U Books

I read this book about 3 years ago and think it is a very good look at what bi-racial African/Americans go through. At first, I didn't understand the turmoil and angst one goes through who is bi-racial. The bir-racial people I always knew classified themselves as black and most of them did not appear to have a problem with that. Most of them had white mothers who raised them but they didn't consider themselves as denying their white heritage. Society including blacks see them as being black because it is so hard sometimes in distinguishing a bi-racial from a black person with two black parents. Oftentimes a full-blooded black looks more white than a bi-racial. Also a lot of it is all you have been raised, how the parents involved feel about race. Anyway the author does thorough interviews regarding this issue.

Funderburg does an excellent job of finding biracial people and asking questions that help them to explain their understanding of race and how it was formulated. My husband and I plan to have children and I have reseacher biracial children and identity for the past two years. Black, White,Other helped to answer a lot of the questions that we have had and I have also share this information with other mixed couples. As licensed therapists this information will be passed on and used to help other biracial people and their parents through tough times. Some of the stories were sad and some made me mad because of the way the children were treated but I found this to be very helpful expecially with clients because life is not always happy-go-lucky Funderburg does an excellent job of saying this though real people's lives. It is an easy read.

I Really Enjoyed this Book because it is Honest.it deals with America's Greatest Problem Race.this Book takes a look at Multi-Racial Culture it's effects&Outlooks.fitting in&still trying too Remain ones Self-Indenity.it tackles Social Issues&The World at Large.Multi-Racial Children are Beautiful but Society at Large still thinks of the One Drop Of Blood Rule.People Should Be Allowed too be Proud of all The Beauty that is their Creation not Be Limited.cuz that is what makes Everyone Unique.Very Powerful Book.

The book was filled with people from every walk of life and every age. Having a biracial black and white marriage and raising biracial children, I found the book helpful in reading about other experiences; however many of those experinces were negative compared to our family's.

I would have liked to have read about more positive experiences. It is a great book for people who would like to know first hand about being black and white in our American culture.

Black White Other is a simple yet graciously objective read. It is written in such a simple style that it is like meeting a good friend for a coffee.

It is a series of interviews with 70+ black/white biracial people of a great array of age, gender, and life experience.

Although the subject mater, 'race' is often genralised, the people in this book are all approached as individuals in every way. With very different lives,personalities and opinions.

For those of you that are of mixed race, you will find this book very comforting, there are many people that understand you. For those that aren't in our situation, don't be afraid to sit down listen to these voices, embrace the lesson and let it manifest in your life.

This is a fascinating story and the author presents substantive research. There is some good prose in parts, such as the character development of Commodore Perry and descriptions of Okinawa, but on the whole it is not a smooth read. The 4 stars I'm giving it are for its importance as a contribution to our understanding of this period, the author's discussion on the impact of the attitude with which Perry's mission was accomplished, and the research that has been brought together.

Had there not been such good material and insight, the text was so choppy that I would have not finished the book. The dangling ideas, that is, concepts introduced but not previously explained or later followed up on, were frustrating. Then there are a lot of tortured sentences and then some grammar that had to be ignored to get the meaning.

One example of a dangling idea was the paragraph that ended by saying that Abe Mashihiro had won an important victory in the appointment of his recommended defense advisor followed by a paragraph saying that the appointee was "his (Abe's) the most vocal critic." What did I miss? By this time in the book, I no longer flipped back. The concept of a victory for Abe getting a critic an influential position isn't ever clear. It could be that the author meant it in the wider context that through this appointment there was no war, but that isn't clear either.

An example of the tortured prose, on p. 190 regarding Perry's son in law and grandson:

"New York's high society made him "King of Fifth Avenue". (New York Belmont Race Track and the Belmont Stakes are named after him, while in Newport, Rhode Island one of the sumptuous "cottages" was built by Oliver Hazard Perry Belmont, the son of "King" and Perry's daughter, together with Alva Vanderbilt previously married to William K. Vanderbilt)".

A grammar example (while you know it's Abe, there are two antecedents for him, not one) is on p. 243 "More than ever, Abe and the roju made the important decisions; with the senior counselors increasinly deferring to him about those concerning Perry..."

