Product Description
Baby Sign ASL Flash Cards (set 4: Family Life). We love these flash cards! Set Four includes 25 cards focusing on family members, emotions and health. Sign Babies flash cards introduce the most useful ASL signs for babies and children. The flash card pict
Customer Reviews:
Sign Babies.......2007-09-24
I purchased these flash cards to help my family learn ASL as I have two hard of hearing children who are learning at school. The children like the pictures and often look through them on their own practicing the signs. My one complaint is that some of them have been simplified to be easier for small children with poor motor skills and the card does not show the correct sign.
signing for babies.......2007-03-10
I think signing is a valuable tool for communicating w/young babies who can't yet express w/words. These cards provide basic everyday used words
in simple sign language. My daughter uses them regularly and it's terrific.
Worth the money.......2007-01-09
These cards are great for learning basic signs with your kids. Older kids learn fast from the cards, and toddlers enjoy them too, but be sure to laminate them because they bend and tear easily in toddlers' hands. The pictures can also be used for communication before the signs are memorized because a child can point to what they want by finding the picture card.
Average customer rating:
- Super Reader
- Holmes's second adventure
- Absolutely gripping!
- Tapers off at the end
- The science of deduction embodied in one man.
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The Sign of Four (Penguin Classics)
Arthur Conan Doyle
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
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Similar Items:
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Study in Scarlet / The Hound of the Baskervilles (The World's best reading)
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Hound of the Baskervilles (Aladdin Classics)
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The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Oxford World's Classics)
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The Valley of Fear (Dover Value Editions)
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Lady Audley's Secret (Oxford World's Classics)
ASIN: 0140439072
Release Date: 2001-10-02 |
Book Description
Yellow fog is swirling through the streets of London, and Sherlock Holmes himself is sitting in a cocaine-induced haze until the arrival of a distressed and beautiful young lady forces the great detective into action. Each year following the strange disappearance of her father, Miss Morstan has received a present of a rare and lustrous pearl. Now, on the day she is summoned to meet her anonymous benefactor, she consults Holmes and Watson.
Introduction by Peter Ackroyd and notes by Ed Glinert
Customer Reviews:
Super Reader.......2007-08-04
Perhaps my least favorite of the longer Holmes works, at least the last time I read it, causing it to slip below the magic number. To be revisited at some stage. This in no way means it is bad, just not as beloved, or perhaps as brilliant as the others. You still can't go wrong with Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes.
Holmes's second adventure.......2005-02-05
A young woman visits Holmes and Watson, relating the story of her missing father. This leads one of the most famous partnerships in literature into a strange case involving treasure, murder, and betrayal. As he did in the previous novel of the series, Arthur Conan Doyle tells two stories. One is the tale of Holmes, Watson, and the unraveling of the case. The other is the flashback to the story of the main villain, an adventure tale involving a native mutiny against colonial masters. As a product of his time, Doyle cannot, I suppose, help being sympathetic to the colonialists and there is an undercurrent of racism that can be troubling to modern eyes. However, it is encouraging to note that not a single racist sentiment (that I can recall) is attributed to either Holmes or Watson. This is a fine mystery that benefits from the strong evocation of fog-bound Victorian London.
Absolutely gripping!.......2004-05-14
In this, the second Sherlock Holmes story written by Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes is called upon by a young lady who needs the great detective's help with a mystery. However, when this mystery leads to murder, Holmes must seek to uncover secrets that have lain hidden for many years, and have their roots in treacheries upon treacheries in far-off India. There's a one-legged man who is at the center of this mystery, and he has a murderous friend who may just be the end of Sherlock Holmes!
As I said, this is the second ever Sherlock Holmes story, written in 1890. As with the very best of the Holmes story, this one is absolutely gripping, carrying a fascinating story with mysteries wrapped up in mysteries that only Mr. Holmes can possibly conquer. As an added bonus, in this story, we get to learn about Dr. Watson's meeting of his true love, and his eventual marriage - which should end some rumors that people spread.
Yep, this is a great story, one that is sure to please any fan of mysteries, and is certain to delight any Sherlock Holmes fan!
