Book Description
Designed as a comprehensive supplement to Janson's History of Art, Sixth Edition, Hartt's Art, Fourth Edition, Gardner's Art Through the Ages, Eleventh Edition, and Stokstad's Art History (Revised) — but also appropriate as a stand-alone brief reference volume — this handbook defines the most common terms used in discussing the history of visual arts, relating them to specific works illustrated in these standard volumes.Topics covered include art terms, processes, and principles, gods, heroes, and monsters, Christian subjects, saints and their attributes, Christian signs and symbols, chronology of painters, photographers, sculptors, and architects, as well as maps, and a directory of museum websites. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Wrong Addition
I recieved this book from Amazon via Usedbooks 123 and recieved wrong addition. I did send e-mail to try to get correct edition, but instead they stated "I could keep the text and they would refund my money"...I have yet to recieve a refund!

Complete for a beginner ...
I recently purchased this text along with Janson's History of Art (5th ed.). Although this handbook was written with Janson's 6th edition in mind, it has not taken away from my cross-referenced learning experience. Throughout the text, there are references to examples (illustrations) in History of Art (or other popular art history texts) which help in applying the "theory" (if you can call it that) with the "application."

The text has a wide range of art terms key to the study and analysis of art history. The section on Christian subjects, signs and symbols has helped me decipher the icons depicted in Christian-themed pieces of the Renaissance.

My copy of the text is bound somewhat backwards towards the end. The Index and Artist Chronology pages, for example, are divided and unordered ... but it does not take away from the text's usablity!

All in all, I believe this text has been a great investment.

From Abacus to Zeus
In Abacus to Zeus, you will find a wonderful, concise, approachable 'quick and dirty' reference for those new to studying the visual arts. James Pierce brings together many of the pesky, essential--and formerly,ellusive--details in an accessible reference. Deffinitions withillustrations, terms and stories of mythology, religious art,and achronology of artists and architects (complete with pronunciationguide--indespensible for those of us who remain unilingual) work welltogether to make this book a find! ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (11)

The Abacus:The World's First Computer System + Abacus
The text is poorly written and too much text is spent on explaining ancient counting devices and very little text explaining the abacus.The amount of time spent explaining the use of the abacus itself could be considered an 'epilogue' in back of the book and is completely in error with very poor examples for its operation.It is a shame that this book is still on the market.I do NOT recommend this paperback in spite of the free -- somewhat small -- abacus.

Spectacular Abaci
This book is an excellent resource for kids that are struggling with math. Math becomes fun, and even competetive. The abacus, though somewhat primitive in the eyes of a novice, or to someone that has never seen one in action, is an excellent tool for helping children to understand and perform great mathematical feats. This book is a step by step, easy to understand guide to the ancient technique of the abacus, and I strongly encourage any parent with a struggling child to purchase one.

poor and dated
This book has some nice anecdotal information on the abacus.The one that comes with it is actually fairly nice.It is a Chinese 2/5 with 9 columns.This is not really enough for multiplication and division problems.Still it isn't a bad one.The algorithms for using it in the book are wrong.For instance you properly add and subtract going from left to right.You should actually do it this way on paper.Try it, it's easier than right to left.Yes they work but are not how to use it properly.If you want to really learn how to us it get Takashi Kojima's book, "Japanese Abacus:Its Use and Theory".This book will really teach you how and includes the standard tests for third and first degree certification.Understand that most modern use of the abacus is based on the 1/4 Japanese Soroban.You will never use both 5 count beads on the top, just one.And on the bottom you will use 4 of the 5 beads.You might get confused learning proper use with a Chinese Suan Pan(abacus).Still they are nice and some have larger beads easier to work than those on a Japanese Soroban.I use an abacus for teaching my first grade twins math.They are great for kids learning how to carry etc.When I was in highschool calculators were new and expensive.I used a Soroban with my slide rule.with some practice you can actually do some remarkable things with one even in the day of cheap calculators.For an alternative place for getting an abacus check out Tomoe Soroban on the internet.

