Product Description
Originally issued as an Oxford World's Classic, this groundbreaking book remains one of the finest anthologies of Canadian short fiction ever published, its selections as readable and relevant as they were back in 1960 when first chosen by editor Robert Weaver. Among the 27 stories included here are enduring classics by such early giants of Canadian literature as Frederick Philip Grove, Morley Callaghan, and Sinclair Ross; works by writers like Alice Munro, Mordecai Richler, and Mavis Gallant, then viewed as relative newcomers, now firmly ensconced in the pantheon of Canadian letters; and stories by Ethel Wilson, Hugh Garner, Joyce Marshall, and others less well-known to twenty-first century readers but whose stories still grip the imagination and tell us something about our country and ourselves.

Canadian Short Stories is a wynford book-one of a series of titles representing significant milestones in Canadian literature, thought, and scholarship. ... Read more

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The text is composed of a set of sixteen laboratory investigations which allow the student to explore rich and diverse ideas and concepts in mathematics. The approach is hands-on, experimental, an approach that is very much in the spirit of modern pedagogy. The course is typically offered in one semester, at the sophomore (second year) level of college. It requires completion of one semester of college level mathematics. The course provides a transition to the study of higher, abstract mathematics. The text is written independent of any software. Supplements will be available on the projects' web site. An Instructor's Manual is also available (94998-4). ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Extremely useful
As a math minor at Mount Holyoke (yes, my professors actually wrote the book!) I found the book extremely useful especially as an introduction to writing math reports and papers.You will too.:) ... Read more

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From Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, two decades of national holidays from 204 countries can be found in this unique reference work. Day-by-day, holidays from 1994 through 2015 are covered, giving religious and government holidays. So-called "soft" holidays such as Mother’s Day are included for information purposes. ... Read more

Product Description
From Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, two decades of national holidays from 204 countries can be found in this unique reference work. Day-by-day, holidays from 1994 through 2015 are covered, giving religious and government holidays. So-called "soft" holidays such as Mother’s Day are included for information purposes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Grape Growing
Good text on the subject.Of course being an older book, it's kind of California specific, but most if not all the info can be adapted to your locale.

SUPERB Info! For serious grape growers - more info than any other I've encountered in EASY to understand format!
Superb information. Easy to understand yet comprehensive. This is a "must have" for grape growers. Only reason I'm getting rid of it is area I now live doesn't support grapes [outside of muscadine which grow like a weed]. This covers everything the others don't.

Disappointed
Very disappointed in this book. I found it a shallow and pretentiously technical book.

Excellent how-to.
I got the book from the library and I want it. There is too much good detail to remember. Can you talk them into publishing it on CD Rom? Or, can they at least print some more so I can buy it? It is a narrow subject that probably doesn't have enough readers, but it is good. ... Read more

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A black boy's mother forbids him to associate with the neighbors whom she considers "poor white squatters," but when she unexpectedly begins labor, a number of misunderstandings are righted. ... Read more

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A fabulous tale of pilgrimage and hope, betrayal and transformation by one of science fiction's greatest writers. Only at night on the winds of darkness can she soar. And it was Avluela the Flier's ebony and scarlet wings that lead the Watcher to the seven hills of the ancient city from which, in a moment of weakness, the Watcher failed his vigil, leaving the skies and deep space unguarded. The invaders came and conquered. With Avluela lost in the turmoil of conquest, the Watcher set out alone for the Holy City home of the Rememberers, keepers of the past. This is where the secret of Earth's salvation lay hidden in antiquity. On his journey the Watcher hoped to recapture his youth and find the soaring, beautiful woman he loved. But Avluela held more for the Watcher - and Earth - than love. Her wonder stretched beyond flight, for she knew the riddle that would free all men... ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

So Haunting I've Remembered It For Three Decades
NIghtwings is a book that I first read more than 30 years ago and have never forgotten.Something about it has haunted me, and recently I decided to read it again.

It is a beautiful book, but not the easiest to read.It is slow-paced and contains a lot of description.If you stick with it, though, it is rewarding.For one thing, it is short.And if you really pay attention to all those descriptions, they are beautiful and/or interesting.Silverberg's imagination is amazing!NIghtwings is a thoughtful, intelligent, spiritual and philosophical kind of book.It is dreamy and surreal, not an action-packed adventure.But there are elements of both.

When I read it as a young person, the first part was my favorite.After that, the rest of the book was hard to get through, it seemed depressing and boring.But in reading it as an older adult now, I enjoyed the whole book.Perhaps my attention is more focused.It is true that much of the book is rather dark, but there is always beauty and creativity in even the darkest sections.And the ending is very uplifting.

