Customer Reviews:
Don't bother.......2002-04-30
I just read one of her previous books, A Talent for Destruction. I wasn't really crazy about that one, but I love discovering new authors, or new to me, so I read this one too. I should have stopped when I was ahead.
The "plot" involves the disappearance of a reclusive elderly couple following a bad storm. The local police almost immediately suspect the son and a former neighbor. Just when the investigation is getting rolling, a detective steals a script of the neighbors autobiography. (Which would be against any police procedure) The next 150 pages are that book! What's up with that? If you wanted to write that book, write that book. I was expecting a detective story. It was very frustrating and disappointing. I am going to avoid this author in the future.
Customer Reviews:
A Treasure.......2004-04-07
I'm pretty surprised about the few people here who have actually bashed this book. As a big Beatle fan and one who's read tons of books about them, I don't recall any inconsistancy's in this book whatsoever. Though short, this is probably one of the most prized Beatle books in my collection. My only complaint is I wish George Martin would do the same thing he's done here with Sgt. Pepper and write books about the sessions for the White Album, Revolver and Abby Rd. : ) A treasure to own. A book to read and re-read over and over.
A must read for all music producers.......2001-01-22
It is a well accepted fact that two of the best produced pop/rock albums to date are Sgt. Peppers and Pet Shop. The reason for owning this album is to gain an inside look into the master mind of one of these most important albums. It may be true that our recording equipment has improved our flexability but nothing can replace a truly great producer and great musicianship. George Martin is one of the truly great hero's of our ART and this book gives us a wonderful look into one of his master pieces. I am a big Beatles fan but this book is really directed to producers rather than The Beatles fan base...and I love it. This book has become very hard to get a hold of but it is a MUST HAVE for the library of every producer.
You place your bets, you takes your chances.......2000-03-17
This book isn't perfect. As a previous reviewer has remarked, it's inconsistent with Martin's previous books, not to mention other books that have been written about the Beatles. Still, it provides a contrasting point of view, and as such is worth looking over. Nobody's perfect, and Martin admits in so many words that his memory isn't ironclad. Just don't bet the ranch on what Martin has to say.
Read "All You Need Is [ouch!] Ears" instead........1999-10-14
There is very little here that isn't also in George Martin's earlier and much superior (and ungrammatically entitled, alas) "All You Need is Ears". The stories retold are altered, seemingly to jibe with Paul McCartney's relentless post-Lennon rewriting of Beatle history. Veracity aside, this tends to make them banal and humorless.
Recommended: PENTATONIC SCALES FOR THE JAZZ-ROCK KEYBOARDIST by Jeff Burns.
crudely written, redundant, and of questionable authenticity.......1999-10-11
It's amazing to think the author needed the services of a ghostwriter to write this badly. You'd think a reasonably intelligent twelve-year-old could have accomplished it by himself. Those who "[assume] the TRUTH [sic] will be 'good enough' [sic] entertainment for any sensible reader" may appreciate the Andy Warhol documentary in which the exterior of a building is filmed for twenty-four hours (the film lasts twenty-four hours). The art of the memoir is knowing what to leave out. McCartney's habitual trick is to damn John Lennon with faint praise. He loves to tell (and retell and retell again) how John Lennon contributed to his "It's Getting Better" the line "It can't get no worse", while completely ignoring the sophisticated and innovative harmony of "Julia" and "Because", etc. Rather a coincidence then that George Martin treats us to here to yet another rehearsal of this insipid story. (John Lennon was murdered December 1980. Interviews with John Lennon appeared in the December issues of "Playboy" and "Rolling Stone". In neither of these interviews does John Lennon attribute any bit of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" to Paul McCartney. In 1965, on the other hand, the Beatles were still pretending that the attribution "Lennon-McCartney" necessarily implied a collaboration.) I can't help suspecting that in this case "research"--in contradistinction to believing your own eyes and ears--meant letting your book be edited by Paul McCartney's propensity for dissimulation and enormous ego.
