Clubs Books

Leever has definitely arrived with 'Even In Darkness"! I couldn't put it down...if you enjoy suspense-filled novels, this one belongs in your collection!

This is a very intense read. The book grabs you and doesn't let go. I simply wasn't ready for the twist at the end, but whoa! Jay's (the main character's) a guy whose feelings I could really relate to. He's definately a man with "balls."

I really enjoyed this book. The suspense is right up there with the stuff on the bestseller list. I will read anything else this author comes out with.

For the person who doesn't read often (like me), this is the kind of book that keeps you engaged and needing to read on to the next section. The pacing is excellent, and the backdrop of the story--a university campus that takes on more and more of a menacing feeling as the book progresses--is excellently done and unsettling at the same time.

I particularly liked the character of Breeze, and what happens with Kristin near the end of the book. The scenes in the tunnel system underneath the campus with Kristin being pursued in the dark by two bloodthirsty thugs were enough to give one nightmares, but it was great suspense.

Overall, a great read.

Jeffrey Aran Leever is a publications manager for a nonprofit organization in Colorado. An English/writing major from the University of Nebraska (Kearney), he presently lives in Arvada, Colorado. He has co-authored two published non-fiction books.

Colleges often have immense power with the locals of the communities they serve...power which can be turned for dark purposes. When Jay Downing's friend Reed Manley doesn't appear for a preappointed "night on the town," and some strange girl tries to lure Jay into the University's long unused underground tunnels, Jay begins to fear for his friend's life. The police treat Jay as if he is on drugs, and when Reed's body appears outside of town, even the coroner seems to be in on the coverup. But it is the professors at Jay's school in Stratton who act the most bizarre:

"Jay looked again at his professor, and wondered what the man knew. What pieces of the truth he held. It was as if Lanum was trying to hold back something, and yet share it at the same time. As if there'd been something Jay had done that gave Lanum reason for contempt. It had to have been something independent of their never-quite-so-serious interactions in class. But what?"

The idea that a university setting could be used for nefarious purposes, and that professors (who, after all, are supposed to represent the creme de la creme) could be arch-fiends stirs up a shiver of recognition in all of us. (Who hasn't dreamt about not attending class and not knowing where their final was?)

Even In Darkness is a well written, spine-tingling, Gothic, Steven Kingish novel that grips the reader from page one. Leever's use of uncertainty in speech, action, and tone puts the reader into a nervous state from the beginning. It is an excellent tool to produce the results he wants, which is to scare us to death and keep us turning those pages. Even In Darkness is an great first effort in the genre for Leever, and presents him as a new talent to be reckoned with. It is entertaining, scary, infuriating, and deeply satisfying, all at once. A great read.

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This book is a thriller from start to finish. Word to the wise; don't read this book before you go to bed at night, you may not be able to get to sleep.

The Book came exactly as described and in a very timely manner when ordered with expedited shipping. - - We saved a ton of money when compared to what the book store at school wanted us to pay!

I was very satisfied. The book came in mint condition and the price was the best of others offered by other companies. Keep up the good work!

I like Evergreen. I think its a good book to help you with all the problems your having with your writing. I use it everyday. Its great for everyone who is learning to write or who wants to be better.

I actually purchased this book becuase it helped give me some inspiration for addtional exercises for my ESL students because I thought that some of the material in the text we were using was not covered effectively. I really like this book, and can be used for high level ESL or native English writing. Easy to follow, well-ordered, and overall a good writing skills text.

We use Susan Fawcett's book 'Evergreen' in writing courses at the community college where I work, as well as in our Tutoring Center (we also use her book 'Grassroots', which is a good companion at the more basic level). Whereas 'Grassroots' is for those who need help writing sentences and with more basic grammar concepts, the 'Evergreen' book is for those who have mastered that level of writing, and are ready to develop more fully structured themes and essays.

The first unit of 'Evergreen' reviews the basic concepts of the writing process - what is one writing for? Who is the likely or intended audience? How should a finished paper look? Believe it or not, it is on this last point that so many grades have risen or fallen - a paper can be wonderfully written, but if it is scribbled on scrap paper rather than typewritten and neatly printed, it may suffer in grading, just as a letter from a business will not be as well received if it has spelling errors and problems with formatting. (This is a similar introduction to the 'Grassroots' text.)

The second unit looks for explicitly at the paragraph, developing concepts such as coherence, topic sentences, ideas to include and exclude, as well as outlining and revising.

The third and fourth units in this book are really the heart of the writing process. In the development of the paragraph, there are different approaches and techniques one can take - the paragraph can be descriptive, narrative, explanatory of a definition, comparison and contrast, persuasive, and a few other means. These lead naturally into the development of the essay, which is generally a series of paragraphs that are linked by a common idea or theme - some of the same processes that go into the development of a paragraph parallel the development of an essay, and many of the same descriptors above apply to paragraph forms, too. The fifth unit extends this kind of essay development by exploring sentence variety, language awareness and consistency in the revision process.

Units 6 and 7 are review chapters for grammar concepts, punctuation, and spelling. These are really review areas - they do not go into enough depth or repetition for this to be an introductory text, but rather will assume some familiarity with the concepts being presented.

