in a self-consciously Renaissance style that sounds as if the author had worked RenFaire several too many times. It is fluent and correct, but to me it comes across as a little precious.

There's some originality here and some appealing scenes, but overall, I didn't find it to be something I would recommend.

This is the sort of book that deserves a wider audience than it's gotten so far. The author is a lesbian, and the book contains a gay character. Since mainstream publishers are still a little squeamish about such things, this book gets the label "Queer Fantasy" slapped on it, gets published by a small press, and the upshot of it is that most straight readers have never heard of the darn thing. And that's a shame. This isn't just a good "gay book", it's a good book.

_Through a Brazen Mirror_ fleshes out the ballad "The Famous Flower of Serving-Men". It is compelling from the first few pages, wherein a young man stumbles into the King's kitchens during a rainstorm. He announces he's looking for a job, proclaims his robust health, and promptly faints. But the young man, William Flower, is more than he seems; his quiet diligence causes him to rise quickly through the ranks of the castle servants, until eventually he comes to the attention of the handsome young King, who is questioning his sexuality. Meanwhile, in a mysterious tower in the woods, a sorceress has foreseen that her daughter will cause her death. Since the rules of magic forbid killing one's own blood, the sorceress instead tries to destroy everything around her daughter, releasing plagues and storms upon the land. I'll warn you right now, don't expect a "fairy-tale" happy ending; Sherman's ending is sadder but much truer to life than the ballad's original ending. But she leaves one major plot point open to imagination, softening the tragedy a bit. And everyone is a little wiser at the end.

Delia Sherman writes in a lovely style of prose, atmospheric and somewhat archaic, reminding me of the early books of Patricia McKillip, before her work became more abstract. The magic in Sherman's world is not cheesy D-and-D stuff; it's the very sort of magic that medieval people actually believed in. And through it all, even though it's a sad story, Sherman weaves a delightful ribbon of dry humor. I very much enjoyed this book.

If you want to learn everything about Gabrielle's life this is the book for you! Her stories and journeys with Xena will thrill and take you beyond the pages of her book. Every chapter has something new, and you learn many things about the way she lives with Xena, and Joxer too. Pick this book to learn more then even Xena knows about Gabrielle's life.

Hmmmm, this book is quite good - but I believe that there are better ones out there. If you're a complete xena freak like me then, then you'll want to have it - it is amusing, especially as it is from gabby's point of view, and sometimes the author manages to nail it and you can hear gabby's voice saying the words. It's not for someone who doesn't know the programme too well. It often makes brief references to episodes and I'm not really sure how much sense it would make if you hadn't seen them. It is quite a short book, but you'll not want to put it down until you've read it. Don't buy this if you're looking for something really informative about the show. This book is a bit of fun and nothing more - like I said before - something for the die-hard fans rather than anyone else....

A great edition for any true Xena fan. Read through the list of things Gabrielle has learned from her friend Xena as well as the ins and outs of living life on the road, (or the dirt track as they would say) A great read, full of good laughs and informative too.

This was a real cute book..a must for any "hardcore nutball" Xena fan. I like the pictures and Renee O'Connor's small top ten list in the front was a big bonus...It was not a real introduction, but good nonetheless. I wouldn't spend a huge amount of money on it..but good for the price here.

This book is a creative way of putting any xena fan on the journeys. It comes from Gabrielle's perspective of lessons, discoveries, friendship,and many things well taught, that she's learned on the journeys. As a Xena fan I recommend it. Though it's fairly short, It will keep you turning the pages all night long! Complete with a Introduction by Renee 'O Connor, I find it a very believable book.

I think Ruth Sherman's book is a must read for anyone that has not had the benefit of that successful role model or mentor in business. Reflecting upon my business courses in communications, I find the lessons taught to have been perfunctory and sterile. Sherman offers an approach that recasts business communication into the social and psychological milieu that is the reality of the business world. While her approach is common sense, the real world is full of examples of people frustrated with their lack of acceptance or persuasiveness for whom common sense is elusive. This will be the book that you will have wished your college professor included along with that dry tome about writing executive abstracts and memorandi. The latter will get you a job, while Sherman's book will get you a career (and friends!).
This book isn't for everyone. This book is just for people who take pride in themselves, pride in the way they are received by others and pride in their own work.

This book is an excellent overview for newcomers to the principles of communication, and a good lead-in for more specific reading on the topic.

Perhaps more importantly, the book serves as a worthwhile reminder for those of us who consider ourselves knowledgable on this topic - and proficient at communicating with others. I find it to be an excellent check-list as to whether I am 'walking my talk' - and I would especially recommend the exercise to those reviewers who could find only a one-syllable word to describe the book - and a perjorative one at that. Good communication after all, requires critical self-observation.

The list of contents clearly enumerates the basic skills, and conveniently groups them into broad categories. Most importantly, Sherman makes the point that if you can't sell yourself (especially to yourself) you are unlikely to sell anything to anyone else - and most of all your ideas. For me, this, is a vital principal that is frequently missed in other books on communication.

My one reservation is the title: I found it somewhat misleading. Apart from this, I see the book as being simple, but far from simplistic. After all, intellectualism is not usually a good teacher.

luckily i borrowed this book from my university library instead of buying it. the cover design and naming of the book are fantastic but the content is all crap.

What a waste of time this book. Nothing new, all very common sense. A book for sales people without manners and for the social inept.

More work and deeper indepth research would make this book perfect. Sadly, in this case, its not true.