Product Description
This new account of the galloglas-mercenary warriors from the Hebrides and West Highlands who settled in Ireland in the later 13th century and achieved extraordinary prominence on Irish battlefields throughout the 300 years following-is written from a decidedly Scottish perspective. The origins of the six kindreds-MacCabes, MacDonnells, MacDowells, MacRorys, MacSheehys, and MacSweeneys-are traced and the circumstances which brought about their relocation to Ireland are investigated. The book also examines the galloglas as warriors, pointing to their distinctly Norse character and proposing their battle-fury as the last unmistakable echo of the Scandinavian impact on the Celtic west. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

galloglas:hebridean and west highland mercenary kindreds in medieval ireland
Have not gott'en it yet. I payed for it, But no book . Please HELP ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Gritty realism from master Marsden
Considering Marsden has received a plethora of awards for books he published each side of Dear Miffy in 1997, he has received no award for this novel. Perhaps the judges and nominators of awards didn't consider it because `conservative, neat, fake books written for and marketed towards awards committees rather than for readers' take out awards. However, many, mainly positive, comments on weblogs from the target audience of male and female teens should help you decide in favour of Dear Miffy. A good example is the University of Tasmania weblog. Amongst the comments on the book trends appeared, especially in the posts from the boys: along the lines of `I came across it when I was at a difficult point in my life, and Dear Miffy showed me that my life really wasn't that bad. Nothing could be worse than Tony's life. Read it and hopefully it will have the same effect on you that it had on me.' (Resoort, 2007)
If you are after a book on many teen issues, Dear Miffy has a selection. While the side issues are abandonment, betrayal, deceit, sibling death, shoplifting, police harassment and drug use, the issues it focuses on are violence and its consequences, class differences, sex, depression and suicide. The attempted suicide on the main character's life is handled with gritty realism. Marsden has tapped in to the teen psyche (My family has first-hand suicide experience). Encouraging, if brief, use of humour alleviates the grim story in places.
I've attended a workshop where top New Zealand author Tessa Duder spoke bitterly about the language in this novel. The reality is that the language expressed by Tony [main character and author of the Dear Miffy letters] is wholly appropriate.
As alarming as it sounds, Tony could be any of the several teens I personally know and count as my circle of friends, such is Marsden's authentic character portrayal. For an author as advanced in years as Marsden, attempting to characterize a violent, suicidal, hormonal sixteen year old boy without sounding ineffectual is an impressive accomplishment. Adult characters have a tough time in many of Marsden's novels, and Dear Miffy is no exception. Both Tony and Miffy's relatives are rude, deceitful, ineffective, and unhelpful. But some key redeeming adult cameos do occur, with the principal, nurses and a friend's father getting kudos (the friend's father says `He's a good boy'). Teens will not find good adult role models in Dear Miffy, which fits recent adolescent literature trends. A mention must be made of the use of class differences of Miffy [upper] and Tony [working]. This class difference is ultimately blamed for the key scene when everything turns to custard for the main characters. It is perhaps the least original part of the novel, and the phrase kept entering my head that `he was a boy from the wrong side of the tracks'

.....
We were forced to read this book in school, but it was allright. I liked it! But the ennoying thing is, we have to make a book review about it..better start write..

Incredible - you don't just read it, you live it.
I picked this book up last night just before I was about to go to bed and I didn't put it down until I'd read every page.Even when I'd finished I couldn't stop thinking about it, I'm still thinking about it now.It may me cry so hard because I felt like I was in the book and my whole world had been flipped upside down when it finished.Many aspects of the book and the characters related so much to my own life, it was the most gripping and real teenage book I'd ever read.John Marsden isn't afraid to write things that other authors are and it makes his work so alive.Dear Miffy keeps you guessing until the very end and it makes you feel like you're living through the experiences with Tony.This is just such an amazing book because you get something from it, it leaves a mark and adds to your way of thinking. Aboslutely unforgetable, read it.

Daring, powerfuland real- a story that will shock you.
If you like the type of story with a twist in the end, you are in for a treat. Dear miffy was one of the most powerful books I had ever read in my life. What I love most about it was how real it made me feel while I was reading it, while lots books for teenagers had fabricated the reality into anything but real, John Marsden had always kept it raw and true. Although the language could be a bit offensive to some readers, but I think that's what this book is all about- showing you the not-so-nice part of life and the darker side of the world. I deeply felt for Tony- the main character in the book, this book was so very powerful, I couldn't sleep that night when I finished the book. One advise though, don't go and read the ending before you should, it will ruin the story.