The final section has a collection of reading selections, some from well-known authors and other figures. There are pieces that provide examples for the different kinds of essays described earlier in the book - some pieces are narrative, some are persuasive, some are humourous.

This is a good book to use to become a better writer. It is useful in classroom settings, but might also be used for individual study (such as we do in the Tutoring Center).

I just wanted readers to know that this writer can write excellent horror in the tradition of Poe - hard core new-gothic writing that will rock your socks off. I was especially impressed by his dark landscapes and incredible and chilling descriptions. My favorite story was "The Resurrection of James Mason." This was blood chilling to say the least as the protagonist is trapped in the tomb of an evil master of sorcery on the very night of his resurrection back into our everyday world of strange and weird encounters with spirits of evil.

Ron Dondiego's "Fables and Other Oddities of The Imagination",
is an extraordinary collection of short stories which have a
valuable teaching and message in them.
I was totally awestruck as I read each story.
He really opened my eyes and mind to a reality I'd never thought of.
Even though classified as fiction, this collection has so much truth in there.
His first story would make a wonderful children's book
and even a great show for the family.
I loved the way each was written, resembling a page in a diary.
They cover just about everything a mind can imagine;
from hauntings, to Hell, to Heaven, to love to hate,
to perfect worlds, to the everyday world.
Some bordering the apocalypse, some fantasy, while others
explore the world beyond.
Excellent book that I could not put down.
I highly recommend, "Fables and Other Oddities of The Imagination",
as a must read to all readers of sixteen and older.
Thank You so very much Ron for this intriguing look
inside your mind's eye and bringing so much forth to mine.
Exquisite!! Amazing!! Remarkable!!

Tracey L. O' Very

Ron is an author that knows how to capture the imagination and scare the reader out of their wits. The thing that makes him an amazing author for doing so is that he doesn't do it right away. The story he wrote in the style of Edgar Allan Poe is titled "The Ghost in the House" and this story for me is the one that I will say is Ron at his darkest. I've read his other collection, "The Face and Other Fantastic Tales" and this book picks up where that other one leaves off. I read more of the book on the publisher's website and making it an effort to pick up this book every chance I get. I hope Ron actually goes and does a full length novel at the level of horror he does when he writes these stories. I wished he put "The Demon In My Computer" in this collection because that one is one of his most haunting stories as some of the stories in this collection are.

This short story collection stands alone in today's market place. It transports one into another realm, the realm of the absurd, the whimsical, the improbable, and the other worldly. It defies the boundries that surround our ordinary reality, and takes us on a surreal journey through some very dark subject matter.

I definitely enjoyed reading this little offering... And would suggest it to all and sundry. Especially if you're in the market for something different, something along the lines of Kafka or perhaps H.G. Wells.

Review by Annette Gisby editor of Twisted Tales and author of Silent Screams, and Writing the Dream: Like any short story collection, there are some that you really love and some you're not so keen on and some that you find a little interesting. My favorite stories in this collection included 'The Magic Bicycle' about a young boy's yearning to escape his real life existence where his mother goes off with any man who will pay and a father who uses his fist and a raised voice to get what he wants in life. The boy dreams of a magic bicycle which will take him away from everything and when one day the bicycle magically appears, he gets taken away, but not in the way that he intended. It's very reminiscent of a fairy tale and you feel for the boy and his plight. 'The Confession' was excellent, about a man writing in his cell, convinced that he couldn't possibly have committed the crime he's been accused of and soon will die for. As his written confession goes on, you're invited into the mind of a madman, who even till the end professes his innocence. Did he do it or not? In 'The Village' a man searches for and thinks he has found paradise, but is he the one who has brought corruption to them? All in all, a good little collection of stories, tales to dip in and out of and read again.

I have read the first three books in the Sol Chronicles series by Donald D. Thompson, and the story that he is weaving is fantastic. I have been a sci-fi fan for most of my life, and the storyline that Donald is creating is fresh and unique.

I recommend this series to all of my sci-fi loving friends.

If you're looking for a sci-fi series that poses many interesting and thought provoking questions, complete with plenty of action and adventure, The Sol Chronicles is it!

Starting with the Final Solician and carrying forward to the second book in the series, The Telpin Man, Donald D. Thompson has devised a sci-fi saga that is rich in compelling characterization and plot. It isn't often that you find a series with such a complete and logical evolution -- especially one that's full of unexpected and satisfying twists and turns. Mankind's settling of our solar system unfolds over the centuries and becomes a metaphor for much of the striving, strife, and conflict of life on modern day Earth.

These tales are truly exciting and surprising. Mr. Thompson will fill you both with wonderment and a sense of what might have been, and still could be, in the continuing story of humanity.

If you've read The Final Solician, new frontiers await you in The Telpin Man. If you've only read the Telpin Man, you owe it to yourself to explore the past by reading The Final Solcian. And if you're like me, and have read the first two books in The Sol Chronicles, you just can't wait for Thena's Boy, the third novel in this wonderful series!

Donald Thompson grabs you by the lapels on the very first page and he doesn't let you go until it is over with - on the very last page. Who is this guy and where has he been? I want more!

I really enjoyed this book from the begining all the way to the end. The characters were real, the writing was griping and I can hardly wait for the next book in this series.

Donald Thompson's Characters could easily be friends of mine. He brought them to life and made them unforgettable for me. Who would have thought that a science fiction book could also be a romantic novel. I can hardly wait to see what he comes up with next.