Tapers off at the end.......2004-01-12
The first two-thirds of this short novel are ripe with the foggy atmosphere of Victorian London, as Holmes and Watson seek to help the pretty young client secure her legacy, a trunk filled with stolen jewels. But the thief-murderer duo are apprehended long before the end, and the last part is his rather mundane account of how the jewels were stolen in India and life at the prison on the Andaman Islands. There's actually very little "mystery" or detection to it, since we know who the thief-murderer are early on. The boat chase on the Thames is not especially interesting or convincing, nor is the romance between Dr. Watson and the pretty client. What saves this is the almost palpable atmosphere of London in the time of Jack the Ripper, plus the outrageous conclusions drawn by Sherlock Holmes.
The science of deduction embodied in one man........2003-08-06
Published in 1890, "The Sign of Four" was Doyle's second work, featuring the legendary detective Sherlock Holmes. The first chapter is appropriately titled "The Science of Deduction", and serves as a wonderful introduction to the enigmatic man and his methods. Holmes asserts that there are "three qualities necessary for the ideal detective", namely knowledge, the power of observation, and the power of deduction. Holmes' abilities at observation are superb, as evidenced by some of the books he's produced on obscure topics like the tracing of footsteps, the influence of a trade on the form of a hand, or the enumeration of 140 forms of cigar, cigarette and pipe tobacco ash. He is careful to distinguish mere observation from clear deductive reasoning, and it is the latter which really is the essence of Holmes. To him the only thing that is important is "the curious analytical reasoning from effects to causes" by which he unravels a case. Already in the opening, he demonstrates his powers of deduction by coming to stunning and perfectly logical conclusions about Watson's brother, merely by seeing his watch. What is obscure to everyone, is of course perfectly obvious to Holmes: "so absurdly simple that an explanation is superfluous." He is the epitomy of deduction and cold hard reason.
While Holmes is the embodiment of reason, Watson is the embodiment of emotion. Holmes is naturally critical of the emotional and romantic streak in Watson. "Detection is, or ought to be, an exact science and should be treated in the same cold and unemotional manner." When Watson comments on the attractiveness of Holmes' client, he replies "Is she? I did not observe." Completely deprived of emotion, he looks not at beauty, but at cold hard facts. "It is of the first importance not to allow your judgment to be biased by personal qualities ... The emotional qualities are antagonistic to clear reasoning." In this story Watson finds himself a wife, something Holmes would never consider: "...love is an emotional thing, and whatever is emotional is opposed to that true cold reason which I place above all things. I should never marry myself, lest I bias my judgment." Fortunately we need not share Holme's cold and emotionless tastes to love him, because we are involved in the story through the first person narrative of Watson, who has more than enough emotion and romance to make up for what Holmes lacks. Watson is a brilliant literary device for Doyle, because it enables us to portray Holmes with his cold logic without having to identify with him. Instead we identify with Watson as passive observers and view Holmes himself as a curious object to be marvelled at.
We need not identify with Holmes to appreciate his passion for deduction. In "The Sign of Four" Holmes applies his powers of deduction to a remarkable case involving Mary Morstan, whose father disappeared under mysterious circumstances some ten years earlier. Investigation uncovers the facts of his death, and the suprising discovery that he has bequeathed her a tremendous treasure. The plot thickens as the treasure disappears along with a classic locked-room murder mystery. Mysterious notes with "The Sign of Four" seem to be the only clue to the mystery. Of course only Holmes can and does unravel the mystery, even when all the other police detectives are desperately misled by both clues and lack of reason. As usual Holmes will cooperate with them, but only on his terms: "You are welcome to all the official credit, but you must act on the lines that I point out."
