The Grevillea Book

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The Grevillea Book - Vol. 3
Peter Olde , and Neil Marriott
Manufacturer: Timber Press (OR)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0881923079

Book Description

Cruising is the perfect way to see America’s last frontier—wildlife and wilderness abound along the state’s breathtaking coastline, and are easily seen from the comfort of a deck chair or observation lounge.

Thoroughly updated every year (unlike the rest of the competition), Frommer’s Alaska Cruises & Ports of Call is a compact guide that’s on top of all the latest developments and offerings in the rapidly changing cruise industry. Our author, a leading cruise journalists with years of experience, has compiled candid, first-hand reviews of each cruise line and each ship. The easy-to-use ratings, detailed drawings of each ship, and honest evaluations make it easy for you to find the cruise that suits your budget and your personal style, whether you want a luxury liner with fine dining or a small-ship cruise led by serious naturalists.

You’ll also find a nature guide that helps you understand what you’re seeing, complete with illustrations of glaciers and the various types of whales. We’ll show you how to get the best deals and how to maximize your time in the ports of call—all in one concise, pocket-sized volume.

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Cruising is the perfect way to see America's last frontier wildlife and wilderness abound along the state's breathtaking coastline, and are easily seen from the comfort of a deck chair or observation lounge. Thoroughly updated every year (unlike the rest of the competition), Frommer's Alaska Cruises & Ports of Call is a compact guide that's on top of all the latest developments and offerings in the rapidly changing cruise industry. Our author, a leading cruise journalists with years of experience, has compiled candid, first-hand reviews of each cruise line and each ship. The easy-to-use ratings, detailed drawings of each ship, and honest evaluations make it easy for you to find the cruise that suits your budget and your personal style, whether you want a luxury liner with fine dining or a small-ship cruise led by serious naturalists. You'll also find a nature guide that helps you understand what you're seeing, complete with illustrations of glaciers and the various types of whales. We'll show you how to get the best deals and how to maximize your time in the ports of call all in one concise, pocket-sized volume.

Customer Reviews:

Great for deciding on a cruise line or ship.......2006-06-07

If you have never cruised, this book is an excellent introduction for what to expect from a cruise, shore excursions, incidentals, travel insurance. Brown and Golden go in depth in comparing the different cruise lines and ships. The information presented is very up to date.

I bought this book primarily for port information, therefore the individual cruise ship information, however detailed, was of no use to me because I already booked my cruise. If you are in the process of deciding on a cruise line this book is very helpful.

The port information is excellent, it's provided as a very easy read. Frommer's gives the current admission prices for attractions and also gives excellent tips on specific excursions as well as contact numbers. The information here is better than anything of I found online.

Highly recommend with Anne Vipond's Alaska by Cruise Ship.

Alaska Cruises & Ports of Call 2006.......2006-04-29

This book has its strengths and weaknesses. If you are very early in the planning stages of an Alaskan Cruise this is a great book to help you select which cruise line and ship you should select. It is the strongest of the books I reviewed in describing the strengths and weaknesses of the various cruise ships. In fact over ? of the book deals with ships not the actual trip. There are shorts sections on the various ports of call. There is not a lot of depth to really get you excited about what you might want to do. Most ports have about four pages that offer walking tours, best cruise line excursions, local operator excursions and shopping.

Frommer's Alaska 2006 (Frommer's Complete)

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Very informative
Frommer's Alaska 2007
review of Frommer's Alaska 2007
Frommer's Alaska
Great Travelers Guide for the whole state

Frommer's Alaska 2006 (Frommer's Complete)
Charles P. Wohlforth
Manufacturer: Frommers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0764596616

Book Description

You'll never fall into the tourist traps when you travel with Frommer's. It's like having a friend show you around, taking you to the places locals like best. Our expert authors have already gone everywhere you might go— they've done the legwork for you, and they're not afraid to tell it like it is, saving you time and money. No other series offers candid reviews of so many hotels and restaurants in all price ranges. Every Frommer's Travel Guide is up-to-date, with exact prices for everything, dozens of color maps, and exciting coverage of sports, shopping, and nightlife. You'd be lost without us!

