Indiana Books

This book is for people looking for the meaning of life, a meaning to be found only in the search for God. It explains the quest of Mary Baker Eddy, Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science at the end of the 20th century, a new Christian denomination, but also a way of thinking and living. Very scholarly, very interesting for people who feel concerned by "the new paradigm".Rolling Away the Stone: Mary Baker Eddy's Challenge to Materialism (Religion in North America)

Steve Gottschalk has done another thorough job of research into the life and times of Mary Baker Eddy. His careful analysis is greatly appreciated.

For those who remember Stephen's articles for the Christian Science periodicals, this is classic Gottschalk. In other words, it is highly detailed, well researched, well thought out, and tends to be much more theologically based than the writings that come out of the Publishing Society. He also has a marked tendency to drift from his focus on occasion, and to get side-tracked onto peripheral lines of thought. In general, a candid and thorough look at the later years of a remarkable life. More analytical and less folksy, this book belongs alongside the biography by Gillian Gill - as both a supplement to it, and as an effective insider's look from someone who truly understands Christian Science theology perhaps even better than many at The Mother Church.

Stephen Gottchalk's writing is articulate and illuminating. A fascinating book which I could hardly put down. Very inspiring and enlighening at times. He thoroughly understood his subject and brings forth his vast and detailed understanding to the reader in a way that is easy to comprehend. It clears up fallacies and inaccuracies . It is an important book for sincere readers.

Very few books make me want to read to the end. This one did. Someone could actually use this to deepen and widen their faith of God as taught
through Christian Science. I could return to book and reread it. As Mrs. Eddy said to understand her was to understand Christian Science. So I
highly recommend this work. This is not light reading it more like a textbook. But I like that if its well done. Deep thinkers well enjoy this
read.

Thanks for your product - it's too much good!
It's satisfy my better expectatives...


Have a good day...

The Complete Dinosaur edited by James O. Farlow and M.K. Brett-Surman is a comprehensive book about dinosaurs. There are many contributors that have written chapter for this book, so you get different writing styles and information is duplicated at times.

This book is divided into six parts and each has chapters written by the various contributors. The parts are as follows:
Part One: The Discovery of Dinosaurs
Part Two: The Study of Dinosaurs
Part Three: The Groups of Dinosaurs
Part Four: Biology of the Dinosaurs
Part Five: Dinosaur Evolution in the Changing World of the Meszoic Era
Part Six: Dinosaurs and the Media

What I found that was very interesting was that at the end of each chapter there was extensive references. So, if you find something that piques your interest you have something else to read about, to either clarify or strengthen your viewpoint. Also, this makes the book easy to use when dealing with technical material.

This book summarizes the current knowledge about dinosaurs at the time written (1997), and currently there are only eighty professional dinosaur paleotologists in the world. This book is written like professional scientific literature, but that doesn't make it difficult to read. Reading on you will find this book is not without controversy, as vigorus disagreements among the specialists over topics of contention will be found here as they hash out these sharp divergences of opinion.

I must say, that there is some very fine artwork, with bone of skeletons, muscle structure and complete complete fleshed out dinosaurs giving the reader a full grasp of what a dinosar looks like from the inside out. Also, questions as to what dinosaurs ate, how they raised their young, and the question that was the turning point that made the movie Jurassic Park... can we isolate dinosaur DNA are just some of the many questions that have answers in this book.

All in all, the technical jargon is at a minimum and there is a glossary of terms making your reading much more fruitful. I found the narrative easy to read and the information from this book to be exceptional.

This is a great intermediate level dinosaur book. It has a lot of details, but not enough to prevent non-experts from following it. It has 43 chapters divided into six parts. The chapters were written by experts in the individual subjects. This has the nice feature of making the chapters fairly independent, however it also makes the presentation a bit disjointed at times.

The first part deals with the process and history of discovering dinosaurs. The history of science isn't my favorite topic, so I just skimmed this part and can't really comment on it.

The second part describes the tools and techniques used to study dinosaurs. This includes excavations, the study of bones, taxonomy and cladistics, morphology, biomolecular techniques and exhibiting dinosaurs. There is a lot of interesting information, this material is fairly fundamental to the study of dinosaurs. Some of it is pretty easy to follow, some (like data management techniques) is a little more difficult to follow (for me anyway). None of it is prohibitively difficult.

Part three is a collection of chapters covering archosaurs, early dinosaurs and the various dinosaur families. Given that they were written by different authors, there is no consistent format for the chapters. I would have liked to have seen more material on how the families are related to each other. On the whole, I liked the level of detail.

Part four describes dinosaur biology. It contains a fascinating set of topics. A partial list of them is: plants in the Mesozoic, dinosaur diets, dinosaur dynamics, dinosaur eggs (covered in a nice amount of detail) and dinosaur paleopathology (a topic that doesn't often seem to get covered in this level of detail). In my experience many of these topics are somewhat neglected (either covered only lightly or not at all), this, and the quality, made it my favorite part of the book.

The fifth part deals with dinosaur evolution, including the way their environment changed thru time. It concludes with a discussion of dinosaur extinction, presenting both gradualist and catastrophist arguments.

