Emigrant eucalypts: Gum trees as exotics

Book Description

Check out the city on a seat of a bike; take a self-guided tour of Van Gogh's masterpieces at the Van Gogh Museum; sample the sweet leaf at one of the city's many "coffehouses," and more. With Rick Steves' Amsterdam 2004, travelers can delve into the culture, make friends with the locals, and experience everything Amsterdam has to offer — economically and hassle-free. Completely revised and updated, Rick Steves' Amsterdam 2004 includes color maps, selective coverage of both famous and lesser-known sights; friendly places to eat and sleep; suggested day plans; walking tours and trip itineraries; clear instructions for smooth travel anywhere by car, train, or foot; and Rick's newest "back door" discoveries. America's number one authority on travel to Europe, Rick's time-tested recommendations for safe and enjoyable travel in Europe have been used by millions of Americans in search of their own unique European travel experience.

Customer Reviews:

Travel Time.......2007-01-04

An excellent travel guide that is easy to read and filled with low cost alternatives from hotels and pensions to wonderful restaurants and tour options. This was my second trip to Amsterdam and the second time staying in the same hotel that Rick had recommended. One year while in Paris, standing in line at the Eiffel Tower I had noticed that there were several people reading Rick Steves Paris Guide. It was a great conversation starter. My last trip this past October, while touring Germany, the guide said to mention Rick's name while checking into a very comfortable pension and the owner would give a discount. It worked! Thanks Rick!

Thanks Rick.......2006-11-03

Rick led us to some of the nicest places in Brugge. I didn't get to experience Amsterdam (which claims about half the pages in the book), but the information on Belgium and Brugge was great. He has some really excellent B&B recommendations. If you end up in Brugge, definitely go see Scottish Maggie :)

September Trip.......2006-10-02

We recetnly traveled to Amsterdam, Bruges, Brussels and Antwerp. We used Rick's book to select the hotels and the areas to visit versus the bigger name publisher review books (like Let's Go and Formers, etc.). We picked three hotels from his book. Two of the three hotels were great, while one was a bit noisy. Even the hotel that was a bit noisy was a clean, smart hotel in the St. Caterhine neighboorhod section of Brussels. We found his book and recommmedations to be well written, clear and true to form. We also used Fromers guidelbook, in campanion to Rick's, but did not find it to be local enought to our needs. We ate almost exclusively at the restaurants is his book, traveled to the sights, used the train systems and used the maps in his book for our trip. Sometimes when you use a book like this you get one or two great places to stay or to eat, but, with his, it was truely a satisfying experience to go to his book's places and come away satisfied.

We saw other travelers in the regions we visited using his book as well.

We will definitely recommmend this book to novice travelers as well as repeat travelers, and defintely buy one of his books again.

rick steves/ amsterdam, bruges & brussels 2005.......2006-03-31

as usual, rick steves' does the best job. having lived in europe for 13 months, his way is my favorite way to travel. i won't allow myself travelling 'looking like the usual tourist' and doing the usual tourist thing. his suggestions allow you to get to know the heart of the people and culture.

Begium/Holland book.......2006-03-05

This book has a lot of information on Amsterdam, Brussells, and Bruge. It will come in handy for our trip to these cities.

Customer Reviews:

GOD Bless Her.......2006-12-15

I must want to appreciate that lady for her courage , for her truthfulnesss. she could have lied like western media.....oh these were really bad, they obused me physically and...., they are crazy, but God gave her a beautiful and bold heart ,GOD Bless you Lady , you are lucky, you saw the light and you are following that light.

The book that they never wanted you to read.......2005-10-04

This has to be one of the most exciting books i have read. A foreign or a western woman in Afghanistan under Taliban rule who remarkably tells the world in her beautiful words that they are just humans like you and me. Think the Talibhan deserve a chance, and Yvonne Ridley tells how they really are. Gives a true first hand account of what has happened in Afghanistan. Would definitely recommend it to anyone.

Book Description

John seems like such a noble name. HmmÂ…maybe not. The names John and Jonathan are held by some of historyÂ's most notorious criminals, scoundrels and utter failures. In this book, youÂ'll encounter killers, con men, spies, mobsters and corrupt politiciansÂ—all named John. Meet the boy who turned the papal residence into a brothel, the emperor who was a cannibal and the sailor with a hook for a hand. ItÂ's the perfect book for anyone named John, Jonathan or Jack.

