With many books, translations are negligible, with two obvious exceptions, one is the Bible, and surprisingly the other is The Iliad. Each translation can give a different insight and feel to the story. Everyone will have a favorite. I have several.

For example:

"Rage--Goddess, sing the rage of Peleus' son Achilles,
Murderous, doomed, that cost the Achaeans countless losses,
hurling down to the House of Death so many souls,
great fighters' souls. But made their bodies carrion,
feasts for dogs and birds,
and the will of Zeus was moving towards its end.
Begin, Muse, when the two first broke and clashed,
Agamemnon lord of men and brilliant Achilles."
-Translated by Robert Fagles, 1990

"Sing, O Goddess, the anger of Achilles, son of Peleus, that brought countless ills upon the Achaeans. Many a brave soul did it send hurrying down to Hades, and many a heroes did it yield a prey to dogs and vultures for so were the counsels of Zeus fulfilled from the day on which the son of Atreus, king of men, and great Achilles first fell out with one another."
-Translated by Samuel Butler, 1888

"Rage:
Sing, Goddess, Achilles' rage,
Black and murderous, that cost the Greeks
Incalculable pain pitched countless souls
Of heroes into Hades' dark,
And let their bodies rot as feasts
For dogs and birds, as Zeus' will was done.
Begin with the clash between Agamemnon--
The Greek Warlord--and godlike Achilles."
-Translated by Stanley Lombardo, 1997

"Anger be now your song, immortal one,
Akhilleus' anger, doomed and ruinous,
that caused the Akhaians loss on bitter loss
and crowded brave souls into the undergloom,
leaving so many dead men--carrion
for dogs and birds; and the will of Zeus was done.
Begin it when the two men first contending
broke with one another--
the Lord Marshal Agamémnon, Atreus' son, and Prince Akhilleus."
-Translated by Translated by Robert Fitzgerald, 1963

"Sing, goddess, the anger of Peleus' son of Achilleus and its devastation, which puts pains thousandfold upon the Achains,
hurled in the multitudes to the house of Hades strong souls of heroes, but gave their bodies to be the delicate feasting of dogs, of all birds, and the will of Zeus was accomplished since that time when first there stood the division of conflict Atrecus' son the lord of men and brilliant Achilleus."
-Translated by Richmond Lattimore, 1951

"Sing, goddess, of Peleus' son Achilles' anger, ruinous, that caused the Greeks untold ordeals, consigned to Hades countless valiant souls, heroes, and left their bodies prey for dogs or feast for vultures. Zeus's will was done from when those two first quarreled and split apart, the king, Agamemnon, and matchless Achilles."
-Translated by Herbert Jordan, 2008

"An angry man-there is my story: the bitter rancor of Achillês, prince of the house of Peleus, which brought a thousand troubles upon the Achaian host. Many a strong soul it sent down to Hadês, and left the heroes themselves a prey to the dogs and carrion birds, while the will of God moved on to fulfillment."
-Translated and transliterated by W.H.D. Rouse, 1950

"Achilles' wrath, to Greece the direful spring
Of woes unnumber'd, heavenly goddess, sing!
That wrath which hurl'd to Pluto's gloomy reign
The souls of mighty chiefs untimely slain;
Whose limbs unburied on the naked shore,
Devouring dogs and hungry vultures tore.
Since great Achilles and Atrides strove,
Such was the sovereign doom,
and such the will of Jove!"
-Translated by Alexander Pope, 1720

"Achilles sing, O Goddess! Peleus' son;
His wrath pernicious, who ten thousand woes
Caused to Achaia's host, sent many a soul
Illustrious into Ades premature,
And Heroes gave (so stood the will of Jove)
To dogs and to all ravening fowls a prey,
When fierce dispute had separated once
The noble Chief Achilles from the son
Of Atreus, Agamemnon, King of men."
-Translated by William Cowper, London 1791

Achilles' baneful wrath - resound, O goddess - that impos'd
Infinite sorrow on the Greeks, and the brave souls loos'd
From beasts heroic; sent them far, to that invisible cave*
That no light comforts; and their limbs to dogs and vultures gave:
To all which Jove's will give effect; from whom the first strife begun
Betwixt Atrides, king of men, and Thetis' godlike son*
-Translated by George Chapman, 1616

The Rage of Achilles--sing it now, goddess, sing through me
the deadly rage that caused the Achaeans such grief
and hurled down to Hades the souls of so many fighters,
leaving their naked flesh to be eaten by dogs
and carrion birds, as the will of Zeus was accomplished.
Begin at the time when bitter words first divided
that king of men, Agamemnon, and godlike Achilles.
-Translated by Stephen Mitchell

You will find that some translations are easier to read but others are easier to listen to on recordings, lectures, Kindle, and the like. If you do not see information on specific translators, it is still worth the speculation and purchase. Right after the translation readability and understanding, do not overlook the introduction which gives an inset to what you are about to read. The Stephen Mitchell translation goes though each of the major characters so well that you think you know them before you starts reading. Other introductions explain the struggle between different types of power.