The final part is one chapter covering how dinosaurs are portrayed in the media and how they are perceived by society.

Although the book had many authors, the quality is uniformly excellent. I generally liked the selection of topics. I wouldn't consider this an entry level book, but it's definitely readable by non-experts, I enjoyed the level of detail.

This book is very dense and covers almost anything related to dinosaurs. It is clearly intended to non-pros but it does not lack scientifical value. However, because the book was written by many authors you'll find some chapters less well written than others and some information is duplicated. My advise is to not hesitate to buy this as your first dinosaur book.

Do you want to get "into" Dinosaurs? This is the place to start. The Complete Dinosaur is a comprehensive introduction to what is currently known about dinosaurs and how it is known. From the history of the earliest fossil hunters to dinosaur biology, paleogeography and even an overview of dinosaurs in the media throughout the years.
The book is organized into chapters, each of which contains a deep look at its subject and yet is perfectly readable by laymen (such as myself). Even though many contributors wrote for this book, there is a sense of cohesiveness through the entire book. At a massive 768 pages, it is a very long read but seldom does it get tedious except perhaps a few chapters on dinosaur biology that get a bit too technical.
The book contains abundant references at the end of each chapter and a huge index a the end so it serves as a very useful reference on your library.
Other books that compare to this one are "The Scientific American Book of Dinosaurs" edited by Greg Paul and "Encylopedia of Dinosaurs" edited by Phil Currie, both renown paleontologists. "The Complete Dinosaur" is more comprehensive than the first one and is arranged in a more readable format than the second one which arranges its articles in alphabetic order.
The only weakness of the book is its age. Written in 1997 it is probably due to a revision given that the fiels of paleontology has been progressing by leaps and bounds in the last few decades.

Highly recommended.

James Whitcomb Riley is one of the few poets to deal with the death of youngsters and oldsters alike. His poems give comfort to any who have experienced loss. He is little known today for these poems but they appear throughout this magnificent book. In these complete works there are love poems, grief poems and humorous poems told with such lyrical expertise and wisdom from someone who has experienced every emotion he writes about. Although his style is old fashioned rhyming poetry it is truly delightful.
I applaud the publishers of this great book (I have three copies and send it to friends and family)and recommend it to ALL who love poetry whether it be contemporary or otherwise.

When I was a kid, we had a friend who would recite "Little Orphant Annie" to us before we went to bed. I'll be damned if that poem didn't scare me into being a good kid! I plan on reading it to my 3 year old tonight with the hopes of scaring her straight enough to start being nice to her baby brother! One can dream, right?.....

Folksy Hoosier James Whitcomb Riley (1849 - 1916) is America's premier poet of the sentimental. The Complete Poetical Works Of James Whitcomb Riley brings together over 1,000 touching, humorous, easy to read, and intelligent but non - intellectual poems, many filled with longing for irretrievable childhood innocence, freedom, and joy. Today's readers will find the volume a genuine time capsule into the past; these poems will evoke not only the reader's own memories of childhood, but also a simpler and perhaps more innocent and joyous America. The ambitions and expectations expressed by the speakers, narrators, and characters in the poems are humble, the horizons of their world near. One of the secrets of Riley's backward - glancing poems is that his reflections are only partially regretful; the joys of the past are equaled by the child - like joy still present in the adult poet's heart. Dozens of the pieces included here are suitable for reading to and sharing with children.

Titles 'The Swimming Hole,' 'The Noble Old Elm,' 'Company Manners,' 'When Mother Combed My Hair,' 'Us Farmers In The Country' 'My First Spectacles,' 'Blooms In May,' 'Two Sonnets To The June - Bug,' 'The Land Of Used - To - Be,' and 'Our Boyhood Haunts' offer a good indication of the book's content. There are numerous nature poems and celebrations of the seasons, summer meadows of "clover to the knee," August moons, lazy rivers, "the twitter of the bluebird and the wren," and, in one of Riley's most famous, the frost "on the punkin." There are tributes to William McKinley and Abraham Lincoln, to Tennyson, Robert Burns, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Joel Chandler Harris. Famous characters 'Little Orphant Annie' and 'The Raggedy Man' are here; Puck makes an appearance "under a low crescent moon" in a poem of his own, as do Pan, Santa Claus, pixies, and goblins in others. Odes to boyhood best friends abound. People lived on closer terms with death in Riley's time, and, appropriately, a number of the poems address the subject, all of which express either blissful faith in the afterlife or sadness for the living left behind.

Riley was endlessly inventive within the limited sphere of his talent, or, perhaps, within the limitations he purposefully set upon it. Oddly, there are relatively few poems celebrating romantic love and marriage. Riley, who never married, apparently held the adult world and women in particular in no little suspicion. In his poetry, eligible women are generally kept at what Riley must have felt was a safe distance, though there are numerous tributes to mothers, aunts, sisters, and little girls - even stepmothers are embraced lovingly. But when Riley wrote about single women and imagined wives, his poetic vision generally darkened.