Average customer rating:

As promised

Not my taste - but it might be yours

Beautiful creations!

Will use again!

Nice ideas -- bad editing

Wrap Style: Innovative to Traditional, 24 Inspirational Shawls, Ponchos, and Capelets to Knit and Crochet (Style series)
Pam Allen , and Ann Budd
Manufacturer: Interweave Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Crocheting | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Knitting | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Scarf Style: Innovative to Traditional, 31 Inspirational Styles to Knit and Crochet (Style series)

Lace Style: Traditional to Innovative, 21 Inspired Designs to Knit

Handknit Holidays: Knitting Year-Round for Christmas, Hanukkah, and Winter Solstice

Alterknits: Imaginative Projects and Creativity Exercises

Vogue Knitting on the Go: Ponchos (Vogue Knitting On The Go)

ASIN: 1931499918

Book Description

This contemporary collection of wraps showcases the work of 18 knitwear designers that include Lily Chin, Nicky Epstein, and Jo Sharp. The designs for these ponchos, capes, stoles, and capelets vary from simple to challenging and explore shape and silhouette possibilities in a host of techniques, including stitch patterns, color work, lace, beads, crochet, and felt. A glossary is provided, containing all the information necessary for even a novice knitter to successfully create one-of-a-kind fashions. The book also includes an in-depth section on designing and embellishing, making it a companion for future creativity. All knitters and crocheters, from the most demanding to those just embarking upon larger projects, will be inspired by these stylish designs that stretch the definition of a poncho.

Customer Reviews:

As promised.......2007-10-04

Fast shipping, as promised, great transaction and I look forward to buying from this seller again.

Not my taste - but it might be yours.......2007-09-17

I have Lace Style by the same authors, and I love it. It's got a variety of innovative, wearable designs. Not every design is for me, but there is enough variety that I found several things I like, and I know my friends will find other things they like, etc.

With this book, the styles mostly seem very similar, and they just don't appeal to me, except for one crochet style and one simple wrap.

I also bought Wrapped in Comfort, which I love, it has light, airy, lovely circular shawls couple with stories I enjoyed reading. Plus I prefer knitting lace vs. intarsia or cables.

I think, however, this might just be a matter of taste. If you think you'd like to make capelets, which are definitely in style right now, take a look at both books and see which suits your tastes better, and your knitting pleasure.

Beautiful creations!.......2007-07-30

This is a great book. Not for the beginning knitter, but once you've gotten the basics under your belt, this book contains patterns that will look great with any outfits. I highly recommend this very beautifully done book.

Will use again!.......2006-10-10

I recently knit the Swallowtail Shawl, and found the pattern to be clear, simple, and easy to memorize. I will definitely go back to this book again.
Another reviewer noted that there was an error in the pattern- frequently, if there is an error, an 'errata' correction is available somewhere on the web- do a search for 'errata' and the book or pattern or pattern writer's name, and you will find the corrections.

Nice ideas -- bad editing.......2006-09-13

As a newcomer to knitting, I found several starter-level pieces in this book -- all very unusual and well designed. Or so it appeared.... I ended up having to carry the book into my local yarn shop for help deciphering a pattern -- only to find that the pattern really was incomplete. Several steps and notations had been left out, making it confusing for the experienced knitters in the shop that day, and damn near impossible for a newbie to figure out.

Additionally, the photography, while beautiful, is excessive and redundant. How many full page images of the same garment from the same direction do we really need?

I have found cookbooks where key ingredients or instructions were omitted in order to keep the recipe secrets out of print -- and that's what this poorly edited book reminded me of. --As though they wanted others to fail at duplicating their designs.

Too bad.

Customer Reviews:

This is what I was looking for.......2006-09-06

Great book! Explains everything a novice can understand and put to use. Very helpful! Will keep it for reference in the future too.

Area needs more study, but in truth the concept does work.......2005-12-13

Some people will not be convinced that small ceramic magnets can be used for healing, but my experience of over 15 years using such magnets is proof that they can. I have recently been corresponding with a woman in Japan who has severe cartilage inflammation, and cannot use adequate doses of steroid anti-inflammatories because they are immunosuppressive. She has had very good results using small magnets. Her ear cartilage will cease swelling and the redness will start to decline within 10 minutes of application of the magnets.