okay...
this book was a surprise to me. of all the john marsden books i have read, this has been the one that has most affected me.as i read it i felt as though the boy was talking to me, not as a character, but a person. when ireached the end and found out why he was so miserable, the book fell frommy hands and i couldn't get to sleep. to have a book have that affect onyou, it must be something special. ... Read more

Product Description
"Mariners Are Warned!" is the story of the six-year voyage undertaken by HMS Beagle as it sailed the uncharted coastline of Australia, commanded by John Lort Stokes. The mission was to chart the vast and lonely coastline of Australia in an attempt to reduce the trading losses through cargo ships foundering on hidden reefs and a hostile shoreline. Though Stokes was a sober, conscientious and earnest man, his actions were often foolhardy. This volume will be welcomed by historians of Australia and of exploration. It won Age Book of the Year Award and the A.A. Phillips Award for Australian Studies when published in Australia. ... Read more

Product Description

Industrial landscape paintings by John Moore executed over the last three decades focus on sites from Conneaut, Ohio, to Waterville, Maine, including Coatesville, Pennsylvania, a locale that has inspired such American Modernists as Charles Demuth and Ralston Crawford. Moore has revisited places in Coatesville and throughout the rustbelt that he painted twenty years ago, and his most recent paintings depict changes that have occurred there since. One of his subjects, Paradise, Pennsylvania, 13 miles west of Coatesville, is Amish farmland, a place that is the rural antithesis of industrial life in America.

Moore is often described as one of the one of the leading realist painters of his generation, and many of his paintings resemble places where he grew up. While the images appear immediately recognizable, the paintings are, in fact, partial composites, based on specific sites but also incorporating formal concerns and oral history as told by individuals with ties to the regions.

The Thirteen Miles from Paradise catalogue is drawn from the exhibition of the same name at the Arthur Ross Gallery of the University of Pennsylvania, where Moore has been Gutman Professor of Fine Arts and chair of the Department of Fine Arts since 1999. The catalogue includes contributions by Alexi Worth, a senior critic in the Department of Fine Arts at the University of Pennsylvania; and by Debra Bricker Balken, an independent curator and writer.

Product Description
Providing a detailed annotated bibliography and research guide to the Stieglitz Circle and four of its leading members--Arthur Dove, Marsden Hartley, John Marin, and Max Weber--this new sourcebook offers a chapter on each of the four artists. Complete with biographical essay and guides to writings, statements, correspondence, books, articles, reviews, reference sources, and archival sources, each artist's chapter gives the researcher an exhaustive catalogue of relevant material. ... Read more

Product Description
Informing Design will focus on research as it pertains to the interior design discipline.
Dickinson and Marsden suggest a pedagogy in which design-decision making is
informed by more than speculative hunches, preferences, and intuition. The book consists
of a collection of contributed chapters with leaders in both design practice and
education sharing their expert knowledge with a building type in the specialty areas.
Through exposure to actual interior design research studies, theories, and trends that
are geared to the specialty areas of design, students will be able to assess the credibility
and quality of the information; distinguish between information that is based
on empirical research, best practices, or opinion; and apply the findings of others. As
design educators, the authors hope to provide students with the background necessary
so they may become more fluent and comfortable with informed design. ... Read more

Product Description
Judith Nobel is a respected, strong-willed young school teacher who came to the island in the Pacific Northwest a decade ago to give birth to her twin daughters. A private person, the locals know little about her except that she?s a gifted educator. Ben Trilby is another of the Island?s anomalies, an ex-police officer who says little and limps around on a cane while quietly running his local business. Like Judith, Ben came to the island to forget about his past, as well as the shooting that killed his female partner and left him crippled for life. Appearing content within their secluded, but separate lives, Judith and Ben know something is missing. One day, an innocent action of one of Judith?s pupils sets into motion a series of events that will end in a tragic accident. Clinically dead for twenty-two minutes, Judith finds herself in a kind of utopian library where the books she?s invited to read are about people from her past who have died. From these books she learns a secret about each person that she never knew before. When she leaves the library, she takes with her the will to love again. In the Lord?s Library is a colorful story about ordinary people, and the extraordinary strength of the human spirit. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Thisis a great read!!!
I was fortunate to have read "In the Lord's Library" quite some time ago and thoroughly enjoyed the entire book.I feel that MARSDEN did a superb job in creating this storyline and was able to put into writing a very believable tale.It is evident that MARSDEN spent a portion of his career as a police officer and he has been able to bring to life some of the situations which he faced while in service.
If you are looking for a great story to read during these rainy winter months, look no further than "In the Lord's Library"

Enjoy!

