Digital Books

This series is the best I have read. It is heavy on character and the art is very beautiful. The plot is more textured and mature than other yaoi titles I've read. The sex is present but not graphic or distracting. My only regret is that it's over.

This volume,like the others, shows the characters growing as people, and we finally get more glimpses of the frightening past of the owner, Tachibana. I really enjoyed seeing him confront the events bringing his past back and dealing with them. I was getting a little worried about him as a character, with all that festering emotion shoved to the sidelines all the time! It's easy to see why this series won the Kodansha Manga Award. It has gotten better with every volume.

As the previous reviewer mentioned, it's sad to see the end of this series, but what a ending to a charming series! I think that the ending is just about perfect, some things are tied together very nice and neat and I was pleased to see that I quessed right on somebody being important to Tachibana's case but didn't see how it would end. I hope that it's not a spoiler to say that the series ends with the reader coming to the conclusion that these 4 guys are going to do alright.

i hated to see this series end, but this was a great fiinsh. the book has the four main characters we've come to love, although it focuses more on tachibana and his memories of being kidnapped as a child. as a result this book is by far the most serious of the series, but there are still plenty of comedic moments. the ending is fairly open to interpretation, but by the end we see how the antique bakery has changed all four characters' lives (not to mention the lives of their customers). leaves you with a strong sense of nostalgia, but let's just be glad that we can re-read this great series. definitely recommended, although if you're reading this you prob. already know how good this series is!

The beliefs of 19th century America Indians has often been talked about. Many wonder where these customs and beliefs came from. Edd Voss has written a wonderful tale about one of many beliefs (legends), that of Apache tears. This story details the classic battle of the whites against the darkskinned Indians. What is interesting about this story is that much of what Edd Voss describes as far as landscape and battle was true to the time and location. Thus, this story needed almost no embellishment for dramatic effect. This classic story is very entertaining, as well as educational. I recommend it. Another great read, Edd.

Joshua Berry, novelist and Amazon shorts contributor

I was born into a culture that embraces many beliefs and I too have been privy to strange things that I cannot explain in a rational manner.

Edd Voss has touched on such a subject matter and much more.

To die rather than be dishonored is a part of many cultures and traditions, and in Apache Tears,we cross the chasm of life into death and into immortality.
The story evoke a series of emotions and comments, but by the time the reader is about take a position the mysterious and the unknown carries you off to a place where dreams begin and hope is abundant. Apache Tears leaves you thinking deeply.

What can I say... An Indian Legend has been brought to life with this authors great imagination. Mr. Voss has given this story a depth of meaning for the Apache's reason for raiding the unsuspecting settlement in Arizona, and the soldiers who went to find them to uphold the injustice that had been done in the white mans eyes. What happened in the end was not expected and thus, how the legend began. A wonderful well written piece. Great job Mr. Voss!

Reviewed by Vickie, (Tory Lynn, author of "My Charming Protector")

In just a few pages, Edd has captured the essence of an Indian myth. A wonderful imagination converted to great writing. An outstanding read!

This book helps ease the monumental transition from Avid to FCP. It is definitely a must for anyone going through the change, but becomes less useful once you get the hang of FCP. Once you are through the transtion, then get the book Final Cut Pro 5 for Mac, which answers the rest.

This book I could only find used, it is not easy to come by...

If you are ever forced to quickly learn Final Cut pro for the odd job where Avid is not a viable option, or you want to start editing your on stuff on the cheap, buy this, read it and practise it for a week and you will be a Pro at Pro, knowing everything there is to know, at least, where to find it and whether it is doable or not. It is a book written by an Avid editor for Avid editors who have to go through the same learning curve. You can be very surprised going through it on how similar the two editing systems are and most of all, how quickly you can synthesise the information and make it second nature. I fervently recommend this book being so well written, going always to the point and covering everything properly.

As an Avid editor and now learning FCP, I can recommend this book for helping to understand where everthing is. This book is a must unless you want to tear your hair out. If you know how it feels going from Media Composer to DS, then you will understand why you need this book and I might add others.

We have been an Avid only edit house for years, but reciently purchased two Final Cut systems. Most of the transition was pretty easy, but trying to figure out how to do some of the things in FCP that we did in our sleep on the Avid slowed us down a bit. This book draws great parallels between the two systems.

I make my living by helping clients brand themselves. It's not easy. People really have no idea what they need to know and do to create a brand. They don't understand what it takes to look and actually be credible online.

This book answers many of the questions that online business people wonder about daily. It hits on issues that you often don't even consider and there are no other books (that I know of) that cover as much, so well.

I recommend this book to all online marketers and those who advise them.

A great read for anyone looking to improve their branded website. This book
breaks down the digital branding process into a number of logical, easy to
understand steps and focuses on what's really important in the eyes of the
consumer. It's also written in a very fluid style so it's also an
entertaining read (not stale and crusty like some business books!). "The Art
of Digital Branding" will be of particular interest to students, General
Managers and Marketers who are looking to improve their knowledge of
branding online. Web designers may also enjoy it, but as it isn't
particularly technically focused they may not find it detailed enough for
their needs.

