Florida Books

I started reading this book to learn more about Florida's environmental issues and never expected to learn so much or enjoy it so much. Living in a place that has few water issues I was shocked to realize what has been and is going on in much of the rest of the country. The sad thing about this wonderfully researched and well written book is it shows another area in which out government is failing to protect the people and environment of the US. It also shows the difficult balance between quick and easy economic stimulus and the high cost in other areas.

Outstanding book. It shows us how we let our environment get downgraded and is an important weapon for preventing further damage. Amazon price was good and service great.

Mirage is a work of science and passion. The writer has focused on that most important, scarce, and necessary resource: fresh water. She explores the political decisions and the business decisions that have affected the water supply in Florida and the rest of the East Coast of the United States. Her research is extensive; her prose is crisp; and her cause is sanity in the management of growth. I recommend this book for any reader who has an interest in science, nature, or business.

A very thoughtful, well-written book that delves into the science, history and politics of water in Florida and manages to do so in an interesting and readable manner. Cynthia Barnett clearly indentifies the problems and offers reasonable solutions without becoming judgemental or dogmatic. A must read for anyone living in the State of Florida or planning to do so and highly recommended for everyone else!

Discussions of America's water problems usually are limited to the West, so it's eye-opening to view a title which is the first to call attention to the disappearance of fresh water from Florida to the Great Lakes. From the high demands of newly-sprawling Florida subdivisions to freshwater aquifers which are disappearing elsewhere, MIRAGE blends investigative journalism with environmental and science history to prove an essential survey of problems and solutions. A 'must' not just for Eastern U.S. libraries, but for any collection on environmental issues and challenges.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

The Photograph, by Virginia Ellis, was such an amazing story! I hardly put it down until I was finished with it. The story had so many twists and turns; most books you can predict the outcome so early on. I always would think that I knew what was coming next and then found myself shocked. It also seemed kind of realistic for the time period, with all the women supporting the war and the conservativeness of society. At the same time it was really difficult to accept everything that happened to Maddy, and I felt really sorry for her to have to go through all of that.

I really enjoyed this book! I finished it quickly (2 days). It dealt with some pretty heavy subjects such as war and rape, but I thought that Ellis kept it very "readable". It wasn't depressing like a lot of books written about those subjects can be. I read her previous book The Wedding Dress and enjoyed that as well. The way Ellis writes makes you believe that you are really in the era that she is writing about. This takes place during World War II, and although I wasn't alive at the time, I certainly could envision the world at that time through her writings. She really draws you in with the characters, and you feel as if you really know them and have a vested interest in what happens to them. I thought that this was well written and definately worth reading.

On the advice of a friend I read this book. I was very glad I did. The story takes place during WWII when Maddie and her sister-in-law Ruth move to Miami to be closer to Ruth's husband before he departs for war. Although they intend to be in Miami for just a short period of time, a tragedy happens and they continue to live there until after the war.

The author is very gifted at developing people who you genuinely grow to love. Ruth and Maddie are finely drawn characters, as are Tully, Jack, Davey, the Silers, and even Maddie's mother. Ellis also does a great job at telling a good story. This one has it all: heartbreak, loss, fear, motherhood, love, friendship and family.

She also does a very credible job of making us feel that we are present during WWII and we can understand the hardships, uncertainties and deprivations that the main characters are going through. I also found it interesting how close Maddie and Ruth became and how loyal they were to each other.

Whatever your reading interests are, I am sure you will be charmed by this sweet and unassuming book.

December 7, 1941. The day the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, and the day Maddy Marshall turned seventeen. Maddy had lived a relatively quiet small town life in Radley, Pennsylvania, until now. Suddenly her fiancé has announced that he has joined the Navy and is leaving. Her brother Davey had joined the Marines previously and is getting ready for Paris Island. So all within one week Maddy is left with her mother, Davey's wife (Ruth), and heartache ... until that fateful letter arrives and Maddy's life changes forever.

Miami brings a whole new world to Maddy and Ruth. It also changes their lives. As these two sisters of the heart find themselves in trials they never dreamed of, their bong grows stronger. But will one fateful night, down at the pier, and the photograph be too much for the sisters as they wait for their men to come home?