Product Description
Hudson survived his perilous maiden voyage to his beloved China. With his heart set in determined obedience to God, and trusting the provision of the One who had called, Hudson overcame persecution and almost overwhelming personal losses to bring to bring God's truth to the "ripe harvest fields" of China.
Today, Hudson Taylor's story continues to challenge and inspire believers young and old to carry the anchoring gospel message, regardless of personal trial or hardships, to those who are adrift and without hope.
Customer Reviews:
It's up to you if..........2005-11-17
It's up to you if you want to get a picture of the struggles of Hudson Taylor on several fronts. He had to hear from God himself to endure the pressures of his calling. "Back to Jersusalem" is a movement that has it's roots in Hudson's ministry.
Contemporary Value.......2003-01-31
An adventure story about an early unconventional missionary!!This is a great read aloud book for older elementary age children and up. Although the setting is middle 1800s, the lessons are timeless. A great way to teach your children the difficulties faced by early missionaries, (5 1/2 dangerous months at sea just to get to China) and their complete reliance upon God to surmount seemingly impossible challenges. Although Taylor's faith is great, even he is surprised by the continual rescues and provisions that are clearly God orchestrated. My children thought it started slowly, but got more exciting when he finally reached China! Even adults will enjoy listening. I highly recommend it.
Average customer rating:
- a very unheroic "hero"
- A really good romance story, but a rushed ending
- A Great Beginning In The Series!
- Candace Camp IS HABIT FORMING
- A real page turner, not to be missed!!
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So Wild A Heart
Candace Camp
Manufacturer: Harlequin
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Binding: Mass Market Paperback
 Camp, Candace
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ASIN: 0373771606 |
Book Description
Generations ago, the Aincourt family was given a title and land for their loyalty to the king. But the former abbey they received came with a price -- a curse that no family member would ever know happiness.
Devin Aincourt, Earl of Ravenscar, makes no apologies for who he is -- a drinker, a womanizer, a gambler. Having been cast aside by his disapproving father years before, Dev is content to live out his cursed life in this hedonistic manner. Until his mother asks him to make a bold move to restore the family name and fortune: marry a rich American heiress. Believing it will be a marriage in name only, Dev agrees to marry Miranda. But he never imagined that this feisty, unconventional foreigner would have plans of her own: to restore Blackwater, the old abbey, to its former glory, to extricate Dev from the clutches of a devious mistress and to win his heart for her own. All while risking her own life to an unknown enemy.
For Dev and Miranda, love may be the most lasting curse of all.
Customer Reviews:
a very unheroic "hero".......2007-05-01
Wow, it was really very hard to like the "hero" of this book. He spent years and years mounting anything that didn't move in every hellhole in London and all of its slums, he was completely manipulated by his controlling mistress, he was a raging consumer of alcohol and deeply mired in self hatred. Could my heart beat any faster? Yes, I concede that Miranda made him change once he got away from his mistress, but that really just makes it worse for me. What that really boils down to is that this man can be manipulated by anyone. And, I know the author never calls him an alcoholic but really. You drink that much for that long ....
Anyway, Miranda was great. So very nice to see a determined woman who is not a petty, spiteful whiner. I adored her. But, I just couldn't get past Devin's past. And really, he must have picked up several STD's on his way through the scores of myriad women, not to mention those he contracted from his mistress who was even more flagrantly promiscuous. All in all, loved the heroine, couldn't get past the hero's past.
I know it is a romance novel and so I am supposed to suspend my belief in reality but there is a limit past which I just cannot return. This was a decent read, but I felt the need for a strong dose of penicillin when it was over.