Completely updated every year (unlike most of the competition), Frommer's Alaska features gorgeous color photos of the spectacular scenery and amazing wildlife that await you in America's last frontier. This extraordinary and detailed guide is personally researched by a lifelong resident, who offers insights into how to discover the real Alaska. You'll find complete details on whale watching, sea kayaking, hiking, salmon fishing, funky small towns, Gold Rush saloons, glaciers, scenic drives, and more. You'll even get an up-to-date cruise planner and a free color fold-out map!

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You'll never fall into the tourist traps when you travel with Frommer's. It's like having a friend show you around, taking you to the places locals like best. Our expert authors have already gone everywhere you might goâ they've done the legwork for you, and they're not afraid to tell it like it is, saving you time and money. No other series offers candid reviews of so many hotels and restaurants in all price ranges. Every Frommer's Travel Guide is up-to-date, with exact prices for everything, dozens of color maps, and exciting coverage of sports, shopping, and nightlife. You'd be lost without us!

Customer Reviews:

Very informative.......2007-10-08

This book has been very informative in helping us to select which cruise line, tours and offshore excursions we plan to take advantage of while in Alaska. I highly recommend reading this BEFORE BOOKING and taking it along as a guide on your trip. It gives insider tips you may not have thought about when planning a trip. JPB

Frommer's Alaska 2007.......2007-07-15

Doing a road trip via Motor Home...great explanations of camp sites, fishing, etc. Very helpful for a first time visitor for sure!

review of Frommer's Alaska 2007.......2007-05-08

Excellent book. Gave us very good tips for B&B's in Ketchikan.

Frommer's Alaska.......2007-05-07

This is a good summary book to have. I found it informative. Although this book by itself is not enough for planning a trip to Alaska. It gives highlights but I found myself needing additional information.

A good buy

Great Travelers Guide for the whole state.......2007-03-17

Great reviews on places to go throughout the state. I always like to visit the restaurants that the locals go and Frommer lets you know where they are at. If you are going to Denali National Park, make sure you pick up a copy of Discovering Denali.

Frommer's Cruises & Ports of Call 2006: From U.S. & Canadian Home Ports to the Caribbean, Alaska, Hawaii & More (Frommer's Complete)

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Frommer Has a Winner Here

Frommer's Cruises & Ports of Call 2006: From U.S. & Canadian Home Ports to the Caribbean, Alaska, Hawaii & More (Frommer's Complete)
Heidi Sarna , and Matt Hannafin
Manufacturer: Frommers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Cruises | Reference & Tips | Travel | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 076458846X

Book Description

A cruise is a complete vacation, so it's important that you choose the one that's right for you. Frommer's Cruises & Ports of Call is the most user-friendly, opinionated, and comprehensive guide you can buy before you set sail. We provide in-depth coverage on cruises departing from U.S. ports to the Caribbean, Alaska, Bermuda, Mexico and Canada.

Unlike rating systems used in other guides, our system is simple. We break down the essential elements of a cruise experience (dining, activities, children's activities, entertainment, service, overall enjoyment, and overall value), and rate them from "poor" to "outstanding." Photos of each ship combine with the text to give a better sense of the very real differences among the various lines.

Most important, this is the only cruise guide that provides the real prices people pay for cruises, not just the rack rates. Other guides tell you that a seven-night cruise aboard Royal Caribbean's Brilliance of the Seas costs $2,099. You can pay that if you want to, but only Frommer's tells you that the same cruise is selling for $649. We give both the rack rates and the discount price for every cruise we review. This feature alone makes Frommer's Cruises and Ports of Call by far the most valuable trip-planning book among cruise guides.

Our authors, noted cruise experts who've personally checked out every ship sailing in and around North America, offer candid and unbiased opinions on them all. They are completely up to date, with all the latest developments and the newest ships. You'll also get complete coverage of the major port destinations, with advice on how to spend your limited time ashore.

Customer Reviews:

Frommer Has a Winner Here.......2005-12-24

I hate most of the Frommer Travel books. They take the fun out of travel and have very few photos.

This book is different. Here they came up with something very useful and novel for the traveller. When you go on a cruise normally you do not have a clue. You just follow what your travel agent recommmends. But anyone that has taken an extended cruise or two knows there are big differences betweeen boat lines and routes etc.( I like Holland America myself). So here is a nice review of what boats and crusies are available, it describes the boats, and where they go and what you can expect including on board entertainment. All great stuff.

Highly recommend 4 or 5 stars. Buy before you talk to the travel agent.