While the text was a real drawback (for me), there is a lot of food for thought in the analysis of what it Perry's actions meant for US-Japanese relations for the next 100 years, the unequal treaties, the symbolism of the USS Missouri receiving the Japanese surrender in Uraga Bay and the comparison of China's attitude and policies toward western trade and intervention.

For general readers interested in the seclusion period I recommend Samurai William: The Englishman Who Opened Japan and Native American in the Land of the Shogun: Ranald Macdonald and the Opening of Japan.

This marvelous book is a model study of the unintended consequences of American self-righteousness and imperial arrogance -- with eerie echoes today in the Bush/Cheney invasion of Iraq. It is a work of superb scholarship, and in spots it requires keen concentration, but the total effect is most rewarding, and the concluding sections -- with their lessons for the present and,one hopes,for the future -- are brilliant.

Amidst the present disasters of our militarized foreign policy, Mr Feifer's observation (in Chapter 17) that American "fervor and ignorance, especially of other cultures, sometimes caused grave damage" rings with bitter irony today in Iraq. "The Japan that [Commodore Perry] left was boiling in despairing confusion ... bloody plots and counterplots ... full of episodes that seem not to belong to waking life, but have ... the unearthly logic of events in a dream."

And yet, even in his harsh conclusions, Mr Feifer is scholarly, moderate, nuanced, and scrupulous, never overstating his case as the ironies for today abound. This is an incisive and most admirable book.

This challenging and deeply researched book on Perry's "opening up" of Japan
has the most painful relevance possible to our current government's colossal
misadventure in allegedly trying to bring "Freedom and Democracy" to a land
of darker-skinned people about whose history we are -- not willfully mis-
informed, which would be bad enough, but wildly, tragically ignorant. And
what kind of reverberations can we expect, decades and even a century down
the road of history? What Pearl Harbors, what Okinawas, what Hiroshimas are
there to come?

If you think you knew and understood American history this brilliant book will make you think again.The author sets out to show that America arrogantly decided to force Japan to open its doors to foreigners and trade, a decision that turned out to be the first step along the path that was to lead to Pearl Harbor. He succeeds admirably. This is readable, controversial history with a lesson for what is going on in Iraq today. A must book for serious thinkers.

On one level this remarkable book will provide invaluable background for anyone interested in understanding why Japan's love-hate relationship with the United States continues to this day. It should also serve to underline the dangers of imposing one nation's views on another.
But the book will also appeal to readers simply interested in a rich historical tour of Japan at the dawn of its modern era. The skillful weaving of the descriptions of the personalities, prejudices and political backgrounds of Commodore Perry and his Japanese counterpart Lord Abe brings to life and keeps in focus a story that might otherwise have drifted into an academic dissertation.
Breaking Open Japan will now be added to my list of must-reads for friends and acquaintances interested in peeling away the layers of a society that remains the most complex and conflicted of the modern era.

At first glance, one might get the impression that the focus of this book and the immense amount of detail that's gone into it would make it more of interest to the historian or researcher than to the casual reader. That's not the case, however. Bradley Gottfried has written such compelling accounts of each of the brigades present at Gettysburg that anyone with any sort of interest in the battle will find the book not only informative but fascinating reading as well. In fact, the more I read, the more engrossed I became. The book is not just about logistics and tactics but very much about the soldiers doing the fighting; the human element is strongly felt throughout the book. Not only are the official records consulted, but newspaper reports, letters, memoirs, and diaries are also cited. Nearly 20 maps are also included depicting all aspects of the 3-day battle. So many books have been written about Gettysburg, but this one is so fresh yet authoritative and comprehensive that it ranks among the very best among them all. Highly recommended. (Hopefully a paperback edition is published, too.)

My library contains a number of Gettysburg books but this is the one most used. In very clear writing, each brigade's history including losses is summarized. Summarized is not the best word for this concise brigade history. The book is organized by army, corps, division and brigade. This groups units together and allows us to easily follow the higher-level unit too.

An excellent book that while very useful as a reference is an enjoyable read too. Well worth having but be prepared for requests to loan it out.

Maybe one of the best accounts of tactical and unit action available on this important epic American battle. I recently used it to visit Gettysburg and walked the terrain that Kershaw's brigade charged across. With the book the terrain came alive and accounts clear. A must buy for the very serious American Civil War reader.