For many readers of Arthur Miller, "Incident at Vichy" may seem like a departure from his typical fare. Set in France during 1942, this one act play takes place in a detention room as nine men question their fate. These men and one fourteen-year-old boy were randomly pulled off the street; initially they believe that it is an identity check, to make sure there isn't anyone with false papers, but as they are assembled together, they soon realize there is something more sinister behind their detainment.

Thrown together are men from a variety of backgrounds - a painter, an electrician, a buisnessman, an actor, a doctor, a waiter, a Prince, a Gypsy and and old Jew. As they voice their questions and concerns, they soon come to realize that they are there on suspicion of being Jewish. One by one they are called into the interrogation room where they are either given a pass to freedom, or will be taken away to the terrible fates they are just now learning exist. None of these men wants to admit that they are or aren't Jewish which only adds to the tension as they argue and attempt to formulate a futile escape plan.

"Incident at Vichy" is a quick read filled with questions that are bigger than the play. Miller throws questions at the audience that do not necessarily have answers. The ending finds only two men left to be interviewed - the Austrian Prince who was disgusted when his countrymen embraced the Nazis, and the doctor who reveals that he is a Jew and in hiding. Their confrontation turns both of their worlds upside down and creates an ending with no resolution.

Incident at Vichy, first published in 1964, is one of Miller's lesser known works, but I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I conclude once again, as I did earlier this year after reading Death of a Salesman.... Miller is a genius!
The Crucible is another gem that everyone should read! Really, he is fantastically good.
Incident at Vichy takes place in 1942, in Nazi-occupied France [Vichy].
The setting is very simple. A detention room, where eight men and a young boy are being held. One by one, they are interrogated in an adjoining room and none of them are sure of the reason for their arrest.
In the tense interim, as would be expected, they talk with one another.
Some of these men are Jews, and some are not.
Soon, the consensus is that Jewishness is indeed the "crime" for which they've been rounded up, and rumors and speculations are exchanged.
Those who feel that their interrogation may end with a "pass" allowing them to leave, become optimistic. Those who know that they themselves are Jewish, panic. And the tension in the room mounts.
Should they try to escape? Should they behave themselves and hope for release? Surely, surely their worst fears cannot be true?
Soon there are only two men left in the room, awaiting judgment.
And Miller ends this 70-page nerve-rattler with a wonderful twist.
I'll only say that it is amazing how little paper Miller needs to show us the worst and the best of what it means to be a human being.

Apparently, the story itself came from a tale that Miller had heard about a Holocaust survivor, told to Miller by his psychiatrist. It was about a Jew who was rescued from the Nazis by a total stranger.
Miller speaks of directing a production of Incident at Vichy some 20 years after the end of the war and, to his astonishment, having to explain to the young actors what the SS was!
The only other play that had dealt with the topic in the twenty years since the end of the war was The Diary of Anne Frank. Miller said, "There is something wrong when an audience can see a play about the Nazi treatment of a group of Jews hiding in an attic and come away feeling . . . gratification."

From the time that he was very young, Miller was aware of being "different" (Jewish) and felt a sort of warning atmosphere from adults. Whatever it was that gave him this feeling of foreboding, he was aware of it hanging over him. He writes at length of his mother's "mysticism" and her fervor extending even to the point of feeling that the dead communicated with her. And in fact, she may have been right.
While they were vacationing, and she was in a deep sleep, she suddenly sat up and said, "My mother died."
She was right. Her mother had died during that exact hour.

Miller said that his experiences with this sensing of lurking danger was something he had learned, but he had not been taught "how to defend against it. The dilemma would last a long time. The ... effort to locate in the human species a counterforce to the randomness of victimization, underlie the political aspect of my play, Incident at Vichy."

The play, then, attempts to answer the question of how to defend against danger, or evil. A topic that seems to enthrall many people [including myself].
Most critics panned it as being too lecture-riddled. Too didactic. Vichy was banned in the Soviet Union.

All I can say is that I am glad it is available to us today.
Listen, I encourage you to spend some time with Incident at Vichy.
You can read it inside an hour or so.
It is truly unforgettable.

In this stunning play, set in a holding room Vichy, France, in 1942, Arthur Miller introduces nine men who have been picked up on suspicion that they are Jews or Jewish sympathizers. As they are called, one by one, to be interrogated by Nazi officials before being released or put on the thirty-car freight train waiting at the station, they reveal their thinking, their rationalizations for having been picked up, and their belief that this is all a big mistake. A German major involved in the interrogations also begins to question his own role, reminding his colleague, a professor in charge of carrying out Nazi racial policies, that he is a "line officer," not trained for his role.

Waiting to be questioned are an actor, a waiter, a businessman, a psychoanalyst, a Marxist railroad worker, a gypsy, an ancient Hasid, a fourteen-year-old boy, and an Austrian prince. As they talk and begin to share bits of information, Miller examines the tendency of ordinary men, who are often victims, to become immobilized when faced with "an atrocity...that is inconceivable," to refuse to believe that such behavior can possibly happen in a civilized world. At the same time, he also examines those others, the Nazis and their collaborators in France, who serve an ideology, not mankind, those who subordinate themselves so completely to an abstract concept that they believe "there are no persons anymore."