In 'The Werewife,' the volume's 'La Belle Dame Sans Merci,' Riley portrays the speaker's "fluttering, moth - winged soul" helplessly caught and mesmerized by his wife, a white - skinned, red - cheeked seductress who is also a murderous vampire. In 'The Mad Lover,' the narrator lives in a state of grim emotional paralysis after falling in love with 'Miriam Wayne,' though whether "fate" or Miriam herself is the cause of the "evil" and the lover's madness is not made clear. In 'Oh, Her Beauty,' the poet sings the praises his beloved's transcendent loveliness, but the last lines find him on his knees in thanks to God for revealing her spiritual ugliness at the eleventh hour. The plucky woman in 'Her Choice' is asked by her lover to chose his "love or hate," and she chooses "your hate, my dear!" The cuckolded man in 'The Lovely Husband' fans his wife and cold creams her face upon command, ignores her plucky unfaithfulness, and is every way a "handy hubby" and "lovey - dovey" until he cheerfully takes a shot gun and shoots her. The lover of the imprisoned killer in 'Life Sentence' is "false, while he was true," "the mistress of all siren arts," and "the poor soulless heroine of a hundred hearts!"

Riley and Carl Sandburg were kindred souls; admirers of Sandburg will find that Sandburg's work was partially a progression of Riley's. Both poets' verse is filled with anecdotes, homey bits of wisdom, funny stories, songs, folk truisms, and legendary characters. Riley's poems are snippets of life, fireside tales, and reflections; unlike Sandburg, politics are occasionally touched upon but never the pivotal focus in Riley's work.

How readers react to John Whitcomb Riley will depend on how they respond to the overtly sentimental and the character of the times in which he wrote, for these poems effortlessly evoke it. Though warmly sentimental, Riley was also bright and witty and full of spark, a dreamy, reflective, pre - urban poet of the small town and the home, of the sun porch and the rocking chair, of back fence gossip and street corner news, and of the American dream as it was conceived in his era. Potential readers may think themselves too sophisticated, cynical, or highbrow to enjoy the happily middlebrow works of James Whitcomb Riley. But such readers may be pleasantly surprised at how completely they find themselves immersed in Riley's detailed, frequently timeless, invigorating, and ingenious work. Despite its overall simplicity, Riley's work comfortably rests within the grander tradition of American literature, and makes for visionary reading in its own unique, whimsical manner.

After mulling over volumes like the "Viking Portable Library" it is refreshing to have an entire volume of light-hearted, folksy fun. Of course, Riley's works aren't ALL in that vein, but favorites like Ragedy Man and Little Orphan Annie are, and that's why I like him. Being from California, I hardly know how to use the type of speech inflections and what-not that Riley hasn't written into these rhyming tales. But the closer I get to being able to master such speech the more it entertains my kids! Great collection, get it!

Twas struck with words as ne'r b'fore,
those gentle flowed from a poet of yore.
Each letter 'round our hearts was wrapt,
melodies of beauty lovely tapt.

Who'd er'er thunk that a pokety ole' man,
could know our thoughts and understan.
There ain't any we'd recomand as highly,
as Indyanna's James Whitcomb Riley.

If you are not a Robert Utley fan you soon will be. This second in a two volume series, Utley shows once again why he is the king of frontier US history. This is an excellent piece of scholarship and writing.

Recounting the final, massive push by the Regular Army to subdue the American Indians, this volume covers the 25 years after the Civil War when control of the Plaines was wrested from the Indians, from the first skirmishes with the Sioux over the Bozeman Trail to the final defeat and subjugation in 1880.

Proud of the Unites States Army and is accomplishments while simultaneously sympathetic toward the Indians, Utley traces the campaign directed by Major General William Tecumseh Sherman. The result is a very evenhanded account resting comfortably between the "the barbaric band of butchers depicted in the humanitarian literature of the nineteenth century and the atonement literature of the twentieth." The people we meet are simply a group of ordinary men doing the very best they could under remarkably trying circumstances that were often under equipped and ill supplied.

A great deal has been written about the United States Army during the Civil War. But tales of the postwar army can be just as thrilling as stories from the war, though this portion of military history is, sadly, often overlooked. Robert Utley attempts to correct this oversight in this excellent book, which deals with the nature, structure, and activity of the portion of the army engaged on the frontier from immediately after the Civil War until Wounded Knee. Arranged in an order that is easy to follow and is logical if not always strictly chronological, each major military operation against the Native Americans is handled with skill and sufficient detail. The result is a fascinating look at the army as a whole.

The main value of this book lies in the fact that it provides an outstanding overview of military operations as a whole (as opposed to books that treat just one battle or campaign). The work fills in many holes that will undoubtedly exist for anyone who has studied a part of the Indian Wars, and who would like to have a more general overview available to them. Anyone who has studied the Little Bighorn, for example, will find in this book a wealth of information that will explain in great detail many of the factors that led up to that action and also many of its ramifications. This book is essential to any study of Western history, especially military history.