A really good romance story, but a rushed ending.......2007-03-24
Overall I really did like this book, and I would read more by this author. Devin and Miranda were great characters, and the "who's the bad guy?" mystery that was the backbone of this story was quite interesting and hard to guess. Devin is quite the desirable dark hero too, and Miranda was intelligent and spoke her mind (but not in an annoying way.) The passion between these two was heated, but don't read this book looking for a "sizzling read". It's not that type of romance book. Bedroom scenes come very late in the book, and they were rather glossed over. My ONLY true complaint was that the ending was wrapped up with such hyper-speed. The last 30 or so pages had many of the main characters confessing and purging their hidden secrets at an alarming pace just to wrap up the story. There was no reason for much of the confessions either - they were just spewing stuff like "I never wanted anyone to know, but I must confess!" It just felt so phony. The conclusion of the story was quite cleaver though, I just didn't like the style of delivery.
A Great Beginning In The Series!.......2006-03-05
SO WILD A HEART is a wonderful beginning to a terrific series! I recommend you follow up with THE HIDDEN HEART and then SECRETS OF THE HEART. All three books are easy to read regency romances with a flare of mystery. The stories are closely connected that it's best to start with the first in the series.
Candace Camp IS HABIT FORMING.......2005-05-09
I have to admit I am someone who has their nose stuck in a book a good majority of the time ... I have read so many excellent authors over the years (I am proud to be a grandmother) however, for some odd reason I have missed reading Candace Camp ...I picked up So Wild a Heart with my last grouping of romance books and once I started it I didn't want to put it down ... it was darling! I was "caught" from the very beginning which is something I really like in a book. I didn't think I was going to like Dev to begin with, (which often makes it difficult to really enjoy a book) however, like everyone else I fell in love with this man who was taught that he had to hide his feelings to be a "real man" ... it was so nice when he started showing that a "real man" shows his feelings (speaks a wife who is still head-over-heels in love with her sensitive husband of 35 years). ... books like this are a dream come true ... Miranda is a woman much ahead of her time, which I personally enjoyed ... not just pretty face without a thought in her head, which so many of the women of that era are portrayed as (and sadder yet, they actually were). There is so much anticipation of happiness, mixed with the frustration (you would like to reach through the book and grab a couple of people by their necks ... no I am NOT a violent person!!!) ... and topped off with excitement of a love fulfilled ... and so much more ... Where this may have been my first Candace Camp book I am now 3/4 the way through the 3rd book of this trilogy "Secrets of the Heart" and I am finding it just as wonderful. As I am writing this I am thinking that the one thing that this book definitely has is the ability to make one want to keep turning the pages ... I couldn't put it down ... and I am going back to the bookstore to purchase more ... what an absolute joy from beginnng to end. I truly don't think this is a book you would be disappointed in reading.
A real page turner, not to be missed!!.......2005-03-11
Devin might start out to be one of the more contemptable rouges I have read about - he really did some BAD stuff. And Leona was one of the worst mistresses - she was so controlling and nasty. When you start to realize how she manipulated Devin and worked her wiles on him, and underminded him at every turn, you began to feel sorry for him. Miranda was just what he needed, strong lovely, intelligent, and she just happened to realize that she could totally loose her heart to Devin. So, she agrres to marry and unknown to Devin intends to win him over 100% - no more Leona. This is just such a different kind of love story - and the characters of Miranda and Devin you want to make it. I was actually quite surprised by a few of the plot twists at the end and it was necessary for Devin to finally be free of guilt and also to understand how loathsome Leona had always been. I have hurried out to buy the next two books in this series - I feel Camp has several winners!!
Average customer rating:
- loved it
- Very Very Good!
- Uneven writing -- needed a good editor
- expected it to be as bad as the reviews.........
- I enjoyed it -- better than expected
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Secrets Of The Heart
Candace Camp
Manufacturer: Harlequin
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Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Camp, Candace
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ASIN: 0373771622 |
Book Description
Love is best kept a secret.
She never expected to love again . . .
On the eve of her wedding to Michael Trent, the Earl of Westhampton, Rachel Aincourt tried to elope with another man -- only to be unceremoniously returned to her fiance by her strong-willed father. Burdened by guilt and shame, Rachel felt she'd gotten what she deserved: a loveless marriage to a cold, enigmatic husband. She was wrong.