***** Romance, intrigue, and heartfelt bonds set the stage for this wonderful saga that brought me into the world of these two women. Author Virginia Ellis has a way of bringing a time long gone to life again. I definitely loved this book. If you are looking for a good heartfelt book to help pass the winter away, then pick this one! *****

Reviewed by K. Blair

After just recently finishing 'The Wedding Dress' and being only somewhat pleased with it, I was a little reluctant to pick this up, but I'm soooo glad I did. This is an excellent story of two girls and their struggles with life, war, and family.

Taking place during WWII, Maddy and Ruth (Maddy's brother Davey's wife) head down to Miami to spend what little time they have left with Davey before he ships out. He sets them up at a friends parents house, the Silers. There are a bunch of great characters in this book, too many to name, but in short, a terrible thing happens to Maddy, and her and Ruth must stick together to sooth each others fears and concerns. And there is of course the photograph, a picture of a group of them taken the night before the boys depart. Only Ruth can see it, but it shows whats happening to each person in it, so the girls cling to it as their only hope to know the truth behind what the war's doing to the one's they love

Told from the alternating view point of both girls, this book is very hard to put down. I very highly recommend this read, especially if you like war period romantic type books. Don't get me wrong, this is NOT a romance novel, but the whole story has a romantic feel about it. I was very pleased, and feel much better about picking up another one of this authors books in the future.

The book is incredibly detailed yet breaks out a lot of fundamental as well as advanced biological info at the college level in an a very readable and accessible way. Obviously a solid textbook but I recommend it for Florida residents and natives for the wealth of info in this book on the incredibly biologically diverse State of Florida.

I am adopting this book for the third time as the main text for my Ecosystems of Florida class and I am very happy with it. It is amazingly cheap for the quality of the text and figures, and it is very accessible for students at all levels.

I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in Florida. Not only it is a great text for a non-major's course, it also makes a great coffee table book!

This book is a great all-in-one reference for any of FL's ecosystems. I am using it as a textbook for an independent study that I created.

The product was delivered in a timely manner with a great price. Upon arrival the product was as promised

This book is incredible. Forida residents will never look at your natural surroundings the same again. You'll love it.

This book is easy to use, yet provides the information that you need. Its color pictures make it easy to identify the coral that you see in the book out in the field.

For scuba divers, these volumns are unparalleled. There is so much to see under the sea and so many corals look very similar. Paul does an excellent job of helping you differentiate among species. Of course you have to use your memory or your camera to compare it to the guide book after the dive, cause the book does not tolerate depth very well. ;) Highly recommended book!

A field guide to coral, especially by Paul Humann, is essential to your collection of ocean field guides. Hundreds of coral species are listed, including: sea fans, hard corals, soft corals, and mushroom corals. The book also explains the many diseases that possibly afflict many species. The coral entries have excellent, detailed explanations beside them, concerning species depth, range, and abundance. The photograph transfers are above average, showing enough of the coral for identification purposes. The photographs are of course very beautiful, containing various, colorful hues of these animals. Buy the waterproof, annotated version of Reef Coral ID to bring along in the ocean on a scuba diving trip. The book has been updated twice since it was published, with the original print still floating around here on Amazon.com. The second edition is far superior, containing many more listings and more beautiful photos. Completely essential field guide for a private collection.

Don't take my word for it, go to a handful of dive shops and this author's name will come up more than once. An excellent book, I haven't come across anything I like better. The others in this family are just as good.

This Reef Coral Identification book is THE definitive guide. In brief there is not a better guide out there. It thoroughly covers each type of coral and gives identification information as well as full color photographs. In addition to all the corals it covers other plant life likely to be encountered while snorkeling or diving. These include grasses, weeds, algae and coral diseases. With a plastic cover and the pages treated to resist water it can be taken to the beach or onto the boat without much concern about the water damaging the book. For each item the book also discusses any danger to divers that the particular coral may represent (such as fire coral).