Robert M. Utley offers the sequel to his _Frontiersmen in Blue: The United States Army and the Indian 1848-1865_. In this second installment, Utley attempts to eradicate the myth of the frontier Army as blazing a path of glory westward that has been portrayed in Hollywood movies. Rather, he argues the frontier regular Army was only one of several contributing factors to the subjugation of the Native Americans. Other determinants such as westward expansion by waves of immigrants, and professional buffalo hunters attributed as much, if not more, to the Indian demise as did the soldiers. In a sense, Utley offers the antithesis to Dee Brown's _Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee_. The author highlights the Army's role as a frontier police force carrying out civilian policy that lacked cohesive strategy against the Native Americans. Utley begins with a general survey of the United States Army in the post-Civil War years. The author outlines the relationship between the War Department, its near autonomous bureaus, Congress, and the Executive Branch, with brief discussions into the tenures of Generals Ulysses S. Grant, William T. Sherman, command-staff functions, and logistics. Chapters on weapons & equipment, and outpost life round out the first half of the book. Utley remains objective and unsympathetic at times to Blue Coat and Indian alike. For example, in his discussion of General George Armstrong Custer's defeat at the Little Big Horn, Utley, a noted Custer scholar, blames the boy general for the debacle. The author cites several reasons for the defeat of the 7th Cavalry. On the surrender of Geronimo in 1886, Utley credits both Generals George Crook and General Nelson Miles equally for their improvisations in overcoming logistical hardships in the harsh Sierra Madre Mountains. Acknowledging that the elimination of the Chiricahua Apache from Arizona was the prerequisite for re-establishing peace to the area, Utley does not sympathize with Geronimo's plight. It was only after the removal of the Chiricahuas, hostile and neutral alike, argues Utley, that peace was finally brought to the Southwest. In the final episode of the Indian wars: Wounded Knee, Utley engages in mere semantics. The author depicts Wounded Knee as a "tragedy" not a "massacre," the term generally preferred by the Indians. Utley feels the idiom inappropriate because "massacre," points to "deliberate and indiscriminate slaughter" which, he feels this occurrence was not. Utley believes, the soldiers tried to restrain from firing on women and children, however, in the melee, hitting innocent non-combatants was unavoidable. In the chapter titled "The Problem of Doctrine," Utley sees the Indian wars of the late nineteenth century through lensesmirroring the war in Vietnam (this book was first published in 1973). Utley observes the U.S. Army applied conventional tactics in an unconventional war. He illustrates how hostile Indians were oftentimes indistinguishable from peaceful reservation Indians. The hostiles utilized guerrilla tactics-hit and run raids and disappeared into the night. By day, the warrior factions would easily blend back into the general Indian population. If this be the case, it can be argued that the United States military had learned nothing from its own history. Robert M.Utley, often seen on the History Channel, and preeminent military historian of the period, has once again consulted a vast array of archival material. His evidence is equally balanced between primary and secondary sources, with endnotes after every chapter. The author consults an impressive collection of Government documents including a detailed list of Congressional and Senate papers in an impressive bibliography. Generous, easy to read maps, and a peppering of period photographs make this an essential addition to any library.

Utley does an excellent job of showing what post-Civil War Indian fighters faced. First was the transition from the Union Army fighting Confederates to the U.S. Army fighting Indians.

Utley documents how that work was made much harder by the cheapness of the War Department and Congress. Downsizing the Army drastically to save money wasn't enough. Congress stuck most the infantry with leftover muzzleloaders rather than repeaters, meaning that their Indian foes usually (Winchester-armed themselves) could bring superior firepower to bear.

Meanwhile, the frontier Army had to go through the twists and turns of War Department, or Interior Department, twists and turns on Indian dealings, and in different high-level officers having different approaches not just to Indian fighting but to Indian truce and treaty negotiations.

Meanwhile, the grunt work, as typical, was to be done by the infantryman, not the cavalryman.

Read the whole story of his struggle to do his job in this book.

This is a good book about the US Army, Indians and the early west after the civil war. It follows events and gives points of view that are not clouded by the normal politics or attitudes. It is a clear account with facts, the probable intentions based on facts, and the actions. It allows the reader to get a good sense of the period and actions. The book gives enough detail to back up the facts but does not go overboard. This is a good start at studying the time period and the US Army at the time. Being into history, it was highly informative. It is a great book for those who want to read about the period but not get heavily into research. It goes deeper than just a brief summary but I think it gives just enough to allow understanding. It is easy to read and flows from chapter to chapter.

I grew up in neighboring Illinois not far from `Pig Boy'. So, in reading this lovely memoir I found myself transported back into my own childhood memories of growing up. I was tired of reading at the time and therefore hesitant to give this memoir a chance. When I finished, I found that the author had reignited my passion for reading. This memoir will make you want to read again...to write again. The author truly captured the very humorous and.... yes poignant business of growing up, families and the unique value that every person brings to this world. Get this book, you will be glad you did.

There is a distinct nostalgia in Pig Boy's Wicked Bird. The peculiar power in this depiction of an American family is relevant to anytime, place, or condition. The author uses beautiful language and rhythmical sentences to creat a compact telling of this humorous and poignant memoir. The business of living can be lonely. The reader can make profitable use of the insights illuminated throughout this story.

First of all, I really enjoyed this book. I was skeptical going in, thinking it was just another outbreak in the rash of memoirs that has erupted on the best seller lists. This one is different. On the surface, it's a coming of age story, a story about self worth, self awareness, and the impact of family (the family in question being "the seven D's" - all of Doug Crandell's brothers, sisters, and even his parents have names that start with D.) But it turns out that what the story is really about is the three D's: disability, disfigurement, and just being different.