But fate had other plans
Behind Michael's proper demeanor lay a man who thrived on danger and intrigue -- and now he'd been drawn into one of Bow Street's toughest cases. When the crime turned into a murder that involved Rachel, Michael found a new way to employ his mastery of disguise: seducing the wife he secretly loved. But would he finally be able to win her heart . . . or would he destroy his last chance for happiness?
Customer Reviews:
loved it.......2006-08-27
I thought it was a very good read, I liked the fact that the heroine was very proper in the beginning but then became adventurous as the story progressed. I have not read the first two books in this series, so I wasn't bored with going over what went on there. The scene where she tricks her naked husband and locks him out of her room at the inn was so funny. The husband spends a lot of the book being jealous, which is very statisfying.
Very Very Good!.......2006-07-26
SECRETS OF THE HEART is a very good end to the series of SO WILD A HEART and THE HIDDEN HEART! I recommend you begin the series with the first book as all the stories are closely connected. All three books are easy to read regency romances with a flare of mystery.
Uneven writing -- needed a good editor.......2006-06-24
I like Candace Camp, and I like the general plot of this book--two married people finding unexpected love with each other. But this book was really wooden in parts. I agree with the other reviewer who said Ms. Camp does a lot of "telling." I found the parts where she tells the reader what happened in the other books in the trilogy especially unnecessary and dull. Why didn't Ms. Camp's editor cut out the superfluous material (like a page on what Rachel is embroidering on a christening gown)?
Rachel's and Michael's characters aren't very believable, either. On the one hand, Rachel's a naive socialite who enjoys her life of fashion criticism and gossip; on the other, an assertive detective who yearns for meaningful work? And Michael: a passionate investigator and master of disguise with successful relationships at many social levels; but a diffident bookish type who won't approach his own wife over -seven years- and can't discover she'd welcome him? I'll try another Camp book, but this is not her best work.
expected it to be as bad as the reviews................2006-05-01
and I'm so glad I'd bought it before I saw them. I loved this book!!. I normally buy books with 4 and 5 star rating and this book has taught me my error. I bought it as I liked the synopsis then got home, read the reviews and thought I'd made a terrible mistake. So after reading the other 2 in the trilogy I sat down last night to give it a go. And after putting it down to reluctantly go to bed , finished it this morning. Yes I admit I was dreading the part when Michael would have to pretended to be his illegitimate half brother !! but it was really OK. I think it helped as you are lead to beleive that in the other 2 books everyone in the family can see the love growing in Rachel for Michael apart from the couple themselves. When ever they are in a room together the chemistry is there but they are so shy like awkward teenagers that they never seem to be able to look each other in the eye. So I found it possible that Rachel never really saw the real man and could have been hoodwinked easily.
Now I just have to find another book that will hook me as quickly and I can be very hard to please.
I enjoyed it -- better than expected.......2006-02-13
Frankly, I am surprised that it receives only 3 stars from most reviewers. Actually, this is a much better book than other romances I've read. The infatuation of young and innocent Rachael and her elopement was credible but the subsequent 7 years of sham marriage is a bit hard to stomach. We see Michael as an intelligent, kind and generous man who is madly in love with his wife. How he could remain cool and polite towards her while on fire for her all this time is hard to believe. The middle part drags on a bit with the misunderstanding between the couple ,the masquerade and the murder investigation which keep the reader a bit impatient to know how the problems are resolved and they profess their love for each other.All in all, it's well-written and enjoyable.This is the first book I read by this author and it will definitely not be my last. I've just ordrered SO WILD A HEART, the first of the trilogy.
