Customer Reviews (4)

A touching, informative gem
This collection beautifully captures both the magic of letters and the exotic, turbulent China-Burma-India theater of World War II.The devotion this couple, Richard and Reva Beard, have for each other will renew your faith in steadfast love.Their daughter Elaine Pinkerton has added her intriguing, informative historical essays, enriching the reader's imagination and understanding of this little-recognized part of WWII.
You'll find yourself marking letters to re-read later - for their moving sentiment or marvelous wit.Whether you read "From Calcutta with Love" for literary or historical reasons, you'll be amply satisfied.

Love sustained
Having a loved older brother who fought in the European theater of World War II, I've always been fascinated by that time and events. But I'd never known anything about the China-Burma-India theater. So "From Calcutta with Love" was a fascinating story about two very real people. The commitment to their marriage, each other, and their future family was rather inspiring. The times weren't as the romantic movies often portray, but often very difficult even if not in combat. I really enjoyed getting to know about the people, places, and things even before getting to the letters. That helped to make it all so real and honest. By the time I finished I felt like I really knew Richard and Reva. What wonderful parents they must have been!

Unique Way To Look At World War II
Elaine Pinkerton's "From Calcutta with Love" offers a unique way to look at World War II. I enjoyed learning about theChina-Burma-India theater of operations and getting to know about Richard and Reva Beard through their daily letters. Their devotion was the old-fashioned kind, their relationship one that could serve as a model for today. The book is a powerful reminder of the way WWII tested values, built character and deepened love affairs. "From Calcutta with Love" stayed with me long after I read the epilogue. I was entertained, touched, and inspired!

Letters From India/Letters From Home
I enjoyed this book so much!The totality of the letters is finally a story of love, patience, endurance, and the way we and two people in particular are able to live through a long absence and the fears of war. The book gave a strong sense of how very difficult it would be to be separated for TWO years when one is very much in love, and really how brave Richard and Reva both were to keep going, doing what was necessary to get through one day and then the next and then the next. These characters, the mother and father of the author, come through so well, not only through their endearments, but through the everydayness of their lives (when they can be everyday) and the specialness of their lives in times of stress, loneliness and disgust and fear.The author did a superb job of putting all this together.FCWL also includes several fairly long essays about the China-Burma-India theatre, which gives the reader a good grounding on this aspect of World War II.It was nice to have the author tell "the rest of the story" too--about how she and her brother were adopted by Richard and Reva and about their lives as a family. ... Read more

Product Description
A love story, in which all the events, people and places are taken from the contents of The Times of 1st November, 1993.Amazon.com Review
In his first novel,X 20: ANovel of (Not) Smoking, Richard Beard demonstrated his love forvariations on a theme, examining obsession from many differentperspectives. In Damascus, he rings his changes on the nature oftime as his characters are born; grow to adulthood; and experience tragedy,disappointment, and disillusionment before finally finding love--all on asingle immutable day.

It is the first of November 1993 and somewhere in the Kingdom, in Quarndonor Northampton or Newry or York, in Kirkcaldy or Yeovil or Lincoln orNeath, a baby girl is born. Her name is Hazel.

If the date remains unchanging, it's about all that does in this novel.This is the day, after all, when the European Union officially begins, theday after the deaths of film director Federico Fellini and actor RiverPhoenix. This is the last day in England for Henry Matsui, a somewhatderanged Japanese student in love with his teacher, Hazel, and he decidesto make the most of it with potentially calamitous results. Most importantof all, this is the day when Spencer hopes at last to find his Damascus: "asign, any sign, telling him that he and Hazel were right for each other andthat therefore his life had changed direction overnight." Though thephysics of Beard's novel might prove initially distracting, is isn't longbefore one is so drawn into the characters' lives that disbelief iswillingly suspended. And for readers who like puzzles and have a lot oftime on their hands, you might want to get a hold of the November 1, 1993,London Times--all but 12 of the book's nouns are drawn from thatday's paper. --Alix Wilber ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Characters are not quite real
The conceit of this book is that it is always the same day--November 1, 1993.It traces the lives of a number of different characters but, even though they age as the book progresses, the day is the same.It is an interesting structure but I don't see that it adds a lot to the story.

Additionally, there are many things that are hard to pin down.Beard is constantly giving lists of possibilities.For example "somewhere in the Kingdom, in Quarndon or Northampton or Newry or York, in Kirkcaldy or Yeovil or Lincoln or Neath" runs part of the first sentence of the novel.A couple paragraphs later it's "somewhere in the Kingdom, in Harlow or Widnes or Swansea or Ayr, in Reading or Glentoran or Nantwich or Hull."This is followed by many more place-name lists.And he doesn't just do this with places.We're given possible advertisements, sporting events, magazines, TV shows, and on and on with the lists.I found this to be very irritating after awhile and started breezing through these lists to get to the meat of the story.

