K Books

William Greiner is definitely an artist to watch! This book is wonderful! The color photographs are haunting and the presentation honors a most memorable subject - graves and memorials to dead. Not just any dead people - but those quirky graves of New Orleans and vicinity are photographed here. The setting often combines the commonplace with the ethereal. A brillant theme photographed by a genuis at capturing the unusual around us. It's really a wonderful book to own and display.

To capture the ironies, poignancies, and soulful idiosyncrasies of the grave sites pictured in this book, William Greiner spent several years traversing the cemeteries of New Orleans and South Louisiana....Despite Greiner's obvious debt to William Eggleston, who is often cited as the father of modern color photography, his photographs stand out as originals. The compositions are provocative, and he renders garish colors into a lushly seductive palette..... Mr. Greiner's small, Louisiana-style models of the barren earth combine with Thomas Lynch's elegant foreward to make The Reposed a fascinating book. Nov/Dec 1999

William Greiner's first monograph is a welcome selection of photographs from his many years of work in color. Greiner's view of the world, mainly in his native Louisiana, is alternately witty, tender and rhetorical. THE REPOSED is a book that the viewer will want to look at again and again.

-- Deborah Bell, Private Dealer of Photographs, New York City

If one picture is worth a thousand words, then this book is worth sixty two thousands words to describe the surreal photographs. Definitely not enough room here to convey what I think is a remarkable look at cemeteries in and around New Orleans. William Greiner is a genius with a camera,who has taken the cemetery photograph and made it into a haunting, beautiful work of art.

If you only buy one photography book in your lifetime, this is it. Nobody has ever said so much with pictures about a dead subject.

I am an English teacher who has been looking for YA books to read in the classroom. I used to teach ninth grade but am now moving down to eighth grade, which is incredibly disappointing because I won't be able to read this book with the younger students. I loved, loved, loved Iggy! There are moments of beauty so poignant that they almost brought tears to my eyes. I found myself talking to Iggy--"No, Iggy, don't do that!" Rarely do I get that involved in even adult literature books. I think any teacher who deals with difficult students should be required to read this text. I wish young adult writers would take the swear words out of their books so I could read them with my eighth graders!

I LOVED "Saint Iggy", and I don't say that lightly. Iggy was lost from the start. He was born to a drug addicted mother and an alcoholic father. Although there was no physical abuse he was raised in a roach infested drug house and basically left to raise himself. He didn't have the good fortune to be intelligent or talented and was never taught to think before acting. His impetuous nature gets him into trouble so many times that he gets kicked out of school. With no place else to go, he goes to get help from an adult friend that needs help even more than Iggy.
This book should be required reading for every teacher, or other adults who have contact with young people. It does a great job of portraying how a young man from unfortunate circumstances views the world and himself and will help you view some of these kids with different eyes.

Randy "Igmund" Corso is a third-year freshman with a colorful track record at school. When you have a record like he does, teachers can lie about you, and no one believes you, especially not the court system that's supposed to decide if you're expelled from school or not. With the way everyone treats him, you'd think he's a bad kid, but he's not. He attends class, sometimes. He doesn't use drugs, even though he was born addicted. He does his best to stay away from his father's drug dealer Freddie, who is always knocking on their door looking for money.

With his dad most likely passed out drunk or high at home and his mom "visiting someone" somewhere, Iggy doesn't have anyone to tell when he gets indefinitely suspended from high school for an offense he didn't commit. Even the social worker can't get through because the phone has been disconnected.

With a few days until the hearing, Iggy turns to his friend Montell, a law school dropout from the rich side of town who is investing his time in pot and philosophy. Iggy needs a plan to straighten out his life, but that's more difficult done than said for a 16-year-old with no skills or money who has just been kicked out of school. His makeshift plan is to:

1) make a plan
2) get out of the projects
3) do something with my life
4) change everyone's mind about me
5) get back into school

During the week before Christmas, Iggy drags himself around the city looking for answers and enlightenment. He keeps thinking about his principal, who told him to "do something that contributes to the world." That seems like such an easy thing to do until he tries it.

How exactly can one kid do something to contribute? What if he's never had any examples to follow? What if the only differences he can make are too small for anyone to notice? And does it even matter if people notice?