The last half dozen books on Civil War subjects that I've bought have been published by Da Capo press, and I'm impressed with their work. From a company who used to specialize in reprints only, they have come along nicely.

This particular book is an amazing piece of work. When you page through this one in a bookstore as I did recently, the feeling of "I've got to have this one" comes quickly through your mind.

Of recent time, I've been reading more and more on the battle of Gettysburg, and when a chance arises to have a book that lists and discusses both Union and Confederate Brigades at the battle of Gettysburg it is amazing.

Dr. Gottfried has apparently spent much of his learned life dwelling on this battle, and this book comes on the heels of a couple others of his concerning this battle.

I would posit that anyone having more than just a passing interest in Gettysburg must have this book. By buying this one you move from a position of mere interest to one of in depth knowledge.

Several members of my family fought and died for the Union in Ohio Volunteer (OVI) units, and with this book I can track down their action with ease.

Recommended.

Bradley Gottfried's book, Brigades of Gettysburg, would be a nice addition to a person's Civil War Library. This would be especially interesting for those who want to know about key battles in more detail than one would get in a standard rendering of the battle. This book is kin to Larry Tagg's The Generals of Gettysburg, a volume that discusses the role of general officers at Gettysburg, including Army leaders down to generals/colonels heading the Brigade level. As a result, there is much brigade level information.

However, Gottfried's book provides more detail (it is almost twice as long as Tagg's useful volume). While some brigade level histories exist and spell out actions of units at Gettysburg in some detail (e.g., Wert's A Brotherhood of Valor, Nolan's The Iron Brigade, Parsons' Put the Vermonters Ahead), coverage of many brigades is very brief in the standard works on Gettysburg (Coddington, Sears, Trudeau, for example).

Thus, this volume provides useful coverage of the various brigades involved at the battle, even those not heavily engaged. For instance, Sedgwick's large VIth Corps was much less hotly engaged than the other Union Corps. Nonetheless, this volume lays out what the components of this Corps actually did during the battle.

The coverage of both Confederate and Union units is nicely done and the interested reader will be well rewarded for perusing this book.

I'm into lepidoptera, and own several buttefly books. This is definitely my go-to guide, and anytime I go in the field, this is the book I bring. It's great to have photos, field marks, maps, and there are pictures that show variations among different species. The format's great because one side of the page is all photos, and the facing side has the map and text. I think that if you're just getting into butterflies, a book like Introduction to Southern California Butterflies or the Golden Guide Butterflies and Moths are good to start off with, as this one may be a little to much for someone who is not too familiar with butterflies and doesn't know the basics yet.

This book was recommended by a person who was experienced in butterfly identification. As a beginner, it is awesome. So for the experienced and the beginner, it is wonderful. A must buy for the curious in all of us about those beautiful butterflies God put on the face of the earth!

A quick summary for anyone who doesn't want to read my ramblings. This is a great identification reference. It is intended only as an identification guide. And as that, it is excellent. But with so many butterflies described, the casual butterfly observers may want a smaller book / chart with only local species for easier lookup (perhaps in addition).

First, it is important to know what this is. It is a field guide to aid in identification of butterflies and skippers, with very good photos for that end. The photos may not be artistically pleasing to everyone, but they are taken in such a way to best present the butterfly for identification. Unique identification characteristics of individual species are pointed out when they will aid in the identification. Size and geographical distribution is also given. On each photo the author also tells you how large the photo is compared to a real specimen.

This is not a butterfly reference book. You will not find detailed information about the butterflies in this book. Instead, you will be able to identify what you find, and then use the name to look up more details on that butterfly in another book / the Internet.

This is also not a coffee table book with large glossy photos of butterflies. Due to the sheer number of species described in the book, each photo is rather small, and as mentioned earlier, may not be artistically pleasing to everyone. Little attention is paid to the background, since that is not very important to identification. When the plant the butterfly frequents is important to the identification, it will be mentioned in the text.