And Beard does have something interesting to say here.He is saying something about how people tend to look for a sign to help them know whether they are living right rather than making decisions for themselves.Everybody in this novel is looking for a conversion experience (like Paul's on the road to Damascus--hence, the title) to know with absolute certainty that what they've chosen is the perfect thing.Of course, this leads these characters to empty lives.

And herein lies the main problem with this novel for me--the characters.They are somewhat interesting but mostly unlikable and then, in the last few pages of the novel, they all change.They all somehow overcome their inhibitions and do the right thing for themselves.The potential serial killer realizes his problems, the boy and girl overcome their fears and get together, and the man trapped indoors by panic attacks can go outside.Perhaps they all had the conversion experience they needed but I couldn't buy it.They just didn't seem like real people.

Coincidence...or not?
Like Geoff Nicholson's Bleeding London, Damascus relies on a great deal of intersecting between characters, times and places.Beard uses this very interesting technique as well as a non-linear timeline to tell a compellingand often hilarious story.His characters are incredibly well developedand his writing is accomplished.

I absolutely loved this book.
This is probably one of the most refreshing books I've read to date.It's rich form kept me interested, allowing me to finish it within a week between long hours at school and tons of homework.The parallel lives ofthe two main characters--meeting at certain points in their lives withoutever knowing it--helped culminate a lovely, almost innocent love story. It's a novel about stepping out of your rut in life, taking chances andrisks.I bet the next day was November 2, 1993 :-)

Entertaining Story/Clever Plot Devices
As the day, November 1, 1993, progresses from dawn to dusk, so do the lives of the characters beginning with the births of the principal characters, Hazel and Spencer.Strangely, all events in the story occur onthat date.But the story does not follow a straightline progression butparallel courses (just like the characters' lives), because Beard switchescleverly from pivotal past events of each character's life (except for one)back to the present until the story's climax at which time all the livesintersect.This device enables us to watch the characters' lives developso we can learn how they got to the present (and their currentpredicaments).Ultimately I found each character sympathetic.

Overall,this is a book of effective, entertaining writing that enabled me to ignorea muggy gray Saturday.

A complex, excellent and well thought out piece of writing
In brief, Damascus weaves the stories of relatively anonymous people, any one of which could be your neighbor, or seated next to you on the train, by intertwining their past lives with their present lives.A well thoughtout and complex piece of fiction, this book is wholy worth reading based onthe merits that after every chapter, it forces you to examine your ownlife, and to question your past, your present, and your future, both inparts and in totem.And not only does it provoke thought, it carries thereader through to the last page, always wanting to know more about thecharacters, the plot, and eventually the reader himself.Beard developshis plot with uncanny ability to combine what appear to be separatevignettes or snapshots of his characters lives into a cohesive story.Thereader inevitably comes away from the book comparing him/herself to one ofthe characters, and knowing examples of all the others.For anyone whois intelligent and is up to the challenge of a book that will not onlyentertain but also make you think, Damascus proves an excellent choice. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

Sigh, I miss the original EPCOT
This book makes me reminisce about how cool the original EPCOT once was before the Disney money machine took over. Almost all of the rides had corporate sponsors, and there were no signs of Nemo, Ellen Degeneris, Mickey, or any other Disney characters. There were a few unique EPCOT ones, and that was ok. Future World was actually futuristic back then, Communicore had cutting edge technology, not X - Boxes to play. EPCOT had a vision back then. EPCOT was probably the closest thing to a World's Fair with the glimpse of the future and the country's that participated. Now, EPCOT's vision is just to make money, not to provide the messages it once provided about our planet. This book tells about their original vision and the rides that told that story. I highly recommend it both to World's Fair enthusiasts and vintage Disney fans.

Rare find
Have been looking for a book for some time now that gives a historical background on Epcot. This one is perfect. Many stories about how and why things you see today are in place. Lists many attractions that "almost were" bit never came to be. Great selection of photos during the artist renderings, actual construction, and the finished product. If you're an Epcot junkie, this is a must have for your collection.

Tomorrow that was, wasnt and is no more
This is a great book that captures the history of the formation of EPCOT based on concepts that were proposed. Some did not come to fruition. Some were put into place, but have now been replaced by others. This now reads as a history/nostalga book. It is still a fun read. The pictures are beautiful, and the text enjoyable. I have a version that shows ISBN 0810908190 published in 1982, 240 pages as listed here, but has a slightly different cover. I will try to load a photo.