This would be dismissed as "anecdote" by scoffers. But it is repeatable and reliable.

Believe what you will. Wait until a major scientific study is done, if you must. But magnets are not expensive, and they're safe. Perhaps, with Gary Null's guidance, you will benefit by performing your own experiments. I do not sell magnets, and have no axe to grind. I simply report that they work, for me, and for others.

Magnet therapy is a true science.......2005-05-14

This is a good book on the subject of magnet therapy. I found out about the decades of research done by Albert Roy Davis and Walter C. Rawls by reading this book. After buying magnets from the Albert Roy Davis Research Laboratory, I can tell that I have had great results using their magnets, and so has everyone else I know of who has used them. Davis is the first scientist in the world to discover that magnetism consists of two separate and distinct energies, each having a different effect.

There is information about other worthy researchers as well. Null has a "Clinicians' Reports" chapter, a "Patients' Experiences with Biomagnetic Therapy" chapter, and a "Peer-reviewed Scientific Studies" chapter that summmarizes dozens of successful studies using static magnets and electromagnets for many different health dilemmas. Hospitals already use pulsed magnetic fields to heal broken bones and have for many years.

You'll find many pages on the internet saying that there are few, or no studies at all showing any scientific proof that magnet therapy works. That is about as wrong as wrong can be. The deeper you look, the more obvious this misinformation is. You have to keep in mind the possible reasons for agendas in regards to these statements that completely ignore the facts.

bogus science.......2004-09-07

I am not the author of the review below, taken from a web thread, but I think it is a useful criticism of this book. (BTW, I listen to Gary Null on the radio regularly and find a lot of his ideas useful, so I'm sorry he embraces magnetism quackery. Since people don't contain much ferrous metal, we can't be affected much by magnets.) Now for the review:

In the booklet, under the title, "About magnets and magnetic therapy," Florsheim makes a series of astonishing statements that can certainly get your attention. An unsophisticated reader might very well believe them to be well-founded. These "scientific" statements are taken from a book "Healing with Magnets," by Gary Null, Ph.D. Dr. Null is armed with lawyers and is fond of brandishing them. He endorses the use of magnets and laetrile for curing cancer, he opposes vaccination, recommends coffee enemas, and declares that "misaligned" bony plates of the skull cause a raft of medical problems - all notions that have been shown quite erroneous. The "Consumer's Guide to 'Alternative Medicine'" comments, "Gary Null is wrong so often that the average person who listens to him might be better off believing the opposite of what he says." He obtained his Ph.D. from Union Graduate School, a "non-traditional" organization in New Jersey which allows the student to decide his own title of the degree he earns as well as the content of the program he follows, which is largely self-administered. Null bills himself as, "America's #1 Health Crusader."

It is painfully obvious that the Florsheim people did nothing to check up on the scientific validity of the "facts" they published, which are simply ludicrous. A high school freshman knows better than the executives at Florsheim who passed this material as acceptable. One can only hope that it was ignorance on their part, rather than a planned deception, that led them to publish this simply astonishing document, a 28-page booklet in English, French, and Spanish. In any language, it's quackery.

Here are a few of the howlers featured.

"Magnetism represents one of the most basic powers in the universe. This force keeps order in the galaxy, allowing the stars and planets to spin at significant velocities. The earth itself is a giant magnet, with north and south poles and a hot liquid core. The hot liquid core creates a magnetic field which at the earth's surface is relatively weak, but serves to keep humans attached to the earth. Without this magnetic field, we would spin into outer space."

Magnetism has nothing to do with allowing stars or anything else to spin at a "significant velocity." And there is no magnetic field that keeps us attached to the Earth, which in any case would not work unless you happened to have a large slab of iron fastened to each foot - which I'm sure that Florsheim will next consider producing as yet another scientific innovation. This business of spinning into outer space is just so juvenile and naive that one has to wonder why these booklets didn't burst into flames on the printing press.

"In the latter half of the 1900s, numerous scientific journals reported the effectiveness of using magnetic fields in healing, including programs for the astronauts. 90-95% of health problems astronauts experienced after early space flights were eliminated when magnets were put in space suits and space capsules to counter the effects of traveling outside the earth's magnetic field."