The love of the old Watcher for the young, fragile Flier is very moving.I think that is what has haunted me all these years, along with the breathtakingly beautiful scenes of the Watcher doing his watching and the Flier doing her flying.It really is a very special book.No wonder I have remembered it all these years.

Decayed Earth, sexaul jealousy and pilgrimae
The story follows the wanderings of Tomis, a member of the Watcher's Guild which looks to the stars in anticipation of a foretold alien invasion of Earth; invasion, which comes. The invaders have rightful claim for earth ownership via Galactic treaty due to Earth's prior enslavement of the inhabitants of H632. Earth's glory and civilization has fallen since and various specialized Guilds form the society. At the beginning, Tomis' companions include a lovely, beautiful, young Flyer, Alvuela (a winged slim damsel) and and an enigmatic Changeling who turns out to be traitor and agent of the invaders. Unfortunately the Watcher's Guild code does not allow Tomis to fall in love. With Earth conquered the now purposeless Watcher begins a new journey with overthrown former ruthless King, who clings to this aristocratic heritage. In his journeys, Tomis seeks redemption in various Guilds for himself and all humans.

This story, and the entire novel, skillfully skirts the line between science fiction and fantasy. The world is like from medieval 17th century with freemason-like Guilds and King with absolute power. Technology is held by few and more inherited than developed.This is incredibly well-done story. Nothing what you would expect. Take for example Avluela. A fairy-like, winged human, who can use her wings only at *night*. That reminds from a Greek tale of Icarus who burnt his wings in the Sun. And Tomis, whose inner agony and his moral hiatus discomforts the reader. These all are skillfully blended with the events encountered in the journey. The society is varied and reader is conveyed from Guild to Guild to see the ranks and social order.

Five (5) stars. In spite of being clearly more fantasy than SF, the story has undeniable charm. Touch of fine pen from writer who has won major awards in six consecutive decades (from the 1950s to the 2000s), an accomplishment which may not ever be equaled by another science fiction writer. Silverberg is stylish and sophisticated as usual and you can't go wrong with reading this novel. It is lyrical and mesmerizing. Equally enjoyable by both men and women readers.

A story of redemption and hope
This is one of my all-time favorite books. It tells the story of sin and redemption - not only of one lonely wanderer, but all of fallen mankind.

On a future earth, an aging Watcher scans the heavens four times a day, looking for signs of a promised and long-overdue invasion. The Watcher has begun to lose faith in the invasion, however, and feels that his life was wasted in a meaningless occupation.

The book is divided into three sections. At the beginning of the book, the Watcher is traveling to the ancient city of Rome (Roum, in the book) with two companions: a winged Flier, and a deformed Changeling. Unhappy surprises await him in Rome, and he leaves the city a different man, sadder and wiser, and no longer a Watcher.

The second section of the book tells the story of his journey, now accompanied by a new and surprising companion, to the city of Paris (Perris) to join the Rememberers in their work of safekeeping mankind's past. In Paris he learns much, and leaves the city with a great stain on his soul. And the third section tells the story of his journey, under yet a new guild and with a different traveling companion, to the holy city of Jerusalem (Jorsalem) where he will seek redemption and renewal.

The book skillfully weaves together several obvious religious motifs, and I am surprised that other reviewers did not mention this. There is, for one thing, the pervasive presence of the Will throughout the book, which the former Watcher comes to trust. Other important themes include the notion that sin is both personal and planetary, the notion that enemies can be used as the tools of our salvation, the redemptive value of suffering, spiritual and bodily renewal in the watery tanks, and the directive, at the end of the book, to go forth and abroad with the good news.

I found this book by chance, and I'm glad that I did. Highly recommended.

Elegiac
As there are a number of excellent reviews of this book that praise both Silverberg's elegant writing and the poignancy of the novel's themes, I'd simply like to correct the glaring inaccuracies of Amazon's wretched editorial reviews.

1. Alveula's "wings" do not lead the Watcher to Roum. He happens to be walking there and meets her along the way.
2. The Watcher does not "in a moment of weakness" fail in his vigil.In point of fact, he gives the alarm that warns Earth of imminent invasion.
3. The Watcher does not "set out alone" for Perris.He travels with the deposed Prince of Roum.
4.It isn't "the secret of Earth's salvation that lay hidden" in the deep archives of the Rememberers, but the truth about the ways in which haughty and disdainful human beings had mistreated the aliens who whould one day conquer them.
5.Avluela does not know the "riddle to free all men".She is simply, like the Watcher, one of the vanguard of a new Guild that holds the promise for humankind to rise above its degenerate state.
6.The invaders certainly do come and "conquer", but nothing much changes.It's simply a decrepit Earth under new management.