As with "A Study in Scarlet", we're again introduced to the elements that typify a Sherlock Holmes story. Holmes utilizes "the unofficial force - the Baker Street irregulars" to help him. They consist of a dozen dirty and ragged little street Arabs, whom Holmes pays in return for information gleaned from the streets. "They can go everywhere, see everything, overhear everyone." Holmes also utilizes the power of disguise, which he expertly uses to even pull the wool over the eyes of his companion Watson. But "The Sign of Four" also gives a glimpse of Holmes' weakness - an addiction to morphine and cocaine. The justification is that he only resorts to the use of drugs when he is not busy with a case. "My mind rebels at stagnatism." "Hence the cocaine. I cannot live without brainwork." He much prefers the mental challenge of a case "...it would prevent me from taking a second dose of cocaine." But just as Holme's intellectual brilliance stimulates himself, so it stimulates the reader. In the process of his deductions, he evidences an astute understanding of people, articulating gems like this: "The chief proof of man's real greatness lies in his perception of his own smallness." On carefully asking people the right questions: "The main thing with people of that sort is never to let them think that their information can be of the slightest importance to you. If you do they will instantly shut up like an oyster." On women: "Women are never to be entirely trusted - not the best of them." And as with most mysteries, as readers we are reminded of what lengths the passions of greed and revenge will go in corrupting human behaviour.
As in all the Sherlock Holmes stories, Holmes himself unquestionably emerges the hero. However, Doyle had not yet perfected the Sherlock Holmes formula, because in the lengthy extended flashback of the final chapter as the murderer describes his story Holmes himself falls to the background. The truth is, we want more of Holmes and his deduction, and that's what Doyle perfected in his later short stories. But if deduction is indeed a science as Holmes believes, then he himself is its greatest scientist, and there are few pleasures greater than seeing this enigmatic scientist at work in the laboratory of life. -GODLY GADFLY
Book Description
In his four-volume series Return to Neveryeon, Hugo and Nebula award-winner Samuel R. Delany appropriated the conceits of sword-and-sorcery fantasy to explore his characteristic themes of language, power, gender, and the nature of civilization. Wesleyan University Press has reissued the long-unavailable Neveryeonvolumes in trade paperback.
The eleven stories, novellas, and novels in Return to Neveryeon's four volumes chronicle a long-ago land on civilization's brink, perhaps in Asia or Africa, or even on the Mediterranean. Taken slave in childhood, Gorgik gains his freedom, leads a slave revolt, and becomes a minister of state, finally abolishing slavery. Ironically, however, he is sexually aroused by the iron slave collars of servitude. Does this contaminate his mission -- or intensify it? Presumably elaborated from an ancient text of unknown geographical origin, the stories are sunk in translators' and commentators' introductions and appendices, forming a richly comic frame.
Customer Reviews:
Fantasy with a sense of reality.......2003-03-23
The longest of the Neveryon tales (the other collections are of a bunch of stories each, some novel length, most novella) as well as the second volume overall, this one really gives Delany the chance to stretch out and explore the culture of this world he's created in such detail. The story of a teenage girl Pryn with a goal in mind but basically winds up wandering around all over, encountering all sorts of people and places. However the book is much more than a simple travelogue, and Delany is too smart to reduce the story to simple Point A to Point B to Point C writing. The themes of slavery and sexuality (and when they intersect) are still explored, though not as prominently, but instead Delany chooses to focus more on the nature of power and myth, and how the perception of reality can create myth and perhaps even alter reality. Pyrn herself is a lot of fun, a strong female character, clever enough to follow her own agenda but not completely immune to the forces of other scheming around her. Some other characters make appearances, Gorgik gets basically a glorified guest star appearance but like all the stories, even when he's not in the story itself, his presence informs the actions of all the characters. Pryn's quest takes her all over and if the novel has any problems it seems to ramble at points and not go anywhere, as if Delany couldn't find the right balance between showcasing his culture or making an intellectual point, both of which are harder to sustain over the course of an entire novel. However these are minor issues and will only marginally affect anyone's enjoyment in the book (you also don't need a doctorate in whatever to understand the themes, while a decent amount of this probably went over my head, you can read and enjoy the story just the same) and the rich detail of the Neveryon culture is intact and expanded on brilliantly, from the decadence of the cities to the noble squalor of the huts and villages. His culture feels real but the book doesn't feel like a dissertation. Probably the best prawise I can give is that even with all the highbrow stuff, Delany didn't forget to actually write a story, and given the usual state of fantasy, that's high praise indeed.
Average customer rating:
- Good, not great, not bad, just...above average.