Two of the author's fingers are essentially severed in a childhood farming accident, leaving the boy disabled, disfigured and different. This leads to an awareness and an appreciation of those three D's -- that turn out to be everywhere in young Crandell's world: his mother who is "no longer a woman" due to a hysterectomy, a man with cerebral palsy who connects with the author, the runt pigs destined to be destroyed but saved by Crandell, a grandmother with a humped back, a sister with scoliosis, even the oldest brother is left changed by a never fully explained abduction reminiscent of Mystic River. (Most everyone in the book is marked in some critical, defining, and not always obvious way. Some, like the landlord's son, are, to quote John Lennon, crippled inside.)

Sherwood Anderson and his collection of grotesqueries, Winesburg, Ohio is the influence pointed out by Doug Crandell for helping him sort out his confused world of being marked different as well as leading him on the path to becoming a writer. What I noticed were the influences of William Faulkner, Flannery O'Connor, and in particular Carson McCullers. For a story of the Midwest, Pig Boy's Wicked Bird has a distinct Southern Gothic feel. (One person's physical characteristics are described as "crooked," "twisted," and "warped" in the space of a single paragraph). Like The Member of the Wedding, or even Truman Capote's Other Voices, Other Rooms, these disabled, disfigured, and different people will live with you forever.

There is a wealth of people out there who have grown up in a family that doesn't seem just right. Television for a lack of decent material exploits the dysfunctional family as it exaggerates the flaws of family life in America. "Pig Boy's Wicked Bird" by Doug Crandell tells a different side of the story. Yes, life is full of absurdity and tragedy but what comes out of this book is a recollection of our own past growing up and as weird as it seemed...it was wonderful too. Intelligently written and a delight to read I give it 2 thumbs up and a nub for good measure! This is a great life story!

Doug Crandall, former little Pig Boy of the Heartland, brings us a heart-rendering, oftentimes snorting food-out-the-nose-from-laughing memoir of friendship with farm animals and dealing with life's tragedys. Poetically written by the now grown up Mr. Crandall, even city girls like me can appreciate his love of family, roots and Jimmy Carter. If you love crusty old men, goofy dogs and little piglets, you'll love this story as I did.

Great book! Full of suspense and humor. If you like Laurell Hamilton or Kim Harrison, you will like this book.

Private detective Chase Dagger finds an Indianapolis cop and auniversity professor on his doorstep revealing their theory behind arecent series of homicides. The professor beliefs there is an evilthat has been passed down from generation to generation and is at itsworst during a full moon on Friday the 13th. Dagger feels theprofessor knows far to much about the murders and the killer. FullMoon-Bloody Moon is an X-Files style mystery that brings back ChaseDagger for another tautly written, reader-gripping, mysterythriller. Also highly recommended is Lee Driver's debut novelintroducing Chase Dagger and an unusual blend of horror and mystery inThe Good Die Twice (5-3,...). END

FULL MOON-BLOODY MOON is the second in the Chase Dagger series. This one combines mystery and horror in a story about a little known phenomena -- the combination of a full moon and a Friday the 13th. Dagger is confronted by an Indianapolis cop and a university professor who have a theory behind a series of murders. They believe a man has inherited an evil passed on through generations that is at its worst during a full moon on a Friday the 13th. This book pits an evil shapeshifter against Sara, Dagger's shapeshifting partner. As in THE GOOD DIE TWICE, Sara's shapeshifting is the catalyst in this series. And the existence of this evil shapeshifter becomes real when it starts communicating telepathically with Sara. This is a tightly written thriller that will have you looking at a full moon quite differently. To show you how rare the combination is, October 13, 2000, was only the thirteenth time since 1800 that it has occurred.

Author Lee Driver returns with the second in her series starring mysterious private investigstor Chase Dagger and his Native American shapeshifter associate Sara Morningsky and scarlet macaw Einstein--Full Moon Bloody Moon. This entry finds them with a more gruesome case as the bodies keep piling up, but no logical suspect can be found.

Lisa was a really good cop, a quick and accurate shooter. So, it was a real surprise when she was found dead along her regular jogging path with her gun still holstered and with the safety still on. The other surprise was that she was found twenty feet up, stuck in the V of a tree branch. Of great import to this case is the rarity of the combined occurrence of a full moon on a Friday the 13th. The story takes place during the five days leading up to Friday, October 13, 2000, when it is believed that the killer will attain his greatest level of power during the upcoming full moon.

Meanwhile, Chase and Skizzy are also working on a case involving weapons thefts from a local police station. Skizzy's invention of the "Mick," a mechanical spider-shaped surveillance camera, provides much of the intrigue in this subplot, which otherwise feels much like another day on the job.

Things really take a turn in Full Moon Bloody Moon when it is discovered that the killer can communicate with Sara through the telepathy that, until then, the reader had thought that only she and Chase could share. Is the killer a shapeshifter, too? Chase's ability to overhear their conversations causes his pragmatic worldview to begin to crumble. Able to accept Sara as a shapeshifter, because that was how he discovered her, the idea that there are more is almost too much for him. And the closer he comes to a solution, the more it seems that the killer is something that Chase is not entirely prepared to deal with.