Wonderful!
We were so caught up in this book, that we read it in a day!
We read it aloud. Reading, as if it were a script.
Each character was brought to life, as P.J. Marsden described them in detail.
"In the Lord's Library" was the book we chose to end the year with.
It was the perfect selection, for best friends to read together.

I look forward to reading more books, by P.J. Marsden.

What an awesome book!
You can certainly tell the author of this book is a veteran police officer. The places he takes you, and skillfully I might add, could only be achieved by a cop who has been there, done that, and yes, even took the pictures for his file. While there was certainly a lot in this book for me, I can easily say there lays within these pages a little something for everyone, as well as the lesson that we can all be as strong as the main character Judith. We just have to allowour free will and inner strength to take us there. The author skillfully weaves this believable story by leaving you hanging at the end of each chapter, challenging the reader to abandon the pages but I would have none of that. I kept right on reading!

If Oprah hasn't read this one - she darn well should!
My mother sent me so book to help divert my mind as I too lost a loved one during the mindless violence of September 11th. My grieving will go on for some time, but reading this novel about a young school teacher (Judith Noble) and the tragedies she must endure, as well as the other characters in this book have given me the strength to start down the long road to my recovery. I laughed, and I cried, and I embraced every tear that I shed for these characters, and applauded when they got themselves through their most turbulent times. Every now and then I read a book that I won't soon forget and this is one such book. It went on, and very strongly for 421 wonderful pages!

Totally Riveting
This novel took each and every one of my emotions out for a test drive, and what a ride! If I wasn't laughing, then I would be crying or lost in thoughtful repose. The author manages to give the reader a little bit of everything, and delivers in a style that I have never seen before. I thought I was entering into a religious story, but I soon discovered I was wrong. Hope to see a lot more from this writer! ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (2)

Very well written and researched
I have never read such well done work. I am pleased that the author considers so many things. The author explains and writes about his life like he was the greatest legend of the Northern Dark Ages, he was I think. As one of the descendednts of Somerled, I am pleased how well his life is written. Very well done. The only negitive thing I have to say about the book is sometimes it was hard to follow but then it picks up again. Lots of ecerpts from anchient documents and chronicles and other sources.

Somerled: And the Emergence of Gaelic Scotland
I was pleased to see another history of Somerled, but was disappointed the author discounted family traditions about Somerled as biased and then quoted the writings of his adversaries as if gospel. An author certainly has the right to pick his sources and write his history from whatever perspective he chooses. I have read many of the source materials used for this work and I disagree with the author's conclusions. It was good to see Somerled from a different point of view, but I am more inclined to accept the traditional view of Somerled as the Celtic hero. ... Read more

Product Description
Renowned as the most learned man in eighth-century Europe and the author of the first English history to be written by an Englishman, the Venerable Bede was the personification of the golden age of Anglo-Saxon Northumbria. Here are specially commissioned translations from his Life of Cuthbert, his Lives of the Abbots of Wearmouth and Jarrow, and his famous Ecclesiastical History of the English People. The large-format book is lavishly illustrated with colour photographs of manuscripts, monuments and landscapes that Bede himself would have recognized, and prefaced with illuminating introductions to the man in his time. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Well-written but confusing time travel story interrupted by other stories
I am not quite sure what to say about this novella.It was very well written.But it was more of a collection of short stories that were loosely tied together than an actual novel.

James is a quiet boy who has befriended an old physicist.When James inherits a time machine he begins to travel through time only to find out it's not all it's really cut out to be.This is woven with the story of a girl who was knocked out during a bombing and has lost her family.These two stories are constantly interrupted by other brief stories.The only thing they all have in common is that the people aren't where they should be or don't know where they should be.I was not sure where the other brief stories came from; I think they are stories that James read, although they could have been things James experienced.

If the above sounds kind of confusing, well it was.The writing itself was exceptional and even the briefest of stories drew you in and developed the characters in great depth.The way the story was put together was confusing, and the constant interruption of the main story with unrelated side stories, made the whole book seem a bit schizophrenic.Trying to figure out what was going on as I read the book was difficult, I finally just decided to enjoy reading the stories for what they were individually and trust that everything would come together and make sense in the end.Well, my trust was misplaced.Some of the things made sense, while others were left dangling.At one point James' sister herself is reading a Book of Unfinished Tales, where the stories are left dangling with apparently no meaning.I almost felt like Marsden added this part to excuse his own collection of dangling stories.

So while this was an intriguing and well-written book; I thought it was organized poorly and kind of only got halfway to where it was trying to go.It is a slow and meandering read, although the book itself is very short.The writing was good enough I might check out some of Marsden's earlier books; I wouldn't really recommend this book though.

fine young adult time travel tale
James is lonely with no one especially his party-animal parents to talk to about his feelings of loss and alienation.His only salvation is sneaking out of the house each night to stealthily enter the nearby Lab 17 where physicist Mr. Woodford invents incredible gizmos with the latest being incredibly a time machine.