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Best of Sherlock Holmes: The Sign of Four, a Study in Scarlet, Valley of Fear (Best of Sherlock Holmes (Countertop Audio))
Arthur Conan, Sir Doyle
Manufacturer: Countertop Video
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Binding: Audio Cassette
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The return of Sherlock Holmes (World's best reading)
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The Case-Book of Sherlock Homes (The Oxford Sherlock Holmes)
ASIN: 1886089620 |
Book Description
Click for Enlarged View
3 Unabridged Books on 10 Cassettes • A Study in Scarlet • The Sign of Four • Valley of Fear
In the Best of Sherlock Holmes Volume 1, the Literate Listener(tm) series introduces you to the world's most famous detective. The three featured unabridged books are some of Arthur Conan Doyle's finest works, and are presented with the rich reading voice of Patrick Horgan. You'll be highly entertained as you listen to Holmes using his famous deductive skills to solve the mysteries of these three great novels. Includes nearly 15 hours of high-quality recordings.
Over 14 Hours of listening time!
A Study in Scarlet This is Dr Arthur Conan Doyle's first Sherlock Holmes book. In A Study in Scarlet, Dr. John Watson, discharged from the military service after suffering severe wounds, is at a loose end until a chance encounter leads him to take rooms with an amazing young man. The arrogant Sherlock Holmes is a master chemist, and an expert on all aspects of crime. And when Watson is drawn into the investigation of a bizarre murder in which Holmes is involved, he is unaware that this is the beginning of the most famous crime solving partnership of all time. Unabridged. 4 hrs 17 minutes.
The Sign of Four In India, four men swear an oath to keep a terrible secret, a secret drenched in blood, which is the key to huge wealth. In order to unlock the secret, Holmes and Watson accompany a beautiful young woman on a quest that leads them through the dark heart of London to a one-legged man, a terrifying creature, and an incredible tale of greed and revenge. The Sign of Four is truly a detective classic. Unabridged. 4 hrs 11 minutes.
The Valley of Fear A coded warning of impending danger sends Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson to the fortress-like country home of Jack Douglas. When they arrive too late to prevent a tragic death, the great detective and his partner must follow a series of baffling clues to find a murderer who has vanished into thin air. An exciting classic Sherlock Holmes mystery.
Customer Reviews:
Good, not great, not bad, just...above average........2003-02-01
This edition contains `The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes' short stories and the novel `The Hound of the Baskervilles'. I actually stole this book from my High School library but I didn't want to read it until I had read the stories which preceded. Since I've already commented on `Adventures' in another review I'll stick to discussing `Hound'.
Written after Conan-Doyle's `Final Problem' short story about Holmes' `death' this book takes place before his confrontation with Moriarty at the Reichenbach Falls. Doctor Mortimer from Dartmoor comes to visit Holmes with the story of a beastly hound which has killed Charles Baskerville and will more than likely come after his heir Sir Henry.
Holmes promptly sends Watson off to Dartmoor to guard Sir Henry and report back with all developments. This is the point where Holmes disappears for almost half of the book. But he returns near the end to explain the mystery to all involved.
While it is better than Conan-Doyle's short stories in terms of a stronger narrative and a larger mystery `Hound of the Baskervilles' still suffers from long, ludicrous and unrealistic monologues and superficial contrivances. As always the story is told from the point of view of Watson. But it simply isn't a unique enough point of view to make the first person narrative worth it. I can honestly say that if the story was told in the 3rd person perspective it would make hardly any difference.
I cannot for the life of me work out how this book is sometimes regarded as a horror. Nothing in it scared me at all. The hound doesn't even show up until the end. And even then Conan-Doyle's description doesn't paint a very vivid picture in your head.
There just isn't enough intrigue or reason to keep turning the pages. The human and reality-based side of the story comes thru too strongly to allow any sort of fantastical creativity. As a classic it's a disappointment but compared to the short stories it's definitely better than the norm.
Customer Reviews:
Nicely Done.......2007-07-28
Timson is an able interpreter of these beloved tales. Each character has individuality and the overall tone is faithful to Conan Doyle. The musical interludes are used sparingly and effectivley lending a heightened sense of atmosphere. Naxos is to be commended for putting the entire Holmes canon before an admiring public in these fine new editions.