Average customer rating:

Real Estate Riches

Not so much a "how to", more of a "why to".

good book.

good points but overly simplistic

It felt good the first time --and still good for the firstimer

Real Estate Riches: How to Become Rich Using Your Banker's Money
Dolf de Roos
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
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Investments | Real Estate | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
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The Insider's Guide to Making Money in Real Estate: Smart Steps to Building Your Wealth Through Property

The Insider's Guide to Real Estate Investing Loopholes

Rich Dad's Advisors®: The ABC's of Real Estate Investing: The Secrets of Finding Hidden Profits Most Investors Miss (Rich Dad's Advisors)

The Insider's Guide to 52 Homes in 52 Weeks: Acquire Your Real Estate Fortune Today

101 Ways to Massively Increase the Value of Your Real Estate without Spending Much Money

ASIN: 0471711802

Book Description

An all-time bestseller, Dolf de Rooss classic Real Estate Riches shows you how to find great deals and make great profits in the real estate market. Youll learn why real estate is such a reliable moneymaker and how to achieve the biggest return possible on your investment. Full of time-honored wisdom, proven tactics, and quick-and-easy tips, this book shows you how to find the best properties with the most potential, analyze deals, negotiate and submit offers, effectively manage properties, and dramatically increase the value of your real estate without spending much money. If you want to be your own boss and quit the nine-to-five life, Real Estate Riches shows you how.

Customer Reviews:

Real Estate Riches.......2007-01-10

This Audio program goes over all the different benefits or real estate investing versus investing in stocks or mutual funds. You will learn many valuable lessons from this program including how to find good investments, how to put deals together, how to manage properties once you acquire them. It will expand your mind as to what is possible for you to achieve. It changed my thinking!! Also, more importantly,it changed my actions. No product is worth anything if not acted upon. Thank you very much!!!

Not so much a "how to", more of a "why to"........2007-01-04

The main purpose of this book, as the author clearly states in the beginning of it, is not to tell you how to invest in real estate but more why you want to invest in real estate vs. the stock market and other investments. The author clearly knows what he's talking about, and his insights into the tax loopholes and financing options a real estate investor has are more than worth the price of the book. If you're a beginner, this is a great book to start out with. It's not going to tell you what to do, but it is going to tell you why you want to do it and give you some insight into the virtually unlimited leverage options a real estate investor enjoys as compared to a stock market investor who might as well take his/her money to Vegas.

If there's any doubt in your mind that real estate is the way to go, read this. I'd even recommend it for experienced real estate investors, for the reason that even though you won't learn anything new on how to go about your business, you might learn a few things about creative financing and tax loopholes that you'll wish you had known all along. Buy this book, read it over a weekend, then lend it to friends. It's not the real estate bible of the universe, but it is definitely worth reading if for nothing more than the author's upbeat, positive outlook and enjoyable writing style.
I especially like the author's anecdote about how he went through all those years of college to get a Ph. D. in engineering, then when he received his Ph. D. he was offered a job at $32,000 a year (this was the early 80's, I think, so that was a good starting salary for an engineer back then). But the week before he was offered the job, he had completed a real estate deal in which he made $35,000. So he turned down the job and to this very day has never had a job. Imagine that..... living your whole life without ever having to rent out your labor to the Man for a pittance and put up with the expectations of some moronic, terminally blue-collar boss. This guy has never had a job. He has always made his money--more than enough of it--working for himself rather than slaving away for fifty hours a week making someone else rich.

I recommend this book. It's definitely worth reading. I'm glad I have it.

good book........2006-11-03

The good thing about this author is he's very easy to listen to and he keeps your attention no problem. As opposed to the famous book "Blink" the guy has great information but he has a one tone voice that puts you to sleep.
The information is great but its not neccessarily a "how to" guide.

good points but overly simplistic.......2006-09-08

Dolf brings good points about property
1) having more control than paper assets
2)Leverage
3)Tax benefits
4)How inflation works in your favor
But a bit of it is overly simplistic.Anyone would know La is a hotter market than Idaho.