The sexual tension between Sara and Chase continues building, with their friends invariably making comments to Chase about questionable situations. These are still some of the most intriguing characters in fiction, and any male reader is undoubtedly going to want to be Chase and want to be with Sara. Their relationship is an engaging combination of sibling and romance that succeeds because of not engendering any untoward feelings whatsoever. I'm becoming as comfortable with these people in just two books as I did Ed McBain's 87th Precinct crowd. I can only hope that Lee Driver exhibits McBain's longevity. Add to that her skill at writing epilogues that make me want to begin the next book immediately (in this case, The Unseen), and what we have is a terrific fantasy mystery series that deserves bestseller status.

FULL MOON BLOODY MOON is the second Chase Dagger mystery; the first was THE GOOD DIE TWICE.

Chase Dagger is back, but this time he will need more than luck to catch a killer that has been around for more than 200 years.... Knowing that Oct. 13th a Friday was not even here yet, the worse was yet to happen.

FULL MOON BLOODY MOON has the same unconventional and fetching characters as THE GOOD DIE TWICE. Einstein the bright red macaw that has a big mouth, Chase's right hand woman, Sara, Simon the mailman who knows everybody's business. Padre and Skizzy are also back as well as some new characters. FULL MOON BLOODY MOON is a ferocious horror-filled ride that will stick with you well after you have finished reading the book. Mixed with sex, violence and plenty of fast paced action. I hung onto every word.

Lee Driver (aka S.D. Tooley ) you have done it again, keep up the good work.

This well-written book took me back to Shelbyville IN in the 1950s, when every barber shop displayed a picture of the 1947 championship team and every patron knew all their names. No one would question the effect Bill Garrett had on his home town, but few could have predicted the impact he would have on collegiate sports for years to come.

The little town of Milan provided great sports drama for the movie "Hoosiers," but the life of Bill Garrett is more than a sports story. He did for NCAA athletics what Jackie Robinson did for Major League Baseball. Young people of today would be shocked to learn what he endured just a couple of generations ago.

Thanks to Tom and Rachel Graham Cody for this great read. As a Purdue grad, it pains me to praise a book that casts such a positive glow on Indiana University!

This is a good book and a good read. If you're from small-town Indiana (like me) and old enough to understand what single-class "Hoosier Hysteria" really meant, then you'll like this book.

However I respectfully offer that it's not a 5-star book. It may be a 5-star story in search of a 5-star telling.

I just finished the book yesterday, and I find myself wishing the authors had been less dispassionate. Or more passionate? Whatever.

So who was Bill Garrett? The book talks a lot about his life and times, and provides some ancedotes, but always left me wanting more about Bill. Sadly, Bill wasn't available to be interviewed, but his teammates, friends and wife were all sources for the book.

Here are some examples:

We learn a lot about how Bill came to enroll at IU, but we don't learn about the man himself. Bill left Tennessee State after enrolling, and took a bus to IU. No one was available to meet him there! How did he feel about this?

Bill was on the road and separated from his wife for several years while he knocked around the fringes of professional basketball. How was their relationship affected? We don't know.

Finally - the authors talk about the changes in college basketball in the 1950's (pp 169-175), Branch McCracken's sporadic recruitment of black players, yet fail to mention that IU WON the NCAA championship in 1953!

Sorry 5-star raters...it's a good book and a story worth telling, but could be a lot better. Probably a better movie than a book.

Seldom have I been so touched, entertained, and educated by a book as I was by Getting Open, which I read in two days. It is truly a masterpiece and something I will keep on my bookshelf for the rest of my life.

Although born and raised in Indiana, I didn't know much if anything about Bill Garrett before reading this book, but I was just blown away by his story. Not knowing the story, it was almost like reading a well-crafted novel and I hung on every new development the authors revealed. I also didn't know much about the racial intolerance of the times. My neighborhood and high school were all white, so I really had little if any contact with blacks before I went to Indiana University as a freshman in 1963. It hardly seems possible that such racial intolerance existed in the Midwest so recently before then.

This book exceeded all my expectations and I highly recommend it to anyone, whether you're a basketball fan or not. If you have any ties to the Hoosier State or to Indiana University, you will love it all the more.

At the pinnacle of his high school career - leading Shelbyville High to the Indiana state championship; a team that had three black starters - not one college scout in the arena attended the game to recruit Bill Garrett or his two teammates due to the color of their skin.

At the pinnacle of his collegiate career - leaving the court to a standing ovation that lasted several minutes - Bill Garrett was refused service in a restaurant days later; one that had on its marquee that it welcomed fans of Indiana Unniversity basketball.

And when Bill Garrett was ready to launch his pro career, the team in his home state did not draft him.

But Bill Garrett was stronger than those who attempted to keep those doors closed. And we are better because of him.

For author Tom Graham - with his co-author/daughter Rachel Graham Cody - the book took seven years of reseach, and certainly a lifetime of not denying the facts from the past and understanding the urgency in the present to set the record straight.

