Florida Books

I read this book when I was about 12 and really enjoyed it. It was suspenseful and interesting. Yes, it is somewhat violent but it was well written and would appeal to teenagers--particularly teenage boys.

When I was about twelve years of age, I read this book as the first real book I had ever read. I loved it. The story concerns some kids who seek an underwater treasure, the result of a shipwreck centuries ago. There are also some bad guys after the treasure. I just ordered this book (which I haven't seen in thirty years) to read to my children. After I finished this book, I read as many Robb White books as I could find and then branched out into other types of books. This is the book that started me on a lifetime of reading. I gave it five stars because of its effect on my life. I fear it may not be as good as I remember and, beware, it is not politically correct; i.e., it is violent and portrays violence in pursuit of a good purpose as good. Although I originally found this book in school and read it with the encouragment of my teachers, this book would not be allowed in public schools today.

Renee Deloriea's book is an authentic account of one young lady's experience with God at the Brownsville Revival. She is totally believable; her book shares how her children's own experiences with God have brought about positive change within their schools--something America desperately needs. Her book thrilled my heart; and her reference to another book, GLORY, by Ruth Ward Heflin has brought untold blessings to me and fellow teacher friends who shared the book. Thank you Renee! God bless you!

Renee Deloria has given the world an in-depth look into the early years of the now internationally known Brownsville revival in Pensacola, FL. She shares her experience, and the lasting fruit of this movement.

I wasn't sure which book to buy on mold, but found the topic I needed - mold on furniture. The other chapters were helpful and shed some light on a problem with the planters at the house. It is written from an insiders perspective which was helpful to really understand what is going on with mold, sampling (or not to sample! haha), and good removal. Very candid and practical. I recommend it.

This is a very useful book that gives you the scoop on mold and building issues. Initially I am always skeptical about "mold" books as most of them on the market seem to want to tell you how scarry mold is rather than attempt to give you common sense advice on how to prevent mold or hanlde mold situations. Since I deal with people's homes this book has been a great resource in a readable succint package.

This is a very useful book with 340 different course descriptions and easy-to-read, color maps showing where the courses are located. In addition, it lets you in on how to obtain discounted greens fees so you can play a lot of courses--at least come of the time--for less than $25. And it fits in your pocket or golf bag.

This is an easy to use reference guide packed with information on golf courses in central Florida. It includes maps and detailed information on the courses, cost, the names of the golf pros etc... A must if you are a golfer planning a trip to Florida.

1979 was my first introduction in person to Bob Graham. The circumstances were odd, but ever since then, I have come to appreciate his service to Florida and to the nation.

On May 25, 1979, John Spenkelink became the first inmate to be executed in Florida following the resumption of capital punishment. The night before was an all night vigil in front of the Governor's Mansion. I was there. Bob - against the advise of his advisers - walked out the front door of the mansion to speak with us.

Subsequent to that I had many opportunities to speak with and to observe him up close. Reading this book though has - with the hindsight of history - helped me to better realize what a gem both Florida and the nation has in Bob Graham.

Bob, thank you.

And by the way, last night at the Florida Wine Festival - a fund-raiser for the Mary Brogan Museum of Art and Science in Tallahassee - I won the dinner with you and three of my friends at the Governor's Club in Tallahassee. Looking forward!

And thank you S. V. Date for a most informative and well written book.

Next book for me to read is your newest book about the real (and scary) Jeb Bush.

__________________________________


Regarding Scharlette Holdman, who is cited in this book:

First a brief introduction: From 1986 - 1992 I was employed as an investigator at the Office of Capital Collateral Representative (CCR) in Tallahassee, Florida, where Scharlette Holdman worked as the supervisor of the investigators from October 1985 - March 1988.

I have known Scharlette since the mid-1970s. Her office, the Clearinghouse on Criminal Justice, was in the same wing of the Petroleum Building as my office at Common Cause in Florida, where I volunteered.

David von Drehle's excellent book "Among the Lowest of the Dead" provides the best history and analysis of the Florida death penalty, with Michael Mello's books a close second. Part of each of these books is about Scharlette Holdman. A bit of the negative aspects:

When Scharlette had essentially declared war upon CCR in 1987 and thereafter, some of us decided to investigate her background given some things that we had heard. Low and behold, Scharlette's claim of a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Hawaii and a Master's Degree from Memphis State (now University of Memphis) don't exist. A claimed undergraduate degree from Memphis State: I no longer recall if this was confirmed by the university.