As the truth about the waiting train and its destination slowly emerges, the sense of dread becomes palpable. The psychoanalyst, trying to rouse people to overpower the single guard on duty, cannot make his fellow captives understand that it is their belief that the world is essentially rational that keeps them from acting, and that the Nazis count on this belief. Pivotal to the action is von Berg, the young Austrian prince, a Christian who left his property and thousand-year-old heritage to escape to France, a man whose heart is in the right place but who does not understand that he himself must accept complicity in the rise of the Nazis.

Beautifully paced, the play is an unusually sophisticated treatment of this subject. Miller does not see events purely in black and white, showing instead that everyone creates his own reality to keep from accepting the unthinkable. Written in 1964, while Miller was representing the New York Herald Tribune at the Frankfurt war crimes trials of officials from Auschwitz/Birkenau, this play is Miller's creative reaction to the atrocities he has heard first-hand--and one of his most powerful plays. Mary Whipple

Incident at Vichy is set in a detention center in Vichy, France. Nine men and a boy have been taken into custody for reasons unknown to them. One by one, they are taken into the office for interrogation. Some leave the office, some do not. The dialogue that between the men grows more intense each time another man leaves the stage.

During the Nazi occupation, each for the men was apprehended for looking Jewish. They bear the burden of proof for proving themselves to be gentiles. The main twist comes when Leduc, a psychiatrist, states that "each man has his Jew, ... even the Jews have their Jews to vilify and destroy." This diatribe causes the former Austrian prince Von Berg to surrender his freedom pass to Leduc, allowing him to escape certain death. Von Berg's guilt comes from silently allowing Jews to be cast out of Austria by his cousin Barron Kessler.

I find myself to be very appreciative of plays that only use one set. While I found the ending be somewhat of a letdown by Arthur Miller standards, it is a solid work. By combining facts with an intense storyline, a great peace of drama is created. Although I imagine all the discussion of circumcision and male genitals leaves the play unpopular in many circles, I enjoyed it.

In this stunning play, set in a holding room in Vichy, France, in 1942, Arthur Miller introduces nine men who have been picked up on suspicion that they are Jews or Jewish sympathizers. As they are called, one by one, to be interrogated by Nazi officials before being released or put on the thirty-car freight train waiting at the station, they reveal their thinking, their rationalizations for having been picked up, and their belief that this is all a big mistake. A German major involved in the interrogations also begins to question his own role, reminding his colleague, a professor in charge of carrying out Nazi racial policies, that he is a "line officer," not trained for his role.

Waiting to be questioned are an actor, a waiter, a businessman, a psychoanalyst, a Marxist railroad worker, a gypsy, an ancient Hasid, a fourteen-year-old boy, and an Austrian prince. As they talk and begin to share bits of information, Miller examines the tendency of ordinary men, who are often victims, to become immobilized when faced with "an atrocity...that is inconceivable," to refuse to believe that such behavior can possibly happen in a civilized world. At the same time, he also examines those others, the Nazis and their collaborators in France, who serve an ideology, not mankind, those who subordinate themselves so completely to an abstract concept that they believe "there are no persons anymore."

As the truth about the waiting train and its destination slowly emerges, the sense of dread becomes palpable. The psychoanalyst tries to make his fellow captives understand that it is their belief that the world is essentially rational that is their main problem, and his conversations with the prince, von Berg, are pivotal to the action. Von Berg, a Christian who left his property and thousand-year-old heritage to escape to France, does not understand that he himself is complicit in the rise of the Nazis for not taking action when he had the chance.

Beautifully paced, the play is an unusually sophisticated treatment of this subject. Miller does not see events purely in black and white, showing instead that everyone creates his own reality to keep from accepting the unthinkable. Written in 1964, while Miller was representing the New York Herald Tribune at the Frankfurt war crimes trials of officials from Auschwitz/Birkenau, this play is Miller's creative reaction to the atrocities he has heard first-hand--and one of his most powerful plays. Mary Whipple

Having read romance novels for much of my adult life, it's hard for me to find anything that doesn't seem like the same tired old thing. Ms. Nelson's book, however, was refreshingly different, and just plain fun to read with all the elements of a good romance.

The Future Widow's Club is a must read! I loved the sassy secondary characters. As clever and engaging as the plot and premise were, it was the hero and heroine's long lost love that touched me the deepest. Don't miss this book!

Jolie Marshall is living for the moment that she can divorce her husband Chris. He is abusive, cheats on her, and has stolen money from her mother and other investors in their software company. He has the money to pay them all back, but puts in in off shore accounts instead. Jolie is slowly putting together the money to pay off the debts and compiling evidence to use in her divorce case. She married Chris on the rebound, when her boyfriend since third grade, Jake, got cold feet on the subject of commitment. Her father had just died and she wanted more from the relationship, Jake decided to concentrate of his career with the Sheriff's Office instead. Angry, Jolie went on vacation by herself and came back with Chris, to her eternal regret. A support group of sorts, The Future Widows Club, asks her to be a member. They look forward to the death of their spouses. They arrange the funeral, pick out an outfit, and most importantly, buy a hat. The meetings once a week are a godsend for these women, being the only place where they can be open about the problems in their marriages. Unfortunately, shortly after Jolie really gets into the spirit of the FWC, her husband is murdered, and his penis cut off and missing. More unfortunately, Jake is the detective assigned to the case. She never fell out of love with him and he apparently feels the same way. In spite of an ironclad alibi, she really LOOKS guilty.

