Product Description
This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishings Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the worlds literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

Product Description
This is an OCR edition without illustrations or index. It may have numerous typos or missing text. However, purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original rare book from GeneralBooksClub.com. You can also preview excerpts from the book there. Purchasers are also entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Original Published by: John W. Parker in 1851 in 143 pages; Subjects: Students; Education / Higher; Education / Students ... 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 book places the emphasis on basic mathematical information and practical examples; provides an aide memoir for people who only occasionally have to do calculations as part of their work; give reference charts; enables a member of health service staff to use a calculator accurately; gives health science students basic background information especially those who study physics as part of their training. Emphasis is mainly on physiotherapy and sport and manual therapies, though can also be used by nurses and radiographers. ... Read more

Product Description
A hideous scream pierces the calm of the evening psychotherapy session. The body of a woman lies sprawled in the basement of the Steen Clinic, a chisel thrust through her heart. Superintendent Adam Dalgliesh, relaxing at a literary party close by, hurries over to investigate the murder. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (22)

How did she ever establish such a reputation with books like this?
This is the second in the author's now highly-regarded series of detective novels featuring homicide expert (and published poet) Adam Dalgliesh. And while I'm prepared to accept the general opinion of James's abilities -- and her later novels are, in fact, quite interesting and involving -- it's a bit difficult to understand how she ever developed the literary momentum to reach the status of a devoted readership. Her first novel, _Cover Her Face_, was quite ordinary and Agatha-Christie-ish. This one reads almost a dramatized game of "Clue," or like a West End stage play from the 1930s. The administrative officer of an NHS psychiatric clinic in London is found stabbed in the basement records room. The doors to the building all are locked except the front entrance, where a porter sits, logging in everyone who arrives and leaves. There are about a dozen doctors, therapists, and other members of staff in the clinic and it's obvious from the first page that one of them has to be the killer. Now Superintendent Dalgliesh arrives (promoted since the first book, apparently), lines up his suspects, and begins his interviews, gradually building up a picture for the reader of all the personalities and personal backgrounds involved. In the records room by Col. Mustard with a chisel? Perhaps. The only difference between this book and her first one, really, is that in the previous work, the first hundred pages was spent describing the players before the crime ever took place; this time, that section comes after the crime. But the detective and his sergeant still feel the need to stand around and explain the details of the murder to each other, and the killer and his own sidekick do nearly the same thing. While the writing is clear and dryly amusing, the plotting is hardly original, and the "giveaway" at the end is rather contrived. (It also depends on details that were common in 1960s Britain but unknown in the 21st century U.S. -- but that, at least, is not the author's fault.) In any case: there are some readers who feel duty-bound to finish any book they start, but this one might challenge them to maintain sufficient interest.

A little tiresome
I enjoy PD James and her Adam Dalgliesh mysteries,but this one was tiresome. I finished, but didn't care when I got to the end.Even a tiresome PD James is better than most authors great books.The characters are a bit flat and there are too many of them.The first part was acceptably interesting, but then it seemed to rush towards an end that was of little impact.It's an early book, maybe that's why.

Another good Dalgliesh mystery
PD James once again makes you think you know whodunnit, changes your mind several times, and then tidies it all up with the answer in the last few pages.

This murder takes place in a psychiatric clinic when the "Administrative Officer" (Administrative Assistant in the US) is murdered.Adam Dalgliesh from Scotland Yard is called in to solve the case, which you know he is going to do, though even he has worries about whether or not he can.

Almost the entire staff is suspect, and many of them have obvious reasons for wanting the victim dead.Some of them have alibis, many of them do not.Several of them seem to be hiding something.(Of course - this is a murder mystery - everyone is hiding something!)

This is the 3rd Adam Dalgliesh myster I've read, and the only reason I'm giving this 4 stars instead of 5 is because I liked "Cover Her Face" and "Original Sin" a lot more.This is a worthy entry in the series, though.My one real complaint is that there are so many acronyms used that the story comes to a screeching halt whenever I read one as I try to remember what it stands for.("A.O." means administrative officer, for example.)The characters speak to each other like they would normally without all that unecessary explaining that some authors put in when they use jargon unfamiliar to some people.That's great, but sometimes I wanted a glossary.:)

I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

A Masterpiece
This is my second James novel. I read The Murder Room which was written by James a few years ago and I thought that it was dreadful. It is a 500 page bore or snore. The present work was written over 40 years ago by a James in her prime. It is short and compact; and, it has a nicely balanced structure with good characters. It is written with straightforward and simple prose and it is a compelling read that is hard to put down. In short, it is what one can describe as a masterpiece.