I am a business adviser and often get asked what constitutes a good website - in future I will just ask people to buy this book. Its an excellent reference for any company that wants to improve it's online image as it nails every concept and explains the likes and dislikes of the average web consumer in detail - including the emotional responses that certain aspects of the website are likely to generate. I also found it humorous and well written - a refreshing change from some of the stuff that's out there.

A great book for those looking to understand the basics of online branding. Concepts covered included positioning, segmentation, basic design, technology, charities and online shopping. I've read a number of online marketing books lately, but from a branding perspective this one is the best so far as its casual humour and easy going language make everything easy to understand and it focuses on the real emotional issues that are likley to influence consumers. The "real world examples" are also a big plus, as are the author's references.

It goes into the basics of bandwidth calculation, leading up to the technologies used to support the different kind of services.

If one were to look for a good read, this book is a good start for a newbie.

This book could be used as a pre-cursor to an indepth research into new technologies.

ADSL, ATM, ISDN is mentioned in the book.

Lastly, this book is not drab and has some humour in it.

Before I started reading this book I had some idea about ATM. Author explains from scratch giving good background about basic communication systems and then starts with why ATM? ,ATM protocol ,reference model and AALx. Finally covering the current trend in home computing . In generally this book is good start for the people who knows IP and whats to know about ATM and this is a good self study book.

I am an Telco engineer implementing adsl and cable modem networks for broadband access service in China. The book came just in time for me because my company is in the stage of building an ATM network providing service like Internet surfing and experimental vod etc via adsl and cable modem. And this book has given us quite clear an infrastructure for the practice.

I am a teacher and consultant to the telecom industry. I bought the book to sharpen my skill set and increase literacy. I was most impressed with Mr. Kwok's ability to take a highly technical subject and break it down understandably. The end result is that both the "techno-literati" and the "average Joe" are well-served. Mr. Kwok apparently is one of us "techies" who also paid attention in writing class. Kudos for an excellent reference work.

Don Gilbert M.S. DG Consulting

This book brings together articles from all aspects of digital audio from a multitude of authors into one volume. To find the same information you would have to dig through countless journals and troll the web, thus this book's first service is saving time for the researcher. Most books on digital audio focus on one particular audience - the programmer, the signal processing professional, or the recording professional. This book has a variety of articles from all of these fields. Thus it is likely that not every article will be interesting and useful to everyone, but the book should have enough articles of value to make it worthwhile to anyone interested in this fascinating field. The author himself cites Andrew Glassner's "Graphic Gems" series as an inspiration, and you could indeed rename this series "Audio Gems" and not lose any meaning by the retitling.

Of course, there are articles on the basic science of sound that should be of interest to anyone starting out in the field such as "Understanding the Decibel" and "Sound Propagation". Those interested in signal processing and programming of algorithms will enjoy Perry Cook's "Introduction to Physical Modeling" which condenses much of the material in his book "Real Sound Synthesis for Interactive Applications" into one digestible introductory article. Included are some of Cook's programs that assist in physical modeling, but he saves his real contribution to this field, his Synthesis Toolkit in C++, for volume two of this series. Likewise Albert Bregman's extensive research on the subject of auditory scene analysis is condensed nicely in the article "Perceptual Organization of Sound" and acts as an accessible introduction. My personal interest is in synthesis and signal processing, thus from my perspective I found the article "Timbre Trees: Integrating Sounds and Images" to be the most interesting article of the bunch. It explained a fascinating concept I had never heard of before involving an integrated approach to motion and sound. The entire concept is not explained in this one article, but there are references to other sources of information if you want to learn more details. This is the whole purpose of this book and its series - to introduce the reader to a topic in digital audio via a clear article, and then refer the reader to more in depth material outside the scope of the book should you need to know more. I highly recommend this book to anyone involved in the field of digital audio.

This book is a great book for anyone that works with digital audio. Audio Anecdotes introduces us to the practical side of audio. Just take a look at the Table Of Contents to see that there are papers on a wide variety of topics. Each of the 25 papers are written by experts in their respective fields, and each provides practical tips for creating great sounding audio. These tips aren't ideas that are obvious even to those with years of experience in the field- many of them come from years of research. In addition to the tips and techniques, Audio Anecdotes is filled with example code so you can play around and hear exactly what the authors are writing about. The CD-ROM comes with demos and explanations for most of the topics as well as the software to compile and run each demo. The software includes Caliper (a custom, text-based program used for controlling demo parameters), Flavor (a language, based on C++ and Java, great for multimedia applications), Octave (a language similar to MatLab), the PortAudio Library (a C library for audio I/O), and STK (Synthesis Toolkit- a set of C++ classes used for audio synthesis and processing). Whether you're going to use all this software or if you're simply looking for some practical mixing tips, I recommend this book for anyone who wants to learn more about the practical side of digital audio.