This is a ridiculous statement. It's simply not true. It's a total invention. NASA information officers told us quite plainly that it is a pipe-dream.

"Research indicates that in general, magnetic therapy works because of the electromagnetic nature of the body. Functionally, according to biomagnetic researchers, the brain generates an electromagnetic current that controls every motor and sensory response in our body. Every cell in our body consists of electrically charged particles that are either positive or negative ions. All are directly affected by exposure to external magnetic fields."

Sigh . . . Pardon me, but my brain just about liquified, reading that. The last two sentences are meaningless, wrong, and useless. Particles are not ions. The rest follows.

James Randii is a well-respected researcher, he has presented obvious flaws in Mr. Null's understanding of science. Moving on...

Three More Little Adventures on the Voodoo Science Front. by Robert L. Park, Skeptical Enquirer November 2000

1. Null Hypothesis: Do Astronauts Suffer Magnetic Deficiency?

"I must tell you, I bought a pair of Florsheim MagneForce shoes this week (WN 11 August 00). I have not been sick since. More on my new shoes in a later issue."

Today, I want to share another Gary Null quote from the free brochure Florsheim gave me (at $125 the shoes were not free): "90-95% of health problems astronauts experienced after early space flights were eliminated when magnets were put in space suits and space capsules to counter the effects of traveling outside the earth's magnetic field." That's remarkable, since early flights never got beyond low-Earth orbit where the field is essentially unchanged. Nevertheless, we felt obliged to ask NASA. Answer: There has never been a magnet in a space suit.

And finally: Customers fall short on magnetic attraction by JP Bender, SOUTH FLORIDA BUSINESS JOURNAL 08/03/01:

NASA spokeswoman Eileen Hawley from the Houston-based Johnson Space Center said that claim has circulated since bio-magnets have been sold with claims of healing powers.

"That's untrue," she said. "We don't use magnets in space suits or space crafts. And nobody would have access to the private health information of our astronauts. That information is protected by privacy laws. Anyone who claimed this is making it up."

Dubious Credentials.......2003-11-27

Null says he holds an associate degree in business administration from Mountain State College in West Virginia, a bachelor's degree from Thomas A. Edison State College in New Jersey, and a PhD in human nutrition and public health sciences from The Union Institute in Cincinnati, Ohio. Edison State, a "nontraditional" school with neither campus nor courses, awards accredited bachelor's degrees based on career experience, equivalency exams, and courses taken at other schools.

The Union Institute is also accredited, but its degree requirements and standards for health-related doctoral degrees differ greatly from those of traditional universities. Students design their own program, form and chair their own doctoral committee, and are required to attend only an introductory colloquium and a few interdisciplinary seminars. Null's PhD committee was composed of a "core faculty member," three "adjunct professors," two "peers," and a "second core reader." The "core faculty member" is a well-credentialed academician whose expertise (in geologic sciences) is unrelated to Null's topic. One of the three "adjunct professors" was Martin Feldman, MD, a "complementary" physician (and "clinical ecologist") who has pinch-hit for Null as a radio host and helped develop some of Null's books and supplement formulations. When I asked a school official about the background or location of the other two "adjunct professors," he replied that information was in storage and was too difficult to obtain.

Traditional universities require that research for a doctoral degree in a scientific discipline make a genuine contribution to the scientific literature. Null's thesis, entitled "A Study of Psychological and Physiological Effects of Caffeine on Human Health," contributes nothing. The stated purpose of his project was to evaluate (1) caffeine's effects on "adrenal function determined by a medical examination," (2) "its perceived psychological effects as recorded in a questionnaire and daily diary, and (3) "the anabolic effect of caffeine according to a theory proposed by Dr. E. Revici." (Emanuel Revici, MD, was a physician in New York City whose methods were disparaged by the American Cancer Society. State licensing authorities placed Revici on probation in 1988 and revoked his license in 1993 after concluding that he had violated the terms of his probation.)