I loved this book!!! The members of the FWC are very vivid and funny. The author enabled you to really get into the story. You get annoyed at Jake, hate Chris, and feel sympathy for all the future widows. I will definitely be looking to read more books by this author.

In Moon Valley, Jolie Marshal regrets marrying charming SOB Chris who embezzled money from their company leaving friends and her mother potentially in the lurch. When she can pay back her "creditors", she will divorce Chris, who she married when vulnerable following the death of her father and rejection by her boyfriend Jake, who was not ready for a wife.

The Future Widows' Club invites Jolie to join their group. Finding solace, she agrees and begins following some of the rules like taking out life insurance on her spouse. However, someone was irate when they shot Chris in the heart and cut off his penis. Could it be Sheriff Dean who has pictures of his wife with Chris? Or Police Officer Jake who is livid that this worm hit Jolie, the woman he still loves and regrets he let down? Or perhaps the grieving widow who just took out insurance on the rat?

THE FUTURE WIDOWS' CLUB is a strange dark humorous romance with police procedural elements to add excitement to the question of who killed Chris. The story line initially appears to be one of an abused spouse but switches gear once the merry widows invite Jolie to join. Rhonda Nelson writes a strong satirical dark look at society that accepts plenty of abusive "values" under the label of protecting the family.

Harriet Klausner

Jolie Marshall's husband Chris sure fooled her. He came along at just the right time when she was nursing a broken heart and conned her into her marrying him. Since then he's managed to steal most of her mother's life savings. She can't divorce him until she gets enough evidence of his adultery and other dirty dealings. Meanwhile, she's found an outlet to help her keep her sanity while she's waiting, The Future Widow's Club. The FWC is a place where she and other wives can come and plan for when they can finally be free. After all, why settle for half when you can have it all? But when Chris is murdered, her affiliation with the FWC may not be a good thing.

The detective on the case is Jake Malone, the man who broke Jolie's heart and sent her straight into Chris' arms. Jake knows he made a terrible mistake when he let Jolie go and he's suffered watching her in a horrible marriage. Now that Jolie is free again he wants a second chance. But as long as Jolie is a suspect in her husband's murder he is unable to become personally involved with her. Once she's cleared Jolie better watch out, because Jake is determined to correct his past mistakes and get Jolie back where she belongs, with him!

I couldn't stop laughing while reading The Future Widow's Club! From the moment Jake and Jolie share a scene together, the chemistry and emotion is obvious and I became thoroughly engrossed. Plus the mystery about who really killed Chris is extremely well done. I will be looking for more in future from Rhona Nelson who I foresee quickly becoming a must-read author. Humor, suspense, and a well-written love story: The Future Widow's Club has it all!

Melissa
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

My copy is a Sierra Club Book. This is beautifully illustrated and has spectacular photographs. Once you get past the coffee table fluff, There is a lot to be learned. Save this as one of the last Big Bang books that may go the way of the Piltdown Man. 'Einstein's Greatest Blunder? : The Cosmological Constant and Other Fudge Factors in the Physics of the Universe" ISBN: 0674242416

Take heart, as there are other in print books by Timothy Ferris.

Life Beyond Earth by Timothy Ferris ISBN: 0684849372. Just put the number in the search box and press go.

Life Beyond Earth

I read this book maybe 20 years ago as a little kid, and I still think about it. It really stimulated a lifelong interest in astronomy and cosmology. If you aren't schooled in astronomy I think it will open your eyes and present to you a view of the universe that will change the way you look at things forever. If I could find more copies of this book, and it were cheaper, I would hand it out like candy to the numerous people unschooled in astronomy I've met in the last 20 years, who, I am sure this book would greatly enrich.

The strength of this book is its photographs from various observatories around the world. I have not--in 20 years of looking, found a collection of astrophotographs that comes close. They are inspiring! Other manmade illustrations in the book vividly illustrate just where we are in the universe. Mr. Ferris also does an admirable job taking you by the hand and poetically explaining what is really out there when you gaze into the night sky. You will be amazed by what you don't now know.

If you can get a copy, get it, read it, enrich yourself, show it to your kids, and don't let it go.

Heaven's net casts wide.
Though its meshes are coarse, nothing slips through.
-- Lao Tzu

If ever there was a physical manifestation of poetry, the starry sky at night, the panoply of objects that populate the heavens, would come close. The character of Dr. Arroway in Carl Sagan's Contact exclaims, upon seeing the glorious objects of the universe up close during her epic flight, 'Poetry! They should have sent a poet!'

This book, Galaxies, is a book on a grand scale, as is its subject. It is a lavishly illustrated coffee-table book the size of a small coffee table, the pages measure 13 inches by 15 inches, a huge footprint of a book, with most of the photographs and diagrams sized full-page.

Timothy Ferris, at the time of this book was first published, was a professor of English at Brooklyn College CUNY. He has since gone on to fame as a science writer, particularly in the field of astronomy, and now teaches astronomy and science writing on the other coast, at UC Berkeley. Largely due to clear writing, diligent research that is thorough, and a good eye for visuals (astronomy is a visual science in many ways, and Ferris selected the photographs for this book himself) Ferris has put together a tremendous introduction to the subject of galaxies, impressing with the scale of the book the tremendous size and scale of galaxies.