Audio Anecdotes: Tools, Tips, And Techniques For Digital Audio is an anthology of essays by a wide variety of expert authors concerning the exciting field of digital audio, lessons that can be learned from its past, discoveries directly applicable in the present, and anticipation of new changes in the future. Cutting-edge, practical, advice-filled instructionals include "Timbre Trees: Integrating Sounds and Images", "RampTest: Quantifying Audio Performance", "Designing a Movie for Sound", "Perceivable Auditory Latencies" and much more. A highly recommended supplementary educational text for anyone pursuing or involved in a career in the digital audio field, Audio Anecdotes is clearly an excellent addition to career-themed professional libraries as well as audio technology and technical reference shelves.

Ken Greenebaum, who co-edited this book with Ronen Barzel, and wrote some of the articles, indicates in the preface that his motivation for putting Audio Anecdote together was to get the book he had wished for when he was starting out in digital audio. What he came up with is a wide-ranging collection of 25 articles on various aspects of sound--what it is, how we hear it, how it affects us, how it can be produced and altered, and how it can fool us. Some of the articles are rigorously scientific and technical, while others really are anecdotal and personal. Most significantly there is a wealth of information about the manipulation of sound, and there is some history of the development of our understanding of sound.

Most of the material is aimed at people who have an intense interest in audio, and audio reproduction and development, and who already have some knowledge. However this book also works well for a rank beginner (such as myself). The articles are clear and well-presented with many black and white illustrations, tables, diagrams, and mathematical formulas, not to mention programming code! There is a glossary and there is some overlap in the "anecdotes." For example, after a brief overview of the book, Greenebaum begins with an introductory-like article on what sound is and how we measure it. This is followed by a more technical article by Hesham Fouad entitled "Understanding the Decibel." This in turn is followed by Greenebaum's essay on "Sound Propagation." His exploration of the physics involved is clear and easy to read.

One of the many things that I discovered is that "When we speak on the telephone, a portion of our voice output is intentionally played back to us through the earpiece." Derek DiFilippo and Greenebaum explain in their article, "Perceivable Auditory Latencies" that "If we didn't have a clear sense of hearing ourselves speak, we would tend to talk louder and louder because we [would] assume that the listener on the other end...[wouldn't be able to] hear us either." (pp. 74-75)

I also learned (from Oscar-winning sound director Randy Thom in his article, "Designing a Movie for Sound") that the wise film maker should make his movie with sound in mind pre-production, not as something added on afterward. As Thom points out, in the great cinematic experiences, "the visual and aural elements are working together so well that it is nearly impossible to distinguish them." (p. 406) He mentions the opening of Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now (1979) and the bird attack scene in Hitchcock's The Birds (1963), and the opening of David Fincher's Seven (1995) as examples. And I can't help adding the striking opening sequence from Clint Eastwood's High Plains Drifter (1973) as another preeminent example of how sound can be as important, or even more important, than visuals in making a scene a lasting experience.

Included with the book is a CD that you can listen to with examples of sounds keyed to the discussions in the articles. The effect of latency ("the time between human input to a system...and system output," p. 65) and many other sound phenomena are demonstrated in the most effective way possible--by hearing them.

Special mention might be made of writer Adrienne Ross's personal contribution, "Understanding Hearing Losses and Hearing Gains...," which truly is an anecdote, beautifully written about her discovery of a hearing defect that she had lived with most of her life without realizing it. The fact that she had compensated for the defect by using her other senses, dramatically demonstrates how our experience of sound is not isolated from our other sensual experiences.

Don Stephens has written a gripping short story about a subject that could happen to any of us. The question here is...will any of us react the way Jeff Barkil did in the same situation?
I truly enjoyed reading it and highly recommend it, and look forward to reading his next book. Well done, Don!
Although there is another name on top, the writer of this review is
Christina Brett, author of "Old Sins Cast Long Shadows", "A Nice and Quiet Place" - and "Double Dealing" in early january.

Sometimes younger people make the mistake of thinking that just because someone is not as young as they once were means that they are vulnerable. For three young gang members that idea backfires when they decide to burgle the Barkil home. Jeff Barkil spent quite a bit of time working in the jungles of Viet Nam in a time when it was still just a place on the map. He was doing things that would have given these kids nightmares, unfortunately for them he never forgot his training. See what happens when some wanna be toughs meet the real deal.

This isn't a story you can lay aside and return to later; you just have to keep reading. When a trio of home invaders break into a house the 64-year-old resident calls on the skills he acquired years earlier as an airborne ranger. It's all over in a matter of minutes, every one of them tension-filled. A true nail-biter by D.J. (Don) Stephens.

Author D.J. Stephens is a defiinitely a "must read" novelist! Whether it is his novels, short stories or his poetry. He has such a unique way of pulling you in from the very first page. You will be amazed at how quickly you will he right beside him. You will be seeing and feeling all that he feels, whether it is excitement,fear, pleasure, pain or love. After reading his first novel Bearkiller, I was exhausted but I still wanted more. When I read HALO, I felt every emotion possible, and again I still wanted more. Whether it is his poetry, novels or short stories you will see what a true professional author D.J. Stephens

Jorja Ziller
Store owner

You won't know how this dramatic thriller ends until you read the last word. It's a shocker with depth. The story, taken off newspaper headlines, could be happening around us. The novel reads like a layman's guide to the corrupt business of Media and a Who's Who of people--real and imagined- we ought to recognize. We would love to have this novel open-ended and ongoing!