We used Scharlette's Social Security number, her maiden name and her married name -- with all this information, both universities had no record of Scharlette having received any degrees from these institutions.

As I understand Scharlette, she needed the "degrees" to confer upon her "credentials" that she really never needed as she is indeed then and now a national expert on capital mitigation, litigation, etc. However Scharlette can be deceptive, as her lack of a PhD and Masters so demonstrates. Even today she claims to have the degrees as when she gives presentations regarding capital cases, she is identified as "Dr." A key word search of her name will bring up some of the presentations that she has made in the past several years with the title "Dr." preceding her name.

If she has received any honorary or other degrees since 1990, that would be new information for me. If so, please let me know: P.O. Box 38458, Tallahassee, FL 32315-8458.

S.V. Date's book is an easy read - you can read it over a weekend - but it is surprisingly deep and well-researched. The book, written in the straightforward prose one expects from a seasoned newspaper reporter, is especially strong on Graham's bumpy yet successful ride as a politician in Florida. The author's observations of Graham are positive, yet balanced, looking at Graham's strengths and weaknesses, his moments of true leadership and his worst mistakes. On the whole, the book left me with a favorable impression of Graham -- he comes across as a bright, patriotic and hard-working leader who tried to make peoples lives better.

No one, not Fleming, not Clancy, no one does it better than Adam Hall. His entire Quiller series is far and away THE BEST of the genre`.

Search through used bookstores to find his earlier works. They are worth the time and effort.

Quiller, creation of Adam Hall (Elleston Trevor's non de plume) is a secret agent's secret agent. He is offered missions all over the world and he executes them. He shares all his fears and thoughts with us. Hall has a unique way of building suspense with hiss use of sentence structure. Marvelous books of which Quiller Barracuda is a good example.

I am a new resident to Orlando, so I needed something to find my way around the downtown area. This book is great to keep in the car to help with getting around town or finding alternate routes. It is a very detailed map which is great, and it's not confusing! The best part about it is the index where you can look up the street that you are trying to locate and it will tell you exactly which page to go to. Also, it has a list of schools and the area in which they are located, which was great for me since I wanted to know the locations of schools before I moved here. It also has a list of post offices, shopping centers, golf courses, libraries, hospitals, parks etc. which has been so nice to have in the car when I'm trying to find something close by.

I would recommend this street guide to anyone! It is worth the money for sure!!!

I work in a business where I drive all over Orlando, from St Cloud to Sanford, Winter Garden to Melbourne, and usually I know where I am going. However, there are a lot of areas, especially downtown, that can become confusing. This book has helped me everytime I've been turned around or lost. Not only that, but I also have used the book to help others when they are lost. It's a great driving guide, and I recommend that anyone who drives in Orlando (or is planning to drive in Orlando) get it.

Remembering Nureyev: The Trail of a Comet is a biography of acclaimed male ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev, as told by one of his closest friends, the European choreographer Rudi van Dantzig, who first met Nureyev when Nureyev asked for permission to dance in one of van Dantzig's ballets. Expertly translated into English by Katie de Haan, Remembering Nureyev is a tale of conflict as well as closeness; though Nureyev was a genius in the realm of ballet, his over-the-top lifestyle frequently brought him at odds with Dantzig, who had a very strict concept of how his dances should be performed and portrayed. Dantzig eventually fired Nureyev as the advance of years took its toll upon his skills and his life. An eye-opening, firsthand testimony of the bond between artists.

Rudi van Dantzig describes his friendship with Rudolf Nureyev with great sensitivity. The author was/is a fine observer of people's follys, but makes no value judgements. which I appreciated.
The book is a finely tuned to the spirit of the 1980s and 1990s, and definately neither whitewashing nor darkening Nureyev's image. The word AIDS is never mentioned, yet one 'knows'.
I recommend this book highly to all fans of Rudolf Nureyev.
Ute Seemann

