Richard O'Brien Books

Over the past few years an avant-garde style of bird identification has arisen. The classic "Peterson Identification Method" (much revered by bird lovers, instrumental in the formation of birding itself, and still highly useful), which stresses the importance of unique "field marks" is slowly ceding to a new holistic approach (also known as GISS: General Impression of Shape and Size).

This guide is at the forefront of that movement, along with Pete Dunne's Essential Field Guide Companion, and should be on the shelf of any birder who wishes to improve his or her identification skills. Novice birders often wonder at the mastery of experts who can identify birds far away immediately without raising their binoculars; such ability can only come with experience, but this book offers valuable insight into that esoteric ability.

This is the Bird ID book that can stay on the coffee table. Pages and pages of wonderful pictures of shorebirds make up the front section of the book. Let me be quick to point out if you are looking for gulls or terns they will not be in this book. This is a book about the small brownish birds ( sometimes called Peeps) that can be seen on our shores. Sanderlings, sandpipers, Godwitts, Dunlin, and our rapidly declining Red Knots are the subjects of this book. If you want to know shore birds this is the book.

This book was extremely helpful for identifying shorebirds. It shows them on the ground close up, in flight and in flocks. Detailed descriptions of status, taxonomy, behavior, migration, molt and vocalizations. Photography is excellent. If you live on or near water and need a guide, this is the one!

I bought this book for my uncle who LOVES bird watching and he is amazed with this book! It offers a lot of information many other books don't. I highly recommend purchasing this for the bird lover! :)

Of all of the information available that involves Shorebirds, this book is equal to none. It provides the most organized and complete understanding of the complicated life cycles of these birds. The photograpy is excellent not only in its quality but also in its visualizations of the different life cycles. The book advances how we look upon these types of birds by drawing refined attention to their life cycles and their ecosystems. This is a must have for all birders libraries.

Cork Silver And Gold: Four Centuries Of Craftsmanship was published to coincide with the exhibition in the Crawford Gallery Cork, but stands alone as well as the first to detail the work of Cork silversmiths and goldsmiths, and will appeal to specialty art collections. Both public and private holdings were culled for this feature: what results is a display which will serve as both a history and a reference to any dedicated jewelry student studying Cork craftsmanship.

Cork Silver And Gold: Four Centuries Of Craftsmanship was published to coincide with the exhibition in the Crawford Gallery Cork, but stands alone as well as the first to detail the work of Cork silversmiths and goldsmiths, and will appeal to specialty art collections. Both public and private holdings were culled for this feature: what results is a display which will serve as both a history and a reference to any dedicated jewelry student studying Cork craftsmanship.

Cork Silver And Gold: Four Centuries Of Craftsmanship was published to coincide with the exhibition in the Crawford Gallery Cork, but stands alone as well as the first to detail the work of Cork silversmiths and goldsmiths, and will appeal to specialty art collections. Both public and private holdings were culled for this feature: what results is a display which will serve as both a history and a reference to any dedicated jewelry student studying Cork craftsmanship.

Cork Silver And Gold: Four Centuries Of Craftsmanship was published to coincide with the exhibition in the Crawford Gallery Cork, but stands alone as well as the first to detail the work of Cork silversmiths and goldsmiths, and will appeal to specialty art collections. Both public and private holdings were culled for this feature: what results is a display which will serve as both a history and a reference to any dedicated jewelry student studying Cork craftsmanship.

Cork Silver And Gold: Four Centuries Of Craftsmanship was published to coincide with the exhibition in the Crawford Gallery Cork, but stands alone as well as the first to detail the work of Cork silversmiths and goldsmiths, and will appeal to specialty art collections. Both public and private holdings were culled for this feature: what results is a display which will serve as both a history and a reference to any dedicated jewelry student studying Cork craftsmanship.

Got this as a present for my daughter, and she hasn't stopped playing it! Great item!

I ordered this songbook while directing a production of The Rocky Horror Show to use until the actual score arrived. It is surprisingly accurate, and actually contains more information on vocals than the score does. It was perfect for auditions and saved me from disaster during early rehearsals (since the score arrived 2 weeks later than I needed it)!

This book was really great, I found out things I never knew about Rocky Horror, and I'v only seen that movie around 100 times! Richard O'Brien is pure Genious!