It felt good the first time --and still good for the firstimer.......2006-07-11

There is nothing detailed or even intellectually satisfying in this book. But I think the one thing that it does do is, (as another reviewer put it,) is to cheerlead. This book was exciting as it was the first book that I had ready on the subject. But now that I have done numerous transactions in real estate and handled millions of dollars worth of real estate and having experienced the ups and downs, DON"T DO REAL ESTATE AFTER READING THIS BOOK!!!!!!!! This book is so simplistic one does not know where to begin. For instance, Mr. Dolf, doesn't delve into possible set-backs seriously enough. He assumes that as long as you buy in a densely populated area, it is a safe bet. And he gives an example of "California" as one such place. There are many contingencies too numerous to list that destroys such a simplistic theory. Markets do have their time and in real estate, if you are stuck in a loan and a property you can't move, you are illiquid and repositioning is not as easy as it might seem. Therefore, being incapable of averting financial ruin is mmore difficult.

Real Estate is something that is experienced. You can't just "buy by the beach" and then just earn equity growth because no one is making beach front. And how many people have the kind of money that allows their first deal to be a fixer in Malibu. His other formula to look at a hundred-pick three-and buy one is really idiotic. There are no formulas in a mechanism that is continually shifting. The real estate industry is continually evolving. There is always an element of risk involved in any purchase. And buying single family homes is a mistake unless you are in a rapidly appreciating environment simply because there is less income potential to hold notes. And the more units, the better the rate (commercial properties). Also, the diversity of loan products just about allows anyone to buy their own home--no need to rent. None of this is even mentioned in these pages.

Then why three stars? Because, fundamentally getting excited is half the battle. And this book WAS exciting. Its simplicity is actually very appealing. In essence, he is right about one thing: Real estate is about debt acquisition ultimately. The SELECTION of the type and structure of debt and the INSTRUMENT against which a deed of trust is written is all-important. But Dolf miserably fails on these issues.There is a tremendous lack of serious dialogue and this book is simply an attempt to sell less than a mediocre work to a less than average society. For God's sake--HE TELLS YOU ABOUT THIS ONE HOUSE SOMEWHERE AND HE PAINTED IT AND LIKE MADE $20,000!! WOWIE!! $20k! You can buy gas for six whole months. Truth is, REAL ESTATE IS MORE COMPLICATED than one would ever assume. If you want something simple....buy an Index fund.

If you want to raise your I.Q. read another book. If you want to understand the simplest of simple items in real estate and get excited, read this book as a starter. But promise yourself you will wait before you jump into a ridiculous formula of see 100:make offers on three and buy one by the beach you cant afford!

Real Estate Riches: How to Become Rich Using Your Banker's Money

Average customer rating:

Excellent book misleading title
real estate
Real Estate
Wish I read this before I sold my first home
Good Common Sense, Practical Advice

Real Estate Riches: How to Become Rich Using Your Banker's Money
Dolf de Roos
Manufacturer: Warner Business Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0446678643

Book Description

A large percentage of the rich in America today make their wealth (or keep it) through real estate. In Other Peoples Money, self-made real estate mogul Dolf De Roos reveals why investing in property is so astoundingly simple and lucrative, as well as insider secrets for getting intoand aheadin this high-profit business.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent book misleading title.......2007-04-12

Very good book. Excellent tips. Easy read but comprehensive. Enjoyed every page of it and learnt so much. Misleading title though. Couldn't put it down.

real estate.......2007-02-12

I have not completely read this book as of yet.... however it looks like I will find some interesting help

Real Estate.......2006-07-17

This book is definitely a must have for those who want to learn the world of real estate investing. I found it extremely helpful and very easy reading. I found it very inspiring and will definitely go back to it again and again for advice.

Wish I read this before I sold my first home.......2006-04-12

This was a good basic introduction on WHY real esate is a good investment...I don't personally think it should be 100% of a person's portfolio, so the reader needs to be very careful and not get carried away into thinking 'real esate is where it's at'! Just like the stock market, RE experiences cycles too.

Having said that, this book was very educational in terms of getting me to think outside the box. I wish we had this book prior to selling our first home that we bought. Our mortgage would've been low (less than $1k) in So. CA(!) and I'm sure we would've been able to rent it out for double that! Had I read this book, we would've either rented it out...or fire the sleazy realtor that ripped us off! We learned from that mistake and by reading these types of books...hopefully we'll make better decisions in the future. For this education alone, I'd recommend you read this, take it w/ a grain of salt (in terms of striking it rich ONLY in RE) and use this info. to make the best decision for your situation.

