IPhone 3G used's review (Mammoth disappointment) 『I couldn't agree more with the one-star review from Sept. 2001. From a quick glance in a store, I was impressed by the book's apparent scope; once I owned it I could see, based on a good general knowledge of British royal history, how poor, undocumented, and second-hand the information was. Ashley gives roughly the same weight to legends as to actual historical figures: perhaps not surprising, now that I find he's published many other "Mammoth" books of fantasy literature but nothing else dealing with historical facts. It's hard to imagine that anyone involved in publishing or marketing it understood that scholarship needs to have at least some role in works of this kind. Because I don't believe in trashing books, however sorry their content, I donated my copy to a local book sale. If you care about history, skip this book to avoid a similar disappointment.』
(The most comprehensiveone volume digest of monarchs of the British isles) 『 This is perhaps the most comprehensive one volume digest of British monarchs and spans 2000 years of rulers of England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and smaller kingdoms withing Britain. There are over a thousand entries. It has a section on LEGENDARY OR SEMI-HISTORICAL KINGS OF BRITAIN which includes the possibilities of who the legendary King Arthur was based on, as well as the King Lear we know from the Shakespeare play. In this section he refers to the History by Geoffrey of Monmouth, whom Ashley does not see as a very incredible historian. According to Geoffrey's History the legendary first king of Britain was Brut or Brutus who was supposed to have reigned about 1100 BCE. But Ashley says that although Geoffrey's is almost certainly a creation of his own imagination, there is no reason to disbelieve the concept of tribes of Celts arriving in Britain at this period and one strong leader emerging.
The first likely British king to have been documented is Beli Mwar (circa 100 BCE). It is possible to trace most British and Welsh rulers back to Mweli. Alfred the Great (871-899 CE), the best known of the West Saxon kings earned the epithet of the 'Great' not only because he held the Saxon nation together against the Dane invaders but because he improved the strength, culture and quality of his realm.
The section on kings of England tells us tat King William I The Conqueror or The Bastard, after his conquest of England, marched in 1069 against the rebels under Swein and Edgar. The author tells us that "harrying of the north was the most extreme example of despoiling and genocide that England has ever seen and for which William was never forgiven. He may have conquered them but he never ruled them".
We learn that the facts about Scottish king MacBeth are not reflected at all in Shakespeare's play. As for Richard III, while Shakespeare may have greatly exaggerated his villainy, the facts bare out that he almost certainly did order the murders of the young princes of the tower, as examined in The Princes in the Tower.
This book is a reference work, and can be referred to whenever reading up on British history, or historical fiction. It is also an interesting read in itself. It is crammed with interesting facts such as the existence of the heredidatary disease porphyria which has infected the English royal family for centuries. The Royal Book of Records in this digest is particularly fascinating. Since this book was written current Queen Elizabeth, now 82, has overtaken Queen Victoria and George III (both 81) as the oldest reigning monarch of England or the United Kingdom. If she is still reigning in 2016 she will have overtaken Meurig of Gwent to be the oldest reigning monarch ever on the island of Britain. Since this book was written Elizabeth (Queen since 1952) has overtaken Henry III of England (56 years), James VI of Scotland ( 57 years) and George III 59 years). If Elizabeth is still reigning in 10 September 2015, she will have overtaken Queen Victoria as the longest reigning British monarch. The digest takes us up to the tragic death of Princess Diana in 1997. The monarchy has been in crisis many times before and while today it is going through difficulty one can only hope that such an ancient venerable institution it will survive. It is up to the new generations to help the monarchy find a new place in the affections of the people. 』
(EXCELLENT resource for anyone!) 『Ashley gives us a mini-history of Europe as well as a chronological listing of its monarchs. An invaluable resource for history students as well as genealogists!』
(BEST GENEALOGY BOOK IN PRINT) 『This book contains more Royal genealogy information in one place that you could search for in a lifetime anywhere else. This book is comprehensive and covers a Royal history of thousands of years that includes the ruling dynasties of almost every European country. I have been tracing my Royal ancestors and until I got this book, I was limited. But reading this book revealed not only thousands more names of my great-grandparents, it includes little tid-bits of information that also covers personal tragedies/triumphs, royal reigns and family life. I HIGHLY recommend this book not only as an interseting read, but ESPECIALLY if you are researching Royal ancestors.』
(more for hobby than work) 『First let me state that I love this book. I read it all the time, though I haven't come close to finishing it due to its size.