A good introduction to this magical "machine"
This book is an excellent introduction into how to use the abacus.I think some of other reviewers here missed the point of this particular text -- it wasn't meant to be the end-all official reference of how to use an abacus.It serves it's purpose well:If you've always been curious about the little device that can be as fast as a calculator (in some people's hands), this is a good, short, book to give you an overview of the basic usage of it.If you want to become an abacus expert, I'm sure you could find thicker more expensive books that would suit you better.
In addition to lessons on how to do basic math, the monotony of the exercise chapters are broken up by a sprinkling of history, story, and lore behind the development and use of the abacus.
Overall, this is a good, brief, book which can answer the question, "How does that thing work?"Best of all, it's short enough that you could read it in an hour or two.

As a side note, the abacus it comes bundled with is also good for this introductory purpose.It's small, and unless you have tiny fingers, you'll probably bump beads unintenionally -- but for the price, it's good enough to satisfy your curiosity.

Delightful--entertaining and informative
I spent years mildly curious about the abacus--particularly, any time I saw film of schoolkids or shopkeepers in Asia producing inerrant sums and differences with their fingers all a blur. Then, I saw this book, bundled with a little wooden abacus, and decided I'd give this ancient calculator a try.

I found the book an delight, with its friendly discussions of the history of the abacus, its variant forms from land to land (Chinese vs. Japanese, etc.), and, even its jolly little excursion into binary arithmetic on the abacus.Yes, I suppose it is a short book, and it doesn't spend a lot of pages on mathematical drill, but how many pages do you need?It's not like there's a complicated operating system or scripting language for this venerable tool...just the curious yet undeniable pleasure of sliding beads along sticks, just as people have been doing for centuries...

I should also mention that the abacus makes a great conversation piece, sitting out on the top of your Pentium tower at work."My new palmtop," I tell everyone who asks. ... Read more

Book Description
This book will teach you step-by-step how to perform addition, subtraction, division, multiplication, square roots and cube roots on a Chinese abacus. It also explains the ancient 'extra bead' method and the 'suspended bead' method. Great for both children and adults. Clearly explained with text and pictures throughout every stage of your calculation. A preview of the book can be seen at http://www.lulu.com/content/1018833 Note: This is the compact book size version 6"x9" of the larger 8.5"x11" original (ISBN: 978-1-8479-9943-6). Ideal size for travelling. ... Read more

Book Description
What forces were behind Japan's emergence as the first non-Western colonial power at the turn of the twentieth century? Peter Duus brings a new perspective to Meiji expansionism in this pathbreaking study of Japan's acquisition of Korea, the largest of its colonial possessions. He shows how Japan's drive for empire was part of a larger goal to become the economic, diplomatic, and strategic equal of the Western countries who had imposed a humiliating treaty settlement on the country in the 1850s.
Duus maintains that two separate but interlinked processes, one political/military and the other economic, propelled Japan's imperialism. Every attempt at increasing Japanese political influence licensed new opportunities for trade, and each new push for Japanese economic interests buttressed, and sometimes justified, further political advances. The sword was the servant of the abacus, the abacus the agent of the sword.
While suggesting that Meiji imperialism shared much with the Western colonial expansion that provided both model and context, Duus also argues that it was "backward imperialism" shaped by a sense of inferiority vis-à-vis the West. Along with his detailed diplomatic and economic history, Duus offers a unique social history that illuminates the motivations and lifestyles of the overseas Japanese of the time, as well as the views that contemporary Japanese had of themselves and their fellow Asians. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Modernity and colonization, still a useful volume
The reviews for this book here on Amazon are divided, and you can understand both responses, respect and rage.

This volume is what it claims to be: an account of colonization, Japan of Korea from the late 1890s to the early 1920s (but ending before the more brutal culling of the Imperial War Machine in the 30s and 40s).

The first half collects the various arguments made in Japan from the 1860s onward: cultural, racial superiority, expansion and capitalism, contending and competing with the West, in the creation of justifying colonization. Particularly useful if the reader has the basics on the ideology of colonialization, Albert Memmi, Franz Fanon, Edward Said etc. Or the other way around: for the reader who is reading up on colonial writings would find the non-Western discourse on colonialization interesting, the discourse on racial destiny and the Japanese "burden" to enlighten Asia, compared to the "White Man's burden."

The second half of this book catalogues, with official figures and many personal accounts of Japanese life in Korea, for the middle-class and aspiring middle-class entrepreneurs who sought to take advantage of the colonial government and the expansionist policies of the time. And it is particularly useful as a (scholarly) portrait of people, history written from the bottom up, instead of mainly from governments policy and war.