Sherlock Holmes at it's best........2007-05-09
I very much enjoyed this, and, I have many Sherlock Holmes CDs--all good, but this is very very good.
Amazon.com
Arthur Conan Doyle's Study in Scarlet is the first published story involving the legendary Sherlock Holmes, arguably the world's best-known detective, and the first narrative by Holmes's Boswell, the unassuming Dr. Watson, a military surgeon lately returned from the Afghan War. Watson needs a flat-mate and a diversion. Holmes needs a foil. And thus a great literary collaboration begins.
Watson and Holmes move to a now-famous address, 221B Baker Street, where Watson is introduced to Holmes's eccentricities as well as his uncanny ability to deduce information about his fellow beings. Somewhat shaken by Holmes's egotism, Watson is nonetheless dazzled by his seemingly magical ability to provide detailed information about a man glimpsed once under the streetlamp across the road.
Then murder. Facing a deserted house, a twisted corpse with no wounds, a mysterious phrase drawn in blood on the wall, and the buffoons of Scotland Yard--Lestrade and Gregson--Holmes measures, observes, picks up a pinch of this and a pinch of that, and generally baffles his faithful Watson. Later, Holmes explains: "In solving a problem of this sort, the grand thing is to be able to reason backward.... There are few people who, if you told them a result, would be able to evolve from their own inner consciousness what the steps were which led up to that result." Holmes is in that elite group.
Conan Doyle quickly learned that it was Holmes's deductions that were of most interest to his readers. The lengthy flashback, while a convention of popular fiction, simply distracted from readers' real focus. It is when Holmes and Watson gather before the coal fire and Holmes sums up the deductions that led him to the successful apprehension of the criminal that we are most captivated. Subsequent Holmes stories--The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Return of Sherlock Holmes, and The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes--rightly plunge the twosome directly into the middle of a baffling crime, piling mystery upon mystery until Holmes's denouement once more leaves the dazzled Watson murmuring, "You are wonderful, Holmes!" Generations of readers agree. --Barbara Schlieper
Book Description
A Study in Scarlet brings Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson together for the first time, creating one of the most illustrious crime-solving partnerships of all times. In The Sign of Four, an incredible tale of greed and revenge unfolds as Holmes and Watson accompany a beautiful young woman to the dark heart of London.
Customer Reviews:
A study in scarlet.......2007-09-30
A study in scarlet is the first Sherlock Holmes adventure with Dr. Watson, the classic crime-solving partnership. I read it in Spanish (my first language) when I was around 9 years old and I love it at that time.
I just finish reading it, 21 years later and in english, and I still think is a great book.....short enough to read it in a week, probably less, nevertheless, complex enough to catch your attention.
I haven't finish The Sign of 4 yet, but so far it seems to be as good as a Study in Scarlet!
Super Reader.......2007-08-02
A lovely origin story. Dr. Watson, returned from a war and in need of lodgings is led to Baker Street. In this fine location resides one Sherlock Holmes.
They are soon on the trail of a mystery that involves a corpse, and a word scrawled in blood on a wool. Then there are dodgy mormons and a bit of wild west action.
Dr Watson, I'd like you to meet Mr Sherlock Holmes!.......2007-06-18
As Agatha Christie's "The Mysterious Affair at Styles" introduced a grateful reading public to Hercule Poirot, perhaps the second best known fictional detective of all time, Conan Doyle's "A Study in Scarlet" marked the debut appearance of the acknowledged master of detection, the one and only Sherlock Holmes!
John Watson, a medical doctor recently retired from the British military to recover his health and recuperate from wounds received in Afghanistan, is looking to stretch his limited budget by finding another gentleman with whom he can share accommodation. When a mutual friend introduced him to Sherlock Holmes, one might slyly suggest that the game was afoot and the rest, as they also say, became history. Already characteristically melancholy and moody, a jaded Holmes, who labeled himself the world's only consulting detective, is invited by Scotland Yard's Lestrade and Gregson to assist in the investigation of a baffling pair of murders.