Average customer rating:
Healing with Magnets - The Magnet and Magnetic Fields - Significant Effects of Experiments on Plant, Animal and Human Systems and Clinical Applications
Albert Roy Davis and A. K. Bhattacharya
Manufacturer: Firma KLM Private Limited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000PG1RDI

Average customer rating:
Healing With Magnets
Gary Null
Manufacturer: Carroll & Graf Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000NXXHRM

Amazon.com

Fairfield Porter, the lyrical American painter of tense slices of family life, was an extraordinarily complex and conflicted person. Born in 1917, Porter finally achieved a measure of fame in the 1950s as part of the second wave of New York School artists--only to be eclipsed as a realist painter a few years later by the brashly ironic crew of pop artists.

Born into a patrician family, Porter lived most of his life on a dwindling trust fund, in a succession of sparsely furnished rural houses that he kept escaping to hang out with artists and writers in New York City. (He also wrote poetry and art criticism.) Although his political sympathies led him to dream of being a great muralist, his discovery of the intimate domestic scenes of Édouard Vuillard and Pierre Bonnard proved the key to his mature style.

Porter's immediate family populate many of his best paintings, yet he was the most ambivalent of family men. He had five children with his long-suffering wife, Anne, a poet who survives him, but skipped town when each one was born. To complicate things further, he discovered in midlife that he was in love with the poet James Schuyler, who became a perpetual houseguest long after the brief affair was over.

Fairfield Porter: A Life in Art, by Justin Spring, is not the sort of art book you plop on the coffee table to browse "some day." Modestly sized and handsomely designed--with just enough good-quality reproductions (27 in color) to whet your appetite for the way Porter's seductive palette sets off his intensely isolated figures--this is a page-turner to read in bed. --Cathy Curtis

Book Description

This absorbing biography of Fairfield Porter makes clear John Ashbery`s assessment of Porter as "perhaps the major American artist of this century." Justin Spring tells of Porter`s troubled, bohemian life, his struggle to raise a family while dealing with a bisexual identity, his work as an artist producing realist works in the midst of the Abstract Expressionist movement, and his late triumph as a painter and critic.

Customer Reviews:

Great read.......2005-01-08

I started this book knowing nothing about this important painter and finished it with a great understanding of both the man and his art.

Fairfield Porter, an interesting story.......2001-06-15

Fairfield Porter's paintings have a strange pale quality, and they are flooded with light.His subjects are upper class domestic,and many of them are pale and etherial. He painted his family friends,and their pvt haunts beautifully. Little did most people realize he was a torn person,and probably can be better understood by this reading.I think what amazed me the most about this book was the incredible latent homosexual exsistence that paralled and co-existed within Porter's very homey and simmering homogenous realism.The bio details his social, artistic and private relationships with a younger generation of artists. This book is a portrait of a man at war with his sexuality. His ptngs are beautifully orchestrated, sensual, understated. A must for those that want to know more about Porter's life, and the different sides that lived inside him. A good read!I love artist bios.This is a worthy effort.

Thorough, but difficult biography on Fairfield Porter.......2000-08-15

Justin Spring's biography on Fairfield Porter, A Life In Art, is one of the most difficult and disturbing biographies I've read in some time. It's incredibly thorough, as if no piece of information was left out.

Most biographies are bound to reveal new information, but the amount here is overwhelming. Other reviews here on Amazon bring out the detail, so there's no point repeating it. If you're only familiar with Porter from an artisitic standpoint the biography of his family life, lifestyle, manners, and politics will be shocking and difficult to bring together.

While in the middle of reading this book I had to let it go for a few months and read other things then go back to it. Porter's activities in the late 1940's to the mid 1950's were especially difficult to reconcile considering the subject matter of his output.

It seems the frankness in tone of the biography is totally in tune with Porter's ways of communicating. I suspect if Porter had lived longer then such an autobiography probably would have been as revealing.

An Artist of Quiet Contradiction.......2000-03-11

This book displays great beauty: the paper is beautiful, the writing is flawless and the subject matter (the art work) is cool and elegant. But the artist's life was a difficult & complex equation of contractions: he was born patrician, yet he was a leftist (he attended Socialist demonstrations in a chauffeur driven limousine); he was highly verbal and intellectual, yet he painted the coolest (visually abstract) emotion; he made realist art in an abstract art time; he was married yet he had sex with men; he was surrounded by a loving family, yet he remained remote and distant; he lived in the country, yet he was always running to the city; he was bright and balanced, yet his best (lifelong) friend was mentally deranged; he made the most stable art from the most unstable life; he was slender and active, yet he died early of a surprise heart attack; he was on the verge of greatness (and nearly penniless much of the time), but cared little for fame and less for money. This assortment of profound conflicts make for a great story, and the art works themselves tower above everything in their lofty remove, quiet dignity, and timeless spirit. Find out why that is so (and what it may mean for the history of 20th century art criticism) and read this haunting and very personal book you'll not forget.