Author of the Printz Honor Book FAT KID RULES THE WORLD, K. L. Going has put together another enjoyable read. The contrast of Iggy's dark urban world against Mo's posh lifestyle provides the story with an ideal backdrop for a grim hero like this to emerge. An entertaining novel with more depth than you'd imagine at first glance, SAINT IGGY takes the life of a fringe-living outcast from the projects and makes him someone unforgettable.

--- Reviewed by Jonathan Stephens

Randy "Igmund" Corso is a third-year freshman with a colorful track record at school. When you have a record like he does, teachers can lie about you, and no one believes you, especially not the court system that's supposed to decide if you're expelled from school or not. With the way everyone treats him, you'd think he's a bad kid, but he's not. He attends class, sometimes. He doesn't use drugs, even though he was born addicted. He does his best to stay away from his father's drug dealer Freddie, who is always knocking on their door looking for money.

With his dad most likely passed out drunk or high at home and his mom "visiting someone" somewhere, Iggy doesn't have anyone to tell when he gets indefinitely suspended from high school for an offense he didn't commit. Even the social worker can't get through because the phone has been disconnected.

With a few days until the hearing, Iggy turns to his friend Montell, a law school dropout from the rich side of town who is investing his time in pot and philosophy. Iggy needs a plan to straighten out his life, but that's more difficult done than said for a 16-year-old with no skills or money who has just been kicked out of school. His makeshift plan is to:

1) make a plan
2) get out of the projects
3) do something with my life
4) change everyone's mind about me
5) get back into school

During the week before Christmas, Iggy drags himself around the city looking for answers and enlightenment. He keeps thinking about his principal, who told him to "do something that contributes to the world." That seems like such an easy thing to do until he tries it.

How exactly can one kid do something to contribute? What if he's never had any examples to follow? What if the only differences he can make are too small for anyone to notice? And does it even matter if people notice?

Author of the Printz Honor Book FAT KID RULES THE WORLD, K. L. Going has put together another enjoyable read. The contrast of Iggy's dark urban world against Mo's posh lifestyle provides the story with an ideal backdrop for a grim hero like this to emerge. An entertaining novel with more depth than you'd imagine at first glance, SAINT IGGY takes the life of a fringe-living outcast from the projects and makes him someone unforgettable.

Reviewed by Jonathan Stephens

Copyright 1997-2006, [...] All rights reserved

There's something about Christmas in the city. The lights, the shopping, the darkness. December is the darkest month of the year. KL uses wonderful imagery to describe the life of Iggy, who you care and root for, but it is December, and Iggy is surrounded by darkness.

Yet, around every corner, a light.

It's refreshing to read a book where drugs play a role, but don't get a hundred pages in the protaganist's head or with his/her friends trying to decide what to do. For Iggy, there is no decision. The answer is simply no.

Having been born addicted to crack, he spent his whole life watching drugs destroy his parents. Now, as a teenager, he sees his worthless dad, strung out on the couch each day, and his mother - missing because she is possibly with the local dealer, Freddie.

Iggy wants to do something "good". After a misunderstanding at school in which Iggy's so called reputation causes a teacher to vastly misinterpret his intentions, Iggy is kicked out of school. But first he is given a lecture by the principal which sticks in his thoughts. Haunts him. Wakes him up to the world in which he is perceived, and makes him ache for an answer.

He doesn't have access to things others take for granted, namely money. World peace would not cross Iggy's mind. In his world, he imagines himself saving a kid from a drug dealer. Or, perhaps he could simply find his mother, and with her, the world itself would be good once again.

So, Iggy forms a plan...

Iggy Corso is one of the most detailed characters I've ever read. I would swear if I were to visit the city I would find him walking down the street, or sitting at the barber's getting his hair cut.

This book isn't the typical teeny bop pink fantasy. It's a rare literary masterpiece for the teen market. I hope it gets the attention and the audience it deserves.

I have found this book to be very informative, and completely reliable! It makes trip planning very easy, and I highly recommend it to anyone who is planning a trip to southern california. It is my only guidebook to this place!