With "A Study in Scarlet", Doyle is clearly new to the craft of writing mysteries and the great detective's debut outing suffers from characteristic first novel and new character jitters. The style itself is markedly different from everything that follows in the Holmes canon with the story being told from a third-party perspective. The background to the mystery is revealed through the mechanism of a flashback to the western USA at the time of the Mormon migration to Utah. Feedback from the reading public must have been immediate and - we'll have to hand it to Doyle - he must have been a quick learner. Watson was thereafter appointed official narrator and diarist to the master and Doyle never looked back.
I leave it to others smarter than I to judge whether or not Doyle's historical characterization of the Mormons is justified or accurate! Suffice it to say, that the mystery is entertaining but the details are, quite frankly, entirely unimportant beside the overwhelming fact that this was the first time the world heard the name "Sherlock Holmes". It took Doyle only a few pages for example to treat us to an aphorism that we would come to hear over and over again, "It is a capital mistake to theorize before you have all the evidence."
This novel is a cornerstone in the annals of crime fiction, an extremely important piece of the history of English literature and a darned good read! Enjoy it!
Paul Weiss
Another Mormon reader chimes in . . . .......2007-05-31
I recently picked up THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, which has been sitting on my shelf for over a year and I'm glad I did. The first book in the compendium of his early works is A STUDY IN SCARLET, to which I restrict my comments.
The story is broken into two parts. The first chronicles the murder and pursuit by Holmes, the second provides the background and motive for the murder and ultimately the resolution of the case.
A STUDY IN SCARLET is the first of many Sherlock Holmes novels and is a good place to start if you, like me, are aware of Holmes' preeminent status as the literary world's best detective, but have not yet taken the opportunity to read his adventures.
The first book introduces Holmes and Watson and chronicles how they came to be companions. It also gives an insight into the pains Holmes has taken to develop his sleuthing skills. This introduction is intriguing and will pull you along until the crime is discovered, at which point you'll be hooked.
The development of the rest of the first part is equally intriguing as the mystery becomes clearer and clearer to Holmes, though no more clear to the reader. One is truly impressed by all that is "elementary"* to Mr. Holmes, but imperceptible to we mere mortals.
The second part of the book takes place primarily in Utah at the time the valley was settled by the Mormons. Brigham Young and the burgeoning Mormon society are menacing and effectively occupy the role of the antagonist for the second part.
For those unfamiliar with the Latter-Day Saints, please note that this account is purely a work a historical fiction and is wholly inaccurate in its depiction of Brigham Young, Salt Lake City, and Mormons at large. For that, I deduct a star for the hazard it may present to those unaware of the true character of the Mormon faith. Personally, I found the second part more distasteful than will the average reader because I am a proud Latter-day Saint.
Still, with these flaws, the book is a wonderful introduction to a literary character with whom all should be familiar. I recommend the book.
* I must say that I was disappointed to find Holmes' catch-phrase "it's elementary my dear Watson" missing from this volume (though I don't deduct any stars for its absence). Surely, it appears in later works. I was waiting for it, but, alas, it didn't appear.
An Intriguing Mystery .......2006-02-17
A body is found in an empty house, but there are no wounds, or signs of struggle. With Scotland Yard officials baffled, Sherlock Holmes is called on the case. Watson and Holmes meet through a friend of Watson, because that Holmes is interested in sharing a suite on Baker Street with someone. Soon after moving in together, Holmes is asked by two top - ranking Scotland Yard officials for help with a case. A man was found dead in a house, with no wounds or signs of a struggle. Holmes finds the killer, a man from the United States name Jefferson Hope, and arrests him. But, before being put on trial, Hope dies from a heart failure. I would recommend this intriguing mystery novel to anyone.
One reason for my recommendation is because of the complexity of the mystery. To the normal person, the mystery may have seemed unsolvable, but Holmes somehow, even from the very beginning, seems to know the answer. Even with most of the facts at your hands that the average investigator would have seen, there seems to be no way to know what happened, and who the murderer was. But, Holmes figured it out, and it is even explained how that he figured it out.
Another reason for my recommendation is the way that Holmes solved the mystery, and the way that his thoughts were presented. Despite the complexity of the mystery, Holmes figures it out in a matter of days. He took notice of such things as the height of words written on the wall, and from that came to a brilliant conclusion on the height of the killer. He even noticed the size of the shoes that the victim and the murderer were wearing. The way that Holmes solved and explained the mystery was very interesting.