This book can also be purchased as part of a three part set that also includes the Reef Fish Identification and Reef Creature Identification texts, each of which is equally as excellent as the Reef Coral Identification book.

As made clear by the subtitle, this is the story of the César Rincón, arguably the best Colombian torero in history, one of the best ever to emerge from the Americas, one of the best -- without respect to origins -- performing anywhere in the second half of the twentieth century.

This is the story of César Rincón the torero (not a biography; we learn little here about César Rincón the man -- quite possibly the only aspect of the book that leaves the reader wishing for more, though we learn plenty about César's view of toreo, his personal take on its hows and whys, the nature and price of the vocation and its demands) who, in 1991, burst onto the taurine scene from nowhere (or, seemingly so -- he was so little known on the day of his first triumph in Madrid that the program listed him as Venezuelan), managing performances that saw him carried out through the Puerta Grande in Las Ventas on four consecutive appearances, a feat unequaled by anyone, before or since.

Just how good was César Rincón? The inescapable impression given by this book is that he was a taurine epiphany:

Josephs is without doubt a full-blooded Rincóncista, but Ritual and Sacrifice in the Corrida is no tendentiously edited hagiography. The judgments it contains are not just his -- they're from the pens of some of the most important taurine critics of Rincón's day (Andrés de Miguel, Vicente Zabala, Norberto Carrasco, Joaquín Vidal, Michael Wigram and José Carlos Arévalo), writing with Rincon's performances still vivid from the previous days' events. Josephs gives us his eye-witness accounts whenever possible, but generously supplements them with the opinions of other commentators.

This is a stunningly successful book, unlike any taurine work published in English in decades. Without question, Josephs has given us a work that will, for years, sit comfortably alongside the best of Hemingway, the best of Conrad, the best of Fulton and Tynan -- destined to be one of the more re-read works in any taurine bibliophile's library.

Rincón was essentially unknown to Josephs in 1991, and the germ of this book took root slowly as Rincón began to stun the Spanish afición (and Josephs) with his performances during that year's Iberian temporada. The idea for the book chrystalized in the spring of 1992, in Plaza Santa Ana -- a Madrid neighborhood dripping with taurine history and activity -- during a chat with Michael Wigram. Josephs set out to follow Rincón, documenting his career trajectory, from Spain back to the Americas, back to Spain, to the Americas, over and over until the end of the 1995 season when Rincón, suffering from a resurgence of hepatitis "C," announced his retirement, intending to swap the role of torero for that of ganadero.

Written with the aid of unusual access to a torero's inner circle, this is not simply an insider's view of the taurine circuit (as might be, for example, a detailed diary kept by a torero). Josephs didn't travel as part of Rincon's entourage. But it is likely as intimate a view as anyone will soon provide. Josephs shadowed Ricón, his manager and cuadrilla for four years -- benefitting greatly from their assistance, attending every corrida he could manage, describing in great detail what he saw (how the public reacted, and how the authority and critics judged). He had access that only a personal relationship with a torero can provide -- to hotel suites before and after successful and disastrous corridas, to sorteos, to the callejon, to tientas, to family gatherings on ganaderias and in Rincon's home, to hospital/infirmary rooms, to post-corrida de-briefings with critics and ganaderos, and more.

Faenas are described in near photographic detail, both the good, the bad, and the all-too-commonly mundane. Although the degree of taurine detail may prove more-than-a-little daunting for anyone outside or new to the mundo taurino, Josephs has seized on a clever way of avoiding bad translation of taurine terms while simultaneously keeping the narrative clear of repeated explanatory asides. All terms that would not be done justice by clumsy translation into English are left in their Spanish forms, accompanied by explanatory asides only the first time they appear in the text. Supsequent appearances remain in Spanish and an index of defined appearances is provided for readers who didn't absorb the meaning of a term the first time around.