The book is written by a Japan scholar, from Japanese documents, so the reader must take into account the sources (and sympathies) involved, the author's lack of current Korean, Korean sources and scholarship, and the text's (near) absence of Korean agency alongside the efforts at Japanese economic absorption. It offers only a hint (in the occasional phrase) at the tolls of economic policies on "normal" Korean people as people (human beings with lives and names), in its report of the lives of "normal" Japanese. But perhaps that is not this volume's purpose.

For a volume written 10 years ago, it's a valuable and readable resource, more useful when read with the collected essays in "Colonial Modernity in Korea" that was published around the same time (Eds. Gi-wook Shin and Michael Robinson, 1998) for a fleshed out view of life in the late 19th century and early 20th.

Hopefully, almost 10 years after this volume, and with the emerging generation of East Asian scholars, trained in Korean, Japanese, and Chinese, we'll find fuller, more nuanced and complex accounts of history.

An interesting examination from the Japanese point of view
I wrote a thesis in college about the Japanese seizure of Korea, and my main argument was that there was no nefarious plot to take over Korea; rather, the annexation was the result of conflicting elements within the Japanese government. (The annexation was, of course, a victory for the reactionary elements.)

This book illustrates that there WERE elements within the Japanese government who wanted to help Korea reform. They certainly had ulterior (read: self-centered) motives in doing so, namely economic/financial gain. But there was, at least according to this book, a noted absence of imperialistic/expansionist attitudes by Meiji Japan towards Yi Choson Korea, at least for a time.

It is a challenging examination of that time from the Japanese point of view, and it certainly merits a reading from the serious historian.

good one
Somebody says that it was biased because it was written by Japanese documents. But his remark is questionable because there should be books written by various sources, not only by Korean scholars. On the contrary to his opinion, books based only on Korean information sometimes look distorted because of the Korean governments' anti-Japan propaganda.
Viewed from both sides, truth can be seen.

important work but biased and boring
This is a scholarly work and not "popular history."I say the book is important because this is really not a covered subject.Aside from being a bit boring and confusing for people not an expert in Japanese political hisotry during Meiji, I found it disturbing that the author cited only Japanese and English sources.And the majority of English sources are old (1960s).In the intro, the author freely admits he neither speaks or reads Korean (!)

So, this is a one sided version of history (from the imperialist side).We will have to wait for some of the very good Korean accounts to be written or translated into English.In the meantime, try Bruce Cumming's work on Korean modern history.

Excellent Book
This is an excellent book. I appreciate the sharp research and insightful interpretation of this period of East Asian History. My only criticism would be that I wish the thesis of Archaic, medieval-millitaristic form of imperialism as practiced by Japan and Russia in their colonial expansion was elaborated upon. Otherwise, I do buy into Professor Duus apologetic of defensive mechanism turned into opportunism (and eventually tyranny and abuse). This is not an easy book to read however, and requires an ability to read history in a objective manner. It is written from a selective point of view, and as Professor Duus explains in the introduction, it is a book wiha an emphasis on the Japanese experience (ie. primarily Japanese documents, testimony, statistics, etc). In my opinion, it makes for interesting reading when a book is relative to an unpopular perspective (another book in that vein would be "Redcoats and Rebels: An English Perspective of The American Revolution")and there should be dissension in interpretation if one is to have a decent historical dialogue. One should remember as one reads the book that the period between the Meiji restoration and Korean annexation was a period in which Japan was in the process of becoming a wester-style imperialist power. What I find facinating is that Japan conscioussly decided to play the European colonial/economic game; but ancient Confucian reverberations unconscioussly dictated how the game was to be played by the Japanese.The "onne-san" idea regarding sibling relationships, (ie. older brother/youger brother), as a basis political and economic relationship that led a struggling-to-become-western Japan to intervene "on behalf" of a reticent-Yangban-entrenched Korea is credible and, if one is familiar with the hierachial nature of Japanese society, logical.Finally, as an asian-american who was brought up despise Japanese imperal expanision in East Asia, (and the cultural smothering, tyranny and brutallity that went with it), it was hard for me too to swallow the possibility that Japan inacted in its expansion as a defense mechanism, but the evidence as disscussed in this book is compelling. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Short and Sweet
Kojima's book is short, but teaches nearly everything you need to add, subtract, multiply, and divide on the Japanese soroban. Missing is how to handle negative numbers when adding and subtracting. (Perhaps this is covered in Kojima's advanced book.) The other review is correct to say that what Kojima teaches can be applied to the Chinese suan pan. The exercises are a valuable part of the book. Mental calculation is presented, but the use of "abacus thinking" for paper calculations is absent. It would be nice to see this book in print again.