Good Common Sense, Practical Advice.......2006-02-02

Dolf talks about how real estate blows the doors off other investment vehicles because of the leverage available. The book is a bit basic and conceptual, but for those investors either just getting started in real estate or thinking about it, this book will give you the push needed. It explains how the returns can be explosive on the capital invested because of the use of leverage. It's true, understanding how the implications of leverage affect total return is very important, however I would have likes more real life examples. In my book, A 20,000% Gain in Real Estate, I go over in detail deal after deal to illustrate this point.

Another key concepts covered are: productivity, and how it is affecting middle America, oceanfront or seaside property, and how it appreciates 50% more than other areas and the time needed to look at 100 properties before finding a real deal. All these are must know for the real estate investors of tomorrow.

This book as well as the others in the Rich Dad series are great starting points. I read all that were available while building my real estate company which went from $0 to $25,000,000 in holdings in less than 5 years.

By Kevin Kingston, Author of, A 20,000% Gain in Real Estate

Rich Dad's Advisors: Real Estate Riches - How to Become Rich Using Your Banker's Money

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Rich Dad's Advisors: Real Estate Riches - How to Become Rich Using Your Banker's Money
Dolf de Roos
Manufacturer: audible.com
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Download
ASIN: B000083F5V

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The Main Street Dictionary of Doll Marks

The Main Street Dictionary of Doll Marks by Jean Bach

The Main Street Dictionary of Doll Marks by Jean Bach

The Main Street Dictionary of Doll Marks
Jean Bach
Manufacturer: Main Street Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
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Antique Trader's Doll Makers and Marks: A Guide to Identification

ASIN: 0915590573

Customer Reviews:

The Main Street Dictionary of Doll Marks.......2007-01-15

I think this is a can't live without book if you are a collector. I have numerous Doll ID books and this one gives you marks that are NOT in the regular ID books. Its invaluable. I have identified markings that I couldn't up until now. I highly recommend this book.

The Main Street Dictionary of Doll Marks by Jean Bach.......2001-06-18

This is a comprehensive book of mainly German and French bisque doll marks. It is set out in alphabetical order and is illustrated thoughout. For someone that is looking to identify a particlaur maker of antique bisque head dolls this is a good place too start.

The Main Street Dictionary of Doll Marks by Jean Bach.......2001-06-18

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The Main Street Dictionary of Doll Marks
Jean Bach
Manufacturer: The Main Street Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MAND34

Book Description

Most urban and suburban yards are shaded at least part of the day, by trees, neighboring buildings, and porches or overhanging eaves, frustrating peoples' attempts to grow sun-loving favorites. These 200 tips show gardeners how to create lovely shade gardens, from assessing their yard's degree of shade to designing a layout, choosing plants, and maintaining them, to compensating for shade by careful watering, mulching, and soil preparation. Trees, vines, and shrubs for shade, tips for woodland gardens with native plants, and suggestions for keeping the garden in bloom season after season are included.

Customer Reviews:

Great little tip book.......2000-07-29

What a great book, stuffed full of tips. It contains a ton of 2-3 sentence tips on shade gardening. I learned a lot and have many pages marked. It's not a big picture book, but a quick read. I tend to view the big books for their pictures and don't get time to read the tons of pages of writting. This book skips all the stories and jumps right into the really useful tips.

Book Description

A remarkably candid and informative first-person account of surviving colon cancer and living after a colostomy. A helpful guide for anyone facing this life-altering surgery.

Every year 70,000 people in the United States and Canada undergo colostomies. In 1994, Barbara Barrie became one of them. When the successful actress received the diagnosis of colorectal cancer, she knew that this was the greatest crisis she and her family would face. But it also became an adventure that, through courage and humor, brought new joys and a greater appreciation to her life.

More than just a memoir, Don't Die of Embarrassment provides valuable information about the ostomy experience. She gives essential information about the occurrence of colon cancer, its symptoms, and treatment options. A valuable guide for people learning to adjust to an altered lifestyle after surgery.

Includes a new afterword, written by Dr. Otis W. Brawley.

Customer Reviews:

Barbara Tells a Good Story.......2000-07-01

Barbara Barrie does a good job telling a coherent, compelling tale of her experience of colon cancer but her outright honesty about her own denial of long-term symptoms makes you want to shake her! Anyone undergoing the bodily image changes of an ostomy will identify with her embarassment and ultimate acceptance of a difficult, but liberating (it gives you your life back), adjustment.