I love this book because it is interesting. It has every British ruler you can think of piled in there, from the most recent to the semi-mythological ones of bygone days. And this includes the ruling families of those who came to power in Britain. The most obscure rulers are covered.
The book is incredibly well indexed. I can find any ruler easier than it would be to look his name up alphabetically. Even better than that, I don't have to know the name of a ruler to find him. There are charts, graphs, geneological tables, maps, everything.
However, there is one major flaw with this book. As the "Royal Book of Records" in the beginning might suggest, the book might more be considered gossip than fact. The RBoR is fantastic, listining the Top 10 rulers for all sorts of things...strangest deaths, earliest marriages, most kids, you name it. But the whole book kind of takes on this theme.
I would not have known that the book isn't the most reliable of sources if I hadn't gone and tried to use it on my papers for university (Dalriada, Pictland, Vikings, Anglo-Saxons mostly). Which I did, and subsequently got marked off on. Every point that I cited with this book got marked off. But I still can't help loving it.』
『Now in paperback, the most complete record of Britain's kings and queens ever compiled.
In one compendious volume,The Mammoth Book of Kings&Queensoffers the first royal biographical A-Z, its pages lavish in details on all the rulers of kingdoms within the British Isles, together with their wives or consorts, pretenders, usurpers, and regents. Monarchs from Queen Boadicea of the early Britons to Elizabeth II fill these pages, including various tribal and Saxon rulers prior to 1066, the semi-legendary figures of the Dark Ages, and all those who helped to forge the kingdom of Great Britain.
Author Mike Ashley presents in chronological order all the kings and queens of Britain as well as other powerful nobles and dignitaries; he includes, too, genealogies showing the family descent of all the leading royal families as a further bonus. His resulting superb and authoritative one-volume reference is now available in an affordably priced Trade Paper edition.』
Kakaku：2700 saved$27.00
Underwood Books
Usually ships in 24 hours IPhone 3G used's review (Salient Conan) 『Robert E Howard is the father of Sword and Sorcery genre, and Conan is still vivid and powerful since first published in 1932.
The Frazetta cover paintings for the Lancer paperbacks of the 1960s are published here, though not always associated with the original Lancer stories. These powerful images and superb occult adventures helped launch the 1970s Fantasy&SF wave.
The afterword is by HP Lovecraft, with an amateurish and ill informed forward by Arnie Fenner, which has drawn angry criticism from dedicated Howard experts and fans.
Eight Conan stories, just less than one third of the stories, are here with Frazetta art. I had to buy this, even though I have the art&stories in other books.
It still is a must buy.』 『
As one of the three most important American pulp fantasy authors of the 1930s (with Lovecraft and Clark Ashton Smith), Robert E. Howard captivated readers with his indomitable, battle-scarred barbarian hero Conan. Though Howard's life ended prematurely in 1936 at the age of 30, Conan lives on as one of the genre's most enduring icons. This beautifully designed collection contains nine essential Conan stories along with a full-length Conan novel. Also included isThe Hyborean Age,Howard's fascinating history of the raw, blood-drenched world Conan inhabited, an alternative Earth that preceded Tolkien's Middle Earth.And Their Memory Was a Bitter Treefeatures a color map of this realm and an interior painting by cult artist Brom, along with a series of Frank Frazetta's seminal Conan paintings, appearing for the first time with the stories for which they were created.
