Should be compulsory in all schools

This is by far the easiest and best method that I have used to learn Italian. If this method was used in schools we would definitely have more pupils enthusiastic about learning a foreign tongue!! Definitely worth five stars.

a very good play, classic wilde

a favorite of mine, although not quite as good as the importance of being earnest (a deceptively clever play) it is a play of a very different nature, both reviews of it on here i believe misrepresent it. although it is full of wilde's classic wit and there are many genuinely funny parts but it is not a pure comedy and it is also a significant drama. many see it as a fairly clear cut morality tale or at least having clear cut moral and immoral characters but it really isnt so simple. there is the duplicit nature of the characters and their actions, a slightly more complex moral commentary with none of the characters being as simple as they first appear. none of the characters in then play come off as good or bad the central ones all have the audience's perception of them repeatedly undermined.

Driving ; The Essential Skills

This is a great book for anyone learning to drive or brushing up on your driving skills. It is a comprehensive guide for beginers and will take you through from the start to your test and is very useful for pass plus also. It is an essential book for all driving instructors too.

Better than good

large pages and clear images make this atlas very easy to read. The spiral binding means the page stays open where you want it.The layout of the maps means fewer page turns- even for quite long journeys (Oxford to Cambridge for eg is on one double page),and a good price makes for excellent value<br />And a tribute to Amazon-ordered on Saturday pm and delivered on Tuesday at 6.30am!!<br />PS. I'm 64.7 now

A must for those who struggle with dyslexia

Our daughter is dyslexic and we were advised to purchase this book. The book has been invaluable in helping our daughter to understand the sounds and learn to read words. She has greatly improved in her ability to read words although she does still struggle to read fluently. The book is very addictive both for ourselves and our daughter and it is very difficult to keep to the designated 20 mins maximum - she often wants to continue. I would thoroughly recommend this book to any parent/carer who is responsible for a child who is struggling to read. Absolutely fantastic.

Compact yet providing great ideas for reading directions

Covering just over 200 great novels, you can argue til the cows come home about the editor's choices - who was left out, why this novel and not that, etc, etc, etc. List books about books are entirely subjective, but can take you in totally different directions.<br />This book is split into 12 genres and has a world-wide breadth to it, and pleasingly for each book in translation (of which there are many), a suggested translator is given. For each novel a suggestion for further reading is given, plus the best film/TV adaptations where appropriate. <br />Some of the choices are not the obvious ones - for instance we don't have a Maigret book for George Simenon, but 'Dirty snow' about a teenage killer, although Maigret does merit his own sidebar.<br />Some of the genres used are the normal ones, but often with a twist - so we have 'Crime and punishment'; also 'Rites of passage', and 'Making it'; my favourite was 'A sense of place'.<br />The test I have of these catalogues is how many books I buy from it - I've already ordered half a dozen.<br />A great book to dip into and feed your bibliomania!<br />

History and legend... rom the untold perspective

This is my absolute favourite book of poetry and I liked it so much I had to go out and buy it for all my female friends. The way Duffy twists the tales to bring out the women's point of view is classy, and they are almost all very funny. She brings a number of the legends and their wives into more contemporary settings, which adds an underlying and subtle humour to everything else she says. <br /><br />My personal fave is Mrs Aesop. I won't tell you what she ends up doing to Mr A, but only say that everyone who had to listen to his sanctimonious tales with annoying morals will laugh last, and loudest.

Excellent for pronunciation

Just a quick note to cover a point that I think has not been /stressed/ (!) enough in the earlier reviews.<br /><br />This CD will really help you get your pronunciation correct, which is absolutely vital. With other courses, you may not tell if you are putting the stresses in the right places and pronouncing the verb endings correctly and with enough clarity (e.g."o" as in"tot" not as in"low" and differentiating clearly between"e" and"a" endings). With other courses you could think you can speak the language and then try it on a Spanish person and just get a"Qué?" in response. <br /><br />With Michel Thomas, you can hear the other students make the mistakes you are making and Michel corrects them. Repeatedly. Repeatedly. Until. They. Get. It. and hence until you get it.<br /><br />When I pronounced a word correctly and the rubbish student was still getting it wrong, I actually felt quite pleased with myself.<br /><br />You may not learn that quickly with MT, but you make sure that the foundations are right.<br /><br />

very helpful and it's in plain english

I bought this book alongside with other books on writing dissertations. I found this the most useful and helpful of the lot as it was written in a clear logical way that i could understand, there were no fancy words, complicated issues etc.