When James enters Lab 17 the next night he finds a horrible sight; Mr. Woodford has died. Unable to resist the lure of adventure, James takes the time machine with him.James begins to travel the time stream observing the mysteries of individual people that raises his curiosities, but will he try to help those in need or will he use the gift of time to make a fortune?

OUT OF TIME is a fine young adult time travel tale that reads more like a series of interrelated short stories based on James' misadventures.The idea of a teen loose on history is fun to follow and James feels like Spiderman immediately after the bite deciding between heroic deeds or obtaining affluence.Youthful fans will enjoy his escapades as he gets involved in one scenario after another.

Harriet Klausner
... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Mates,Dates and Tempting Troubles review by Alisa Lier
I really like this series so far. This is because I can relate to some of the problems the characters run into. Their problems are real life situations that anyone one could have.These books never have a boring point in them you never want to stop reading them. It was hard for me to put it down it keeps you on the edge and wanting to know more.I really like how they make it feel as if your there with them and ond one their friends. Overall I loved the book and hope to read the whole series. I recommand this book to girls who are between 13 and 15 years old and whose friends are a big part in their lives.

Cathy Hopkins does it again!
I find it absolutely amazing that an author can make every single book in a series as good as the last one, if not better. When I found out this book was focusing on TJ Watts, I have to say I wasn't quite sure about it. See, I've always seen her as a somewhat boring character. It just never seemed like she had any qualities that made her stand out from the rest. Well, I was wrong! In this book, you see a totally different side of TJ. For one thing, she seems to have a naughty side and she also seems extremely mixed up. In her situation, who wouldn't be? She really proves that the four of them are INCREDIBLE mates by dropping Luke. I'm so glad I gave the next book in one of my favorite series a chance.

good but not great
Mates,Dates and Tempting Trouble book #8 had a good plot but throughout the book started getting a bit odd. For one thing Luke, the boy Nesta has been dating, seems much different from the book before, Mates, Dates, and Sequin Smiles. Also this book just didn't have the same feel as the other books. The others felt comfortable this one felt somewhat desperate.

really good series!!!
This is the eighth book in the Mates, Dates series. T.J. is doing a joint-school project and is assigned to work with Nesta's boyfriend, Luke. He tells her that he really likes her and says he will break up with Nesta so that he can go out with T.J. but T.J. is going out with Steve and doesnt want to hurt him or Nesta. Theres also Sian, a girl working with them on the preoject, and she tells T.J. that Luke said the same thing to her. When T.J. confronts Luke, he says that he didnt, and that Sian is just hoplessly in love with him and threw herself at him. Then Nesta starts to find out and she wont talk to T.J. and it becomes T.J. and Izzie against Lucy and Nesta. Read it to find out what happens!!

Falling For a Friend's Fella
T.J. is interested in history and historical places.Her friends are not.Then a huge multi-school project is assigned to record the history of London.T.J. finds herself in a group with Nesta's boyfriend.

Nesta's boyfriend seems to have the same interests as T.J.Nesta asks T.J. to be friendlier to him.He talks about breaking with Nesta to everyone but Nesta.

Now T.J. finds herself in the uncomfortable position of liking a guy and not wanting to hurt her friend.But as said boyfriend seems to be playing an even wider field than originally thought, T.J. must make some very tough decisions if she is going to maintain her friendships with the other girls.

Pretty good but with a little less character development than the previous volumes.Certainly T.J. must make decisions and changes but they are not the same type found earlier.It is still a good story and provides a good lesson about dealing with your mates. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Excellent, readable biography of the poster-child Viking
OK, so "readable" is a relative term, but this is a fine book.As noted by another reviewer, this is not a novel; it is thoroughly researched and told in painstaking detail but is not dry by any means.Marsden has done a great service to fans of Norse history by revealing the extraordinary life of Harald Hardrada - whose remarkable fate put him at historic crossroads repeatedly and made him the last Norse king of the Viking Age.The telling of his life contains all the ingredients of the best historical fiction, except that it's true, as Marsden so credibly relates.This is the Norse/Viking experience in spades - singular, powerful characters, royal intrigue, ambition, vengeance, travels to foreign lands, fierce battles - all set in the rich historical years that close out the Viking Age.It is particularly interesting in showing how much of the Norse/Viking story lives in the lands to the east of Scandinavia, in the founding of what would become the Russian empire and in the story of the Byzantine empire at the crossroads of Asia and Europe.