Getting Open is more than a biography on Garrett and how he integrated Big Ten basketball by playing and starring for IU. It is a history of institutionalized racial hatred in the State of Indiana - at one point in the 20th Century, the KKK essentially controlled all essential government offices - and the tireless work of person's from different sides of the tracks to fight the good fight.

Graham is a Shelbyville native who was old enough to vividly recall the times, which certainly helped as he meticulously did his research to cut through the fiction that builds from facts as the years tumble on.

It is a book from the heart that will make you realize how we must celebrate those who had the courage then by continuing to challenge those who want to forget - or rewrite - the past.

This book is an incredibly well written and well documented story that should be more widely read. It is an important history that many sports fans, and non-sports fans, will enjoy tremendously. It is an inspiration to us all, and offers many lessons and insights about overcoming racism. Thank you to the father-daughter authors for getting out this story!

If you carry around a list of books you must find, if you've ever hidden new (or used) books from someone who thought money could be better spent (!) on food or electricity, if you've ever fantasized about meeting your favorite authors .... you will have found a kindred spirit in Michael Dirda, book lover and essayist, who has collected 46 of his Washington Post Book World articles here for you.

Wide-ranging but never overextended, Dirda impresses me not only for his erudite commentary but because he manages to rattle off titles and lists and names without ever seeming patronizing; he discusses a multitude of literary concepts without ever being condescending; and he relates a remarkable and far-reaching knowledge without ever sounding arrogant.

Dirda is knowledgeable and funny, intelligent and affectionate, as he considers Wodehouse, maxims, criminally-bad retention, Chesterton, Irish and French novelists, children's books, vacation reading, comedic novels, Beerbohm, Oulipo, the Internet, death, genre reading, Benson's Lucia, private clubs, teachers, autobiographies and getting in shape. And he reveals some interesting information about pre-presidential Jimmy Carter!

If you love books, you will thoroughly enjoy these observations. But beware! When you are finished you will have drawn up a LONG list of books that you did not know existed but which you cannot now live without.

Stimulating. Thought-provoking. Fun. All learning should be so enjoyable!

I spent the afternoon reading, smiling and occasionally laughing out loud. I have always imagined I was the most addicted reader I knew -- but, Dirda gets the prize.

He tells us about pouncing on a find like a "rabid marmoset" and sneaking books into the house to hide them from the "Beloved Spouse."

His taste is catholic and he is a good writer. I think any reader will enjoy his essays.

This is a wonderful book of short essays by Michael Dirda, book reviewer for the Washington Post. Dirda appears to have read everything ever written, from literary fiction to science fiction to history to books that are just plain funny.

One of the things I particularly like about him is his enthusiasm for all kinds of books and his love for making truly eclectic lists (e.g., the "100 funniest books ever written", but with no more than one book per author; otherwise he said the list would be little but books by P. G. Wodehouse). He is also an aficionado of lost treasures (e.g., "The Autobiography of Augustus Carp, Esq.," at once one the most humorous books ever written and devastating account of true hypocrite--a man who would give Pecksniff a run for his money--or "Ashenden," Somerset Maugham's interconnected stories of a British secret agent in WWI--and the inspiration for other writers in the spy genre). He's also big on the Lucia series by E. F. Benson, which are hilarious representations of the battles for social supremacy in small town Britain--they are comedies of manners that compare well to Jane Austen's incomparable novels. No one is as good as Austen, but Benson is very, very good.

Dirda has also re-introduced me to science fiction (in particular Jack Vance).

This is an entertaining and highly varied set of essays with one central theme--the love of reading good books.

I'm a life-long book lover and reader. To my wife's chagrin, Dirda has reinforced all of my antisocial tendencies. He's given me the names of a pile of new treasures to read. I loved the book and I appreciate Dirda's infectious love for books. Read it.

Dirda is a critic and editor at the Washington Post, notable for his erudition, his enthusiasm, and his wide-ranging reading--not just in respectable, "literary" fiction but in mystery and science fiction as well. It's common to make a distinction between "reviews" (ephemeral, plot-focused, intended to attract or warn off readers) and "criticism" (intellectual, in-depth, insightful, aimed at people already familiar with the works in question)--but Dirda's columns often blur this distinction in the most welcome way.

Readings collects these columns, including pastiches of Wodehouse and Pepys, appreciations of comic masterpieces, articles on soft-core porn, hard-boiled thrillers, science fiction, fantasy, forgotten classics and not-quite-classics, The Tale of Genji, the obsession of bookcollecting, and much more. Reading the book felt like making a new friend: Dirda offers a delightful mix of appreciations on books I know and books I always meant to try and books I'd never even heard of. Above all, he manages to convey the heady *pleasure* of reading--that we do this, really, heretically, hedonistically, not for our greater good but because it's just plain fun.

Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Michael Dirda is one of the main reasons I read the Washington Post Book World every Sunday. In his book, "Readings: Essays and Literary Entertainments," Dirda assembles forty-six of his best essays (all of his Book World editorial columns are good) to delight the reader who, like him, is an incurable book aficionado.