The bible
If you want a book on how to use a Japanese abacus this is the bible for it.I see other books written that have not been properly researched and really teach usage technique wrong.If you really want to learn how to use a Soroban or even a Chinese Suan Pan this is the book to get.The challanges listed between the Soroban and calculator were before the days of modern pocket calculators but with practice you can still get real fast.Practice the exercises in this book and you can rely on a Soroban just like a pocket calculator.If you have a 2/5 Chinese Suan Pan don't worry this still applies.Actually the 2/5 was developed for the Chinese weight system that was based on 16.It's actually a hexidecimal calculator!If you do computer hex math a 2/5 might actually be very helpful!The 1/4 and 2/5 refer to the number of beads on the top and bottom.Top beads count as 5 and bottom as 1.

Japanese Abacus: Its Use and Theory.
This is one of the few books about how to use an abacus around.Even though there aren't that many books out there, Kojima does a very good job of explaining how to use the abacus, in a step by step manner. The bookstarts off with a brief history of the abacus then proceeds to how to useit for addition, subtraction, multiplication and then division.The bookalso goes into cube roots! The book also has some simple tests after eachchapter and at the end of the book to see how much you have improved.All in all the book is very well written and if you have any interest inthe abacus, this is a good book to have.

Good explanation, and good as a reference.
This book goes through addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division on the abacus, explaining clearly how to do each.It builds up the proper finger movements bit by bit through very clear examples.You really canjust read this book and learn the proper modern methods for the Japaneseabacus. It also has some interesting history at the beginning, and testsat the end to allow the reader to rate himself according to first few ranksin the Japanese kyu system... Great book -- I use it all the time. ^_^ ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description

Practical and portable, this manual contains all the key mathematical formulas required by the practicing pediatrician, pediatric resident, pediatric clerkship student, or allied health personnel involved with treating children in the clinical setting. It brings together in a single, readily accessible volume, the basic mathematical formulas that reinforce this fundamental theorem of pediatrics. It provides clear explanations on how to use the mathematical formulas and how to interpret the results and findings. The authors condense two lifetimes of clinical experience into a comprehensive yet concise reference.

Customer Reviews (1)

A humane, wise book
It is really unfortunate that this book is out of print now, it deserves to be reissued and widely read.Those who know of Primo Levi only know, for the most part, that he was a partisan, was a survivior of Auschwitz, a chemist, and died, a likely suicide.All of these are true. However, there is more to Primo Levi than those stark facts, and this book makes them abundantly clear.Levi had many interests, a lively curiosity, and was an excellent writer.Think Stephen Jay Gould or Lewis Thomas as a passionate Italian, and you're close.He does not mention his time at Auschwitz in this book.He writes about his youth, the apartment building in Turin he always lived in, about his experiences with primitive personal computers/word preocessors, his trip upon a submarine, and so much more. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Lovely and Thoughtful
This is a a beautifully written, quiet and introspective novel.It is the first-person narrative of a homely and eccentric girl who, having grown up in a cloistered house on the grounds of the boys' school of which her father was headmaster, is preparing to leave for college. I often found myself either laughing or choking back tears as this bright and awkward introvert was forced by circumstance into awareness of the relationships around her. Though at times there seemed to be an awful lot of coincidence, I thought in the end that, given the insular quality of her social world, it all made psychological sense. As only happens in a good literary novel, the characters remained with me for days afterward - I thought about their quirks, qualities and failures as though they were people I knew.

This book was originally marketed as young adult fiction.For a bright adolescent, I think it would be a fantastic affirmation of individuality and an encouragement to take their interests seriously.As a widely-read 41 year-old man, however, I can vouch that it is richly rewarding for adults.

Note: I hate having to rate books with asterisks.I gave it 4 stars because it's not Moby Dick or Notes From The Underground, but it's an excellent novel, nonetheless.

