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A young Flt. Lt. leads his men into the unknown on a mission that may be vital or may simply be politically expedient. On the way, John Cassell weaves the threads of race relations, courage, threachery and death into a story that puts the reader into the shoes of the young man as he tries to overcome his inexperience and bring his men safely to their objective. The story and its sequel are taken from a larger work but the snippets of information given by Cassell, such as the fate of Connie, only serve to heighten the drama. Read this one and you will want to immediately read the sequel. I just did so and I reckon that you will not be disappointed.
It is inventive and thought provoking storytelling.

Cassell should stick to writing stories [such as this one] and let someone else do his product reviews. If you haven't read the product blurb "Cassell speaks about..." DON'T!!!! This story is one suspenseful circumstance after another. Besides the overall question of how they are ever going to make it, are the other situational ones leading up to the thrilling "who is the traitor???" The interaction between the young officer and his men is very good...as is the green officer's deferential attitude toward his senior NCO...intermixed with the question whether he is secret police [!!]. Throughout the long trek through the mountains with this valuable cargo..with the Communists likely to appear at any moment... you feel the camaraderie growing among the men, their commander and their industrial companions. It's the kind of military stuff with universal appeal. It's a story for anyone about pulling together...trust in the face of great trial...and personal bravery for the benefit of others. Militarily it's a story of devotion to mission accomplishment and a green officer building trust with his raw recruits, not to mention rapport wth the all important senior NCO and the people he is escorting... all the while keeping a sharp lookout for the guerrilla force that the odds say is going to crush them somewhere along the long and winding [literally] road. Five Stars!!!! For another cassellesque treatment of the challenges of mission accomplishment, see the chapters beginning with 'Janus in November' in linked product.Hell's Quest: 1971 For the same challenges facing police see Odyssey: 1970 and for freaks on the hostile open road see Odyssey and linked product An Aquarian Tragedy by James Mundell. M.V. Dooley

After an exquisite motivational speech from the leader, to his newly boot-camped men, the setting boomed large, street-marshal-charged, with a parade out of town to swells of a crowd:

>> They broke into wild cheers as we began moving down Highway One. Many threw ginger blossoms and palm fronds at the vehicles as they lumbered by. It was, I was told, the traditional 'blessing' for those embarking on a long, perilous journey, which also according to island tradition, was just about any journey. <<

From the departure of the mile-long convoy, sent off as a parade through the streets of Port Albert... to the arrival at the Hayes Construction Company site... the action momentum covered billowing intrigue that could feed even a pansy of the best pale breed. Throughout the whole, I was whacking my brain worms, wondering (among other things) what Colgate was up to, and whom the guy was that Cassell saved from death in Cassel's own front yard of his Maggierock "castle."

"Our Perilous Journey" ...(chapter 7, "Yetu Safari A Hatari," in the book, UNCERTAIN PARADISE: 1973 [PART ONE] (n/a))... provided stand-up-and-cheer military adventure, with creative strategy to die for (not). If Cassell can write military adventure to keep this reader awake and enthralled, he's a bloody genius! So there you have it; this author's brilliance precedes him... and follows in his literary wake.

Chapter 7 in UNCERTAIN PARADISE is also presented in this Amazon Short, part 1 of "The Flight Lieutenant's Court Martial." In this segment of plot, a passage was played out which makes men into men. Cassell's island sweetie was there, too, worming into hearts of readers in the wings, even though no one seemed to quite know on which side she was schlepping (or sleeping).

In a heart-shocker scene (direct from adventure-plot-heaven), Cassell (the character) was set up bloody fricking well, by Cassell (the author.. or was that set up done by Prime Minister Colgate...), for the flight lieutenant's court martial. Just prior to that pivotal-shot-fired scene, a haunting voice boomed into the camp-in-the-night, temporarily shifting this politics-in-the-making thriller into a sci-fi-fantasy, camp-by-the-wayside adventure. No such shift, though, with Cassell at the helm (marching baton) writing (conducting) the plots for his characters and whatnots. The double-edged hero showed his metal (and mettle), casting the devil into spotlight hell, and the supernatural-voice-in-the-night went down, with no further sound (effects)... after that final boom of the grenade launcher.