The sheer number of butterflies in this guide can be overwhelming to the casual observer. I don't know if I'll ever see more than 1% to 2% of the butterflies listed here. Since the butterflies are not sorted by region, getting a less comprehensive book with local species only may be easier for the casual observer. This book stays at home, while I carry a small laminated "quick guide" to common local butterflies.

I don't observe them through binoculars (the book does have a short section on that as well), I photograph them. There's a short section on butterfly photography that, while mainly focused on film photography, does contain some good tips.

The only thing I have not been able to identify definitively so far with this book are skippers.

Glassberg's BTB is the benchmark and the book to buy first. You may not need another.

A while back I wrote a review of the Peterson Series "Field Guide to Western Butterflies", which I had used in the field during the 4th of July Butterfly Count in the Organ Mountains of New Mexico. I gave it five stars as I thought it the best field guide to actually use in the field. The rival Audubon guide to butterflies left me cold because it simply does not show enough detail for identifying hard species. I thus dismissed photo guides because of this bad experience, thinking that artists did better work in illustrating these beautiful insects. I was wrong! There is a way to produce a photo guide to butterflies that actually works and Jeffrey Glassberg has done it! This is the best field guide that I have ever seen for butterflies. The photos, mostly taken by the author, are simply superb! The best thing that Glassberg has done is to standardize the photos so you can compare the same characters. This is a major innovation and must certainly have taken a lot of time. The placing of maps and descriptions opposite the photographic plates is also a major change from the other popular guides. It sure saves a lot of page flipping!

I am often laughed at because I still use a 35 mm SLR for photographing insects, but Glassberg's photos (all with a 35 mm SLR) show why it still may pay. Digitals are, I know, the coming thing and will soon overtake SLRs, but most digitals still cannot match an old Nikon FM2n with a 55 mm macro or an Olympus with a 90 mm macro, both of which I use.

Glassberg's remarks about how much space digital shots take up (5 MB roughly for a decent high resolution) are probably dated because of gigabyte technology which allows as much as 200 shots at a time, even at high resolution. However, I still like the feel of a SLR and many digitals (but not the more expensive ones) are boxy and difficult to hold. I get irritated with the automatic focus that often keeps me from getting the shot of an easily disturbed subject.

Those aside; if you are at all interested in butterflies and can afford only one book, get this guide! It is the new standard for photo guides and it will be hard to ever beat it.

I was given this cookbook back in 1976 when I got my first apartment. It was my first cookbook and it is still in regular use. Using this book as a guide I discovered that I could eat chicken gizzards and not die, as a matter of fact I liked them.
I now have two children that are in college and I would like to get copies for them. I was really hoping that the authors had continued with new editions through the years. Haven't found another cookbook that is as helpful to the novice cook.

My mother gave me this book went I went to college in 1977. I didn't use it much during those college years as I lived in the dorm. Later when I had my own place, it was a lifesaver!! I still use some of the recepies and tips today. Very simple and practical with no fear, the way cooking needs be. I've acquired numerous cookbooks from around the world during my travels. This one still holds a special place on my bookshelf. And not just because my mother gave it me.

In 1975 I was sent off to college with very few cooking skills, except for peanut butter and canned soup. The Campus Survival Cookbook goes beyond recipes... it is written with the assumption that all you know is peanut butter and soup, and all you have is a plastic knife and fork stolen from the Colonel's, and only fifteen bucks to feed yourself for the week, with midterms coming up.

Excellent advice on shopping on a tight budget, preparing healthy meals that provide leftovers for days, and avoiding the fast-food money grabbers. I STILL use my 1973 paperback edition!

Just like everyone else here: I learned to cook with this, I still use the recipes (particularly spaghetti with clam sauce) and am getting a copy for my son. I now own over 15 linear feet of cookbooks, but I still use this one.

This is the book I learned to cook with. I still own my copy, and still make some of the recipes from this book. Jo's Sloppy Joes are a family favorite, and the brownie recipe is the best I've ever tried. I bought the 2nd edition for my daughter, and she likes it very well. The book includes 4 weeks of dinner menus, suggestions for lunches and breakfasts, party foods, grocery lists, and suggestions for basic cooking equipment, plus instructions on everything from how to ring the bell to talk to a butcher at the grocery store, to how to slice round objects. Should help any new cook get started.

