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Alexander Asenby's Great Adventure
This is a wonderful story with beautiful illustrations. Great story about a magical closet door that leads Alexander on a series of adventures. A "must-read!"
Alexander Asenby's Great Adventure
What children don't dream of being a hero in the eyes of their family and friends? In this adventure Alexander and his fearless dragon fly off into the starry night to visit a castle where they are welcomed by the fairies and their king. But meanwhile the ogres and trolls are ravaging the town. Can Alexander and his dragon fight off the monsters and save their friends? This is a fun read for young children. The illustrations are colorful and not too scary for the targeted age group...and they're going to love the dragon!
The Vegetarian Alternative: A Guide to a Helpful and Humane Diet
This book was like watching a mystery movie. If you turned your head or missed a comment, you could miss vital information. It took me awhile to read and I'm usually a quick reader, but this is a great thing. There was obviously so much research done to complete this book, specifically Chapter 11 with random information on how animal parts are used in everyday items. It was almost depressing to find out that things that I would never even think of involving animals are used (ex. coffins and tennis rackets). I actually put that random fact on a message board about sports. The chapter on slaughterhouses turned my stomach so much that I had trouble not gagging on my way to work (when I was reading it). If I wasn't a vegetarian already, I sure would've been one now. I also understand where the vegetarians are coming from who won't eat food that is a little too much like meat. I used to eat food such as this to ease my way into vegetarianism, but now it makes me slightly uncomfortable. Information on dieting, animal cruelty, healthy living, the real definition of omnivore, and every single rebuttal you can think of for someone who attacks a vegetarian/vegan is covered in this book. Speaking of comebacks, while I was sitting under the hair dryer at my beauty salon, my beautician made the mistake of saying "God created animals for a reason." My brain started churning ready to hit her with every single fact that I've basically memorized in this book about animal cruelty. I dare somebody to challenge my diet now. Outstanding! I'm recommending it to everybody I know.
Byzantium
This book is John Haldon's approach to a short Byzantine history for the general reader, and he does a good job of it. It is a scholarly book void of sensationalism, but without a lot of scholarly apparatus; for example, there are only seven brief footnotes. The book has a nice selection of maps delineating the the territorial vacilations of the empire over time, plus some additional maps showing things like trade routes. The book is printed on slick paper and so is able to include a large section of color plates. There are eight chapters in the book, two of which are narrative, while the remaining six are devoted to Byzantine institutions, culture, and society. The narrative chapters divide at 741, and give a fairly complete overview of Byzantine history. I did notice a few places in the book where better copy editing would have helped--at the bottom of p45 an emperor seems to be deposing himself, and there were a few sentences that appeared to be missing verbs, though their meaning was clear. Among recent books, this book most closely compares to Treadgold's "Concise History". The major difference betwen the two is that Treadgold is 75% narrative and 25% society, whereas Haldon reverses these percentages. I prefer narrative history, but found Haldon's book very readable and quite useful on its own terms. I'm glad I have both books in my library.
The Anglo-Norman Nobility in the Reign of Henry I: The Second Generation (Middle Ages Series)
Newman, a noted scholar of the Norman period, came to history by way of a childhood fascination with her own family's history, and her work combines a deep interest in the lives of individuals with a profound understanding of the need for sociopolitical context. This book grew out of her dissertation, fostered by such luminaries as Warren Hollister and Joel Rosenthal, and it's an excellent social-biographical overview of the people who built the 12th century in Britain, using Helihy's "generational" methods. Successive chapters discuss the nature of the Anglo-Norman family unit and the world in which it existed, the mechanics of royal service and the royal patronage which was its reward, and the strategies which successful nobles adopted in furthering their careers and family status. An interesting appendix also discusses at length "The Problem of the Bastard" -- not a small subject under Henry I!
The Pilgrim's Progress
I bought this book for a children's reading group. I remember reading this as a child as it helped shaped my character and beliefs.