United Kingdom Books

Not pocket size but not atlas sized either. No travel to Scotttt-land can do without this guide! Here's a glass ta ya.
--DFW

"The Rough Guide to Scotland 8" is the very latest edition (June 2008) of a compact and highly informative planning resource for one of the world's great travel destinations. Scotland manages to combine modern, dynamic cities with some of the best-preserved heritage sites of the British Isles and some of the most outstanding outdoor recreation opportunities in Europe.

"The Rough Guide to Scotland" is nicely organized into sections to facilitate vacation planning. An introductory section provides the first-time visitor with some welcome hints on when and where to go, including some can't-miss sites. Next, the guide covers the basics of travel to and within Scotland, accomodation, food, and other travel essentials.

The heart of the guide is a series of 17 regional sections, covering everything from the big cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow to the Central Highlands, remote Northwest Scotland, and the major island groups of Skye, the Hebrides, the Orkneys, and the Shetlands. Each regional section identifies visitor highlights, backed by narrative, maps, graphics, and black and white photographs to assist in putting together itineraries. Information on individual attractions usually includes operating hours and website addresses. Regional information on accomodation and dining are included.

Scotland may offer something for everyone. The cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow have the latest in shopping and modern culture. The famed Scottish Highlands are easily accessible by road or train, yet offer a broad choice of challenge from the afternoon stroll to the week-long backpacking expedition. Edinburgh has a fascinating array of excellent museums, while large numbers of castles, whether intact or ruined, are open to inspection by the tourist. Even the little border town of Gretna Green offers some interest; it was once England's favorite place for quicky marriages, based on a difference between Scottish and English law, for which it drew mention in a Jane Austen novel.

A concluding section in the guide provides essays on history, music, and books about Scotland. Special color sections scattered through the guide address Scotland's unique architecture, festivals, and outdoor recreation. The quality of maps and city graphics should enable the average tourist to do detailed planning. Those planning to drive and/or hike may wish a driving map or detailed Ordnance Survey charts in addition to what is provided in the guide.

"The Rough Guide to Scotland" is written in standard Rough Guide language, addressed to the average traveler and not shy about expressing opinions on which sights are worthwhile and what to expect in the way of manners and customs. This guide is very highly recommended to those interested in planning a fascinating vacation in Scotland, and as an orientation guide to those fascinated by Scottish culture.

I have been pleased with Warbird Tech series overall, this book is no exception. A nice niche - not just a photo book for modelers, not a dull, overly detailed description of every nuance in the history of the planes at great expense to the reader.

Kev Darling writes in an easy, enjoyable style. The post WWII bomber development is covered, creation of the prototypes, testing, production & varients. Good clear line drawings & captions are interesting & informative. 7 photos are in color - it's not Detail & Scale level of photos, but for its size & price, I would definately recommend this book. Interesting, informative & affordable.

Yours truly is not in any way associated with this book. The author is Mr. Kev Darling - period.

The "a reader" review below was originally written by me - wonder why Amazon lost the link to my account? Anyways - Third Edition - wonderfully updated and everything I said before still holds good. The only minor niggle is the Index which doesn't alway land you on the correct page - but then this is the proofread from hell and this third edition is WAY better than the first in that respect. Still worth the money.

This comprehensively indexed and illustrated volume details all known acts and actions of significance in the history of the UK Royal Navy. Each day of the year details, in year order, the events and ships that make up the history of the world's oldest surviving sea fighting force. Originally published by the Navy itself till the mid-1970's the book was released to commercial publishers and has been revised and updated with the assistance of the UK National Maritime Museum. The book is profusely illustrated with historical sketches, paintings and photographs. All Naval Actions described include a brief description of the action, the ships taking part and the commander. A must for those looking for an introduction to the service and for a sense of the history of the service coupled with the occassional amazing juxtaposition of hard fact and farce on the same page. (Review based on the 1992 hardback edition)

This book is a most impressive account of the 18th century Royal Navy I have read. Althought it was written at the end of the 19th century it is written in a modern style which is surprisingly easy to read. This book is a must for any serious Naval Historian and will capture the imagination of all with any interest in Naval history. The authors commentries are based on an obvious extensive research and his opinions are based on facts not speculation. I consider this book to be a authorative tome which provides detailed accounts of all fleet and single ship actions of the period.

This book was originally published in 1900. Clowes was the naval correspondent for The Times. While he wrote much of the book, other sections were written by Sir Clements Markham, a retired admiral and President of the Royal Geographical Society; Alfred Thayer Mahan, author of the seminal "Influence of Seapower Upon History"; and Theodore Roosevelt, who wrote what is still considered one of the best histories of the War of 1812; among others.

Unusually for military histories, the book looks at other aspects of the Royal Navy besides naval operations. There are several long discussions of naval administration, shipbuilding, and even social life and customs of the sea. Markham's sections are concerned with exploration, which involved more than James Cook's voyages.

Written in modern English, this hundred-plus year old book is readable and still relevant. My only regret upon finishing it was that Clowes didn't live in the present time, so he could have brought the book up to date.

Finally a book that completes the very final story on the various Kings of Great Britian. Normal biographies end with their death. This book takes you beyond that - not just where the kings were buried - but what happened afterwards. An excellent read start to finish - and well illustrated too! Would have been nice to have a selection of colored photographs - but what's available will do. For anyone interested in the subject - I highly recommend this book. You will not be disappointed.