Susan Sully's book revived many delightful memories of my recent visit to Charleston. Her evocative prose paired with the beautiful photographs made as much of an impression on me as seeing Charleston's gracious architecture in person. It's not often that such a pretty book is also so well written, but Sully' elegant, beautifully crafted sentences do justice to the photos and the grand old homes themselves. After reading her book I wanted to book a flight back for another visit!

Just named one of the ten best books of 1999 about South Carolina by "The Nation," this winner rises above the usual book of stunning photography in the quality of Sully's writing. Her thoughtful and incisive reflections upon a complex city are rendered in delightful, sensual, intelligent prose. All this is compellingly presented in a classic coffee-table stand-out!

Praised in House Beautiful (May '99) for author Susan Sully's "evocative text [that] lifts this book a notch above many similar style books," Charleston Style was listed by The State newspaper from Columbia, SC as one of the top ten books by or about South Carolinians published in 1999. The State's reviewer, William Starr praises the book's "uncommonly attractive" appearance and notes that "the author combines valuable information with an artistic sensibility.... Among the book's virtues is Sully's willingness to look beyond the obvious into homes which give us some very different views of this most traditional of historic cities."

Despite author Susan Sully's grammatical errors, misspellings ("sheathes of wheat" instead of sheaves of wheat -- why, oh, why don't editors catch those anymore?), labored metaphors, and use of cliche' ("dripping with spanish moss"), I loved this book. Josephine Humphreys writes a beautiful and moving foreward. The photos (by John Blais) are literally breath-taking (to borrow another cliche'). Imperative reading for the student of architecture or design, or for those simply enamored of regional style.

Susan Sully's Charleston Style splendidly captures the unique beauty of my city. Sully's writing is gorgeous, lush and evocative as many of the homes she shows us. Her thorough research is obvious; then she takes the facts and, with words, weaves a beautifiul gossamer fabric representing one ofAmerica's most beloved cities. As a Charlestonian, I was introduced to places I never knew existed. The detailed photographs, artistic and architectural, complement the text. I bought numerous copies to give to friends who have visited Charleston in reality or in their dreams.

Bailey provides a compact and highly competent study of the post Atlanta campaign with Hood sparing well with Sherman initially then turning north in his great desperate gamble while Sherman marches through the heart of Georgia virtually unopposed except for Wheeler's undermanned cavalry. Bailey captures the strategy and politics very well with a big picture view of the situation. She captures the odd situation of Hood going in one direction with Sherman in the other. Hood, the great fighter seemingly moves without consultation although Beauregard is placed as the department commander by Davis, which had as much control as Johnson had of Vicksburg in that campaign. Bailey captures the desperation of Hoods movement with failed logistics, supplies and a virtual mythical expectation of troops from the TransMississippi. Bailey covers the hopes and political implications of a Lincoln re-election that is fascinating. She also details, with his movements, Sherman's desire to subjugate the south along with his views on black troops and the infamous desertion of black followers by union Jefferson C. Davis. The controversial failure to close the trap at Spring Hill is well discussed as well as the tragic battle of Franklin and the battles of Nashville where the outnumbered Confederates put up a desperate fight to total collapse redeeming General Thomas. The Nashville desciption of battle is economically told but captures the main aspects particularly recognizing the first use of black union troops in battle who fought bravely but were initially sacraficed in a desperate ill perceived frontal attack. A very well written book that gives a highly competent overview of the final campaign of Hood, Thomas, Sherman and President Davis as far as a real confederate threat in the west. In her efficient writing style, Bailey closes with a very good but brief study of the post war controversies between the generals and politicians.

Bailey's Chessboard of War is the best accounting I have read of Sherman and Hood. The book is balanced, well written and objective. Its inclusion of the participation of black soldiers and the Sherman's slave camp followers was particularly welcomed. Although Bailey is from Cleburne TX and is an admirer of Patrick Cleburne she also gives George Thomas his due. Rarely is that done. An impressive piece of work.

A gem -- no other word for it. In more than six decades of Civil War "buffdom," I've never seen a clearer, more complete, more reader-friendly book on any segment of that war. There is not an unnecessary word in it, but it leaves nothing unsaid. Truly a small masterpiece.

