Bernard Cornwell is a historian first and storywriter second, at both he is superb. Trafalgar is possibly the most famous naval battle in British history and it just so happens to fit in with the Sharpe timeline. Naturally as a historian Cornwell would want to put Sharpe in this position and am glad he did. I found this book to amazingly interesting. The account of the naval battle is both detailed and gripping. He recounts the events with such accuracy its amazing how he made it seem so interesting and not just a report from a history book.

The book has all the ingredients that make the Sharpe series so great, you just have to read it to love it.

I give this book 4 stars, and it's well deserved.

This book is the one all Sharpe fans have been waiting for, Sharpe before he got his commission. The book sets Sharpe as a raw recruit off to fight in India. As with all the Sharpe books you great a great insight into the battles fought in the past, this book is no different.

The history lesson we get here is of the siege of Seringapatum (1799), the island fort of the Tippoo of Mysore. Sharpe sets of on a mission with the promise of promotion and finds himself going from prisoner to hero. The rest you have to read, i don't want to spoil the plot, just know its a great read from a great author.

This is the first of a series of books set in India (Tiger, Triumph, and Fortress) all of which are fantastic. The book introduces us to the beginning of the Sharpe Hakeswill relationship, which is a great part of the Sharpe series.

This book sets Sharpe off on his voyage, which will one day see him serving next to the Prince of Orange at Waterloo. If you're new to the Sharpe series I recommend reading them in order, the story constantly evolves and it just gets better and better.

5 Stars.

I watched this movie after reading the book (which is a great read) and was totally surprised to see that the movie bears only a passing resemblance to the book.

Tom Clancy, as the executive producer, obviously sold out to Hollywood. The hugely in-depth plot of the book has been sacrificed for second rate action scenes. The sequence of the movie and the book are totally different. The book see's an older Ryan, accomplished within the CIA. He is married and is approaching retirement. The movie is the opposite, Ryan is just starting out, just dating his future wife and starting out as a simple report writer for the CIA.

The relation between the plot of the book and the plot of the movie is almost totally different. The story remains unchanged but the telling of the story has sacrificed detail for the possibility of better box office ratings. The film shouldn't be called Sum of all Fears; it's just totally different.

As a movie I don't rate it as being very good, the plot is tedious to become interested in. The few action scenes are boring compared to other movies, I think if the book was to be sensationalized it could have been done so in a much more cinematic way. The story is a great idea; it's so close to home after September 11th.

I give the movie 2 stars; the book is far more interesting.

After reading the whole series of Sharpe books I felt left wanting to learn more about the wars in which the books talk about. This book explains each book in detail. Ranging from the equipment the troops used to the tactics under which they fought.

Alot of research went into this book and it's highly informative. It takes the book past Sharpe to the actual event's he was written into. The British success in defeating Napoleon in the pennisular wars was a major turning point in world history, this book helps us better understand the struggle it was to defeat Napoleon.

Cornwell does a wonderful job at describing the events that took place to each relevant Sharpe book but this book takes it one step further.

It's a truly educating book, a must for anyone wanting to take their interest in history a step further then the Sharpe series.

4 Stars.

At last, a book that teaches me how to escape being attacked by a mountain lion. I got this book because it had good reviews and seemed to be interesting. It is, its a practical, humourous, book.

Its written in a serious manner, but there is obvious humour behind it, some of the topics you encounter are so obsurd its remarkable how these guys thought of the situation.

It's a funny book that one day might save your life, what other book can you say that about?

4 Stars. Not as good as some of the other books in the series.

After watching the 'Blue Planet' documentaries on TV I developed an interest about life under the sea. Some of the documentary footage was truly groundbreaking work in terms of capturing the animals on film and bringing it to our homes in such a unique way.

The book, like the documentary is truly a great piece of work. It's well planned, presented and written. It covers all aspects of ocean life with out becoming to specific with regard to certain species. Some of the photographs throughout the book are truly wonderful; this book is a must for everyone, of all ages. It will satisfy any appetite for deep-sea discovery, shore life and marine biology.

5 Stars, This book has everything you need and more, and the presentation is second to none.

I purchased this book due to an interest I have in the Special Air Service. The book was not what I expected, I thought it would show some moves used by the elite troops of the SAS, it doesn't. The book is more focused on everyday life, situations that might arise etc (gang fighting for example).

Of the self-defense tactics shown in the book I found none of them to be new to me. Its mostly common sense actions put into a book, Cleary by using the SAS label they thought they would sell more books.

1 Star, go join a self defense class, its good exercise and far more educational then any book on the subject.

The third book of the series presents Stephanie Plum with the daunting task of apprehending the local neighborhood saint, Uncle Mo. Everyone in the Burg loves Mo, he is the gentle old man who sells ice cream, but when he fails to show for his court appearance its down to Stephanie Plum to bring him in.

Am not going to spoil the book, its classic Stephanie Plum stuff, she gets in awkward situations, finds out a lot more then she should about people and through it all she makes us laugh till it hurts.

4 Stars

This is the second in what promises to be a fantastically funny set. Stephanie Plum, still finding her feet in the world of bounty hunters takes on a new case. Find Kenny Mancuso.

Its a great tale which takes Stephanie on such adventures as searching funeral homes (with her lovable, but crazy, grandma in tow) and looking for a batch of missing coffins. In someways the book is dark in the humour it uses but you don't notice little details like that when your laughing till your ribs hurt. The situations Stephanie falls into make you feel somewhat sorry for her, she doesn't deserve to be dumped on as much as she is, but in the face of adversity she always prevails, that's the New Jersey Spirit.

A great read, 4 Stars.

I got this book to open my mind to how the universe works, and it's a great book. Astrophysics, quantum physics, relativity theory and a host of other scientific theories are not the most interesting of topics for your average reader.

This book is different, its not you're typical dusty old science book you find in the deepest recesses of the university library. This is a modern, well written book, its been written solely to educate the 'less-informed' people in our society. Me, being one of these less-informed people found it a very interesting, thought provoking book.

I like that he explains how modern thinking has evolved from old ideas. He tells us about old theories and how they have influenced modern ideas. He points out the flaws and weaknesses of many theories while still maintaining respect for the thinking behind them.

Hawking, who obviously has a lust for trying to figure out the inner workings of our universe emphasizes his love of the subject and he tries to convey that to the reader. He makes the most complex of scientific thinking somewhat understandable through easy to look at drawings (in someway its a great book just because the drawings look so different). He also uses a lot of humour to bring some refreshment to reader (although I did personally find this to be kind of 'geeky'). This is definatly a book written for the modern world.

Admittedly though, the subject is a very complex one; not everyone is destined to become a great thinker like Hawking's. You can water down the theories, simplify to the equations, even emphasize the theology with clever illustrations. Truth is it's still a difficult book to read and understand. Hawking's does his best, and it a very valiant attempt, but no amount of humour and simplification will make this an easy to understand book.

3 Stars