Our story takes place in the ninth year of the ongoing war. We get some introduction to the first nine years but they are just a background to this tale of pride, sorrow and revenge. The story will also end abruptly before the end of the war.

We have the wide conflict between the Trojans and Achaeans over a matter of pride; the gods get to take sides and many times direct spears and shields.

Although the more focused conflict is the power struggle between two different types of power. That of Achilles, son of Peleus and the greatest individual warrior and that of Agamemnon, lord of men, whose power comes form position.

We are treated to a blow by blow inside story as to what each is thinking and an unvarnished description of the perils of war and the search for Arête (to be more like Aries, God of War.)

Troy - The Director's Cut [Blu-ray]

"I have never told this story nor shall mortal man see this manuscript until I have passed over for eternity. I know that the average human mind will not believe what it can not grasp......"

Written in 1912 this book is well written for its time and has intrigued countless generations of readers. I get the feeling that this story is being told over a campfire.

Captain Carter is telling the story form memory as an old man of his adventures here on earth and on the planet of Barsoom (Mars). There are encounters with many strain creatures, situations, and yes even a "Princess of Mars."

It is a tail worth reading as he encounters many creatures that are different personas of man, horse, dog, etc.

This is a part is a series by the writer that brought us "Tarzan." The intro to the book alone will capture your imagination.

Two British amateur ufologists Graeme Willy (Simon Pegg) and Clive Gollings (Nick Frost) visit COMICON in the US. Then they are off to the UFO sites in the US. They have a close encounter with a maniac driver. Little did they know they were going to encounter Paul an, an area 51 escapee who just wants to go home. We go along for the ride. There we encounter several cultures on the journey.

I first saw the trailer for this movie on TV; the one where Paul brings the bird back to life and then does what comes naturally. That set the tone for the whole film. The film does offend prudes of all types with it British style of humor (however Universal City, CA) if not it would have let someone down. For me it was the excessive potty mouth. However being part of the aggregate it was probably necessary.

A nice side part of the film is that they make fun of or incorporate a tad of quit a few of the major sci-fi movies. Watching the extras we learn that they went out of the way to also incorporate filming stiles of some great movies.

For some sort on inexplicable reason I really enjoyed the film and it made me think of a lesser known film named Out There [VHS] (1995), of which I am still waiting for an official DVR transfer.

A light weight writer, Mr. McGee, besides that it is time for him to write a classic novel; in an effort to write this novel he needed to find a place for perfect solitude. That place turns out to be an inn that was closed for the winter high up on Baldpate Mountain. Little did he know that there were seven Keys to Baldpate Inn. With each key can a person or persons with unique characteristics and a good reason for being there. If you can believe who they are and their reasons. Mr. McGee suspects them all of being some part of a convoluted plot which nobody will let him in on.

We go along for the ride. There is no use speculating. And Mr. McKee's chivalry may be his undoing. Be sure to read the book to the last sentence.

I came to this book after watching the 1935 version of Seven Keys to Baldpate with Walter Brennan as the station master. I have still to see the play however the movie was more based on the play than the book. Some of the statements were directly out of the book but many others had that Cohan feel.

Meantime the book stands alone as a great example of a 1913 Erle Stanly Biggers mischief and mystery.

Everything in the book is excellent. Well designed and consistent in training and help. The table of contents is not only in a progressive order but you can find what you want quickly and skip to the part you need to complete your real world projects.

I have to confess that I have worked small projects with AutoCAD for decades so I cannot say what a first time person will think. However everything looks pretty clear to me and not haphazard with logic gaps as some other tutorials and references have.

Do not overlook the indexes as they give everything from the history to the cost of the product and some information of rival products.

I did not give anything negative about the review. However there is no practice disk or URL for temporary license or training tools as videos etc. You either have to have the product or a good imagination.

Chapters:
I. Horace Ventimore Receives a Commission
II. A Cheap Lot
III. An Unexpected Opening
IV. At Large
V. Carte Blance
VI. Embarras de Richesses
VII. "Gratitude-A Lively Sense of Favours to Come"
VIII. Bachelor's Quarters
IX. "Persicos Odi, Puer, Apparatus"
X. No Place Like Home!
XI. A Fool's Paradise
XII. The Messenger of Hope
XIII. A Choice of Evils
XIV. "Since There's No Help, Come, Let Us Kiss and Part!"
XV. Blushing Honours
XVI. A Killing Frost
XVII. High Words
XVIII. A Game of Bluff
The Epilogue

I never had a chance to see the play and would like to some day. In the mean time I have a DVD copy of the movie with Tony Randall, Barbara Eden, and Burl Ives (1964, Harry Keller). I would like the other movie versions also.