Amazon.com

The four biographical essays that make up Eminent Victorians created something of a stir when they were first published in the spring of 1918, bringing their author instant fame. In his flamboyant collection, Lytton Strachey chose to stray far from the traditional mode of biography: "Those two fat volumes, with which it is our custom to commemorate the dead--who does not know them, with their ill-digested masses of material, their slipshod style, their tone of tedious panegyric, their lamentable lack of selection, of detachment, of design?" Instead he provided impressionistic but acute (and, some said, skewed) portraits. Rarely does Strachey explore the details of a subject's daily or family life unless they point directly to an issue of character. In short, he pioneered a deeply sardonic and often scathingly funny biographical style.

None of Strachey's Victorians emerge unscathed. In his hands, Florence Nightingale is not a gentle archangel descended from heaven to minister sweetly to wounded soldiers, but rather an exacting, dictatorial, and judgmental crusader. Her "pen, in the virulence of its volubility, would rush ... to the denunciation of an incompetent surgeon or the ridicule of a self-sufficient nurse. Her sarcasm searched the ranks of the officials with the deadly and unsparing precision of a machine-gun. Her nicknames were terrible. She respected no one." Dr. Thomas Arnold, the man appointed to revamp the very private British public school system, fares little better: in Strachey's acid ink, he became "the founder of the worship of athletics and the worship of good form." In this same vain, military hero General Gordon is portrayed as a temperamental, irascible hermit, occasionally drunk and often found in the company of young boys--a man who tended to forget and forgo the tenets found in the Bible he kept with him always. And the powerful and popular Cardinal Manning, who came within a hair's breadth of succeeding Pope Pius IX, belonged, Strachey writes, "to that class of eminent ecclesiastics ... who have been distinguished less for saintliness and learning than for practical ability."

As he offered up indelible sketches of his less-than-fab four, Strachey was intent on critiquing established mores. This effortlessly superior wit knew full well that deep convictions and good deeds often go hand in hand with hypocrisy, arrogance, and egomania. His task was to pique those who pretended they did not. --Jordana Moskowitz

Book Description

Cardinal Manning * Florence Nightingale * Thomas Arnold * General Gordon Lytton Strachey's biographical essays on four 'eminent Victorians' dropped a depth-charge on Victorian England when the book was published in 1918. It ushered in the modern biography and raised the genre to the level of high literary art. Lytton Strachey approached his subjects with scepticism rather than reverence, and his iconoclastic wit and engaging narratives thrilled as well as shocked his contemporaries. Debunking Church, Public School and Empire, his portraits of Cardinal Manning, Florence Nightingale, Dr Arnold of Rugby, and General Gordon of Khartoum changed perceptions of the Victorians for a generation. This edition is unique in being fully annotated and in drawing on the full range of Strachey's manuscript materials and literary remains.

Download Description

When it was published in 1918, EMINENT VICTORIANS became one of the first books to take apart the heroes of an earlier era. Its irreverent essays on Cardinal Manning, Florence Nightingale, Dr. Arnold and General Gordon found an eager audience in the post-WW I generation.

Customer Reviews:

Literary Milestone - Not Entirely Impartial But Absolutely Fascinating Biography.......2007-03-26

It is difficult to imagine anyone actually reading nineteenth century biographies. If encountered today, say in dusty archives, these works commemorating the dead - typically two thick volumes of "ill-digested masses of material" - are notable for their tediousness, seeming lack of design, and "lamentable lack of selection".

With this book, Eminent Victorians (1918), Lytton Strachey deliberately set out to revitalize biography. His subjects - Cardinal Manning, Florence Nightingale, Dr. Arnold, and General Gordon - were all legends in their time, archetypical Victorians. His incisive style, sense of drama, and subtle irreverence made Eminent Victorians an immediate success, and one that remains fascinating today. Florence Nightingale and perhaps General Gordon have retained some eminence, but Dr. Arnold and Cardinal Manning have faded into the background, at least from the perspective of American readers.

In his introduction Strachey wrote: "That is what I have aimed at in this book - to lay bare the facts of some cases as I understand them, dispassionately, impartially, and without ulterior intentions." Be that as it may, readers will undoubtedly discern some passion, some partiality, and some unstated objectives. Regardless, Eminent Victorians is an enjoyable, entertaining, intellectual adventure that brings life to Victorian biography.