Being an English professor, he of course had a wide knowledge of literature, and this is apparent from his choice of side notes, quotes and references, which populate not only the captions and taglines, but interpermeate the text on a regular basis. Here in the midst of scientific discussion one will find quotes from Shakespeare, Thornton Wilder, St. Juliana, Heraclitus, Ben Jonson, and more.

The first section deals with the basic definitions of what a galaxy is, the discovery of galaxies, and our place (and their place) in the cosmos. From here, Ferris takes us on a brief tour of the galaxy from the inside, using of course our own Milky Way galaxy, the only galaxy we can know from the inside. By looking at the constituent elements of a galaxy--stars, nebulae, star clusters, supernovae and black holes--Ferris introduces us to the life cycle of stars and some of the dynamics of galactic formation and evolution. Some of the more stunning photographs of this book are in this section, particularly the nebulae (gaseous formations that represent both the beginning and the end of life cycles of stars).

From a tour of our own galaxy, Ferris proceeds to the Local Group of Galaxies, and begins a discussion of the different kinds of galaxies. Our own, the Milky Way, is a fairly large spiral galaxy. This is not the most common type, however, nor the most rare. Our galaxy has attendant galaxies, the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds (named so because they are only visible from the Southern Hemisphere; named in honour of a European explorer who trekked down there), which are mostly blobs of stars, with no formal structure as a spiral would have. The nearest spiral is the Andromeda, part of the local pair (most spirals come in pairs). Andromeda also has smaller, blob-like satellite galaxies, with a smaller proto-spiral (M33) not far off.

In the next section, Ferris examines the types of galaxies which populate the Local Group, the Local Supergroup, and other groupings of galaxies. These include elliptical galaxies, spiral galaxies, barred spiral galaxies, and lenticular (or SO) galaxies. Ellipticals often appear as blobs, sometimes with halos, and no intricate structures. Spirals can be more of less tightly 'wound', arms around a nucleus with a bulge. Barred spirals are more intricate yet, and have a 'bar' or spindle-shaped grouping of stars that extends straight out from the central bulge and nucleus, to which the arms of the spiral seem to be attached. Lenticular galaxies are hardest yet to categorise--they might be ellipticals in a spiral mode, perhaps somehow robbed of their arms. How they evolved is a mystery. Beyond this, there are yet other irregular galaxies, which are often the results of galactic collisions and gravitational interferences.

Some galaxies seem to have violent events occurring, gaseous jets or lots of light and radio activity which speaks of harsh activity. Vast energy spikes and marred appearances give an interesting flavour to astronomical research. Often these happen from interactive galaxies, in which they are playing off each other, or indeed, as some will swallow up others.

Ferris continues his outward rush to the very limits of the universe, until we encounter quasars, the largest of large groupings of superclusters, and a brief discussion of the geometries and nature of space and time. The expansion of the universe, and possible futures (infinite expansion or ultimate collapse, or somewhere in between?) are discussed, as well as paradoxes which might arise in a collapsing universe.

Photographic plates are shown throughout in colour, in black and white, in negative, and in grid-overlays. There is a wide variety, showing the variety of ways in which astronomical objects are examined. This is a fabulous book. Rush to get it.

What we have learned
Is like a handful of earth;
What we have yet to learn
Is like the whole world.
-- Avvaiyar

This is a wonderful book if you can find it. The photographs are spectacular--for example, a two-page spread of the Hercules cluster in which every one of the hundreds of objects in the photo is a discrete galaxy.

This is a must-have for every astronomy buff. It makes a great coffee-table book as well.

. . .is what one reviewer said when this book was first published. It's a claim which is hard to dispute. The hard core scientist might not appreciate it's "coffee table" book format -- but heck, the book wasn't written for such a person in the first place!

Filled with readable and comprehendable text and citations ranging from Thorton Wilder's "Our Town" to St. Julian's "Revelations of Divine Love", this book will prompt even the most unscientific mind to gaze at the sky with new wonder.

But beyond the layout, beyond the scientific information, beyond the citations, the book is best described by its absolutely stunning deep-sky photography. It is mind-boggling to me how someone could look at the night sky and question the existence of God.

"He who made the Plei'ades and Orion, and turns deep darkness into the morning,and darkens the day into night,who calls for the waters of the sea, and pours them out upon the surface of the earth, the LORD is his name" -- from the book of Amos the Prophet

I started the book about 6 p.m and finished about 1 a.m; I could not put it down. Every golfer, every Masters fan, every body in Augusta will want this. Lots of great (and courteous) insider stories about the the Club; the creek, the community power fights about the creek; about great golfers, the caddies; the role of women; the founders of the club; the author's learning golf; rubbing elbows with Washington big whigs.

I know the author personally; I never dreamed her book would be interesting; I certainly never expected to be glued to her book, but it is a gem. I've got a couple of golfing buddies in mind who will want to read this book.

The story about the golfer who would "never" play with a woman was great...he parted with a dollar of two.

The "ownership" of the caddies, the nicknames of caddies and the nicknames given by caddies to their "horses" was fascinating.