Although the idea of reading a book about reading books may sound a bit redundant, Dirda's exciting, humorous, wide-ranging, and engaging narrative will not lose the reader's attention. He is a scholarly bibliophile in every sense of the term, minus any pretension. His love of books is infectious, and there is no escaping Dirda's charm and wit. The chapters "The Crime of His Life," "Listening to My Father," "Mr. Wright," "Commencement Advice," "Clubland," "Turning 50," and "Bookman's Saturday" are especially good.

For the reader who finds himself (or herself) swamped with reading wish-lists, tirelessly hunting for a first edition, obsessing over collecting all of a particular author's works, finding unparalleled solace in the library, and generally spending more time reading than doing anything else, this is the book for you. I have seen Mr. Dirda speak about this book on C-SPAN2's "Book TV" and on open university's "The Writing Life," and he is just as enthusiastic about reading in person as he is on paper. I highly recommend this book to everyone who loves to read.

I have read this book many times. It is a wonderful story based on true stories about the authors Great Aunt. I think that every girl will love this book.

Rutheis Gift is about a girl that has three older brothers and three youger brothers ,pluss her mom is prengnant.Ruthie feels traped because there are so many boys and no girls, and at scool she is the only purson in thired grade.when she findes out that her mom is pergnant she prayed day and night that the baby is a girl.
Some people don't always get what they want but fineds something better instead. I think that anyone that likes historical fiction sould read this book because I dont even like historical fiction and i loved it.
so I really recommend this book to everyone.

This book starts with Ruthie on her farm in Indiana in 1916. Ruthie is an 8 year old with long black hair and a tom boy. She lives in a family with 6 brothers.I like how Ruthie tries so hard so hard to be what her mom wants her to be a"lady". But Ruthie Can't help it she said she needs a special doll she thinks that it will her become a lady. Its hard for cause she she has no friends and she's the only in her grade.Untill some Friends move in near her. With help from them she may be able to become one.If you want to find out what her speacil gift is you should read this book I recommend this to people who like people fighthing for their rights.

I read this over 2 years ago, and I still remember very well what happens. It is great book for 8 to 11 year old girls. I guess really anybody would like it.

I liked how I never knew what would happen next. I also thought Ruthie's Gift was the best written book I have read. I hope you will love it as much as I did. I read it in my third grade class. I recommend this book for everyone.

In September 1971, the Army closed down the Army-Lockheed YO-3A silent aircraft night recon program and shipped it home. To bad the YO-3A planes were not involved in the An Loc battle that occured 7 months later. Many lives could have been saved with this Stealth Forward Air Control Plane. The YO-3A operated at 1,000 feet at night, flew slow, was silent had advanced night vision equipment, infrared illuminator and laser target designator and impervious to heat seeking weapons. In 14 months of operation in Vietnam, non of the 9 YO-3As were ever shot down or took a round. But the YOs sure could see what was going on in the night when the VC the NVA were moving stuff. Check out the website www.yo-3a.com

I was a YO-3A crew chief and sure would like to make contact with the author of this book.

Also see Kit Lavell's book Black Ponies that has a section on how the YO-3A located the largest Russian Trawler in South Vietnam and was instrumental in directing fire and sinking the boat.

Excellent detail of one of the most important battles during the latter stages of the Vietnam War. Focus is obviously on the ground troups. I was somewhat disappointed with the lack of detail with regards to the "gun ships" of the Navy.

I participated as a C-130E co-pilot (374 Tactical Airlift Wing) during the Battle of An Loc. I greatly appreciate this book, helping me to understand what else was happening on the ground and in the air throughout the battle. As a participant, I vouch for the excellent accuracy and honesty of the book. The book starts out a bit slow, describing the organizational structure of the Army of the Republic Vietnam and its deployment. On page 37 it goes to high intensity with the Battle of Loc Ninh, a neighbor of An Loc. Willbanks gives you great empathy for those on the ground at Loc Ninh and An Loc, who were in a desperate struggle for their lives. It was hard to put the book down, once I got to the Battle of An Loc. The book slows down again in the last two chapters and epilogue.
I am sorry that seventeen C-130E crewmembers died in the battle. I am sorry that some of our airdrops missed the drop zone and fell into enemy hands. But the airdrops that were recovered by the ARVN were an essential part of the battle.

"The Battle of An Loc" by James Wilbanks. A must have book for anyone with an interest in Viet-Nam. This is a very good read. The author, James Wilbanks, was present and wounded at An Loc. This is not only his account, but gives insights from the North Vietnamese and US Advisors after action reports plus other communist documents. The role of the unending US air support, the bravery of the US air crews, and the orchestration by the Forward Air Controllers to the battle's victory for the ARVN and US Advisors is covered in warranted great detail. The inability of the NVA to have armor and infantry work together in more conventional warfare is clearly brought to light and documented. Wilbanks gives insights into Richard Nixon's Vietnamization's perceived success by the politicians and its ultimate failures. This is a must have read and must have addition to the library for anyone with interest in the war in Viet-Nam.

Excellent book!!!


Anyone who has some basic military experience but never served abroad, and only seen movies about war or heard tidbits, would
appreciate what is in this book. The book reveals the strategy of battles, the 'mechanics' of battle (orders issued to battalions, and their officers' reactions to situations, etc) It's the real thing! And even better than the movie Platoon!