Throughout my dissertation it has provided me with guidance on what to write in certain sections of my work, not only that it has provided me with the structure of what a dissertation should look like. Overall it has kept me sane and I would definately recommend it to people who are undertaking a dissertation, plus it is at a reasonable price too.

Now this is what Delia is about!

Great Book, I've cooked so many recipes from this book and still revert to it as a foolproof classic. I wish she'd made an up to date version of this to teach people how to cook, instead of how to cheat.

helps to keep your riding mind fresh during the winter

It realy is as good as everyone says it is.<br />It's not an exciting read, no fascinating tales of travel etc, it just simply gets the point over in an easy to read - straight forward way.<br /><br />Buy this while your baby is tucked up under wraps for the winter - or even if you have been of the road for a few years.<br />Come spring time you will get back into the saddle with a greater understanding of how to control your bike better - and better control means safer riding, but also faster riding....thats what you really want isn't it ?

Got a garden?, then buy this book

Got a garden? Then buy this book. Don't argue, just buy it! Every once in a while you encounter a book which is just head an shoulders above the others in its subject and this is one of those books.<br /><br />Having this book is a little like having an experienced gardener over one fence who can give a kindly word when he sees you about to make an expensive mistake with the wrong plant or wrong treatment while at the same time over the opposite fence is an expert DIY fan who can tell you which tool to use and how to level your ground before constructing a patio. As others have said this is a book which will rapidly pay for itself simply because it can stop you making those mistakes.<br /><br />Is there anything it won't do. Well obviously it can not be absolutely comprehensive. If you want to construct a zen garden it won't tell you the finer points of feng shui to know how to align the garden. Indeed any highly specific subjects it won't cover but for a single point of reference this is excellent. This is a book in the spirit of gardening before TV makeover programmes tried to tell people that ripping out all your top soil and putting down decking was gardening so while it won't bother with the fripperies of design it will deal with the practicalities and as others have said that will save you more than the cost of this book in avoiding expensive mistakes.<br /><br />This is an absolute must buy for anyone who is into or who wants to be into gardening. I have used my previous copy for years and I would expect this new edition to last just as long. Look at it in that light and this is not an expensive book but it is an invaluable one.

Yes, but how to do it and stay green?

As you might expect from the Rough Guide, this is a pretty dependable guide in terms of its facts and figures, although as with any '10/100/1000 ultimate' experiences, it's entirely subjective. Furthermore, there's the added trouble nowadays of seeing something of the world without messing it up for future generations (and hey, our own too). Couple this with the vexed question of whether making the most of your time on earth is actually limited to going to see all the places everyone else goes to see, and you've got yourself into a bit of a hole. I personally got more out of the book"Places to Hide" by Dixe Wills which covers some more eclectic (and thus more intriguing) destinations within Britain that you can get to without hopping onto a plane - give it a whirl.

Best reference book on grammar!

I studied English as a second language and have been teaching it for over 10 years in Hong Kong. From time to time, I need to consult a dictionary or a reference book on usages and grammar. I saw this book by accident several years ago in the education section of the university library and I knew it's the one book I couldn't do without. I rushed to the bookshop to get my own copy and I've been using it ever since. I would recommend it to anybody who is serious in improving his or her own English. After you've read this book you'll be surprised to find English Grammar can actually be presented in a user-friendly manner. The concepts are very clearly defined and well-illustrated by self-explanatory examples. For elementary learners and beginners, I would also recommend"Practical English Grammar" by the same author. It's a good start and accompanied with an exercise book. All in all, it is a MUST for all ESL learners.