Like many classic films, the story revolves around a love triangle. But Jack Engelhard's characters in Bathsheba Deadline are far more subtle than characters taken from the film noires of the 1930s and 40s because they have psychological verity. We readers demand it. In film noires, the characters are pawns moved on a chessboard, but the love triangle in Bathsheba Deadline is real. We cannot escape the consequences of the action. The story is happening in real time: we read it as it unfolds.

Throughout the novel, we live inside the head of the main character, newspaper man, Jay Garfield, chief editor of The Manhattan Independent. Inevitably, we incorporate into our own thoughts Jay's self-doubts, tormented guilt, joys, and regrets. In this installment of Bethsheba Deadline #12, we experience cutting through the delicate layers of what it is to be human - from angel to animal - like cutting through a layer cake. We are left breathless.

Letha Hadady
[...]

Is it coincidence or fate that as I write
this headlines around the world are:
"I decapitated with my blessed right hand the head of the American Jew, Daniel Pearl."
In addition the slaughterer boasts that if you don't believe him you can see him carrying Pearl's head yourself on the web!
(I do not think it is coincidence at all.)
I won't tell you why, but it fits right in with part 12 of Bathsheba.
Jack Enfelhard has this gift of taking the reader right along with his main players.
Be it making a minyan at the airport where he utters the holy Shema, going to Jerusalem and putting a note in the Western Wall, like thousands of others who have hopes and dreams.
Then I am catipulted into a car with
strangers on a more then a perilous
ride to Gaza (yes folks this is real and actually happening today) where he
'sees' Phil.
[I wonder how much the BBC will pay the
Hamas terrorists who kidnapped
their reporter several days ago.]
Still entangled with Phil's Lyla,
Jay returns home to NY to a bogus 'trial'
(by his so-called peers), on trumped up charges.
Then we are off to the racetrack for the
grand surprise finale.
Throughout Bathsheba I constantly learn from the author.
History does repeat itself:
Decades ago my grandfather, the late Rabbi Eliezer Silver, in the late 30's and early 40's clearly and forcefully told of the destruction of Europe's Jews by the Nazis.
His pleas fell upon deaf ears.
Three days before Yom Kippor in 1943 he organized the 300+
Rabbis Grand March On Washington.
Rather then meet with the delegation,
FDR chose to play golf, heeding the
advice of his 'Court Jews.'
Grandfather took it upon himself to
rescue living Jews in post-war Europe,
be they in orphanages or anywhere else.
He traveled in my late Father Dr. Nathan Silver's Army Captain uniform
(Patton's 3rd Army).
As Engelhard writes decades later,
Meir Kahane warned what the Arabs
and Muslims would do to Israel,
and they have done exactly as he said.
[One can only wonder why the FBI had
him under surveillance 24/7, while they
turned a blind eye to the Muslim
terrorists coming into the US!]
Engelhard's review of the Millenia-old treatment of Jews by majority
populations is masterful.
Doesn't the world get it yet?
The Jews are NOT going away.
Like every other people on this earth
the Jews have a right to their
homeland, Israel.
Did you ever take a look at that sliver of land on a map of the world?
It is much smaller then the state
of New Jersey!
Throughout The Bathsheba Deadline I am on
an emotional roller coaster,
sad, joyful, calm and worried.
Only Engelhard could pull this off!
WHERE IS THE SEQUEL?

Alright Readers...I've been champing at the bit to rattle off this assortment of word zingers care of Mr. J. Engelhard. I'll have you know there were many many more (say this with your best Carl Sagan accent, ps) than this...though these were the choicest fruit which caught my scribbler's fancy:

** "Still virgins after all those guests?" (<-- why I didn't think of that, I still don't know...BRILLIANT!)

** "Oil is thicker than newsprint." (<-- okay, it's situation specific, but you tell *me* how many writer's would be able to muster up that sort of creativity?!)

** "In 1920, 1921, and 1929 there were no territories of 1967 to impede peace between Jews and Arabs. Indeed, there was no Jewish State to upset anybody." (<-- how true this is!)