This book is a very thorough and detailed account of two of the Civil Wars' most important and consequential campaigns, but sadly two campaigns about which relatively little has been written. Sherman's march to the sea and Hood's campaign into Tennessee destroyed the last hope for the Confederacy in the Deep South, and did much to undermine the confidence of Lee's army. Without Sherman's psychological victory over the Southern psyche, and without Hood's rash attacks on Franklin and Nashville, the war, at least in that theater, would probably have been prolonged for at least another year. Both men, in their own way, contributed to the war's ending, and this is one of Bailey's main focuses.

This book provides a detailed narrative of the operations of both generals, and discusses how the actions of each affected the other, as well as the ramifications of Hood and Sherman's respective movements. Sherman comes off looking quite well, though not perfect, while Hood comes across as a tragic sort of hero who was too impetuous for his own good. Through it all Bailey remains objective and fair, and provides the reader with a very good look at the "chessboard" of the late Civil War.

Anne J. Bailey's The Chessboard of War doesn't break any new ground on the subject that it covers, nor at only 181 pages does it make any attempt at being a comprehensive and detailed campaign study. Joseph T. Glatthaar and Burke Davis have written defining books on Sherman's March to the Sea, and Wiley Sword's The Confederacy's Last Hurrah is the definitive volume on Hood's 1864 fall campaign in Tennessee. So why read this book? In a word: perspective. Bailey has grasped the direct connection of Sherman's historic march through Georgia and Hood's desperate last ditch gamble offensive campaign in Tennessee, and has written about them together, as part of the same piece. Sending General Thomas and a portion of his army back to Tennessee to take care of Hood was a crucial element of Sherman's plan to march on Savannah. Bailey puts the pieces together, and assesses the success and failure of the players involved.
Bailey writes well and her book is a quick and easy read. While Chessboard does not cover its subject in great depth or provide any startling or controversial new takes on any of the commanders involved, it does serve as an excellent introduction to this material. It also provides continuity, allowing the reader to keep track of the two mighty armies that struggled for months over Atlanta, and see how their fates were still connected even after disentangling from each other and moving in separate directions.
I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in how the Civil War was won in the West. For the novice, it is a quick yet accurate introduction to the subject of Sherman's and Hood's 1864 Autumn campaigns, and for the more serious student it provides an excellent perspective that has not been much explored elsewhere.

Theo Logos

OMG - What an incredible debut HQN novel from Rita-award winning author Catherine Mann!! The riveting opening grabs you by the throat and the heart when USAF Captain Joe "Face" Greco changes direction of his Pave Low helicopter from shuttling photojournalist Brigid Wheeler around a war torn country. Joe responds to a Mayday call for a Green Beret unit led by his buddy Cooper, which turns into a nightmare. The grief Joe and Brigid share over Cooper's death - Brigid's lover - brings them close together, but not to the point of stepping over the line of friendship. At least, not until a year later when Brigid is ready to move on and Joe realizes...I won't say more and spoil it for you. A tortured hero and one of the sexiest warriors on the face of the earth, Joe surprised me in wonderful ways when I least expected. The chemistry between Joe and Brigid should catch the book on fire. This page-turner's twists and turns don't stop when Joe and Brigid learn the shocking truth about Cooper, whose casket they'd watched lowered into the ground the year before. An ultimate betrayal still awaits them. Catherine Mann has done a brilliant job of weaving a deeply emotional story and fast-paced action around real characters you'll remember long after you finish the book. With a plot that constantly ratchets up the tension on every page, this story is one you'd expect to see on the big screen. Clear a day to read this book or plan to miss an appointment.

Cathy Mann is an excellent up-and-coming author that takes love, despair, friendship, and bareknuckle brawling and makes a captivating tale called Code of Honor that draws readers in. As in most of her books, there's serious treatment of sometimes shocking and serious issues, but everything fits the story, and her characters still know how to have fun. The descriptions are vivid enough that I've still got a mental image of a street cafe lingering weeks after reading about it.

Catherine Mann's Code Of Honor is a must read for any fan of military romance.

Captain Joe Greco has flown many dangerous missions for the Air Force. The one that still haunts him, he lost his best friend Cooper Scott. Joe has kept his feeling to himself for two years regarding Cooper's girlfriend Brigid Wheeler.