Althouh this is Rincón's saga, Josephs' eyes aren't focused on Rincón alone. Had they been, no proper assessment of Rincón would have been possible. Though bullfighting isn't a contest between matador and bull, one can't really judge a matador's mettle without seeing him alongside his peers, each trying to tease the best out of the unpredictable complexity of the animals drawn each afternoon. Fortunately, Josephs doesn't slight Rincón's rivals (most noteworthy among them, Enrique Ponce and Joselito), giving everyone their due. We're provided a very balanced view of years of performances, the good and the bad, solidly retained in the natural context. To back every judgment we're given dates and locations (no need to take Josephs' word alone for the quality of performances observered; we're everywhere pointed to sources that can confirm the observations made) and detail that could only be noticed by one steeped -- as Josephs is -- in Spanish history and geography, taurine lore and fact.

All this is done without any of the dry, ponderous, academic heaviness that made Josephs' last major work (White Wall of Spain (c) 1983) so nearly impenetrable. Here the writing often seems to dance along with the improvisational pas de deux between Rincón and his partners of the afternoon.

I can't recommend this book too highly.

There are many ways to explore and come to begin to understand the fascination that many find in the corrida. It absorbs those that have come to know the bravery exhibited through ritual that lies at the heart of the corrida. The best way to reach some understanding is the way found by Alan Josephs. Josephs tightly focuses on the life of an individual, great torero. Josephs provides an intimate and satisfying examination of Rincón. Along the way, he brings all into the spirit and essence of the corrida.

Ritual & Sacrifice in the Corrida
For many Americans bull fighting is the one of the most misunderstood phenomena. The title of this fine book by Allen Josephs best explains bullfighting to the uninitiated Bull fighting, or toreo as Josephs correctly prefers to call it, is a ceremony of ritual and sacrifice.

The relation between man and the bull is lost deep in the fog of prehistory. Some say it was the bull not agriculture that domesticated man. The corrida is one aspect of that relationship, a sign of respect and honor to a noble enemy and friend.

The book is much more than a story of bullfighting. It is a classic saga of courage and perseverance as Cesar Rincon, a Colombian, against all odds succeeds in a foreign sometimes hostile land. From the plains of southern France, across the mountains of central Spain to the difficult rings of Andalusia, Allen takes us on a whirlwind adventure that criss-cross the breath and depth of Spain as he follows Rincon in his quest for the perfect corrida.

Josephs writes in a lyrical style more in the mode of Garcia Lorca than Hemingway.

Josephs, author of the White Wall of Spain, has an innate understanding of Spain and the Spanish which he imparts to the reader.

Read Hemingway, yes, but Ritual and Sacrifice in the Corrida is a must read for anyone even vaguely interested in that most Spanish of Spanish phenomena.

As made clear by the subtitle, this is the story of the César Rincón, arguably the best Colombian torero in history, one of the best ever to emerge from the Americas, one of the best -- without respect to origins -- performing anywhere in the second half of the twentieth century.

This is the story of César Rincón the torero (not a biography; we learn little here about César Rincón the man -- quite possibly the only aspect of the book that leaves the reader wishing for more, though we learn plenty about César's view of toreo, his personal take on its hows and whys, the nature and price of the vocation and its demands) who, in 1991, burst onto the taurine scene from nowhere (or, seemingly so -- he was so little known on the day of his first triumph in Madrid that the program listed him as Venezuelan), managing performances that saw him carried out through the Puerta Grande in Las Ventas on four consecutive appearances, a feat unequaled by anyone, before or since.

Just how good was César Rincón? The inescapable impression given by this book is that he was a taurine epiphany:

Josephs is without doubt a full-blooded Rincóncista, but Ritual and Sacrifice in the Corrida is no tendentiously edited hagiography. The judgments it contains are not just his -- they're from the pens of some of the most important taurine critics of Rincón's day (Andrés de Miguel, Vicente Zabala, Norberto Carrasco, Joaquín Vidal, Michael Wigram and José Carlos Arévalo), writing with Rincon's performances still vivid from the previous days' events. Josephs gives us his eye-witness accounts whenever possible, but generously supplements them with the opinions of other commentators.

This is a stunningly successful book, unlike any taurine work published in English in decades. Without question, Josephs has given us a work that will, for years, sit comfortably alongside the best of Hemingway, the best of Conrad, the best of Fulton and Tynan -- destined to be one of the more re-read works in any taurine bibliophile's library.