** love the word "whoopee." Now THERE'S something I haven't heard in a long long time.

** "This is Jerusalem. Three major faiths drink from this well."

** "People turn Messianic just by breathing in the air."

** "This is what we get for trying to make peace with them."

** "This is about the love of murder and the joy of bloodshed."

~~~~

I dunno folks. You?

I'm deadset in my belief we're all going to have massively mixed reviews from this latest T.B.D. installment. To this here Reviewer's eyes, it marks a radical departure from the tried and true character study and truths which marked Jay and Layla all the way through.

I suppose, like Fleming's quintessential Bond character, Jay and Layla, too, require a new way of being looked at. Prepare to encounter a fiercier and roguer Jay, one clearer of conscience and firmer of conviction, one who seeks righteousness in all his ways, but is perhaps disabused of his illusions about his place in the world as a result of what transpires to him inside these pages.

Why, oh why, I've been asking myself.

Indications are that Sir Engelhard has heard the plump lady sing on this number, folks, but I'm *still* scratching my noggin wondering which director called "CUT!" and which producer called it a wrap on this yummy clambake. We've only just begun to take a good look at Jay's inner soul, and as I scroll through to the final page of this delectable dozen of Shorts, I'm left hanging high like unreachable fruit, dangling above the level like a mighty orangutan, craving fruity sustenance and nourishment but unable to grasp for it.

Jay, oh Jay. Where art thou, oh steadfast brother of ours?

For all who know me from the Land of Amazonia, I'm generally chock-a-block with praise whilst on Shorts Duty. Heaps of same have I for Sir Engelhard, but I'm reluctant to get anywhere near discussion of what goes down in Part 12. Ugh.

My ultimate conclusion is that you must read for yourself all of this. These...these... You must sit back and digest the sour and the sweet of it all, arriving at a suitable conclusion for yourself. I cannot help you, Luke.

As for my overall take? Hue and cry. Filibuster. I say, please Sir Jack, bring Jay back.

Signed,
A somewhat sad, ADM.

In his novel, The Bathsheba Deadline: An Original Novel, Jack Engelhard has crisply, brilliantly reflected our deadly world in its ugliest, dirtiest descents. Yet the novel's varied moods shift regularly into a barely perceived, underlying beauty, seeming to refract darkly, through a war-cracked looking-glass. Using a simple, yet subtly-sophisticated syntax, this author voices deeply-rhythm-ed Songs of Israel, back-dropped by the relentless clacking of dedicated Underwoods.

"Phil Crawford was easy to dislike, which is probably why I liked him.... Maybe I didn't like him all that much, but he was okay. We had our differences, politically."

I'm not merely impressed, but in awe, of how many threads of vital issues Engelhard has woven and mirrored in BATHSHEBA... right-now politics; media foibles and "facts"; deadly-dangerous, romantic roller-coaster rides; political correctness spotlighted in hypocrisy and lack of glory; spiritual moments dawned in the ebony richness of potential doom...

Yet the weave is not too tight. It allows spaces for contemplation between color contrasts; it allows repetition of subplots to prevent unraveling of wayward strings.

The result is a kaleidoscopic tapestry of an engrossing tale which should be terrifying and depressing by content, yet which gives an incredible amount of hope, because of, rather than in spite of, Jay Garfield's last line, which is as exquisitely honest as it is inevitable. Loved that line, though my favorite line was of political incorrectness gone right, from Jay to Lyla, "Can't you stop being a girl for a minute?" I wanted to stand up and cheer.

A favorite plot twist was Jay's Muslim friend's wife breaking out in compassion to Jay, "Allah be with you." THEE favorite plot twist was a Muslim acting rightly to save Jay's bacon, no fuel intended! My favorite exposure was not a Northern one; it was the "going South" of the dark sides of religion and politics, as they enact the power and purpose to sink humanity in one tar glob, into the black holes of anti-life, where falsehoods are sold as truth. (That tar would not be aligned with environmental mania's attempts to discard industrial waste; it would be the byproduct of philosophical idiocy burned balsamic into goo.)

Every word in this novel, alone and by its placement within phrase, syntax, paragraphing... speaks of literary power, full-on and brilliant. The reader receives those searing spotlights willingly (actually he begins craving them). This reception occurs within a strange type of comfort, within what could ironically be called light entertainment. I see this light touch as essential, since what the author is exposing through Jay is a world, now and through history, which should be irrevocably hopeless.

Engelhard's composing style, and gentle use of constant contrast ("This, but that, too") seem to serve as a continual release of the bondage of powerlessness... a bondage which sometimes arrives from setting in concrete a belief or stand, before the time has come to do so. As Garfield says, a true prophet always knows what time it is. Jay comes to his time at the right moment.

I believe Engelhard could accomplish this release for readers through fiction or through his type of journalism, as he chose. In this wholeness of effect Jack Engelhard has transcended the literary greats (who too often begin and end with nothing beyond eloquently detailed depression).

This transcendence comes through a painting in words of the elemental forms of profanity and powerlessness.

This transcendence comes within a syntactic paradigm of a not overdone, barely-there sense of hope for redemption, a sense of joy in the power of a soul connected to the Height of Good...

(... even if that good is way up there somewhere, barely reachable beyond ozone layers and holes in the Universe, beyond the broadest rainbow... yes it was a HUMAN who stole the ONLY pot of gold... and it wasn't John Galt!)

For me, the most potent segment of this novel is Jay's journey to, and short stay in Jerusalem, where he sinks into the physically dark, spiritually enduring events and ambiance there. In that pilgrimage, this novel's power explodes and implodes. An uncanny dynamic balance comes to catharsis through a scene in a motel room in the middle of the night:

... the sense of a presence... the shadowed, mirrored image of a tall, thin, bearded man... the gifting, discovery, and working into acceptance of The Blessed Cane.

That scene had the seated feel of being lifted from a lucid dream Engelhard may have had, around which he may have written this book. The actual dream there served as a quantum kernel of hope, seeded within the essence of horror.

The motel room sequence felt like touching a spiritual force, delicately but absolutely, like touching a purity of potency which is not limited to any religion, book, or viewpoint, possibly not to be as easily found in any of those, as through the individual soul of each human being. It was so very appropriate that Jay would touch that through his father's heritage, sharing it from that paradigm. Icons of religious trappings, talismans, and traditions exude a mesmerizing magic. These can be good, as can an un-tethered soul in solitary search.

After contemplating the Jerusalem sequence in the middle of night, I clarified what I saw in connection to this novel, in a puzzling vision of red votive candles, which I had after reading the first part of the book. This novel subtly nurtures a type of hope I felt in my youth, from red-votive-candles flickering in church at night. I felt a clean, quiet sense of rightness to come. As I felt that subtle connection to BATHSHEBA, doubts flared, discounting the feeling and votive candle parallel:

Why would an image from my Catholic past intrude on a novel with Jewish spiritual symbolism (which has always fascinated me). Yes, Garfield's mother was Catholic; his father Jewish. But that joined contrast wasn't woven into BATHSHEBA'S plot or subplot tapestry...

It was after reading the scene of the Rabbi-Blessed-Cane, that I realized the link of the cane to the candle. I was sparked to visualize those images artistically overlapped in a painting of spirit-in-oils which might do justice to this novel's holy moment. I couldn't hold the symbols within the same visual, tactual space. They needed to be kept separate to avoid breaking down a reality, a reality which is working both those icons, and more like them, from different spiritual kaleidoscopes. Yet, I wanted to see them together.

I can recreate my vision of the votive flickering... or I can call up Jay's vision of the shadowed presence in the mirror (felt like a rabbi from higher realms), and the cane.

The red-votive flickers gave a welcome memory of my few times as a child going alone to the church at night, sitting in a middle pew on the right, breathing the presence, focusing the candle collections, always lit. Sometimes I would kneel by the candles and pay my coins to the box, then watch the flame I had lit, for a long, peaceful time. I enjoyed being in the church alone at night much more than I enjoyed the Masses with their Holy Words (they were supposed to be holy, were to me then, but I don't quite see some of the meanings that way now) voiced, read, and prayed, among the day's light and crowds.

The above doesn't begin to hint what this novel draws to consciousness, even on the spiritual tumbles of the kaleidoscopic tapestry of BATHSHEBA. Then there are the political, journalistic, romantic...

Buy and read the book! See how this wealth of global microcosms works into a story of high entertainment, possibly better than any other book you've read, with more truth exposed than you'll know what to do with. Months will go by; you'll reflect on these scenes and schemes, and you'll know.

With confidence I say that Jack Engelhard expertly manages the medium of the novel, as he does journalism and op-eds. He is an Nth degree, mastered professional of the effective use of the writer's voice.

With greatest respect for those among us who walk with words,

Linda Shelnutt

Shelnutt is the author of several Kindle books, including MYRTLE'S ULTIMATE MYSTERY; including The Books of Gem: THE ROSE AND THE PYRAMID, FULL MOON RISING, NEW MOON BLUES, QUARTER MOON DUES; including in Amazon Shorts a serialized novel, MORNING COMES The Pre Dawn Blues (Book 2 in The Books of Gem), and a Visceral History series of short true stories featuring the mining industry in a small town in Colorado.

...because then you're going to accuse me of being arbitrary with my granting of stars, and I've got to admit that I'm not. I'm actually quite judicious...reading right along...

First off, more Engelhard quotables from Part Five...p.s. Jack, I totally digged the way you brought back a couple of Montreal momentoes and references from your childhood days with mentions of that "Letters to the Editor" gal Marie something-or-other and then the two-in-a-row references (Parts Four and Five) to Maurice Richard, the late great player on the Canadiens hockey squad.

Here goes, let's begin with the quotables:

** from the prophet Isaiah: "Woe when day is called night, night is called day, bitter is called sweet, sweet called bitter." (<--- LOVED that verse, ain't it so true?! I'm sure people have been quoting this for, well...for centuries! What a sage insertion at this point in the game, power to you, I prostrate myself before thee and touch your feet, in the finest of Hindustani traditions -- I can't believe it took me this long to get to the bottom of this series, incidentally!)

Okay, so some more of these...

** "To get to the top a woman has to go down."

** "But he was terrifically square-jawed and handsome and you just knew that he was just biding his time for the next casting call." (<--- brilliant refernece to the vapidness of L.A. I once heard John Leguizamo say the same thing about L.A. in comparison to New York, said he: "At least in New York you can get out there and TALK to people! In L.A., everyone's locked into their cars...it's crazy, L.A. sucks!)

** "'You're pro-Israel, aren't you?' I said I'm pro-truth and immediately hated myself for being so pompous and self-righteous."

** "He grinned when he said, yes, he was an Arab himself, but that 'we're great at deception. Deceiving ourselves, deceiving the world.'" (<--- this was a particularly apt little quotable, and, basically, the entire passage where it appears, I'm generally impressed to the nines with how it was laid out. I had to reread it, and then marvel (like the comics) at how fantastic this was.)