The book opens with the literary hook: a murder in a clinic basement of the Steen Psychiatric Clinic during a busy Friday afternoon in London. On discovery of the murder, the doors of the clinic are sealed, Dalgliesh is called in, and we are off on the hunt for the killer, or killers.

The novel has an interesting set of characters, but not too many characters. It appears that there are just a half dozen suspects with a motivation to be involved with the killing. The mystery unfolds slowly, and the reader is given a few clues just ahead of the Dalgliesh.

Readers will not be disappointed, and the book demonstrates the fame and ability of James as a crime writer. Most will want to keep the book and set it aside to read again in the future. Also, the book demonstrates again that more is not always better than less. In the elaborate 550 page slow moving story told in The Murder Room, the author has a 95 page introduction and no crime until around page 130. We wait as Dalgliesh does not enter the investigation until almost page 200. Thankfully, all of that type of writing is missing here. In a Mind to Murder, the story is well underway and the reader is fully engaged by page 10. James tells a well balanced and a compelling tale in half the space.

Since the book came out in 1963, it has had approximately seven printings by three different publishers including Faber and Faber, and Penguin. It is easy to understand why.

A Very Unique Twist
Having recently read "A Certain Justice" I have set myself to reading all of P.D. James' works."A Mind to Murder" firmly validated my decision to do so.In only her second mystery, Ms. James has the strength to pull a whopper of a twist.In so doing she provides some very strong character development for her Inspector Dalgliesh.He learns something very valuable in this work and will become a stronger detective for it.

A murder mystery set in a mental health facility provides a wealth of opportunities, none of which are wasted in this volume.In reviewing mysteries, one must be cautious not to throw out any spoilers--but what the reviewer can and did note was that Ms. James' writing is exceptional.The characters come to life and the story has something meaningful to say.In a day and age where entertainment is its own reward, it is nice to find an author who is willing to allow the benefits and burdens of moral choice to take center stage. ... Read more

Product Description
Chapters: Ronald Wilson, H. C. Coombs, Robert Marsden Hope, Elizabeth Evatt, James Mcclelland, Frank Costigan, James Roland Wood. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 41. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Sir Ronald Darling Wilson, AC, KBE, CMG, QC ( 23 August 1922- 15 July 2005) was a distinguished Australian lawyer, judge and social activist serving on the High Court of Australia between 1979 and 1989 and as the President of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission between 1990 and 1997. Wilson is probably best known as the author with Mick Dodson of the Bringing Them Home report into the Stolen Generation published in 1997 which led to the creation of a "National Sorry Day" and a walk for Reconciliation across the Sydney Harbour Bridge in 2000 with 400,000 people participating. Wilson was also one of three judges sitting on the WA Inc Royal Commission in the early 1990s which eventually led to former Premier Brian Burke being jailed in March 1997. Wilson was born in Geraldton, in Western Australia on 23 August 1922. His early life was marked by sorrow and hardship. When he was four years old his mother died. At the age of seven his father suffered a stroke and spent the next five years in a hospice 300 miles from home. His older brother became a father figure to him and for years the family faced financial struggles. At the age of 14, these pressures forced Sir Ronald to leave school and he took his first job as a messenger with the Geraldton Local Court. In World War II, Wilson elected to join the Royal Australian Air Force where he flew a Spitfire in defence of Britain. After World War II, Wilson enrolled in the University of Western Australia finishing with a law degree in 1949. He later completed a Master of Laws degree at the University of Pennsylvania in 1957. Wilson w...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=553529 ... Read more

Product Description
On the same day as the St Cedd's church fete in the grounds of her home, Martingale, Mrs Maxie learns of her son Stephen's engagement. By the next morning, her new parlourmaid, Sally Jupp, is dead. Detective Chief-Inspector Adam Dalgliesh investigates murder in the Elizabethan manor house. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (26)

A very weak debut for a now-famous series
I've been trying for awhile to get into James's corpus of mystery stories, but with only intermittent success. However, having recently finished one of her much later works (_A Certain Justice_, 1997), I decided to go back to the beginning and witness Adam Dalgliesh's fictional birth as a detective. It's been rather an education in the changing styles of police procedurals during my lifetime. The jacket copy compares James favorably to Agatha Christie and Dalgliesh to Poirot -- not a compliment in my own opinion, but it's actually spot-on in this first work. The setting is classic Agatha: the ancient country house, home to an ancient country family, the small village in unfailing feudal support, the drawing room, the church fete in the garden, the cerebral, aristocratic-seeming sleuth accompanied by his faithful sergeant. Even the family's stiff-upper-lip response when Sally Jupp, unwed mother employed as a housemaid, is strangled in her bed behind a locked door, but with an unlocked window. (Doesn't anyone ever have hysterics, as in real life, upon discovering a murdered body?) The girl had just announced that she had received a proposal from the scion of the family, a young doctor (though neither the author nor the character are ever explicit about his emotions that led to such a socially unsuitable impulse), so there was motive enough among the residents of the house. James's style, now well established, is the extended narrative, setting the scene and describing the characters at considerable length, and she's been following that method since the very beginning, it appears. But because she hadn't become so accomplished at it yet, the pace is painfully slow. The book is barely 250 pages but it seems three times that. And it pains me to say that she actually ends it all with the horribly clichéd gathering of suspects in the drawing room where The Detective Explains All.