This book is great!
This book is great is because it's from when Epcot Center was just opening. It was published before the park even opened.Some things it discusses never even made it to the parks! For example, there are beautiful sketches of the Africa pavilion in the World Showcase, which never came to be. This book is not what I expected, it's better than I expected.I think every Disney fan should have one in their collection.

EPCOT ROCKS
This book is really good for the beginning-advanced disney lover. Go ahead and get it if you would really like it. ... Read more

Product Description
The first three months of pregnancy still pose many unsolved questions. Little is known of the morphological changes that occur at that time and knowledge of the mechanisms that control this vital stage of pregnancy is almost non-existant. The need for new findings in this field led the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists to call for a special study group. The results of the group's detailed examination of current knowledge and experience in this problematic pregnancy period are contained in this book under the following headings: the clinical problem; experimental models of early pregnancy failure; studies of the normal and failing placenta in early pregnancy; factors which maintain pregnancy at and immediately after implantation; genetic causes of early pregnancy failure; techniques, treatment criteria and outcome of immunotherapy in recurrent miscarriage; and other methods of treatment. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Gets to the heart of the game
Beard uses a mixed chronology of his career, having played for a lot of different kinds of clubs in a number of countries, to tell the story of rugby at the nexus of the amateur and professional games.The benefits of professionalism are transparent; more entertaining televised games, higher atheletic standards, etc.But the weakening of the local club in the major rugby playing nations is the focus of the book.The value seen in rugby forbuilding character, and of the clubs in building lasting community, carries over to American rugby quite strongly.Why the game attracts such different, remarkable individuals is summed up well in the passage,

"At the amateur level, rugby sets the players at odds
with society.Doing anything not for money is odd,
but we're doing something seriously and not for money,
with the risk of getting hurt, and not for money."

Beard does touch upon both the good and bad of the amateur game, discussing not just the constant innovation or the outlet it provides young adults, but also topics such as the excess drinking.Overall, "Muddied Oafs" is a nice, well-told story of rugby and why it is such a big deal to so many people. ... Read more

Product Description

Product Description
By day Daniel Travers draws cartoon chickens and by night he is confused by Daphne. Her instinct for rebellion leads them to Yurayama theme-park to sabotage the character-acts. All that stands in their way is public opinion, Michael Miller, the melancholic park-supervisor, and a bang on the head. ... Read more

Product Description
Jay Mason is experiencing a crisis of faith. Disillusioned with his calling as a Deacon in the Anglican Church of Geneva, and estranged from his pregnant girlfriend, he's about to fall into the murky world of celebrity grave-robbing. His church has been bought by the shadowy antiquities dealer Joseph Moholy, who arrives to claim its most interesting asset: the toe bone of Thomas Becket. Moholy, it turns out, has a large collection of dubiously acquired relics ranging from the arm of Leonardo da Vinci to the jaw of Suleiman the Magnificent. He is keen to add to his collection and Jay, he decides, is the man to assist him.

Honing his new skills on the last resting places of Elizabeth Taylor's lap-dogs, Jay finds that grave-robbing can be both lucrative and thrilling, however morally troubling for a man of God, and in Switzerland's cemeteries he finds a rich cast to work on: James Joyce, Richard Burton, John Calvin and Charlie Chaplin all receive his midnight attentions. But Moholy is a ruthless man whose ambitions are perilously high, and as Jay assists him in his search for the holy grail of relics, he puts himself and his loved ones in serious danger. A blend of mind and word games, slapstick and farce, and raw philosophic reflection on fundamentals, Dry Bones is a tour de force. ... Read more

Product Description
Gregory Simpson is thirty and trying to quit, keeping ten fingers glued to a keyboard in order to fight their incessant ache to hold a burning paper tube filled with dead leaves.In twenty entries in twenty days for twenty to a pack -- one word for each cigarette inhaled over the course of ten smoke-filled years -- he examines his life in tense, withdrawal-induced fits and starts: the friendships cemented and defined by nicotine; the intimate relationships crushed or stifled; the acrid, immoral and rebellious satisfactions.But with strength of purpose and improved concentration comes the sobering revelation that his habit is more political than personal.Even if he kicks, Gregory realizes, he's still living in a tobacco world.Amazon.com Review
At 30, Gregory Simpson, son of a tobacconist and member of the smokers-onlySuicide Club, decides to kick the habit. The incentives are all there,beginning with the prospect of living longer than his dead cigarettef(r)iend, Theo. On the other hand, what is he to do with his hands, hisanger, and 104-year-old Walter, who keeps knocking over his ashtrays?Worse, how will the Company--which has financed his addiction and monitored his surprisingly good health--react? Writing a memoir (in which nicotine and smoke have the largest part) might quell Gregory's craving, keep his hands occupied, and put off mortality: "I have a vague but insistent memory of Miss Bryant inEnglish Composition teaching us that the narrator can never die. That ifthe narrator died at the end of the story, then how could he possibly tellit?" He hopes she's right. On the other hand, someone asks him, "If youtook up writing to give up smoking, how are you going to give up writing?"

