The Oxford Dictionary of Saints is well-written and contains the biographies of any possible saints, famous as well as more obscure ones. The book also has some very useful appendices with maps showing pilgrimage sites, a list showing the patron saints of countries and towns worldwide, an index of places in Britain and Ireland, a list with the principal patronages of saints as well as one listing the principal iconographical emblems of saints, which is especially useful for art historians, and a calendar of the principal feasts of saints. The only thing the book lacks is that the index of places listing the saints associated with a place covers only the British Isles, but not the Continent or the rest of the world which would have been desirable for European readers, nor is the list of patron saints of towns comprehensive. The book also contains some useful recommended web links.
All in all a rather comprehensive book for everyone interested in the lives of saints, and an indispensable dictionary for all students of art history and theology.

Das Buch ist sehr übersichtlich, knapp und prägnant und leicht zu gebrauchen. Es enthält 82 konjugierte Verben auf je einer Seite, wobei die unregelmässigen Formen jedes Verbs immer in grün hervorgehoben sind. Am Ende des Buches befindet sich eine Verbliste mit weiteren Verben und der Nummer des jeweiligen Konjugationsmusters nach dem sie konjugiert werden. Am Anfang des Buches sind auch 2 Seiten mit Wissenswertem zur Verbkonjugation. Ein sehr gutes Buch für jeden Griechischlerner, das alles Nötige enthält!

Das Buch ist kein gewöhnliches Wörterbuch, sondern ist thematisch nach Sachgebieten gegliedert, z.B. Verkehr, Gemüsesorten, Kleidungsstücke, Wetter, Anatomie, Wohnung, etc. Zu jedem Thema gibt es eine Doppelseite, die von jedem Gegenstand ein Foto zeigt, neben dem jeweils die Vokabel in Russisch (in kyrillisch und in Latein-Umschrift) und deutsch steht, und am Ende sind auf 4 Seiten nützliche Redewendungen aufgelistet. Das Glossar ist allerdings nur in kyrillisch im russischen Teil, sodass es nur für Leute mit Vorkenntnissen lesbar ist.
Das Buch lädt zum Durchblättern ein und ist eine Freude anzuschauen!! Durch die Fotos prägt sich der schwierige russische Wortschatz viel leichter ein und man lernt ganz nebenbei!! Es eignet sich auch gut für Reisen, weil man, wenn man will, einfach nur auf ein Foto deuten kann, um zu zeigen, was man möchte. Ein Nachteil ist allerdings, dass das Buch keine "typisch russischen" Vokabeln des russischen Lebensstils enthält, z.B. Kunsthandwerk, typisch russische Gerichte o.ä. sondern nur dieselben Fotos wie alle anderen Wörterbücher der Reihe auch.
Alles in allem aber ein wirklich lohnendes Wörterbuch, das das Lernen leicht und angenehm macht!!

The author, a British journalist, decides to make the experiment of trying to live ethically for one year and to reduce the impact of his lifestyle on the environment as far as possible. In his book, he describes how he experiences the experiment with his wife and young baby and all the ups and downs and dilemmas he faces in his new ethical and ecologically correct lifestyle...
The book is well written and at times really funny to read (never boring!), and the author also provides a lot of background information, e.g. why certain products and habits harm the environment, and how one can live more ethically and in a more sustainable way without having to abandon one´s former lifestyle. He touches on practically all areas of daily life where one has to make ethical decisions. e.g. shopping for groceries, travel, cleaning the house, caring for his baby, renovating his house, shopping, etc. and gives simple tips on how one can modify one´s habits or what one could do. The book also includes many letters he received from the readers of his internet-blog he wrote during that year, which are also very interesting and often funny.
A really good and informative book for everyone interested in an ecological, ethical and sustainable lifestyle!!

The book is a good addition to any Mandarin Chinese textbook or language course. Like all visual bilingual dictionaries of this series, the book features a double page on each topic, e.g. vegetables, clothes, plants, animals, traffic, buildings, stationary, etc. but it also covers more "abstract" topics like emotions, the universe, geology, the environment or maths. There is a small photo or illustration for each item or word under or beside which there is the English word as well as the Mandarin Chinese word in both characters and Pinyin, and there is an English as well as pinyin index at the end of the book, as well as a few pages with useful "survival" phrases (e.g. greetings, saying thank you, etc.) for the tourist.
The topics covered are very comprehensive and one will find a page on almost anything! The book is also quite useful on journeys to China as one can simply point to the photo if one wants something. The images also help greatly in learning the language as the words sink in far more easily when one sees a photo of the word and not just the written vocabulary, and they invite browsing just for pleasure.
However, the book also has some drawbacks: There is no information on how to pronounce the Pinyin transcription correctly whatsoever. The book does not cover vocabulary of "typically" Chinese items and the Chinese way of life since it contains the same images and words as all the books in this series (and only those) which might be appropriate for a "western" language, but is not quite adequate for a different cultural background such as the Chinese as it actually leaves out central aspects, and so also vocabulary, of daily life in China (that´s the reason why the book gets 4 stars only, apart from that it´s great!). The print is also quite small and might be difficult to read for people with visual impairments.
All in all, a very good book which is highly recommendable for anyone interested in Mandarin Chinese.

This is a very good reference work for everyone studying Physics, and especially also for people interested in astrophysics, since all astrophysical terms and concepts are covered in it (unlike in the "Astronomy" volume of the same series which does NOT cover them!!). The book contains some feature articles, diagrams and some useful appendices, e.g. on fundamental constants, SI units, the electromagnetic spectrum, chemical elements, Nobel Prize winners and a chronology of the history of Physics. The book is well written and easy to understand.
An indispensable companion for every student and professional working in this or related scientific fields!

This is a really good reference work for everyone interested in astronomy. It is well written, easy to understand and covers most terms and topics. However, even though the book cover claims that also astrophysics and cosmology were covered, this is NOT really the case as there are far too few astrophysical terms and concepts included in this volume, so students and professionals studying astrophysics will also need to buy the "Oxford Dictionary of Physics" of the same series, which contains far more entries on astrophysics and is much more helpful for this field of study than "Astronomy". The book contains several feature articles, some diagrams and some useful appendices, e.g. on the Apollo lunar landing missions, the main satellites of planets, Messier objects, the main members of the Local Group of galaxies, etc.
A really good book, but only 4 stars because it does not really cover astrophysics.

Ein sehr spannender Film, jedoch ohne Gewaltszenen, der die Spannung bis zum Schluss aufrechterhält und einen sehr überraschenden Schluss hat...(Die Kurzbeschreibung des Films ist etwas irreführend!).
Ein typischer Robin Williams-Film mit Anspruch und Menschlichkeit, der auch durch schauspielerische Leistung absolut überzeugt, sowohl von Robin Williams als auch von Toni Collette. Sehenswert!!
Extras sind ein Making Of und der Kinotrailer. Ein Nachteil der DVD ist allerdings, dass die deutschen Untertitel in der englischen Version nicht abgestellt werden können, was störend ist, und auch die Tonqualität könnte etwas besser sein. Daher der Punktabzug. Die DVD steckt zusätzlich noch in einer Pappkassette als Extra-Umschlag.