Book Description
Using London as their home base (since they love dinner and the theater too), the jolly Amateur Historians take you on merry romp that travels back in time to the sites and history of some of the most fascinating areas of the English Midlands. Magnificent Windsor Castle and neighboring Eton College, the ancient educational institutions of Oxford and Shakespeare’s hometown of Stratford are the anchor sites. In addition, the book explores the history of the great medieval castles of Kenilworth and Warwick, tours the glorious cathedrals and abbeys of St. Alban’s, Dorchester and Reading and drops in for a look at the many medieval and Tudor manor homes, churches, almshouses, barns and other buildings in the region. Centuries will drop away as readers:
* Walk with Edward III in the first ceremonial procession of the Order of the Garter, held in 1348 at Windsor Castle;
* Slide down a rope of sheets with the Empress Matilda in her dramatic 12th-century escape from a siege of Oxford Castle;
* Fight--and die--with Richard III as he struggles to keep England’s throne at the Battle of Bosworth;
* Dine with Elizabeth I on one of her numerous visits to Kenilworth Castle, one of the many properties that she gave to her favorite courtier Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester;
* Pray with Mary Queen of Scots as she waits at Fotheringhay Castle for her cousin Elizabeth to decide her fate.
These and many other exciting adventures await readers in the pages of "The Amateur Historian’s Guide to the Heart of England."
Book Description
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) represents the highpoint of the recording career of the Beatles. This is a detailed study of this album, and it demonstrates how serious discussion of popular music can be undertaken without failing either the approach or the music. Dr. Moore considers each song individually, tying his analysis to the recorded performance on disk, rather than the printed music. He focuses on the musical quality of the songs and the interpretations offered by a range of commentators. He also describes the context in which the album was written--both within the career of the group itself and within the development of popular music globally, both before and since.
Customer Reviews:
CLASSIC BEATLES.......2005-11-22
If a series of books concerned with serious music embraces the Beatles its the final word.
Yet its not that surprising when you realise the Beatles were being discussed by classical music critics as far back as 1963.
A couple of years later we began to find things like The Baroque Beatles and it went on through the years to the interpretations by different Symphony Orchestras.
Today Paul McCartney is,himself,in the classical catalogues courtesy of things like Liverpool Oratorio and Standing Stone
In the early 60s classical and pop were a great divide and the Beatles were to narrow it immensley when their music was picked up by orchestras.
Sgt Pepper is their most famous album and has been treated many times to symphonic interpretations.
Its now gone full circle as the Beatles are a musical genre
Good, if a little too technical........1998-12-01
At the heart of the matter is the question: Is Sgt Pepper a piece of modern classic music? If one were to look at the other books in the Cambridge Music Handbook series (they're all on works of classical composers, [and here I do not refer to the "Classical" period, but to the generic category of classical]), the question seems already answered, and all that remains is to see just how Mr. Moore will prove this. This he does achieve, albeit through much technical information (both musical and socio-cultural), rather than through truly moving and eloquent persusasion. Moore's analysis of each song's music is fascinating (how the Beatles aurally represent concepts) and his thematic analysis is equally good, even if you don't always agree with him (I mean, is "Within You, Without You" really the pivotal song of the album?) But that aside, his commentary on "A Day in the Life" is excellent. Here even the distanced scholar is moved, he writes (paraphrase here) "...the final chords [of the Sgt Pepper reprise] have not yet died away when the strumming of a lone acoustic guitar begin and the innocent listener is lead into one of the most harrowing songs ever written...". All in all, a good effort and worth the reading of every Beatles fan, student of music or pop culture.
Customer Reviews:
terrific historical account .......2007-02-11
King Philip II of Spain was also the King of England when his wife devout Catholic Mary sat on the throne. Like his spouse he loathed the Reformation and tired to end its pervasive insurrection while also building a powerful empire. When Mary Tudor dies, which means her widow is no longer an English monarch, her half sister Protestant supporter Elizabeth I becomes ruler of England. Philip proposes marriage, but she rejects his offer. Instead she challenges his Catholic ways with her Protestant ways leading her nation into being a rival maritime superpower until by 1588 he sends his powerful armada to conquer England.
This is a terrific historical account of how personal alliances were amongst the sixteenth century European monarchies. In some ways the tome feels like a romance novel as the widower pursues his former sister-in-law who rejects his advances. However, their dysfunctional relationship represents the war between Catholic and Protestant domination of Europe and the New World. Well written and fun to read, Elizabethan aficionados (sorry Philip but history is written by the winner) will appreciate this insightful look at the latter half of the sixteenth century when national conflict was personalized.