One of my favourite books...
This book is surely the ultimate tragic comedy.At the same time as teetering on the brink of despair, I was laughing raucously out loud (which, as an indication of Bilgewater's sheer funniness, I never do, so beware of reading this book in public places!).Bilgewater's character is a work of genius: ungainly, bookish and forlorn; insightful, intelligent and original.My favourite, favourite part is the crazy vision of Bilge climbing out of the Roses' window.If you are looking for something a bit weird, offbeat, or, in fact, just a brilliant book, I would strongly recommend this one. :o)

Wonderfully written, unique story
Yes, this is one of the best & brainiest children's/young adult's books out there. The main characters are misfits stranded amongst"normality" in a boarding school... anyone who has been less thanincredibly perfect and popular can relate to the heroine. Gardam hascreated very unusual, intelligent and deep characters... and she writeswith compassion and skill. What begins as a story full of painfulnon-interaction and isolation moves toward riveting romance andself-discovery and bravery, unveiling the plot with an almost gothic mood.Complex, atmospheric, smart and strong; this is for mature young-readersand for adults who remember their own coming-of-age pangs. One of my mostmemorable surprise discoveries.

Brilliant!
Has anyone else in the world read this book?I have read a lotof books, but this has to be one of my favourites. Poor Marigold (orBilge) is so ordinary it's painful. You can really relate to her. This book combines, ordinary (and somewhat monotonous) life, intrigue and romance (Terrapin & Jack- Lucky thing!) Love it! Read it NOW! ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (4)

A diary of hidden truths, a story of love
Luke's brother Marius died a year ago, his mother is going to burn all his belongings in a ceremonial bonfire, but Luke finds Marius' diary and in an attempt to secure it from the fire he starts writing his own thoughts in it. As he discovers Marius' own words he begins a dialogue with his lost brother, and uncovers a few surprises, including a secret each harboured, his brother was gay, and so is he.
Brothers is an imaginative and very moving story, a story of love, of hidden truths and of discovery. Luke's words to his brother vary from reproachful to witty, from questioning to understanding, but ultimately to an expression of great brotherly love. A most beautiful story; on more than one accession as I read I felt tears welling up, and when I reached the final pages I had to fight all the harder to keep the tears back.

Which Brothers?
Buyers beware! BROTHERS by Bernice Rubens is NOT, and has nothing to do with BROTHERS by Ted Van Lieshout. I have no idea why AMAZON confuses the two, nor do I have any information on Ms Rubens book, but Van Lieshout's book BROTHERS was marketed as a teen novel. It is not and should not be restricted to that market. It is for anyone with a heart, a profoundly beautiful and well written slender volume of about 155 pages that will fill your heart with love and understanding as the 16 year old narrator comes to terms with his family life, his homosexuality and his grief by writing in the diary of his deceased younger brother. You will want to, and be able to, read this in one evening, but you will never forget it. The Dutch author is a highly rated poet as well as a children's book author in his native Holland. While his prose is certainly poetic, it is direct and simply worded in a voice believably teen. The translation is equally direct, admirable and transparent. The ISBN number is 0 00 711231 9. That is the one to get if it sounds anywhere near as wonderful to you as it actually is. Not only does AMAZON wrongly list this Ruben book here as the hardcover version of Van Lieshout's book, but it gives no info or review of Ms Ruben's work, which surely is a diservice to her and her publisher. Do get Van Lieshout's book, you will love it! My five star rating applies to his book, not Ms Ruben's, and I apologize to her for that, but I know nothing about her book.

Long-winded and rambling
I won't waste any words on this book, as the author has wasted enough.Not recommended.

Brotherhood and loss
It's been six months since Luke's younger brother passed away due to a genetic illness unknown to the family at the time. Their mother has made the decision to burn Marius's things on what would've been his 15th birthday, as a way of saying goodbye. But Luke isn't ready to let go, he finds Marius's diary and starts writing down his thoughts where his brother left off. Everything he's kept inside for six months comes flooding out. Through writing he's finally able to say the things he couldn't admit to his brother when Marius was still alive. He discovers that they've both been hiding secrets, from their parents and each other.