Photojournalist Brigid Wheeler had left field work after the death of her love Cooper. Her friendship with Joe has deepened but now she is looking at Joe in a whole new light. They are together again on a foreign mission. But will the new level in their relationship change once Cooper is found alive and working undercover.

Code Of Honor is beautifully written. You feel like you are right there watching the action. The military flavor is dynamic and compelling. Joe and Brigid work their way from friend to lovers with passion that will stir your senses.

The secondary characters of Cooper Scott and Lena Banuelos are deeply moving. They will make you think and touch you profoundly

Code Of Honor is a book I will treasure and re-read many times.

Air Force Pilot Joe Greco has nursed a crush on his best friend's girlfriend Brigid since he first laid eyes on her. Cooper Scott is a Green Beret on a mission in Iraq when his squad is ambushed. Piloting the rescue helicopter with photojournalist Brigid in the back documenting the action, Joe is horrified when he has to abandon his mission and later learns his best friend has died, along with the rest of his team. Mourning Cooper for two years, he has always been a shoulder and sense of strength for Brigid. But Brigid's feelings are starting to change, and when she offers to be his boinking buddy, Joe is at first shocked, but willing to take any scrap he can get. Spiriting her away to Cortina, a small South American country with a drug problem and ties to the terrorists responsible for Cooper's death, he wants her to document the action. Their stint as lovers lead to deeper emotions, but what'll happen to the new relationship when they learn that Cooper was not killed after all, and he's been living a covert life that's about to collide with theirs?

Mann has a gift for military storytelling, often providing a little too much realism and detail. Joe is probably one of her greatest heroes - he's not over the top like a superhero - he's human and emotional and has plenty of demons. The relationship between the two is complex and the chemistry is sizzling. Cooper gets his own romance as a secondary storyline, though I would have preferred to have kept it to one couple. Mann often has numerous couples in her storyline, taking away from the primary storyline.

Two years ago in Iraq, Green Beret Cooper Scott and his squad were trapped under hostile fire even as his wife World Weekly photojournalist Brigit Wheeler, in country on assignment, knows her beloved is dead. Captain Joe "Face" Green tries to rescue his best friend, but fails. Not long afterward Brigit quit her job.

Two years later, widow Brigit enjoys her leisure life at Ft. Walton Beach, Florida though she still misses her spouse. Joe has been there for her helping her make her adjustment that much easier. Though feeling guilt, Brigit is attracted to Joe, but he shows no indication that he reciprocates. In fact he has loved Brigit from the moment Cooper introduced them to each other, but out of respect for his pal never acted on his deep regard. As they begin to show their strong feelings, they learn that Cooper lives.

CODE OF HONOR lives up to its title as the lead couple try not to act on their attraction and admiration for one another out of deference to the fallen hero whose has his own guilt to deal with when it comes to his wife. Loaded with action, a vile villain, and a terrific romance, fans of suspense thrillers will enjoy this fine tale and look forward to Catherine Mann's next novel, the Captive Returns.

Harriet Klausner

The other reviewers who also gave it 5 stars said it the best. I'm just adding my emphasis that you should read this book. It was inspiring and just a very memorable and eye-opening story of native people growing up in the "white man's" world. I enjoyed it thoroughly.

A proud but impoverished Alaskan Indian family struggling to move into modern white society from its ancient culture filled with spirits -- deeply moving, humorous, tragic, yet inspirational.

I absorbed Cold River Spirits in a flurry of intense reading. Once the book was opened, I could not put it down. The stories were compelling and engaging, full of warmth, amusement, charm, sorrow, and tragedy. I was drawn into the lives of this Alaska Native family and rejoiced in their triumphs and commiserated in their troubles. The icon of the family, Louise, embodied the power, strength and wisdom of the Alaska Native woman. Louise's thoroughly modern daughter, Flora Jane, determined, bright, and plucky, became the first Alaska Native, man or woman, to graduate from the University of Alaska! These real life stories reflect the difficulties and challenges of the Alaska Native people as it has in more recent times interfaced with the pervasive and dominant white culture. But Cold River Spirits is not just an ethnological family history; it has much broader appeal, for it crosses cultural and racial lines, and the reader senses the deeper message of the themes of humanity that unify us all.