The stories about the club president show a man "bigger than life."

Perhaps some of you know what trunk bangers are...now I know.

My grandmother lived a few blocks from the club and she rented to people who attended the Masters...so the book brings back memories...

Anyone struggling with golf, all you addicts out there, who day dream about shots, greens, the rough, creeks and sandtraps will identify with the author, whether male or female.

I'm not even a golfer, but my daddy was; and after listening to him talk golf, get down with 90, high on 72, talk about lights for night golfing, discuss the game over a few drinks, I found this book a clincher. I never expected to enjoy a book so much.

I enjoyed the book, but I was eager to learn more about the men in their lives. Who were these men and how did they feel about the experiences.

I started the book about 6 p.m and finished about 1 a.m; I could not put it down. Every golfer, every Masters fan, every body in Augusta will want this. Lots of great (and courteous) insider stories about the the Club; the creek, the community power fights about the creek; about great golfers, the caddies; the role of women; the founders of the club; the author's learning golf; rubbing elbows with Washington big whigs.

I know the author personally; I never dreamed her book would be interesting; I certainly never expected to be glued to her book, but it is a gem. I've got a couple of golfing buddies in mind who will want to read this book.

The story about the golfer who would "never" play with a woman was great...he parted with a dollar of two.

The "ownership" of the caddies, the nicknames of caddies and the nicknames given by caddies to their "horses" was fascinating.

The stories about the club president show a man "bigger than life."

Perhaps some of you know what trunk bangers are...now I know.

My grandmother lived a few blocks from the club and she rented to people who attended the Masters...so the book brings back memories...

Anyone struggling with golf, all you addicts out there, who day dream about shots, greens, the rough, creeks and sandtraps will identify with the author, whether male or female.

I'm not even a golfer, but my daddy was; and after listening to him talk golf, get down with 90, high on 72, talk about lights for night golfing, discuss the game over a few drinks, I found this book a clincher. I never expected to enjoy a book so much.

This is a terrific book written by a member's wife and their daughter. I am a big golf fan and have read several books about Augusta National and the Masters in recent years, but this one has an entirely different angle--a woman's perspective, and an insider-woman at that. The authors are respectful of the club, but they also are open in offering dozens of refreshing anecdotes that are funny and border on irreverent. There are also a bunch of photos in the book depicting the golf course from a candid viewpoint.

I started the book about 6 and finished about 12. Every golfer, Masters fan, everyone in Augusta will want one of theses books.

It's full of real inside stories of the Club, its founders, the grounds, the caddies, the famous players.

I know the author personally and figured her book would be interesting but did not expected to be glued to it. The wording contained many of the unique phrases used at the National and un golfing. I could not put the book down.

I am not a golfer, but my dad was and I have heard him day dream about golf; I've seen him high on 72 and down on 90; it seems the author got to the point she day dreamed about sandtraps, the rough, the fairways, how she would handle different shots.

Stories about personal encounters with famous golfers and politicians were great. The stories about the caddies and their betting, "ownership" of golfers, their nicknames were fascinating.

The stories about how one gets into the club gives the Augusta National a sense of intrigue.

The stories about the president of the club presented a man bigger than life, who put fear into the hearts of the wealthy and powerful.

Fishing stories, access to the club during the Masters, access to the club during off season were all highly readable and clearly inside, non-public, unpublished views into a closed society.

That only a few people were there at a time off season was amazing; there is/or was a wonderful wine cellar; there were no socials unrelated to golf and no 5 somes.

This is a wonderful book of private information that every golfer will enjoy, buy 2 of (one to keep and one to give away).

Terrific. Black, sordid, entertaining and most weird. Lots of fun!

I read it an thought it brillianly funny, and highly original. Fidel Castro seemed less than enthusiastic in his review, realising that this book has the potential to undermine all that he has strived for over the past decades of social and political revolution. "I read this book and realise that it is a legitimate, well thought out critique of the workers' paradise I have strived to establish in Cuba. It's back to the drawing board for me. I wish Hughes had never left his. I am a shattered icon."

"Hughes is good. He's got the same hold over readers that Tom Sharpe, Kingsley Amis and the late Bob Shaw created so effortlessly. Okay, so he's damn good -- one of those authors who hooks you with intelligent humour and run-amok storylines. His fiction is irresistable. So why fight it?"

(Lisa DuMond: Locus Magazine/SFSite)

"The writing is literary in quality and the characters are finely detailed -- highly recommended."

(Lida E. Quillen: Scribes World)

"Curious, innovative and highly entertaining...dripping with black humour, highly irreverent, sarcastic and, quite simply, very funny!"

(Nicola Jolly: The Preston Citizen)

This is Greyminster, a smoky, post-industrial milltown tucked away in the northwest corner of England. A pleasant enough place except for one fact. Greyminster is the Spaghetti Junction of the Fortean World. Time travel, ravenous space beasts, manic old biddies and robots with a penchant for Hob Nobs. This enormous volume contains all four Greyminster novels, five Greyminster novellas, characters by the barrow load and enough good humour to blow your socks off!

First off, I think I should probably preface this review with a few important facts.

1. Brian Hughes is a close personal friend of mine.
2. I haven't (yet) actually read the book.
3. When I was a young boy, I had an extra nipple.