Harriet Klausner
Average customer rating:
- On with the Wolves!
- not worth the effort
- So cool!
- Black Hearts in Battersea- a Great Book
- Plots afoot and foiled in an alernate England
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Black Hearts in Battersea
Joan Aiken
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
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ASIN: 0395971284 |
Book Description
Simon, the foundling from The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, arrives in London to meet an old friend and pursue the study of painting. Instead he finds himself unwittingly in the middle of a wicked crew's fiendish caper to overthrow the good King James and the Duke and Duchess of Battersea. With the help of his friend Sophie and the resourceful waif Dido, Simon narrowly escapes a series of madcap close calls and dangerous run-ins. In a time and place where villains do nothing halfway, Simon is faced with wild wolves, poisoned pies, kidnapping, and a wrecked ship. This is a cleverly contrived tale of intrigue and misadventure.
Customer Reviews:
On with the Wolves!.......2007-04-13
Joan Aiken, Black Hearts in Battersea (Houghton Mifflin, 1964)
The second novel in Joan Aiken's Wolves saga follows Simon, the woods-dwelling boy from The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, who heads off to London to meet up with Dr. Field and get some formal instruction in painting. When he gets to the roominghouse where Field directed him, however, he finds very little trace of the man, and the Twites, owners of the house, swear he's never been there. Simon sets up in what he is sure was Field's old room and, while trying to gain admission to the academy and find himself a job, looks into Field's disappearance-- which gets him in much hotter water than he ever imagined.
I actually like this one better than its far more famous predecessor; Aiken dispenses with a good deal of the setup, or shifts it into conversations and observation later in the book. Aiken had got her sea legs under her, as it were, and things pick up nicely about thirty pages in. The world of the Wolves is fascinating; if you read the first book in third or fourth grade (didn't we all?) and never got round to the rest of the series, it's very good stuff. Aiken's characters are quick, and most of them sharp as well. She puts them into interesting situations, keeps building her alternate England, and lets the story tell itself. What more could you ask for in a kids' book? *** ½
not worth the effort.......2006-11-07
I saw this book when I was a child and wanted to read it then (it had a cool cover with a kind of blimp/airship on it). Unfortunately, life intervened and I only got around to reading it just recently.
Alas! This book was a lot better and more wonder-filled in my imagination than it actually turned out to be.
The story is not very interesting, the setting is not well-painted, the protagonist's adventures are pedestrian, and the whole thing is swiss-cheesed with so much British slang as will likely put an American kid off his feed.
Skip this one.
So cool!.......2005-03-17
I loved this book. Simon comes up to London and from the start, people are trying to get rid of him for reasons unknown to him. Dido Twite is introduced in this book and she is a lovely hilarious spirited character. The story is light-hearted and fun to read. The characters are portrayed effectively and such a variety of them! A satisfying ending, though I wasn't completely happy until I read Nightbirds on Nantucket to find out what happens to Dido.
Black Hearts in Battersea- a Great Book.......2004-12-27
Black Hearts in Battersea is a great mystery. Simon, the main character goes to Battersea to study art, but his freind isn't there where he told him he'd be. Instead, there's a strange family that tells him that they never heard of his friend. Soon it turns into a plot against the king....and I can't tell you the rest! Just read this book, and you'll enjoy it.