Surprisingly considering England's attachment to the monarchy, there has been no comprehensive guide to the royal tombs--until this one. Dodson locates all of the known tombs of Britain and Scotland's long line of kings and queens of the varied kingdoms before they were united into the one United Kingdom and after they were when there was a single line of monarchs. With this, he gives notes on the historical background of each monarch, including his or her burial, and on "post-internment history," which sometimes includes movement of the body to another resting place. Surveying the lives and burials of the numerous monarchs, "Royal Tombs..." can also serve as a guidebook to the burial places. There's just enough material for the historian looking for basic information and for the curious tourist. A teaching fellow in archaeology and anthropology at the U. of Bristol, Dodson has written previous books on the pyramids and royal families of Egypt.

Anything by Prof. Page is good! This book is a collection of some of his harder-to-find essays on runes, spanning a number of decades. I treasure my copy, and recommend it most highly to the serious student of runes.

With all of the popular New-Age and cultist books on runes out there, it is often difficult to spot the facts in a growing tide of fantasy. By all means practice your esoteric ideas as you wish, but at least have enough respect for the real and historical runes to read some of Page's books first.

Professor Page has been a foremost authority on the runes for more than quarter of a century, and this collection of essays is a sampling of an illustrious career. It is also gives a thorough and accurate description of many of the inscriptions and contexts in which runes are found.

If you are unfamiliar with the academic study of runes, you may want to start with his easier and cheaper introduction "Runes (Reading the Past, Vol 4)".


Sweyn
The Rune Primer: A Down to Earth Guide to the Runes

This book works on three levels:

1. Read as a whole, it provides a fascinating account of the rise and fall of the British TV export market in the 1960s. I always wondered why there are all these great British shows that aired on American network TV back then, but none do now. This book provides the answers.

2. Chapman provides very interesting and well-cited academic insight into these series, examining their themes and cultural implications, and how they fit into their time, without ever becoming dry or boring. This book is not a text book; it's very readable.

3. Read in pieces, the book provides solid backgrounds and analysises of each program it discusses. The most pages are devoted to Secret Agent (Danger Man), The Avengers, The Saint, and The Persuaders, which should make sense to an American reader, since these are the shows most commonly available here on DVD. It is worth buying this book even if you are just into ONE of these shows and want to know more about it. However, I found myself reading every chapter, and becoming interested in the other shows discussed as well, and trying to track them down.

Overall, this book is an excellent overview of Sixties British adventure/spy series (as its apt title suggests) written in a very accessible manner. Highly recommended!

In Saints & Avengers, author James Chapman profiles nine TV series. He says that all but one are available on home video, but he must mean in the U.K., because a quick search shows that only about half are easily available in the U.S. Some of these shows never aired in the U.S., so the American reader may not be as interested in some parts of this book.

The subtitle is British Adventure Series of the 1960s and that is an accurate description of the purpose of this book. Chapman examines how the British TV series differed from the American shows of the same time and how these shows in particular typified the decade.

Even in the 60s, American television was a dominant cultural force, but British series such as The Avengers and The Champions were still able to capture a large American audience. For one thing, there were few spy series in the U.S., with westerns and detective drama more common. When Brit spy shows came to America, we were ready for them. (Come to think of it, I can't even think of any American spy heroes, fictional or not.)

Chapman also looks at how the shows belonged to the Sixties and couldn't succeed beyond the end of the decade. He points out the failure of The New Avengers and The Return of the Saint. On the other hand, it seemes that viewers in the Seventies were receptive to a completely different type of series, as The Prisoner showed.

Chapman's writing is clear and engaging, except in the introduction, when he gets bogged down in academic jargon. Don't let that keep you from moving right on to the rest of this thoughtful and entertaining look at some of the best television there has ever been.

The British Special Air Service is one of the most highly trained military forces in the world, but they shroud their training, team selection and operations in complete mystery.

The book mentions a lot of acts of terrorism incidents in the 20th Century, from plane hijackings, bombings, embassy takeovers to the massacre of the Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympic Games in 1972. The book also shows one of the favoured weapons of the SAS, the MP5 submachine gun.

I really enjoy military handbooks, because I believe conflict can change the world. Look at the Vietnam War: the conflict made the country better than it was after the Second World War. Vietnam now has good food, beautiful countryside that is safe to travel and many enjoyable activities like cross-country tours.

Check out the website: vietnamtourism.com

Robert Franck

This book is the best book I have ever read on special operations and includes a indepth analysis of the selection, training, weapons, lands, water and air roles, counter terrorism, hearts and minds and operational tactcis. This book is about the SAS but has a overall review of the world's elite. It's excellent

When the King of Bohemia himself comes to Mr. Sherlock Holmes with a case, how can he say no? A woman has an indiscrete picture of herself and the King, and is threatening to disrupt his wedding. Numerous attempts have been made to retrieve the picture, but now Sherlock Holmes himself is on the case. But, there is more going on than meets the eye, and Holmes soon finds that he is facing one of his most clever opponents.

This is the third Sherlock Holmes story that Arthur Conan Doyle ever wrote, and it was first published in 1892. This is another wonderful Sherlock Holmes story, with lots of mystery, adventure and disguises. Indeed, the woman of the story - Irene Adler - has become so popular, that a number of books have been written starring her! So, if you want to read a good Sherlock Holmes story, or you want to see the very first Irene Adler story, then get this book!

A Scandal in Bohemia was a nicely written short story. It was engaging and it is my favorite Sherlock Holmes tale. Its nice to see that for once he went up against someone whose mental capacity was in the same league as his. At first I didn't really like Irene Adler for no reason I can think of now. But she grew on me and by the end of the story, she was my favorite character. The King was an absolute idiot.

Good book and very informative for planning a trip to Scotland (especially for someone who's never been).

I am planning a family trip to visit my parents homeland. Scotland for Dummies has helped me to learn a great deal in a short time. I love the Stickers to highlight the places you want to go. The cheat sheets should prove valuable too.