A REVIEW OF RIDE THE EAGLE (Rose International) A strike in any business has a tremendous effect on lots of people, moreso when it draggs on into months. When it goes that long, union bosses and management are generally miles apart, and haggling over major issues. Such is the case at the New York Mirror where Lester Gordon, the union negotiator, and Caroline Keller, the Mirror's labor relations representative, have their respective negotiating teams at odds with each other. Kristina O'Donnelly has not only put together an excellent plot, but she has managed to write this book with great passion, preciseness and emotion. She writes so well that you can feel the tension in the conference room where union and management are locked in heated negotiations; brings out the emotional upheavals that go on in such confrontations, the anger, frustration that almost triggers violence between two of the key players, even the tension of crossing a picket line. You can even feel the tautness in Caroline's body as she slips and slides across icy sidewalks on a windy, cold, snowy night, trying to get to Lester's office to deliver a talk from the heart as negotiations are at a crucial juncture. O'Donnelly also develops a very heated, exciting, but controversial romance between Lester and Caroline, and you can feel the underlying concerns of both as they fall more deeply in love, and grow more physically attracted to each other, unaable to quell the fires that burn within. While you wonder what happens to the Mirror's strike, whether or not the shutdown of the newspaper and the intimacy between Lester and Caroline will have a bearing on their futures, she makes you wonder if their relationship will brilliantly flourish, or finally go down in flames. Kristina O'Donnelly makes you feel all the emotions involved, to want to keep reading on, anxious to get to the end for the climax, and once you're there, to keep going on and on. Ride the Eagle is an excellent, highly recommended book, a real five-star effort by Kristina O'Donnelly. Dan Murr Clocktower Books

A REVIEW OF RIDE THE EAGLE (Rose International) A strike in any business has a tremendous effect on lots of people, moreso when it draggs on into months. When it goes that long, union bosses and management are generally miles apart, and haggling over major issues. Such is the case at the New York Mirror where Lester Gordon, the union negotiator, and Caroline Keller, the Mirror's labor relations representative, have their respective negotiating teams at odds with each other. Kristina O'Donnelly has not only put together an excellent plot, but she has managed to write this book with great passion, preciseness and emotion. She writes so well that you can feel the tension in the conference room where union and management are locked in heated negotiations; brings out the emotional upheavals that go on in such confrontations, the anger, frustration that almost triggers violence between two of the key players, even the tension of crossing a picket line. You can even feel the tautness in Caroline's body as she slips and slides across icy sidewalks on a windy, cold, snowy night, trying to get to Lester's office to deliver a talk from the heart as negotiations are at a crucial junction. O'Donnelly also develops a very heated, exciting, but controversial romance between Lester and Caroline, and you can feel the underlying concerns of both as they fall more deeply in love, and grow more physically attracted to each other, unaable to quell the fires that burn within. While you wonder what happens to the Mirror's strike, whether or not the shutdown of the newspaper and the intimacy between Lester and Caroline will have a bearing on their futures, she makes you wonder if their rrelationship will brilliantly flourish, or finally go down in flames. Kristina O'Donnelly makes you feel all the emotions involved, to want to keep reading on, anxious to get to the end for the climax, and once you're there, to keep going on and on. Ride the Eagle is an excellent, highly recommended book, a real five-star effort by Kristina O'Connelly. Dan Murr Clocktower Books

This pocket sized 400 page guide to Malta & surrounding islands is full of facts, details, and helpful hints. This is a British made publication, which means: 1) you have great detail on after hour clubs, bars, and entertainment; 2), there will be practically no attempt to help you with the local language (which for the most part the natives can understand & speak English, even if they are heavily accented); 3) there will be no hesitation to give opinions along with the facts; 4) there will be good information on bus routes and transportation options.
There are only 4 pages of photographs out of the 400, so it helps to team this book up with one like the AAA Spiral Guide which is chock full of photos, but this Rough guide is the one to stick in your pocket when you head out into the street.

Having lived in Malta for about five months, I can vouch for the quality of this book. It definitely beats all the other guides out there.

The author had the advantage of writing about a small country, which might explain why this book is so good. Alas, smallness is often next to greatness, as anybody who knows anything about Malta will tell you. Situated smack dab in the middle of the Mediterranean, it has been a cultural crossroads for thousands of years, from the time of the Phoenecians right down to British colonial days (Malta became an independent country only in 1964 and the British influence is still strong). Its famous siege by the Turks in 1565 was only a part of its rich and exciting history. This book includes a thorough section on Maltese history and culture, plus a list of other books if you want to learn more.

As for the travel sections, it's replete with useful information, including details about admission costs, opening hours, bus routes, places to stay and eat, how to get there (not always easy), and where to go have fun in the sun. The maps are great, and it's also got a lot of useful information about Gozo and Comino, the beautiful neighboring islands 30 minutes by boat from Malta itself.

This book was written with budget travelers in mind, but anybody will find it useful. And don't be turned away by the title: the only thing "rough" about Malta is the bus network, which is absolutely prehistoric and will beat even the most hard-core travelers down to an ichthyous, jelly-like pulp. Watch out. --- Five stars.