Being a former San Diego City resident, I found this book very interesting. It was fun to see all the changes in this beautiful city in the past 25 years since we have moved...it will be very helpful on our next vacation. The book is both informative and entertaining.

San Diego & Tijuana: Great Destinations: A Complete Guide (Great Destinations)This is a particularly good choice for families planning a vacation in San Diego or for local families to have on hand for weekend adventures. Moving beyond the area's acknowledged world-famous attractions, Hardin offers information on kayaking and kite-flying classes, whale-watching trips, and roar & snore sleepovers. Her dining suggestions offer more detail than most guides and include such local favorites as MooTime, Miguel's Cocina, Point Loma Seafoods, Cafe Chloe, Tony's Jacal, and the Chicken Pie Shop. Hardin covers a welcome variety of options for accommodations, restaurants, and activities for all ages and in all price ranges. Excellent travel guide.

Though I have lived in San Diego over 15 years, I love to eat out and get ideas of places to see and do locally so I am always looking out for a new publication with some interesting ideas. This guide is the best I've seen for San Diego. It is written in an interesting style so that I even enjoy reading about the places that I have frequented for years. The comments on the various locations are insightful and personal so that I know the author has been there and been able to get a true feel for the location. I have also used the guide to provoke explorations of new places that I have missed and found that it has led me to a few new gems. It is the first guide I hand to the various visitors who drop by from out of town. Highly recommended!

Great!! Traveled to San Diego for the first time with my 2 children. This book was so helpful. Gave such useful info on so many places.

I found this book to be so helpful. Many online networking guides offer a text-book style tone and approach. This book was actually a fun read and inspired me to further my online networking skills right away. As a somewhat experienced online networker, I thought this book offered so many new tips and tricks sure to help my business succeed. I highly recommend this guide to both experienced and novice networking professionals.

With the recent release of The Savvy Gal's Guide to Online Networking, Diane Danielson proves once again to be the shining light that guides the way for all us gals navigating the brave new world of online networking to strengthen our professional relationships. As with her previous book, Table Talk, Diane shares with us new ways to maximize the powerful union of knowledge and giving -- this time with the WORLD via the web. Diane and co-author, Lindsey Pollak make the book accessible to both younger and "more mature" readers, making it a great source of networking wisdom for women of all ages!

The Internet provides you with a new world to networking. This guide gives you the history of online networking - starting with email, introducing e-newsletters, how to increase your Goggle presence, the 411 on social networks, basics to blogging, closing with internet forums and discussion groups. The plethora of information is presented in a fun and interesting format comparing today with the old world of Jane Austen.

THE SAVVY GAL'S GUIDE TO ONLINE NETWORKING is a must have guide for those not familiar with what the Internet has to offer today. The humor and relevant stories will encourage you to increase your time spent online. There is also information about the Downtown Women's Club - the what, when, how, and where to set up a local club. The easy-to-read nature along with the on-going storyline will keep you entertained while you learn.

Diane and Lindsey wrote a great book to help beginners and experts alike. This book is written in a style that helps beginners really understand what they should be doing with e-mail, newsletters (their own or the ones they sign up for), blogs and blog networking (usually overlooked and hardly touted as one of the best benefit of blogging), forums, social network sites (profiles, interactions, etc.) and much more.

I've been doing this stuff for a long time and there was a checklist of things that I came away with, stuff that I had been neglecting. I recommend this book to anyone interested in marketing their company or their personal brand through the Internet.

Once again Diane Danielson has made networking something fun and engaging, rather than something that makes you run screaming from the room. Relationships matter and so does being smart and deliberate in getting what you want - all presented in her usual kicky style. The dynamic duo of real networking walk their talk - Diane has been focusing on networks *well* before anyone got a Ph.D. in Knowledge Management, and Lydsey *owns* networking in NY. A fun read and important for everyone to know about, women AND men.

I am about to end my chief year in general surgery residency - my copy of the first edition shows the wear of half a dozen total read throughs and probably hundreds of referencings. Newest edition is equally good. For the last 3 years I have given this book to our interns if they finish their surgical internship. And I've paid for this myself - if you know how little residents get paid you will know how important I think it is. If you are in surgical training DO NOT WAIT ANOTHER DAY BEFORE YOU BUY THIS BOOK. I do agree with another reviewer who thought a bit of cool surgical technique would have been good too. But, all in all, best, most useful little book on surgery ever. Nuff said.