Kakaku：250 saved$2.50
David Brown Book Co
Usually ships in 24 hours IPhone 3G used's review (Ancient Queens of Egypt.) 『This is an OK book for those who do not know much about ancient Egypt. In fact not much is known about Nefertiti other than what people have uncovered when exploring the ruins of this great empire. Samson does a good job on explaining the theories of Nefertiti and her husband and daughters. Samson spends less time on Cleopatra, although more is known of her. For a more detailed explaination of these figures, try something Michael Grant has written. For those seeking an introduction to these great figures, this is a nice book.』
(a clearly written, highly recommended book) 『In this clearly written book, the author explains the importance of the two best-known and greatest queen-monarchs of Ancient Egyptian times, Nefertiti and Cleopatra. In the first part of the book, Samson describes the reign of Akhenaten and clarifies the influence of Nefertiti on that particular reign. In the second part, Samson discusses Cleopatra and her association with Caesar and Mark Antony. A very detailed, well-illustrated book, recommended for students, particularly those interested in these two queens.』 『A vivid account of two female pharaohs; beautiful Nefertiti (1367-1350 BC) and mysterious Cleopatra (51-30 BC). Both politically adept, they also distinguished themselves in their love for the greatest men of their day: Nefertiti for the sun-worshipping Akhenaten, and Cleopatra for Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. The author has researched museum collections and excavation reports, as well as contemporary writings, to recreate the settings of their domestic lives.』
Kakaku：1250 saved$12.50
The Mathematical Association of America
IPhone 3G used's review (Nobody wraps a story around mathematics better than Bell) 『If I was to ever teach a course in expository writing in mathematics, decide to write a popular book in mathematics, or be asked to advise someone who was going to do either one, this book would be my first and highest recommendation as a resource. There is no one better than Bell at wrapping an engaging story around mathematics. It is hardly surprising that he was also successful as a writer of science fiction. In less than 450 pages he manages to explain why mathematics is important, give a reasonably complete history of the subject and show how well both can be done. This book should be required reading for all mathematics majors and minors.』
(A re-read after many years) 『I will keep this very brief. I am an electrical engineer and computer scientist, and, after a couple of decades in the "commercial world" , am always amazed at the "unreal effectiveness" of mathematics when applied to this and the real world. Bell's book captures this essence in a timeless tome that must be required reading and regular re-reading for all aspiring. and indeed, practising, mathematicians, engineers and scientists. It is a source of both inspiration and "bringing back to earth" to those that read it. No serious practitioners library should be without it.』 『An absorbing account of pure and applied mathematics from the geometry of Euclid to that of Riemann, and its application in Einstein's theory of relativity. The twenty chapters cover such topics as: algebra, number theory, logic, probability, infinite sets and the foundations of mathematics, rings, matrices, transformations, groups, geometry, and topology. Mathematics was republished in 1987 with corrections and an added foreword by Martin Gardner.』
IPhone 3G used's review (Trundling through life...) 『Lucia Rising is not a novel in itself; it's the compilation of the first three Lucia novels. The second compilation (novels 4 - 6) is called Lucia Victrix. Maybe I'm a dope; it took me a while to figure this out!
My grandmother and mother have always raved about "the Lucia novels" and reread them again and again. Naturally, I was curious!
Rather than Austen, I'd compare these to a very gentle version of P.G. Wodehouse's Jeeves novels. Same time period, same class system, same loony characters. I found that I devoured the first three, but trying to read all six in succession? It began to get a little overwhelming...
For one thing, Lucia and Mapp, the principal characters, are simply not nice people. Yes, their endless schemes to best each other are amusing, but after hundreds and hundreds of pages their actual characters are no more developed than they were in the first chapters.