That said, this book is a detailed reference work, told in a measured voice.While it lacks the enthusiastic and sometimes challenging prose of Brent's, The Viking Saga, the telling of Hardrata's life and times by Marsden is in another class entirely - expertly done and a valuable contribution to historical literature.

Informative, enjoyable read for history buffs
I just ordered this book a few weeks ago and didn't really know what to expect because I couldn't find any reviews for it, but upon reading it turned out to be a pleasant surprise.

Most general history books on Hardrada's era relegate him to peripheral status, a footnote as "the other would-be King" of 1066, and a comprehensive biography of the man has been long overdue for years now.

But with "The Warrior's Way," John Marsden has filled this void capably, painting a complete portrait of the man all the way from his childhood to his death at Stamford Bridge. It's a VERY thorough examination of Harald's life that separates the facts of his life from the exaggerations of his skalds. Marsden has painstakingly examined every last shred of historical data available in his research. If you, like me, enjoy learning about the obscure little minutiae of the old Viking kings, you'll love this book.
He provides a very detailed, thorough account of the Battle of Stiklestad, and he paints a vivid portrait of Hardrada's service as a Varangian in Rus and Byzantium. He uses a broad range of sources that must have been difficult to sort through and compose in an easy-to-read fashion, but Marsden managed to pack in plenty of information without confusing the reader.

I don't have any complaints about the book, but I'm a history buff who prefers a flood of raw facts, even if they come at the expense of the narrative. I like to read primary sources, and I rarely read novels, so I don't mind plowing through dry prose that other people might find tedious.
Marsden's book was written for readers like me; his storytelling is pretty direct and to-the-point, and he doesn't waste time with colorful or suspenseful prose.

That's why I put "enjoyable read for history buffs" in the title of this review. If you are a history buff who wants an informative account of the life and times of Harald Hardrada, you'll like this book, and you'll be hard-pressed to find a better biography of Hardrada anywhere.
But if you want an enthralling novel about a Viking king that will keep you on the edge of your seat, this might not be the type of book you are looking for. ... Read more

Product Description
Chapters: Nevil Maskelyne, William Grocyn, Samuel Marsden, John Frith, Montague Summers, Philip Doddridge, Joanna Jepson, William Forster, William Law, Augustus Jessopp, John Church, Peter Bulkley, George Raikes, Edward Lyttelton, Oliver O'Donovan, Thomas Binney, George Crabbe, Christian Ignatius Latrobe, Robert Robinson, Edmund Calamy, Spike Wells, William Twisse, Charles Herle, James Maurice Wilson, John Burnet, Edward Thomas Daniell, Jeremy Collier, John Richard Green, John Prideaux Lightfoot, Sir Henry Dudley, 1st Baronet, Richard Smyth, William Paynter, Matthew Henry, Nathaniel Lardner, Aymer de Valence, William Wood, Nicholas Wotton, John Waddington, William Cowper, Thomas Cockman, Mordaunt Roger Barnard, Alfred Ainger, Martin Madan, Robert Nares, Osmond Fisher, David Thomas Powell, Henry Allon, Stephen Marshall, John Baconthorpe, Thomas Carter, John Jebb, Thomas Caius, Neville Figgis, John Warneford, William James Dawson, Herbert Edward Douglas Blakiston, John Darwall, Charles Hotham, Thomas Emlyn, Edward Farrer, William Houghton, Edward Bradley, Andrew Burnaby, Alexander Catcott, Thomas Ansell Marshall, Robert Dymoke, Thomas Wynter, Richard of Ingworth, Thomas Penny White, Whitwell Elwin, Richard Taylor, John Hygdon, John Barnard,. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 230. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: The Reverend Samuel Marsden (25 June 1765 - 12 May 1838) was a prominent member of the Church Missionary Society, believed to have introduced Christianity to New Zealand. He was a prominent figure in early New South Wales history, not only for his ecclesiastical offices, but also for his employment of convicts for farming and role as a judge, both of which have attracted contemporary criticism. Marsden was born in Farsley, near Pudsey, Yorkshire, the son of a Wesleyan blacksmith tu...http://booksllc.net/?id=1192370 ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document, covering the life and work of John (Marsden) Ehle, (Jr.), is an entry from Contemporary Authors, a reference volume published by Thomson Gale. The length of the entry is 625 words. The page length listed above is based on a typical 300-word page. Although the exact content of each entry from this volume can vary, typical entries include the following information:

• Place and date of birth and death (if deceased)
• Family members
• Education
• Professional associations and honors
• Employment
• Writings, including books and periodicals
• A description of the author's work
• References to further readings about the author