Donald Dupuis, MD
Lahey Clinic

this is a fine book in the tradition of "guides to being on call" - or maybe the "guide to the perplexed". I like the straightforward get to the point style, and the directness of the book makes this a useful book to have handy when confronted with some of the emergency surgery problems. I would only say it could have had a bit more on surgical technique, and one or two references would have been useful (instead there was almost a militant insistence on as few as possible). But I would recommend it for any resident who is on call, and I find it useful as a staff sugeon as well.

Chet Morrison
Assistent Professor of Surgery
Director of Surgical Critical Care
Michigan State University

The best general surgery book on my bookshelf. Must-to-read book for all general surgeons and residents.

This is one of the most useful and interesting surgical book in my library. It exposes simply and clearly the situations that a surgeon must face daily and gives precious and updated hints on diagnosis and management of abdominal emergencies.You will read it in two hours with pleasure and interest and remember forever.If you enjoy it, the author publshed previously other surgical books with the same characteristics that you will appreciate.In two words, buy it!

I enjoyed this book so much that I decided to translate it to Spanish(Editorial Mediterraneo,360 pags.,Santiago,2001). I wish to quote from the recent book review in the World Journal of Surgery (January 2002).

"Since Henry Mondor's text in the 1940s there has been no another book written with such ease and wit about emergency abdominal surgery, an attractive battlefield for so many surgical recruits. Dr. Moshe Schein, a general surgeon with broad experience in New York, has presented a compact handbook useful even in the smallest rural hospital. The book is divided into three sections: Before the Operation, The Operation, After the Operation. This partitioning allows convenient access to pertinent information about the diagnostic and operative hitches frequently encountered in daily practice. In its turn each section of the book is divided into chapters devoted to acute abdominal diseases as well known as perforated peptic ulcer and as rare as Curtis-Fitz-Hugh syndrome. In spite of its semi-belletristic style, the monograph addresses each question with competence; even such a complicated subject as the pathophysiology of urgent surgical situations is very clear and understandable. The features of operative techniques for the different emergency surgical procedures and the management of the postoperative period are thoroughly elucidated.

I was unable to tear myself away from Moshe Schein's book, and I have learned much from it, in spite of my surgical maturity. This manual deserves to be readily available in every emergency service and operating room. Undoubtedly it will come to be highly useful for surgeons at every level, and not only for surgical "teenagers."

I complete my review with one of the aphorisms from the book: "It is more difficult to decide when not to operate than when to operate and what operation to perform." This sentence reflects exactly the substance of the book.

Boris D. Savchuk, M.D.

Department of Surgery, Central Clinical Hospital, Moscow, Russia"

I totally loved the book...and it was so well written. I could have never guessed who Mr. Smith was...but then again, I guess that was the point of the book. But everything just moved so fast that by the time I finished the book, my head was spinning. There were no breaks and everything can just zip right through you without you knowing it...you could even get killed without knowing it. That was how great the book was and I totally enjoyed it. And I especially loved Jago. He was such a sweet guy even though he fell with the wrong crowd...he has a good sense of humor...and totally stood up for that Talbot woman. Yup...it was a good book and in the future I will be looking forward to reading more of Jack Higgins books!

This is it! The best work from higgins in years! I simply could not set this thriller a side.

I reserve 5 stars for classics like "The Eagle has landed", but this book comes close. There are plenty of twists and turns and unlike repetitive characters of Higgins, you wonder when a major character in this book will get bumped off the next page.

Sarah Talbot and Sean Egan came from 2 different world, an ex-SAS from London East End who had to quit due to a knee injury, and a Wall Street terror whom Washington bigwigs queue to kiss her hand. But they have one thing in common, people they love had died under strange circumstances and the corpses to smuggle heroin.

Ferguson of Group 4 (in this book, Harry instead of Charles, wonder if they are one and the same), Tony Villiers, another intel officer, knew it was linked to some sensitive issues and made no open inquiry, effectively denying official investigation.