Having said this, it's an authentic picture of a time and place, and I found myself wishing I could spend an evening with these people (not much more!)』
(The Jane Austen of the 1920's) 『For me, there is nothing quite like E.F. Benson's 'Lucia' series, except perhaps for the novels of the great Jane Austen herself. Benson is truly a social satirist of Austen's calibre (and I give this praise as an absolute Worshipper of Austen, so it's not lightly given). Benson's characters, living, as they do, lives of comfort&ease in quiet, picturesque English villages, during a historical period of relative peace, manage to get up to the most exciting and riveting, but at the same time, completely polite and respectable social adventures, and display to the reader their own little vanities and self-deceits in the most wonderful ways. I think I'm on my third reading of the books now (having acquired them about 5 years ago) and I still enjoy them immensely. I can't imagine any fan of Jane Austen not also totally 'getting' Benson's Lucia&Miss Mapp books. Benson rocks!!』 『Contains three "Lucia" novels exposing rural snobbery. Set in the genteel battlefield of Tilling, deadly enemies Mapp and Lucia vie for social supremacy with astounding cunning and ingenuity. The book accompanies "Lucia Victrix".』
IPhone 3G used's review (Had to force myself to page 125, and couldn't get any further) 『I had to really push myself to read this. I would keep bargaining with myself 'well, I'll just read to page 50 and see if it picks up', then 'well, maybe it'll be better by page 100', then 'maybe it'll be good by page 150'. I shouldn't have to do that. A good book should have you flying through it so fast that you wonder how on earth you just read 400+ pages so quickly. That was not the case here. Sometimes, I would reach the end of a page, go to turn it, only to realize that I'd zoned out and couldn't remember a thing that had just happened on the page I just finished.
The characters did not capture me. I couldn't really see why they should fall in love with each other. The hero felt a little too sorry for himself, considering that his life wasn't all THAT bad. The heroine was pretty brave, but I didn't feel like she was a beloved friend, which is what the reader wants in any good book. The spark that makes a book magical just wasn't there.
Also, there were a lot of subplots going on that didn't really seem to go anywhere. Maybe they were better developed by the end of the book, but none were engaging enough to compell me to finish this.
I am going to give this author one more chance, in case this is just a one-time thing. It has been said that every author has at least one 'bomb' in her career; maybe this is Potter's. Don't bother with this book, unless you're out of sleeping pills.』
(Insomniacs....Here's Your Cure....) 『This one just wasn't in the same league as some other works by this wonderful author. It will put you to SLEEP. And what's with the names of the ponies? They were called Snow White and Charming. Were the Brothers Grimm stories THAT old? I don't think so.』
(Not So Good...) 『What a difference in this book than in The Diamond King&The Black Knave!!! Those were awesome stories but Neil's story was boring. Even the plot was nowhere near as intriguing or interesting as the other books. Come to think of it, there wasn't really much of a plot at all. If Neil had been a stronger hero maybe he could have carried off this subtle, slow story, but unfortunately, he wasn't. And Janet lacked enough personality to make it work.』
(Neil Was Almost Pathetic) 『Could this guy have felt any more sorry for himself? He'd obviously led a staid and wasted life. And once the book was over I realized that very little actually happened in the story, there was not much of a plot. For what we got, it could have been cut in half.』
(Could Have Been MUCH Better!) 『I knew this story was in trouble when I had difficulty figuring out just who Neil Forbes was and what he looked like. This guy had little confidence in himself and he didn't make it easy for the reader to have confidence in him. What little excitement occurred was relegated to a few pages there at the end when Neil dealt with Reginald.』 『Time can turn a Scottish warrior into a lord, but only one woman can tame his heart.
A master storyteller, a powerful weaver of romantic tales. (Mary Jo Putney)
Praise forThe Black Knave:
A rousing tale of intrigue, danger, and forbidden romance. (All About Romance)
The Scarlet Pimpernelwith twists and turns that make an old story new. (Romantic Times-Top Pick)
Kakaku：210 saved$2.10
Candlewick
Usually ships in 24 hours 『Pushy Dolores really wants Andy to do a school project together— but sometimes you need to take your time to make the right choice.
The school Culture Fair is coming up, and Andy Shane has to pick an African country to learn about. Deciding isn’t easy for Andy, so he’s glad when Granny Webb gives him a scarab beetle, which he knows is a symbol of Egypt. But when Andy tries to tell Ms. Janice, Dolores Starbuckle springs up with her gold jewelry and glitter sandals and claims that she is the queen of Egypt. Dolores always gets her way —but this time Andy doesn’t feel like caving in. What will it take for him to share his project with the bossy queen? Fans of the endearing Andy Shane will be happy to see him holding his own in his new early-chapter-book adventure.』
大満足！北国のホタテ・いくら・ボタンエビがぎっしり！