An excellent literary and intellectual biography........2000-03-05

Justin Spring's Fairfield Porter: A Life In Art provides an excellent literary and intellectual biography, drawing important connections between Porter's social, artistic and personal lives and considering both his art and his position in the art world. Black and white and color photos pepper this in-depth biographical and artistic coverage.

Average customer rating:

Fairfield Porter: A Life in Art
Justin Spring
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000IMTBKK

Fairfield Porter: a life in art, 1907-1975. (Learning from Exhibitions).: An article from: Arts & Activities

Average customer rating:

Fairfield Porter: a life in art, 1907-1975. (Learning from Exhibitions).: An article from: Arts & Activities
Mark M. Johnson
Manufacturer: Publishers' Development Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Performing Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Sports | Subjects | e-Docs | Formats | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Arts & Activities, published by Publishers' Development Corporation on April 1, 2003. The length of the article is 1457 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Fairfield Porter: a life in art, 1907-1975. (Learning from Exhibitions).
Author: Mark M. Johnson
Publication: Arts & Activities (Magazine/Journal)
Date: April 1, 2003
Publisher: Publishers' Development Corporation
Volume: 133 Issue: 3 Page: 51(3)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Average customer rating:

FAIRFIELD PORTER: A Life in Art
Justin Spring
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OS5O7C

Spring, Justin FAIRFIELD PORTER: A LIFE IN ART

Average customer rating:

Spring, Justin FAIRFIELD PORTER: A LIFE IN ART
Justin (Fairfield Porter) Spring
Manufacturer: Yale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000PWFEEK

Book Description

"Engaging and thorough . . . the best modern biography of the man. Why isn't there a great movie about Sir Walter Raleigh? His life had everything."
-Los Angeles Times

Tall, dark, handsome, and damnably proud, Sir Walter Raleigh was one of history's most romantic characters. He founded the first American colony, gave the Irish the potato, even trifled with the Virgin Queen's affections. To his enemies, he was an arrogant liar, deserving of every one of his thirteen years in the Tower of London. Regardless of means, Raleigh's accomplishments are unquestionable: he was the epitome of the English Renaissance man.

Raleigh Trevelyan has traveled to each of the principal places where Raleigh adventured-Ireland, the Azores, Roanoke, and the Orinoco-finding new insights into Raleigh's extraordinary life. His research gives a freshness and immediacy to this detailed, convincing portrait of one of the most compelling figures from the Elizabethan era.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent book for Elizabethan fans.......2004-11-17

This book has compelled me to write my first ever review. I've rarely read a more enjoyable biography. Although long and very dense, it is well cross-referenced, and well structured.

The depth of research is astounding, and I was particularly impressed that the author had actually traveled to all the key locations, offering a level of colour and feel not otherwise possible.

There is also a great detail of content outside of Sir Walter's own life that is immensely valuable for providing context (so important when reading about another time and place). For this amateur Elizabethan student, the opportunity to read about my favourite characters and the key events of the age from a different perspective was truly enjoyable.

At times the book shows the author's bias, but he carefully lets us know when it's his opinion, and I for one welcomed it based on his depth of knowledge.

Bravo to the author, and to those considering reading this book, a big word of encouragement. Enjoy!