I have to note, too, that there are chronological problems with the series that are made apparent in this first volume. Dalgliesh has already developed a reputation as a homicide investigator and is already a Detective Chief Inspector, implying that he's at least in his mid-30s (and almost certainly older). And that's in 1962, so he was born in the late 1920s. He even has clear adolescent memories of the war. Therefore, in his most recent outing, in 2010, he would have to be in his mid-to-late 80s. Are we to believe that Scotland Yard doesn't have a mandatory retirement program for its active investigators -- even its stars?

P.D.'s Dalgliesh
I read five of P. D. James' books in this series. It took that long for her protagonist to say inaccurate and truly sickening things about people who use wheelchairs for mobility. She, through Adam, portrays them as whiny, pity-seeking parasites on society. Since I use a wheelchair myself, and am none of these things, I stopped buying her books immediately. She has a right to her opinions. So do I, and I voted with my purse. She is a noted author. and millions of people read her books. Thank you Amazon, for letting me be read.

The Pulp Fiction Philosopher
P.D. James combines wonderful plotting, page turning style and bits of philosophical insights centered around a rock solid protagonist, Adam Dalgliesh. COVER HER FACE is the first book of the Dalgliesh series. It has the strength of an opening book (originality) and also the weaknesses (the style is still being worked out). But, on the whole, very enjoyable.

Cover Her Face
P.D. James is a little wordy, but her Adam Dalgliesh series is excellent.If you like British mysteries this is a good one.

Amazed that there aren't more reviews for this classic
What can I say more than that this PD James novel was the most instrumental novel to keep the spirit of Agatha Christie alive.The debut of Inspector Dagleish is a must-read.And one must remember the Gilbert & Sullivan quote, "A policeman's lot is not a happy one". ... Read more

Product Description
This book offers a series of reflections on the state of Christianity, and especially Catholicism, in the world today. The centerpiece of the volume is a lecture by the renowned philosopher Charles Taylor, from which the title of the book is taken. The lecture, delivered at Dayton University in January of 1996, offered Taylor the opportunity to speak about the religious dimensions of his intellectual commitment--dimensions left implicity in his philosophical writing. In fact, this is the only place where Taylor, a Roman Catholic, spells out his theological views and his sense of the cultural placement of Catholicism, its history and trajectory. He uses the occasion to argue against the common claim that obstacles to religious belief in modern culture are epistemic--that they have to do with the triumph of the scientific worldview. The real obstacles, says Taylor, are moral and spiritual, having to do with the historic failures of religious institutions.

Four well-known commentators on religion and society, two Protestant, two Catholic, were invited to respond to Taylor's lecture: William M. Shea, George Marsden, Jean Bethke Elshtain, and Rosemary Luling-Haughton. Their chapters offer a variety of astute reflections on the tensions between religion and modernity, and in particular on the role that Catholicism can and should play in contemporary society. The volume concludes with Taylor's perceptive and thoughtful response to his interlocutors. A Catholic Modernity provides one of the most thoughtful conversations to date about the place of the Catholic Church in the modern world, and more generally, about the role of religion in democratic liberal societies. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Taylor Made Catholic Modernity
The revivial of interest in this book after Taylor won the Tempelton in 2007 is overdue as the work remains timely athology on Catholic intellectualism today. The editor, Fr. James Heft, SM, has subsequently compiled other anthologies of equally important and contemporary thought as can been seen by a search here with reveal. As their indexer, I know that Taylor's important concepts are found thematic throughout Fr. Heft's works.
... Read more

Product Description
A comprehensive guide to the quintessential British motorcycle. The Bonnie's multiplicity of versions is examined, with details of factory specs, production changes, and differences between all models. Precise information is equally indispensible to buyers, restorers, and enthusiasts alike. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Bonneville restoration
An excellent guide.Provides superb details for every aspect.This book is for those committed to accomplishing a restoration to a level comparable to when the motorcycle left the factory. ... Read more

Product Description
Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork. ... Read more