~~~~

Part Five delves into areas of the lead character's rock-solid sense of integrity.

You're going to learn a great deal about Jay's moral boundaries, the sorts of things he's comfortable with (because we all push those limits now and again), and even though he might be slightly morally compromised (okay, he's boffing Phil's woman), you realize that he's got an essential underlying morality that won't be tossed out the window (he's not going to send Phil to his death just because. And Jay's also not the sort of dude to sit idly by when a damsel is in distress -- note how he slugged Kevin the heck out -- I mean, come on, we ALL know that Phil wouldn't do that -- the last time Phil had a chance, he turned tail and ran).

I think Jay's dilemmas are indicative of the rest of the human condition, in that certain aspects of morality are variable and fluid. Meaning, there's a fixed portion which we won't compromise for a soul -- in Jay's case it's his pro-Israel stance (really, the only stand possible) and his old-fashioned sensibilities with respect to loyalty (for Lyla) and his unwillingness to cop to any fanciful notion and cover story/feature article in his paper strictly because it's fanciful). Conversely, then there's a part of him and his moral code which is up for grabs, that depends on the current situation in which we find ourselves at whichever point in the story. Morality isn't a monolith. It shifts and moves and adjusts. I like that about Jay, makes him all the more accessbile to me, and I want to empathize with his troubles, his inability to resist Lyla's charms, even though he knows in the end that it will probably end up badly for him.

You've also just got to love the manner in which he kicks around the idea of sending Phil to the West Bank to see the Hamas-ites. First he's enthusiastic, then he quibbles, then he's all for it again, then he splits himself again. Depending on the level of his righteous indignation is the level at which he's going to stick doggedly to his decision to banish Phil -- like, as Jay often cites, "Uriah in battle."

All I'd like to know is how does Jack manage to do this? Where does he come up with the lines?

A theory about the writing of this part, however...I bet Jack was actually in L.A. at the time he'd written this portion. That explains the copious Brentwood references, from what I can tell. Even if I'm wrong, which I probably am, it's a humdinger of a guess, ain't it?

Moving onto Part Six....

-- ADM in the Golden City on a Friday night, realizing that the charms and the hot girls in Prague are virtually no comparison for a night of excellent fiction with the likes of Jack E.

If you don't know what's making news in the US or the world, read Bathsheba.
You yourself become more worldly!
Everything from the Cheney hunting episode to the explosive and violent reactions to the Mohammed cartoon, and the effect it has on the end of part 5 left me gasping for more, and wondering what will happen next.
We are introduced to new characters and the players we already know are further developed.
Did he really think Lyla would be a lady?
A lady is not what he wants anyway!
(The JD Salinger sub-plot is genius.)
He names names in contemporary media and talks his truth about what it takes to either get ahead or not.
He shows himself humanely when he tells Lyla's husband, a man he purposely was placing in harm's way, to come home (to safety).
Jack Engelhard knows how to tell a story!
He does a good job comparing LA "Girls" to Manhatten women.
I couldn't agree more, and that's why I live in Northern Calif.
He is so right about attitude:
I would only add that the attitude in LA
is as sanitized as the rest of it wants to be.
Can't wait for part 6!

Author Jack Engelhard in "The Bathsheba Deadline Part 5" proves himself a genius at walking a thin line between comedy and drama. Tough-minded but thoughtful Engelhard contrasts New York and Los Angeles even better than Woody Allen did in his classic movie Annie Hall. Our protagonist in Bathsheba, Jay Garfield, chief editor of The Manhattan Independent, flies to L.A. to get privileged information from a photographer that may save him from scandal. Jay's descriptions of L.A. are quietly hilarious. He finds smiling movie stars everywhere and streets so clean you could eat off them. "In New York," he quips "poor people would be eating off the streets."

As usual, Engelhard, who has a large international Internet following, jabs at the media Establishment, naming names. He suggests that sexual favors get anchor people their jobs. But a skimpy view of Baba Wawa is going too far... I can't imagine any sort of sexual scene involving her except perhaps in a pre-historic cave hooked up for cable.

Engelhard is topical and uses the uproar over the Danish Mohammed cartoons to move his characters' actions. The old saw suggests that a picture is worth a thousand words, but Englehard proves it wrong: You need words, lots of edgy, thought-provoking ones to move mountains. This installment of Bathsheba, like the first four, is fast-moving so that you jump right into the sophisticated political, social, sexual scene that is Engelhard's meat. You'll gasp, applaud, and enjoy!

by Letha Hadady
author Asian Health Secrets

Part 5 keeps the fast-moving tempo of 1 through 4, and you beome concerned whether you should be worrying more about the next terrorist attack than if Jay and Lyla are going to get caught. The action is so contemporary that the headlines in Jay's Manhattan daily someimes seem to beat the ones we read over breakfast or see on the morning news.

Uhuh, I say, to the previous reviewer from a couple of sections back who mentioned that Engelhard was beginning to lose his sauce. Right...not!

The plot has picked up nicely here, and Part Seven concludes on a nice little cliffhanger. Jay Garfield receives an unexpected visit from the likes of the security chief Elias Francone of the Manhattan Independent's grounds staff, and all hell threatens to break lose when a tape emerges which shows Jay getting it on with none other than...

...ach, you know, what's the point in giving you a play-by-play? That's not what you come here for -- to read my reviews of plot points and the like. You like my schmaltz, my Bohemian charm (literally -- check out where I'm from), my essential chutzpah, and for an irreverant twist and the tried and tested book review, no?