This is uncannily well-written military action.

Even so, this type of plot would have me skipping it, if it had been written by nearly any other author (possibly including dear ole Clancy). Under Cassell's authorship, though, I was there and willingly so.

There were so many twists in this chapter's plot, its subtitle could be, "Get Your Licorice Here!"... the only question being, would the sweet-tooth be coated... Red... or Black... though no yellow hearts could have made this start, nor finished on the chart.

If this chapter were made into a movie (and it should be), along with the rest of the novel posing as UNCERTAIN PARADISE, I have no doubt that an Academy Award would be assembling tout suite. The gold man in the statue would leap out of the inanimate, and snap to salute to his new owner, John W. Cassell. Believe it!

I do,
Linda Shelnutt
Author of several books and Amazon Shorts, including:
Myrtle's Ultimate Mystery
The Rose and the Pyramid (The Books of Gem)
Molasses Moon

A great reference for anyone who has not used digital imaging,very helpful,and informative for all applications required

We just bought a digital camera and were looking for different ways to use it when we came across this book. We got ideas that we never would have thought of otherwise. The directions are easy, the photos in the book are helpful and pretty.

I was looking for a book to help me figure out how to incorporate photographs in my volunteer work. Digital Imaging worked perfectly. The book is written just for me, no high tech mumbo jumbo. Loved the photos in the book, too.

I needed to teach myself GarageBand and fast. I was in the middle of editing a podcast with Audacity, and it wasn't working for me. GarageBand saved the day--and this book saved it even more. I picked this book up from the library to check it out ... then quickly ordered a copy for myself. It's easy to use, easy to understand, and is a great quick reference tool.

The Visual Quickstart Guides have a format where each page is divided into two columns with one column showing what you see on the screen and the other column having text that explains what's going on and what you need to do. A few such pages are then used to cover a small topic within the chapters. The small topic is self contained, easy to identify and makes a nice little mini-less all by itself. A good index leads you to this mini-lesson if you are looking for just that one thing.

In this book, the tried and proven approach is used to give an excellent beginning leven introduction to GarageBand 2. GarageBand 2, just introduced at MacWorld 2005, is "music software for the rest of us." Basically this one program, included free with iLife, enables the Mac to do the work of what used to take a whole room full of equipment.

GarageBand 2 does not come with a manual. You can, you are supposed to, learn about it by experimentation. Reading a coordinated book like this one gives you an overview that covers the entire program rather than a hit and miss approach that sometimes lets you miss things.

This is not your typical giant sized computer book. But it's quick, fast, and complete.

This is a great book, just like the title says "QuickStart Guide" and it is definitely a quick start guide.

What is the greatest Christmas gift you ever received? For Roy Novinger it was the gift of life. He received the kidney he needed to live from his neighbor and supposed arch enemy; at least that is the relationship that young Jun saw. It turns out Jun is left in the dark about the true reason for this unexpected gift.

This story by Jay Osman is simply told with the strength and dynamics of strong characters and an interesting plot twist. We learn, once again, that there can be no bond stronger than the blood bond. A great story, Mr. Osman. A must read.

Reviewed by Charlie Moore

Thirteen Amazon Shorts are available by Joshua Berry.

There are quite a few interesting twists in this short story. Very appropriate for this time of year! As always, a good work from Mr. Osman!

In the character he calls "Senior" Jay Osman has given us a person in whom we can see traits familiar to us all. If not in ourselves, we will see these traits at least in someone we know, or have known. We have to admit that in some of us the darker side is tempered by a quieter, gentler side, and even if we don't allow others to see it, we can't deny that it exists.

In THE GIFT OF THE MAD GUY, Mister Osman shows us both sides, and we learn that most of the time things are not as they seem. This is an extraordinary short story, with an extraordinary twist, that will leave you with an extraordinary tug of Christmas emotion in your heart, and it just might overflow from your eyes.