The last reason is the story behind the crime. Jefferson Hope, the murderer, explains everything about the crime before he dies, from motives to the difficulties in killing his victims. It turns out that many years before the crime, Jefferson Hope had been in love with a fine young lady, and was planning to marry her. But, a Mormon, who believed the girl should marry him, so killed her father, and took her away. The girl later died (from "unhappiness"), and Jefferson swore revenge on the one who took her away. He ended up following the two who killed her love, Strangerson and Drebber, all across the United States and Europe. After many years, he finally put them to rest in London, but was caught.
I would recommend this book to anyone, particularly fans of mystery novels such as this one. Doyle's descriptive writing and vivid use of vocabulary made this book a pleasure to read. If you're looking for a wonderful mystery, then you should read this book.
-Bill L.
Book Description
The four classic novels of Sherlock Holmes available in a new slipcased edition.
The publication of Leslie S. Klinger's brilliant new annotations of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's 56 short stories in 2004 created a Holmes sensation. Here, in this eagerly awaited third volume, Klinger reassembles Doyle's four seminal novels in their original order, with over 1,000 new notes, 350 illustrations and period photographs, and tantalizing new Sherlockian theories. Inside, readers will find:
• A Study in Scarlet (1887)—a tale of murder and revenge that tells of Holmes and Dr. Watson's first meeting;
• The Sign of Four (1889)—a cinematic tale of lost treasure;
• The Hound of the Baskervilles (1901)—hailed as the greatest mystery novel of all time; and
• The Valley of Fear (1914)—a fresh murder scene that leads Holmes to solve a long-forgotten mystery.
Whether as a stand-alone volume or as a companion to the boxed short stories, this classic work illuminates the timeless genius of Conan Doyle for an entirely new generation. Slipcased hardcover; two-color text; 300 illustrations.
Customer Reviews:
Interesting facts pertaining to the Sherlock Holmes novels.......2007-08-10
Having been brought up on the edge of Dartmoor,in Devonshire, SW England,where the Hounds of the Baskervilles story was located I found the annotations to that novel to be very interesting and, more importantly, factual even to the minor details that were mentioned.
I have no doubts whatsoever that the facts connected to the other three novels are just as accurate.
I have thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to any Sherlockian.
A BEAUTIFUL EDITION ~~~to place beside The Short Stories.......2007-07-16
This volume completes this edition of The Annotated Sherlock Holmes. What a beautiful set of books to ponder they are!
Myself, as with many of you, have "grown up" or "lived" with the great sleuth for many years, and it is, of course, for us, wonderful to open this beautiful volume, containing the four complete novels, lovingly annotated in the margins with tons of observations, thoughts, etc., on the great man and his times, and also, of course, on his great nemesis, Moriatry. It's just wonderful to sit comfortably and re-read, ponder, and think about this great character, his creator, and perhaps just smile upon doing so.
This great set of four of the greatest detective stories, along with the two volume companion with the 56 short stories, truly does belong on the shelves of anyone who likes both great writing, and also great detective stories, especially about the "Great" Holmes, whom you'll read over and over and over, enjoying them just as much the 12th time as the first!
Do yourself a Great Favor, and add this wonderful volume to your library...You Won't Be Sorry! ~operabruin
The four novels - in all their annotated glory!.......2007-06-27
This volume is a companion to the two-book set that covers the 56 short stories. Mr. Klinger has done an outstanding job of annotating and describing enough details in each novel to delight the casual reader or the devoted Holmes fan. Most Sherlock Holmes enthusiasts consider their annotated edition of the canon to be the centerpiece of their Holmes library. If you enjoy Sherlock Holmes, you will love this edition.
sherlock holmes novels.......2006-11-06
the stories are wonderful. the 100th anniversary editions are all charming. the re pore between Holmes and Watson is the definition of a true friend. the methodology of Holmes as alway is fascinating.