Look, my friends, just get out there and purchase this Short and read it for all for yourselves, if you're so curious! (said with my best Jackie Mason accent, incidentally) -- besides, if you're reading a review for Part Eight here, it means that you've already had the brass literary cojones to make it until part seven (and what's that, $3.50?)-- so g'head and splurge the extra half a dollar on this penultimate section -- aren't you burning up with curiosity? I'd be... :-) Jay Garfield and Lyla Crawford SIZZLE up the page! I can't wait to see who's going to be casted in this one...

Besides, Eight is a darn good little yarn, and nothing that I myself could purport to say and ascribe my name to would even dare to match the clever delivery of author Engelhard's punchy prose. Best leave the expertise to the fiction experts, and that's that. I don't profess to be one...

Here are some of my choice Jack Engelhard quotables (as I've been doing for Parts 1-7, inclusive) from this little 24pp. read:

"...and not even New Year's -- what are people so happy about? Another year? This is good?" (<-- ADM: I imagine this should be delivered in my best "Polishe-grandmother" tone. Mind you, it might sound off well in just about any accent...power to the Jack-man!)

(ADM question: Hey Jack, did you really work for a carpet company in a previous life in Cinci? Would love to know where that particular Jay Garfield facet comes into play here, since (admirably) so much of your BATHSHEBA narrative mirrors your earlier days in Canada and Ohio. I love how things are beginning to come full circle.)

"Truth is not my business. Facts are my business." (<-- ADM says that's a beautiful spin on the old Kosinski line. Nice going! One of my favourite writers, now being liberally quoted by one of my new favourite writers. Yes mon!)

These were the two which stood out most strongly for me in this Part. Usually I've got something of a smorgasbord on offer, but you'll have to forgive me on this go. None but these two stood out as starkly.

Very little was mentioned here about Phil, and that's a good thing. Inside these Part Eight pages, we dove deep-down and delectably into the psyche of the writers -- the real scribes, people like the fictional Jay Garfield, Managing Editor of the Manhatten Independent, and the man *used* to be; reinforced by Sam Cleaver, a cub journalist who's beginning to "see the light." I majorly digged how we feasted on the writers waxing poetic about the practice of their craft, and with Jack liberally quoting from Hemingway, I love how they arrive at a conclusion that Sam might be on the fast-track to "selling out," and how Jay might be washed up for having sold out on his ideals.

It's a scathing indictment of the practice of (a somewhat perfidious?) journalism. Loved every word, sentence, and paragraph of that passage.

I don't want to waste too much time here. Onto Part Nine.

-- ADM in Prague with the flying fingers...

The reader is taken into the depths of today's newsroom:
Human nature reigns.
A "good writer" is facing a real dilemma.
He is an idealist in a business where luck is everything.
He wants to tell only the truth.
He is a purist.
He is also gravely disillusioned with his work at the newspaper, media in general, book publishers, etc, and feels it necessary to quit his job.
Not so easy.
He can't let go of the story about the "Miracle Rabbi", Rabbi Eliezer Silver, who saved thousands of Jewish orphans and adults in postwar Europe, wearing my father, Dr Nathan Siver's 3rd Army, (Patton) Captain's uniform.
As though it was yesterday, I vividly remember a call to grandfather's home in '68 from Russia, needing help 6 hours before he passed.
A Jew in the Soviet Union was being persecuted for alleged "ribbon crimes."
In actuality, he was being persecuted for being a Jew!
The meeting of the idealist and his boss takes place at Belmont Racetrack.
The reader gets a quick efficient lesson on horseracing and the thoroughbred world.
We're truthfully reminded of our 12 minute attention spans!
Was anything settled at the track?
What will happen to the "lovechild"
and parents?
What role will Islam and Sharia play?
Will someone die because of the discovery at the very end?
Why has Engelhard got another bestseller?
HE IS SO REAL!
Thanks for the memories, Jack.

The Bathsheba Deadline Part 8 gives us sex, appealing glimpses of "athletes," and touches on an insidious form of terrorism--the everyday abuse of facts and the power the Media has over people's behavior.

Jay Garfield, chief editor at the Manhattan Independent, escapes work for a day at the races. He takes along cub reporter Sam to an off track racing parlor to let the novelist talk his heart out. Sam's novel, which encompasses a passionate story that could equal Schlindler's List if it were made into a movie, has been refused and insulted by editors. In despair, Sam believes that no one cares. The media and other forms of snooping and censorship have changed the face of what is valued in society.

Back at work, Jay finds that unknown assailants care too much about what happens at the paper. Someone's life is threatened. Will it be Jay, his lover Lyla, or her husband Phil? Sex, deceit, and orthodox religion make a deadly cocktail that threatens anyone alive today.

Letha Hadady
www.asianhealthsecrets.com

I've been following this series from the start, and I'm hooked! I look forward to downloading each installment, and must admit it just keeps getting better! I've followed your writing for a while Jack, and hope I will see this novel on the big screen just like Indecent Proposal. Can't wait for next month! Thanks again!