An informative and important ethnographic work giving a glimpse of one family's life experiences in interior Alaska. A story well crafted and researched by one of the descendants of an Athabascan/Irish family filled with the realities of the sometimes harsh aspects of life in the north but yet also filled with the joys of living with strands of hope. It demonstrates how people cope with the clashing of cultures and how people on another level recreate their identity with one foot in the past (belief in Cold River Spirits) and one in the present. This book is highly recommended as a prime example of how to do ethnography. At times an air of expectancy is created and much like Louise, a central character in the family story, we get a sense of what's to come. It was story told with candor and helps to give us a snapshot of the cultural landscape of her people.

COLD RIVER SPIRITS is a wonderful and welcome addition to my library. Jan Harper-Haines writes with wisdom and humor. She tells the story of her family with candor, helping readers appreciate the challenge of living in two cultures. The book is a fast read; I couldn't put it down. As a result, I gave several copies as holiday gifts to friends and family. COLD RIVER SPIRITS deserves five stars.

My absolute favorite clowning book! If you can only get one clowning book get this one! Covers everything!!! Whenever I am writing clown shows I always go to this book. There are so many skit, gag and prop ideas in this book to build off of. It is truly GOLD!!! In addition to all the skit, gag and prop ideas it also covers make up techiniques as well as costuming. This book stays not on my book shelf or even out on a table but in my truck, so I always have access to it even when I am at work. I think one of the things that really makes this book so special to clowning is the fact that it is not just one author, there are around 10!! Each one writing on their speciality or passion.

I really wish they would come out with a second eddition of this book that would include websites and email address of clown scripts, ideas, gags, etc.

Every hobby has one or two definative books. This is it for clowning. Everything I wanted to find out and more. Like any good reference book it started me down the path and I have read several books recommended.

If you are going to get into clowning you need this book.

Having read four customer reviews of this book, I might have had high expectations. Maybe I didn't realize it's true value at first, but after learning various skills, you may want to try others, which didn't catch your interest at first. Then you realize how powerful a tool this book is.

Until now I've focused on juggling and unicycling. The book not only teaches you how to ride a unicycle, -it also provides a lot of amusing variations. Though I knew how to ride before buying this book, it taught me how to ride in a very ridiculous way, seemingly out of control. I've experienced a tremendous effect when acting upon these hints in front of an audience. ...

Just recently I grew interested in the stiltwalking sections and made a pair of wooden tie-on stilts. I'm not exactly an engineer, but following the instructions, all I needed was a saw, some wood, a drill, some glue, some bolts and screws.

Reading the ingenious instructions given sometimes make me laugh out loud, thinking of how it would work in real life. The illustrations are really amusing, and I do enjoy all the hints on starting a clowning business. Lots of detailed information.

Also, the book is packed with numerous jokes and material that can be used for shows. The next stage for me will be learning how to twist balloons into different animal shapes.

I was actually looking for a book on how to put on clowns' make-up for my unicycling. This book is all you need to know about various types of make-up for various clown types, plus so much more. If you're thinking about clowning, either for fun or for money, I highly recommend this book!

I'm considering setting up as a childrens entertainer, so I purchased a good few books. This is without doubt the best of the bunch.

The book covers lots of aspects of clowning, gives great ideas, and is an easy read.

The only downside is that it does not have space to go as in depth in some areas as I would of liked - but there are plenty of speciality books to do so.

I thought this book was informative, extremely informative for new clowns. You get a history of clowning, pictures of famous clowns, and jokes on most of the pages to use when performing. There is a chapter on how to develop your own clown character which also explains the different types of clowns (Whiteface, Auguste, Tramp and Character), their makeup and their character. Mimes are not excluded either! Topics covered are: clown outfits, props, routines, expression, timing, and working with partners. There are even chapters on balloon art, puppets, juggling, stilt walking, unicycling, and balancing objects. I found the last few chapters very helpful. They gave tips on designing your own business cards so people won't throw them away and how to get bookings and also how much to charge. There is a great Publications and Organization section full of books and suppliers. I would certainly recommend this book to any one who is interested in clowning around! This book has it all!