Second of two large soft cover books by Richard O'Brien, specifically aimed at the identification and fair value of American Made Toy Soldiers. Includes brief history of each manufacturer pre and post WWII styles of soldiers. Top quality materials, mine has traveled thousands of miles in suitcases, back packs and the backseat. Opened and closed hundreds of times, it is still in great shape. Crisp and clear photos of most of the listed items have helped avoid confusion and misidentification.

With on-line auctions setting the pace in the toy soldier collecting world. An identification guide of this quality is a must in establishing a BEGINNING bid, while desirability sets how high the actual cost will go. Hopefully, an update of this book is in work as in my opinion the on-line auctions have driven the price of many of the toys to often double their listed price.

I've been collecting American toy soldiers all of my life, and this is by far the best guide that I've ever found. It works as a good overall history of the subject, as well as, a specific historical guide to the companies and individuals involved. It is also superb as an identification guide and for approximate pricing.
Whether you are into cast metal figures like Maniol, Barclay, or Grey Iron, or the classic Marx, Ideal, MPC, or Lido plastics, this is one great guide. It even covers comic book flats, paper soldiers, cerial premiums, and the original G.I. Joe. You can spend hours just flipping though this hefty book and reminiscing, even if you don't currently collect.

The Last Dark Place is one of those books that make you think. I particularly liked the skewed version of Heaven and Hell portrayed in this novel. And the immortal Roman who bumbles through his everlasting life waiting for the Second Coming should not be missed. Beware the evil dream clown...

After centuries of exile, Satan wants to return to the glory of Heaven. In order to make his return, he must find someone to replace him as ruler of Hell. Meanwhile, in a small town in New Jersey, a young man named Jimmy Christophe is having strange dreams and hearing voices coming from his air conditioner that make him think he is destined for something more than his normal life.

Mr. O'Brian has filled his novel with twists, turns, and bits of surreal humor like the Greek chorus of Arch Angels and gay bashers in superhero costumes. If you like the works of Clive Barker or Kim Newman, you will like "The Last Dark Place".

This is a GREAT book. It is a MUST read for all 4th grade teachers and students. It has universal appeal, that I think anyone, who enjoys reading about history, in a kind of you are there style, will enjoy. I have read this book yearly to my 4th grade classes since it was first published. The story is based in the Rancho period of California history. It is unique in that it is about a girl, and how daily life on a rancho affects her. The girl is young and the kids easily relate to her. The story itself is fiction. But, it is set on a Rancho that really did exist in what would later become Ventura County. The names of the people that the girl and her family interact with are real names of local founding families, and are historically accurate. A LOT of research has gone into making it as historically accurate as it can be. There are other good fiction stories for other periods of California history, but usually a boy is the main focus. It is WONDERFUL to have a book that has a girl as the main character and to have one that strives to be historically accurate while still telling a good, engaging story.

Absolutely fantastic book! I purchased a copy and was able to identify every foreign soldier I had and sold them for big bucks. COuldn't be happier!!

This is a brief introduction to the work of the great Irish visionary, George Russell. It includes an interesting chapter on A.E. as a Theosophist. The authors were amazingly respectful towards George Russell's desire to be considered a contemplative and a visionary rather than a scholar and writer. There is a useful chronology which lists the important events in A.E.'s life and career. As the nearest contemporary visionary poet to our times, George Russell deserves more serious study than he receives and this little book is a good place to begin.

I admit that I purchased my original first edition of this book solely for the photographs of Tahiti and the nearby island of Moorea. The prose was of secondary interest to me.

However, upon reading the first chapter of this Irish-American adventurer's memoirs, I became hooked on the fascinating descriptions of the places and the people, whose life style was already, in 1921, being replaced by imported modernity.

The attitudes are, of course, dated and ethnocentric, but the author's love for the lands and the life of the South Seas becomes evident, as the many characters (both native and expatriate European) virtually come to life in this charming first-hand account of life in Tahiti.

This is a wonderful volume to dip into a little bit at a time, and some parts will read more easily to a 21st century arm-chair adventurer than others. But it left me with an intention to seek out the other two South Seas books by the same author, "White Shadows In The South Seas" and "Atolls In The Sun".

If you like travel memoirs of exotic, unspoiled places, you'll enjoy this book immensely, as I did.

Frank Dalton Embreeville, PA

"The One After Snelling" is the work of a master story teller. Richard O'Brien's riveting book is filled with suspense and intricate plots with surprising twists and a rich array of characters. I found it hard to put down and have read it three times, each with new revelations.