Henry Edward Manning at age thirty-eight was a rising man in the Church of England. He had many powerful connections: he was the brother-in-law of Samuel Wilberforce, who had lately been made a bishop; he was close friend to Mr. Gladstone, who was a cabinet minister; and he was becoming well known in influential circles in London. Within two years Manning - later to become Cardinal Manning - resigned his position and was received into the Roman Catholic Church.

The real Florence Nightingale, not the saintly, self-sacrificing, delicate maiden lady of popular legend, was, according to Strachey, more interesting, but also less agreeable too.

Dr. Thomas Arnold acquired the position of headmastership of Rugby School in August, 1828, and subsequently changed the face of Public School life.

General Gordon is remembered for his death at Khartoum. Strachey's controversial account is great biography. (In the 1966 movie Khartoum, Charlton Heston played the role of General 'Chinese' Gordon.)

Not as snide as you might think.......2006-11-08

I just don't see that Strachey made Florence Nightingale and General Gordon look as foolish as he made Cardinal Manning and Thomas Arnold appear in "Eminent Victorians". I suppose that impression comes from having been brought up reading 20th century 'warts-and-all' biographies rather than the 'if-you-can't-say-something-nice-don't-say-it-at-all' biographies of the 19th century. Although Strachey made Manning and especially Arnold seem pretty icky, Nightingale and Gordon come through as pretty admirable human beings -- not perfect (i.e. human) but on the whole admirable.

The importance of not being earnest.......2005-09-23

Some of Lytton Strachey's choices of subject for the four scathing biographical essays contained in _Eminent Victorians_ may seem rather strange. Florence Nightingale was an obvious choice for any biographer, but who cared about Matthew Arnold in the post-war era when Strachey was writing these essays? Who gave a thought to Cardinal Manning or Chinese Gordon? And why combine their biographies into one book?

The answer may be that all four shared one unusual character trait, one so reminiscent of the Victorian age that even the thought of it brings the scent of lavender to mind: extreme earnestness. Each figure cared very, very deeply about something, but for each that earnestness also masked a corresponding personal craving. Like many young Britons in the post-WWI era, Strachey was deeply distrustful of earnestness, often seeing it as an excuse for personal gain or fulfillment. This was especially true when one man's deeply held beliefs sent others to their deaths, as it often had during WWI. He had no time for official incompetence, ignorance, or inaction, but often found the opposite just as dangerous.

The first essay in _Eminent Victorians_ is that of Cardinal Manning. Manning was a priest in the Church of England who became involved in the Oxford Movement, a group of churchmen who disliked the increasing secularization of the C of E and who wished to bring it back to its Catholic roots. Most of those involved remained in the Anglican communion, forming the nucleus of the "High Church" movement of the late 19th century. Manning found that he could not stop at that, though; unable to reconcile his belief in a Church Universal with his membership in a church that existed basically because Henry VIII was a serial adulterer, and unable to 'take back' the text of a tract he had written that was deeply critical of the Anglican church and which eliminated any chances of his gaining higher office, Manning found himself eventually in the arms of Rome. Strachey paints Manning as a weak, vacillating, impulsive man of great ambition whose conversion to Roman Catholicism was as much a political and career move as one of the heart and soul. Had Manning remained in the Church of England, Strachey implies, he would have been an archdeacon until death; only conversion to Roman Catholicism allowed him to fulfil his ambitions towards higher office. It's a masterful biography, one that explores not just its purported subject but also the birth of Anglo-Catholicism.

The third essay, of Rugby school headmaster Matthew Arnold, reveals Strachey's hatred of the English public school system (or what we in North America would call the private school system). He skewers Arnold for failing to make the educational reforms he was hired to make and for delegating the discipline of younger students to the senior class, thereby condoning and even encouraging the type of severe bullying that caused many young men to consider suicide. Arnold, whose earnestness in creating 'Christian gentlemen' did not go so far as to allow him to teach them himself, refused to update the school curriculum ostensibly because gentlemen didn't need science, maths, or English literature, but really (as Strachey contends) because Arnold had studied Latin and Greek himself and didn't want to feel his own learning was unnecessary. Strachey points out that Arnold did little at Rugby except pronounce the Sunday sermon, intimidate students, and foster a personality cult that eventually made him the father of modern education in many Britons' eyes - even though he made no changes to the educational system itself. His reforms in discipline and in religion (and his lack of reforms in curriculum) were copied by most public schools, to the great detriment of the British people.