Set in The Netherlands in the early 1970s, Brothers is a beautifully written coming-of-age story. It's not fast paced or action packed, but it's one of those novels you could read again and again. I would recommend this book for teens and grownups alike. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

PARODY OF PATHOS IN PARIS
This is a most amazing book.One would almost believe that, like his beloved William Blake, Ackroyd has the ability to rendevouz with the spirits and have Wilde dictate this marvelous account of his exile inParis.A cunning pastiche of Wilde's wit and wisdom, this book charts thedecent into the human condition.Littered with irony and humour, this bookwill leave the reader hungry for more insights into the genius of OscarWilde and I would reccomend it to everybody, even the few that may not beaware of the subject matter.From the dens of sin to the oppressive beautyof Paris society, the reader is on the journey with Wilde all the way.

You would think it was Oscar himself
There is humour and pathos here as Peter Ackroyd presents the voice of Oscar Wilde during Wilde's last days in Paris near the turn of the century.Though he was living in exile and was very poor, Wilde's observations are sharp and he bravely steps back from self-pity.He is able to assess his ownlife as an aesthete and writer.He spends his time in cafes, with English friends and with French acquaintances. As he becomes more ill the tone of the voice of Wilde becomes more poignant but till the end he is full of wit.At the very end he dies in his hotel room. This is an immensely satisfying book.All who are interested in Wilde will be drawn into Peter Ackroyd's poetic prose as he recreates from his own study and imagination the last days of the Irish wit and writer, with his degradation and dignity.In the end Wildes's literary wit triumphs and remains while his detractors and persecutors are forgotten ... Read more

Book Description
Clinical practice is a unique blend of science and art. It draws upon a wide range of biological, physical, and sociological disciplines. Associated with many of these disciplines are mathematical formulas for the manipulation of specific data. But these formulas are distributed throughout each discipline's literature. The Medical Abacus brings together those formulas that are useful in clinical practice in a single reference. It includes key mathematical formulas, from acid-base balance to risk-evaluation statistics, with clear explanations of how to use them and interpret their results.Well organized and portable, this is the only book that brings all the essential formulas of medical practice together in one place, explains them in uncomplicated terms, and indexes them by disease. Only simple arithmetic and algebra are used, no advanced mathematics beyond the occasional logarithm, square root, or component is used. The data required for these formulas are readily available from the routine clinical laboratory.David Rifkind condenses a lifetime of clinical experience into this reference. The pocketsize format and easy layout make The Medical Abacus an essential companion for anyone involved in medical practice. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Brillant book but hard to get!
This is a great book to teach young children mathematics using an abacus.What better way is there to learn math than through hands on experience?

I only wish it was easier to obtain.I checked out a copy through interlibrary loan for a month and I've tried to order it but I have failed to find a copy.I wish the publisher would reprint it. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Terribly Black Comedy
Christopher Brookmyre has taken a topic that has become present in the forefront of everyone's consciousness, presented a story in which he has managed to inject numerous humorous anecdotes and still been able to end up with a relevant reminder of how easily our lives may be touched by terrorism.

The title A BIG BOY DID IT AND RAN AWAY is reference to the way terrorists operate with the suggestion being that their acts of terror are nothing more than cowardly attacks by bullies who haven't got the guts to meet their enemies face to face.

The book starts out with a series of terrorist attacks that take place in various parts of the world and can all be attributed to a single man who is only known as the Black Spirit. Each of the attacks was simple yet untraceable and devastatingly effective resulting in the loss of many lives. The disturbing fact for the British Police Force is that the intelligence gathered by MI5 indicates that the Black Spirit's next attack is likely to occur somewhere on British soil.

Raymond Ash is a bored English teacher suffering the sleep deprivation that comes with living with a 3 month old baby with colic. One day while sitting in Aberdeen airport imagining what it might be like to just chuck it all in and jump on a plane out of there, he is startled to see his room-mate from his college days walking through the terminal. The reason for his surprise is that the guy had died in a plane crash 3 years ago. From this innocuous sighting, Raymond is about to have a very bad couple of days and a whole new appreciation of how fortunate he was to have led such a boring life.

