Vincent Reviews

First published in Spain in 1996 it is now available here. "Candid painting" is a good way to describe the approach the artist takes to painting people. Some of the paintings have a very loose feel to them. Others are more tightly rendered. Interestingly, each chapter also displays artwork of painting masters such as Sargent, Delacroix, Picasso, Matisse and others. Every painting is examined to see how that artist approached painting people going about daily life.

The first few chapters give the obligatory information on types of watercolors, papers, brushes, surfaces available, etc. Then fundamentals of quick sketching, capturing gestures, combining different components to create original art and details are discussed. Several step-by-step demonstrations (usually 3 per section) follow with detailed descriptions of what the artist is doing and why. Other chapters discuss the solitary figure, use of backlighting, themes and motifs in paintings, the female nude, genre and immaginary world painting (these chapters in particular feature many paintings by famous artists) and even a special chapter on painting dancers.

Over all this is a good book with a lot of information with many paintings to examine from both Mr. Ballestar and famous historical painters. It would make a good addition to any artist's bookshelf.

I highly recommend the Phonics book. This book was extremely helpful with phonic blends for age appropriate and for the older child who needs review. It is very good for independent learning.

To tell the truth I don't know anything about Christopher Bell. His name never cropped up in the many years I worked on former Portuguese India and was close to Indian Ocean studies. I can't say he was much mentioned by my esteemed colleagues. I bought his book one long ago day in Melbourne, Australia, and didn't get around to reading it for eighteen years. A pity. It's excellent. If you can get past the first chapter---a storm of princes, relationships, and intrigues in which nearly everyone seems to be named "Henry" "Ines", or "Juan"---the rest of the book is very smooth sailing. Bell writes clear, fascinating prose about a complex topic---how Portugal, a small country at the edge of Europe, managed to explore the coast of Africa during the course of the 15th century and eventually, in 1497, sent Vasco da Gama on his successful voyage to India. The book ends dramatically, as the Portuguese ships approach the Indian coast for the first time.

If you are looking for a shorter or simpler history of the whole Portuguese maritime enterprise, perhaps a precis of Boxer's work, forget it. This book sensibly concentrates only on the initial exploratory voyages, with a lot of interesting detail on the Africans the voyagers met. Bell apparently spent many years in Africa and seems to have an affinity for that continent's peoples. It shows very favorably in his history, which explores often ignored byways. We get interesting asides on Ethiopia and the early Portuguese connections to the Kingdom of Congo and the system of single voyagers who set off on often-incredible adventures, walking into the unknown reaches of Africa, just to provide the Portuguese King with information. Bell deflates some legends and some "biggies" like Columbus and tends, if anything, to overstate the Portuguese achievements, which were no doubt considerable but hardly led to "the greatest empire the world had so far seen". (Though it would have been truer if he had added the word "maritime".) The epic poet, Camões, is quoted extensively towards the end, detailing some of the glories of the explorers, but in today's world, when the views of Indians or East Africans can be heard along with Europeans', another view of the rapid Portuguese incursion into the Indian Ocean might resemble Hunter Thompson's view of the Hell's Angels---as a burst of dirty thunder.

Kings and captains, counsellors, queens, court intrigues, maps, reports, North African battles with the 'Moors', voyages and wrecks---they are all present here, but a broader social or economic picture is absent. This is a history in the traditional sense, before the age of Braudel. There is no attempt to generalize or connect to larger historical trends. Nevertheless, PORTUGAL AND THE QUEST FOR THE INDIES is one of the most enjoyable history books I've read for some time. It will hold your attention, you will understand the author's points without difficulty, and you will appreciate the vast enterprise of the Portuguese crown, sometimes conducted in enthusiastic haste, sometimes dragging, but ultimately changing much of the world.

Right! this is the 1st reference book for those who work as a claim administration or those of QS graduate.
This book introduces the basic principle of british construction contracts, in particular the JCT63, leading to the development of other JCT standard form of contracts nowsaday.
Recommended read sequence on:
Liquidated Damages
EOT clauses
Claims and
Sub-contract Claims...
Cheers,
RMC - Ricky Chan

I bought this book for my son, and I have seen the change in him. The book has good layout and systematically approach the topic. I am glad I bought thi sbook.

The book is well-written and the graphics really help keep kids interested. The reading selections are based on a variety of subjects guaranteed to spark the imagination. The review questions also combine other skills such as map reading and library skills.

As an ex-New Jersey guy, I really enjoyed the images and the historical information. I highly recommend this book!

This book is very useful, never boring and constantly kept my interest.

Many have speculated that perhaps our next Pope might come from Africa. While such speculation is premature, the reasoning makes sense. This continent of 117 million Catholics has already produced three popes, three Doctors of the Church, eight Fathers of the Church, and thousands of martyrs and saints.

I recall some time back a colleague asking for a book like this. Unfortunately, at that time, I was unable to direct him towards anything that I was familiar with. As I said, this book is long overdue.

Fr. O'Malley has done a great service in compiling this book of some ninety African saints. To my knowledge, it is one of few books like it. The saints' stories are told simply, yet inspiringly, shedding much needed light on these saints forgotten by the West.

The entries include such familiar names as St. Augustine and St. Monica as well as many, many less known saints such as Blessed Josephine Bakhita, St. Deogratias, St. Melchiades, and Blessed Isidore Bakanja.

The book is organized in a curious fashion - listing the saints according to their feast days rather than alphabetically. Thankfully, an index in the front of the book also lists them in a calendar format so that the reader can more easily look up particular saints. An alphabetical listing of all of the saints, or a similar index in the back of the book, might have made it easier to find a particular saint.

Each chapter covers the saints whose feast days fall within that month. A convenient map in the beginning of each chapter indicates the region where each saint came from, although the map does not indicate specific countries. Many of the saints come from regions before they were recognized African countries.

Also helpful is the brief history of the Catholic Church in Africa found in the back of the book and a glossary.

Again, this book is a welcome addition to hagiography. Those interested in the saints, or those interested in Africa, will find this book enormously interesting.

This is a book about making a still and producing alcohol. To be blunt, rather high proof alcohol, capable of fueling a car. Vince goes into production of mash, distillation and building the still. Minimal sheet metal tools are needed.
Trevor