Rincón was essentially unknown to Josephs in 1991, and the germ of this book took root slowly as Rincón began to stun the Spanish afición (and Josephs) with his performances during that year's Iberian temporada. The idea for the book chrystalized in the spring of 1992, in Plaza Santa Ana -- a Madrid neighborhood dripping with taurine history and activity -- during a chat with Michael Wigram. Josephs set out to follow Rincón, documenting his career trajectory, from Spain back to the Americas, back to Spain, to the Americas, over and over until the end of the 1995 season when Rincón, suffering from a resurgence of hepatitis "C," announced his retirement, intending to swap the role of torero for that of ganadero.

Written with the aid of unusual access to a torero's inner circle, this is not simply an insider's view of the taurine circuit (as might be, for example, a detailed diary kept by a torero). Josephs didn't travel as part of Rincon's entourage. But it is likely as intimate a view as anyone will soon provide. Josephs shadowed Ricón, his manager and cuadrilla for four years -- benefitting greatly from their assistance, attending every corrida he could manage, describing in great detail what he saw (how the public reacted, and how the authority and critics judged). He had access that only a personal relationship with a torero can provide -- to hotel suites before and after successful and disastrous corridas, to sorteos, to the callejon, to tientas, to family gatherings on ganaderias and in Rincon's home, to hospital/infirmary rooms, to post-corrida de-briefings with critics and ganaderos, and more.

Faenas are described in near photographic detail, both the good, the bad, and the all-too-commonly mundane. Although the degree of taurine detail may prove more-than-a-little daunting for anyone outside or new to the mundo taurino, Josephs has seized on a clever way of avoiding bad translation of taurine terms while simultaneously keeping the narrative clear of repeated explanatory asides. All terms that would not be done justice by clumsy translation into English are left in their Spanish forms, accompanied by explanatory asides only the first time they appear in the text. Supsequent appearances remain in Spanish and an index of defined appearances is provided for readers who didn't absorb the meaning of a term the first time around.

Althouh this is Rincón's saga, Josephs' eyes aren't focused on Rincón alone. Had they been, no proper assessment of Rincón would have been possible. Though bullfighting isn't a contest between matador and bull, one can't really judge a matador's mettle without seeing him alongside his peers, each trying to tease the best out of the unpredictable complexity of the animals drawn each afternoon. Fortunately, Josephs doesn't slight Rincón's rivals (most noteworthy among them, Enrique Ponce and Joselito), giving everyone their due. We're provided a very balanced view of years of performances, the good and the bad, solidly retained in the natural context. To back every judgment we're given dates and locations (no need to take Josephs' word alone for the quality of performances observered; we're everywhere pointed to sources that can confirm the observations made) and detail that could only be noticed by one steeped -- as Josephs is -- in Spanish history and geography, taurine lore and fact.

All this is done without any of the dry, ponderous, academic heaviness that made Josephs' last major work (White Wall of Spain (c) 1983) so nearly impenetrable. Here the writing often seems to dance along with the improvisational pas de deux between Rincón and his partners of the afternoon.

I can't recommend this book too highly.

I knew the subject matter of Ritual and Sacrifice would hold some general interest, but I had no idea that the book would be so lively, so entertaining, and so damned dramatic, from Rincon's opening of the Madrid gates to the story's heartbreaking "surprise" coda. Josephs makes what was obviously a Herculean literary undertaking seem easy and natural, and the writing's terrific--fluid, confident, passionate. Equally thrilling are the hundreds of superb photos, also by the author. Aside from Hemingway's masterpiece--an inevitable but impossible comparison--this is the best book on toreo I've ever read, as well as being a provocative and engrossing cultural study.

The author notes that as a ten year old in Detroit he loved the program SEA HUNT. Scuba diving led to a journey to uncover a slave ship's past. The book opens with a timeline of events significant to the operation of the HENRIETTA MARIE.