New insight - legend or fop?.......2004-09-21

It is recognized that the author as a descendant of Raleigh would be somewhat biased in his assessment of his subject. With this in mind the portrayal is more balanced than one would think from the preconception and the views of others on this book. The conception most often associated with Raleigh for those unaware of his breadth of activities is that of a dandily dressed (Vincent Price) fop who laid down his cape for the queen. If one delves a little farther into common knowledge we know that he had something to do with the failed Roanoke colony. The gift of Trevelyan's biography is to fill out these clothes. To put flesh upon the man who inhabits the foppish attire. By the time the book takes us to Raleigh's second stay in the Tower, and Trevelyan tells us that people often came to see "the legend" on his daily walks upon the wall, we believe that indeed he was exactly that - a legend. The true measure of biography is that it gives the faults and failings, yet lets one follow the maturing person. Raleigh, indeed had many failings, but he nonetheless comes across in Trevelyan's telling as a compelling and interesting individual. If the Queen, Cecil (Wm.), Walsingham, and Drake are the gods of that era, then certainly the Raleigh of Trevelyan's telling is a giant. The mark of good non-fiction is that it encourages further exploration into the era in which it is set. Trevelyan's book is a must read for those with any interest in this period of English history, particularly that touching on the rise of empire and the role of maritime successes.

Sir Walter the great.......2004-02-08

Sir Walter Raleigh was a little of everything. I read this book along with the new Benjamin Frankin: An American Life, and have determined that there's more to these guys than the scant information we were all given in school. What an eye-opener this book was. Well written, well researched, and well . . . just an overall entertaining good read. Highly recommended.

Customer Reviews:

hooray for the hero!! an honorable with many adventures.......2001-05-01

It is important to understand from the beginning that Sir Walter Raleigh's mother was burned alive(when he was a child) for being a Protestant. So early in his life he developed a hatred for King Philip and the Catholics of Spain.

The legend of Sir Walter Raleigh begins with his love for the sea. When he started his navy career he moved quickly up the ranks. It was not long before the young handsome gentleman was noticed by Queen Elizabeth I herself, who soon grew found of Raleigh, taking him as her favorite. Being the favorite meant being hated by all the other replaced favorites. He was knighted and named Captain of the Guard. Queen Elizabethh awarded Raleigh with the estate Sharon for his quick thinking making a faile mission look noble and heroic. Even though Sir Walter Raleigh was loyal and true to his queen he did marry her maid of honor. He paid for it by being imprisoned in the Tower but was soon restored to his position by the Queen's side after she realized she needed his leadership and advice. She trusted Raleigh and adored him vey much butI'm not sure if there was ever more there. This book does not give an opinion.

Later on Raleigh wanted to go on a quest for El Dorado. The Queen granted him this. He returned empty handed but then aided his country in a battle against the Spanish at sea.This was only one of themany victories he had over the Spanish. These were the times of happiness for the bright sailor, nothing would be quite so right again. As Queen Elizabeth I grew older she fell ill and eventually died. King James from Scotland then took the throne. He was soon to take Robert Cecil as an advisor, an enemy of Raleigh. It was not long before Raligh found himself in a mess. He was accused of treason, secretly plotting with Spain. The man whp ushed the trial forward to guarantee Raleigh's fall of glory was none other than Sir Robert Cecil. Raleigh was condemned to the Tower. There he grewq elderly and weak but he didn't justlet himself rot away. He started to work medicines and finding cures to sicknesses. Many held him infavor because of his miracle working potions. Prince henry, son of King James, was a hpe to Raleigh. He had won the boy's favor. It was a soon thing that Raleigh would be let out of the TOwe, wehn unfortunately Prince Henry became ill. One of Raleigh's potions was given to the prince but Raleigh said it would only work if the boywasn't already poisoned, as he had been. So, Raleigh's hopes were dashed. He was released finally(under trial) to go on another quest for El Dorado. The KIng thought this was an easy way to rid hmself of his problems with Raleigh because Raleigh was too popular to be executed. On this voyage, he lost his son and the lyalty of his men. His ships disobeyed his orders and broke the peace treaty with Spain. The ships had been under his command, but he had never given the command to attck. Although, many made false accusations stating it was Raleigh who had ordered the attck. Even thought Raleigh had the opportunity to flee to the America's and escape these charges, he was a noble man and chose to return to face his adversaries. When Raleigh unexpectedly returned he was epty handed and Cecil tried him again with treason. His fate would be execution. Sir Walter Raleigh never gave up hope and alwayskept his courage, even to the death. He gave such an astounding speech before his beheading that the executioner wouldn't strikeuntil Raleigh yelled to strike. There was no cheering at the death of such a man. A man who had a key role in developing England's trade, navy,and the New England colonies. His love for the sea could onlybe described by one of his best poems: But love is durable fire In the mind ever burning Never sick, never old, never dead From itself never turning

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books