Plots afoot and foiled in an alernate England.......2004-10-04
This is a direct sequel to "The Wolves of Willoughby Chase," which took place about a year before. In it, for the first time, we learn that Aiken's world is not our own, but an alternate reality in which the Stuarts kept the British throne; the King is James III, the "Hanoverian Wars" were fought some 15 years earlier to keep him in office, and the "Pretender" is "Bonnie Prince Georgie over the water," who is supported at home by a conspiracy of Hanoverians. Simon, the young orphan hero of "Wolves," is now 15, and comes to London to study painting and lodge with Dr. Gabriel Field, whom he befriended in the previous book. When he finds the doctor's lodgings (not without a good deal of misdirection, which proves to be enemy action), not only is Field not there, but everyone insists he never was. Bewildered, Simon manages to gain entry to the art school in Battersea, where he deeply impresses the master and meets Justin, the thoroughly untalented nephew of the Duke of Battersea, whose castle lies directly across the Thames. He soon makes the acquaintance of the Batterseas themselves, a delightfully foggy middle-aged couple (the Duke is a keen natural scientist and experimenter in gas balloons, and his lady has such a horror of boredom that she carries an arsenal of amusements wherever she goes, including the opera), and discovers to his delight that his dear friend Sophie, whom he knew in the orphanage before running away at the age of eight, is now the Duchess's lady's-maid. His friendship with his landlord's slangy small daughter, the neglected Dido Twite, leads him to the discovery of an arsenal of guns and pikes in the Twites' cellar and the realization that the family is Hanoverian--a persuasion shared, as it proves, by just about every servant in Battersea Castle (though not at the Duke's country house in Chippings). After he, Sophie, and the art students foil two attempts on the Batterseas' lives, he learns of a conspiracy to assassinate King Jamie, but is kidnapped to sea before he can warn anyone. Dido and Justin, stowing away on the ship, contrive to rescue him, there's a fire and wreck in a savage storm, and after a series of revelations that would do credit (once again) to Dickens, the conspirators come to their deserved end (or at least most of them do) and Simon and Sophie learn the secret of their roots. Though the British slang used by many of the characters may be puzzling to American readers, it can be worked out from context, and the plot is fast-paced and builds skilfully toward a climax. Robin Jacques's lovely line illo's add immeasureably to the story. "Battersea" defies the maxim that sequels are always inferior to the original. A great read-aloud that all families should own.
Book Description
Much more than a traditional travel guide, Victoria The Heart of England speaks with an insider's voice to reveal what's truly the best about England. Instead of where to go, where to stay, where to eat, the book reflects a much more personal portrait of England, and of the English. Victoria The Heart of England is organized around four themes that areimportant to England and its culture: tradition, wit, romance, and pride. The tradition section, for example, includes information on pewter, England's island heritage - "The Gift of the Sea" -- and the etiquette of port. The section on romance highlights the Brontes, an English cottage garden, and an Englishwoman's retreat. This book helps readers get to know England so that when they do visit, they truly will experience England at her best, rather than just visiting the usual tourist haunts.After whetting readers' appetites for a trip to England, the book delivers even more: itineraries and a gazetteer, to provide practical help and advice for planning a visit.
And because it's such a delightful read, armchair travelers can have almost as much fun as those who visit England in person.
Customer Reviews:
Sweet Little Book.......2007-06-11
I got this book because I have been in constant disappointment ever since VICTORIA Magazine ceased production. I found this book not quite as good as their "Heart of France" book as this one features a lot of photos out of the magazine and could have been a little more interesting. Having said this, if you loved VICTORIA you will want to have this keepsake.
A Gentle Correction.......2000-01-08
There appears to be a bit of confusion regarding the title of this book. Both of the previous reviews mention Victoria, British Columbia. This book is, in fact, a publication of "Victoria" Magazine, and like all of their book projects, bears the "Victoria" name. It has nothing at all to do with Canada, but is in fact a delightful compendium of the English way of life.
NO DISAPPOINTMENT.......1999-11-19
THE READER FROM SONOMA SHOULD BE AWARE THAT VICTORIA BC CANADA IS MORE ENGLISH THAN ENGLAND (VISITORS FROM ENGLAND HAVE SAID THIS TO ME). IT JUST GOES TO SHOW THAT THE SPIRIT OF ENGLAND CAN BE SUCCESSFULLY TRANSPLANTED ELSEWHERE. THIS IS A BEAUTIFUL, INSPIRING BOOK THAT I WILL TREASURE.
Book is about England, not Victoria, Canada........1999-09-18
This book is about England, not Victoria, British Columbia, Canada and should not be listed here.
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