Great Book -- Get It.......2006-01-20
I first read the Sherlock Holmes stories in high school. Then in grad school (1967) came the two volume 'The Annotated Sherlock Holmes' by William S. Baring-Gould (sadly available now only used). Down through the years I guess I've re-read it every decade or so. Now Mr. Klinger has come out with 'The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes.' I didn't think that it was possible to improve on the Baring-Gould book, but Mr. Klinger has done so.
Besides Baring-Gould, there have been several other writers who have produced books on Holmes. Mr. Klinger seems to have researched them all and summarized their views, particularily where differences exist. For instance, the date that 'The Sign of the Four' took place is fairly important to Sherlockians. Mr. Klinger gives the dates calculated by sixteen different books.
Also added in this edition is a large number of drawings and photographs. Some of these come from the Strand Magazine and date back to the publication of the original story in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Some photographs come from the various movies including my favorites with Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. Others come from book covers, movie posters.
Conclusion: Great Book. If you've done the Sherlock stories without an annotated version, you're in for a real treat. If you have an earlier annotated version, you need this one to complete the set.
Customer Reviews:
Super Reader.......2007-08-02
Perhaps my least favorite of the longer Holmes works, at least the last time I read it, causing it to slip below the magic number. To be revisited at some stage. This in no way means it is bad, just not as beloved, or perhaps as brilliant as the others. You still can't go wrong with Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes.
Sherlock Holmes(The Sign of the Four).......2006-03-10
The weight of the two men splintered the door into thousands of pieces. Inside lay the dead body, ghostly white in the pale moonlight. In this story a young lady named Mary Morstan comes to Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson to help he solve a mystery. She had been receiving letters with pearls in side them every year for the past six years. They go with her to a man's house where he tells them of a treasure that she should rightly inherit from her dead father. When they go to a different where the treasure was they find a man killed and the treasure gone. Holmes goes on a chase to retrieve the treasure which they find the empty box that it was in. This book is good because it is suspenseful.
The way that the characters act is good because it adds to the suspense of the story. The book doesn't explain about what Sherlock Holmes is doing when he left. You keep on reading about Watson until Homes returns. Later, when they are racing to keep up with the other boat they have delays. They will get so close to catching them, and then have to swerve to get out of the way of a barge the gets between them. The author uses these things to keep readers interested throughout the book.
The way that the crime occurred in this book was so complex that Holmes almost didn't catch the person. The last chapter of the book was the longest and the whole chapter was about Jonathan Small explaining how he did it and what his reasons were. The main part of the story didn't explain what the great Agra Treasure was and where it came from. First Jonathan escaped with Tonga's help in his little boat. They came and took the treasure and hid in the docks to try to hide the boat for their escape. Then they were caught but, Jonathan had time to throw the treasure all over the river.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle makes all of his descriptions of people and scenes vivid. When they see the dead man he describes his face as pale as the moonlight on a cold winter's eve. He uses similes and metaphors well in good places to help describe important things. Different places like the dock and the city make me visualize a place bustling with activity. The author does a good job at describing places so that readers can understand the story.
This book is good because it is very descriptive and vivid. The characters and places are unique and have the own personal characteristics. They add to the suspense in the plot making the book and exciting read. Some of the vocabulary is tough, but it makes it a good form of literature. I would recommend this book to anyone.
(...)
Books:
- The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Signet Classics)
- The Aeneid
- The Annotated Pride and Prejudice
- The Basic Writings of Sigmund Freud (Psychopathology of Everyday Life, the Interpretation of Dreams, and Three Contributions To the Theory of Sex)
- The Boy Who Was Raised As a Dog: And Other Stories from a Child Psychiatrist's Notebook: What Traumatized Children Can Teach Us About Loss, Love and Healing
- The Canterbury Tales: (original-spelling edition) (Penguin Classics)
- The Collected Dialogues of Plato: Including the Letters (Bollingen Series LXXI)
- The Complete Arkangel Shakespeare: 38 Fully-Dramatized Plays (Arkangel Shakespeare)
- The Complete Works of Aristotle: The Revised Oxford Translation (2 Volume Set; Bollingen Series, Vol. LXXI, No. 2)
- The Culture Clash: A Revolutionary New Way to Understanding the Relationship Between Humans and Domestic Dogs
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