The Greyminster Chronicles is undoubtably the most important written work ever published since the twin tablets Moses brought down from the mountain, which as you probably are already aware, contained probably the worst practical joke ever.

The Greyminster Chronicles has the unusual property of being able to hold things down. Should you say need to force an peice of important paper to stop walking about, or to provide anistesia to a cat, or to stop your television from flying about the room, or even to prevent your fireplace from going out on dates without you. This is the book for you.

The Greyminster Chronicles is also the perfect accompanyment for J.D. Sallinger's The Catcher in the Rye. In fact, I've heard that it has been listed as mandatory reading for the Insane Wackjobs With Crackpot Assination Plots Everywhere Union. You can find more information on the IWWCAPEU from the CIA...

Everything considered, you should feel in danger of experiencing the phemomina termed spontaneous combustion, if you do not buy this book immediately. Oh... and could you please stop by my wishlist and buy one for me as well, as a cartoonist, I'm slightly poorer than dirt.

Very innovative and entertaining...loaded with black humour, irreverent, sarcastic and very, very funny. I couldn't put it down!

I couldn't put it down. This story kept me captive until I read it all. Ellis's style quickly captures the reader and keeps them hanging on until the finale. The setting in Eastern Ohio provided a touch of reality to the story line. (Especially "The Chair"!!)The spiritual emphasis provided me with with a sense of validation of God's promises amongst the trials of this life. Great writing. Looking forward for more!!!

Beautifully written - Joe Ellis is an artist who has been able to paint visual images with words throughout his story - with carefully drawn phrases, the reader is able to feel - the warmth of the sunshine - and an unexpected cobweb; smell - the sweet aroma of a spring flower garden - and the nauseating stench of decaying animals; and hear - the early morning Doxology of a choir of birds - and the terror only found in total silence in the dark

He draws the reader into Elijah Mulligan's soul before the end of the second paragraph of the book - and holds the entire story together as we follow/share in this gentle giant's wrestling with the forces of evil threatening his church and persons dear to him. Here is the blending of a love story, a tightly woven mystery, the pranks of three 12-year old friends, and the ever-present struggle of good and evil. All become a powerful vignette in the life of one small rural church, the Scotch Ridge Presbyterian Church, high on an Appalachian hill on the outskirts of a small Ohio town.

ýI was a bad man once. I hate to think about the terrible things I did. It makes me sick. But you gave me another chance. Dear Father, use me to offer another chance to this strange fellow.ý (The Healing Place, pg. 1, Joe C. Ellis).

Even in the most unlikely places, evil can lurk. But where ground is sacred and consecrated as holy, God is present. When doubts arise and it seems there is no hope, when our past sins rise up to haunt us, there is always a place we can go. This is The Healing Place, Elijah Mulliganýs place of refuge, where he goes to meet with God.

The Healing Place is set in the beautiful Appalachian hills of Eastern Ohio in the town of Martins Ferry. Scotch Ridge Church and the legendary monument known as The Chair, in its adjoining graveyard, are factual sites in this community.

Ellis weaves the eerie superstitions of three twelve year-olds and The Chair with the diabolical notions of a young man, Nathan Kyler. Kylerýs own life is corrupted by a past that haunts him and the only one who recognizes the truth of his warped mind is Elijah Mulligan.

Elijah has experienced Godýs healing power numerous times, but nothing prepares him for the ultimate evil encounter that brings to surface uncertainties about love, past sins and a life he just canýt seem to let go of. His friendship with the three kids mixed with the love he is reluctant to accept from a widow named Annie, offer a balance to the thrills of eerie suspense. The Healing Place is a must for the person who enjoys sitting on the edge of their seat, only to be eased back with a touch of romance, then to be completely thrown as tales of love, evil and everlasting healing unfold in a most unpredictable way.

The Healing Place is an engaging story, that is attractive for readers of any genre. It has a hint of horror, a well-conceived mystery and an inspirational message that makes you feel good about the characters. It is impossible to put down once you start reading. If you read it you will enjoy it.

THE HEALING PLACE by Joe Ellis

I had the privilege of editing Joe's book in the summer of 2000. I became well acquainted with Elijah Mulligan, the larger-than-life hero and his antagonist, Nathan Kyler. Characters drawn with strong, almost visual brush strokes, draw the reader into a story that is both very real while at times almost surrealistic. A sleepy town in Ohio is being stalked by a man obsessed with death and killing. Will his fantasies and his torture of animals lead inexorably to murder? What has brought him to the point of such rage at the people around him? What clues does Elijah Mulligan piece together as suspicion of the young man increases? The mystery of THE HEALING PLACE weaves through the fabric of small town life contrasting with the bright summer, irrepressible teenagers, a faithful minister and his congregation, the village cynic and a love story between Elijah and a pretty widow. Ellis has created a novel of suspense with a storyteller's grasp of detail. You can find the Ohio town described in his novel, and there is still an annual celebration of the Betty Zane Days mentioned in the story. As a first novel, THE HEALING PLACE lives up to it's name as faith in God and the possibility of redemption even of the most violent person holds together a beautifully written work. Hopefully it will be only the first of many for this author. Donna Swanson: Artist, Teacher and author of MIND SONG, RACHEL'S DAUGHTERS and ANGEL WORLD TRILOGY