Slow and green

First impression is what a lovely book this is - physically - an alluring photograph of an old-fashioned bicycle in a summer meadow, framed in subdued olive tones, positively exuding Slow and green. Pick it up, feel its weight and connect with its seriousness; hold and turn the pages gently as all good book-lovers do. Then see that this is not mere presentation but the paper and printer are FSC/ISO 14001 certified for low ecological impact. You are in familiar Alastair Sawday territory; principles worn on the sleeve, backed up with real commitment and action.<br /><br />Inside, we are invited to Go Slow too. After a concise and beautifully illustrated introduction to Slow values and a few of the well-known names of English Slow such as Riverford and Fordhall Farm, we are then taken on a geographical tour of England. The rest of the book is structured around seven clusters of counties such the expected Cornwall and Devon and the unfamiliar - not to mention unconnected - grouping of Suffolk, Norfolk and Northamptonshire. These seven sections are all structured alike with a clear & useful map followed firstly by Slow Travel, a gazetteer of attractions from gardens and farmers' markets to walks and cycleways, then Slow Food which has short entries for cafés, markets and pubs, and finally the bulk of the text which is Special Places to Stay. <br /><br />And this is the real pleasure of the book. We are introduced to the forty-eight Special Places across England through the owners of the properties and are shown how they have put their values into practice as well. In substantial and well-illustrated entries we meet families and pets, hear the stories and most importantly, what qualifies these them as Special and Slow places - and can almost smell the hand-made bread, touch the quilt and hear the laughter. These are the true heroes of Slow in England, who are rightly celebrated in this book.<br /><br />It is not a tome for the backpack or panniers but one for poring over at home: dreaming and planning. And that is what I intended when I dipped back into it for Slow ideas for a trip to friends. This was when I had a disappointment and my only quibble with the book - albeit a major one - there is a whole swathe of the midlands from Lincolnshire in the East to Cheshire in the West, including the delightful county of Derbyshire where my friends reside, with no entries in the book at all. This is an omission to be rectified next time and a challenge to discover the hidden Slow heroes who are surely out there. <br />

Very indeed Useful book

Its a useful book in terms of revision for the essay questions for the English literance exams. However, this is only good for the English different cultures exam ONLY. Poems are easy to understand also has essay pratice questions. Very useful for year elevens doing GCSE's.

Great Notes

I actually accidently bought this book i intended to buy one for the GCSE level last year. But when i got the book i realised that it was much much better than the GCSE versions could have been. This book had detailed notes on everything.

It described Linda and and all the others in a way i could never have thought of. It is packed with so much detail and ideas for when you want to write essays in the English exams, that it is definately worth buying it!

An important little book...

"The Elements of Style" was recommended to me by Stephen King in his book"On Writing". I see it as basically filling in the gaps that King left in his book. King's book was more concerned with the practical matters of writing, whereas, TEOS is all about LANGUAGE and how to use it, which King only touched upon.<br /><br />And this book certainly packs a lot of information and advice, especially given that it is only 85 pages long. It has five chapters. The first chapter is called ELEMENTARY RULES OF USAGE and contains eleven grammatical tips, from the use of commas and semi-colons to structuring of a sentence. The second chapter, ELEMENTARY PRINCIPLES OF COMPOSITION, is more about writing style and ways to keep your writing punchy and fresh. Chapter 3, A FEW MATTERS OF FORM, mostly concerns physical presentation of your work and may be more suitable to formal letter writing that fiction, but may be useful to other forms nonetheless. Chapter 4 is about WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS COMMONLY MISUSED and includes some of my pet hates, including those who turn"I couldn't care less" into"I could care less", thus completely destroying the meaning of the phrase. I also learned a few new things from this section. The fifth chapter is called AN APPROACH TO STYLE and contains 21 general tips, or"reminders", about how to keep your writing consistent and stop it going bad. A lot of my description here sounds very general and vague, and makes most of the sections sound the same, but trust me that it all makes sense and has a point in the book that I just can't quite explain - I need a bigger vocab!<br /><br />There are one or two minor problems with the book. For example, as Stephen King points out, it says that the most important part of a sentence should always go at the end - but is"With a hammer he killed Frank" really better than"He killed Frank with a hammer"? I don't think so, either. Also, it seems to me that a lot of this advice, particular when it comes to grammar, depends on your own comforts and preferences and those of your editor and/or publisher. That doesn't mean we should pay it no heed, but I do believe that you can quite easily get away with ignoring half of this book's advice and still be a respected, published writer.<br /><br />But overall, an excellent little book that I think every writer should read, whether they are beginners or highly experienced. The writing style of Strunk himself is straightforward and formal, occasionally venturing into humour and informality, which means that you are likely to learn something by reading it, but unlikely to be bored while doing so.<br /><br />Highly recommended to writers of all talents.