Mel Fisher is probably the most well known treasure hunter in the world. Moe Molinar, a successful black treasure hunter, found the shackles. Additional diving in 1973 produced more rusted shackles. They were stored in a warehouse in Key West. The first artifact identifying the wreck was a bell inscribed HENRIETTA MARIE, 1699. This was discovered by David Moore, an archeologist, in the Gulf of Mexico.

The author conducted research at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England. David Moore and the author were haunted by the one hundred shackles found in the wreck of the HENRIETTA MARIE. Their presence showed without a doubt the ship's purpose. The author had been taught by his mother to use the story of slavery for inspiration.

On its second slave voyage, and what proved to be its last, two hundred fifty Africans began the trip. Landfall after the Middle Passage was a location in Jamaica, Port Royal, where the African people were sold for three thousand one hundred forty four pounds. In the Florida straits the HENRIETTA MARIE was blindsided by strong winds. The ship sank thirty seven miles west of Key West.

In Jamaica Michael Cottman, the author, may have met descendants of the people transported on the HENRIETTA MARIE. They had the same surname as a family of Jamaican plantation owners and English manufacturers of the cannon installed on the HENRIETTA MARIE. The meeting in Jamaica occurred after four years of research.

In 1992 Michael Cottman attended his first national conference of the National Association of Black Scuba Divers. It was the organization's second national meeting. Safe diving practice means sticking to a buddy system. The association of black divers grew out of the need to obtain partners to follow the sport of scuba diving.

The dive to the HENRIETTA MARIE was undertaken in May, 1993. It was quite an accomplishment to find the wreck after an absence of nine years; sand shifts, currents move and displace objects. Visibility underwater is frequently poor. Having located the wreck of the slave ship the HENRIETTA MARIE on New Ground Reef, the divers paid tribute to those ancestors and others who lost their lives during the Middle Passage. The dive was a sort of pilgrimage.

In 1996 Cottman went to Dakar, to Goree Island. Historians believe the HENRIETTA MARIE once sailed along the West Coast of Africa. In 1996 since there were severe problems in Nigeria, Cottman elected to travel to Senegal. Michael Cottman and his guide went to a structure named the House of Slaves. Goree Island was a place of mass suffering and tormented souls.

The book is moving. The terrible wound inflicted, slavery, needs to be discussed in this country. There is a Holocaust Museum memorializing a European event. No museum memorializes the peculiar institution.

I have always wanted to visit the Motherland, but never more than after reading Michael Cottman's "Spirit Dive." I thoroughly enjoyed his rich descriptions of the people and places he encountered there on his quest, especially his visit to the Door of No Return on Goree Island and scuba diving the clear water off the west African coast. I enjoyed the passages about scuba diving--the kinship between the black divers, the adventures of the underwater treasure hunters, Cottman's encounters with playful schools of fish and no-so-playful sharks. I also found impressive the detail the book included of the workings of the slave trade from a business perspective--the way the enslavers were so single-minded in their greed that they completely disregarded the value of black life. I will never forget the image of the tiny shackles imprisoning babies--it was disturbing but richly described. I found it difficult to put "Spirit Dive" down and have shared it with my young son, nephews, nieces and several friends. So many of the stories about slavery and the struggle of our forebearers are written in a disconnected way. This book was a warm and personal account of a journalist and father's search for truth about his heritage.

The account of the discovery of this slave ship and the painstaking research that went into telling us its history is inspiring. Cottman writes it in a spiritually uplifting and journalistically compelling manner. Every American should read it and share it with every child they know.

It's not often that a book successfully makes the link between contemporary man and the past. Spirit Dive by Michael H. Cottman is a notable exception.

Cottman's journey back through time to research the history of a slave ship is an eye-opening work, rich with details about the operation of the slave trade, the risks and the lucrative payoffs for the slavers, which helps to explain why it became a major industry.

It's also a story of how contemporary men -- black and white -- came together to document an accurate history of an event that was a perfect example of scenes that were played out repeatedly as slave ships traversed the Atlantic.

It was a perfect circle in many ways. Slavery drove white and black apart over an uncommon evil, but hundreds of years later, the search for the slave ship brought black and white together for a common good.