Because the movie took place in modern day (1964) I did not realize the story took place in England (originally published in 1900). We also see a few adaptions to the movie to change the timing of the media. Yet for the most part when you read the story you will see that the movie follows the book pretty faithfully down to some of the dialog.

The story is simple but becomes complex. Mild mannered obscure architect Horace Ventimore in an attempt to impress his potential father-in-law purchases a brass bottle. Upon opening it, you guess it a djinn (Fakrash) pops out and in his gratitude Fakrash helps Ventimore in a way you would not believe; neither did Ventimore.

I also purchased the Kindle freebie which worked well except each page number was read out.

The Brass Bottle (Amazon.com Exclusive)

When your down and troubled
And you need a helping hand
And nothing, whoa nothing is going right.
Close your eyes and think of me
And soon I will be there
-- Carole King

This is a great book with a surprisingly wonderful story. However by the time you figure out where the author Wilmar H. Shirras is leading us the book ends and possible the real story just begins.

A physiatrist stumbles on a secret that children born after a nuclear mishap have expanded intellects.
This of course can be a blessing or a curse depending on how it is handled. There is a much bigger theme of which this is just the core.

As with other readers this book needs to be revisited periodically.

I first saw several movie versions of "The Scarlet Pimpernel" and always wanted to see the Play. With the purchase of a Kindle and text-to-speech I could not afford to pass up the book.

I was amazed to see that the book started out like the movies with the telling of the blood lust of the French revolution and how one man for the sport of it saved many from the guillotine thwarting the authorities and tricking the sergeant at the city gate into letting him through.

Then I was afraid the story was going to bog down as we took a long time to drudge through a scene in an inn. I did not realize that this was to introduce the major players in the soon to be mystery.

The essence of the story was best said in the book:
"Only between these two hearts there lay a strong, impassable barrier, built up on pride on both sides, which neither of them cared to be the first to demolish."

The story really picks up after Marguerite realizes what she has done by giving away the pimpernels identity and disides to make amends.

Usually I cannot stand flowery writing or long descriptions of feelings. But for some reason this book was so well written that what would seem like extraneous information actually enhanced the tale. I also noticed it is told mostly from Lady Blakeney's point of view.

Once again this is a case of the book being better than the movie. I was surprise to find the Pimpernel poem came from the book:

They seek him here they seek him there
Them Frenchies seek him everywhere.
Is he in Heaven?
Is he in Hell?
That damned elusive pimpernel.

The title "Busman's Honeymoon" is sort of a play on words. Look up busman's holiday in the dictionary. In fact it was a play that was also made into a movie "Haunted Honeymoon" (1940) starring Robert Montgomery and Constance Cummings. There are still some short stories and a novel finished by someone else; however Busman's Honeymoon is the last of the novel series containing Harriet Vane. Some of the short stories are "The Haunted Policeman" and "Talboys."

The book starts off with a series of letters from well-known friends of the couple, described previous in Dorothy L. Sayers' novels. They bring you up to date while describing the wedding of Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane. Some of the charters are just referenced yes it ought on and you will have to have read the previous novels for fuller detail.

The primary thrust of this novel is the relationship between Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane. With exquisite descriptions of their life and the English environment in which they live. Oh yes, there is also an intriguing mystery for the couple to solve. However the mystery does not overshadow the rest of the story.

One of the most important overlooked items in most descriptions of this book is the expanded explanation of the history and relationship of Bunter to Lord Peter.

Finally a program exists that was built from scratch and not based on a book or writer. They can not do it wrong because this is it. It looks like there is more horticulture in this series than in the Brother Cadfael series.

Two women, each have a Life changing experience just before the series starts. Soon they become friends. One a hands on gardener, with a law enforcement back ground Laura Thyme, (Pam Ferris), the other an academic horticulturist with an old four wheeler vehicle Rosemary Boxer (Felicity Kendal).

The programs are of the two trying to find out who dunnit and how. We do not get bogged down in love interests.

Each episode is unique in its approach. The only pattern I see is that it is like in the movie "A shot in the dark" where everyone is guilty except the maid. In this series there may not be a lit of murderers, however there are a lot of guilty people.

Well sit back and enjoy the view, smell the roses, and buy the series so you can watch again and again.