Great story, Mister Osman, and one I am genuinely glad I took the time to read.

I have had that book for now fifteen years, and I am still using it as a reference. Expensive but useful buy, particularly for filter design.
-Patrick Le Roux, inventor of the Shinnar-LeRoux algorithm to design selective RF pulses in Magetic Resonance.

I have owned this book for nearly 10 years now, and I am still amazed out how relevant it is and what a pleasure it is to read. The authors are leaders in their field, such as Harris, Cadzow, SilVia, Elliot etc. There are also short programmes that can many times help to clarify implementation of the algorithsm....fantastic.

The only problem, the big problam, is the price...to high!!!, but, is the best book I have in DSP...and I have over 12!!. It really served me well in my DSP profession!!! It is the best handbook for any professional DSP engineer.

This is one book you need to have in your pockets for learning on rounds, and for 3 am fogginess on call. This book gives quick reference to most of the psychiatric drugs you will need, as well as common side effects, conversion/equivelency tables for benzodiazapines, and antipsychotics. As other reviews state, pair this with Psychiatry, 2006 Edition by Rhoda K., M.D. Hahn for around 10 dollars also, and your psyciatry rotations should look a lot easier. A good investment

This is a great companion book to Kahn's pocket psychiatry book. This book covers many of the psychiatric medications, interactions, side effects, and indications. At 3 in the morning, this book is a godsend for starting or stoping meds. Get the little green pocket psychiatry book, and you have the dynamic duo of psych residents. And, this book is affordable, is their anything else you could hope for. As a bonus, this book has some excellent tables, including those equivalency tables for benzodiazepines and antipsychotics. well worth the 10 bucks

Pair this one with the other one and you'll have a dynamic duo.
Carry it with you on Psych rotation!

In just a few short pages, Henry Martin manages to immerse the reader in vivid and biting detail in the short story Harry & Gina. In the opening scene, Harry and Gina are reeling from the violent argument that sent Gina through a glass door and left Harry with fork wounds on his face. What strikes the reader first is the intensity of emotion conveyed through observing the thoughts of the two lovers. Gina is so incredibly overwhelmed by emotion that she faints in response. Harry is busy drowning his own emotion in liquor. Neither wants to cope with the situation that has just occurred.

As the story progresses, the peaks and valleys of their blossoming relationship are laid bare for the reader. This explosion of anger has been building for some time. And it's about to threaten their life together.

Harry & Gina embodies the extremes of passion: it can create and it can destroy. It portrays a love so intense that it figuratively implodes upon itself. The tradgedy and bitterness in this story is more akin to Martin's novel The Mad Days of Me: Escaping Barcelona than his other short story Progress. Personally, it is exactly that tradgedy and bitterness that I find most compelling in Martin's works.

I've been an avid follower of Henry Martin's work since I stumbled upon his poetry, so I was excited to discover this short story. When I read the first lines of this piece, I was taken back by its dark theme. However, as I continued reading, I was able to appreciate the beauty Martin successfully captures beyond the veil of darkness. In all his literary work, there is a common thread of the fraility of the human heart and spirit. He captures this wonderfully in Harry and Gina. The commonality of man, the insouciance we personify in our relationships--life with its darkness AND beauty. Martin is an author to watch, follow and revere....he's a modern day writer who will leave his mark in history.

The emotions described in this story are so vivid one can taste them, leaving the reader with the feeling of not only being present in the story, but being present inside the characters' hearts. As demonstrated in Harry & Gina, the huge divide between extremes is just an illusion, coming from the same place deep inside, defined only by the interpreter. A powerful story that with each reading brings the reader to a deeper level. I look forward to seeing what more this author has in store for us.

The plot is just getting better and better!Great artwork and awsome gorey scences.It's every vampire fans' dream!There are more characters now but you get the feeling theyre not permanent. But God, this book is great.

Hellsing is already a masterwork, (albeit one in progress,) and volume four, as with all of the other volumes of the manga that have come before, seems to be no different. Hirano has outdone himself yet again, and proven, also yet again, that his style, like a fine wine, only gets better with age.