But Sarah Talbot and Sean Egan had no such burdens and vowed to discover the truth and the mastermind behind the tragic deaths of their loved ones.

It was interesting as the bad guys found out early in the game they had crossed powerful people and tried desperately to stay ahead, denying Sarah and Sean information without killing the two bereaved. Sarah carried an aura of protection due to her political connections to the White House, and Sean used his underworld connections to get clues and leads, his uncle being Jack Shelley, an infamous London gangster.

Their adversary was one ex-para named Jago who works for the mysterious Mr Smith. One by one, Jago sought to eliminate the links from the 2 bodies but Sarah and Sean just managed to gain a little clue each time before their links were terminated abruptly.

From London, to Paris, to Sicily, to Ireland, the trail finally leads back to the shadowy streets of London East End where the mysterious Mr Smith is unmasked.

Higgins gave a good description of the trial by fire of Sarah who was determined to step into a different world, of murder and mayhem and lawlessness (illegal ones, not the legal kind in Wall Street). Readers could actually see that it is one thing to be incensed by the murder of a beloved, it is quite another to go out to the streets seeking revenge.

This is definitely one of Higgins' better books, where the reader is kept in suspense and the action was fast and furious but not mindlessly so, with each chapter providing clues and hints and kept essential to the development.

One of Jack Higgins' best. It is a good story with good characters (Sarah, Sean and even Jago). It keeps you interested right until the surprises at the end. All in all it's a good read.

enjoy!

It's one of the bests books I ever read. When you start you can't stop, I recommend for everybody who likes Jack Higgins books.

We don't expect anything less than top notch from Eleanor Taylor Bland and she hasn't let us down!

"Bland tightens the suspense with realistic details and subplot twists before wrapping the narrative up in a satisfying solution."

"The story is particularly engaging for its character and situations, but Bland doesn't scrimp on suspense, building through tragedy, wasted lives and hope to a breath-catching climax. A well-written standout series."

"Bland has succeeded here in producing her most sophisticated, complex, and successful work yet ... the unexpected denouement is as satisfying as it is surprising, giving Marti new evidence as to the quality of her parenting. With this compelling page-turner, Bland firmly establishes her credentials as one of today's most talented mystery writers."

He comes into your home, goes through your things and plots your family's death. Yet detective Marti MacAlister is totally oblivious to this evil presence in her own home. Will her blindness and that of her friend Sharon cost them their lives and that of their family?

In this sixth case of the Marti MacAlister series we find the detective consumed by the murder of a woman and the disappearance of her snitch's best friend. Marti's room mate is consumed by her inability to say no to "Mr Wonderful" thus compromising her self esteem and neglecting the children. Throw in a kid trying to become a gang member, a flasher and people who refuse to report what they see and you have quite a mess going on the job.

This is an intriguing story as we see the intertwining of Marti's personal life with that of her job. We see the budding sexuality of her daughter and the courageness of Ben, her fiance. Marti's consuming time on the job interferes with what is so plainly before her as she begins a new step in her life. Follow her along this track of evil. See if she awakes before it is too late.

This book is short and concise, yet teaches you to untangle the conflicting views you struggle with. I'm only about 1/2 through the book, but I am discovering the angry monster within! But, I thought I was so nice . . . It truly is helpful and I sent a copy to my best friend, also.

The information provided in Self-Parenting was written with great clarity, which makes this book easy to understand and use. The ideas conveyed here were also done with love and nurturing. Both my inner child and I LOVED the whimsy of the illustrations and large print. It's a very well-written book and a great tool. I've used this technique in the past and found it very helpful. I expect to get back to it in the near future.

Most books like this tell you to love your inner child, but don't tell you how to go about it, or the exercises are long and involved. This book is written in a light and humorous way so is easy to read in a short time. The exercises really work and are easy to do. This book changed my life, and if you read it and do the exercises, I can practically guarantee it will change your life for the better.