I really enjoyed reading Spirit Dive. I found it very interesting, inspiring and informative. It was an excellent way to learn about slavery without feeling depressed. I liked the idea of weaving one man's personal experience with the history of one slave ship. The book made me laugh and cry. But it gave me a new way of thinking regarding the issue of slavery - African Americans survived slavery and continue to be a strong race of people.

I read the other three books in this series a few years ago and just got around to picking up a used copy of this one. And I'm disappointed -- not in the story, but that there's no more Sierra!

I don't know why the author stopped this series. I've read her other books and while they're good, they can't hold a candle to this series. The characters, the storytelling, the mystery -- everything put together makes it a book you don't want to put down, and a series you don't want to see left hanging when there's still so much story to tell.

Bring back Sierra!

Sierra Lavotini is a great character. This is a wonderful series. I have them as a keeper on my shelves. The striper and the cop were just becoming a great couple. I was so looking forward to their relationship developing! And the loose ends that this book has----so many unanswered questions!

I wish that Nancy would finish this series _ I know that there are many other readers that have the same wish. Looking forward to the rest of Sierra's story!

Fantastic. Nancy, you have outdone yourself! I did not think I would ever find a series I loved as much as the Stephanie Plum series, but you have changed my mind. I liked the first book, but as the series continued and the writing improved and the characters developed, I was hooked beyond hooked! Please Please Please write another Sierra novel!

I love this series of books. My only concern is that I have not been able to find any new books in this series since this book was published. Try reading these books in public and you'll get funny looks because you can't stop yourself from laughing. Does anyone know what happened to this series? I truly hope that there are more coming.

The Sierra Lavotini series is a must for anyone who has NO LIMIT when it comes to taking a GAMBLE on a well-written, smart and funny romantic suspense. Here's the DEAL: Sierra is an UNDERDOG amateur detective who happens to have a TOP PAIR, a real stacked DECK, and strips at a HOUSE with a GUNSHOT STRAIGHT when it comes to murder. Sierra, unlike the other exotic dancers, doesn't FOLD when it comes to solving the murders; she ANTES up, which RAISES the Panama City Police Department's frustration in solving the crime, especially a FIVE CARD STUD detective named John Nailor. I'm not BLUFFING when I say take the CHANCE on STRIP POKER; it's a SURE THING that you'll hit the JACK POT...the ODDS aren't against you.:)

The gifted storytelling and teachings of Mitchell Chefitz have once again reached the Heart of Texas. Chefitz's latest novel, "The Thirty-Third Hour" was worth the wait.

This book communicates on many levels. The outer layer is a mystery novel; a crime might have been committed and a discovery is underway. The inner layers are a complex and inspiring tale that explore the mysteries within the human spirit.

This tapestry of stories speaks to the heart.
Read this book and find the ones that speak to yours.

Unlike anything I've read. A rabbi sits sleepless in his study, watching videos and reading journals in a desperate attempt to discover why a colleague -- another rabbi! -- so betrayed his trust that the whole congregation is threatened. As mystery, the apparent betrayal generates only mild heat. but mystery (THIS mystery, in any case) is not the main point here. Rather, "Thirty-third Hour" looks at the deeper mysteries of how people relate to one another, their religious traditions and texts, and the nagging uncertainties of existence. Chefitz's book is a wonderful, insightful and provocative exploration of mysticism and midrash. Not only was I unable to put the book down, but I immediately integrated some of the material into a course I teach. What's more, the very day I finished it, I bought two copies as gifts for friends.

This book is FABULOUS. I couldn't put it down, a real page
turner. I thought I knew the familiar Old Testament stories, but
The Thirty-third Hour puts them into a brand new light. This is a must read for
anyone who thinks there's only one approach to the Bible. PLUS it is a great mystery, with an amazing ending.

After reading "The Seventh Telling", I had been anxiously awaiting the promised sequel from Mitchell Chevitz. His "The Thirty-Third Hour", bringing back Moshe Katan from the first book exceeded even my prejudiced expectations. With superb skill, he takes us through a review of the critical Torah texts, examining each for deeper Kabbalistic meaning in a setting of family study, all disguised in an intricate suspenseful novel. After the first Chapter, the plot became so intriguing that it is impossible to stop reading until it is exposed, incidentally in the last Chapter. The entire setting is so familiar and logical that you really feel immersed within the story. There is so much to be learned from this "teaching", disguised as a novel, that it should be mandatory reading in every home, school and religious institution. Kudos to Mitchell Chevitz.