The main storyline is set in Scotland with much of the dialogue spoken in Scottish slang for an authentic (although at times hard to understand) feel. We are slowly led towards the terrorist's target and the "against all odds" attempts by an unlikely bunch of "heroes" to avert a full on disaster. Along the way, Christopher Brookmyre has a habit of punctuating his story with a constant stream of asides, anecdotes, character introductions and histories. These interjections are both amusing and entertaining but they tended to break the flow of the story and occasionally made it a little hard to follow at times.

This minor inconvenience is offset by the enormous wealth of background information we get about each of the central characters. Whether it's an explanation on how a low-level marketing guy with a failed attempt at a rock career could become a deadly international terrorist or an interlude to reminisce about Raymond Ash's school days, Brookmyre has a flair for executing with an entertaining delivery. One thing's for sure, thanks to the plentiful supply of anecdotes throughout, we know all of the central characters inside and out. We care about them, we can identify with them and we can understand how they're feeling during the more stressful scenes. And believe me, towards the end of the book there are plenty of stressful moments.

When the finale takes place, it's inside a large complex and was rather reminiscent of some of the Matthew Reilly books that rely on action at all costs and a suspension of disbelief to ensure that a wild ride is had by all. It's a complete change to the way the first three quarters of the book was written, but it certainly entertained. One problem I had was in the convoluted description of the layout of the complex and where all the characters were in relation to one another. This part was crying out for an illustrated layout to be included a la Reilly or Clive Cussler.

For anyone who enjoys a humorous mystery that makes light of the more serious global concerns we face today, Christopher Brookmyre's A BIG BOY DID IT AND RAN AWAY is extremely satisfying. I have heard him compared to Carl Hiaasen both for his humour and his more serious underlying themes and I would have to agree with the comparison. A small warning about the extreme profane language used that may offend some readers.

Another Great Read
CB has produced another fantastic read. Maybe the references are a little parochial, but so what - use your imagination. IMO dry humour works anywhere - if you've travelled beyond your state/country who can't relate to PJ O'Rourke's rantings. CB manages this with a little more subtlety which makes his reading well worth it. His books capture the reader from start to end - which is quite annoying, I've read the fecker dry and wait for his next.

'Big Boy' is fantastic - the losing virginity chapter is laugh out loud funny. Of course I relate to the Glasgow setting (being a glaswegian and ex-QM member), but the characters translate country/cultural divides. Read it for feck sake and kick yourself out of the 'King of The Hill' mentality.

DB

A must read for us nerds
This is great! I never tought I'd read a novel with so many references to computer games, and to think that I even have played ALL of them is insane! (Yes even the most obscure game, I've played it!) The story is also a great read if you don't know about games (I asked my wife what she thought) even tough you might miss out...

Gaming rules, and C. Brookmyre, if you're ever on Rubi-Ka, come see me as Agna, Biola or Thesau ;)

Great Laugh and Good Suspense from the UK
I raced through the 500 pages of this book.It was really funny, witty, and quite a good look into current pop-culture in the UK.Brookmyre the author is able to make you laugh out loud.If you are looking for something that will tell you about life in the UK in an interesting and funny manner this is your book.Read it -- it's just good! ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (9)

Bad!!!
Tristian Hawkins, Chuck Palahniuk and Dijan... Bad bad bad! There is nothing here. There is no character, no story. Just soft-core sexual appetite and swearing. Ah, you can find a few comic passage. Simple people, simple lifes. It does not worth to telling or reading. Walk on the streets, you should find many Betty Blues and bad authors!

Beautiful account of unconditional love
Betty isn't the kind of girl you meet every day of the week. Most girls don't set fire to apartments, attack people, or kidnap children. But Betty is different, and whatever she might do, her boyfriend loves her with all his heart. This is his account of how he tries to keep up with the woman that he loves and his desperate attempts to make her happy, all resulting in danger, violence and constant action. Betty Blue is a compelling first-person narrative, beautifully descriptive and emotive, a paean to romance, and a stark reminder of the pain that love can bring.

best
i loved it. djian is a great writer. i write my own stories but after djian i decided to quit. he's done everything i want to do. u must read this... fabulous.

Betty Blue
This book rocks, Djians writeing is pure rythm'blues and his charactersare beaming of live and spirit. a real must read for pretty much everybody(unless you are prude 8-)

excellent or is it the best ever?
I guess i have to agree with what everyone said about this book, it truely is fantastic. Please email me should anyone knows where i could get any other book(s) by this author ... Read more