This small and easy to read book teaches a wonderful way of reconnecting with the Inner Child. I am a self parenting practitioner since only 3 month and can only recommend this book to everyone who is willing to face their true essence and is willing to learn one of the most valuable things in life, to listen. Listening to everything your Inner Child has to say and was never allowed to or afraid of expressing. It also helped me in my daily relationships and interactions to become more aware of my listening skills.
"WHEN I ASK YOU TO LISTEN TO ME AND YOU FEEL YOU HAVE TO DO SOMETHING TO SOLVE MY PROBLEM, YOU HAVE FAILED ME, STRANGE AS THAT MAY SEEM."
This is the task in the beginning of Self Parenting to listen to the voice of your Inner Child and to relearn the parenting style you have been exposed to.
Self Parenting is like everything else in Life. It is not a quick fix, like a tablet you swallow, it requires endurance, commitment and strength in order to feel the results. Like exercise or meditation. To do it just once or on and off will not create the change you are looking for.
But the good news is, IT IS FUN!!!

I have read many books that discuss the benefits of developing a relationship with your Inner Child. This book offers you an actual method that you can put to use every day for doing just that. I have been using Dr. Pollard's technique of thirty minute sessions every day for nearly two years and have found it to be a very rewarding adventure. I promise you that it has changed my life in many ways. A great book and a very practical methodology for getting to know and understand and "listen to" your inner child.

Sadly, Robert Klepper died in 2000, at the age of 32. A very nice fellow and an important film historian. Do pick up this worthwhile book, and mourn the fact that there will be no more from him.

I bought this book last year and love it and use it all the time. I get films from libraries all over the country and look up the movies that come in. I bring it with me if I am going somewhere that I will be awhile and read each review. It has a permanent place on my coffee table. If you love silent films, this book is a must.

This is the best index of silent film that I've ever seen. The reviews are bold independent and informative, if not always completely objective, Mr. Klepper is not afraid to have an opinion. This is a reference that I keep going back to.

I have owned "Silent Films, 1877-1996" for two years, and use it as a constant reference. (If you are a fan of TCM "Silent Sunday" or are a fan of silent movies and would like a guide to watching or purchasing silent film, this is the first reference to which I turn.) This does not cover absolutely every silent film, but there have been very few which I did not find information upon here. "Silent Films" also covers actors, directors, and other cinematographical information. The price tag is high, but for the silent movie buff it is indeed worth the price. I journal my silent movie viewings on its pages to keep a record. "Silent Films, 1877-1996" has gone from investment to treasure.

Robert Klepper has a remarkable love and knowledge of silent film. His understanding of the historical place of any movie he reviews is impressive and thoughtful. The book is a standing resource for any film enthusiast. In watching these films some of our favorite practices are to look for scenes that more modern films either steal (or pay omage to - depending on your thinking) and to pay attention to stunts that no actor or actress will ever have to duplicate in a more advanced film age. These are things that Robert Klepper also makes notice of and shares with his readers. I find his rating system to be reliable to my own standards and his humor to be very welcome - though I think some readers might miss some of it.

I do cherish this particular book and guard it heavily - no one is permited to borrow it. (I am usually pretty generous with my shelves.)

I assure you that the book is well worth the price -it is an excellent resource to the novice or the expert.

J

What a great idea for a book. I had loads of fun reading it (and reading it out loud to family members) during the holidays. We all thought that our family was the strangest, but, boy were we wrong! This book also helped give us tips on how to deal with the ornery ones in our family, too. Helpful and fun. What more could you want?

I haven't finished the book yet but there are clearly a few stories that stand out among the rest. Some were so entertaining & frank, you can't help but laugh. There's a story in this book for everyone because we've all been there!

This book is so much fun, and it's also packed with good advice & suggestions. My sides still hurt from laughing! I bought several copies--they'll be great holiday gifts this year!

Being in the funny business myself, I'm a tough sell, but this kept me nodding throughout -- nodding in agreement, not nodding off. I wanted to send the book to my own family members, but then make Thanksgiving would be even more awkward. Thanks, Evelyn and Pam (editors), for compiling this treasure of stories. Even if I do have to keep them to myself.

What a wonderful series of books, especially the Family Visits. With family coming to visit numerous times in the next two months, I will be chuckling much more than in the past remembering the stories in this particular book.
I highly recommend these stories for personal use and to give as holiday gifts.