A great read - both intriguing and instructive. The mystery keeps the pages turning, and before you know it you've been through a Torah course taught in a very unique way.

But beyond that is a new philosophy on the form and future of jewish life and learning - some ideas that really make you think.

It's rare to get so many "benefits" from one book!

It is a great book lots of informatio

I found this book to be fantastic! I was especially impressed with the restaurant reviews. I have been to Disney twice since I read this book and I would not leave home without it. There are so many restaurants to choose from at Disney. This book will help you get through the maze!

I will have to say that this book is by far the best guide to the park available, with (for the most part) dead on evaluations of rides and restaurants. My only problem with the book is that some of the reviews of attractions exaggerate their attributes so much that you wind up disappointed. For instance, Star Tours and Body Wars, two similar rides, get high ratings and warnings about their intensity, yet wound up being more like a Wal Mart parking lot ride with a film projected in front of it. A great investment, if only for its touring plans for all of the theme parks.

I have used the guide for my last three trips and I find it very realistic. It also offered answered questions a Disney traveler may only ask once. For instance the chapter on weddings helped me to plan my own. Using the info in the guide coupled with creative planning and common sense I had a dream Disney wedding for $268.00 US dollars. Reception on property, cake made by Disney and memories that will last forever.This years valuable tip comes from the Universal chapter which we look forward to seeing for the first time in September

This guide provides a realistic view of planning and participating in a Disney World vacation (and often humorous insites from readers). The book praises that which is good and shoots down that which is not. This is the 3rd unofficial guide I have used. It can seem kind of "commando" at times. Use what you need and store the rest for info. Restaraunt reviews are great. It is very lacking in lodging specifics. You'll need to read another guide book for that. It is behind the times in a few areas but nothing that you can't live with. I'm waiting anxiously for November to arrive so I can purchase the 98 version. If you have never been to Disney World or have only been once before or you have not LEARNED from your past MISTAKES, this is a must if you want a vacation thats less stressfull than most Disney visitors--get this book. Most people do not realize that a Disney vacation can be stressfull. Read and find out why

I found the little things like the F-U lizards funny. They really sounded like that. I remember the 1st time I heard one. It was on a cold dark rainy night (can't see your hand in front of you even if you are touching your noise) on guard duty at a fire base 40 miles out in the middle of knowwhere. There were a few junkies in my units. Probably more than I knew. I remember one guy named Walker. Guys would start junkie pools and put in a $1 and pick a date when you thought he'd O.D. by. I never really thought of all the families that had kids killed and what they went through. I had a brother 10 years younger than me. Had I been KIA or MIA it would have effected my brother the same way it did Jimmy. My brother & I are very close and talk to each other every day. The Vietnam war was a real waste of time and lives. It is a sad part of US history. To bad we can't learn from history.

I loved Amaryllis!!! I also remember the Vietnam era. I felt I could hear Franks voice in his letters to Jimmy. Craig Crist- Evans captured the helpless feeling of Franks questioned existance while fighting his demons.
Hopefully, a POW story will follow!!!!

Growing up in the time of the Vietnam war and growing up in Florida, I can totally relate to this book. It was, indeed, a time of great turmoil in this country and also brought to the surface many family's individual struggles. Crist-Evans gives us a touching insight into one family's attempts to wrestle with their own personal demons as well as the demons of their country and times. Got a little misty at the end.

This book is a great read for teens and their parents! Both will get hooked on the writing style and the communication between father and son. It's great how the two brothers stay in contact through the troubles and confusions! I would definately recommend this book to you!

This book caught my attention when I saw the title. I read the first page and I was hooked! This author has a great writing style. He also attracts people of my age with his writing style. If you want to read other books by Craig Crist-Evans please check out Moon Over Tennessee!