In Strachey's essay on General Gordon, Strachey shows how a brave man with a strong belief in the rightness of his cause and an overwhelming desire for adventure may have been used to precipitate a war and to advance the cause of imperialism. Gordon, a war veteran and former colonial administrator (and a rather unstable fellow), was sent to the Sudan during a revolt to report on conditions there and to evacuate civilians who were loyal to Egypt, which was then controlled by the British. Gordon did none of the above; he instead tried to wipe out the insurrection, and for his troubles was killed and his staff and allies massacred. His death was used by the imperialist factions in the ruling party as a call to arms. Strachey wonders: was this deliberate? Was Gordon given alternate instructions by the imperialists? Did they intend for him to die, so that his death could be used as a rallying point for further imperialism? He argues his point well, and the essay is definitely worth reading.

Strachey's portrait of Florence Nightingale is not quite as successful as the rest. Nightingale was born into a wealthy family, and like all young women of her class and time was expected to marry young, have children, and generally be nothing more than a society lady. Florence wanted more: she wanted to work, to make a difference, to change the world, and she wanted everybody around her to work as hard as she did. After many years of waiting, she finally had her chance; her efforts to reform British military hospitals and eventually the practice of medicine in the Empire did in fact change the world. Strachey seems to have thought that she pushed her colleagues too hard, that her own drive was so abnormal that her friends and family could not keep up. Granted, she did push some of her colleagues very hard, and one may have even died from overwork, but they chose to work with her because they believed in her, and given what she was able to do I think they were right to believe in her. It also appears that Strachey may not have been comfortable with a woman refusing to hide her intelligence or personal strength when dealing with men. I had the distinct impression while reading this essay that Strachey was sneering at those men who took orders from Nightingale or who assisted her in her work. Another reviewer mentioned that Nightingale is portrayed here as a 'pushy woman' - and she certainly is; however, most of Strachey's implied criticism seems to be directed towards the men who treated her as the intelligent, hard-working, valuable human being she was. Strachey also seems to have viewed her invalid status as something of a neurotic problem, which in the light of recent research (showing that she likely had undulant fever) may not be accurate.

Four lives well told.......2004-09-04

Lytton Strachey gives us a revealing look at four prominent Victorian personalities: Cardinal Henry Edward Manning, Florence Nightingale, Dr. Thomas Arnold, and General Charles George Gordon. Personally, I most enjoyed learning more about Florence Nightingale and General "Chinese" Gordon. Manning and Arnold are simply more steeped in their own times and have, perhaps, less to offer to modern readers.

The section on Gordon is the best. It covers the end of his life at Khartoum in a much more interesting fashion than that portrayed by Charlton Heston in the movie. The modern problems in Darfur show that in many ways little has changed there in the last 120 years.

Strachey's style is to get behind the events of his subjects' lives to delve into their psychological motivations, and he is often less than kind to them. He frequently punctures their balloons and exposes their foibles in a very entertaining way.

Eminently wicked biographies........2004-08-01

(Giles) Lytton Strachey (1880-1932) introduced psychological depth to biographical writing, thereby forever changing the biography. Strachey "revolutionized the art of biography," E. M. Forster observed, by doing what no biographer had ever done before. He managed to get inside his subject's head. Strachey was a Victorian eccentric, educated at Trinity College, where he became a member of the secret society of "the Apostles," an elite group of passionate intellectuals who rejected Victorian mores, which later evolved into the Bloomsbury group (E.M Forester, Leonard and Virginia Woolf). Specifically written as an attack on Victorianism, EMINENT VICTORIANS caused a stir when it was first published in 1918. Strachey's radical goal in EMINENT VICTORIANS was to question the moral arrogance, hypocrisy, and ego of the Victorians. With his wicked pen, he targeted religion, education, imperialism, liberalism, and humanitarianism in such a flamboyant way that Strachey's book caused Bertrand Russell to laugh out loud while he was incarcerated for his antiwar activities.

EMINENT VICTORIANS is a splendid collection of four portraits of an ecclesiastic (Cardinal Manning), a woman of action (Florence Nightingale), an educator (Thomas Arnold), and a man of adventure (General Charles "Chinese" Gordon). Rather than approaching his subjects from a safe literary distance, Strachey understood that they were multifaceted and at times inexplicable, ambiguous, and self-contradicting human beings, and by no means flawless Victorian heroes.

G. Merritt

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