Richard Beard's playful first novel is full of elegant observations aboutthe rituals of tobacco and of another equally important addiction: love.For Gregory, foreign films have hopelessly intertwined sex and smoke. Hisfirst girlfriend takes him to a series "where a sign in the toilet said NoSmoking Rauchen Verboten Ne Pas Fumer Non Fumare while the screen filledwith unrepentant images of the twentieth century's most proficientsmokers.... I saw nobody die of lung cancer, not on screen. Nobody evencoughed or had a sore throat, except perhaps Marlene Dietrich."

Intercutting present woes and nicotine nostalgia, Beard has fashioned ahyperimaginative and moving novel of obsession. Louis MacNeice famouslyremarked of Auden, "Everything he touches turns to cigarettes," and thesame can be said for most of X20's characters, down to Bananas thecat. Bananas's desire is so great that he ends up with his own tobaccopouch, which he carries with him from living room to laboratory: "It was along time since he'd been satisfied with the delicate inhalation of ambientair above ashtrays." --Kerry Fried ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Not a book about giving up smoking
This is a cleverly written book,WITHOUT Beard trying to outsmart the reader.For example note the names of the characters. Great.This was so readable, I too could not put it down.This book I swear, energized me.I felt better for reading it.What better thing can you say.

Adrian

SMOKING good book... har har
loved this book- best book i've read in quite awhile.one of those books for which you try to SLOW DOWN your reading in order to put off the inevitable end.highly highly recommend.i'm back today trawling for anything else he may have written since this one... :)

Addicted to Association
More than a book about smoking, Beard's character finds himself addicted to memories, lust, love and companionship. Living in a world he can't really get into, but can't give up.

The book is written in the style of a man trying to give up smoking, writing entries to keep his hands busy and the length of the entries as well as thier content, show the withdraw. The main characters life unravels through these entries as well which give it a nice touch. At times witty, at times rather morbid, this book is a great read. Though I don't like this edition's cover art... cough, cough...

An excellent first effort
An author's first novel will set the tone of his career. Therefore, the career of Richard Beard is one that I shall be following. In "X20", Beard involves the reader with a host of characters. He has shown the ability to give depth to his subjects, and allow them to growthroughout the novel.

This book does seem to start off with a noticeablelack of focus. The author tells the story from a several different pointsin time, jumping back and forth between periods in his life. Hearing thestory from the start and the finish concurrently can be a littleoverwhelming at first, but that is soon remedied. By the end of the book, Iwas wishing that there were more cigarettes in a pack. This is a veryworthy read for smokers and non-smokers alike. ... Read more

Product Description
A recent poll revealed some disturbing aspects of the current state of health care provision for women and children. The poll dealt with issues as diverse as clinical examinations and communication between women and their doctors. Such issues, long ignored or under-appreciated by medical researchers, clinicians, and public policy makers, are increasingly receiving attention, not only from public health experts, but also from politicians, pressure groups, and the media.

Reproductive Health Care for Women and Babies addresses all the medical and societal aspects of health care that go to form public health policy for women. The editors have assembled an international team of contributors who provide the reader with a truly global picture of the issues involved. These features combine to provide a much better understanding of the health care needs of women. Doctors will be able to take a broader view of their role, beyond the traditional one of diagnosis and treatment, and communicate more effectively their individual and collective views. Such a reorientation is essential if physicians are to assume their proper role at the center of the formation of public health policy. For anyone involved in providing health care for women and children, this book is essential reading. ... Read more

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A funny and original story of a friendship between two men and what happens when one of them announces he is becoming a woman. This book holds a mirror to the extraordinary in seemingly ordinary lives. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
This volume is produced from digital images created through the University of Michigan University Library's large-scale digitization efforts. The Library seeks to preserve the intellectual content of items in a manner that facilitates and promotes a variety of uses. The digital reformatting process results in an electronic version of the original text that can be both accessed online and used to create new print copies. The Library also understands and values the usefulness of print and makes reprints available to the public whenever possible. This book and hundreds of thousands of others can be found in the HathiTrust, an archive of the digitized collections of many great research libraries. For access to the University of Michigan Library's digital collections, please see http://www.lib.umich.edu and for information about the HathiTrust, please visit http://www.hathitrust.org ... Read more