The Amazon editorial reviews were written by someone utterly unfamiliar with this story.Indeed, the novel isn't about Avluela at all, it's about the Watcher - his journey, his experiences, his transfomation. It's about the consequences of hubris.It's about the possibility of renewal.It is many things, but it is most assuredly not about Avluela and her "riddle".

When the invasion comes down, the only way left to go is up
Back in the seventies, Silverberg really could do no wrong, at least by my estimation.Pretty much everything he did was an interesting bit of SF in its own right and often explored topics that SF didn't normally cover, or did it in ways that were new at the time.And he did this without being overly avant-garde or lessening the emotional impact of the work."Nightwings" is probably overlooked because it was in its most famous form as a novella and in fact won a Hugo (and was also nominated for a Nebula) that year.Novellas are hard to release because they aren't long enough to warrant their own publication, so you either have to bundle them up in anthologies or piggyback them onto other books that may or may not have anything to do with the story in question.Fortunately Silverberg seemed to get around that problem by writing two other novellas to act as continuations of the story begun in "Nightwings".In the story he takes us to a far-future Earth that exists in the wake of a far more technologically advanced society that collapsed some centuries back.In this world humanity had fragmented into guilds, each serving their own purpose.Our viewpoint character is a Watcher, one of those who scans the skies in the event that we're invaded.Nobody really expects that to happen.But it turns out that everybody is wrong.The invasion, though, is almost beside the point.While it's the main bit in the first novella, what Silverberg does in the other two is deepen what we've already seen, exploring the intricacies of this new society and also how it reacts to sudden outside influence.In doing so, the Watcher sees humanity attempting to figure out if it has a place on its own planet, as well as trying to face its own shameful history that led it to this point.Its telling that for all the attention paid to the pretty flying people, they barely figure into the story, except to symbolize what most of us can't do.Silverberg manages to sketch out a fairly complex society in what amounts to very few pages, giving us enough for the big picture while letting us fill in the blanks, especially when it comes to the past history of Earth.He does this without making the novel six hundred pages and part of a larger trilogy.His prose, as is typical of this period, is sharp and lyrical, and he gives us plenty of nice mental images to take home: Pilgrims slouching toward renamed cities of our day, Fliers soaring into places most people can't go, people walking amongst the ruins of a past nobody can fully contemplate, decadent palaces and men both petty and bestial.It's fascinating and what other writers would spend entire series exploring, Silverberg nails it all in barely two hundred pages.And at the end we don't need to see more, he's shown us enough.Its impact isn't as great as his better known novels (it appears to share some of its themes with "Downward to the Earth") but the images it leaves us with of a future that is still recognizable even after everything is changed makes it one of his more notable works, and well worth giving your time to. ... Read more

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From a world-class expert and one of thesport’s greatest legends comes the onlytotal guide for surfing

Customer Reviews (4)

Slightly misleading
The book does have good content, stories, and 'I know what you're thinking details'.The only thing missing is the actual writing of sir Wingnut himself.When you buy a book entitled 'Wingnuts Complete Surfing', one would expect to read about stories and insight into longboarding from Robert Weaver himself and not one of his buddies using his likeness to create a book project.That's akin to getting a book metaphorically called 'Tiger Woods' Complete Golf' and having it written by one of his former caddies.The information may be spot on and very usable, but the romanticism, for lack of a better word, would be missing.The book does feature Wingnut in many, if not most, of the photo sequences (from popping up to nose-riding).Buy the book if you're a beginner looking for some all around general information on an easy-going/easy-flowing style of surfing and not that you'd like to read the thoughts of one of the kings of longboarding.

Interesting perspective; good photo sequences
This book presents an interesting perspective, particularly from a longboarding point of view, and also good photo sequences to depict some important wave riding typical progressions.

The wisdom in this book saves years of trial and error
In this book, Wingnut uses great pictures and descriptions to share knowledge and technique it took me decades to learn through observation and/or trial and error. If you want to surf, I mean really know what it is to catch great waves, then glide across them with speed, control and confidence - start by reading this book.

Excellent
If you are learning to surf or are wishing to improve, this book makes it easy to understand whether at home or at the beach. A must read for aspiring surfers of all ages! ... Read more