As with any manga series, I recommend you start with the first volume, (in order to maintain the story's general coherency and provide a more enjoyable experience overall,) but if you've already read through volume three, then this book is a definite must have! The artwork is excellent to say the least; Hirano's style has certainly come a long way since the previous three mangas! His work in Volume four is far more refined, and the storyline progresses in an adrenaline choked suspense ride jam-packed with the kind of gore and gothic crusaderism we've come to expect from Hirano. Again, a definite must have for any fan of Hellsing!

This is in fact the best one by far (it is also one of the only ones that there is cussing in, despite Hellsing's outward, violent appearance). I am actually 15 years old, but due to complications I wound up in the 13 and under review department. So here I am to tell you of the wonders of Hellsing vol. 4 by Kouta Hirano. The series overall is excellent. The drawings are detailed and inky, almost every page has a smattering of blood but its something you come to expect in a tale of vampiric, Nazi mayhem. The characters in this series are excellent and well-portrayed, and the vampire Alucard is a character of many layers and shades; quite intriguing. The story is well-developed and the charcters help push it along. This is a must-read for all vampire fans out there, and I know there are plenty. But this is by far...no tale for the weak of heart...or...stomach for that matter.

This text is one I would recommend to anyone with serious aspirations to a professional career in the business of datacommunications networking.

Kenyon has presentated a complex discipline with no sugar coated spin, yet the material is accessible through the illustrations that quantify what are 'reasonable outcomes' in several useful scenarios. This last skill belongs to proven and experienced practitioners, Kenyon has evidently 'walked the walk' and provides the reader with the benefit of his knowledge and experience.

At the very least this text is an essential reference text for modern practitioners of Data Network construction and planning.
- Concept, Implementation, Budget and Risk Management.

At the most enjoyable points, this text provides a way of taking a technologist or student to their respective technical depths, without losing focus on the need to yield practical and cost effective implementations.

The bar has been set to other authors in this area, I hope that Mr Kenyon has more material to come.

I've read many network books, but this one really is beyond anything I've seen so far. This author, unlike others, has got it right, this is a book for engineers, a book written with so much detail it will blow your mind off. I especially loved two of its chapters: Chapter two which is on capacity planning and Chapter four which is on Network Cost Analysis, the two most important aspects that that will turn a network design into a real network.

This book is definitely worth every penny.

I own plenty of design books, unfortunately most of them just rehash design standards or design methods. I've waited a long time for a book that is written from an engineers viewpoint covering material that is relevant to my job and my interests.

My first impressions were great narrative and an exellent technical resource covering difficult and complex aspects such as capacity planning and performance. However, my particular area and what really drew me to this book was network costing and backbone design something that is usually under-represented.

The WAN and ATM sections are extremely well put together with some great insights. Overall, it is methodical, dense in some places definately challenging for the uninitiated but always accompanied with well thought out examples making it very readable, something that I thought made a great change from the norm.

Method is covered, but thankfully only where necessary and anyone like me who is involved in design will benefit from the design templates that are provided.

Overall, I'm extremely impressed and definately looking forward to the accompanying book on higher level security and routing. If it is as well written as this then, for engineers, it should be THE benchmark book set for anyone who is involved in network design. Top marks.

This book is yet another member of mankind's civilization altering achievements, right up there with fire, wheel and air conditioning. The author takes the reader through a journey of excitement and deceit, function and form, art and theater by examining the single most important molecule in the Universe, HDAC6. I won't spoil the ending, but it's a suprise and a delight. I laughed, I cried, and I put this book up on the shelf with the world's other great books: The Holy Bible, My PhD thesis, and the 2007 Guide to Fantasy Football.

If you know what histone deacetylase 6, you're in for a treat. This dissertation is all you need to know on the subject.

This is my Ph.D. thesis. It is highly rated as a cure for insomnia. However, you should know, i don't see a penny of the $55 that you will be spending.
Of course, it's a work of pure genius.